Current Training: Half Devil Race Change (5/20) - (7/20)
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
Hebert Household, Brockton Bay
It's morning time.
You assume. You really don't care what time it is because Past You made sure to make your Masters bed both huge, and much more comfortable than anything else you've ever slept on top of.
"Why isn't he getting up?"
"Cus he's stupid!"
"You're just angry because he has a sword and makes fun of you. Seriously, why isn't he getting up? We always get up to train together."
You can dimly hear people talking nearby, but you barely register the words before they are filed off into the part of your mind designated for things that aren't attacking you and are therefore - not your problem.
"Just order him to wake up. He's ours so he has to!"
"He's not y- ours. He's not a thing. I'm just worried that maybe he's sick? Can Emmy get sick?"
"He's not sick! He's just broken! I bet there's just something wrong with this guy or something. Quick, make him be someone else!"
"I can't just- I mean I could but- I'm not doing that!"
"Fiiiiine. I'll do it. Hey! Wake up!"
You feel a soft nudge on your back, which annoys you, so you roll over to get away from it.
"Hey! Don't ignore me! I own you!"
The nudge is more of a stinging pain this time - like a small person just kidney punched you - but sensing no actual danger it serves mostly to annoy you.
You also don't want it to keep happening however, so you lazily reach out and grab whatever just punched you, then roll over on top of it.
"Get- hey! Get off! You're heavy and you smell like your whore sword! Emmy!"
"...mmm. No."
"Did- are you awake right now? Let go of me! You- you adulterous sword user!" Nemesis screeches, squirming in your grip.
You fake a snore, and the small sword spirit inarticulately yells in frustration.
"Emmy can we please train now?" Taylor finally interjects, giving you pause. You can feel the mild anxiety pulsing from her via your link. The issue obviously isn't a matter of wanting more powers, or even that she takes issue with you disobeying her.
The issue is that she has a routine and greatly dislikes breaking it. There isn't much about your Master you could conceivably describe as normal - but the way she hews towards a set routine wherever possible is definitely the most 'normal' thing about her.
You have, for months now, gotten up at this hour to teach her whatever esoteric skill or tidbit of information interested your then emulations the most. The problem is, you don't have anything to teach her at the moment.
So, you do what this emulation always does.
You act like an unruly child.
"...No." You say lazily, rolling over, grabbing her about the waist, then dragging her back into bed you ignore the squawking sound she makes as she hits the bed - but you open your eyes just enough to wink at Nemesis when you hear her giggling at seeing someone else receiving the same treatment as her.
The sword spirits expression instantly becomes pouty at your look though she returns to giggling when you close your eyes again in faux sleep.
"Is… is this the training? It's- it's like a Karate Kid thing right? I have to get you out of bed? Right?!" Taylor asks aloud, her tone of voice somewhere between panicked and insistent. You can tell she's not gonna let this training thing go - so you just apply slightly more pressure to the arm preventing her from shoving you bodily out of bed and smile.
Unfortunately, this means that - instead of just sleeping like you wanted - you spend the next two hours functionally wrestling with Taylor and Nemesis as the pair do their best to try and force you out of bed.
They have to limit their strength of course, as neither of them wants to obliterate their bedroom, but it's still not nearly as relaxing as you intended.
It was fun though.
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
Alcott Household, Brockton Bay
"It doesn't count."
"Look, just because you wont get any cool powers from it doesn't mean it's not training." You reply lazily, arms behind your head as you make the slow meandering walk to Dinah Alcott's home.
"That's exactly what that means!" Taylor fires back at you - although there is little to no heat in the declaration.
The morning had gone about how you had expected it to. Mem and Mun had observed your new form with mild interest at the breakfast table, asking questions about his world, his abilities, and his habits. But neither of them had been especially surprised or focused on you. At this point your frequent changes in form and personality are barely worth commenting on by those who spend significant time around your Master.
You would be lying if you said you were pleased by that. You've found over time that freaking people out with the sheer absurdity of your existence is a guilty pleasure of yours. Come to think of it, you didn't even get to make the sentient vending machine joke this time around.
Hm.
"Okay so it wasn't training. But I can't teach you to be like me until we've got wheels. Just trust me on this one alright?" You say with a grin.
"Emmy, I can't drive. I'm fifteen." Taylor returns to you with a sigh.
"I can." You respond confidently.
"You don't have a driver's license." She fires back.
"Don't need one." You mutter as you reach the Alcott's house.
"What was that?"
"Oh look, we're here!" You say loudly, knocking on the door before Taylor can really respond to you.
The door is answered not too much later by Dinah's Mother who your current emulation notes is looking pretty good for a woman her age. Unfortunately for you, some small amount of that opinion must have slipped down your link to Taylor, because she is watching you through lidded eyes.
Deciding not to say anything stupid for once, you plaster a friendly smile on your face and greet her.
"Hello- oh. Hello Taylor and…" the woman greets carefully, clearly not recognizing you.
"Emmy. Don't feel bad about not recognizing me, I've never been this sexy before." You snap off automatically, earning a raised eyebrow from Mrs. Alcott and a stomp on your foot from your Master.
"I… see. Well, what can I do for you?" She asks, not stepping out of the doorway or giving any indication she intends to let you in even though there's only one person you would come to visit here in the first place.
"They came to hang out." Dinah offers.
From behind you.
You and your Master spin around to find the the brunette girl wearing a casual looking dress that goes down to her mid calf, wearing a bulky backpack, and bouncing a rubber ball on the sidewalk.
"Why-" her clearly beleaguered Mother asks in a tired but resigned tone.
"Knew they'd come and was hiding in the tree." Dinah says.
"How long were you hiding in the tree." Her mother asks suspiciously, glancing at the single large oak tree dominating the front lawn of the home.
Dinah has the good grace to blush at this.
"Well I didn't know when they were coming!" She argues.
"Sweetheart, I love you, but you spent hours hiding in a tree so you could surprise your idol for two seconds. You're going to get sick." Her Mother says in response.
"Mooooom! She's not my idol!" Dinah cries out hurriedly, glancing at Taylor then away quickly.
"You spend all of your allowance on posters of her and you made me get you a replica of her sword for-"
"Moooom!" Dinah barks out rushing past you to start lightly pushing her mother back into her house.
"I'll- I'm just gonna be a minute! I'll be right there I promise!" She rushes out, before slamming the door behind her.
You and your Master stare blankly at the door for a moment before a thought occurs to you.
"…do we actually have a guy making posters of you or should we call your Dad to get a Lawyer?" You ask curiously.
Taylor blinks, clearly unsure of how she feels about this.
"I guess? I don't really mind though. Maybe I can ask Jess to figure it out? That's a thing secretaries do right?" She asks.
You are about to answer when Dinah finally steps out of the house - closing the door quickly behind her to stop her Mother from getting a word in edgewise.
"Okaygreatweshouldgonow!" She blurts, quickly grabbing you and Taylor by the hand and dragging you up the street.
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
The Heap, Brockton Bay
You end up spending part of your morning with Taylor and Dinah humouring the younger girl's questions.
For all she insists that Taylor is not her Hero, she very clearly idolizes her in the way many other young women - your Master included - probably idolized Alexandria.
The fact that this makes Taylor supremely uncomfortable seems to sail right over Dinah's head. It makes her so uncomfortable in fact, that after getting ice cream and taking a leisurely walk through the Boardwalk, your Master promptly opts to deposit Dinah with Mem, Mun, and Aisha the second she reaches the Heap.
Without even bothering to question why Aisha would possibly be in Mun's workshop in the first place.
"It's not that bad." You send to her as she flees into the castle, leaving you with the kids.
"Yes it is! I shouldn't be anyone's hero! I've barely had my powers for a few months! It feels like it's all I can do to keep things normal for a few weeks before some new stupid crisis comes along!"
"That's the life. There's always some new bullshit. That's why you gotta learn to have fun with it. Crack a joke now and then. Have a superpowered pillow fight or something." You respond with a mental shrug.
"Thank's. I hate it. I'm gonna try and relax for a bit." She responds in a terse tone.
"Is that why you're headed to the super magical resurrection room in the basement? Complex magic is… relaxing?" You respond with a snort.
"Yes." Is your Master's blunt reply.
No more communication seems to be forthcoming, so you turn your attention to the other occupants of the room.
"Sooooo…." You say, stretching out the word.
"Is this one a narc bird brain?" Aisha asks suddenly, having been mostly just watching you the entire time.
"N- wait, I told you I don't want my Cape name to be Bird Brain!" Munin cries out, changing into a bird and flying at Aisha, flapping about her head and smacking her with her wings in a playful manner.
"Hey! I just got these braids done you stupid- Mem!" She cries out half laughing half complaining as she lifts her hands to fend off the aggravated bird girl.
"While I can compel obedience, I do not believe it is morally appropriate to do so." Mem states blandly, side stepping around the squabbling pair to stand next to you and shyly grabbing your hand.
"I also do not believe my b-brother-" she adds, stumbling over the last word and shooting a questioning glance at you.
You nod encouragingly and she continues.
"I do not believe my brother will tell on us." She repeats, tone firming up.
"82.4% chance he does, but only after we've gotten away with it." Dinah puts forth, hopping from foot to foot with nervous energy from her morning with Taylor.
The rest if the girls pause to regard her for a second.
"I keep forgetting you can do that." Aisha finally admits, grabbing Mun and holding her at arms length to protect her freshly braided hair.
"She's lying, she totally just doesn't want to take advantage of you." Mun squawks loudly.
"Bitch!" Aisha yells, blushing slightly and hurling the bird girl half way across the room before she rights herself in the air and returns to a human form, landing squarely on her feet.
"No you!" Munin returns triumphantly.
"Guys you're embarrassing us!" Dinah hisses.
"These are my friends." Mem says blandly. You can't tell if she is making a sarcastic joke or just a statement of fact.
Possibly both.
"Alright, alright calm down. Tell you what. I'm gonna check with 'Wreck about my wheels and if they're ready, not only will I not 'narc' on you - I'll even drive you to the crime." You say with a smile.
"What's the catch?" Aisha asks pointedly.
"You gotta let me come with you." You say immediately - not bothering to hide your ulterior motive.
"Pass."she responds instantly.
"Oh come on! You guys are like, our version of the Wards! But with hookers and black jack! I'm technically only like three months old so I should totally-" You begin to blurt out.
Truthfully, you also just want to be around to keep an eye on the munchkins. It helped that your current emulation was - for all intents and purposes - a fully grown child in the first place, but that didn't take away from the fact that you had all the knowledge and experience of a fourty year old man.
Age just didn't map the same way to you as it did to most people.
Not that you were going to tell the kids that.
"Alright! Geese, you're like the lame kid brother I never asked for." Aisha grumbles, then pauses when the other three girls look at her weirdly.
"What?" She growls at them suspiciously as the stare lengthens.
"You said 'geese'. Usually you would just curse." Dinah explains as though this should be obvious.
"I don't always- I mean not every- superheroes shouldn't swear okay?!" She eventually spits out acidically.
"Well that's fucking adorable." You say - and you mean it. Aisha introduced herself to you by essentially sexually harrasing you. The idea that she possessed even the slightest iota of shame was actually extremely relieving.
"Besides, Number Girl over there-" she retorts.
"I'm not calling myself that." Dinah says flatly.
"- has taught me anything, it's that wholesome ass bitches sell the most merch." She explains.
Ah. She was so close.
"Until we turn eighteen anyway." Mun jokes.
"Aaaaand I'm gonna stop the conversation right there. Talk about something that won't force your Mom into a berserk rage alright?" You jump in, frantically waving your hands at them.
"But-" the bird girl starts to argue, her grin widening.
"Nope! Gonna go check on my car!" You yell, phasing through the nearest wall.
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
The Docks, Brockton Bay
You quickly come to find that what Trainwreck thought you were asking for, and what you actually asked for, were very different things.
When you described a van to Trainwreck you meant 'a normal van, but with the neon words 'Devil May Cry' hanging off the side'. What you got was effectively an Armored Personnel Carrier. The new Devil May Cry looking like someone had sawed a city bus in half, slapped wheels on the rear, and then covered the entire thing in salvaged warship armor.
…and then welded your neon sign to its side.
The result was both extremely obvious looking and vaguely reminiscent of a Mad Max vehicle.
Naturally, you absolutely love it. The only way it could be cooler would be if there were guns sticking out of it at all angles. Unfortunately that would make your new ride both extremely obvious and extremely criminal so you are forced to forgo the request.
For now.
"This sucks." Aisha - now dressed in mismatched motorcycle leathers that looked old and too big for her, her face covered only with a generic domino mask from the PRT headquarters, and her very large sword resting on her lap - complains as you take a slow turn past the same corner store that you've taken nearly dozens of times now.
It isn't that you are deliberately avoiding crime or crime fighting. It's that your vehicle is so obvious that nobody sane would dare initiate a conflict with an obvious cape around.
"Okay, just- I was enjoying breaking the new ride in okay? Give me a second I'll find something." You quickly apologize, glancing over your shoulder into the rear of the vehicle where Aisha and her team were sitting, two to each side of the bench seats in the back.
Mem has opted for a dress that comes to just past her knees, and contains more volume to it than you would consider reasonably possible. When you had asked her about it she had said it was a 'combat skirt' and that she was copying it from someone else. The dress itself was a muted gray with green highlights in a pattern reminiscent of a suit and tie.
Dinah, who is sitting next to Mem on the right, is wearing a black bodysuit with a subtle silver pattern made up of numbers and other math symbols glimmering across its surface - almost too dark to notice until the light flashed off them. Atop that, she is wearing a somewhat puffy white jacket. Thin enough that it won't make her too warm, but still looking slightly stuffed - easily mistaken for a winter jacket if one ignored the temperature. The suit obviously doesn't have the same built in soles that your Masters does though, because she is also wearing black running shoes on her feet. She even has a hat, albeit a smaller white bowler hat that matches her slightly off white shade jacket.
Actually, thinking about it, Dinah's costume looks very reminiscent of your Master's. Almost comically so.
Dinah seems to both notice your attention and know what you are thinking about because she squints at you in that special way only an irate teenage girl can to express displeasure wordlessly.
And Mun is wearing - bizarrely - a suit and tie. A midnight black suit, white undershirt, and blood red tie. The only thing that really make it obvious she is in costume is the fact that - fitted suit on a child aside - she is partially transformed, causing her hair to appear as a main of black feathers.
All four girls are wearing the same generic domino mask.
"I wanted to go roof hopping." Aisha grumbles at your response.
"Here, look, I'm parking the tank. Unbuckle and I'll be back with some bad guys in five minutes tops alright?" You quickly say, putting words to action and parking the vehicle before phasing out of it to look around.
The docks at this hour are very quiet. It being mid evening on a sunday and all. More so than that… the Docks are very adjacent to 'territory' that is widely considered to belong to your Master.
The streets, still dinghy but in many ways not nearly so dangerous, are entirely empty. What few buildings are populated in the area are silent and dark.
Basically, you got nothing.
"Heyyyyy… I need a favor." You send to your Master.
"R-right now!?" Taylor barks at you in annoyance, clearly in the midst of something important.
"...yes?" You say. There is a pause, and then;
"Well!?"
"Right. Could you maybe shoot me a tracking spell to that Trollo guy? He's a dickhead criminal right?" You ask quickly.
You vaguely sense your Master absently casting to spell while mostly directing her focus elsewhere - which is good because she'd typically be opposed to casting a spell that might accidentally out someone - and then your link shuts down.
You wait a full minute for something to happen, and are just about to turn back, when the blue glow of a tracking spell flickers into existence in front of you.
"Perfect." You say with a grin.
Sunday, March 13th, 2011
The Ruby Dreams Casino, Brockton Bay
"Are you… sure crime happens here?" Aisha asks you for the fifth time since you and the girls had found your way to this dingy little casino at the edge of town.
Presently, you are standing on a nearby rooftop, watching as business in the building begins to ramp up in direct contrast to the waning light. It looks - for all intents and purposes - like a normal building from the outside. Only the faint sound of slots being played wafting out the open front door are any indication that the building is a casino.
Well, that and the giant neon sign calling it a casino.
"Yes. Look, see the back there?" You say, gesturing to the rear of the building - not visible from street level - where several shady men are exchanging money for a suitcase of something you didn't get to see the inside of.
"Oh! I got this! Ninety-Eight point Seven percent chance that's drugs!" Dinah says quickly.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Aisha cheers, taking several steps back from the edge of the rooftop you are on.
You obligingly salute her, turning intangible so you can watch over things without getting in the way.
And then Aisha sprints forward and leaps, quickly followed by Mem, Mun, and Dinah, each one either strong enough to survive the landing naturally, capable of flying, or empowered by Aura.
Amused, you jump gently after them, casually whistling as you invisibly stroll through a wall and into the building itself - where all Pandemonium has broken out. With only a few seconds of lead time the girls have completely opted out of stealth, instead choosing to take out the handful of men by the door before exploded inside.
Two dozen men in suits withdraw firearms from there jackets all across the area, and the second the first shot goes off the patrons start to panic.
Yelling and panicked calls for other people begin to ring out, as the girls charge into the fray.
"Mind the civilians!" You become tangible for a second to yell before vanishing again.
"Bird Brain-" Aisha yells, whipping her sword around to cleave a pistol in two and then twisting her sword to slap a different man unconscious with the side of the blade.
"A- Bitch, do not call me that!" Mun complains loudly.
"-get the normal people out please! Wizard, Number Girl- who the fuck is that?" Aisha continues, ignoring her friend's complaint and then turning to find the large form of Trollo looming up out of a corner of the room.
You silently dock her points for swearing.
"What's this? Trollo was missed?" The rocky giant chortles, taking a step towards the girls and freezing in place, his gaze locked on Mem as she loosely gestures towards a group of men with her staff form, causing them to rapidly slam into the ceiling before drifting back towards the ground light as a feather - and also very unconscious.
That one isn't bad, but it was over a bit fast for your tastes. You know no one here will die because they all have your Masters tags with them, but if it were you, you would have juggled the guys a bit before letting them hit the ground. Bounced them off some more stuff maybe.
"Please don't call us that!" Dinah yells angrily, seemingly bouncing around the room, off the walls, and even off people as though her entire body was made of rubber. You distinctly don't recall that being one of her powers - but it looks funny as hell, so you'll ask her about it later.
"Then what do you want me to call you?" Aisha asks, and you dock her more points for ignoring Trollo - who could have approached to attack her if he wasn't busy staring in dawning terror at the lot of them.
"I- I dunno! We didn't talk about names! We just agreed we'd be Team DAMM!" she yelled angrily.
"Okay so, Trollo think there's been a mistake I'm actually just here for pleasure so-" Trollo begins to say slowly, backing away from them.
"Wha- we pay you for protection!" One of the men in suits yells at him.
"And who's gonna protect Trollo huh? You wan't Trollo to punch Nexus' daughter? That what you wan't? Trollo chooses life!" The rocky man screams, before whirling around.
"What? No! That's bullshit!" Aisha yells after him, but is unable to give chase while avoiding the hail of gun fire whittling away at her aura.
You sigh.
Then you follow after him, leaving the girls safely behind in a room full of men trying to kill them.
"Trollo buddy, you're breaking my balls here." You say, appearing in front of the man as he races up a narrow hallway that can barely accommodate his bulk.
You guess he doesn't recognize your current form, because unlike his mortal terror at facing Mem in combat, he does best to just bulldoze over you.
Can't have that now can you?
Faster than you think the man can even perceive, you dart forward and plant one foot on his chest, pushing him off balance and then levering him to the ground so you can have a nice civil conversation with him.
To emphasize how civil you're being, you make sure he can smell Ebony's barrel pressed against his upper lip before you say anything.
"Who the fu-" He grunts at you.
"Wow you dropped the rhyming saying your own name thing really fast huh?" You muse before smiling and speaking loudly and dramatically.
"I am know by many names! But you my friend, may call me Emmy." You say.
He freezes beneath you again.
Then the stench of urine wafts up to your nose.
"Ew. Dude why?" You complain.
"P-please don't kill me." He whispers.
You withdraw your gun and stare at him.
"Okay first off, I'm a good guy. I don't kill people." You say, channeling your own personality for a second much more than Dante's. Trollo just whimpers at you.
"Look just… go fight my god damn kids you coward. They need the experience and I want this to be fun for them. I promise you won't get murdered or anything serious okay?" You sigh exasperatedly to him.
He nods quickly at you, and you smile again, stepping slowly off him.
"Cool. Now go fist fight a teenage girl." You say with a snap of your fingers and a gesture back the way he came.
"Hah. The things we do for the people we love." You sigh.
"Oh man that was so awesome! Did you see the guy with the-"
"-and I kicked him so hard in the balls that he-"
"Oh my god I beat people up! I beat people up!"
"..."
The girls all practically scream over each other in their efforts to get some of their excitement out. Even Mem - typically taciturn and blank faced - has a small noticeable smile on.
The fight had been sort of enjoyable to watch honestly. None of the girls was inclined towards the level of damage that Trollo couldn't shrug off, and the villain himself seemed to have some kind of healing power so long as he was touching stone, so they had fought for a good handful of minutes before finally managing to subdue the man. You made sure none of the civilians got hurt, but for all the fun they had fighting, none of the kids were so reckless as to deliberately put any of them in danger in the first place.
A quick hand off to the police and now you were all back in the tank, driving loudly back to the castle.
"Ladies! A toast!" Aisha cheers, rushing to pull a backpack she had left in the car out from under her seat and quickly withdrawing four novelty goblets that honestly look like they came from a party store, in addition to a bottle of soda.
You decide not to make fun of her for trying to copy Sigurds typical post battle celebrations with his men.
But you do remember it to do later.
"To Team DAMM! And the Devil May Cry!" She cheers again, and Dinah, Mun, and even Mem cheer with her.
You frown.
"What?" You ask, glancing into the back seat through the rear view mirror.
"The- you put the name on the side of the van bro." Mun points out slowly, as though speaking to a slow witted child.
"That's like an advertising thing! Devil May Cry is the name of my firm! The tank is named-" You retort.
"To the Devil May Cry!" The girls all cheer again, drowning out your complaints.
And then you are forced to slam your foot down on the brakes as a child stumbles into the middle of the road ahead of you.