A/N Caught red handed
Alt title: Damn it Vicky!
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StormySpartan: They are!
SonicTundra: Thanks! I try really hard to make the two's interactions sugar sweet.
The coffee shop misspelling is a joke on how they never spell names right.
YeTianshi: A big one.
Gogmazios: You're welcome and thanks! And honestly you got to it pretty fast.
I don't know what 10/persimmon is.
DancingLeaf: She can go rainbow fox mode!
And I like to imagine PETA doesn't exist here. Earth-Bet has enough going on as is.
She would make a secret spot to mess with people. And probably forget it exists until it's brought up on social media.
Kaykaykaykayan: You can! And you will! Long live the cute!
Aren Gisly: You're welcome, and thanks!
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Disclaimer: I don't own Worm or any other characters in this work, other than my OC. All other characters belong to their respective properties.
-Date, Time-
'Thoughts'
"Speech"
[Shard]
(Text)
*Sounds/Actions*
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-The Rig, Sunday, April 18th, 3pm-
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Carol "Brandish" Dallon POV
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Fuck, everything.
Mark's still stuck at the DMV and Amy got called to the hospital. So I had to call Missy's father to come pick her up early. Much to the ire of both her and Kitsu. Who is currently with me.
She's been trying to calm me down. Telling me about her day, complimenting me, ect. Even offered to let me pet her tail. So long as I washed my hands first of course.
That one actually made me feel a little better. And I nearly laughed at the way she went from sweet and concerned to serious. I didn't take her up on the offer, but it's the thought that counts.
"Kitsu, sweetheart. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but sometimes when people are upset. It's best to let them be." I tell her as the helicopter lands.
As we step out, we're greeted by Battery. I take Kitsu's hand and guide her along as we make our way through the base. The guards at the door having taken Kitsu's backpack that she uses to give herself room for her tail.
"Can Kitsu stay in the Wards lounge? I don't want her present for this." I ask Battery.
She turns and gives a small smile.
"Sure thing, follow me." She and takes a turn.
We follow her through a few doors and make it an area where designated authorized personnel only.
We make it to the lounge and I let Kitsu go before turning to her.
"Behave, I'll be back to come get you later." I say as I kneel slightly.
"No promises!" She says with a salute.
"You better promise or you'll be as grounded as Vicky's about to be." I say sternly. "I'm in no mood little lady."
Her tail curls around her and her ears go flat.
"I promise." She says softly.
"Good." I say and lean down to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back as soon as I can. After that we can get pizza."
She cheers up significantly at the mention of pizza.
"Can I mess with the fern? I wanna practice a few things." She asks.
"No, not without Amy to supervise. Remember the dandelions?" I tell her.
At least she asked.
"Yes." She drawls.
I turn and leave, following Battery as we make our way through the base.
"You seem to handle her quite well. How do you do it?" Battery asks as we walk.
"What do you mean?" I question.
"The upper brass have been trying to get Kitsu on our side for years. And here you are, a few words and she's putty in your hands." She says.
"You're better off asking my husband that. She burst into our house one day and sort of just stuck around after Mark didn't kick her out right away." I answer. "She was just a lonely little girl desperate for a family, we offered her a home, no strings attached other than if she wanted to continue being a cape, she had to join New Wave. You should see her with Mark. She'd have stayed in one spot on her head if he asked her to."
Battery abruptly stops for a moment. She gives a small, sad chuckle before she continues walking.
"What?" I ask dubiously.
"It's just that, five years ago, around the time when she was first found. She asked me and Assault if we would be her parents. Assault said yes and I said no." She says. "Just, thinking about the irony."
Why do I feel so, upset at that?
"How did that come about?" I ask with a slight edge.
"Director Armstrong was offering her a spot in the Wards. We were there and Assault jokingly said me and him would take care of her." Battery says. "I refused right away, and now, seeing you with her. Well, nevermind." She says with a shake of her head.
It's not hard to imagine what would've happened if she said yes. Hell, all it took was a single day of being nice to Kitsu, and suddenly she's trying her best to be daughter of the year. Though the idea of imagining her as Assault and Batteries daughter has me feeling, uncomfortable.
'And another thing for my therapist.' I muse inwardly.
The rest of the walk is done in silence, and I'm brought to one of the detainment rooms meant for high level brutes.
As I walk in I'm treated to the site of Vicky, cuffed to the table in full manacles. Armsmaster to her left, and Assault to her right.
She looks up fearfully and immediately turns her gaze back to the table.
"Alright, what the hell happened and why the hell is she cuffed to the table?" I ask.
"Mom this all jus-"
"Vicky, stop. Armsmaster, start."
He looks to me for a brief second before starting.
"There was an altercation downtown. Where Glory Girl assaulted a thief after chasing them down. At which point she proceeded to cause severe and extensive physical trauma. The individual in question is unconscious, presumably in a coma, and currently in the ICU. She's in cuffs because she tried to flee the scene after a concerned citizen called the police."
I turn to my daughter in question.
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself?" I ask rhetorically.
"I panicked! I didn't mean to hurt them that bad! I didn't think she'd need to be hospitalized!"
"That last ones a lie." Armsmaster says.
Vicky freezes in place at that.
"Care to explain?" I say slowly.
"I, uh."
"As much as I'm sure you'd like to talk this all out now. I'd like to inform you that we have evidence that this is not the first time something like this has happened. And that this is a reoccurring behavior." Armsmaster interjects and takes Vicky's phone out of one of his pockets.
My therapist is retiring early.
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-Medhal General Hospital-
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Amy "Panacea" Dallon POV
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Damn it Vicky!
I've healed enough of the people she's roughed up to recognize her handiwork.
I managed to heal the girl back to full health before her punctured lung killed her. Though whether or not she'll wake up is another story. If I was there with Vicky I'd have been able to prevent this!
Then again if she'd just LISTEN! And stop going overboard, this wouldn't ever be a concern!
*Ring*
Pulling out my phone, I see it's Carol. And I dread what this might be about.
"Hello?" I ask tentatively.
"How, long?" She asks slowly.
"Um, what do you mean?" I ask, more than a little scared at her tone.
"Tell me how long you have been covering for Victoria." She demands.
'Oh she's pissed.'
"Covering for what?" I try and bullshit.
"Amy Lavender Dallon! You know what I am talking about!"
I think I just peed a little.
"Uh, since I triggered?" I say with a crack in my voice.
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"Hello?"
"Get home now."
*Click*
I just stand here in the employee break room as I contemplate every life choice I've ever made. Might as well reflect while I have the time.
"Hey Panacea? Can you help us out in the surgery room real quick?" a nurse asks as he walks through the door.
I just shoot him the most annoyed glare I can manage.
"Is it life or death?" I ask.
"Uh, not at the moment." He says cautiously.
"Then they're doing better than me!" I say and march out.
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-Dallon House, 5pm-
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Kitsu POV
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Mom is scary when she's upset.
"Kitsu, stay in your room until Mark gets home. Turn your radio on or watch a video I don't care. And go ahead and order a pizza or two. Just stay out of this." She says with barely restrained anger.
"Can I get stuffed crust?" I ask.
What? Just because I'm scared doesn't mean I won't make the best of a situation.
Priorities.
"Sure, but no mushroom. You're the only one who eats it and you're not getting a whole pizza to yourself." She says.
"Kay."
"Good girl." She says and leans down to kiss me on the forehead. "Now go."
I zip to my room, close the door and turn my radio on to some Hollywood Undead. Grateful for my new hearing aides. Now I can turn up the volume and keep it near myself to drown out the voices in the other room.
"A fucking year!?" Mom yells.
Mostly.
I go ahead and call the local Dominoes while all that's going on.
"Dominoes Pizza, what can I get for you today?"
"Hi, I'd like to order two cheese pizza's for delivery." I say.
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"Hey sweetie, can I talk to your mommy first?"
I roll my eyes. Should've seen this coming.
"Sure!" I say and hold the phone away from me. "Mom, the pizza man wants to talk to you."
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I start using my biokinesis to modify my vocal cords.
"Mah, my, mee, mooah." I say quietly before I get Carols voice.
"Hello?" I ask on the phone.
"Hi, sorry about that. We've had a series of kids ordering pizza without their parents knowing so I need you to be the one to place the order. New policy."
"It's quite alright, I just had her call for me because my hands are full right now." I say.
"That's perfectly understandable. So, two cheese pizzas?" He verifies.
"Oh, if it's alright can you make that stuffed crust?" I ask.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but we don't offer that." He says.
Lame!
"That's alright. Just the two cheese then."
I finish ordering the pizza, just in time to hear dad pull up into the driveway.
I zip out of my room and out the house. Just in time for him to step out of his car.
"Daddy!" I say and slam into him.
"What the fuck!?" He exclaims.
"Wha-oh."
I still have moms voice. I take a second to turn it back.
"Sorry about that. Mom had me order pizza." I say and nuzzle him. "But they wouldn't talk to me. They wanted to talk to mom."
"Alright." He says awkwardly as he picks me up. "Just, don't do that again."
I can only imagine how weird and awkward that was for him.
"Kay!" I say as he carries me back into the house.
"The Birdcage! Is that were you want to end up?!" I hear as dad closes the door. "You can't possibly have thought you could keep this hidden forever! All it would take is one person coming forward!"
"Wow, so how bad is it?" He asks. "I only know that Vicky was taken into custody."
"Vicky has been brutalizing people she apprehends for a year now. And Amy's been helping her cover it up by healing the people. Mom just found out."
His expression says everything.
"Well. So how was your day?" He says and sits down on the recliner.
"I got to spend most of the day with Amy and Missy!" I say excitedly. "And I finally figured out how to make things glow!"
"Is that what all the fireflies were for?" He asks.
I nod my head and make my skin glow gold in tiger stripe patterns. It tingles a little, like a slight burn. But nothing that can't be ignored.
I illusion a block to flick the light switch.
"That's really cool! You could go to raves like that." He jokes.
"Just wait! I call this seizure procedure!" I say and rapidly change the colors.
After a bit I stop changing colors.
He scratches my ears and I lean into it.
"Never do that in public." He says seriously.
I go ahead and turn off the glowing and turn the lights back on.
"I also made flowers that make music, I made them have modified trichomes connected to an ion channel that makes them move a specific way when triggered, similar to Venus flytraps, so that way they trigger little specialized pockets of air to squeeze and make a soft chime sound! And if I can just find an electric eel. I can make a photosynthetic power generator." I tell him.
"Let's just pretend I understood, any of that." He says with a small laugh.
"That's not fair!" Vicky yells.
Me and dad look to the hall.
"Context?" He asks.
"Vicky just got grounded for two months. And has to take control exercises with a specialist the whole time. Amy's grounded for one month and is only allowed out to go to school, when the PRT request her, and when the hospital needs her." I summarize.
"How bad was it?" He asks.
"The girl is still in a coma. If she doesn't wake up soon her next of kin can press charges. If she does wake up, she can press charges." I say.
I'm not worried. I have a plan.
"Shit, and this has been going on for a year?" He asks. "How did we not notice?"
I say nothing and just lay down on him.
"If Amy was there none of this would've happened! This is all that freaks fault!" Vicky screeches.
"Victoria!/Vicky!" Mom and Amy shout in surprise.
"What do you want to watch? I'm thinking Disney channel." He says quickly to deflect.
"Animal planet." I say softly.
I don't really care. I don't like Vicky all that much so her referring to me as a freak doesn't really hurt. Though if anyone else heard her say that.
Freak and Abomination are popular slurs for Case 53's.
"Sure." He says and grabs the remote from the end table.
We watch TV until the pizza gets here. All the while ignoring the back and forth in the other room.
To recap the end of the night.
Vicky ended up slamming her door hard enough to break it.
Carol actually thanked Amy for keeping Vicky out of trouble. And explained that she was grounded because she should've told her what was going on instead of hiding it.
And I got to see a cute documentary on baby animals while eating pizza!
I honestly expected Vicky to break more stuff.
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-Medhal General Hospital, 11:54pm-
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Took me a while. More than a little invisibility and sneaking around. Along with the help of my stranger power. But I finally found the room with the girl Vicky beat with an inch of her life.
An average looking girl. Nothing special. I go ahead and change my hair to black, my skin a dark brown, my eyes brown, and my voice to a higher pitch in preparation for plan b. I also keep my ears flat and my tail hidden.
Grabbing her, I first shut off her motor neurons before reactivating the parts of her brain that are keeping her from waking up.
She wakes up, and I can see the electrical signals flaring. She's trying to scream and thrash. And I have to steady her heart rate.
I wait a minute until it stops.
"Okay, I'm going to give you your movement back. If you scream or make a lot of noise. I'll put you back in a coma." I say before reactivating her body.
Staring into her eyes I activate my love me power to make this go smoother.
"What, do you want?" She asks shakily.
"I'm more or less here to find out what you want. You see, I don't want you to file charges against Glory Girl. So, I'm willing to give you anything I can. I can fully and freely manipulate biology. So, name your price. Bigger boobs, firmer butt, clearer skin, perfect teeth. Wanna be a guy? That one's going to be tricky but I'm sure I can figure it out." I list off.
"Are you kidding me? If you make me hotter, all that'll do is make me a target out on the streets. And no I don't want some floppy bits between my legs!" She says incredulously.
"Then how about better eyes, night vision, stronger bones, denser muscles?" I ask with a roll of my eyes.
"Hell no, after what that bitch did? I'm suing for all her worth then using that money to fuck off out of this shithole of a city."
"What if I offer you a cash bribe?" I suggest.
"That money won't come with seeing the bitch devastated." She counters.
I stare at the obstinate woman for a bit.
"Right, plan B it is then." I say with a sigh and grab her by the jaw.
Using my biokinesis I keep her heart steady to avoid setting off the monitor and shut off her motor neurons again. I then shut off my love me power.
I was really hoping she could've been bribed. I'm not looking forward to this next part.
"Look, I get that you want a little revenge on the big bad cape who hurt you. But the problem here is that hurting her, is less than ideal for me. So if I have to hurt you." I say and slowly crush her lower jaw. Careful not to cause any external bleeding. Bloodstains and all that.
"I, will. And if that's not enough. Then I'll hurt your family. Show you how much you have to lose." I say, turning my eyes from brown to red and letting them glow in the dim light of the hospital room.
"You see, I can heal, just as easily as I can hurt. And I can hold a grudge for a long time." I say and heal her jaw.
"I don't even need to break you." I say and light up her nervous system. "I don't even need to be near."
I show some illusionary frostbite spiders that crawl up the bed and stare her down.
"So, I'm going to let go, give you back your functions. And if ever you or someone you know decide to say something. I, will, find, you." I finish and dispel the spiders after having them crawl back down out of her sight.
I do as I said, but before I do, I tweak her fusiform gyrus a little before giving her body back to her. The heart monitor immediately goes ballistic and I can smell the strong scent of ammonia in the air.
"The nurse will be here shortly. Act like you just woke up." I say and turn invisible just in time for the door to burst open.
Two nurses and a doctor rush to her side and start checking everything. The doctor taking a small flash light and shining her eyes.
"Ms. Wellson, can you hear me?" He asks.
"Y, yes. I can." She says shakily.
"Patient seems to be-"
I tune out the rest in favor of using an invisible platform to float up. I turn my head and hand visible, making a shushing motion before fading slowly like the Cheshire cat. The heart monitor spikes and I go ahead and sneak out while another doctor and a nurse rush in.
Was it evil? Yes. Do I care? Not really. While I do feel a little bad for the girl, and I wasn't comfortable doing all that, I wasn't going to let her ruin New Wave with an assault charge.
As for modifying her fusiform gyrus? I gave her face blindness. She can still see faces. Face blindness is a condition where the brain struggles to remember human faces outside of basic details.
And the only details she has to go on is a black haired, brown skinned, squeaky voiced girl with brown or red eyes.
Granted she'll struggle to remember faces for the rest of her life. But more people have face blindness than most realize.
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-Dockworkers Association, Monday April 19th, 1:06pm-
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I need to find a place for Gully. A long term, viable one. That means it can't be a money sink. I can't just perpetually rent out a place for her, that's not viable. Can't call Faultline, she refuses to take jobs in the city unless it's to help her crew. And I'm not willing to call in a favor from Lung.
Yet.
So, I need something that'll give returns. Something that will pay for itself.
"Excuse me. I'm looking for a Daniel Hebert?" I ask a burly man just inside the run down building as I walk through the door.
He stares down at me, then at my ears and then to my tail.
"HEY! Eyes up here." I yell at him.
"What? No! I just, you're um. Well. Where are your parents? Aint you the Dallons new kid?" He stutters out and deflects.
"I am. And I'm here on New Wave business." I say seriously.
"Sure kid. Now what's their number? Just so I can verify." He challenges.
I should've brought dad along.
"Fine! I'll be back!" I say and stomp out.
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I make it back to the house in about thirty minutes, just in time to catch dad coming in from mowing the lawn.
"Dad! I need your help with something." I say as I latch onto his leg, and immediately detach as I get a whiff of him, weed killer. "But, it can wait a bit." I say pinching my nose.
"Kitsu, can whatever it is not be today?" He asks tiredly.
"Did you take your meds?" I ask in concern.
"I did." He says tiredly.
"Then why are you all, mopey?" I ask.
He sighs as steps past me and towards the hall.
"Sometimes, some days are just worse than others." He says. "And the meds don't help as much as they normally do."
"Oh." I say sadly.
'It really can't wait. I only have a week.' I think anxiously.
"I'm sorry kiddo, it has nothing to do with you. It's just not a good day." He says and lightly scratches my ears. "Lots happened lately and just. Nevermind."
"I know, its fine. It can wait till tomorrow." I say understandingly.
'Looks like I'm skipping school tomorrow.'
As he gets a quick shower I run around and grab a bunch of things. A pillow, a blanket. Some popcorn.
Once he's out of the bath and dressed I knock on his door.
"Yes?" He says as he opens the door.
I grab his hand and wordlessly pull him out.
"Kitsu, what are you doing?" He asks as I drag him to the living room.
I push him into the recliner and set it all the way back. I put a pillow under his head and a blanket over him before grabbing the popcorn and squirming my way under the blanket. And crawl up to cuddle him.
"Movie night!" I say and scooch him over to share the recliner, half sitting on his side and half on the arm. "And popcorn!"
I hold up the unpopped bag and start to heat up my hands.
"Pick a movie!"
He starts channel surfing as I pop the popcorn. Though he can't seem to choose one.
He eventually settled on a cheesy comedy.
The rest of the night went as such, with me trying to cheer him up. Or at least reminding him that he has someone that cares.
Once he fell asleep I ran around the house fixing everything and cleaning up. Which included fixing Vicky's door by melding it back together. Not that she thanked me or anything. Amy got called to the hospital for an emergency and I flew her over, so she won't be back for a bit. When it came time to pick mom up I let dad sleep in and decided to go get her myself.
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-Law firm, 5:12pm-
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Carol "Brandish" Dallon POV
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Stepping out of the law firm, ready to head home and end my day. I'm surprised to see I'm greeted by Kitsu of all people.
"Mommy!" She says as she runs up and hugs me.
I pick her up and hold her on my hip as she nuzzles me, which I realize is starting to become the routine.
"Where's Mark?" I ask, not seeing the car anywhere.
"Bad day." Kitsu says sadly as her ears fall flat. "I tried to cheer him up. He's asleep right now and I didn't want to wake him. So I came to come get you! Also I fixed Vicky's door."
After yesterday? It's understandable. Hell, if I didn't have work I'd probably have drank myself under last night.
I give her a kiss on the forehead. Enjoying the way she squeals happily at the act.
"You're such a good girl." I tell her. Which only causes her to squeal harder and her tail to start rocking her.
"Whoa, calm that tail down or I might drop you." I say. As a result she just hugs me tighter.
I'll admit. Her general happiness and sunny disposition. As well as her affectionate attitude and eagerness to please are a welcome distraction. Especially after yesterday's shitfest.
"Well then, go ahead and take us home." I say and set her down.
I prepare to be grabbed and run across the city. Only to be lifted up off the ground by an iridescent disc.
I forgot she could do this.
"You might wanna sit down." She says. "I don't want to have to catch you if you lose your footing."
I go ahead and do so. Content to take the time to enjoy the view. I can see why Sarah, Crystal, Eric, and Vicky enjoy this so much.
Before long we're descending on the front lawn of the house.
"Why don't you do that more often?" I ask as I step down. "Seems like a more effective method of travel than the running you always do."
"I just enjoy the thrill and excitement of running and jumping more. And this is more energy intensive than it seems. Speaking of~" She says coyly.
"Yeah alright, I swear you're a glutton. At some point we're going to find out if there really is a limit to your storage capacity."
"Never~" She says playfully. "My hunger knows no bounds!~"
I go ahead and lob a spear at her. We've been doing this at least once a day. If nothing else it's helped me keep my technique refined, and even helps improve my ability to call on it faster.
After the little light show we head inside. I see Mark passed out on the recliner and Kitsu goes over to join him. Worming her way under the blanket, laying on his stomach and chest to rest the top of her head under his chin as she curls up to cuddle her tail.
It's a heartwarming sight, I'll admit. And I give Kitsu another kiss on the forehead before going to change out of my work clothes.
I pass her room, now adorned with Bleeding wisteria growing in an arch over her bed's headboard. It's a vine she made, it grows bleeding heart flowers that glow a soft pink off and on. And they make her room smell like watermelon scented candles.
She reallylikes things that glow. Or at least she likes making things that glow. That or she's doing what every child does when they find something new and interesting.
I keep my walk through the kitchen and to my room. Where I change out into a loose tee and sweats. Afterwards I head to the kitchen and pull out some leftover fried rice. I heat it up and go to sit down and eat it.
Only to struggle with the chair. I can barely get it to budge.
"What the, did someone glue the chair to the floor?" I think out loud.
*Brzzt*
I go to check my phone to see it's a text from Kitsu.
(That's my fault. I made the wood denser to support Gullys weight. I can fix it later, I think)-K
'Don't get upset. It's just a chair. You literally have several spares in the garage.' I calm myself.
It's genuinely disturbing how good her ears are. The hearing aides she got from Kid Win do nothing to dampen sound. They just prevent higher pitches from hurting her.
"It's fine. Just switch it with one in the garage." I say out loud.
It's like talking to a ghost.
(K)-K
"Use real words Kitsu." I say irritably.
I hate text language.
(Kay)-K
I sit in the other chair and eat my fried rice in silence.
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Kitsu POV
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I opt, not, to tell her that I can't hear Vicky in the house. That she probably snuck out when I left to go get her.
She has enough on her plate stressing her out. And I doubt Vicky's stupid enough to get into trouble right after what happened.
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-Meanwhile-
-Fortress construction site, docks-
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Neil "Manpower" Pelham POV
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Packing up my equipment in the truck , I hop in the passenger and take off the helmet. End of the day, just about everyone's already packed up and headed home. Just me and the foreman left really.
"Hooo~ just a few more months." I say to myself. Then I go from assistant foreman to a full foreman.
I'd be there sooner, but I made the dumbass decision to overachieve in the yard my first year here. And that stunted my progression. Made myself too valuable to the field.
"Rough day?" I hear next to me in the drivers seat.
I don't recognize the voice, and that puts me on guard.
Looking over to the thin redhead in a basic uniform. I relax, slightly.
He could be a new hire or a transfer they forgot to inform me of. Wouldn't be the first time.
"You know how it is, same shit, different day." I answer. "So, who are you?"
"Names Jackson sir, first day on the job. Got my own CDL so they said, great! Get in the truck." He says with a laugh.
His name badge says Jason. There's a spot of blood on his uniform. Just below the neck, and I recognize the mustard stain on the breast of the suit.
"Right then, so. You get nose bleeds?" I ask.
"No? Why?"
"Is that uniform a hand-me-down?" I ask as I start to pull on the energy in me, holding it just under the surface of my skin.
"Whatya mean?" He asks confused.
"You said your name's Jackson, but the badge says Jason. There's a line of blood on your collar and that mustard stain is awfully similar to Jason Petroskevich's after-"
There's a flash of red and before I can even think. Years of hero work save me as my reflexes kick in. I twist in the seat to lean back and use both legs to kick the man. Hard enough to send us both flying out of the truck, breaking both doors off in the process.
I hit the ground rolling to a three point land and dash around the front of the truck and get the guy on the other side.
Nothing. He's not there, no scuff marks in the dirt either.
"Hey! Pelham what the hell?" I hear Charles ask.
I turn to my boss to warn him to run. Only to watch as a deep red tendril pierces his chest.
"CHARLES!"
I follow the tendril to see it coming out of a man on top of the truck in a red and black bodysuit.
"SoRry. No WitNeSEs" The warbled voice of the man sounds out.
Now fully cloaked in my field, I run towards and jump up on the hood and to the roof of the truck. Blocking another tendril that pops out the mans back. It tries to wrap around my arm before a surge from my field causes it to melt.
"YoU'Re LIkE a LiVInG bUg ZapPEr." The man says.
I say nothing as I throw a down hook. The man crouches and jumps back to land on all fours further down the truck to dodge.
I rush forward and throw a fury of crosses. He dodges the first two but I manage to hit the third square in his chest. My fist hits and punches right through his chest.
He leans forward a bit at that. With my hand still in his chest.
"DaMN. At LeASt GiVE a LiTtle WarNing, BeForE yoU StICK iT In LiKe tHat." He gives out weakly.
"Knock it off." I say and prepare a charge. "I've been in the game far too long to be fooled by that. I know exactly how much force is needed to bunch through someone's chest."
I unleash the charge at point blank inside the guy.
"AaAaAaAaAGgGGHhhHh!"
I throw him off the truck and onto the ground.
"Let me guess. You were going to play dead or appeal to my sense of mercy? Get my guard down?" I say as jump down and land next to him.
His chest fills back in as he gets back up, and the tendrils shrink in size.
'A regenerator, figured as much.' I think to myself.
He wouldn't have tried that stunt unless he could come back from it. Or was just plain suicidal.
"So, what's your deal?" I ask and kick him over onto his back.
"Pah! Hahahahahaha! I kNew this wASn't gOiNg to wORk!" He laughs out. "But yOu KnOw hOw iT is, EvEn if We KNow bEtTer. We stILl gOTta see WhAt hAPPeNs."
I'm forced back against the truck as a series of bladed tendrils whips out from his shoulders and try to guillotine me.
He takes my momentary retreat to jump back up and rush me.
His fingers extend to bladed claws and add to the barrage as I side step out of the way.
*Rrrrgggnngg*
His claws rip through the metal of the truck with an ear-piercing screech. He then turns to me and charges forward. Lashing his bladed whips with surprising speed.
"CoME on! Say SoMEthINg! DoN't JuSt stANd ThEre!" He says as I'm forced to take the defensive.
He's faster, more agile, and can attack from a range.
I'm fucked! My field is close quarters only. And if I can't get close I can't do anything short of tossing things at him. My field may be strong, but it does have a limit. If this continues then it's only a matter of time until I'm left powerless.
'Time, time! I just need a little time to come up with something or call for help!'
Coming up with nothing better, I charge forward and decide risking the claws is better than waiting for him to wear down my field and eviscerate me.
He swings his arm down as I charge in. And I tank the hit to get in close. Getting in place I throw a charged uppercut that launches the villain off the ground and sending his jaw flying from his body.
As he flips in the air and lands wobbly on his feet about three yards from me, his tendrils recede slightly as his jaw slowly reconstructs itself.
"You know, I'd never fought another cape before." He says as his jaw finishes regenerating. Revealing the pale fleshed jaw of the man who killed Charles, and likely Jason as well. "Didn't know how I'd measure up."
I've figured it out. He's controlling his blood the same way Marquis controlled his bones. And he's using that to regenerate.
"So you picked a hero with two decades of experience under his belt?" I ask.
"Wasn't my pick. But you know what they say." He says with a shrug as the red forms back over his jaw. "Go BiG Or gO HOme."
Looks like it's a war of attrition.
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Firebreather POV
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God DAMN!
Day four of nonstop flying!
I finally made it to Brockton. Now I just need to find the Pelhams or the Dallons. Or get a nap to sleep off the jet lag.
As I angle over the coast line and glide across the city, I can't help but marvel at the view. I'd never seen the ocean before. It's like the desert, but, shiny and a little blue.
As I glide, looking for an out of way place to land, I hear a bit of a clattering sound. Which is weird because I'm more than a hundred feet in the air.
I fan out my wings and come to stop. Hovering mid air as I look around underneath me for what might've made the noise.
Let's see, car, car, empty lot, building, building, construction site with a dead guy and two people fighting, car.
Wait.
Looking back over I turn just in time to watch a guy in a jumpsuit get tossed into a stack of I-beams by a guy in red.
"Shit! Day one and already a fight!" I say and nose dive.
I don't know what's going on. But a cape that's attacking a civilian is clearly a villain.
I swoop down and use myself as a shield for the guy. Blocking a scrape as the clawed hand is forced back.
"WhAT thE heLL is ThIS? YoU Got fRieNdS NeiL?" The man is red says.
"I wouldn't say we're friends. But we're certainly against you." I say confidently.
"Okay, what the hell. Just hold him off while I call for help!" Neil says.
I'm assuming that's Neil.
"Not a problem." I say and flex my wings out. "Heads up Red!"
I flap my wings back to give myself a boost forward. Charging to him as he jumps up and above me. I don't let him get away with it as I kick off the ground and grab his ankle to slam him back down on his back.
Not giving him a chance I place my clawed foot on his chest.
"Move, and I roast you." I say as I let out a little fire from my mouth.
"OkAy LiZArD BoY, WhAT's YouR stOry? You SoMe loNg LosT sOn of LUnG?" He asks.
"Maybe? I dunno." I say with a shrug. "Who's Lung?"
He stares for a bit, and I see Neil reach a truck without doors and hop in.
'Wait, is he leaving me?' I think in slight disbelief.
Oh, wait. No he's just rummaging around. He's got a phone out now and is calling someone.
"WeLL, ThiS wEnT titS Up." The man under me says.
"Well, you put yourself here." I say to him.
"MaYbe, BuT." He says as the red and black of his suit starts to slide away. Revealing a pale redheaded man with soulless green eyes. "A good performer always has a few tricks up his sleeve."
"What?" I ask seriously as I get a strong sense of dread.
"Move!" Neil yells as I'm grabbed from behind by a bunch of tendrils and tossed back.
I tumble and land on my back a ways away.
'The fuck just happened?' I think to myself as I get back up.
The guy's fully suited again and now running towards the truck.
"No!" I get up sprint after him.
However, he runs past the truck and to the dead guy on the other side of it. Sticking his hand in the guys chest, I keep up my charge and tackle him off the dead guy.
We twist around in a flurry of smacks, punches, kicks and grabs. All ending with me on top of him in an arm lock.
"TwO oN One. LiTt-"
"SHUT UP!" I silence him with a head-butt to the back of his head.
After a bit of struggle with him creating more blood whips and lashing them out, he finally goes limp. His body suit receding.
"Not falling for that again!" I say and fly up.
I stay here, dangling the man in an arm lock, choking him out before something crashes into my side. Forcing me to drop the man as I crash back to the ground. I look to see a white dressed blonde with a golden tiara.
"Another freak in town? Good. I need this." She says darkly.
"Wait! I'm not the bad guy here! He is!" I say and point the rapidly fleeing man.
"An orange scaled freak holds up a man twenty feet in the air and I'm expected to believe he's the good guy? Sure." She scoffs and crosses her arms.
"Victoria!" Neil shouts.
She whips around to the winded, bruised, and slightly bloody man as he slumps out of the truck.
"Uncle Neil?" She says in surprise.
"What the hell kid? He was saving me from him!" He yells and points to the guy who runs into the middle of the street and kicks a manhole up.
He gives a mocking salute before taking the manhole and jumping down. Closing it behind him.
"Damnit!" I curse.
"Fucking hell Vicks. At least tell me you brought Amy or Kitsu. And where's Sarah?" He says while panting.
Did he say Kitsu?
"Um no and I don't know." She answers slowly.
"Well then how the hell did you get here?" He asks.
"Well, I was around and saw the orange guy choking out another guy in the air and well." She says awkwardly.
"Wait, you know Kitsu?!" I ask excitedly.
"She's, kinda my sister. I guess." The Victoria says with a shrug. "Why, you got beef with her or something?"
"I don't know what that means." I say and go to explain that I'm here to join New Wave.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt. But the adrenaline's wearing off, and I'm pretty sure I cracked a rip or two." Neil says. "Could really use a ride to the hospital."
I jog over intent on helping Neil up and flying him to a hospital. Wherever one is.
As I do so, I get blocked by Victoria as she puts herself in between me and the injured man.
"Uh-uh. I'll take him. I don't know you and I don't trust you."
"Oh, well to start, I'm Firebreather." I say.
"Kay, where's the rest of your costume?" She asks as she picks Neil up from under his shoulder.
"Vicks, I'mma save you from shoving your foot into your mouth. I think he's a Case 53. Not a breaker." Neil says as she floats him up.
"I don't know what either of those mean." I say honestly.
"That sounds about right." Neil says.
"Anyway, Kitsu. You said she's like your sister?" I ask.
"Only on paper." She mutters.
"Then that makes you either Glory Girl or Panacea. Which means you're a part of New Wave right?!"
"Yes, I am." She confirms curtly.
"Perfect! I'm here to join!" I say excitedly.
There's a bit of a silence before Neil says something.
"Where are all these people keep coming from?"
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-Medhal General Hospital, 6:20pm-
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Kitsu POV
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I managed to convince dad to take a drive to hopefully cheer him up a bit. And he decided we might as well pick up Amy in the process seeing as she's done with whatever they needed her for. Only just as we're walking in.
"Okay, you can find Kitsu at Arcadia just after twelve tomorrow. And neither of you saw me here. If anyone asks. Lizard boy flew you all the way here." She says and turns around.
'DAMN IT VICKY!'
Only to stop wide eyed in horror as she sees dad, arms crossed and looking down at her. With me hiding behind his back. Peeking out slightly to see.
"Um, it's uh, not what it looks like?" She defends weakly.
"Tell that to your mother." Dad says. "Because it looks like you snuck out when you're supposed to be grounded."
"Well, you see-"
"Save it. We're here to pick up Amy. You can wait here."
Dad's mad! He's never mad!
"Would now be a bad time to introduce myself?" The orange scaled, winged blonde guy asks. Who is for some reason only in jeans.
"Yes." Neil says from the counter.
As that happens, Amy walks out the double doors that are past the check in. Looking at her phone and sipping from a juice box.
She looks up tiredly, and freezes like a deer in the headlights before slowly turning back around.
"Amy, come on. We're heading home. Neil, we'll catch up later. Vicky? Your coming with and you can explain to your mother why you're here, and not at home." He says sternly.
I hug his side to try and calm him down. And shoot Vicky a glare for upsetting him. Seriously, it's been a day. How stupid can you be?
"Hey, real quick, cracked ribs." Neil says raising a hand.
I run forward and heal him real quick. He has some internal bleeding, three broken ribs, a dislocated plate and a few fractures on twelve different bones. Not to mention the contusions.
I fix them with a few barely audible cracks. And he grits his teeth for a few seconds before standing up straight.
"Right, well. Thanks kid. Can I borrow someone's phone? I left mine at the site and Sarah's probably freaking out."
Dad tosses him his phone as Amy walks past me. I catch up and walk in step with her.
"I'll show them where the car is." I tell dad.
He reaches down and rubs my head affectionately as I walk past.
"Sure thing sweetie, I'll be there as soon as uncle Neil's done."
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-Dallon House, 7pm-
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I run out of the car and into the house before anyone else can.
Spotting mom on the couch as she looks up to see me. I go over and sit in her lap to nuzzle her.
"Hey there sweetheart." She says as she brings her arms up to hug me. "Go on and go to your room. I'm about to murder Vicky."
"But I wanna be with you!" I say and hold her arm.
"Kitsu, now. Or your plant privileges are revoked."
Well there go my hopes of keeping her calm.
I slide off her and run to my room just in time for dad to open the door.
"Amy, room. Mark, stay."
I go ahead and play my music again.
I don't care for Vicky. She can do whatever, hell she can join the merchants or the empire for all I care. But I care about mom, dad, and Amy. And Vicky's carefree, reckless, rush head in attitude is hurting them more than it is her.
"I just went out for a quick flight! I swear! It's not a big deal!"
Mom is afraid of New Wave crashing in blaze of scandals and disgrace like what happened to Team Go, another superhero family team. Amy loves Vicky and hates to see her in any sort of distress. Dad is left depressed as he doesn't know how to deal with all this.
And Vicky clearly doesn't see where she's going wrong with everything. Mom believes her when she says her powers are hard to control. But it's bullshit, she just doesn't care because she's never had to deal with any real consequences.
"Then why are you in costume?"
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Mark 'Flashbang' Dallon POV
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"Any time you want to patrol, and I mean any time. You are to stay with your father or me. Understood?! And if he goes on patrol, you go with him." Carol finally finishes. "And you see the specialist starting next week. Every Saturday."
"Mom please! You're making a bigger deal out of this than it is!" Vicky begs with tears in her eyes. "And that's not fair! Dad never patrols!"
"I've been patrolling at least twice a week for the last month with Kitsu." I add.
Though I'm ignored. I'm mostly just here to show unity between me and Carol, she takes the reins in these things.
"Am I? How about this, look at it from my perspective. You spend the better half of your life maintaining a team and movement, one that has almost no government funding, no outreach, and no sustainable recruitment. Then your daughter comes along."
"Mom I just-"
"Interrupt me again and you lose your phone." Carol stops her. "Good, now where was I? Oh right. Your daughter comes along, she has powers and joins the movement. Great, wonderful. Then it comes to turn out she's been leaving people near dead and crippled! All the while your other daughter has been playing clean up to ensure the other doesn't get in trouble. Not realizing that a single serious charge is all it takes to ruin everything you worked your ass off for and spitting in the face of the movements entire meaning of accountability." She finishes. "And the best part? You ground her, and she says 'Fuck you mom! I do what I want!' and sneaks out the day after she's grounded."
Vicky is now full on crying.
The silence that follows is thick enough to be cut with a brick.
It's harsh, but true. I saw the possible charges. New Wave would not survive the scandal. And if we somehow did. The odds of others coming out against Vicky would ruin the image of capes taking accountability that we've built up.
"Is this a teenage rebellion thing? Is this just rebellious behavior?" Carol asks after a bit. "I don't, I just can't right now. Go to your room. If you sneak out again you're grounded until school starts next year."
Vicky gets up off the couch and hurries past to her room. Tears staining her face as she walks past.
Carol walks forward and takes the seat Vicky just had. While I sit next to her as she massages her temples.
*Crash*
And there goes Vicky's door again.
"Kitsu can you fix that?" Carol says aloud.
"Sure!" I hear from the other room.
Still not over how odd that is, that she can hear all of us from her room at all times.
"If it happens again we're getting rid of it." Carols says.
"That's a bit far don't you think?" I say.
"She clearly doesn't want it if she keeps breaking it." She counters.
I just sit here and hold her. We can't really do anything but wait for the woman Vicky put in a coma to wake up. And if she doesn't.
I'm taken from my thoughts as Kitsu pops her head around the corner.
"Done." She says.
"Thank you sweetheart." Carol says.
Kitsu walks over and sits down next to Carol. She then climbs over to sit on her knees and hug her. While placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Kitsu, what are you doing?" Carol asks.
"Loving on you. It makes mehappy when you do it. So I figured it'd make you happy if I did it." She says simply with a shy smile.
"You're so sweet. Come here you little munchkin!" Carol groans and grabs her, pulling her in tight for a hug.
"Aah! I'm being attacked!" Kitsu squeals happily. "She's trying to squeeze me to death! Dad! Help!"
I chuckle to myself as I watch Kitsu's tail go crazy at Carol smothering her.
'Yeah, everything will work itself out.' I think to myself. 'Hopefully.'
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-Tuesday April 20, Arcadia High-
-Biology class-
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Kitsu POV
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Mom and dad wouldn't let me skip. And I barely avoided getting in trouble for skipping first period while waiting for them to get up.
Anyway.
I'm heading out of Biology class when I'm stopped by Mrs. Kindley.
"You talked last week of you messing with your, biology powers." She says. "I was wondering if you had any results?"
"I do! I made Bluebells that chime and glow! As well as a glowing bleeding heart vine! And a glowing petunia." I list off.
"The chiming Bluebells sound interesting. I'd love to see those if you ever get a chance."
"Was that a pun?" I ask.
"It was, but to get to the point. I was wondering if you'd be interested in a few beetles. I have a friend in Boston who is a coleopterist, and was wondering if you'd be interested. He mostly studies the Iron-Clad Beetle. But he has a few of the more interesting ones as well. Including a few Bombardier beetles." She says.
'MINE!'
"Yes! I want~! I would love that! Including the Iron-Clad one. That sounds cool!" I say excitedly.
"I'll let him know. Also, is it possible to grow the flowers you made?"
"No, apparently it's against several laws to create a new species of anything and to introduce it to a new environment without going through proper channels. So I made them incapable of reproduction." I explain with a shake of my head.
She hums a little in at that.
"Just making sure you're being responsible with it." She says after a bit of thought.
"Don't worry. Mom won't even let me experiment without Amy nearby to supervise." I explain.
"Why Amy? Isn't she just a healer?" She asks with a tilt of her head.
"She is, but her power also comes with an extensive knowledge on how biology works. So she's able to know what's dangerous and what's not." I explain partially.
The number of people who know just what Amy can do can be counted on one hand with fingers left over. Even then, only me and Vicky know she can mess with brains.
"Right, well, that's all I wanted. I hope you have a good lunch." She says with a smile. "I'll let you know when I get those beetles."
"Thank you!" I tell her and head out.
I make my way straight home. I've decided to just not go to lunch the rest of the year. Either I sit with complete strangers, no. Or I sit on either side of the Wards. On one end is Dennis, and on the other is Vicky's tagalongs. And all they wanna do when I'm around is discuss my relationship with Vista. Or ask other things I'm not comfortable answering. Like if I use pet shampoo or regular shampoo.
I use pet shampoo for my tail. But that is not something I want people knowing. Only mom and dad know about that. And Amy, because she's eerily perceptive. But she hasn't said anything about it other than to confirm it.
Making my way back home I charge in and tackle dad, whose at the kitchen table with uncle Neil and aunt Sarah.
"Daddy!" I say as I land in his lap.
"Woah! Warn me next time Kiddo!" He says with a small laugh.
"Jesus, I nearly blasted you!" Sarah says.
Looking over I can see that uncle Neil is sitting back down and aunt Sarah is as well.
"Eh, wouldn't have done anything to me." I say with a shrug. "Dad! I need your help!"
"Not now sweetie, we're trying to figure something out." He says. "Maybe later."
"I don't have until later. I need to get this done before Sunday or Gully will have to go back the Wards." I explain.
"We're trying to figure out who attacked Neil and what they want." Sarah says. "Gully's life is not in danger."
"Can you give me a description? My thinker power relies on an abstract concept of memory. If you can give me enough details I can tell you more about them." I say.
Sarah and Neil share a look. And I take dads arm and wrap it around me while taking the other and putting it on my head. He immediately gets to work and I melt against him.
"Guess it wouldn't hurt. He was lanky, Caucasian, green eyed and had red hair. He controlled his own blood similar to the Marquis; made an entire body suit out of it." Neil says.
"Hmm, can you draw a picture? Of him in his body suit?" I ask.
"Yeah, easily." He says.
I hop down off of dad and go get my crayons and some printer paper. Coming back I hand them to Neil.
After a bit he draws up what looks like a Rorschach Spider-man. Which could only mean one thing.
"Cletus Kassidy. He's a true psychopath who murdered his grandma, mothers dog, and burned down the orphanage he was raised in after his mom died from his dad killing her. She was trying to murder him after she found out about the dog and his dad got life for killing her. I may have gotten some of those details wrong. But the gist of it is what matters." I say. "He goes by Carnage."
"Okay, blatant disregard of the unwritten rules aside. We were more concerned over his powers." Sarah says.
"Oh I highly doubt he'd care about the rules, he attacked out of costume and at your day job. But in regards to his powers. That's a bit more fuzzy. His power comes from his blood and his ability to harden and reinforce it. He has a healing factor and can lift several tons on his own, and he can walk on walls. Oh! And he has a limited capacity to shapeshift. Fire and high decibel sounds are his weakness." I explain. "Now! Come on! We gotta go!"
"Alright, where do we need to go?" Dad says as he stands up. "Neil, Sarah, are you alright if we cut it here?"
"Yeah, we should be good. We still need to talk to that Firebreather guy and he said he'd be around at one. And then there's that Ken kid's parents." Neil says.
"Ben." Sarah corrects.
"Good, now let's go!" I say and tug on dad's arm.
"I need to get my keys! And you still haven't said where we're going!" He says jovially.
"The Dockworkers Association!"
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Finally!
Even being apart of a government approved cape team. Being labeled the eighth, arguably, strongest parahuman in North America. And a whole bunch of other stuff.
I still need my dad to walk me into place because I'm a child.
Anyway we're being escorted to the back office by Daniel Hebert himself. Who didn't believe the guy at the front when he said New Wave was here for him. So he came to see us himself and invited us back.
"Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice Mr. Hebert." Dad says as we walk through the office doors.
"It's quite alright. Besides, you said you have a proposal for the Dockworkers Association?" Daniel replies.
"Well, she does." Dad says and gestures down to me.
"Hi~!" I say and wave my hand.
He looks likes he's conflicted on whether or not to take me seriously. He purses his lips before taking a breath and giving a smile.
"Okay then, I'll assume you're being serious. So I'll hear you out." He finally says.
I give him a winning smile and activate my love me power.
"I wanna get the ferry up and running again!"
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Bonus
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Joseph "Scarecrow" Crane POV
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It's taking some time. But I'm starting to understand what all these papers mean.
For one, there's P, O, and R values. P, refers to the classification of powers each vial has. Master, mover, tinker, things like that. O, is how unique the power is. R, determines the rate at which the vial produces deviancies, however what those deviances are is not explored. For all I know and can gather, it's likely a rate of how reliable the vial is to produce a certain power. A rate of 0 means a near guarantee of deviancy, meaning the vial's recorded data is unreliable. Whereas a score of 5 is highly reliable.
There's a single R-0 in here. Might use it to see what happens if nothing else. Though there is the note that on average, there's a twenty percent chance someone who takes a random vial will die. And I have no way of knowing who will or won't die.
I'm thinking I can make it into an aerosol. Turn the vial into a gas that'll evaporate and cling to the closest compatible individual. Get a group in a room and unleash the gas. The trouble is getting it to occupy a greater volume of space. For some reason the liquid in the vials refuse to take up a greater amount of space. Even when separated! It makes no sense!
"There's something I'm missing." I muse to myself.
I'm not willing to waste these on a one in five chance. I don't know how to recover them if they kill the person.
I'll have to come back to this later. I've been here all day and I still gave a gang to run.
Not to mention Cletus's failed hit to deal with.
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Bonus dos
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Mike "Lightstar" Freeman POV
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"What are you thinking about honey?" My wife, Amanda, asks from the counter of our kitchen. "You've been awfully quiet all day."
"New Wave." I reply simply.
"What about them? I thought you didn't like talking about that part of your life." She says as she finishes up with the dishes.
"I don't. I haven't heard about them in years. Haven't even thought about them in months." I answer. "Now they got a new face, and they didn't need to be born into it. Well, kinda, she's a Case 53. So I doubt she had any choice on having a secret identity."
"And I'm guessing hearing about them all over social media is bringing back bad memories?" She asks.
"Yeah, that damned movement. Bringing kids into it? Sacrificing any chance they could get at a normal life?" I leave the rest unsaid.
"Let's just go to bed. It's late and there's no use fretting over what can't be changed." She tells me.
"Yeah, you're right." I say and follow her out the kitchen.
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A/N If Carnage seemed weaker than what he should be. That's because he is. He's controlling his blood to make himself stronger and faster, and Worm is a world where Capes develop new uses for their powers by battling other capes. And Cletus has never fought a cape before, for all intents and purposes. This is Cletus's first super powered fight. He is by all rights a new cape.
He will get stronger.
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The entire Ferry idea goes to Sarah2cold. And it'll be expanded on in the next chapter.
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I actually did the math for how long it would take Firebreather to reach Brockton Bay.
Vegas to Boston is about 2715 miles. And I put Firebreather's flight speed at roughly 50mph when flying in a straight line.
And that's an underestimate. In the movie he caused, and then out sped, an avalanche. Those things can reach an upwards of 200 miles per hour.
Taking away 28 hours for seven hours of sleep a day. And he'd reach Boston, which is just south of Brockton, in four days going 40 mph. Seeing as Nye county is further west than Vegas, and Brockton Bay is further north of Boston. I find four days to be reasonable assuming he's going full speed.
Damn, I felt a little like Wiz from Death Battle there.
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QUESTIONS!
FOR NEWB
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FOR Kitsu
Draco0905: You ignored Akiralator for misspelling your name, which is better than not spelling it at all. Also you responded with a response that said you weren't going to respond.
Kitsu: Don't blame me, blame the idiot who can't double check his own work properly.
NEWB: I WAS SICK FOR FOUR DAYS LAST WEEK! GIMME A BREAK!
Kitsu: NEVER!
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As always, leave a comment and tell me what you think! It helps me write and gives me ideas moving forward.