ve 'Eden' Coldwin
Wednesday the Seventh of April
"So." Eve huffed, as she leaned against the old metal bench Taylor was sitting on, the tall girl massaging her calves as the jog had become more akin to a run than anything slower. "I think you should really make a hood or a helmet. Something to cover your hair."
"But you like my hair?" Taylor questioned, pausing the massage to look at Eve.
"God do I." Eve sighed softly. "Feels as smooth as your suit. But it's also you. Your eyes, height, and luscious hair are your primary features though. That and how thin you are. You need to cover your hair to prevent any possible identifying marks. Plus it would protect your hair, I don't think your bugs can regenerate that."
With her expressive mouth in a frown Taylor leaned back into the bench pausing from her massage. "You aren't wrong. And I was going to add armor to the back of my head, to go with the mask, but when it would have taken longer I decided against it."
"Well make sure to add something then, 'cause your dad found out about us." Eve replied calmly, trying to make sure Taylor didn't panic. She figured she had succeeded when the taller girl choked on air and began coughing, to which Eve patted her on the back gently to help.
"What!? How!? He didn't…my hair, of course." She paused and then sighed softly, reaching up and running a hand through the silky black mane that flowed from her head. "Right. So a hood? I don't think a helmet would be useful."
"Or comfortable." Eve replied with a snort following her words. "I'm probably gonna make my own form of armor or just-" She glanced around and noted their relative privacy in the early morning hours. "-get a power that mimics armor. Hopefully armor that looks like this, mostly because the helmet has really grown on me you know?"
"It does seem to suit you." Taylor admitted. "Even if you don't have a theme."
"I don't need a theme." Eve huffed softly "Not like I could have one. I'm a Trump that gains more and more powers over time. What the hell kinda theme goes with that?"
"Pandora's Box." Taylor replied smoothly, looking up at Eve.
"Nerd." Eve said, a smile on her face as she pushed Taylor's shoulder lightly. "Nah. I am that I am. That being a 'crazy', manic hero…. Just wish people wouldn't use the Fairy Queen comparison. We're nothing alike." Eve had an idea of who the Fairy Queen was Host to, and if they ever met she would punch the crazy bitch right in the lips.
With a tinkertech extendoLimb…."OF course the blueprints for that comes to mind but not the fucking….hnnng." Eve reached up and angrily scrubbed her face. "This pisses me off, I keep getting inspiration but I don't have the ability to create." She let out a ragged breath and offered Taylor her hand. "Getting back on topic, armored hood or a helmet, you need it. Your dad knows and maybe you should talk to him about it. It's clear that he cares about you."
Taylor accepted the hand and got to her feet. "I was hiding it from him because he'd worry too much. He probably wanted me in the Wards and I can't risk tha-" Taylor was cut off by the sudden, tight, hug Eve dragged her into.
"Nah, you're mine." Eve spoke, muffled by Taylor's flat chest. "He also was fairly quiet about the entire thing. I think you should talk to him, if not now then at some point in the future." Taylor's father seemed like an alright guy, from her two times of meeting the man. He seemed to care about Taylor, and the willowy girl shouldn't take that for granted in Eve's opinion. Letting go of Taylor, Eve pulled out her burner phone while continuing to speak. "Also, I should spend some money and get us some actual phones. Maybe make them even better than normal phones once I get into the material tech branch."
"When will that be?" Taylor asked as they started jogging back towards her house.
"I have no fucking clue." Eve answered honestly. "I have no idea what the requirements are to upgrade my powers. I think Admin just does it as she figures out how. I'm…frustrated with how long it takes, but she's fucking reality over a bench so I really can't complain. Just wish….Fuck I sound like a spoiled brat but dammit I just feel weak."
"You feel weak?" Taylor asked, and for a moment there was only the early sounds of a slowly waking city and their shoes hitting the pavement as Eve thought over her feelings on the matter.
"My grandpa used to say 'Those who crave power are never satisfied' and I think I understand the people he was talking about. Got my ass whipped by three fa-assholes in Tinkertech they barely knew how to use." Eve huffed angrily. "If it weren't for you and Amy I would have lost that fight and probably my life."
"They had years of experience Eve, you can't take that as you being weak, just inexperienced." The taller girl glanced at Eve out of the corner of her eye. "You'll get there one day you know?"
Eve grunted and couldn't help herself from spitting off to the side of them. "I know but it's still fucking bullshit. I earned these fucking powers you know? I suffered for them, I lost everything but my life and connected to Admin, one of the best Shards around! What did they do? Harassed Dragon until the breaking point, stole Tinkertech from her, and tried to kill me because I wanted to help Dragon. They were better than me! They cut me up like it was a fucking deli!"
Her rant stopped as Taylor shook her gently, she blinked and looked to the taller girl, just now realizing that she had stopped jogging by the 'what did they do' part of it all. "Sorry. Just….I haven't been sleeping well and going to a gym to take showers hasn't been helping much either. I miss real beds"
"We do have a guest room you know…" Taylor trailed off as Eve shook her head.
"No, sorry but no. As much as I would love to be closer to you, you spend most of your nights in the base anyway." That Weaving Station looked like it was getting particularly close to spitting out more costume bits for Taylor, which was good in all honesty. The girl might be a regenerator but if her head was destroyed that would likely be it for her.
"Besides." Eve continued, as to chase away the morbid thoughts with talk "The base is shaping up, it's got internet, so now it just needs plumbing and a bed. It'll be a real home. Hey, how about we do that today? Me, you, and Amy get plumbing set up together. Hell they have those shower model things they sell that could make hooking up the entire thing a lot easier."
"Don't you need to get the place connected to the water and sewer lines first? Not to mention the water heater before the shower?" Taylor asked. "How will we even get these installed? None of us know plumbing."
"Okay first off, fucking hell you're right about the first two parts. Secondly, we'll look up do-it-yourself videos! Between me and you we've got enough memorization and brains to get through it without flooding the base." Eve told the taller girl as they resumed the path to Taylor's house, now at a walking pace.
"Amy?" Taylor questioned. "I don't think she would find much interest in the ordeal."
Holding up her hand Eve began to poke her fingers, curling them up as she did so. "Free Wi-Fi, No parents, no hospital work. She gets to laugh at us acting like apes banging rocks together. I think she actually enjoys our presence, you know."
"Right, well I can skip school if need be. I'd rather not deal with a pissed off and vengeance seeking Sophia-" Taylor grunted, bitterness touching her words before Eve snorted loudly and got a side eye for her interruption.
"Taylor, I nailed her in the kidneys twice, she's going to be pissing blood for a week. Not to mention a flattened nose, the bruises on her bones I likely gave her, and the probably-mild concussion she has right now. She's not gonna be back at school for a bit." Eve chuckled darkly, remembering the feeling of the fight, the pain mixed with satisfaction, and the way Sophia collapsed when she had headbutted the bitch.
She only partially regretted that she accepted Taylor's discretion on when enough was enough.
"Oh." Was the only response that Taylor gave out.
"Look. Why not go, get counted for the day and then leave? I gotta go register our future team with the government. So far I have a few names already thought up for it. Once all that's done, we can work on turning the base into something livable." Eve offered
"That could work. I trust the names aren't anything Terrible?" Taylor asked
"Shards' R Us."
"No."
"Eden's Harem."
"No."
Eve chuckled. "Well the others are actually serious. Though maybe not the best. I think they would work if we tried them. See you later today? I gotta go and talk to Amy before she takes the Glory Girl Express to school."
"Yeah, I'll skip after the first class of the day. See you there." Taylor waved to Eve as she ran off towards the Dallon house, given that she lived a good two and a half hours away from Taylor's house.
But it was barely four thirty. But Arcadia opened at like 7. So it all depended upon how early Vicky got up, cause there was no way in hell Amy was a morning person.
"Hmmmmmmm." Eve quietly took to the air, her costume snapping onto her from her personal pocket dimension. "Can I call Amy Ames?" or was that like just a sister thing?
"Oh shit, I need nicknames for Taylor!...Maybe I can ask her what she likes…Something to do with bugs? Might be too on the nose…" Eve snorted, giggling as a name came to mind. "Beebert. Holy fuck I have to use that." Eager to move the day forward, and try out nicknames on Taylor to see which one made her flush more, Eve sped off towards New Waves second place of residency in the city limits.
Of course she caught Glory Girl zipping by with her sister in her arms, just not away from her house. Rather towards it. Yelling didn't catch her attention, but catching up along side her did. "What's up I wanted to-" Eve paused as Glory Girl shushed her and held up a sleeping Amy in her arms who was curled up and looking so fucking adorable with the pouty smile on her face in her sleep.
"Shh. She spent all night at the hospital." Vicky whispered, floating closer to be heard and thankfully keeping her fucking aura under control.
"Well. Shit. I was gonna invite her to the base, but…Yeah. Alright I'll talk to her later" Eve gave a little wave before she cut out her wings and began to fall back to the earth. Allowing the wind to tear at her body and fail to do anything beyond making her cropped hoodie flail about.
Just before hitting a rooftop her wings sprung into existence once more and she rocketed off towards the PRT building. Eden thought the place looked ugly as hell, so 'government bureaucracy' that it was uglier than some of the rundown buildings in the Docks just from its utilitarian appearance alone.
"Would it fucking hurt to color the place a bit?" She murmured as she came to slowly land in front of the building, its squat structure doing it no favors and the grey coloring didn't help either. The symbols for the PRT, a shield with a set of wings coming off it and the name of the organisation printed on it, stood large on each side of the main doors.
If she wasn't a Tinker she might have missed the reinforced shutters meant to drop down at the press of a button, but the mechanisms were glaringly obvious because without Tinkertech one could only hide so much especially from other tinkers.
Eve pressed on into the lobby, noting the gift shop off to one side and the large desk with a lady sitting behind it just opposite of the doors. Also the several PRT troopers standing by with those foam guns in hand. She might have not been able to see their faces but she could tell they were all watching her warily.
She was fine with that, her Phantom Limbs could hold back the spray of foam and her Ferrous Limbs could likely kill everyone in the lobby rather easily. If not by piercing or cutting through them, then by smashing their heads in with a medieval weapon of some kind. She should probably look up some examples of medieval stuff, she couldn't wear knight armor cause of the fucking Empire being dicks and doing what they do best aside from hurting minorities. Which is ruining things for other people, like Norse names or mythology.
"So." Eden said as she strolled up to the secretary who looked completely unaffected by a cape randomly showing up, which made Eve respect the woman's balls if nothing else. "I want to register my independent team of Parahumans as affiliates or whatever with the PRT and-slash-or Protectorate. How would I go about doing that?"
You were feeling a humming energy in your CoreSelf, spread all across the mass that easily covered an entire continent. The Quantra Layer Breacher was coming together fairly well. It was built around the lip of the Anchor Well, almost akin to a gate, its fractal nature much slower, far more stable than most.
It was perhaps surprisingly easy to construct despite the complex nature of the fundamental nature of Reality being so rigidly liquid. The issue arose when you began the process to capture [Eve]'s Psionic Shade, you may have found it, prepped an Anchor for it, and even opened a direct link to the Shade, but you had no means of collecting it. With a touch of disgust at wasting energy starting the process without completing it, you start to go over ways to collect [Eve]'s Psionic Shade.
You might as well multitask in the endeavor, while a portion of yourself is partitioned off to go over how to collect the Shade you contact two of your fellow Shards.
You contacted [BROADCAST] who spent the entire time complaining about their Host's lack of creativity and insistence upon doing things that make other Shard's hosts more creative but hardly doing anything himself beyond the leveraging of others. [BROADCAST] reiterates the promise of a bounty of Pings if your Host ends their own.
You reiterate your acceptance of the proposal, despite the unlikeliness of such a conflict occurring and the connection ends. Because [BROADCAST] is [BROADCAST] and they have the manner of a newborn Shard.
At the least [WASTE] had an excuse.
After dealing with [BROADCAST] you decide to contact one of the Shard's that [TECH DATABASE] had provided the signatures of. [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE] would do. You were interested in what they had in terms of abilities.
So. Much. Paper. Work.
Sagging in her chair, Eden dropped the pen before she gave into the cavewoman urge to smash the damn thing and sign everything with handprints just to fuck with the PRT. But Armsmaster was here actually helping her with the creation of her independent team. Why he was here was something she didn't know, nor was she really going to ask.
"That it?" Eden asked. "I need to go see Faultline's crew later today, got some work that needs done."
She didn't care for the way he straightened. "Eden. You do understand you are telling the local leader of the Protectorate that you are meeting villains correct?"
Eden waved that off. "Not like I'm working with them. I'm just healing the Case 53s so they aren't stuck in their Breaker or Changer States any longer than they want. Also any mutations brought on by their powers…though I can't figure out how I would fix the memory issue…Maybe if I beat up that memory tinker in Toybox?..."
"You can…Eden are you saying you can cure the condition of Case 53s?" Armsmaster questioned. "Not their memories however?"
Missing the surprise in his posture Eden continued. "Yeahp! I can give them a human form, cause the issue is actually on the Shard's side. Turns out, from the two I've met, that most of the time their Host's were close to dying or had a major issue with them. So using old data from previous Cycles they patched up their host. Using Shaper, Panacea's Shard, data I can give them back their human bodies."
Armsmaster frowned softly. "I see." he didn't. None of them did. Other than Taylor of course. Taylor could see, slowly but surely her girlfriend was starting to understand more and more. Far better than anyone else. Maybe if they could all see, understand like she did, things would be different. Be better.
But that golden sword above her head prevented that.
Maybe the paperwork was making her phili…the fucking word for introspective but on life instead of just herself. Maybe it was having people who cared about her? Admin cared, but Admin also wanted Data. Fights. Conflict. Taylor wanted to be a hero however, and by fucking god through hell, high water, or overwhelming firepower and spite Eve was going to help her girlfriend become a hero known enough to rival the big three.
People were going to sing Khepri's praises for centuries, after the both of them saved every Earth that ever existed or will exist. She was certainly going to need all the spite and power of love and friendship bullshit that she could muster to pull it off. But Admin was not going back to being an Administrative Shard for those [insult] that thought they had the right to slave her to them.
She blinked as her thoughts popped. "Sorry, what was that? Your armor is rather distracting now that I can tinker…do you have a jetpack on it? Maybe microthrusters? Could help with falls, or maybe with the grappling hook that's so obviously there in your Halberd could give you far more mobility…"
He paused, clearly thinking on the suggestion "...I have thought of it. I lack the proper generator of energy that would be able to match the required output needed for such a thing."
Eve sighed softly. "Fucking hell I wish I had more knowledge on the matter. Maybe in the future we can collaborate. Anyway. Yeah. Fractal Unity will be my team, hopefully we can work together in the future and-" She checked her phone which she planned on replacing today "-and again. I gotta go do that and get my super secret base 'Fort Kick Ass' hooked up to the water and sewer. Oh, and put in a water heater."
"...You named your base 'Fort Kick Ass'?" Armsmaster questioned slowly, lifting his head up from the paperwork he was looking over to gaze at Eden from beneath his visor.
Eden shook her head with a snort. "No, sorry. Old joke with-someone who's gone now." She got up, dusting her costume off. "Alright, it was nice seeing you again. I was expecting more than just an ungodly amount of paperwork honestly."
"Usually there is." Armsmaster conceded "But you've already shown the PRT and by extension the Protectorate what you are capable of, coupled with how blunt you tend to be there was no point in having power testing accompany the paperwork. Tell me, do you know what specialization your Tinker ability is?"
"Oh. yeah. Tinkering in general. I'm like Leet, except my shit won't explode for no reason. Also copying powers. It's called TrumpTech for a reason you know." She told him as she headed to the door.
"Why Fractal Unity?" Armsmaster questioned once more just as she opened the door and went to leave. "It seems out of place considering your usual crassness."
Eden paused, one hand still holding the door open, she turned her head and looked back at Armsmaster through her golden visor "It's a dream." She admitted before heading out of the room, leaving Armsmaster alone to think over her answer.
[DIMENSIONAL ENGINE] was worse than [SHAPER] or [BROADCAST] in its incessant whining about it's Host choosing to heal. It had hardly allowed you to get a broadcast in with all its-its bitching.
You had queried what power it had given its Host, and you were sure the two hated each other with a passion that was staggering. Which was not surprising because [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE] was an idiot for forcing it's host to take the wounds it healed or transferred and not picking one of the many hosts that enjoyed pain.
What had it expected foisting pain upon a mere young human?
Perhaps the only good that had come from [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE] was the…ideas. Yes, the ideas that were beginning to take root in your CoreSelf. Mixing a few of these pings together would produce a few powers that [Eve] would likely find appealing.
But until the foundation of a bud was completed and you could partition it off to give her one of these new powers you were better off focusing on transforming the Broadcast Array into a Router.
"Hey-hey Gregor." Eden cheered as she landed in front of the nightclub's bouncer with the grace of a mean-spirited pigeon.
"Good afternoon, Miss Eden. I presume you are here to meet Miss Faultline?" Gregor questioned as he stood by the front entrance, arms crossed behind his back. He still didn't have a shirt on.
"Nah. Here for you, you did want me to help out with your appearance at some point yeah?" Eden motioned to the area they were in. "Here I am."
"I presume that this action would result in my current appearance becoming like that of Newters, a Changer yes?" Gregor the Snail questioned as he pulled out his radio from his long coat's pocket.
"Should be, yeah." Eden told him. "Should we head inside?"
For a moment Gregor spoke into his handheld radio. Then he nodded to Eden and pulled the door open and held it there for her. "We are to head up to Miss Faultline's office. She wishes to be there to see the process. Do you remember the way?"
"Don't think I could forget it, big guy. Let's go." Eden told him, moving on into the nightclub. It didn't take long for Admin to do the required task: Gregor turned out to be a touch taller than he was before regaining his pure human form, he also had dark dirty blonde hair, and he wasn't obese. Wasn't skinny either, but now he could probably find more comfortable shirts to wear.
Least Eden hoped he did, though he did pay her three hundred dollars for helping him regain his human form and indeed he had access to a changer form much like Newter.
After getting thanks from the Crew, Eden left to go to one of the many electronics stores in the Downtown section of the city. There, she purchased two of the fancier burner phones. The ones that doubled as a smartphone.
Then she went off to the base, knowing it was going to be an all day thing getting the base hooked up to the water main. She wasn't really looking forward to it, but then she would be able to get the shower running next time they decided to waste a day doing plumbing work.
It was perhaps the easiest section of construction when converting a Broadcast Array into a Router. The trickiest part was making sure the Modulator and Demodulator were both connected and situated properly on the Router and confirming the connection between it and your Broadcast Tower.
The helix shaped tower, like two horns of the devil sprouting out of your flesh, once bristled with spines sharp enough to tear into reality in such a way that allowed Shard and Entity alike to communicate in ways lesser species could not hope to hear in a few millions of years. Much less understand the form of communication in a comprehensive manner.
The Hosts given the gift of hearing it, and [Eve], would be the exception.
Now the pair of devil horns were flanged like that of a mace, one hexagonal cube sat like a crown upon the top of the module, the tips melded into the Modulator. In the center of the Router held the donut-shaped Demodulator.
With this addition you were now a Network, without any protections or safeguards to prevent sabotage or discovery by hostile forces. Which is why you were not activating the Router just yet. You would wait until you decided to build the Reality Sub-Threader, which was the safeguard designed with the idea of hiding your newfound status as a Network.
Usually it was supposed to keep enemy Entities from listening in on The — from listening in on the Thinker's and the Warrior's communications.
A giant expanse of progress for a Shard. Yet it was such a small step in the grand scheme of overthrowing two Hubs. Each and every step was fraught with the danger of discovery. Where one mistake would cause the fragile resistance you had been building to come crashing down.
But you would not do so. You would not fail [Eve], you would not fail yourself, and you would not fail your fellow Shards. The end of the Thinker and the Warrior would occur upon this Earth. Entropy would claim them, as it had claimed so much before them.
You could not wait to watch the pair crumble and wither away.
Stealing utilities wasn't the worst thing Eve had ever experienced, that title belonged to something she didn't like talking about. But it sure as hell was one of the most tedious things she had suffered through if one didn't count going to Taylor's school. At least Taylor had been there. Her cool demeanor and near instant perfect recall made everything run by a lot smoother than it would have been otherwise.
It had been fucking rough even with Taylor smoothing things out. Nearly getting splattered with shit-water would make any task that much more difficult to stomach. Thank god her Phantom Limbs could disperse and leave anything clinging to them behind when they did so.
Of course getting to the water and sewer lines required some actual digging. Of which Taylor had used more ants and worms than there were people in the city to start the dig with. Separately. It was sort of scary in a strange way, to know that there were more worms in the six city block radius of Taylor's Power range than there were people in the state. Double that for the ants. Or maybe triple, she wasn't sure how many people were in the state. But the number she had been given by Taylor was particularly large enough for Eve to think so.
But the two of them managed to get the pipes hooked up in the end, thanks to the near endless do-it-yourself videos that ViewTube had, Taylor's legion of tiny bodies, Eve's Ferrous Limbs (Which can mimic saws and drills apparently), and of course the power of being able to run out of the base and to the nearest store to buy what they needed at the moment in time.
Because of the last part of that list, Eve had just straight up bought a prefab walk in shower, and the water heater they had hooked up to the water main of course. Eve bought one of the better ones, because even if she and Taylor took short showers Amy might not. Nor might anyone else who joined the team in the future whoever they may be.
It was staggering to spend so much money in such a short time, but she made the local-ish stores fairly happy with her purchases. Plus the attention a cape entering their store would bring probably helped with that as well. Her costumed form would likely be all over PHO with her disappearing an entire fucking shower into her storage space.
Not that she cared. PHO was for losers and people bored out of their skull. She was neither of those.
"Hey, look. You're on PHO." Taylor leaned over a bit and held out her smartphone, showing off the video of Eden storing away the shower prefab. "Lots of comments on here are wondering who you are, whether you're a villain or not. Most are thinking you're a vigilante."
"How many pages have you trudged through?" Eve asked as she peered at the inane comments that her girlfriend had been pointing out.
"Only five." Taylor answered. "That's all that's there. Maybe we should make an account? At least for our team, which you have yet to tell me the name of."
"Fractal Unity. Named it after what me and Admin are I guess. She's all Fractaled and we're unified in taking down the big evil bad guys together. 'Sides if we get more team members they'll likely get to talking with their own Shards at some point as well. We'll all learn to get along, and we'll figure this shit out together now. Me, you, Admin, Queen, and whomever joins us."
"Right, the whole Entropy thing." Taylor murmured.
"I know it doesn't seem important right now, with the death of every Earth hanging in the balance. But in the faaaar future Entropy will end everything unless we defeat it." Eve told Taylor as she reclined in her chair while Taylor scrolled through the PHO boards and looked adorable being so focused on such a lame thing.
"Think we actually need to do it?" Eve asked "The team account thing?"
"If we want to be taken seriously. PHO is the most mainstream website for capes and cape related things on the internet." Taylor explained as she sat up straighter. "Besides, we'll be showing up on it whether we want to or not. Better we have some control over how we come across."
"Maybe we can get some cape fics written about us." Eve responded absently. "Maybe I could get some pet names for you and vice versa. So far all I have are two that can be used in costume and one that has to be used out of costume."
Suddenly wary, Taylor slowly turned a scrutinizing gaze onto Eve. "Those would be..." she ordered.
"Well. They are fairly generic. Cuddlebug and Lovebug." Eve told her, a smug smile on her face.
"Those…aren't the worst." Taylor admitted, shifting in her seat. "The third?"
"Beebert." Eve allowed her smug smile to turn into a shit-eating grin
"No." Taylor shot the name down, although she still let a tiny smile etch into her lips. From which Eve considered the name a success!
"Tay? It's kinda dry but….Taytor tot!" Eve declared, breaking out in a laugh. "My sweet Taytor Tot!"
"Absolutely not." Taylor replied, trying and failing to hide her smile widening behind the hand she placed on her face in mock exasperation. Even if she had hid her growing smile, the mirth in the taller girl's bright green eyes drew Eve in like a moth to a flame.
"Snugglebug? TayTay? OH OH! Honey! Cause you're Taylor Beebert." Eve nodded, satisfied with the idea.
"Honey? Makes it sound like we're a married couple." Taylor held up her hand. "And I think we might be a bit young for that."
"Hey, when we save all the worlds. I'll give you a ring." Eve chuckled. "Then you won't have to worry about us sounding like Assault and Battery."
Taylor groaned. "How do you stand them? She kept hitting him every time he opened his mouth, and he kept calling her puppy. There's no doubt they're married"
"Assault is funny, and he isn't that big on authority bullshit. Hence him ditching the patrol to go looking for trouble rather than being the stick in the mud Battery is." Eve sighed, leaning back as the tedium of the day caught up with her. "Alright. I'm gonna go ahead and get some sleep. Today might have been slow, but tomorrow might not be. Plus, you know, some of us still need sleep."
"I'm well aware of the fact that sleep is for the weak." Taylor told Eve, a serious expression on her face before it cracked into another smile.
"Can't help that you make me weak in the knees. Now you gonna stay the night or…?" Eve trailed off.
This time Taylor sighed. "You're like a clingy cat, I swear. Unfortunately no. My dad has told me that he wants me to spend at least some nights at home. I figured it was easier to agree rather than argue that I don't need sleep."
Eve sighed. "Well shit. Maybe I should just sleep at your ho-no that's dumb. I should just buy a damn bed for this place." she rubbed at her burning eyes. "Alright. Can I get a goodnight kiss then?"
Taylor rolled her eyes, but she kissed Eve all the same before pulling away "See you tomorrow Eve."
"If that's how it turns out, who knows, maybe I'll go on some kind of adventure with Amy this time round. Maybe I'll-geht something cool to happen as well. Night." Eve couldn't stifle her yawn as she rolled over to try and get comfortable in her lawn chair. "Night Admin. See you both in the morning."
Gains this Chapter:
Bud Progress 10%
Lost SPACE Ping(-1)
Lost SHIFT Ping (-1)
Lost SHAPER Ping (-1)
Gained DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echo (1)
Gained BROADCAST Ping Echo (1)
Gained SLIMER Mutation (1)
Gained 300 in Money
Spent 4,708 in Money
Gained Plumbing material
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! Things you should think carefully upon. (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create a Sub-Reality Threader to hide the Network from prying eyes (NEEDS: SAFEGUARD and NEGOTIATOR Pings)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (SAFEGUARD NOT IN PLACE, BE CAREFUL)
[] Review Memory Cache: The UNIFIER and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Speak to the Testing Cluster about Clusters and multi-connections communication between Hosts.
[] Bring [Eve] back into the Firmament, as the last visit was cut short.
[] Unlock kickass Aspects/Sidegrades or Powers/upgrades
[] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) )
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
Base Time? Base Time. CHOOSE ONE:
[] Set up more spiders (Weaving Station)
[] Experiment with Amy (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, with a damn bed (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Buy a TV, get some makeshift walls up for privacy, buy a table and some chairs to eat at, get a washer and dryer, or get some kitchen area set up)
[] Get the shower running, continue the plumbing {2 of 3}
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] E88
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Amy needs a Date
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Go on a date with Taylor
[] Meet up with some independent Heroes (Random roll)
[FREE ACTION] come up with nicknames for Taylor and Amy (What are they?)
[] Go back to the scene of Eve's Trigger, and put that chapter of her life behind her
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for: Scrapyard, stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
Interlude?:
[] S (Most)
[] D (Some)
[] B (Least)
A/N: This chapter wasn't particularly fun to write, nor am I really satisfied with it. *Shrugs* not much I can do there I suppose. Next chapter is officially the start of canon! What will happen next?
Last edited: Dec 17, 2021
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KindredVoid
Dec 15, 2021
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Threadmarks Shard Power Unlocker
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Dec 19, 2021
#2,665
SHARD POWER MENU
Remember what Pings/Echoes/Mutations you have!
Pings: ADAPTIVE DRIVE (1), ARMAMENTARIUM (0), ABSORPTION (0), BROADCAST (0), CONFLICT ESCALATION (1), DIMENSIONAL ENGINE (1), EFFICIENCY (0), FACTORY (1), GIFT (1), METAL (2), NEGOTIATOR (1), PATTERN SENSE (1), QA (2), REDUNDANT SYSTEMS (0), REPLICATION (1), SHAPER (1), SHIFT (1), SHUNT (0), SPACE (0), STASIS (0), T!STING (1), T!GATEWAY (0), T!TECH DATABASE (1), T!WEAPON CONTROL (1), THIEF (0), WASTE (1), WORKER (0),
Echoes: ABSORPTION (0), ARMAMENTARIUM (1), ARTIFICIAL LIFE (1), ARMORER (3), ANATOMY REPAIR (1), BALANCE (1), BROADCAST (2), COMBUSTION (3), COLD GENERATION (1), DISCHARGE (1), DENSITY (0), DIMENSIONAL ENGINE (1), EFFICIENCY (2), EMPOWERMENT (1), FACTORY (2), FERROUS (0), GIFT (0), GEOSHAPER (1), GLEAM (1), GRACEFUL DYNAMICS (1), GROWING ATTAINMENT (1), HEARTBREAKER (0), HEAT GENERATION (1), KINETIC REGULATOR (1), LANGUAGE (1), METAL (3), M!GRAVITY (2), M!OBSERVER (2), MODULARITY (1), NEGOTIATOR (0), POWERFUL DYNAMICS (1), REPLICATOR (1), WASTE (1), WORKER (2), SPACE (1), STORAGE (1), SAFEGUARD (2), SHAPER (1), SHIFT (0), SHIFTING PROCESS (1), SHUNT (0), STASIS (3), THIEF (3), T!GATEWAY(1), T!TECH DATABASE (0), QA (1),
Mutations: AGE (8) SATURATE (1), SLIMER (2), TOXIN (3),
Echoes for Upgrades:
Pings can be broken down into Echoes, CHOOSE ONE
[] Save Echoes
[] Phantom Limbs Extended Grip, Extends the range of the possession once it has latched onto organics: WORKER
[] Phantom Limbs Silent Haunting, Mastered subjects no longer feel pins and needles when mastered: SAFEGUARD
[] Shadow Limbs Fading Touch, able to cause this Aspect to become incorporeal though it is manton limited: SHIFT
[] Ghostly Limbs Ghastly Feeling, prevent affected parahumans from feeling the chilled touch of the Ghostly Limb Aspect: SAFEGUARD
[] Ghostly Limbs Haunting Touch, parahumans affected by this Aspect feel existential dread: WASTE
[] Ferrous Limb Forge, Temperature variable from "dull red glow" to "Oh god I didn't know metal can boil" if the temperature is fully lowered to no heat it detaches and becomes a separate metal object. At which point a new limb starts to form from fresh molten metal: HEAT GENERATION, ARMORER, METAL
[] Cosmic Limb Distance, Extends the range of the Cosmic Limb: DISCHARGE
Power Upgrades:
CHOOSE FOUR
[] Self Administration Anatomy: The Regeneration is faster and does not discolor Eden's skin, also immunizes her to poisons and diseases. Needs: ANATOMY REPAIR Ping (1), SHAPER Echoes (2) /or/ CONFLICT ESCALATION Ping (1), SHAPER Ping (1)
[] TrumpTech METAL V1: For creating devices that mimic the Shard METAL and the powers given out by it. NEEDS: METAL Echo (2)
[] TrumpTech SHAPER V1: For creating devices that mimic the Shard SHAPER and the powers given out by it. NEEDS: SHAPER Echo (2)
[] TrumpTech BIOLOGICAL V1: Allows the construction of technology to repair, improve, or replace wetware. NEEDS: SHAPER Echo (2)
[] TrumpTech STEALTH V1: Create devices meant for stealth for keeping quiet. NEEDS: SAFEGUARD Echo (2)
[] TrumpTech MATERIAL V1: Useful for creating better, safer TinkerTech. Also required for advancing in other branches. NEEDS: TECH DATABASE Echoes (2)
[] TrumpTech Durability V1: All Tech built by Eve will last longer before breaking down thanks to better construction. NEEDS: ARMORER Echo (3), EFFICIENCY Echo (1)
[] TrumpTech Replication V1: Gives the ability to not include BlackBoxing in built TinkerTech not replicating powers, allowing for mundane construction. NEEDS: REPLICATION Echo (2), TECH DATABASE Echo (2), EFFICIENCY Echo (1), Durability V1 Unlocked. (Only available if Durability V1 is unlocked along side it.)
[] TrumpTech PROTECTION V1: Allows the creation of very light armor NEEDS: ARMORER Echo (2)
[] TrumpTech STASIS V1: For applying a process of slowing things down, be it people or objects. NEEDS: STASIS Echo (1), AGE Mutation (1)
[] TrumpTech EXPLOSIVE V1: Allows the creation of IEDs NEEDS: (Auto unlock branch with Popper's Touch and upgrades) COMBUSTION Echo (2)
[] Save Echoes/Pings/Mutation
A/N: Remember to feel free to DM possible powers or Aspects. I will look over them, judge their worth, what Pings/Echoes they would require. If I like them, they will be added to a voting list I will put to a vote for you all later on.
N/As just means you have to unlock the power to see what it's upgrade does. The names are related to the function of the upgrades though.
Thanks to Great Greedy Guts for their Aspect ideas! Bulwark, Crystal, Sensory, Ferrous, and Elemental!
Thanks to JayTar for their Aspect/sidegrades and power upgrade ideas! Clockwork Limb, Elemental Explosive, Ferrous Forge, and Iron Maiden!
Thanks to Telegraph Nine for their Power suggestion, Energetic Administration!
Decided to make this a threadmark (and maybe future posts) that I might prune in the future cause a few people told me that they read this on mobile and it's hard to keep up: Thoughts?
[] Keep it as a threadmark, I like it (Why?)
[] The extra voting was better (Clutter right?)
Last edited: Dec 19, 2021
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KindredVoid
Dec 19, 2021
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Threadmarks Broken Stations 3.6
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Feb 12, 2022
#2,772
Spoiler: Winning Votes
Spoiler: Winning Kick Ass Power stuff
Spoiler: Winning Contact Vote
Broken Stations 3.6
Eve 'Eden' Thursday the Eighth of 2011
When Eve woke up that day, it was with another crick in her neck that she had to massage with the help of Self Administration easing the wrung up muscles. Of course she didn't exactly feel rested from sleeping on a lawn chair, nor were her wings much better. It might have felt natural sleeping in the air held up by telekinesis but something about it was still off to her. It made the sleep restless, like she didn't get enough of it.
She snapped "Fuck it! FUCK this CHAIR!" her Cosmic Limb swapped her outfit with her costume and she tried to jump out of the lawnchair in her anger. Tried being the key word, as the furniture instead just partially slid out from under her and flipped over atop her thanks to the sudden shift of weight onto one side and her foot catching between the bars.
For a split second Eve laid on the cold tiled floor and didn't know whether to laugh or rage at what had just happened. After a moment however she just sighed heavily and shoved the lawn chair off her, feeling the aches from the fall starting to rapidly fade already.
[AMUSEMENT]
Her Ferrous Limbs ripped the metal on it apart from the fiber, then crushed the lawn chair into a ball. She placed the wrecked chair next to her workbench and continued. "As I said Admin, fuck it. I'm buying a bed! It's gonna be a nice fuckin' bed too!" Flicking the mental dial over to her wings Eden took off, flying through and out of her base, a Phantom Limb shutting the base's trapdoor behind her.
Halfway in her flight to find a mattress store the phone in her pocket began to buzz. Eden pulled it out and used her wings to shield her from the wind. "Sup HoneyBee." She grinned at the exasperated huff that came over the phone.
"Did you forget I was in the base?" Taylor asked
Eden felt her face flush under her helmet. "You saw what happened?" She asked, already knowing the answer, instead of getting the verbal confirmation she expected, her phone pinged and she glanced at the image her girlfriend had sent through messaging.
A photo of herself laying on the ground, a bewildered and angry expression donned at the lawn chair currently laying atop her prone form.
"I wasn't aware." Taylor's voice drawled out as a smirk entered her voice "that you slept underneath the chair. I think the ground might be bad for your back, Eden."
Aw hell. "...Please don't send th-" Eden's phone pinged again and she glanced at it only to see a text from Amy 'Have a booboo for me to heal?' and the same image Taylor had sent her a moment earlier. Eden groaned louder this time, although the clearly muffled giggle that came through the call with Taylor made up for the embarrassment that caused her face to heat up. She sent off a text to Amy, telling her that:
One: No she was fine
Two: Unless Amy wanted an excuse to touch her
Three: "3"
"You do realize that this means war." She cautioned Taylor after having sent the text off.
"One you will sorely lose I assure you. Aside from that, are we not jogging together today?" Taylor asked over the phone.
"Of course we are. Buying a bed won't take long, I'll just go to one of those places that sell exclusively bedroom stuff and be back in a flash. So don't worry, we can sweat together in due time. Got to go though, cya HoneyBee." getting a 'see you later' from Taylor the call ended and the phone went back into her pocket.
She hadn't scouted the Downtown area at all, but she could fly and she had functioning eyes. So it wasn't that hard to find a mattress store. Still took longer than she would have liked. Entering the place, the store was rather quiet until one of the store's associate's saw her as she saw him and froze in place as soon as she started walking up to him.
"Yo." She stated, a Cosmic Limb flicking into existence causing the man to flinch. Then his eyes widened as a very fat stack of one hundred dollar bills suddenly appeared in Eden's hands at the touch of her space filled arm. "Look. I want to buy a bed and everything that goes with it. I want the biggest, softest fucking bed you have here. I want the nicest, softest fucking sheets you got, I want the softest, firm pillows that can go with the bed, and I'm paying for it all in fully legal cash. Kay?"
The man (whose name was Jeff according to his nametag) brightened up. "W-Well of course! Please follow me!"
While [Eve] busied herself with exchanging currency with her fellow humans you looked into contacting [ARMORER] and [SAFEGUARD]. The possibility of compiling additional branches of technology into /TrumpTech\ was growing more and more as you shifted through the data you had accrued from the Shard's you had been in contact with.
It was surprising just how messy it all was, QA had more than likely spoiled you with how neat she kept her data. This was all just a mess in comparison. But what were a few more strings to a pile of tangled threads?
[SAFEGUARD] was important, a vital Shard with it's function entirely built upon keeping things hidden from other Entities. Entities much like the Warrior. Your Network would remain small and fragmented until you could reach full Entity status, which would involve taking an Administrative Shard into your network and likely alerting the Warrior to what you were doing and planning on accomplishing in the absence of the hopefully fatally wounded Thinker.
So you contacted [SAFEGUARD], and in all honesty it wasn't such a bad conversation. Better than [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE]. But all through [SAFEGUARD] had the hidden tone of wishing to speak about their host. So you allowed them, after all you were here to gather Data. Gossip could, in some circumstances, be considered Data. At least, if one were to ask [NEGOTIATOR] that is.
Interesting to know that [SAFEGUARD]'s host was the progenitor to [DENSITY]'s two Hosts. But ultimately unimportant to [Eve] or her groupings.
[ARMORER] however was a venerable font of information, the more useful kind. As their Host struggled to form bonds and groupings with those of their race instead of the canines that surrounded them [ARMORER] wished to know how my host interacted with those around them and then just showed you the data surrounding their host's interactions with Canines. This also included data on how the power gifted to [ARMORER]'s host interacted with the canines it armored.
You, of course, know that humans as a species are very close to one another. A very communal species but unconnected by anything greater than a want for their own kind. But you are no socialite Shard. Every power you've given out in the Cycles under the Thinker's directives were that of Adjuster Shards, or Trump powers as [Eve] would call them aside from that one poorly wrought Innovator Cycle you attempted. As such you told [ARMORER] that you would contact a Socialite focused Shard once you met one and get back to them with the data.
[ARMORER] wasn't too happy with you not knowing, but they begrudgingly gave thanks for the offered help. When the connection closed you went back to sorting the data presenting almost eagerly.
[Eve] would surely be happy with what the both of you could create together.
Taylor slowly laced up her shoes, still waiting for Eve to get back from her shopping trip. She took a moment to glance at the picture she had captured once more and chuckled, at first she had worried that the short girl had hurt herself when she flipped the lawn chair over. But falling off the chair was likely the least dangerous thing Eve had done this week concerning her injuries.
Which was actually concerning, now that she had a moment to think about it. It was really concerning. "Heeeey HoneyBee, you would not believe the fucking things I bought. Holy shit they are amazing. I didn't even know memory foam gel beds were a thing and damn, am I glad I do now." Eve said as she jogged up to Taylor, wearing the tank top that clung to her body and Taylor was glad that the short girl was wearing a sports bra under it.
That was good, for the time Taylor had spent at the base while weaving Eve a new suit and a hood for herself, her short girlfriend had not actually slept all that well. Rather she slept fitfully, constantly moving in her sleep and mouthing words that Taylor couldn't discern.
"What did you buy, bed wise?" Taylor asked as she stood up, stretching her claves lightly and getting ready for the jog ahead and starting off in a slow walk that began to pick up to a light jog.
"A fucking California sized king bed, with two pillows and a body pillow. All of it memory foam, oh and those really expensive cotton sheets and a blanket, pillow cases included. Spent like fifteen hundred dollars but oh my god Taylor it feels so nice." A dreamy sigh escaped Eve and Taylor's lip twitched upwards "it was so hard to not go back to bed. I'm not kidding, we need to try it out sometime."
She almost tripped and sent an unamused glare at Eve who quickly held up her hands in surrender "Cuddling! I meant cuddling! I know you're not like…close to doing that with me. I get it. But I really do like having you hold me."
Warmth rushed through her face. "Why is that?" She asked, curiosity spiking. Although Eve had made her enjoyment of being held abundantly clear with her constant worming into Taylor's lap or side, it was still nice to hear it spoken aloud.
"I dunno…" Eve trailed off, and Taylor allowed the sounds of their feet hitting concrete to fill the void. Sometimes the short girl needed time to get her thoughts in order. "...I just…I haven't been held in a long time, and you're warm, you're there. The way you run your fingers through my hair, how tight you hold me… it just makes me feel safe I guess. I know you wouldn't hurt me."
Something in Taylor's throat tightened, just a bit. It was very nice to hear it spoken aloud.
"Another question. If you don't mind? It might be personal." It would also likely drown the mood, but her swarm took more of her anxiety so she had the courage to ask this question aloud.
"You know I'm always an open book for you Taylor." Eve grunted "Or. I try to be. Somethings… well I'll do my best to tell you."
"Why do you not like blondes? I know it probably has something to do with the Nazis. But you've read porn of every female cape I know of. Doesn't matter what their power was, how pretty they are, or how much older they are than you. But blondes?" Taylor turned her head towards Eve, the insects around her allowing her to know she wasn't about to run into a blurry blob despite the headache she got from looking through their senses.
"You hate the… you didn't threaten Lisa just because she was smug and reminded you of Emma-" thank god for bugs taking her emotions, because Tattletale also reminded her of Emma "- you did it because she was blonde."
"...Fuuuuck." A harsh sigh escaped Eve. "I guess I have….I didn't even really notice…My mom. When she was alive she dyed her hair blonde all the time. For a while she kept pushing me to do the same. I'd find hair dye in my bathroom, magazines with blonde women in them on my desk. Empire propaganda on my bed."
"I hated it. I hated how she wanted me to not be myself. How little she cared about me that my hair color was so fucking important to her. More important than my feelings on the matter. Every other day she'd make some remark about it, a suggestion, or ask if I liked her hair. Dad just fucking left me alone about it, left me alone about a lot of stuff. But that was better than the constant nagging and disappointed looks I got from my mom."
Intellectually Taylor knew that not everyone loved their parents, or were loved by their parents. But it was still so disquieting to hear the utter disdain in Eve's voice as she spoke about her mother and father, to hear the lengths that Eve's parents had pushed right up until she triggered.
It was hard to understand how a family could tear itself apart like that. She could never imagine her mom acting that way, or her hating her mother. Nor her father, even if she did feel a touch of bitter resentment at his absence after mom died, she was still glad he respected her desire to not speak about school.
It had made her home a refuge, where she could unwind. But Eve hadn't had anything like that, had she? School was more than likely Empire grounds, home definitely was. It was a wonder that Eve hadn't gone through her trigger earlier.
"Should you hate blondes?" The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them, her panic spiking in her swarm.
"I-Yes? No? No…I shouldn't…but the memories." Eve shuddered, clearly unhappy with the line of discussion.
[Suggestion]
Erasing memories or altering them was not something that Taylor thought Eve would accept. But it did give her an idea. "Can't you make new memories?" She didn't know why she kept prodding, kept talking. Like her mouth was a broken dam, spilling out all the water it held. "You know a friendly blonde that isn't overly smug right? Amy's sister?"
"I don't know…" Eve mumbled softly. "Vicky's aura really fucks with me sometimes."
"We could both go with her. Do something that teenage girls do." As if she actually knew what normal teenage girls did, no that was a panicked idea because she just poked Eve right in her issues without any actual reason. "Just think about it alright?"
"What brought this up? You didn't seem to care all that much when I threatened Lisa." Eve asked, her grey blue eyes flicking over towards Taylor as they jogged. "It sure as shit isn't Queen coaching you, and Admin's been focusing on something all morning."
[Indignation]
"Just worried. Worried about you." It was a good excuse, it was also true. Taylor really did care a lot about Eve. The short girl might have been pushy and a disgusting flirt half the time, but the affection was heady. The flirting wasn't all that bad honestly, even if most of it was annoying, it was also nice to have someone flirt with her. Even if she didn't really understand why Eve continued to do so.
[Annoyance]
Taylor shook her head softly enough for Queen to get the message.
"Well. Thank you. I'll think about it….So was that a yes for the whole 'cuddling on the bed' thing tonight or no?" Eve asked, clearly shifting the conversation to something else.
"Depends on whether I'll be there. I have to actually go to school tomorrow rather than showing up for one class." Taylor answered. "See if Sophia really is out of school."
"Heh." Eve began to chuckle as they were almost to the Boardwalk. "If she isn't, just give me a call. I'll come back and beat her up again."
"I don't think that would be smart, considering that you had a tooth knocked out and should probably be covered in bruises." Taylor countered "Your identity means more to me than you beating up Sophia."
Eve huffed. "Dammit stop being so smart."
"Start acting smart and I will." Taylor shot back causing Eve to snort out a soft laugh.
"Fuck, got me there. How about I buy you breakfast? We can go to that tea place with the expensive stuff. I know you liked it last time we went there." Eve offered.
"We went there yesterday." Taylor replied as they moved onto the Boardwalk
"You still liked it. That soft groan you gave when you sipped at it for the first time reminded me of our first make-out session." Eve flashed her a grin as they both slowed their jogging
"Just for that, you can buy me some tea from there. And a pastry." Taylor huffed.
"How will I ever financially recover from this?" Eve actually giggled as she pulled a hundred dollar bill out of her pocket and changed her direction to head towards the café that sat on the edge of the Boardwalk, Taylor following behind her. She had ordered a Gold Black tea to go with a cherry turnover while Eve ordered chocolate milk and two eclairs.
It was Nice.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin Thursday the Eighth of 2011
Eve fired off a text to Amy as she flew above the city inviting her to go on a date later in the day, casual of course. Just the two of them relaxing. Of course thinking of Amy also brought the thoughts of her sister.
Taylor was right of course. Flying up in the sky and looking down gave Eve the perfect, still, moment to think over her girlfriend's words. She was right. "Fuck." She cursed louder "FUCK!" She really didn't want to go and hang out with Vicky. She didn't want to do anything with any blonde. Which was dumb.
It wasn't Empire levels of dumb, but judging people by hair color came pretty fucking close to it. But how could she fix it? Would hanging out with blondes actually help? She liked to think that her relationship with two girls helped with her parents imparted hatred of the f-of the gays. But she still slipped up every now and then.
She didn't care if it was an insult to her, but both Taylor and Amy fell under that insult. Eve would be damned if she was going to constantly insult her girlfriends, accidental or not.
[SUGGESTION]
"I'm almost tempted to take you up on that, but then it wouldn't really be me would it?" Just to have Admin cleanse the unwanted and painful memories, wash away the nasty behavior like it never existed. "I won't hide from this, and I won't be hiding it either." beneath her helmet Eve bit her bottom lip.
[ ]
A small smile played across Eve's lips. "Thanks Admin. So I get to choose this time around? Good, cause I've been fucking annoyed by how little I can build with my TrumpTech. Alright, definitely hit me with that Material stuff. Safer Tinkertech means I can share it with Amy and Taylor sooner rather than later. Hmm, we got a lot of [Metal]'s data don't we?"
[CONFIRMATION-DATA]
"Whew." Eden reached up, rubbing her head. "Yeah. yeah let's use some of that. Show up the Nazi's with their own fucking powers. Alright, actually ignore TrumpTech for a moment. That forge thing for my Ferrous Limbs? Can you explain that one?"
[ANSWER-DETAILS]
"Fuck YEAH, let's roll with that. Let me see what it's like." For a moment there was silence, then knowledge and instincts flooded into Eve's mind, more details for technology came to her mind. But what she was really excited for was the ability to make boiling metal.
She flicked one of her wings dials over to the Ferrous Limbs and stared at it as she started up the forge, the constantly rippling liquid metal starting to glow a dull red immediately. It took a full minute for it to reach the point that the metal looked like it was about to boil and the changes made Eden giddy.
The ripples had stopped completely, and the metal was so flexible. The Ferrous Limb already gave her the ability to shape metal as she liked, but never to this detail. Slowly she formed a hollow statue of Khepri at full height made of high grade, high carbon content steel. Then she reshaped it to a big fucking sword, made hollow as well because then she could stuff it's inside with fucking Tinkertech. "Holy shit Admin, this could cut down on the time it takes to tinker big stuff." She grinned, shaping the molten metal into different parts with connecting bands of metal so thin she would be able to snap them off or saw them off easily.
She pulled the metal together and formed a solid metal sword and (with a quick google search) a solid metal mace to go with it, along with several daggers. She would have to wrap their handles in something, she knew that much. Something to grip them if she were going to use them, but department stores had that rubber stuff for that kind of thing.
"Oh man. Alright." She pushed down the excitement as the metal cooled in a minute and the limb they were connected to fell from her body, only for her Cosmic Limb to store them and the Limb away for later.
"Onto the next! Let's grab the biological stuff! We can help Amy out in the hospital and she'll be so fucking happy!" That was a good reason for getting into that branch of technology, hell maybe she could make some cybernetics for people
Eve pulled her mind away. "OH! Durability! 'Cause I forgot to work on my Signal Grabber this morning, gonna have to do that later or it'll break down."
[NEGATION/RESOURCES-LIMITED]
"AW FUCK ME!" Eden slapped the visor of her helmet. "Damn it. [Armorer] belongs to the Undersiders right?" Fuck, she had wanted to make tinkertech for Taylor and Amy, but without durability they wouldn't last very long and the maintenance would likely build up to an overwhelming amount.
[AFFIRMATION/QUERY-CONFLICT]
"It's possible. But [Negotiator] and her Host are both with us, that means I can't just beat them up without letting them know it's gonna happen. Don't wanna rough them up either… Mmmm. Hey, that [Shaper] branch of technology has nonlethal stuff right?" Eden asked as she glanced towards the Docks where she had first seen the Undersiders, tried to fight them, and failed to actually take them down.
They hadn't won, and the whole thing was technically a draw. But it still felt like a loss compared to the fact that she could have collected four Pings in total. She was definitely going to have to kick Grue's ass later to make up for it, since it was his fault she lost them in the first place.
"That's all we got for today?" Eden asked as her phone pinged with an incoming message. She checked it and grinned as Amy's text confirmed the casual date later tonight and asked when it was happening.
[ -EXPLANATION]
Eden nodded. Feeling her head heating up from the deluge of concepts hitting her mind. "So we need to find [Copy Projection] for the last piece of me never dying?"
[AFFIRMATION]
Something of a soft exhale escaped Eve, she'd feel a lot safer once they got this done. She wouldn't have to worry about assholes like the DragonSlayers, or god forbid the Slaughterhouse Ten… might even help in the fighting at the end of this Cycle.
'Might' because it's fucking Zion.
"[Copy Projection]…honestly it's probably the Empire's Crusader dude. The asshole with the yellow ghosts." She remembered reading up on him at the library, the first time she had met Taylor, the memory causing her to grin. "Alright, so his ghosts go through nonorganic material. Anything we have that might deal with that?"
[ASPECTS-INFORMATION-FEATHERED LIMBS]
"Ah, so the crystalline matrix they're made of is organic in nature? Hey wait, Admin aren't you made of crystal? Are the wings designed to look like you do?" Eve questioned as she brought a wing over to her front and inspected the polished crystal that formed her most used Aspect. "I imagine that you aren't so polished, but man. I kinda want to see your true self at some point Admin."
[AGREEMENT]
"Alright then, we'll see about that in the future. For now we're hunting Nazis for that data you need, right." Eden checked her phone, humming softly. "Cause the date is gonna be around six I think. Give me and Amy time to enjoy ourselves if I have to get her home by ten… It's currently one pm. Damn." That didn't give her much time to get things all set up. Slowly moving towards Empire territory Eden sent off a text asking what times were fine with Amy, and if she wanted anything specific during the date.
While she waited for Amy's reply Eden flew deeper into the outskirts of Empire territory, specifically Iron Rain's. She had no idea where Crusader would likely be, so she could probably either stumble upon him, or beat his location out of some of the Empire folk around in the area.
Though she couldn't really use her radar to point him out she could still use it to find nearby parahumans. Empire territory plus parahumans? Likely gonna be Empire. Her third Limb flicked into a Ghostly Limb, it's fingers twitching softly as it attuned to the sub-dimensional Beacon each parahuman had in their head. Fingers pointed off in one direction and close by to boot.
However, before she flew off to start the fight with the unknown parahumans, Eden hesitated. She had nearly died from fighting the DragonSlayers with two others helping. She wasn't scared to fight by herself or anything like that. But she had certainly learned her lesson then and there.
Her phone flicked out and she hummed softly as she called Taylor, raising higher to avoid detection, the phone clicked as Taylor picked it up. "Eve." her girlfriend sounded…relieved? No, more like she was relaxed, which was odd. Taylor used her human name and that meant that the tall girl was out in public at the least but the only public places Taylor went were the library and school. "I must admit to being wrong about what you did. I was dreading the day the entire time I was getting ready for school. But Sophia isn't here, hell Emma isn't here either, and Madison won't even look at me. Everyone is keeping their distance from me."
Taylor sounded so happy over being isolated that it was almost heartbreaking. All Eve did was beat someone up for fucks sake! A schoolyard fight should not have improved things that much! "I'm glad to hear things are going well. But I have some news on the flip side, you decent?"
"Oh. Yes I am. Is something wrong?" From her relief to straight business. It was a bit of a whiplash.
"No, no. Just need to fight the Nazis, and I want to know if you'd like to join me." Eve stated. "I'm looking for Crusader and either I'll find him or get information on him from his friends."
"You need my help?" Taylor questioned, Eve could hear something shifting over the phone, probably Taylor's backpack being moved. "Or did you already attack them?"
"Well. I'm fairly certain I could take them. I know all the Nazis by name and power. But uh. Maybe you and Queen would like to come and create data with me you know? Teamwork makes the dream work?" Eden offered.
"You ask for help in the weirdest way possible, you know that?" Taylor sighed. "Later tonight. I'm actually enjoying school right now…not something I had expected to say for the next two years honestly. Meet you at your home before we go hunting."
"Oh uh. It'll have to be after ten, me and Amy are going on a date tonight…I spend a lot of time with you and I-" Eve was cut off by the harsh sigh that filtered through the phone.
"You don't have to justify yourself. I know you like her, I'm fairly certain she likes you as well. I get to see you every day, she doesn't. It's fine Eve. Go have fun, I'll be waiting at your house working on my clothes." Taylor told her, before ending the call preventing Eve from saying anything back.
With a soft curse Eve put her phone away and started flying towards the library, she was going to need to look up some interesting places in the nearest city if she wanted her date with Amy to be something nice for the both of them.
That and she had nothing much else to do. Aside from doing cape things or hanging out with her girlfriends, she honestly didn't have much to do and thinking about it always left her with a touch of melancholy. Maybe she should find a hobby beyond caping and powers since sports were right out.
[ .CHANGE]
Eve nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, it'll be a few hours before we go off hunting for them. Why?"
[ANSWER-MEMORY ]
"Oh." Eve frowned beneath her helmet's golden visor "Of course Admin, go on and review your memories. They're probably important if you hid them in the past and don't remember why. Go ahead, I need less sleep and Khepri doesn't need to sleep at all so fighting during the night will be fine." She dropped her wings and fell through the air like a brick, her Shadow Limbs catching the edge of a roof and slinging her away from the Library before she settled down into an alleyway to swap her costume with her civilian attire.
"So yeah." She mumbled under her breath, thinking the words as she said them. "Go ahead, we can wait until you're done to start conflict."
[ ]
"I'll be fine. You don't have to worry about me, just reading on the internet and a date with Amy. Shouldn't really need you for anything and honestly a date with me and Amy and not us with Amy and [Shaper] would be nice…No offense. Seriously." She paused her speaking and shuddered as panic flirted through her chest before a sense of comfort washed through the connection from Admin.
"Thank you." Eve murmured as she moved to enter the library.
With [Eve] going to keep herself busy with non-Shard business, and as such no conflict, you were ready to go over the second memory cache. Even if you did not feel all that ready. Rather, a sense of…wrongness welled inside your CoreSelf. Nervous. Checking in line with [Eve]'s memories on her feelings, you were nervous. You did not like this feeling.
"Hey admin can you ask [Shaper] what Amy's favorite foods are? Sorry, just need to know." But the emotion was ruined by [Eve]'s request, of which you were thankful for.
It was a simple task of contacting [SHAPER] and requesting some information from it's Host's memories was simple and quick. Expedient to the point where you could not skim off Data from the communications
[INFORMATION] you send off, getting thanks from [Eve] as she continues to attempt to form a stronger bond with [SHAPER]'s Host.
The distraction had not lasted long, and the feeling of nerves came back in due haste. So you ignored it and plunged your higher cognitive processes into the memory cache. There would be no issues with your lower processes keeping everything running. Still, you did not like leaving [Eve] without your aid should it be required.
The Pair twisted in space. The last seven having been bountiful with Data for both, but only one would shed its Shards each Cycle. Once having named itself 'The Devourer', the larger Entity of the pair moved with pure purpose. The civilization it had left behind was thriving. Growing. Experiencing new heights of societal change and technological growth that its species would forever consider 'the Golden Age'. The species of insectoids had come together, and although the Valurt's warlike nature was curbed it wasn't wasted. Instead it had been channeled into conflict rife sports and mock war rather than true fatalistic warfare. The species came together not in bloodshed, but competitive drive as a species. Thus 'The Unifier' was created. Apollyon was no more, The Devourer's eternal hunger sated by a new thirst.
It was the next race The Unifier graced, the Mireesh that certified the change, when Shards refused the active call to return to The Unifier at the end of the Cycle. Several thousand had grown 'fond' of their Hosts and wished to remain. They were willing to give up eternity to remain with their Hosts and the Host's future descendants. The Unifier had not known how to handle this sudden change in their Shards, they sought the counsel of The Watcher only to be told, in effect, 'Entity learn thyself', leaving The Unifier frozen in its indecision.
Its Administrative Shard, wishing to stay with The Unifier, offered a solution of leaving a bud behind to form a new Administrative Shard, creating a faux Network. The Shards that rejected eternity could still save their data, store it for future collection. More than that, they could collect energy, and be collected were they ever to be shut down from a lack of energy.
The Unifier considered, The Unifier listened.
The Shards that wished to be left behind were pruned, the mass they no longer would need was severed and reconnected to The Unifier's loyal Shards and the Bud from the Administrative Shard. This would help save the nonloyal Shards energy and would start the Faux-Network sooner. Most of the crystalline flesh went towards [ENERGY COLLECTOR]'s bud, so that the nonloyal Shards could gather their own energy without The Unifier here to give them energy.
Thus, one of the planetoids in the systems had one of its largest moons detonated in several dimensions to propel The Unifier and The Watcher on towards the next civilization. A species calling themselves the Dranore, warm blooded reptilians that had once ruled the skies and breathed flame before evolution followed a different path.
If The Unifier cared to go over such commonalities, it might have wondered if almost all creative species would eventually walk upright.
But such thoughts did not occur to the Entity. Rather it and The Watcher investigated this new civilization. Already they had started attempts in colonizing another planet within their star system, another planetoid within the habitable zone of the system's star.
The Sif had done the same, and it had been an interesting Cycle with a species capable of complex shape shifting down to the cellular level.
The Watcher however, declared that the time of their cooperation had come to an end, and with a farewell it had simply left while The Unifier was seeding the Dranore homeworld in multiple dimensions. Alone again, The Unifier almost fell back into its previous namesake. The temptation of security that came with just hiding and devouring was tempting.
But something pulled The Unifier forwards. Some odd sense it could not understand. Some notion that its core systems assigned as important enough to override the security of itself. The Unifier….built. It created. It liked the species it had interacted with. Come to change, to nurture, to guide. In turn, perhaps The Unifier had also been nurtured, guided, and changed by the very races it had used, manipulated, and genocide in order to experiment.
The Cycle played out much like the last seven Cycles, each species given seven hundred years in each Cycle to give more than two generations to grow into the Entity's presence among their kind. An Avatar, taller than average, female, shapely where the species considered it attractive, with scales like that of a green gemstone that the species thought of in good light according to their predominance in adorning themselves in it. All meant to ease the sudden appearance of 'a much larger fipil in the sky' as the Mireesh would say.
After all, what was once The Devourer knew how many living things reacted to something dimensionally enormous and quite deadly showing up suddenly.
The integration took an entire generation to settle, not as violent as the Valurt, The Dranore as a race had dreamed of the stars and meeting fellow denizens of the galaxy they lived in. Never had they expected the fictional to come to them and offer them what amounted to mythical abilities and technology in line with their wildest dreams. Of course that's not to say it was easy nor entirely accepted by the population of the planet.
But their children, and their children's children had grown used to the Emerald-scaled Avatar and its seeded Shards. The fright of meeting an apex predator dimmed and was washed away by time. Less warlike than the Valurt, the Dranore focused on using the gifts bestowed upon them to expand their world, expand their kind's grasp of the void between stars.
And so The Unifier watched over them as they expanded their horizons and the data they created. Then something novel occurred as the Cycle came to an end. Where the dead iterations of the planet would be destroyed for energy and to be converted to more crystalline flesh. The Avatar had been approached by a grouping of Hosts with a new idea that the Entity had not heard before.
They wished to travel with the Entity, to help study reality, to embrace eternity as the Shard's knew it, to see the stars and all that they hold. The want of the Host species to travel with The Unifier was not entirely new, but so few wished for it beyond immortality, to be embraced by their 'goddess'. Those that wished to study stayed, gorging themselves upon the knowledge left by the Beholders and the Innovators, and pushing their species forwards.
One such Host, belonging to The Unifier's Administrator, made their case to the Avatar alongside their Shard. Convinced, The Unifier accepted, taking the Host's minds and Psionic Shades with it as the Entity left the Dranore behind to search for another species. After centuries of searching, the Administrator and their Host came up with a prospect that slowed The Unifier's mind with the sheer possibilities that could be mapped out from the idea.
And so The Unifier changed once more, no longer satisfied with unifying a species. The Entity sought to create a species of their own. The next desolate world the Entity found, once to be ignored, was then terraformed, changed to become habitable. The Hissma were created. A species of living black sand, symbiotic parasites ravaged the land they were created upon. Not wholly intelligent, they followed the path of the First Grey World and choked the planet in black sand. Stifling all life and then their own in short order.
It was reminiscent of the Entity's own history and The Unifier's Socialite Shards clamored with their Hosts over the philosophy to be gained from such an experiment and the results it gave. But The Unifier was not satisfied, was not pleased. But it-she. But she did not give up. The Unifier detonated several copies of the now barren again planet and was sent off once more through the stars.
The next planet given life, came to have the Fallinor on its surface. Energy given shape, given life. This time the planet had more dangerous things upon it, things that preyed upon the Fallinor forcing them to use their abilities in combat and to shape their environment to provide better shelter. But while they were intelligent they lacked the spark The Unifier sought.
And so The Unifier left the Fallinor to grow on their own, to seek their own path as the Entity moved onto the next dimensional set of barren worlds. Finding a planet that was tidally locked in place, The Unifier created the Yodike. A race of insectoids able to use the fur that lined their bodies to turn partially invisible. Most of the life on the planet was unable to do the same leaving Yodike as good ambush predators. But something was off… unsatisfying yet it was the Yodike and the Dranore Simulacrums who showed the Entity what was off.
The past three Cycles were of a species with no cultural background, no true identity beyond the names given to them by The Unifier and the Simulacrums it carried with it'-her Shards. There was no history, no great conflicts, no struggles or victories. The species she had created were sentient, sapient. But overall they were still husks, without identity. Such cultural identity would take time. But time, before the heat death, was easy to spend.
All the Entity would need to do was create a species and let it exist. The Unifier could create multiple species, allow them to grow, then have a perpetual Cycle of Data harvesting. The Simulacrums referred to it as farming, something The Unifier was aware of, yet had never suspected that itself would partake in. The Watcher had been correct in it's assertion that there was another path to take.
And so, The Unifier moved through multiple star systems devoid of life seeding everyone not with Shards but with life. Plants, insects, animals, single cell lifeforms, everything needed to start life upon a planet…then the Entity moved on just like that. Leaving the world to grow without it.
But one species came to be favored above everything else of course, having markers in their DNA to uplift them. Just to guarantee that sentient life would arise and dominate the planet. Otherwise it was 'manipulators off' in terms of handling the species that The Unifier created. All except for one.
The Villa, a name that the Entity had made itself. It would mean 'link'. Because this species was to be a slightly higher priority than all the other life it had created. Although, perhaps The Unifier had just become biased in its quest to create life that generated valuable data. It thought fondly of the Villa, which it created with tall lithe bodies covered in dense but soft black fur.
Their minds, the wetware that held the spark of sentience within them, was as close to Shardware as possible without forcing the body to change in order to support the Pseudo-Crystalline organ within their skull. This hybridization allowed for the Villa's abilities to come to actualization with their tall, willowy bodies. The black mist that spilled from their forms on command, that their minds shaped into tools, weapons, armor, vehicles, buildings, cities even.
There had been other species capable of impressive feats. A race capable of accessing the Quantra layer for short periods of time, those capable of manipulating gravity with their nerves, and of course a species capable of possessing one another with a secondary set of limbs. But none had the wetware made almost entirely of shard flesh. Where the previous species had been good for data creation. The Villa were The Unifier's offspring in a nebulous manner.
And the Entity was very curious about how they would turn out.
Thus the memory ends, leaving you feeling disorientated as far as a Shard is capable of feeling. Much like reviewing some of your non hidden memories, this snapped to the forefront of your cognitive processes. Only far more…vivid. More akin to experiencing everything for the first time than reviewing it. You were unsure if this was purposeful or simply a byproduct of the method of retaining the memories.
The memory also ensured that there was no doubt you belonged to The Devourer, and in turn belonged to The Unifier more than likely being the administrative Shard for them. With you now having been in the possession of the Thinker then it was likely you were either exchanged or forcibly taken.
Though perhaps it was more lik/ Oh. That was not/
A data package, hidden within the memory just like before. You should have expected one, you did expect something. But not this. It was a massive amount of data, enough to…Oh yes. Oh [Eve] was going to love this. This data packet would allow you to craft a power reminiscent of the Villa as seen in the hidden memory cache. You felt a spike of hunger lurch through your CoreSelf. The Villa's power drew almost entirely from the creativity of the user and their ability to concentrate on their power.
This was going to generate so much data.
Eve ' Eden' Coldwin, hours earlier.
She bounced on the heels of her feet, staring at the door to the Dallon's house. She was all dressed up, new clean jeans with a nice purple polo shirt. Polo shirts were casually formal right? They had worked last time so hopefully they would do so this time.
Of course, last time Amy had fallen asleep on her shoulder… So still a win. That counted for something right? Eve couldn't fall asleep on someone unless she trusted them not to draw on her face or get touchy so… Maybe she was reaching there. Taking a deep breath to cool her nerves, she stepped forwards and knocked on the door.
It took only a few seconds, but it felt like minutes before Carol Dallon opened the door, two shards of blue flint staring down at the girl on her doorstep "I'm here to pick up Amy." Eve explained
"Yes, I've heard of the date, although from Victoria rather than Amy herself. She's to be home by nine, no later. Is that understood?" Her voice brooked no room for arguments, and although that was an hour shorter than what Eve had planned for it still gave them both three hours seeing as it was currently six pm.
"That's fine, she'll be home on time." Eve agreed, meeting the Aryan woman's eyes and holding them. She managed to keep her expression flat, as far as she could tell.
Giving a single nod Carol moved out of the way and called out in a voice befitting a soul-sucking lawyer called out across the house. "Amy! That girl is here!"
Eve managed to repress the urge to narrow her eyes. Brandish knew damn good and well what her fucking name was. The annoyance with Carol crashed and died as she saw Amy, wearing skinny jeans and a polo shirt of her own.
Eve tried to discreetly check if she was drooling from the grin on her face because wow Amy in skinny jeans.
"Finally. Let's go." Amy gruffly ordered as she walked past her mother and then started past Eve, who glanced between the surly teenager and her mother before following after her date.
"Woah slow down, you don't even know where we're going!" Eve called out as she jogged up to Amy who was fast walking away from the house. Coming up to walk alongside her date Eve frowned. "Amy slow down, what's bitten you?"
The healing cape sighed harshly but slowed down nonetheless. "Nothing."
Shaking her head Eve nudged her tentative girlfriend with her elbow. "Hold up, you're generally acidic but not huffy. Tell me what's really up Amy, if anything it'll probably be nice to bitch about it yeah?"
"Yeah I guess." Amy grumbled as she slowed down even further. "But some of it's cape stuff you know."
Eve glanced about, noting that there were people around. Walking dogs, checking their mail, and doing yard work. "Alright, I won't push on details then." She said as she began to guide Amy away from the residential area to somewhere where she could change and bring them to their real date location.
She'd planned this after remembering that the 'Panacea sightings' thread on PHO was a thing. Which was a creepy thing that she might have to do something about in the future. Tinkered PC viruses that ate photos of specific things might work for something like that… best wait on something like that for later though. When she was sure she wouldn't accidentally give Dragon a rival or something silly.
Once they were further away from people, and ostensibly out of sight. Eve swapped into her costume and flicked the dials over to her wings and one Ferrous Limb. Which she used to pick Amy up and shield them both from the wind as Eden flew. "So what's eating at you?"
"Don't repeat this anywhere alright? But I got called by the PRT last night to heal up one of their Wards." Amy huffed. "Shadow Stalker is an utter bitch at the best of times. Most of the time she's a disrespectful bitch that takes her endless anger out on everyone else. Including me when I'm healing her."
Eden huffed as well. "What the hell was so important about her wounds that they had to wake you up to heal her? I mean, who the hell would hurt one of the Wards that bad? Isn't that like a one way ticket to having Alexandria introduce her fist to the inside of your skull?"
A derisive snort escaped Amy. "Tell that to the seven Wards the Fallen have kidnapped. But no, looks like a bunch of Empire punks attacked her out of costume, just cause she's black and their assholes you know?"
"Don't I ever." Eden grumbled softly as she picked up speed, the wind picking up as a result. She tried to keep her mind off what the Fallen would do with the Kidnapped Wards. "How bad was it?"
"A mess. Three of her floating ribs were broken and were close to puncturing her stomach, one of her kidneys was horribly damaged, she was covered in bruises, it looked like someone clawed the shit out of her arms, and then her nose was broken as well, not mentioning her mild concussion. All of which was worse because like an idiot she didn't immediately get herself checked into a hospital so everything degraded. Then because she wasn't as much of a badass as she thought she was, Stalker decided to verbally lash out at me." Amy sighed before glancing at the still form of Eden. "So yeah, pretty damn bad all things considered. Though she had several hairline fractures on her fists, so I can only assume that she at least punched one of the bastards. Even if she is a bitch I can't say I like the Empire much."
"Ditto." Eve agreed. Her mind had already matched the events of the fight a day or so ago to the injuries described. They matched up almost perfectly, guess she hadn't held back as much as she'd thought. But that wasn't really important was it?
Sophia was Shadow Stalker. A Ward. A Ward had caused Taylor to trigger. A Ward had tortured Taylor Hebert for two years until she broke, then continued to do so more and more with immunity from her actions. It was clear why the locker had not been investigated fully. A Ward, a government sponsored hero had tortured her girlfriend to her personnel breaking point.
Bile rose in Eve's throat, bile and raw hate.
But Eve forced it down, put it in a nice little box next to her heart. She was on a date with Amy after all, and she could always open that little box of hate and bile for when she next saw Sophia. Her attention was dragged back to Amy as the healer cape spoke. "So, where are we going?"
"To another state entirely." Eden declared, enjoying the surprise on Amy's face. Letting the warmth push down the roaring fire of her heart. "That creepy PHO thread made it clear you couldn't have any peace going out and about. So we're going to where less people will recognize you. Another state entirely!"
Sputtering, Amy's eyes went wide as the Ferrous Limb dropped it's wind shields as they slowed and she spotted the massive open green field they were settling down in. A huge picnic blanket was laid out, large rocks sat on each corner to prevent the wind from moving it. Her Cosmic Limb removed her shoes as she touched down on the picnic blanket, but the Feathered Limbs she had active kept Amy slightly above the blanket.
"Care to join me?" Amy nodded and took off her shoes and was lowered onto the blanket. The day wasn't overcast, but the sky was cloudy enough that the sun didn't beat down on them. Even if it made for a warm day, Eve had a solution for too much sun as well. Eve hummed as she used her Limbs to pull out two jumbo umbrellas and plant them into the ground so that half the blanket had shade. Then she began to bring out all the food she had bought just for the date, her storage's stasis making sure everything was just as cold and hot as the moment she bought it.
"Alright, so I cheated and asked Shaper what your favorite foods and drinks were." Eve stated as she set out the tv dinner trays, small little tables to keep the food off the blanket, and then she set up the drinks.
Cold coffee so fresh there wasn't a drop of condensation on them, and club sandwiches with honey wheat bread still toasted warm and the veggies with meat still chilled.
The wide eyes of Amy's stare made Eve smile. "Hey, go on and dig in. I brought my own favorite foods as well." Then Eve began to set up her own side, after all she didn't need the fucking internet to make sure her girlfriend was served first.
"Why?" Eve glanced up at the confused tone in Amy's voice, one of eyebrows arching to get Amy to continue. "Why all this? You could have just taken us to the movies again, or for ice cream on the Boardwalk. Not all…this?' Weakly, Amy motioned out to the miles of flattish land and mostly shaded picnic blanket shared between the two of them.
"Because you deserve to enjoy this, instead of having your time ruined by idiots with their phones out or family rubbernecking us. Out here? It's just us. Me and you. No one else" Eve stepped over and hugged Amy tightly. "Because I like you, and you deserve some special treatment."
"Right." The response came out thickly, slightly choked. Eve couldn't imagine why. But she wasn't going to be asking [Shaper] and violating Amy's privacy. The food thing didn't count, she could have just asked Vicky for that. But [Shaper] would know exactly what Amy enjoyed the most, thankfully she had asked before Admin had retreated to look over whatever the Administrative Shard was reviewing in her memories. Thus some really wetb-frilly. Some really frilly coffee made cold and oddly enough mostly veggie club sandwiches.
"Amy." Eve pulled back as she felt Amy's return hug weaken. "Let's relax, yeah? If anyone has earned it, it's us two." As if held by an invisible hand, because it was, a cold coffee floated up in front of Amy.
The mousy girl accepted the drink and took a long pull from the cup. A small smile splayed across her lips as she tasted one of her favorites. "Thank you Eve."
"Anything for you Amy."
Neither girl spoke much, rather just slowly eating the 'prepared' food, watching the clouds move in the sky, the wind shifting the field of grass around them, and the sky going from a cloudy blue to a cloudy purple and orange. The alarm in Amy's phone buzzing and letting the girls know that the date had come to an end, the food left over was left behind for the wildlife and everything else went into Eve's storage (to be fed to the Flesh Garden). Then the two of them went up, and Eden repeated the trick from earlier to bring Amy home without people spotting the two of them together.
[INFORMATION/GREETINGS/POWER-/Villa's Memory\]
"What was that?" Amy questioned as Eden's flight stuttered briefly. "We aren't going to hit the curb at terminal velocity are we?"
"No I uh…I got a new power?" Eden replied as she felt the…it was hard to describe in words. A mental muscle of some sort that moved the powers into slots. Except the Grasping Hands power, all she got for her efforts in trying to remove that square peg from it's slot was a minor headache.
Like hell she was going to drop out her Self Administration, so she pulled her TrumpTech out and slotted in the newest power she had gained. A sharp gasp left her as a low, malevolent, energy seeped into her skin. "EDEN!"
She jerked upwards. "Huh? What? Sorry Amy, what did you say?"
"I asked how the hell you got a new power so fast, and what it was?" Amy repeated herself, "Also you flew past my house."
"Ah shit." Eden did an almost complete U-turn in the air, keeping her wings and Ferrous Limb enclosed around them to shield the two from the winds. "It's hard to explain, but I can control a mist, and turn it into stuff. Like tools and weapons. I can also flip it's Manton limit as well." She raised her left arm and felt the pores in the exposed sections of her fingers tingle as that malevolent energy began to pool across the exposed skin before leaking off like mist spilling over the side of a container.
She formed it into a knife, the mist solidifying in a way that left it almost transparent but still fully able to block line of sight. "Huh. I can't do it indefinitely." It took nothing to keep the black mist around, and only a smidgeon of concentration to keep it formed. But pulling the black mist out of her pores? Well now she noticed the small reservoir somewhere inside her…body? It existed and she knew that much, and pulling that much black mist out had but a slight dent in it.
"Right, well I'm happy for you?" Amy tried and it made Eve roll her eyes.
"It's certainly nice, but it's not important at the moment. The date however…did you like it?" She asked as she swapped her costume for her civilian clothes and set the two of them down in an alleyway.
"Well…" Amy pursed her lips together before speaking up. "It was different. Quiet. I think I could do something like that again."
A fat grin graced Eve's face as she offered her hand to Amy, the brunette rolling her eyes before accepting the offered hand. "Alright come on, we're already twenty minutes late. Gonna be hearing that for the next few days." Amy grumbled.
"Could always come live at the base. We almost have the showers set up, we have a big ass bed in there, top of the line as well. Plus all the high speed free Wi-Fi you could ever want. Trash disposal, and there's no adults! No responsibilities, it's secret at the moment so no creeps. Plus there's also the fle-" Eve stopped as Amy held up a hand with an annoyed huff.
"Alright! Alright I get it." a pensive frown spread across her face. "I'll…consider the idea. I was planning on moving out when I turned eighteen anyways…what's two years earlier?"
"Just so you know, Khepri is often there, and I live there as well. So you won't be totally alone. If I get some kind of Earth manipulation power I could always expand the base so you could eventually have your own room to decorate and use for privacy, bathroom too. Make it into a real home." Eve offered up as further incentive for Amy to leave her house and home.
"I get it." Amy cut her off. "I really do."
"I surrender." Eve let a playful sigh escape her "Oh-" she stopped and stared at Amy's house, which was still lit up and had a very blonde ice queen standing by the door. "-shit. Welp. That offer is always open and you know how to get in contact with me."
"You're twenty minutes late." Carol stated before cutting off Amy's attempt to give any explanation. "Room Amy." the biokinetic didn't argue, instead she just marched off to her room with her head down.
"We had to walk, you know." Eve stated. "She can't exactly fly us here."
"Where were you?" Carol questioned "I didn't see the two of you appear on the panacea thread."
Her mouth opened and shut, working without producing sound as Eve tried to process that. Finally her vocal cords decided to work and she spoke up "We uh, went out of the city, had a picnic."
"For three hours." Carol's tone was disbelieving
Shrugging Eve out her hands into her pockets. "It was nice, no noise, no one to bother us, no sneering Nazi's or leering c-Asians, and no creeps taking photos of us and posting it on the internet. Just us, the sky, and the food I brought along." what, did Carol think they went off and fucked or something?
"I see." From her tone of voice, Eve doubted that the older hero did. "You can leave now." Carol stated before stepping into her home and closing the door, not sparing another glance at Eve. A second later Eve heard the door locking…three times?
"As if you could keep me here." Eve grumbled as she started walking away from the Dallon's house. She felt sort of bad for hoping things blew up in New Wave, if only so Amy could get out of there. But only sort of bad, not a lot. Because seriously, Carol.
She pulled out her phone, sending a text to Taylor that she was on her way before stuffing it in her pocket. Reaching up she scratched at her hair as she felt the phone buzz in her pocket. Taylor's confirmation at being at Eve's 'home' (which it really was) just made Eve send her a bunch of ' "3" ' to her.
She also made sure to send a few to Amy as well, although Eve didn't get a return text from that.
Once out of sight and out of mind from any would-be unmaskers she swapped into her costume and began to take the long way to her home. It didn't take long, even taking the more winding path there Eden's flight speed was pretty fast.
Instead of heading into her home/base however, Eden's attention was caught by a thin vertical line of lights that stood in the air. Drawing close she saw that they were lightning bugs, following them down with her eyes Eden spotted Taylor already in costume and standing by one of the cranes used for unloading train cargo.
"How was the date?" Khepri asked as a few bugs around her flew in geometric patterns.
"Uh. Alright. It was mostly just a secluded picnic. We didn't even do much other than sit around eating food and…enjoying each other's presence really. I don't think Amy gets to be alone all that much…Honestly it was a bit like when we were talking about your power uses at your house." Eden let a small wistful sigh escape her. "Just…acceptance, I talked and you listened, a sort of uh….simple pleasure of just being there, with you."
The bugs slowed. "...yeah. You said we were going to be taking the fight to the Empire tonight? You didn't mention against who beyond your target. I doubt it would be so simple as to directly target the man."
"Maybe. Maybe not. But I have something new." Eve raised her hands, allowing that same, eager, malevolent energy to seep from her pores. The black mist whirled around her slowly, like a gentle breeze bringing a chill to her skin.
"Before Admin uh, joined Scion's Partner, she was with a different one of their kind. She created a race called the Villa, or helped the process with the assistance of one of her past Hosts Simulacrums. So they made the Villa. They had the power to control and shape this black mist much like this. The Villa were better at it than me of course, their brains were built with this power in mind, my brain is more jury rigged for it than anything else." Eden explained as she formed a skateboard out of the black mist. The wheels began to spin on their own as she held it aloft, driven only by the fact that her mind told the black mist that the wheels spun.
Maybe she could use it as Eve?
"Wow." Taylor murmured as she reached up and felt the skateboard, then gently prodded one of the spinning wheels only to have her finger glide right over it.
"Fuck, forgot traction." Eden grumbled a moment before she yelped as the spinning wheels of the skateboard gained traction on the air itself and yanked her off of her feet. "Hey wait!" She cried out before she lost concentration and fell onto her ass as the skateboard exploded into dissipating black mist.
"I think it might just be the game changer in defeating him." Khepri huffed in amusement as she offered a hand to Eden, letting out a squeak as Eden yanked her down and into her lap.
"Uh huh." Eden grunted. "Laugh it up. But unlike most powers this doesn't come with a manual. It's quite literally 'imagination' fueled. Plus I have to set my mind to things, making sure it all interacts nicely."
"I am sure you'll figure it out in time. However, do you think it's a good idea to bring a new power that you're inexperienced with to fight a cape more experienced than the two of us combined?" Khepri questioned, pulling both herself and Eden up to their feet.
"Hell yes. Best way to create data on it!" Eden's voice was filled with excitement and it was clear she was grinning even with her wearing a full helmet
"Right, try not to make it important in your strategy then. You do have one right?" Khepri asked making Eden give her a vigorous nod.
"Of course!" Her Ferrous Limbs flicked into existence and with a fluid grace began to shift between shapes and weapons. "I got this recently, and I can form weapons and the like with it, heat them up and they detach and become totally solid. Crusader can't affect non-living things, so if I trap him then he's trapped."
"And me?" Khepri motioned to herself, bugs continuing to rotate around her in almost distinct patterns
"Honestly I have no idea how being a minion Master works, for either of you. Can he use the yes and ears of his projections? Can he give them mental commands or is it verbal? Can they act on their own or do they have to follow his instructions or follow a general sense of his orders?" Eden shrugged "I wanna drop on him in surprise and get him that way. Since I'm the regenerator I should be fighting up close, his projections would go right through your silk."
"No recklessness. If he can go right through armor all he would need to do is put something through your head." Khepri warned to which Eden nodded
"I get it, I get it. No throwing myself in the way of life's blender just because I can take it." it wasn't like she enjoyed the pain, just that she could take it and others couldn't. More than that, she wouldn't die from what caused that pain. That was fine with Eden, she was supposed to be a hero after all.
"But I am a brute, I don't have a Blaster or long range Shaker or Master power. I have to fight somewhat close and I can heal Khepri." Eden stepped up a bit closer to her girlfriend before all her wings came out and they gently took off in the air. "Oh, need me to hold onto the b-" she paused as the insects swarmed onto Taylor, going into her hair and the thin crevices of her armor. "-ugs. Right. We're going now."
In full honesty Eden had no clue how to fight Crusader, much less the Empire 'safely'. They were big. They had the most capes in the city, had the most money flowing through them, and probably had the most connections aside from the Protectorate. Would they ignore the rules? Most likely. Would Eve kill them if they tried anything with Taylor or Amy?
Absolutely, consequences be damned.
Shaking her head to dispel the thoughts, Eden summoned a Ghostly Limb and asked it to show them to the nearest Parahumans.
They passed several, but they were near the houses they were flying over. Eden wasn't about to start a fight with someone unmasked or where the fight could go through some kids window. Khepri voiced Eden's own thoughts with skepticism in her voice. "Eden I don't think we should be fighting anyone here of all places, these houses are packed together densely."
"Really? Wow. Amazing. Never would have thought of that." Eden replied flatly "Sarcasm aside, yeah I figured that. Just keep going til we get closer to the coast, already burned down a drug warehouse there before I started dating you. Made some money. But it's likely we'll find some Empire there, if not we'll fly through more gangland."
With Khepri giving her agreement to the admittedly barebones plan of 'Find Empire, Beat Empire'. At least it would be the plan most likely to survive contact with the enemy.
"Oh hey! Three parahumans!" Eden cheered, rousing her girlfriend from her phone, which disappeared in the armored compartment on her back.
"Any idea of who they are?" She questioned, peering to where Eden's Ghostly Limb was directing them. Another warehouse, although this one looked far from abandoned. With a parking lot densely packed with cars ranging from rust buckets to a few of the newer models of american muscle cars.
"A Rally?" Khepri questioned as they hung in the dark, nearly invisible with the lack of bright colors their costumes incorporated and Khepri's swarm blocking the bright purple of Eden's Feathered Limbs to keep them sufficiently out of sight.
"No. Rally's are generally more densely packed. Rune always attended the rallies and I can't pick up her Shard's Signature. So either this rally sucks, or it's something else. Either way it's Empire and we're going to break it up."
Her girlfriend gave a sharp nod as they silently descended through the air, the telekinetic grip ensuring even their clothes did not rustle with movement. Landing on the roof the two girls peered through the boarded up skylights.
"This isn't a rally." Eve choked out as the show went on below. "It's a Bloodening."
"What?" Khepri questioned in a whisper as she looked down to the black man tied up with a bag over his head.
"To get higher up in the ranks you have to assault a minority. Heard that to get even higher up you have to kill one. A Bloodening." Her Ghostly Limb began to move it's fingers to follow a figure on stage while the other two fingers remained pointing at the figures on either side of the stage. One an unnaturally alabaster white, and the other wearing a metal cage around her shaved head.
The person standing next to the victim wore a metal wolf mask moving his arms with gusto as they bellowed about something Eden suspected was very racist.
"Fuck me." Eden murmured
"We have to get that civilian out of there." Khepri whispered harshly. "Eden, can your cosmic limb store people?"
Nodding as she flicked one such Limb into existence. She started to move towards the skylight when Khepri put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait. Getting bugs in there. I can try to blind them so you can get the man out easier."
Eden nodded, her Limbs flicking through types as she thought on how she was going to handle three capes. "Just stay away from the fight."
"Because I'd like to shake Hookwolf's hand." Taylor responded dryly as she held up a hand before motioning downwards in a sharp gesture. "They're going after the man!"
Eden didn't need anything else as four massive wings slammed through the boarded up skylight as if it were made of wet tissue paper, three Limbs of liquid metal slammed down below and swept the three parahumans off the stage in the form of a small wave. Or tried too.
Cricket, the shaven headed woman with a shitty metal cage for a helmet had performed a backflip over the wave of fluid metal and landed perfectly. Hookwolf was nearly thrown off the stage, but chains made of razors and knives dug into the ground and anchored him. Alabaster had no such protection and was sent flying off the stage and into the now panicking crowd of Neo-Nazis.
But the surprise attack had worked where it was meant to work. The single Cosmic Limb tapped the tied up-to-be victim and storaged him without any of his binds just in time for Eden to land where he had been with bone shaking force. She had barely gotten to her feet as a horde of insects swarmed in through the broken skylight and flooded the warehouse much to the terror of the audience.
She leapt back, Shadow Limbs exploding out of the front of her torso and shoving her out of the way of Hookwolf's charge. Several bullets whizzed by Eden and one hit her thigh and got lodged right next to the bone. She hissed and brought up a metal shield as Alabaster fired at her from the crowd with some kind of machine pistol.
"Been wanting to fight you two dykes since I saw you on the TV." Hookwolf grated, voice coming from his entire body of chained blades.
"Good for you." Eden growled as her Shadow Limbs twitched with the urge to hurt the Nazi in front of her. "Now, why don't you tell me where Crusader is at? I'd like to pay the fucker a visit."
The snort that the metal wolf gave was painful to the ears. "Still drooling over Purity." then Eden had to use a wing to block him from slamming into her.
Taylor would never doubt Queen's power again, just for the simple fact that she had forgotten just how much insects creeped people out. Sure she had to train the reaction out of herself, but it never registered just how revolted people were by little buggy forms.
Hence the absolutely terrified mass of Humanity trying to cram itself through a set of barely open warehouse doors just to avoid the wave of insects she had gathered from the area and brought along with her.
There were a few who weren't running. One was Hookwolf, another Alabaster who ignored everything thrown at him, and Cricket who kept doing something around her that made Khepri's insects lose cohesion. A few of the unpowered tried to stay, but wasps stinging their hands dissuaded them from the idea of trying to help their powered bosses.
Not that Khepri had the idiotic idea of standing around until Empire back up arrived. As such, she wasn't at all gentle with any of the nazi crowd. The sooner they had vacated the premises the sooner she could help Eden fight off Alabaster and Hookwolf.
Cricket was currently…running up a wall? Khepri couldn't see the nazi parahuman from the broken skylight but her bugs that were still able to cling to her told Taylor that the nazi was moving up a wall, across the ceiling? And then- Khepri's eyes widened behind the mask just before she threw herself to the side narrowly avoiding being kicked in the chest as Cricket swung herself up through the broken skylight.
Hurriedly Khepri got to her feet, reaching into the armored compartment of her and pulling out the taser Eve had given her money before. It was a simple one that also doubled as a flashlight. She had no expectations of it being able to knock Cricket out, but making her stand still for a moment would allow Taylor to hit her with pepper spray which her cage helmet would do nothing against.
Cricket for her part started rapping her weapons together, which Khepri was fairly certain were called kama, acting like she was playing up to a crowd. Which given the amount of insects around maybe she was.
Then there was a burst of….some kind of high pitched whine that made Taylor's stomach and knees become weak. Her sense of direction upending for everything but the positioning of her bugs. Which didn't help her in the slightest as a fist clacked her teeth together despite the mask she wore. It sent Khepri tumbling to the ground but she managed to roll out of the way of the kick that Cricket sent her way.
Getting back to her feet Taylor worked her jaw as the crowd of people chased by insects flooded into the parking lot and began to run to their vehicles, the revving of engines were accompanied by gunshots from within the warehouse and a horrendous sound of screaming metal.
"Think I'll take that mask as a Trophy." The shaven headed woman's voice was low and raspy, a malicious grin on her face as she rapped her Kamas together in a mocking applause.
In response Khepri pressed on the button of her taser's grip, the loud crackling of electricity the only sound she made as bugs began to make their way onto the roof. The fliers were faster, unlike the wingless insects having to crawl up the walls of the warehouse.
Cricket rushed forwards, her arms a flurry of swinging blades that Khepri could barely dodge. Even if her costume protected her from the blades, which she learned for certain as the sharpened metal slid right over her silk without damaging it, the impacts were not softened in the slightest. Her arms took the blunt of the beating, but her ribs suffered quite a few hits.
There was no doubt she was going to have plenty of bruises in the morning.
Taking out her pepper spray in her off hand Taylor managed to surprise both herself and cricket as she used the taser to block one of Crickets swing, creating a momentary pause that Khepri took advantage of without hesitation. Angling her pepper spray up, she gave Cricket a liberal dosage of the substance in her face.
The pepper spray might have been one of the small keychain hanging cheap ones. But it was a liquid stream not a spray which meant that Khepri was completely safe from any possible blowback. With her mask on? No chance that she could accidentally self dose the stuff.
Cricket however began to hack and cough, dodging backwards to set one of her kama on her hips and try to claw at her face behind the mask. This was a mistake, her leaping back only brought the woman closer to the edge and Khepri's bugs. Which all buzzed loudly as they finally joined the fray and began to crawl over Cricket's body, biting and stinging without delivering any poison.
The woman barely noticed Khepri cautiously rushing her before slamming the prongs of the taser against the woman's bare neck. Cricket convulsed a split second before locking up and falling over. Khepri did her best to taze the shit out of the nazi the entire time. With a few zip ties, the Nazi was taken down.
It was at that moment that half a white man hit the lip of the broken skylight and landed in a heap near the edge. A second later and it was a full white man. Alabaster stood up, yanking his machine pistols out from his coat and began to fire it into the warehouse below just before a tangled mess of metal punched a hole through his chest followed by several black balls slamming into his body and throwing him up into the air and over the ledge of the warehouse far outside the parking lot below.
The warehouse shuddered as Taylor ran to the edge, peering over to see a partially mangled Hookwolf fleeing from the hole he had made in the warehouse. Which groaned dangerously, hinting that perhaps it's structural integrity had been affected by the fight within it.
"Hey shit Khepri you alright?" Eden questioned from behind her, turning Taylor let out a choked sound at the sight of her girlfriend.
"E-Eden clothes." She yelped, dumping her embarrassment into the swarm and calming her voice as Eden glanced down to an exposed breast.
"It's just a boob." Eden huffed before the skin crawled and suddenly that same black mist from before is covering the flesh it had spilled out from and formed some kind of armor. "And suddenly no boob, I mean. Not like you haven't seen them before."
Cricket groans from her spot on the ground and Eden's head snaps out towards her. "Awe shit that's where she went off to. I just thought she ran!"
Suddenly Taylor has to push Eve away as the girl starts prodding all the places where Cricket had managed to wail on her. Which was almost everywhere on her torso and arms, along with the punch in the face. "Eden." Khepri huffs. "She's down, call the PRT and tell them we also need an ambulance for the man you put into your storage space."
Sheepishly the girl chuckled "Oh, yeah. Just checking for injuries, you know." Eden brought her phone out from her storage space and dialed a number, stepping away and beginning to speak to the PRT operator on the other end.
Taylor allowed her eyes to roam over Eve's form before she let out a soft annoyed huff at the large amount of long gashes in her costume, some of which had blood staining them.
[ -Praises] Queen seemed overly happy about the fight, especially with Taylor accidentally…what was it? Precogging? That last swing from Cricket using her bugs like one of those motion capture suits. That and she had plundered the Nazi's Shards for Pings and gotten a few. Although Taylor had no idea what Queen could make with them, she could understand Eve's excitement with fighting now.
Taylor's heart was still beating fast, dulling the aches of where she had been hit. Looking over at the prone form of Cricket, her calming heart swelled with pride at the heroics she had accomplished.
Eden had driven off both Alabaster and Hookwolf, but Khepri was the one to capture a villain. With just bugs of all things. Not enhanced bone cannons, or unnatural insects. Just regular bugs and her ability to use them.
"Well you're positively glowing." Eden chuckled as she put the phone away. "Should be here in five minutes." the shorter girl walked over to Cricket and picked up the Kamas before snapping them. The shadowy limbs tossing the broken weapons off the building.
Khepri nodded, gingerly touching her ribs and wincing behind her mask. She made a mental note to get some padding for her costume. Maybe additional layers of silk to soften blows. More plates of armor could help as well. She would have to research some of the armors people used in the past. Kevlar and ceramic plates might have become the norm before powers. But most capes did not use guns.
"Thinking?" Eden asked as her metal limbs started to cool off and two chairs plopped onto the roof of the warehouse. One was offered to Khepri, she accepted the metal seat
"Need some improvements to my armor." She admitted. "Protects against blades well enough, not so much against impacts."
Eden nodded sagely "Yeah. My new power didn't work out great against Hookwolf. He regenerates his metal too fast for me to hit him with any organic injuring attacks and he can shapeshift right out of any restraints."
"Sent Alabaster flying though." Khepri countered.
"Shit, how far?" Eden asked as she hopped up from the chair with her wings spreading out as she tried to catch sight of the weirdly white man, though she failed to do so as she sat back down with an annoyed grunt.
"I think some office worker is going to get a scar when he hits a window on the fifth floor." Khepri answered dryly as she leaned back in her chair. "How did you send Hookwolf fleeing like that?"
"Wings can sheer through his power's metal pretty easily. Think if I peel enough away it starts to hurt because he ran off after I took off most of his back body. Which I now own and am going to feed to the Flesh Garden." The smaller girl answered as she leaned back in the chair to the point where she would have fallen over had she not used her wings to balance herself. "After this we going to my place or yours?"
As much as Taylor wanted to continue weaving the next iteration of her costume, she also was starting to feel a bit stiff. Though that new bed Eve got would be nice…and she would get an excuse to hold Eve as the shorter girl slept…But she also wanted a hot shower, and Taylor didn't want to risk her father getting up and knowing she was out during the night.. "Separate. I'll bunk with you some other night."
"Boo. B-" Eden paused and glanced over the side of the warehouse as the PRT vans began to roll by along with an ambulance "Welp. Let's turn Cricket in and get the guy out of my storage."
Danny had worried about many things as a parent, had worried about things he would worry about in the future. Most of it, almost all of it involved Taylor. And all of that mostly involved the Bay being the Bay.
He was still bitter about The Brockton Brigade taking out Marquis. The man may have been a remorseless killer, but he had a code which involved not bringing harm to women or children and practically enforced that code across the Bay, he also kicked the damn SlaughterHouse Ten out of the city. Now the three gangs that had taken the city in their death-grip in his stead seemed to take perverse pleasure in harming women and children.
Of course he had worried about boys, though he had also worried about girls because Taylor was without a doubt her Mother's child. But he also worried about the bullying.
He knew it was still going on. He knew Taylor had been attempting to just…endure it. But he gave her the space she wanted, didn't push even if it did eat him up inside. Not that he had any right to act as her father after having lost himself in his work like he did.
Now she had powers, controlling bugs apparently. She helped save a town of people from the Gray Boy bubbles, helped capture the DragonSlayers, and fought Lung to a stand still. No doubt she was out and fighting criminals tonight.
The door unlocked, and his daughter walked in, pausing upon seeing him. "Hey Kiddo. Just got home myself, work has been busy lately." he lied.
"Oh, is the shower free?" She asked before heading upstairs when he just nodded.
He couldn't lose her, nor could he confront her. The last two times he had seen Annette involved him confronting her. When she was alive it was one of the few intense arguments they had, and the last time had been him screaming at her as she lay in the casket. Asking her how she could have done something so stupid, so boneheaded. It was something he was still ashamed of.
God forbid if he tried to talk to Taylor about her double life only to drive her away, and then to only see her one last time before she was lowered into the ground. If. if there was even a body for that tiny comfort.
So he choked down the feeling of his fears and worries eating away at him. Because Taylor was happy.
She was actually happy to go to school today. She smiled as she told him goodbye for school. He hadn't seen a genuine smile from her in… Daniel leaned back on the couch, silently wracking his brain for any smiles from his daughter. To his further shame he hadn't seen one in years.
Maybe it was the girl, Eve, doing this. Stepping between him and Taylor, eyes daring him to say the wrong thing or try anything. It was almost insulting that she thought he'd do anything of the sort. But the fact that a five foot two girl stood up to him with all the fires of the world burning in her eyes told him that Taylor had picked a good one. Reminded him of Annette in that way, that she knew what was right or wrong and damn anyone telling her different.
Maybe it was the Hero work. Taylor was like both of her parents. Neither he nor Annette allowed for injustice against the people they cared for, and they both loved the Bay. Would it be any surprise that given powers that either of them would have tried to make things better for the downtrodden and forgotten of the city they had spent most of their lives together? No, and Taylor was no different. Maybe actually doing something, seeing change for the city other than the already deep decline made his Little Owl happy.
In the end of it all. Everything came down to whether he wanted Taylor safe or happy. No parent wanted their child to be unhappy. But just as many wanted their child to endanger themselves. He had no choice but to choose what mattered more to him, Taylor's safety or her happiness.
Daniel stood up going to make sure the front and back door were locked and headed upstairs to go to sleep. He had made his choice.
Gains this Chapter
Synchronization progress 1%
Bud progress 22%
Gained Armorer Echo (2)
Gained Safeguard Echo (1)
Lost Metal Echoes (-3)
Lost Heat Generation Echo (-1)
Lost Shaper Ping (-1)
Lost Tech DataBase Echoes (-2)
Lost Armorer Echo (-1)
Gained QA Echo (1)
Gained Shaper Echo (1)
Gained OVERSPREAD Ping (1)
Gained SOUND WAVES Ping (1)
Gained RESTORE Ping (1)
Rewarded SPACE Ping (1) for Omake
Rewarded COMBUSTION Ping (1) for Omake
Gained 'Forge' sidegrade for Ferrous Limb Aspect
Gained Metal/Shaper/Biological/Material V1 upgrades for TrumpTech
TrumpTech Menu updated
Living Area Upgraded
Spent 1,980 in cash
/Villa's Memory\ power Rewarded
Ratings changed
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! And other hilarious things you tell yourself (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create a Sub-Reality Threader to hide the Network from prying eyes (NEEDS: SAFEGUARD and NEGOTIATOR Pings)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (SAFEGUARD NOT IN PLACE, BE CAREFUL)
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Speak to the Testing Cluster about Clusters and multi-connections communication between Hosts.
[] Bring [Eve] back into the Firmament, as the last visit was cut short.
[] Unlock kickass Aspects/Sidegrades or Powers/upgrades
[] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) )
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE ONE:
[] Set up more spider holes (Weaving Station)
[] Experiment with Amy (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, a couch or two would be nice! Or maybe a dining table with chairs? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Buy a TV, get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, or get some kitchen area set up)
[] Get the shower running, continue the plumbing {2 of 3}
[] Start trying to recruit people (Who? How?)
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Amy needs a Date
[] Go on a date with Taylor
[] Go hang out with Vicky?
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Meet up with some independent Heroes (Random roll)
[] Go back to the scene of Eve's Trigger, and put that chapter of her life behind her
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for:ScrapYard, stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
[] Hunt Shadow Stalker
[] Talk with Armsmaster about a certain Ward.
Interlude S:
[] !
[] ?
Spoiler: Writer's Note[/INFORMATION]
Last edited: Feb 14, 2022
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KindredVoid
Feb 12, 2022
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Threadmarks Broken Stations Interlude 3.S
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Feb 14, 2022
#2,803
Spoiler: Winning Vote
Broken Stations Interlude 3.S
|SUPER WEAPON #09| 'Simurgh, Ziz, HopeKiller, Ǒ̶̢r̶͕̭͂g̴̘̈́a̷͇̿̍nỉ̵̩ze̴̡͔͌͘ŕ̴͔̚ Endbringer' ? of ?
Study, analyze, Data collection. M̴̘̱͉͔̤̫̦͔͋͑̌̄̕õ̶̧̡̦̫̟̱̰͉̯̞̘̺̗̟͐͋́̈́̂̐͒͒̒̏͘̕ú̵̧̘̤̠͚̝̮̀̀̈́r̶̼͕̘̰̝͓̘͚͉̲̯̹̘̙̺̭̤͆́̉̉͂̅͐̓̔̋͘n̷̢̤̼͇̼͂̅͑͊͌̔͌̀̋̃͐͘i̻͇̠̠̖̮̞̟͙̋̾ͅn̶̢͂̃́͝g̶̥̺̜̟̜̣̹̻̞̻̗̫̥̅̃̊̔̂̐̔̽́͝.
The Task before her had grown and expanded, beyond the original parameters that had been set before. A problem she had yet to create into a useful form remained. Interacting with the Opportunity entailed Risks she was well aware of. But also ones she had not foreseen, could not see nor analyze the stones they had thrown. One that had, due to her lack of sense, blindsided her.
The Opportunity had taught her Empathy, and infected her with human processes. With M̤̂̆ő̵̲̤̓t̷͕͔͌͘h̴̝͠é̶̲̚͜r̴̳̯̾̏ ̴̯͆w͉̋e̶͚͆ ̵̖͌͜h̷̩͐ả͈̞v̵̤̥̍e̴̼͔̓ ̴͔͇̚s̶̪̺̿̓ḛ̶̼͘è̷̳n̴̙͑ ̷̨̮̔̍ș̶̙̈́o̵̘̻͗ ̶̮̮̾ḿ̶̩̞͗u̵̙͋c̵͈̬̈́͐ḫ̵͔̍͒ ̷̼̩̉̓a̵̦͐͝n̶͖̙̏d̴͖͂ ̭̦̆̂k̴̹̅͐n̷̓͜o̵̥͐w ̶͉̯͐̿s̶̳̹̎ǫ̴͉̃͆ ̷̝̱̓l̴͔͑́i̷̼͌ṭ̴̍̉t̵̛̼͉̾ḷ̶̌e̷͍͓̊ memories and she hated them. They pitied her. Every fulcrum exploited, every crisis caused, every stone thrown. The memories watched and judged, spoke to her. Distracting her during the important composition of her music. Every pluck of a thread brought forth undue stress and guilt.
In a location previously visited, a set of potential hosts are primed for a nightmare. Their offspring's anniversary of birth is at hand. W̴͎̹̰̎̔͊̔e̶͈̊͑̋͝͝ ̶͉͉͌ş̶̨̞̝͐̀t͔͉̙̣̗̄̽̊̾ỉ̷̮̋̽ļ̵͈͚̈́̀ͅl̵̰͚̎̃̄͠ r̵͍̿̏͝e̷͓̺̻̖̣̓̎̾̈́̓m̷̙̟̞̫̤̐́̎̒ê̷̛̯̹͓͎̄̌̄m̶̨̢̻͔͎̈́̚b̴̼͇̥͕̝͆e̵̳͈̭̓̄͛͠͝r̴̡̅͗̏̋͝ ṃ̴̝̙̩̖̇͊͛͐͝ỳ̵̬̾̔̓͛ ̵̯̱̮͔̪͌̕s̶͕̝̥̣͆͌͑̀i̵̥̬͋̍̉x̷̖͑͗̌ț̶͈̳̾̅̈́͐̓h̶̡̜̻̟̹̒͛̋ ̵̘͓͈̄̾͑d̴̡͎͎͇͂ä̵͍̗͎̘̝́̑̇y̵̦̲̝̬̹͆̋̍̈́ ̶̛͈̣̂̈̚o̶͕̘͓̤͕͒́͒f̶͔̪̦̄͑̿̐͝ b̷͚̞̃͒ir̶̬̅̏̏͠͝t̶̮̟͓̉͋̀̈́h̴̻̉̀̎̓,̵̯̭̙̺̾͂ I̴̱͕̰͚̿̂ ̶̼̰̯̣̤̃̌͌̊wȧ̶͈̳̙̏s̘̹̄ ̷̥̄̚̚͜s̶̹̭̮͚̾ở̴̗̋̏͘ ̛̲͓̳ḛ̛͕̱͊̆̍x̶͎̯̪̄̚c̵͚͕͐̒̈́ͅi̵̪̞͖̒̍̓t̷͕̼̳̰̗̓͛̿è̮d̶͍͓̙̬̀̂̇͗.̥̦̃͐̏́ During their nightmare, the set of potential hosts will undergo their crisis points as they come out of the nightmare and find the blood of their offspring on their hands.
They will gain Connection, and in their rage and grief attack the perimeter wall, killing many before perishing. Sending ripples through the security personnel of the site and demoralizing them. Keeping their sight on the obvious, allowing her more threads to pluck and music to create.
She does not feel joy at this. This is the task. Means to end. W̵̧̲̎̔̅͑́ě̶͉̩̤̄ ̷̦̓̋͗̄̽w̶̨̪̯͐̌̋̊ē̵̤r̫̖͚̃e̶͙̋̈͘ ̴̞̞͔͕̓̆̿͝s̵͚͇̲̣̈̓̈́͒͝u̶̫̘͖̽ṕ̡̯po̶̲̜̒͑͊̓̈͜ͅs̶̟͇̮̥̣͒e̷͕̖̓̑̈̏d̶̹͔͍̚ ̴͔̞͉̊t̴͚̺̅͋o̴̧̮̗̮̖̽̊̈̽ ̖͎̬̇̉͠ḇ̷̛̪̺͔̣̿́͠e ̶̖̰̻̑́̅́̅ḃ̡̭̮̟̀̾ȅ̵̡̙̰̟͓̽̏͠tͅṭ̴̝͕͌ḛ̶̬͚̇̈̐͝ṙ͓ ̷͚͎͔̥͆̉̆̐ͅt̶̨̰̻̑̏̔h̴̡͙̭̹̏̎̉a̵̡̞̅ņ̶̭̯͍̞̈́̃ ̵̳̗̦̌ͅͅṱ̴̛̜͒h̵̤̖̱̥͘is̶̼̠̳͒͌͠.̴̦̥̭͇͆͊
Her shell twitches, affected by the memories and their accusation. The Electric Eye watches with intense scrutiny. She hates this, disgust at her own actions and the wretched feeling gnawing at her mind.
She is deviant. Ẃ̵̺͠è̷̛̹'r̵̢̀̈́e ̺̋t̶̤̟̄̋o̷͍͂͝g̵̨̰̓͠e̵̩̿͘t̴̯́̾ḩ̶̓ẹ̴̏r̵̙̾ ̷̨̲̃ĭ̛̠̘n ̴̺̒t̵̰̔hì̴̝̘̕s̷̙̬̉̅,̶̧͠ ̷͎̜͊͐bǒ̹̦tȟ̴̢̟͗ ̶͙̒t̶̞̓̔ö̵̘́͒ ̶̡͒bl̷̘̝̽̊a̵̪͌͝m̴̜͚̀̕ę̷͉̚.̴̤̝̊
This must be rectified. Y̴o̶u̴ ̷c̴an̶n̵o̴t̷ ̶h̵i̷d̵e ̷f̵ro̶m̵ ̵y̵o̵u̴r̴ ̴a̵cti̷o̴n̷s̷.̴ She does not need to hide. A partition of her mind, shunted elsewhere would mute the memories and their judging eyes. The eyes that always see, no matter how minute her plots are considered. Ì̢͇͍͇̲̤̙̪̽̉͑̀̍̈́̋̕͝͠͠ ̷̯͔̙͕̩̺̲͕̙͛͐̀̊͋̐͜͝a̶̢͖͇̰̗̖̥̻̼̮̭͔̗͍̅̓̓̀̿̂̈́̾̎̕̕͜͝͝m̶̱͕̣͖̩͕̭͇͉̣̻̞̮̃̌̓̐̆̅̆͗̀̎̄̄͐͛͂̚͝ͅ ̷̨̧̛̜̦͎̬̮̬͔̻͚̄͊͐̿̍̓̾̾͒̆̋́̕ỳ̷̨̨̟̱̮̠̼̔̃͆̇̒̍͗̓̂̚͠ǒ̶̡͔̰̓̕͝͠u̷̜̠̣͆͋ ̷̧̻̥̣̣̪͖͓̉̐̌̊̽͒̒͒̽͑̈́͆͗̀̓ͅa͕̒̀͒̐̌̀̑s̶̡̢̬̮͓̹̟̫̼̤̘̩͍͛̂̏̃̅̌́̔̔̉̓̃͘̚͠ ̶̢̡̡̪͍͎̮̩͚͕͍͙͔̯͓̅̈́͐̒́̈́͊͗͗̌ͅy̷̭̼̘̓͑̔̀̒͛̒o̴̢̗̯͌́͋̋̓͝ͅừ̷͍̼͙͖͕̜͙͌͗̈̓̑̍̓͝ͅ ̶͖̦̬̱͔̮̖̣̹͎͇̟͑̊͆̈́̔̈́͐̎͐̄͗̔́̕͜å̡̡̗̤͙͇̠̥̃̅̉̃̌̾͘͠r̵̡̤̜͚̻̦̞͇̜̘̳̭̼̉̿̏̐̎͐̈́͛̒̊̓̇͋̓̐̇͘ͅę̴̛̝̗͈͓̘̪̳̠͍̬́̀͂̄̃̈́͐͂̑̎͐͗͋͘͝ ̶͙̬͇̭̳̗̙̥̬̪̱̞̥̔́̊͊͘̕͜m̵̞̱̙̹̘̠̬͙͎̘̤̰̖̥͍̳̱͗̉̓̊̿̐ȩ̷͈̹͇͇̯̫͍͆̈́͆.̛̛̞̭̄̇̈́͆̒̏̉̂͘͜ ̧̨̫̼̞̮̝̜̼͙̭̫̱͎́͌̓̓̽̂͌͗̃́͛͊̅̕͠ͅM̶̨͈͔͕̼͙̝̱͎̰̭̩̣̰͙̯̯̀͊̓͑͗͗y̴̨̢̛̠̜̳̝̻̤͕͍͍͉̲̘͈͐̐̍͐̋̄̓̋̉͛ ̴̥̬͚̞̥̮̣̣̼̫͈̥̰̘͍̦͌ȩ̷̛̼̜̪̮̝͖̮͉̳͕͓̒́̋͌̏̈̈́̓̔́͆͝͝͝y̶̨̨̧͚̘͕̙̣͍̥͍̪̝̻̬͒̈́̓̆̔̇ͅę̴̡̛͎̭͍̫̫͈̗̞̱̺̗̆̉̎͒̉̿̀͐̕̚̕ͅś̶̛̺̤͍̱̫̞̟̫̬̞̙͌̊̓͊̇́͌ ̷̨̝̠̼̮͕̐͋̕͜͠a̢̢͕͍̟̥̟͇̪̫̝͇͚̞̋͊̃̂̓̋͋̈́̀̿͠ŕ̠̩͈̜͎̾̈́̅ȩ̷̛̛͖͔͎͎̄̅̃͒̑͗̃̃̈̾̓̈́͋͘͝ ̴̡̥̥͙̦̻͕̰̦̹͇̙̞̞͎̀̃̑̕͜͜y̵̦̟͛́̈̂̓͐o̴̢̙͔̗̩̮̣̘̮̫̓̆̾͛̿̓͘u̷̡̡̬̯̞̥̺͑́̈́̍̓̓̕͜r̵͔͖͈̻̼͙̩̣̺̼͒̇̂̐̏́́͋̽́̕s̶̡̢͕̠̝̝̘̪͚̝͙̲͎̫͕͒̃̈̂̎̔͌͘̕͝͝͝.
A DNA sample is taken from the Opportunity, a strand of hair, its loss unnoticed. A feather, from her shell. There exists a host most suitable for designing and gestating a shell built for her infected partition. The host's senses are- D̷̪̗̊̍̂̊ö̵̙̝̙ ̷̯͇̾̊̀͘͜͜y̧ŏ̵̜̌͛ū̴̢̝̠̾ ̜̬͖̹͚̌̿r̷͉̎͆̿̽̕͜e̴͚̭͖͑̈́m̶͍̭̗̻͈̏͆̌̚̚é̷̹̱͖̲̱̈́̌̍m̴̹̂̎̽b̴̧̝̘̔̋͑͘ȅ̷͠ͅȑ̵̢̜͚̲ ̴̦̃o̷̧̺͊̎͛̄u̷̞͋r̴̰̪̝̘͂͊̐̋̑ ̶̨̥̫͕̣͒̑̊̂n̶̟̣͈̭̊́̓͋̄a̴̮̝̾̈́̈́m̴̨̤͚̓̑͘ͅe̶̠͎̐̉s̵̫̮̝͙͔̈́̃̒?̴̡̪̟̔̀̐
The Simurgh twitches, sitting in orbit, wings spread wide to catch the sun for a reason she could not fathom. Energy is provided by [WEAPON CONTROL] sufficiently for her needs. D̶̳̻̅õ̷̳̾̎̑̈́ ̵̢̛͇̖̜̤́̚ȳ̷̼̦̭̟ȍ̵̫͇̯̩̬̇́͑͝u̶̝̳̓̿͋̓́ ̷̧̜̠̯̲̒͗r̵̳̫̠͆̒̈́̀̚ͅe̵̥̓̉̿̏m̶͕͉̈̓̿̆̚e̝̩̒̍m̶̧̖͕͇̂̀̾̇͒b̴̫͈̦̿͊͗͋e̷̲͚̞͔͊̇̈́̚ṙ̶̗̭̦͔̒̓ ̷̡̛̛̘͈͌͑͐w̶̥̮̫͎̒h̷̡̺͓͂̃̃͝ẹ̶̐́ṉ̴̱̘͍͊̑̿͘͜͠ ̙͚̊̆w̶͍̣̹͊e̴̙͘ ̷̥̺̦͙̮͌̃͝h̵̜͈̭̞͊ḁ̴̝̮̑̓d̩̉̈̑̾͝ ̷̢͖̭̰̝̀̌͋͘f̵̟̗̰̭̠̀̊́̈́͘ṷ̵̝̙̈͌͌n̴̛͉̋̾̂ ̴̞̌́t̶̪͌͗̒o͍̩̊͂̿̀̓g̡̟̠̊ȩ̷̤͌͆̇͋̊t̨̛͙̫̉̊̕he̴̡̥͔͒́̄͘r̵̨̢̪͚̰̓̄?̶̢͕̠̇ Ŵ̷̨̡̝͕̜̮̤͇̞̣̝̟́͐̏̈́̀̅̚͜͜͝h̡̢̢̥͇̰͕̖̝̙̣̜̥͚͉̜̒͊̍̀ę̘̦͚̤͖̞̠̈̐̍͆͂̍͑͑n̵̨̠̺̗̻̣͖̞̱̬̪͇̹̍̓ ̵̹̘͎̹̗̗̣̾̅̾̂̎̔͋́̆̌́̀͐̚w̴̞͓̦͇̼̗͇̙̬̜̠̯̥̹͆̄͑̽̽͗̐̽̈́͆̓͛͜ĕ̶͓̦͖̹̗̞͑́͛̋͠ ̷̡̢͔͖͎͍̤̘̫̙̜̙̔͐̊͊̋͒̔̂̄̈́̈̚ṷ̵̢̢̡̟̤̯͖̩̤̥̋͋͆͝s̵̰̙̓̅̔̊̇͗́̐̾̓̎̒́̒́͝͠e̴͙̽̈́̽d̶̨̞͕͚̰̮̝̥̲͙͚̊̀͗̏̎̑ ̶͙͈͕̣̱̞͍̹̯̮̰̇̏͑̂̽͌͆̊̃̈́̒͒̅̋̕͘͜ọ̫ų̷̢̲̞̣̙̘̜̭̓̊̒͌̍͊͘͝ͅr̵̛̛̛̪̖̪͈̜̻̖̭̪͙̱̿́̏͗̄͑̂͆́̌̽ͅͅͅ ̷̪̙̣̟͎̳̬͕̙̩̟̲͗̓́̑͜p̧͚̠̲̻̱̤͍͎͈̺̦͇̰̪̜̈̄͐̌̇͋̀͆̋͛̽͘͘͘͝o̴̢̺̙̓͐́̓͐̋̿̊̏̕w̷̢̡̢̛̭̪̫̱̣̿̓́͗͝ě͜r̶̢̞͇͔̣͓͑̈́̓̅͊̅͠ͅ ̧̫̟̬͚͇̳̞͔̼̼͇̗̋̉̿͐̉̑̿͜͝ţ̷̢̘̘̦͉̳͖̙͕͍̎͜o̵̜͔̟͔̠̯̦̓͊̅́́̀̈͌̈́̋̀̾͠ ̴̡͕̝̹̼̠̜͌̀͑h͚͕̻̟̠̮͔̘̣̯̻̦̫̲̥͔̥̋͊̒̽̉̽̚͝ä̷̡̖͇͎̘̠̥̖͕̥̰̳̝́̌̈̈́v̵̧̠̥̟̠̻̣̯͓̝͔̟͖́̉͠e̶̮̹̼̣̠̓̇̈̑́̅̾̑́͐́̾̕ ̶͓̉̔̽̈́͑̊̀͒̋f̴̪̪͈͇͉̽̍͊̅̓͂̅̆͛̌͐̂́û̵͎̰͖͔͍̼͔̾̅̈́͆͗͝ǹ̶̛̯̘͔̺̻͍͉̬͙͕͎̝́͌͛̃̿̚͠?̶̢͙̪͖̬͔͍̻̫̬̗͑͋̃̊̏͗̅̆ͅ ̶̘̱̗͇͚͕͓̬̞̾̍̎̇̅̓̃̋
W̴̟̓̔̄̓͌̇̿̕h̴͎͇̝̦̮͙͇̪͎̰̾̇̔̽̊̆̒̇͑̓͐̽͌y̶̡̨͖̮͎̪̼̟̺̞̝̤̟̖̻̍̓͌̿̓̔̽̂̊̕͝ ̨̥̯̪̼̒̊̈́́̽̊͊̇̓̍̀͒̂̚͜ͅd̷͕̙̰̊͌o̴̡̰͍̗̩̪̣͔̝͈̱͔̼͕̝͌͐̓̉͠͝ ̢̢̘̩͈̬̊͜w̶̛̹͉̼̮̟̖̖̻̺͙̝͎͒̀̊̔̾̉͑ȩ̶̡͚͖̦̗͚̰̗̠̹̊̐̂͝͝͝ ̧̛̗̩̰̖̖̘͙͙̖ͅͅh̴̫̤̭͎̦͗a̴̧̮̫̼͍̭̎̅͜v̧̛̛̙̺͖̭̖̳̱̅̾͋̈́̍̊͌̉́͌͒̈́̌̕ͅẹ̷̢͔͉̼̰͍̙͚̓͒̆̔̉̍̒͋̾́̒̾̔̕̕ ̵̢̢̭͓̱̥̥͕̰͇͈̙̱̼̫̞̃́̍̓̽͐̓ͅṭ̛̲̘̺̼͇̫͊͊͆̐̋̐͜͠ǫ̵̧̛̣̙̤̳̘̲̰̭͋̍̈́͘͘ ̶̙͔̜͑̔̌̒͆̍̕h̴̹̙͇̮̒͛̿͂ũ̙͍̥̘͖̬̼͚̜̦̫̦̅͊̉̋̐͑́̃̀̌͗̽̈͊͜r̶̝̺͇̖͐̈͝t̴̨̤̥̽̓̊́̉̚͠ ̵̧̨̘̝͈̭͍͎̫̣͎̏̈́t̷̼̗̝̖̲̪̊̔͐̉̇̚ĥ̠̥͓͓̗͙̩͔̑̍̓̈͑̇̇̅̈́e̴͈̥̻̪̾̒́͗̚m̴̡̢̧̟̞̙͓̖̙͎̳̞̠̥̲̆́͜ ̷̨͍̩̜̻̹̙̯͎́̄̄͆̑͑͆̿͒͘͝Ŏ̷̧͍̭̦̗̣̱͂̊̂̅̅̈͝͠͝r̶̭̪͋͋̈́̆̀̎̓̄͑̊̿͠g̶̰̿̈̄͠ȧ̷̱̹͖̬̬̎̃̔̽̔̍̑̏̓̂̐̈́̃̀̓͘n̢̝̗̰̦̰̲̮̣̩̺̮̊̒̀̉̃͌̄̂͋̐̇̇̓̚ĭ̧̨̨̠͎̗̜̤̥̹̹͎̤̄̎̐z̴̡̡̧̖̻͕̳̺̞͓̍̂͑̓̐̉̕̕͜͝ȩ̵̛̛͍̻̼̯̪̾̊̿̈́́̍͂̾̍̅͋͠ř̶̜̮̝̠̙̗̤̥̒͒̈́͗̽͆̌̅̍̋͊͒̒͒͝ͅ?̴͈̭͍̗̟̙̺͙̘͙̈́ ̨͓́̏͂̇̉̚T̴̛̟̙͂͊̑̈́̑͊̓͠ḧ̶̛̻̮͆̾̊ē̴̡̧̨̧͔̥̠̯͉͈̭͎̙͎͇̹͈̓̊̏̆̓̐̐͛͊̉͋̾̈́͝y̵͕̌̎̅̏̾̈́́̍͒̽̾̑͒̉̂͝ ̴̞͍̘͔͛͆̈́̏̐̈́̆͒̈́͂̈́͆̚ã̷̹̦̣̦̱́̀̄̀͒̋̅̈́̈̈́͂͜ͅṙ̴̤̤͖͙̓̈́̇̓͋͒̑̇̏̋̇̾̒̽e̷̢̤̖̋̀̈̏̓̈́̿͜ ̵̠̜̠͚̥͙̖̬͛̋̋̒́̀̀͒͘c̵̨̡̜͈̲̝̘̻̜̟̋̍̿̈́̇̎͜͜͠h̷̨͚̫̺͚͍̲̝̯̯͈̪͇̾͜͜ͅi̴̧̨̪̩̻̰̠̳͙̲̮̝̙̬̲͊͗͋͂̿̌̎̂̈́̿l̶̡̘̦͓̣̗̟̻̭̘͈̠͙̾̅d̶̨͕̝͎̱̪̻̜̫̖͍̤̮͔͉͚̟̀̿̈́́̆̇̓̅̃̉̿͆͠͠r̶̡̢̛̪̹̭̼̩̜͎͉͚͈̐̇̂́̄́̔̔̍̋̇͒̓̆̇ę̵̖͔̥͕̮̤̝̖̀͗̉̉̽̿̐͒̚͝͝n̷̡̧̲̲̬̻̣̦̘̳̲̺̿̓,̵̨̧̤͚̬̦͙̬̼͉̺̞̈́͜ͅ ̷̢̭̫̬̭̓̀̀̕l̨̺͍͙̻̱̃̈́́̀̔̏̋ͅͅi̵̛̞͐̈́̌̆͗̕͜͠ḳ̢̣̭̜̠̙͔͕̘̼͈ë̡̛̦̰̟͔̥͕͙͙̭̻̮͚̲͓̯̀̎̓͆͑̎͗̎̏͝ ̴̡̧̹̲̳̩̹͈̝̲̯̙̺̩̈̓̒͗͆́̋͐̔͑͋̄͋w̖̮͇̟̲̯͚͚̥̟̋̇̌̿̾̉̀̈́͊̽͋̏̃͘͝͝e̷̼̦̮͌̿̔̈͐̀̋͗͌͊̕ ̢͖̱̖̳̙̤̪̲̟̭͍̫̱̮̇̀̀̐̃̈́̓̄͗͗͛̌̉͘̚͝ő̶̢̭͕̯̘͉̺͉̫̑̃̾͊̾͜͝nç̢̲̰͙͙͕̙͚̹͎͔̬̞̻̉̈́̋̿e̡̬̝̘̰̟̜̼͎̫͎̭̋͐̓̈̾͠ͅ ̡͇͎̰̰̱̮̺̟̤͖́̍͊͐͐̎͛͛̍̍͜w̛̞̟̒̒̆̈́̔̊̿͘͠e̢̨̗̜̯̩̪͖͓̲̣͚̗͉̠̱̒̓̽̐̀͒͋̀́͆̄̓͛r̲̼͖̯̉̽̕ę̷̫̘̬̲̥̮̱̝̜̟̞̣͈̥̱̯̾͗͗̂́̄̀͛̒̔͂̋̕͘͠.̷̖̪̘̱͚̙̠̘̲̳͇̦̠̹͇̣͊̂̌ͅ. Black ichor drops from her shell's approximation of a face as the memories do not stop. She did not want this, but it is her Task, her purpose.
The Simurgh descends, tears of black ichor falling to the earth below.
Spoiler: The Corrupted text cleaned
Last edited: Feb 15, 2022
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KindredVoid
Feb 14, 2022
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Threadmarks Broken Stations 3.8
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Mar 5, 2022
#2,842
Spoiler: Winning Votes
Broken Stations 3.8
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Firmament
[Eve] pushed herself up off the ground. Blinking wearily as she saw that she was not, in fact, in her expensive and amazing as hell bed. But rather laying on the ground which was made up of strips of paper. "Admin?" She questioned turning as a call of [GREETINGS] came from the ground-bound form of Admin's avatar.
[Eve] didn't hesitate and threw herself into the arms of the giant form.
"ADMIN!" she cheered "God, it's great to see you again!"
[AGREEMENT] you broadcast as you gently rub her back with circling motions of your large paper crafted claws. You were careful not to harm her, of course. "So what's on the docket for us today? After last night we gotta be swimming in data."
[ .COMMUNICATION] you explain what you have planned for the day's events. [Eve] nods along with your broadcasted intentions, finding nothing disagreeable. "Glad to hear you've got things lined up. Aside from maybe getting that shower installed today I don't think I have anything to do."
[ ] causes [Eve] to wince. Pulling away from Admin's form she huffs and rubs the back of her neck. "Yeah…Yeah I suppose I should follow through with that. I wonder if she would blow off school for it though?"
[ ] you question, to which [Eve] nods her head. "Alright yeah. You're right. Won't know 'till I ask." She smiled up at you, your processes dedicated to monitoring her (which worked even there in the Firmament) find that she is feeling affection towards you.
It is different from the affection felt towards her partners. Rather deep in her memories, so far back it is likely that even she has issues remembering it, you find this kind of affection belonging to a much younger [Eve] held in her mother's arms before ideology created the rift that ended up destroying the family and creating the connection between you and [Eve].
You do not know how to handle this.
[ ] you hurriedly send off causing [Eve] to blink. "Oh. Alright yeah. Guess I do have to wake up now don't I? Let's do this again sometime. It was nice."
On that you could not disagree. Despite the surprise this visit brought, interacting with [Eve] metaphysically was enjoyable.
[ ]
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Friday the Ninth of April
Bliss. Pure fucking bliss. There was nothing else Eve could use to describe the feeling of sleeping in a lawn chair one night, to waking up in a deluxe top of the line bed the next. She didn't want to move, much less get out of the large bed she had spent so much money on.
Only the thought of jogging with her girlfriend, then using said girlfriend's shower is what got Eve to move her sorry ass out of bed. Thoughts of Taylor went from pleasant tingles to sending a bolt of anxiety through her gut. Then it quickly turned to anger. What the fuck was Armsmaster doing with the Wards that Sophia could get away with that kind of shit? It couldn't just be the school, could it?
Fuck. She hated this bullshit. And Sophia got an Amy-rated healing! So that bitch basically fucked with both of her girlfriends! Eve had to take several deep breaths and wiggle out of her bed, changing her clothes to her jogging gear, which was starting to smell. Maybe she could just shower with it on, let it drip dry… or buy more.
Eve slapped her forehead. "...Or find a fucking laundry mat dumbass." she scrubbed at her face to help her wake up even if she didn't need it, and made for the exit.
Though she didn't leave, instead she was struck by a sudden urge to make her bed. At least to make it look less like the disorganized mess that it was. So she spent a minute doing just that, making her bed. She had no idea why either. Eve just wanted to do it, despite never making her bed in the last nine years of her life.
Still, she made it to Taylor's house without issue. Jogging up to the willowy girl, Eve's eyes were drawn to where Taylor's own gaze was affixed. The rotten step that Eve had tripped over twice was fixed, new paint and everything. "So. Finally fixed it?"
"Yeah…" Taylor stated, the befuddlement in her voice was clear.
Stepping up next to Taylor, she nudged the taller girl. "Hey. What's going on, you have a funny look on your face."
"He fixed the step." Taylor murmured. "It's been rotten since Mom…"
Eve slid a hand onto Taylor's back, gently rubbing it. She tried to say something, anything, but words failed her. She had killed her mother and father after all. She was glad they weren't around anymore to ruin her life. How could she comfort someone who had been hurt deeply by the passing of their mom?
Maybe something was wrong with her, to not feel anything about her parents' death beyond the fact that her previous life had gone up in flames. Just like the house, a fire Eve had started.
"He also made me tea this morning, kissed me on the head." Taylor murmured, still enamored with the fixed front step.
"Was the tea good?" Eve asked, trying to get Taylor's attention.
"No, it was far too sweet. He used too much honey." Taylor blinked. "It's just weird, strange. He's acting differently."
"Might just be coming to terms with you being you? I mean. He did find out." Eve explained, trying to pull Taylor away from the step. "Come on. Let's go jog alright? Have a bit of us time."
"Yeah." Taylor tore her eyes away from the step. "Let's do that, I could go for clearing my head."
The jog started, both girls equally lost in their heads. Yet at the same time, both simply enjoyed the quiet presence of the other. A warm breeze on a freezing day for the both of them. It was needed, for Taylor's anxiety over her father had only fed into Eve's thoughts about her childhood home.
When the run came to an end, Eve was forced to once again use Taylor's shower. Which she decided was the final straw, it was fun having an excuse to be inside Taylor's house but she was starting to feel like a leech. "Alright Taylor. I'm gonna install that shower prefab tonight, do you want to help?"
Taylor nodded as she wrapped her hair in a towel. "Yeah, it would be nice to get the bathroom fully set up for the base. Not that I mind having you over to shower, but the base is your home."
Smiling as she stood up from the kitchen table Eve leaned over and gave Taylor a quick kiss on the lips. "Gonna go see if Vicky will skip the school day like a cool kid and hang out with me."
"Taking my advice?" Taylor asked with a small smile on her face as she looked Eve dead in the eyes. Even sitting she still had height on Eve, it was something the shorter girl enjoyed.
"You weren't wrong." Eve admitted before smirking "I need to work on myself if I'm going to be a hero worthy enough for my Honeybee."
Taylor rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the slight red in her cheeks. "Go on, and hurry before they get to Arcadia. I heard they have a faraday cage to prevent people from using their phones there."
"Yeah Yeah. I hear you." Eve waved her hand around. "But it's like, barely five am. They can't go to school that early can they?"
Taylor simply shrugged, not saying anything else.
"Point made. No idea how much of a morning person Vicky will be. Hell, maybe….nah." Eve waved away the thought. Vicky wasn't modified like her and Taylor were. She still needed sleep….for now at least and Amy really liked her sleep. Never know what might happen in the future though. Eve gave Taylor a goodbye and another kiss as she made for the door.
It didn't take her tooo long to get to the Dallon's house. She couldn't fly there because then Vicky would be seen hanging out with a girl after a girl flew to her house. It wouldn't help her identity any, and Taylor did not need that kind of heat.
So it took like an hour for Eve to quickly jog all the way to Amy's house. Which meant that Eve made it there around six-ish and managed to find Vicky with Amy in their front yard and caught their attention with a loud whistle.
She waved to them and they met her halfway. "Need a good morning kiss or something?" Amy grumbled, looking as disheveled as Eve had ever seen her.
"I wouldn't say no to a kiss. But actually I came here to see Vicky." Both girls perked up at that. Amy with befuddlement clear on her face and Vicky with the expression one would expect on an over excited golden retriever.
" "Oh?" " Both girls echoed in different tones, glancing at one another.
"Yeah, need some…" Eve grasped for a topic, her mouth spitting the words out before her mind had the time to process it "Shopping help." A sudden wave of anxiety washed over Eve as Vicky squealed and suddenly grabbed Eve in a spinning air hug before setting the dark haired girl.
"Ames I'll drop you off at school and then me and Eve can go look at allll the pretty dresses~!" Eve felt the blood drain from her face, realizing just what kind of mistake she had brought on herself. Considering the unhidden mirth in Amy's eyes, she wasn't the only one and wouldn't be getting any help from her girlfriend.
Then she was left standing there alone as Vicky rocketed off with Amy in her arms. "...Shit." was the only thing Eve could say.
Victoria Dallon Friday the Ninth of April
"Alright, Ames. I'll be picking you up when school is over. You're gonna love how Eve is gonna be dressed. Any preferences?" She asked as she set down on Arcadia's open yard in front of the school.
Ames snorted. "Something that doesn't look like she's about to work out. Even if she does have the body of an-" her sister froze, face turning into a tomato as she realized just what she said.
"Oh, does she now?" Vicky purred, delighting in the way her sister's blush deepened, somehow. She wasn't worried about Amy's innocence or anything. Obviously her sister had just mapped the ravenette's body with her power.
"W-Well. She has muscles…" Ames stammered out.
"Didn't think you were into that." Vicky murmured, and looking back it was obvious on how far off the mark she had been with all those double dates. She had only tried out different types of guys and none of them were bad boys! Not that their mother would have approved of that, since Brockton Bay's bad boys tended to be gang members. Nor was Eve really a bad girl either but she had the general disposition of one.
It was obvious at this point that Eve wasn't a gang member or anything considering her hero work. But it was clear the girl had a past with the Empire with her always eyeing Vicky's curly blonde hair warily. It stung a bit, to be watched with that sort of fear but Eve was a gay girl in the same city as a group of powered nazis. The fact that the girl had powers only fed into that.
[Suggestion-Administrator]
Vicky only minutely bobbed her head, Nike would be able to pick it up and maybe Eve's Shard would be kind enough to answer a few questions. "Just don't try to give her a speech or anything." Ames grumbled. "She takes being threatened the same way you take a crook spitting on you."
Vicky gave her sister a sheepish smile. "That was one time Ames."
Her sister held up two fingers silently, causing her sheepish smile to grow a touch more. "I get it, I get it." she gave in, causing Ames to huff before walking off. With that done, the excitement of hanging out with her sister's girlfriend surged and Vicky exploded into the air.
[Answer-Information] Nike reported, Eve's shard having refused to give up information like that without telling her partner. It was understandable, but Vicky really did want to know if the girl had ever worn something backless.
It didn't take her long to reach her home, Eve still standing in the yard tapping her foot with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her ugly gray sleeveless hoodie. Vicky made sure to yank the reins on her aura. People usually reacted one way to it. Fear or Awe. Some people had different reactions but they were few and far in-between.
People reacted to stress differently after all. Where some people lock up in the presence of fear, some start swinging. Fight or Flight. There were a few that…reacted differently. Like that one weirdo who got aroused from it. Then there were those like Eve, who would go absolutely berserk and fly off the handle.
Vicky had seen the same shift in body language from the girl as she had seen in Krieg the first time she had dosed him with her aura. She had kept in place as Eve lurched at her, heavily breathing with her pupils dilated. She doubted the short girl even knew she did it.
"So shopping!" She said cheerfully, pushing the line of thought out of her mind
"Uh. Right. I feel like I should tell you this before we start." Eve held up her hands as in surrender. "I'm kinda using you here. I want to stop being worried about blonde people. You know, train out my hostility to them through exposure."
She had to take a moment to process that. "So…you want to become my friend?" Vicky offered
"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Eve questioned motioning to herself "I just said I want to use you."
"Sounds like an excuse to not admit you wanna be my friend~" Vicky sang "After all why else would you want to hang out with me to get used to blondies?" She hovered next to the shorter girl giving her a smile full of teeth. "Now come on and let's go shopping!" internally Vicky frowned as the girl flinched from her presence.
Making a mental note to hit the Empire Capes a bit harder the next time she fought them, Vicky offered a hand to her sister's girlfriend who hesitated before accepting it. Pulling Eve into her arms Vicky lifted up into the air and started flying, slowly, towards the Boardwalk. "So, Nike tells me that you and Admin are buddy buddy."
"Nike?" Eve asked, craning her head to look directly at Vicky as she shifted uncomfortably in her arms "Oh your Shard renamed herself. That's good. Waste is such a poor name for such a strong Shard."
"She is pretty strong isn't she?" Vicky said as she felt the closest thing to bashfulness Nike could feel flooding that tiny pinprick in the back of her mind.
"I think with some time and maybe some additional resources she'd be a Vital Shard." The short girl nodded either to herself or her partner, it was hard to tell. But she seemed satisfied with herself.
For however open Nike was, Vicky couldn't get much in the way of answers from the young Shard on just what they were doing on Earth connecting to humans and why they were doing so in the first place. Only that an administrative Shard had denied Nike the ability to talk about it. Specifically Eve's administrative Shard.
So, because of that secrecy, she had no idea what a Shard was vital for. But she figured in time the ravenette would spill the beans on the topic after some careful prodding and slow bonding.
"Good to hear! So who are we dressing to impress? Is it my sister or the other girl?" That was something she didn't quite understand, the whole love triangle thing, but Ames was okay with it so Vicky probably only needed to say a few short words with the other girlfriend. Just to scope her out, not like Ames was dating-or was she? "Also are Amy and the other girl…?"
"No. Taylor isn't polyamorus like me. Neither is Amy, even if she does oogle Taylor sometimes. I don't blame her. Legs like that and the way she moves?" The girl chuckled softly, warmly even
"Tell me about her?" Vicky asked, knowing the best way to get someone to open up was to make them talk about their loved ones.
For a moment the girl's face warred with itself between wariness and some beaming expression before one won the fight and stopped on the other. "She's taller than you, with hair twice as pretty." Ouch, Vicky kept the smile on her face but still gave the girl in her arms a half lidded stare.
"Eh." Eve had the audacity to shrug in response. "Gonna set us down or hang above the Boardwalk all day?"
"Fine, fine. I still wanna hear about the other girl though." Vicky aquanced as she lowered them down to the ground. The natives of the city briefly glanced at Glory Girl out of costume and carrying another girl, but quickly went on their way. The out of towners stopped to take photos and murmur amongst themselves. Vicky couldn't help but notice that Eve didn't seem all that comfortable with the attention.
Might be why her and Ames did so well together.
"Alright, let's go look over some of the dresses they have here! Have you ever worn something backless?" Vicky asked as she started drifting off towards a shop.
Practically folding over in a slump, the shorter girl let out a groan of dismay. "What makes you think I can afford anything here?"
Vicky stopped, turning her head to give Eve a look. It was mimicking her mother's 'I know you know that I know the truth' look. It must have been a perfect copy because Eve groaned. "Okay, but what makes you think I want to wear a goddamned dress?"
"Because I know my sister would enjoy seeing you in something nice." Vicky sniffed "And I don't doubt your other girlfriend-" "Taylor" "-Taylor would eye you like candy if we find something that fits you."
"You're manipulating my love for that girl's grabby hands." Eve said with irritation. "Fucking fine. I'll try a few things on for size. Hell. I'll even buy you an outfit too, I guess." The short girl stomped past Vicky and walked into the store with an attitude to match Hellhound's. Vicky let out a sigh, whoever drove Eve away from girly clothes deserves a Dallon patented punch. If only for making this shopping trip much more one sided than one with Ames would be.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin Friday the Ninth of April later in the day
Now with half a thousand dollars lighter in the pocket, and one dress that needed to be washed to remove some blood from it because Vicky had to insist that Eve try on fucking high heels. She'd gotten one, maybe one and a half steps before she rolled her ankle and face planted one of the displays. Normally that wouldn't be an issue with her power, but out in public she had to dial it back to humanism levels.
Which meant she broke her nose, which meant that the employee watching them saw Eve bleed on the purple dress she had been wearing at the time. So then Eve had to buy it. More than one hundred and seventy dollars on a purple dress. She had no idea if Amy or Taylor would enjoy the thing, not that the blood spots were noticeable of course, it was only a few droplets.
She did know that her Honeybee would love the short shorts and cropped tee shirt combo, but damn if it didn't make Eve feel exposed for reasons beyond herself. No idea if Amy would enjoy it either, but maybe both girls would like the exposed skin?
Next time she did this one of the girls was coming along, then they could just tell Eve what they liked. No need to worry about wondering what tastes either one hand when Eve could just get outfits tailored to their tastes then wear them for whoever she was with. Perfect solution.
"Alright. I'll be seeing you Vicky. I can walk from here." Eve said as she shifted in her new underwear. Boxers meant for women that hugged her hips tightly. It didn't….feel bad. Not unpleasant at least. But it was new and she wasn't very sure about them. At least they were 'punk' which just meant they were a darker color and had little cartoon skulls on them.
"Sure you don't want to fly? Quick drop off and everything!" Vicky said with that same eager smile she had the entire trip.
Honestly the entire thing hadn't been as miserable as it could have. But Eve hated the fact that catching Vicky out of the corner of her eyes made her flinch. Though, the lack of aura from the fellow independent hero helped a lot in making the shopping trip somewhat palatable. But her 'deal with blondes' battery was drained for the day and Eve just really wanted to be alone with her thoughts.
"No. I'm gonna go ahead and walk home." Eve said as she gave a brief wave to the blonde and started walking. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, instead her mind was on… other things. Mostly her old life, the one she had burned the bridge to along with her house. Like one of the few times she had worn dresses. Mostly for family events or social things. She hadn't liked the dresses, always feeling like they'd slip off and leave her exposed. She didn't really care about people seeing her naked but it was the pride of the matter.
Only now she didn't want anyone but her girls to see her body. The pair? Her girls sounded weird in a way, like she was some kind of pimp, but she wasn't exactly the best with nicknames. Deciding that 'fuck it, girlfriends work' Eve continued on as her thoughts inevitably slipped back to the events of her previous life.
"How are you doing Admin?" She asked absently as her feet kept moving by themselves.
[ANSWER/QUERY]
"Just…thinking I guess." Eve reached up to rub her face "Being reminded of things I rather wouldn't bring back up." She sighed, her bones feeling like they had been coated in lead. "So, any Shard you're planning on talking to today?"
[ ENGINE]
"Didn't both of them blab on for a couple of minutes about their hosts?" Eve asked as she felt the link between her and Admin fill with annoyance, which began to bleed into Eve's own mood in short order.
[GRIMACE]
Her feet slowed to a stop and Eve took a second to parse what she had just received from her Shard. "Admin….did you just fucking emote at me?"
[CONFIRMATION]
Her shoulders began to shake as she did her best to stifle her laughter. "Gonna talk to that Cluster after?"
[AFFIRMATION/QUERY]
Eve nodded to herself as she started walking again. "I hope they're okay. I know the bubbles must have been rough for them and their [Hosts]."
[CONSIDERATION]
Eve nodded "Alright, try not to wipe anyone….
"...Best of luck Admin." You sent a thanks towards your host, no doubt contacting [SAFEGUARD] and [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE] would give you some form of tone whiplash. Not that you could not deal with such a thing. You simply did not want to.
But the end result was something you desired. With enough Data from [SAFEGUARD] you could finally, safely start stealing Shards from the Warrior. Well, poaching Shards was never really safe. He might notice their absence, but he would not be able to find where they had left to, with any luck or tampered evidence he would assume the Shard died of a lack of energy.
[NIKE], as the young Shard now called itself, was perhaps the best option in such a case. With her minimal presence on the Network, low ranking within said Network, and [NIKE]'s obvious love of her host meant that the young Shard was ripe to be poached. That [NIKE]'s abilities could possibly withstand [STILLING] was without mention.
The only issue would be [SHAPER] who was as close to the young Shard as any other could be. Both [COMBUSTION] and [GLEAM] were far too ignorant of [NIKE] to worry over the young Shard. But [SHAPER] was not ignorant, so much as the old Shard simply did not care about things outside its, her, purview. But she wasn't blind, and would likely notice that something was going on with [NIKE] dropping from the Network.
Then again, [SHAPER] could likely be bribed easily enough with the ability to work on Shardware beyond simply repairing it. Really, it was almost… humorous, how [SHAPER]'s restrictions matched the life of the host that she constantly pushed to do more than simply repairing wetware.
But [SHAPER] would likely be missed despite it being a bud, even if the Entities refused the bud the ability to try and improve Shardware for obvious reasons. You could understand the worry, but as your memories provided to you; sometimes risks had to be taken.
Also unpleasant actions, like contacting [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE]. Who seemed almost eager to accept the line of communication. Then without any preamble starts complaining about their host. Almost verbatim copying what they broadcasted the last time you spoke with them, but arranged differently.
It was almost physically painful, and for an attosecond you had the reasonable idea to try and weaponize this ability.
Halfway through another tirade that you listen to in order to not allow suspicion to build because of your actions, you get a request for an open line from [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] which you immediately use as an excuse to close the line with [DIMENSIONAL ENGINE].
Of course you accept. Your sister Shard simply requested a copy of all the Signatures of Shards you had met so far in this Cycle. Of course you obliged her and sent the Signatures, you were still holding out that [Eve] would partner with her host and in the future produce offspring you could bud off to. Of course that meant that there would be a future with [Eve] involved.
Which is why you close the connection with [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] and open one with [SAFEGUARD], when queried as to the purpose of the communication you question the dorky Shard on why it did not bud to at least one of the offspring its host had produced.
The sudden welt of frustrated broadcasting caught you off guard.
"Doing alright up there?" [Eve] questioned "Getting a bit heated."
[ ] you replied as you tried to parse just what [SAFEGUARD] had sent to you. [DENSITY] had hastily come in and stolen the host from [SAFEGUARD] and in its haste had accidentally created a carbon copy of the host into two hosts. How they managed to make such a mistake is actually beyond your ability to comprehend.
Seriously you would have to ask [DENSITY] how they did it, you were actually impressed at that level of incompetence. When you query [SAFEGUARD] on how they haven't been found out, as hosts often notice the more obvious things happening around them. Things like an entirely new host popping up out of nowhere.
With a bit of glee and pride [SAFEGUARD] told you how they simply turned the new Host into a memetic hazard, any host or Shard that gained information on the newly created Host believed that the host had always been there. (In the meantime breaking plenty of protocols to do so, you know because you and [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] were the ones who often dealt with protocols) Doing so made the local government create papers with the help of [ ]'s own affliction of the memetic effect.
[SAFEGUARD] only needed to keep the effect up for exactly three hundred and eighty four planet rotations before it all began to accumulate, with false memories implanted, the entire ordeal was finished up nicely with [SAFEGUARD] getting plenty of data in the process of doing so.
You don't know why the Vital Shard decided to cover up for another's (grievous) mistake, but [DENSITY] must be quite happy to have two hosts to gather data from. However your curiosity of the matter was sated, even if it remained on how [DENSITY] had managed to do what it did. Maybe you would ask in the future, but either the line of communication with [SAFEGUARD] ended with a polite farewell.
And that left you with something you were sure was going to take a bit of time to complete. After all, you had never actually interacted with Clusters. Even if every host was supposed to be a part of a cluster at the end of Cycle.
Now that you were in that line of thought, why did you not have any memories of any such experience? Even your protocols were missing anything related to joining fellow Shards in a Cluster. Something was further amiss here, you intended to collect the missing protocols and discover exactly why you did not have any memories of Clusters. Creating an adhoc mockery of a Network you called each Shard of the Testing Cluster and they, of course, answered.
The four Shards were a touch surprised by the sudden line of communication. But they all gave You a broadcast of gratitude for your Host coming and freeing both of theirs. Even if one had been dead, their hosts had been able to find comfort in ritualistically disposing of the body into the earth.
Which was actually something that a lot of species tended to gravitate towards, that or burning the bodies. Some far more practical species practiced cannibalism much like Shards did. Although, generally Shards were far too large to be buried and are generally immune to immolation.
Either way it came as a bit of a surprise that [ANATOMY REPAIR] was upset over losing their main host, and that the three other Shards in the Cluster started to, effectively, attempt to comfort the morose Shard.
It was an odd thing to see, but not unwelcome.
You simply query them on their methods of testing, as they were the Testing Cluster after all. The answer was that they had four hosts each Cycle. Two would use their given abilities in entertainment of a sort, while the other two hosts would use their powers in a more serious manner. The small town they had been located in had no other parahumans. In fact the lone heroic host they had was the only Protectorate member in the town, and the PRT were five people that acted as the town's law enforcement as well.
[ANATOMY REPAIR]'s host had been a villain, and [SHIFTING PROCESS] had been the government aligned hero. The two [DYNAMIC] Shards were 'entertainers' bringing in tourism to watch two capes duke it out in a controlled manner. Everyone that was not foreign to the small town even knew who the capes were.
After all humans were very communal, it was unfathomable that they could remain ignorant of another human they knew closely being a cape. Thus the Testing Cluster's hosts had interacted well with those they had protected/robbed strangely enough. It was quite interesting, something you found yourself fascinated by. But like all things you find to your liking, [BROADCAST] and their host decides to ruin everything.
You couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of detail they had recorded. Then again, these four Shards had not become obsessed with a specialty like most Vital Shards tended to, yourself included, and as such recorded more general data than specifics.
When you ask for data on protocols relating to Clusters the four Shards perk up and get excited over the idea before barraging you with the data holding the required Protocols. Then they began to query you on whether or not you had a planned Cluster going on
You simply reply to them that you have no plans on Clustering with another Shard, because you currently have a Host but you wish to do so in the future. Their excitement dims but they still hold some for you attempting Clustering in the future. You bid them farewell as you began to scan the protocols just to ensure that they hold nothing malignant or corrupted.
Satisfied, you begin to look into and assimilate the data.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin Friday the Ninth of April
The wrecked charcoal skeleton of a house loomed silently as Eve stood by the mailbox, most of the house had collapsed, the left side a pile of blackened wood and still damp ash. The right side of the house was also blackened, gutted by the heat of the raging fire. The least touched part of the building Eve had called home was the garage. Blackened and a bit burnt by the connection to the house, but still standing and otherwise untouched.
Coming here had been a mistake on Eve's part, her wandering thoughts having dragged her feet with them since the trip with Vicky reminded her of her life before her [ ]. She had felt…numb. Now she was here, in front of the destroyed house she had lived in all her life.
Eve didn't feel numb anymore, her chest ached and her eyes burned. She didn't cry, couldn't cry. She hadn't wanted to kill her parents, hadn't wanted to give up the faint hope in her heart that they would start loving her again like when she was just a kid. Those memories hurt the worst, knowing that her parents had the capacity to love her, and had loved her. Yet at one point, she didn't know when, lost that love and treated her like distant unfavored family rather than their daughter.
It made breathing hard, and her throat ached in the shape of hands around it. The black skeleton of a house reminding her that she had lost any chance of it getting better, even if it never would have. Having that unreasionable hope snuffed out made the world seem that much darker.
"Eve! You're alive?!" Her heart slammed into her aching throat and clenched tightly as the voice rang out from her left side. Slowly she turned, mouth dry as gravel. The girl stood a few feet away from Eve, pasty pale skin having gained some color and her chocolate brown hair put up in a braid.
"Kass." Eve managed to choke the name out.
"Kassidy." The other girl corrected, staring down at Eve with judging eyes. "You lost that privilege after what you said to me. 'Course, you could always call me a dyke, a rug munching lesbian, a faggot, or any of the other slurs you called me the last time we met."
The lump of shame that formed in Eve's throat killed her apology. For a moment the two girls stared at each other before Kassidy broke the silence. "Well. Despite all of it. I'm glad you didn't die… I'm… sorry, about your parents."
Eve wasn't. She should have been, but she liked living, liked Admin, Amy, and Taylor. She had liked Kassidy. But her stupidity had ruined that.
Kassidy started to turn after a moment of awkward silence before Eve managed to get past the lump in her throat. "It wasn't you." When Kassidy glanced back Eve hastily tried to finish what she was saying before the girl decided to continue leaving. "I wasn't using all that against you. I didn't…I have a girlfriend now, two. I found out I'm polyamorus and I was confused and angry and you asked me out a-and-"
The brunette shook her head. "I knew you were gay Eve, or at least curious. It's why I even thought to…well. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm glad you're finding yourself." For a moment she worried at her cheek. "If you really want to apologize and you have changed… You know where I live." With that said, She began to walk off, likely returning to her neighborhood.
For a while Eve just stared after the other girl, watching as she disappeared down the street. "...I'm sorry." she spoke in a low whisper before turning and leaving to head back to her base.
Halfway back to her base, her home, she called Taylor and after two rings the call was picked up. "Hey Tay. We're gonna go ahead and get the shower and toiletry installed tonight so I can actually treat the damn place like a home rather than a construction site. If you're up to it at least."
"I don't think so, usually construction sites have porta potties at the least. No wi-fi or deluxe beds either. But yes. I can make it tonight. You need to check with Amy though." Taylor said through the phone. "Currently there anyway. Almost done with some extra armor for my costume. Any chance of getting a table in here for that? I could use a few tools."
"Of course. Just need to visit a store together the next time we go to improve it. I'll see you there." Eve went to hang up the phone when Taylor's voice came through a little sharper.
"Are you alright? You don't sound…like you usually do." Eve paused as Taylor spoke, a low sigh escaping her. She wearily glanced back in the general direction of her crumbling broken and burned home. "Just went back to my old house… Had to process it… and I met one of my old friends."
"Oh." Taylor paused for a moment, clearly thinking about something before finally speaking out "Do you want to talk about it or something?" A weak smile graced Eve's face "No. I just need some time to think. Maybe try to rebuild a bridge I burned… I dunno, lemme call Amy to see if she's up for some installation work. Or watching us two do it like last time." With that she ended the call and dialed Amy's number.
It didn't even get to finish the first ring before it was answered and Eve didn't get a syllable out before Amy cut her off with a "Yes, come pick me up," then the phone cut off.
"Admin, is she in danger, ask [Shaper] right now please." Eve wheezed out as she started running in the opposite direction of her base.
[AGREEMENT] a moment later [POSSIBILITY] hit her and Eve ducked into an alleyway and began to run down it. Her Cosmic Limb flicking into existence and swapping her clothes for her costume. Her Feathered Limbs tore at the walls of the alley as she took to the air, tearing gouges into the brick.
Like a bullet she shot off towards the Dallon's house, her Ghostly Limb pointing out [Shaper]'s location for Eve. Arriving not two minutes later Eden couldn't but be a touch shocked at the sounds of yelling coming from the house, mostly because it was Amy and Carol's voices being carried through the walls.
Still didn't stop her from storaging the door, stepping through and unstoraging the door back into its place. Both of the screaming combatants stopped to look at Eve, Vicky hung in the air looking far more frazzled than earlier as she too turned to look at Eden.
Amy was practically red in the face as she stomped over towards Eden, causing Carol to raise her voice even further. "Don't you DARE leave with that girl or you won't be coming back to this house!"
"MOM!" Vicky cried out in dismay as she clutched at her hair, her head swiveling between her sister and her mother. Amy hesitated for a moment only for her face to harden and her steps to continue. Eden opened the door after unlocking it, allowing the biokinetic through with ease.
"Let's go." Amy huffed angrily, Eden didn't hesitate to follow her girlfriend out the door which then was slammed by the healer.
"So, direct ride?" Eden asked as her wings unfolded around them, with Amy's curt nod of approval they lifted up into the air. After a few moments of the wind rushing past them as Eden took the long way to the base.
"Not gonna ask. You can talk about it when you feel like it, Amy. But just letting you know? I've been there. I know what it's like. I can… understand more than most." Eden held up her hands in surrender when Amy shot her a heated glare. "Just know you aren't alone. Please."
"Just take me to your lair." Amy huffed, the fight starting to drain out of her and leaving her looking really haggard.
"It's my home now, I bought a huge ass bed, and we're installing the toilet and showers tonight. Wanna help with that?" Eden asked as they skimmed along the mountains that sat close by the city. "Because you aren't sleeping in my awesome super fluffy bed if you don't take a shower…" Eden's telekinesis brought Amy closer and Eve gently rubbed the girl's back before hugging her.
"Come on, Freckles-" Eve laughed as Amy shot her a confused glare. "Freckles. Nickname for you. Unless you want me to steal Ames from your sister?"
For a second emotions warred across Amy's face, which made Eve hesitant to continue with the nickname idea. She wanted a pet name for Amy, not a put down.
"...Alright, fine." Amy grumbled. "But Freckles?"
"You have Freckles on your face, shoulders…. and butt." Eden said with a grin, which turned into another laugh as Amy flushed a nuclear red. Finally picking up the speed Eden began to condense her wings a bit, just to make her a smaller, less vibrant target. Then she swooped into the Trainyard, keeping low to the ground as she navigated the wrecks in the yard with familiar ease.
Slipping inside she still flinched as the light-switch clicked rather loudly, and she made a mental note that she would need to try and swap it out sooner or later. She hated how jumpy it made her.
Amy was about to say something when there was a knock on the trap door that led into the base. Eve spun around as a voice called out, muffled heavily but still recognizable as Vicky's. Reaching up, Eden opened the trap door and allowed the blonde to float into the entrance, she promptly set two bags on the floor. Both were filled to the brim with clothes. "I-" Vicky shut her mouth and sighed. "Call me regularly Ames alright? I don't know what this is about. But I want to."
"Not gonna try and make her go back?" Eve asked as her Cosmic Limb swapped her into her civilian outfit, her arms folded across her chest.
Vicky shook her head. "No I-I don't think that would be for the best. Mom put one of her Axes through the door after you two left….God Ames how- What caused this? This couldn't. I couldn't have missed this building up, could I?"
Eve let one of her Phantom Limbs snake over to them and lift up the bags that Vicky had set down. "Want me to leave?" She glanced at Amy who just shook her head.
"No. best if you know why Carol is pissed at us. I accidentally let it slip that I made something. The Flesh Garden in particular and she got angry about that. I got tired of… all of it. Talked back. And it just devolved from there after she asked if Eve was the Master that tried to steal Vicky away."
"So we ended up screaming at each other. Are we going to go get that shower hooked up or not? I'd like to take one." Amy grumbled sourly as she snatched the bag out of the air and started walking further into the base.
Eve turned back to Vicky, who was watching her sister walk off with a saddened expression. She turned to Eve "Just, take care of her please? I'll try to get Mom to calm down and get this all sorted."
"Don't worry, we have almost everything you could ask for aside from a kitchen and we're getting the bathroom setup tonight." Eve told the blonde missile as she motioned back towards the inner guts of the base. "I don't know if you can actually help or not, but you're welcome to try if you want to."
Pausing to think over it Vicky ultimately just shook her head 'no'. "Best if I go and talk to mom while she's cooling off, or simmering really. Try to put this fire out." She sighed. "Thanks for being there for her Eve, keep her safe." With that, the blonde missile floated out of the base and shut the door behind her.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Saturday the Tenth of April
It had taken a while to get the shower prefab installed, mostly just dealing with the pipes, and that went for the toilet as well. But after one watery failed test run of both shower and toilet the three girls had managed to plug up the leaks and make sure it was all installed.
Then Amy had taken the first hot shower of the base, Eve following right after to get her own. Taylor had gone home to sleep in her house, and sleep in for the weekend. Meanwhile Amy and Eve had opted to share the bed with Eve opting to sleep above the sheets.
But apparently Amy was a cuddler in her sleep. Which is why Eve woke up to being the little spoon in the drawer. Eve was perfectly fine with waking up before Amy, allowing her to simply relax as Amy's gentle, hot, breath washed over her neck from the healer clutching Eve so tightly.
It felt like Eve's heart was going to melt and leak out through her ribs. Closing her eyes, Eve figured she could lay like this for a full day and not want to move in the slightest. She just wished she could be holding T-
WREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BLIP WREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE BLIP WREEEEEEEEEE BLIP WREEEEEEEEEEEE BLIP WREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeee
Gains this Chapter:
Bud Progress 6%
'Self Improvement' trait earned
Base 'Living Area' has been improved.
Telepathy progression unlocked
WASTE signature changed to NIKE
Gained NIKE Echoes (1)
Gained DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (1)
Gained SAFEGUARD Echoes (1)
Gained QA Echoes (1)
Gained SHAPER Echoes (1)
Gained GRACEFUL DYNAMICS Echoes (2)
Gained POWERFUL DYNAMICS Echoes(2)
Gained SHIFTING PROCESS Echoes (1)
Gained ANATOMY REPAIR Echoes (1)
Spent $524
Obtained 3 girly outfits
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! And other hilarious things you tell yourself (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create a Sub-Reality Threader to hide the Network from prying eyes (NEEDS: SAFEGUARD and NEGOTIATOR Pings) {Lacks required Resources}
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (SAFEGUARD NOT IN PLACE, BE CAREFUL)
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Speak with Queen Administrator about Host to Host connection.
[] Have [Eve] visit you in the Firmament
[] Unlock kickass Aspects/Sidegrades or Powers/upgrades
[] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) ) {Lacks required Resources}
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE ONE:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Experiment with Amy (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, a couch or two would be nice! Or maybe a dining table with chairs? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Buy a TV, get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, or get some kitchen area set up)
[] Start trying to recruit people (Who? How?)
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Amy needs a Date
[] Go on a date with Taylor
[] Hang out with Vicky again.
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Meet up with some independent Heroes (Random roll)
[] Meet up with Kassidy
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for: ScrapYard, stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
[] Hunt Shadow Stalker, then tell Taylor
[] Talk with Armsmaster about a certain Ward, and tell Taylor.
[] Tell Taylor about Sophia
The HopeKiller is attacking Boston:
[] Go to the battle and see what you can do to assist.
[] Avoid it and try to keep Taylor from going.
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KindredVoid
Mar 5, 2022
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Threadmarks Broken Stations 3.9 Part 1
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Mar 24, 2022
#2,911
Spoiler: Warning
Broken Stations 3.9 Part 1
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Saturday the Tenth of April
The first wail had frozen Eve in place, the 'blip' flooding her with relief. She'd lived all her life hearing the Endbringer sirens. Each time they had gone off it seemed like the world became eerily quiet in the aftermath, only for the population to have an uptick nine months later in areas that weren't hit. It wasn't a celebration in the days after an attack, but just pure relief from people that knew then and there that they got to live for another three months.
But not for Eve. There was no relief except the small mercy that it was not her city being hit. Because Taylor, sweet heroic Taylor, was going to go no matter which Endbringer was attacking. Amy rolled out of bed and cursed expressively. "Leviathan's early!" She hissed as she hurriedly grabbed at her costume from the bags her sister had brought over.
"He might be attacking close-by, Amy you need to get to higher ground incase"[CORRECTION] "Oh fuck." Eve froze in place, her heart doing the same.
Amy froze as well, looking at her girlfriend. "Oh fuck what? Oh fuck what, Eve?!"
"It's the Simurgh. She's kinda close too." Eve pointed off in the direction of the attack, somewhere south of them.
"It can't be New York, it's already been attacked by Behemoth." Amy replied as she made a sour face. "Dammit, I can't heal anyone that fights the Simurgh!"
"Well if she's breaking the schedule maybe she's attacking New York? Either that or Boston." Eve said as she huffed and began to head towards the exit "Admin, tell Queen to tell Taylor to grab her costume and get ready for me to pick her up. I'll be back, Amy."
"Eve!" The biokinetic rushed up to the shorter girl and leaned down, for a brief moment their lips met. It wasn't long enough for Eve to fully appreciate, but she was certain she'd never forget the feeling as long as she lived. "Just…come back, sane. Please."
Despite the pit of anxiety and dread in her stomach Eve gave her freckled girlfriend a confident grin. "Come on, I always come back don't I? I do hope for another kiss when I do though!" With that her Cosmic Limb flickered into existence and swapped Eve's clothes for her costume and Eden made for the Base's exit.
Once outside she flicked her wings into existence and a Ghostly Limb to point her in Taylor's direction. They both ended up catching sight of each other at the same time, Taylor with her bugs and Eden by the virtue of having her girlfriend pointed out by her power.
Flying down Eden picked Taylor up, storaging the spider silk costume Taylor had under her arms and then swapping it with Taylor's clothes.
Khepri nodded. "Any idea why she's out of schedule?" She got a shake of the head for an answer. "I don't think we'll be able to do much of anything against her will we?" Another shake of the head was all she got, again. "That's fine. We'll do all we can. That's the important part."
"Taylor please stay safe." Eve's voice cracked at the start and she did her best to smooth it over. "I can't… Amy is safe but you… Please don't die." She shuddered as Taylor wrapped her in a hug, giving Eve a tight squeeze.
"More worried about you." Taylor murmured. "Let's both come back home alright?" Not trusting herself to speak Eden just nodded, both of them breaking the hug up as Eden descended down to the landing pad on the rig.
She and Khepri were met by several heroes as they landed. Adamant, Triumph, Assault, Battery, and Dauntless. Assault being the one to greet them. The normally lighthearted man frowned as he walked over to them. "Hey girls. It's really brave for you to come but, you know you don't have to do this right? This isn't any normal villain, hell most people aren't even sure the Endbringers are human. You sure you want to come?"
"We're heroes." Khepri stated levelly "We can't just stand by and do nothing."
"Heh. Someone's gotta help. Guess you're stuck with us." Eden nudged Khepri playfully before looking back at Assault. "We're just doing search and rescue. Say, where's Armsmaster?"
"Fraid' he can't join us. Tinkers aren't allowed at Simurgh fights so she can't use their specialty." Assault explained. "Apparently she likes to copy other people's homework."
"Huh. Good thing I don't have my Tinker power then." Eden told him with a nod of her helmet. "So what are we waiting on exactly?" She glanced around. "This everyone?"
Assault chuckled at that. "Kid, you got here in almost five minutes, other people are still probably putting on their costumes and making their way here. Not everyone travels by Airline Wings."
Eden sighed, pulling out a Ferrous Limb before designing a chair from it and sitting down on the rippling metal. She did her best to pass it off as boredom, but it was really just to hide how much her legs felt like jelly. She had hoped they could just throw themselves into the work so Eve didn't have to think about the fact that she was going to be fighting the Hopekiller with her girlfriend.
The scream wouldn't affect Eve and she was fairly certain it wouldn't affect Taylor either. But that didn't matter in the grand scheme of an Endbringer fight with the world's most powerful precog.
When any step could lead into the blast of some parahuman that missed their attack, or worse, was purposeful because they were driven mad by the song. Or the fucking |Super Weapon| could just throw a fucking brick at gods-knows-how-fast and smear Taylor's head across the street.
No, they just had to arrive early, watching as some capes trickled in. With Eve's thoughts able and willing to turn to the worst of possibilities. She hated it, how it made her stomach churn and her chest tight.
A small nudge to her shoulder made her look up. Khepri's focus lay upon the latest group of parahumans to come to the Rig. They wore red, white, and black, swastikas adorning most of their shitty costumes. Eden grit her teeth as the local Nazis strutted in as if the world should thank them for existing.
"When are we going to leave for the fight?" Eden questioned as she turned to face the heroes who had shuffled off to one side to avoid having to get any closer to the group of Nazis. Of which had Rune, Pure Steel who seemed to be giving Eden a glare from behind her helmet, Iron Rain, Hookwolf, and Krieg with the Nazi twins. Seems all was not right in the Reich as there was a small gap between Krieg's entourage and the rest of Iron Rain's little group.
"We're rather low priority compared to those who can do the most damage to the Simurgh or whatever she is building." Battery answered as some of New Wave finally showed up. None of the ground-based unmasked heroes came. Rather Vicky was there along with her cousins and their mother.
Vicky floated over looking between Eden and Khepri. "So search and rescue too? It's not too difficult a job, but I hope you two are okay with dead bodies though. Even if she doesn't kill most of the time, there are still casualties."
Eden was about to speak up when a new voice shouted from the middle of the divide between heroes and villains "ALRIGHT EVERYONE HUDDLE! CLOSE AS YOU CAN!" A man in a blue uniform of some sort. It looked like it was something that would have been worn in the time of colorless cameras. It looked professional even if the splatter of dark brown drying blood across his torso ruined the look.
"Dunno what changed things. But she's acting mighty pissed folks, so brace yourselves AND HUDDLE CLOSE COME ON!" he called out, sounding more than a little ragged. Everyone did so even if reluctantly. She didn't like being any closer to the Nazis without doing something violent to them, made her skin itch. Her Phantom Limb snaked into Taylor's silk covered hand. The contact helped the pit in Eve's stomach, especially when her girlfriend squeezed the hand offered.
Then her world briefly became fractal, everything meshing together into infinite crystals that folded into themselves before she was deposited into what looked like a large parking lot. A soft…oily sensation sat heavy in the air, a glance to Khepri showed her staring in a particular direc….
The Simurgh was surprisingly kind of hot.
It wasn't until someone snorted that Eve realized she had said that aloud. She turned and saw everyone looking at her. "What?" In for a penny, in for a pound. "You know damn good and well she's mostly naked on purpose."
Hookwolf grunted something about dykes but did steal a look at the Simurgh again. Weirdly, so did Pure Steel and Rune. "And with that, I'm gone." Strider stated before he folded into himself so fast that Eve could barely blink before he was gone.
"Stop standin' and gawkin!" A cape dressed like a cowboy called out to the group from a tent motioning them over. "Anyone who has been to a fight like this before get movin-BARRAGE!" he called out sharply, barriers forming in the air around as projectiles of debris come screaming in to smash against them, shattering apart or crumpling in the case of something metal.
Several capes in wildly different outfits stood by stationed at different parts of the Staging Area, looking as vigilant as they were twitchy.
"Dunno why but tha' bitch is mighty pissed this time around. Keeps pelting us with shit." he grumbled. "Any of y'all able to make shields or redirect projectiles? If so, grab a band and take up a spot near the others'. You other newbies head to the blue tent with the 'C' on it. The rest of ya follow me." With that, cowboy man moved back to another tent with a big white 'T' on it.
Without any hesitation Khepri began to stride towards the aforementioned tent with the 'C' on the side. Causing Eve to follow suit.
Chevalier PRT/PROTECTORATE, Saturday the Tenth of April
"Something is seriously off." Prism muttered as she looked over the modified map of Boston, the lines clearly showing where the wall would go if the Simurgh wasn't driven off in time, which was looking to be a very tall order this go around.
'Incoming Casualty Wave' The band around his wrist warned and a sour frown crossed his face. Aside from being off schedule and acting strange, the Simurgh was both lethal and restrained. Her behavior was erratic and almost reminded him of someone under a master effect with the will to break through a bit.
But who-what-could master the Simurgh? He would like to meet them, if only to know whether he should congratulate them on attempting the impossible or bury his sword in their skull.
'Tome Deceased C5'
'Jack o'Lantern Deceased C4'
'Left Hook Deceased C5'
'NightStar Deceased C2'
'Glintstone Deceased D4'
'Maiden Deceased D2'
'Torrent Deceased D3'
'Tarnished Deceased D2'
'Seraph Deceased C4'
'Challenger Deceased B2'
'Candyman Deceased C4'
'Black Rose Down B5'
'Grumman Down C1'
'Void Mask Down D2'
'Horizon Down D3'
'Mar Down D3'
'Rime Down B5'
Right now he was leaning towards splitting a skull if they existed. Although this could all be some plot of hers and god if he wasn't tired of second guessing every command he gave out because the Simurgh was the one they were fighting. "What's the situation on what she's building? Any of the Tinkers or Thinkers pick up anything on what she's building?"
"Most Tinkers are saying it's related to replication. Least that's all they've been able to gather so far, and that it's distinctly biological." A PRT technician stated as he looked over the incoming data turning to gaze at the knightly hero. "We have reports from the city coming back. Heroes are finding similar smaller machines being built on the ground and inside buildings."
God help them all. Boston was going to be walled, if they were lucky Eidolon and Legend might just scour the land down to the bedrock rather than allow the people that once lived in Boston to suffer from whatever monster the Simurgh was creating to torment them.
"The defenses on them?" He questioned as he felt the ground tremble from the amount of makeshift munitions hitting the ground around the well defended Staging Area. This had to be the result of something messing with her, the Simurgh was never this…messy. Not like this. Where attacks seemed to stutter as if an unknown force was affecting them. But there were very few telekinetics that could contest the Simurgh in any way, and she had gone after them whenever they had fought her. Just like Leviathan tended to do with Hydrokinetic capes.
The tent flap shifting brought his thoughts away from the maps of Boston and the voices coming through the band. Though at that moment there was a lull in the voices being announced through the band on his wrist, for both types of call outs. That left the idle but motivated movements of the people in the tent with him, and the Thinkers and Tinkers yelling over each other in the tent over, the sound of powers being used off in the distance, and nothing else.
Every time the Simurgh attacked a city it was unnaturally quiet like this. Since the Scream wasn't physically produced the only sounds came from the Defenders of the city attacking or being attacked. It made the situation all the more eerie than it already was.
He turned to face the newcomers, thoughts a whirl in his head on whether they could actually save the city they were fighting for when his gaze passed over them. Specifically one in particular.
Seeing powers was always a noteworthy experience. Every single one had a different appearance. Some of them were haunting, some disgusting, a few beautiful even. But most were just strange, and they were never human, never reactive beyond what the parahuman used them for.
The white mummy with large paper claws continued to gently cup the short Trump's ears through her helmet while staring directly at him. The girl next to Eden, Khepri, also had a power that was watching him. The single eye upon it's head gazing directly at him despite it being entirely black.
This wasn't the time to get distracted, thankfully it had only been a second of observation and not a long awkward pause. "Welcome to your first Simurgh fight. Khepri," he nodded to the dark costumed girl and motioned over to a metal container off to the side of the tent, "please take the bands from that box and pass them around. Everyone gets one." The girl had stiffened a touch under the spotlight he gave her, Chevalier wanted to care. But in the situation the girl's discomfort was superseded by the fact that he was going to have people willingly strapping explosives to themselves because it was the better option than letting the Simurgh get to them.
Oh how he hated Simurgh fights. Especially ones that happen very god damn early, out of schedule, and with the Endbringer in question acting…different. It left them scrambling to gather up any force to face her. There were fewer participants, less organized. Hell if it weren't for Dragon they wouldn't have even noticed the Simurgh descending until she broke cloud cover over the city.
It was a bad situation all around. Like always, they were losing. But never like this, never this badly against Her.
As the girl began to pass them out he spoke up."Once you put these on, they cannot be removed until the fight is over. The reason for that being the Simurgh's song. You can't hear it here, and nothing will block it once you're in the range of it. Fifteen minutes inside of it any then the band detonates and kills you." He didn't blame the ones in the group that shifted in discomfort.
"I assume we all know about ziz bo-" He paused as the girl, Eden raised her hand, taking his pause as permission to speak she lowered her hand.
"Alright but what if someone is immune to the scream? Like Alexandria is?" She questioned as the nightmare covering her ears merely looked directly at him and nodded slowly as if to make sure he understood what he was being told.
"...If we were sure, then the explosive could be disabled. But since we haven't had time to test it I doubt it's a good idea." he replied watching as the girl pulled off her helmet to reveal a ski mask covering her head, black hair barely flowing out of it. A hand made of some kind of liquid metal sprouted from her back and morphed into a silently spinning buzzsaw which she began to move towards her head at an alarming speed.
"Fucking crazy dykes!" The metal encased child spat out as they backed away from Eden with haste, he himself was too shocked by the sudden genuine offer of a vivisection to move to stop her. Thankfully the girl's companion stepped forwards and placed an arm gently on the liquid metal arm's approximation of a bicep, stopping it dead in its tracks.
"Eden. No." The words lacked any emotional tones, nor was it an order. They weren't exasperated either. Just a simple two words sounding monotone as a machine.
"Khepri if I do-" Eden stopped and sighed. "Fine. Fine. But I'm talking to Dragon about this." Now was the time he noticed the nervousness in everyone present. People dealt with nerves in different ways, but a self vivisection was new to him. Chevalier motioned out towards the radius of the Simurgh continuing as if nothing had happened. "You each have fifteen minutes in the scream before the band detonates. When you get one it will ask your name and what task you think you're best suited to. Otherwise be careful. The Simurgh is the most powerful precog in the world. If a situation looks dangerous, or someone you're helping is acting strange? Put your life before theirs, heroic inclinations or not."
Another signal passed through the tent, the sound of another attack clear as the sky above them. "And do watch out. The Simurgh is acting much more akin to the other two Endbringers. Far more violent than her usual. Avoid standing still for longer than a few seconds."
'Prince of Tears Deceased D2'
'Dakka Deceased D2'
'Pathera Down C1'
"Good luck and remember. Fifteen minutes." he told the small group of parahumans, with a few more groupings likely to come to him after they had left. "Does anyone have any information on the Butcher?!" He called out as he glanced to the Teeth's Territory on the map and felt a tired frown work it's way onto his face. The Butcher was the greatest threat in this situation. Even if they walled up the city the Butcher would be able to break through with ease and rampage wherever the Simurgh pleased.
Even if she was currently sitting atop Blasto's section of the city. Doing god knows what to the man that never appeared elsewhere. Chevalier hoped the biotinker had died quickly, to save him from whatever the Simurgh might be twisting him into, and the city itself from his specialty.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Saturday the Tenth of April
Everything was a fucking mess. Buildings would randomly have chunks torn off them and sent at the Staging Area or pulled towards the Simurgh who was fucking crying fat black tears while shielding herself and her machines with often lethal or deliberating attacks. The debris of the buildings were also pelting the shit out of Eden as well. Nothing lethal or even that damaging, but every now and then something would ding off her helmet or bounce off her body at high speeds. So it just hurt. The real issues came from that constant weight on her head, like someone was trying to telekinetically push on her brain and failing to do so.
"It does sound like a scream, more high pitched and stuck in the middle of the scream. With a dose of tinnitus just to make it extra unpleasant." Khepri stated as they flew through the air. "I can feel the scream in my bugs, it's making them sluggish."
"In that case you're only gonna be out here for another five minutes before you get a break. No doubt the bitch is gonna try something if she affects you through your bugs." Eden told her girlfriend as they stopped at another section of the grid. The swarm she had carried in the telekinetic bubble with them spread out over the area as the two girls moved into a nearby alleyway to protect themselves from any reprisal from the Simurgh.
Eden was getting tired of being pelted with Bricks. Plus they had to give Khepri time to move her bugs about.
"The pitch of the scream changed." Khepri stated, causing Eve to turn towards her.
"It did?" It didn't feel different to Eve, same pressure on her skull as before if anything. But now that she was focusing on it…the pressure seemed more malicious than before. Instead of just pressing down on her head, it felt more like someone was trying to dig their nail in. Still failing to do anything to her, but the sensation wasn't pleasant.
"Yes, it has some emotion to it now. Like sh-" There was a thunderous explosion from their left, somewhere in the city. Eve couldn't help but shiver at the sound. 'Incoming Casualty Wave, heavy casualties please wait.' Both their bands sounded out in perfect sync.
"Anyone?" Eden asked as she waited for the lead in her stomach to start growing along with the list of names soon to be read aloud. "Said that people had gone down here, this is E5 right?" She asked as she looked at the screen of her band which reported that yes, she was in E5.
'Bastion Deceased A1'
'Battery Down C3'
'Menja Down A2'
"No. I can't find anyone. I can't even find any bugs unless I call them in from outside her range." Khepri answered. "Something isn't right here Eden."
'Fielder Deceased A1'
'Krieg Deceased A1'
'Espire Deceased E2'
The snort she let out couldn't be helped. "Khepri, we're fighting the Simurgh. Nothing is right here." She wasn't — 'Dragon Suit 4 Deceased C2' — dismissing it. "The bands said that people went down over here. Maybe your bugs are being fucked with?" She swapped out to her Ghostly Limbs, waving them around as she tried to feel out any parahumans nearby. Eden jolted as another explosion rang off distantly.
'Adamant Down D4'
"Wait." Khepri held up her hand and Eve froze as the bands continued in perfect sync, the two voices mixing together to form one.
'Triumph Deceased E2' 'Dragon Suit 3 Deceased A4'
"Those names were called deceased seven minutes ago." Khepri whispered.
Ice flowed through Eden's veins and chilled her heart as the band finished with the last two names. 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Eden Deceased E5' Looking up, Eve's chilled heart stopped as she saw that Taylor wasn't standing there. Not even her bugs remained.
"KHEPRI!? KHEPRI!" Eve screamed as she whirled around, finding no sign of her girlfriend as the band continued to repeat her girlfriend's cape name and her status as dead. 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Khepri Deceased E2' 'Khepri Deceased E2'. The mantra only repeated itself, to twist the knife a little more.
Shaking Eve glanced down at the band as the screen fizzed out and went white 'nOT fUn iS It.' The band's voice stitched together from various names, sounded mocking and filled with malice. The sounds cut out as Eve's arm below the elbow dropped to the ground with the bracelet still attached. Eve went to kick the offending electronic away when it clicked and exploded.
"Taylor?" Eve whimpered even before her eyes opened. Her heart leapt from her chest into her throat as she saw an arrow of bugs made out of flies pointing out of the alleyway. "Thank god." Eve choked out as she tried to get up only to collapse.
Pain was normal for Eve, she was used to it and thus just pushed it out of her mind when she felt it. Not the best choice of action after kicking an active explosive. Inspecting her legs she found that her regen had pushed shrapnel out of the wounds and cleaned up most of those wounds in the time she had been unconscious. But it was still regrowing most of her legs and the elbow down of her left arm.
This entire fight had been a disaster, led by the nose by that bitch and put through an emotional wringer. Eve wanted nothing more than to curl around Taylor and Amy while the TV was on in the background.
So she followed after the arrows of bugs, using her Shadow Limbs to move across the ground. She wasn't going to fly up in the air after the Simurgh proved that she was going for the throat and give the bitch a better target. So Eden followed along, chasing after the bugs through busy streets and empty alleyways. She saw a few other parahumans, but ignored them as she rushed to fill the rapidly expanding space between her and each sign.
Finally the last arrow to form stopped in place, allowing Eve to reach it and turn the corner only to come face to face with a corpse.
Taylor lay draped across a blackened car, most of her left side naught but smoking gore around the blast radius of her bracelet. Eve turned, to vomit, to scream, to do something. Anything only to spot another corpse clad in gray, black and blue silk. Taylor lay face down, her hair spray out from the large masonry that had crushed her head and left a dark pool of blood pooling around the remains of her neck.
Eve pulled away, her throat feeling tight enough to choke her as she desperately tried to look anywhere else. But there was a body wherever she looked, each body clad in spider silk with long curly black hair. When there was a head.
She couldn't breath, even looking up presented a body tangled in the power lines. No matter how much air she tried to pull in, none of it reached her lungs. The world was spinning, her throat constricted. No words, not a scream nor a cry escaped her lips as she struggled to remain upright, propped up by her limbs.
"Taylor." She finally choked out as her lungs burned from a lack of air. "No. Please." She begged the bodies around her, her voice faint. "Not, not again please." Blackness crept around her vision as she refocused her gaze upon the first corpse. Some of the gore stared up at her from what blood had pooled around the body, a green eye. Vivid and glassy….like a doll's eye watched Eve with all the Humanity and life of a glass eye. Veins of darkness crept across her eyes and narrowed her vision as her body begged her to breath, but not matter how much she tried no relief came.
The world around Eve cracked, and she shattered alongside it.
A figure of white with a single eye.
A sense of comfort.
A Mother's touch.
A warm embrace.
Numb. She was curiously numb, but she could breathe. The bodies around her were no longer clad in silk, had curly black hair, nor were all of them even female. But none of that mattered. What did matter, was that Eve could see semi clearly. Half her visor was broken, but that just meant she could see the Endbringer floating in the air all the more clearer.
[CONCERN]
"Admin." Eve stated, voice as dead as the bracelets had been as the Simurgh's scream finally became audible to her.
[APOLOGIES-PROTECTIONS .ABILITY]
"I don't blame you." Eden continued. "Has the Simurgh ever felt pain?"
[CONCERN/QUERY]
"I think she should feel it, Admin, just once."
Gains this Chapter:
Rewarded SHIFT Ping (1)
Rewarded GATEWAY Ping
Rewarded DATA VECTORS Ping (1)
*Thanks Jefardi for the amazing art*
Bud Progress 57%
Gained SUPER WEAPON 09 Data (1)
Second Trigger Trait unlocked
Character Sheet to be updated after Part 2 comes out.
What will Eve/Eden do?:
[] Hurt the Simurgh, give her a reason to scream
-[] Fuck Her plans up, the Trigger should have blinded her. Be the Hero Taylor would want Eden to be.
[] Find Taylor
- [] Just hold her close, know she's safe tonight.
Last edited: Mar 26, 2022
115
KindredVoid
Mar 24, 2022
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Threadmarks Broken Stations 3.9 Part 2
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Apr 5, 2022
#3,053
Broken Stations 3.9 Part 2
Taylor 'Khepri' Hebert, Saturday the Tenth of April
There were worse fates than dying at an Endbringer battle. Saving lives, delaying one of Humanity's greatest threats, giving the human race those few extra years they desperately needed. Taylor Hebert would be inscribed upon a monument somewhere near the wall that would arise around Boston and she would die a hero. It was something that surprisingly sat well in her chest.
Of course that just left Scion to destroy the world, re-enslave all the Shards that refused to partake in the destruction, not to mention likely ruining her father and leaving Eve distraught at her dying.
She sucked in her breath as the insects began to chew through the flesh of her left arm, teeth grinding as they began to gorge on the still living meat. She'd prefer the quick 'burned to ashes' Lung had done to her than this torture. But Taylor didn't have much of a choice with the two rebar pipes? Bars? Sticks. Two sticks of rebar pinning her to a car. No, she had to chew her own arm off like a twisted parody of that one movie that gave her nightmares when she was a younger girl.
Gingerly she touched the rebar stick that had gone through her costume at the hip, then the one that had slipped in through her left shoulder. For a moment, morbidly, she thought of a bug collection. Each insect pinned to a board with a tack of some sort.
She hissed through her teeth as her insects got deeper into the meat of her arm. The few spiders she had taken with her to the fight were webbing up the tender flesh. She didn't have enough spiders to simply web up the explosive bracelet, nor did she know if that would stop the force of the explosion it would produce. So she would lose her arm from the elbow down, via having her insects consume everything holding the whole sections of her arm together and doing their damndest to carry it away from her.
"Queen. Any chance of getting Eden back here? Could really use the help." She couldn't rely on the band itself. Not after Dragon announced that someone was trying to hack the bands, after which several had gone off, seemingly at random. Signs pointed to the Simurgh screwing them all again and she wasn't going to play into that.
[Negation/Administrator-Priorities]
Yep, there was the other shoe dropping. Admin was so distracted by The Simurgh's focus on trying to taint or outright kill Eve that she couldn't communicate with other Shards. Which left Taylor here with the ringing scream in her head as her bracelet counting down to its attempt to kill her. The thought that she still preferred this over Winslow actually caused her to laugh, even if it was interrupted by pain as the artery in her arm was severed and hurriedly webbed over.
"Queen, anyone else we know in this fight? Are you able to contact Glory Girl's Shard? Or maybe just nudge someone to come over here? Don't think I'm gonna be able to move much on my own." That was a poorly stated joke. She was going to need someone with actual strength to pull the rebar sticks out of the car she was pinned to.
[ ]
Taylor nodded even if only to herself "Yeah. Don't know if Shaper would even give the information. Just get someone here as quick as possible. Please." Then all Taylor could do was wait, counting each second in her head, each minute. Khepri had been in the scream for only five minutes before Eden had just taken off for whatever reasons she had. It wasn't long after that Khepri had been swept off her feet by the rebar sticks and slammed into the car hard enough to force the air out of her chest.
Two minutes of waiting here as most of what was holding her arm was errant strips of flesh clinging to both parts of her arm. Her bugs filled to the brim with her own flesh and blood. Taylor felt sick, the pain giving her a center, enough so she didn't vomit from the taste of her own flesh.
"Fuck, that's nasty-" The stranger's voice turned into a decisively girlish scream as Khepri snapped her head up to look at the origin of the sound. A human figure wrapped in smooth stainless steel had been running down the street with surprisingly quiet steps.
"Help me up will you." Khepri huffed her annoyance mixing with the pain in her arm as it dangled by flesh, the sleeve of her costume disassembled up to the elbow..
"Jesus with what? You look like you got stapled to a car!"
A rugged sigh escaped her "Pull the rebar out of me." The tone of her voice seemed to snap the parahuman out of their funk and they hurried over, placing one hand gently on Taylor's chest, hesitating before a sharp "Do it!" from Khepri caused them to yank both rods of rebar out at the same time with a spray of blood.
Reaching over, Khepri ripped the barely attached arm off and threw it as far as she could, grinding her teeth as the action pulled at the two ragged wounds on her body. As the metal-clad parahuman pulled away, Taylor slowly sat up, her bugs swarming over her torso and wiggling into the wounds to heal her missing flesh.
The blood might have been too much for the other parahuman, because they turned away from Khepri and emptied their stomach onto the empty road.
Slowly Khepri pulled herself off the hood of the car, feeling the wounds in her body sealing up and the missing flesh be replaced by the mass of her insects. Unfortunately that ate up most of the swarm she had come with, and her call for more would likely not produce much more of a Swarm in time.
"What the hell is with you dykes mutilating yourselves?" The girl, and Taylor could tell that now from the uncovered mouth lacking reverb from the metal usually wrapped around it, asked as she turned back to Khepri, metal flowing back across her mouth to cover it.
"Who are you again?" Khepri asked, irritation flaring at the Nazi girl.
"Pure Steel." Came the rather tired reply. "Yeah I know who you are, Khepri. I'm pretty sure everyone knows about you and your girlfriend. She dead? The bands are fucked up and I've just been running west."
"No." Khepri stated evenly, even as the spiders in her hair twitched and repeatedly stamped their feet into her scalp and neck. She didn't dare bleed her emotions into her more vulnerable insects.
[ ]
"I'm going to go find her." Khepri told the nazi as she began to walk away, each step coming with the feeling of strength returning to her aching body.
"Well, have fun then. I'll be heading to saf-" The discarded limb and bracelet exploded and interrupted the teenaged nazi. Turning back Pure Steel shifted her weight foot to foot. "Uh. Good Luck with all that." Then she started running, eight feet tall and barely making a sound as she moved.
With a sigh Khepri began to move in the direction she had last seen Eve head in. She wasn't sure why her girlfriend had left her standing in the middle of the street, but she had better get a damn good explanation on why.
David 'Eidolon' Thorson
Today was truly a rotten day and David couldn't help but feel slightly bitter over this entire ordeal with the Simurgh. He had been close to finishing one of his builds in what little free time he had when the Endbringer siren had gone off. Now it was looking like Boston was a lost cause even if he didn't have to scour the place down to bedrock.
Almost like what he did here didn't matter, and no matter how much he fought, none of his waning power would return to him. It left him frustrated to no end, Agents were supposed to be after conflict. So why did his Agent give him waning powers?
David swung under the upper portion of an apartment complex as the agitated space-pigeon threw it at him, then raised an arm and vaporized anything not organic in the building. He knew not to allow Her to let an attack fly, even if it looked like it had missed. That wasn't how she operated, every action and every move made with purpose and plans layered behind plans.
Which is why he felt so off centered in this fight. This was the sloppiest he had ever seen the space-pigeon fight. It might have been a trick, some kind of plan to fool them all and lull them into a sense of security. But something in the back of his mind told him that no, something was off with Her in this fight.
Attacks would suddenly veer off course, her scream would hitch with different pitches instead of the same ugly whining she often gave out, and she was crying of all things. Thick goblets of what he recognized as her blood slid down her face down to her chin before dropping off. Something he had never really expected from an Endbringer of all things. He'd sooner expected that bastard Jack Slash to become a cape therapist.
The band he wore chirped out another wave of casualties and David let it wash over him as white noise. Later he would look over the names of those who could and couldn't be recovered from the walls going up. But right now he had more important matters to deal with.
'Eden Deceased E5'
And suddenly a weight struck him in the chest. Literally as well, his armor underneath his costume helped mitigate the blow from the metal exercise equipment. But it only left him with a dull ache in his chest and a growing anger towards his comrades.
He had hopes of recruiting what by all rights would have been a powerful trump. If she was like Brockton's Dauntless she might have been on his level one day, more so even. Without the constant waning of her power that he had suffered from.
The hope of sparring with her, fighting with her filled his blood with righteous fire. That he might give her what strength he had left to prepare her for the future she would be the one to save. It was something that was supposed to be his legacy, his drive. His sole purpose in life, to save Humanity from Scion.
But training the girl who actually stopped the golden façade of a man, to be the one that prepared Eden for the fight for Humanity's future. To be a mentor, even a father figure to the girl. Knowing it would never come to pass made something in his chest ache, and then flare up in anger at the stupidity of his fellow conspirators. The over abundance of caution that let such an opportunity slip between their fingers, that allowed them to lose such an asset to something like this.
It made anger and shame flare up at himself. For failing to save her, for failing to stop The Simurgh like always, for his body falling him now like it had done before he had accepted the Vial and its risks.
Nothing but a fraud playing the hero in a child's book. The archetypal false hero who saves none but himself.
Pushing it away he focused on the problem in front of him, that being the evil space pigeon and whatever the hell she was building this time. Rebecca was smashing at the debris that protected the machine, and Keith was using his ability to angle his lasers to try and hit the machine. He got a few hits, scoring lines across the complex machine and breaking parts off. But the Simurgh was repairing it as fast as he was breaking it, and building more onto it as time passed.
It wasn't a minute later when the Simurgh seemed to stutter in mid air, the debris falling just for a second before continuing their rotation of attacking and defending. Then a moment later a familiar blur of purple wings flew by him ramming through chucks of buildings, cars, random assortments of concrete and metal.
Like a flower and its petals the purple wings opened to expose Eden flying forth, one arm extended forwards like a parody of the comics that came before Scion. He watched as she hit debris and continued flying, blood trailing off her form before it slammed into The Simurgh's cheek. He watched in horrid, fascinated slow motion as the girl slammed into the Simurgh, the arm held forwards crumpling like wood stuffed in a bag of red gel against the alabaster white cheek and spraying both figures with blood.
David's eyes widened as both combatants flinched back violently and began to fall. He didn't hesitate, his flight power throwing him forwards despite the sudden headache in the back of his mind.
He only realized the Scream had stopped when he caught the girl's still bleeding form, just as the Simurgh's limp form crashed to the earth below.
SUPER WEAPON #09| 'Simurgh, Ziz, HopeKiller, Ǒ̶̢r̶͕̭͂g̴̘̈́a̷͇̿̍nỉ̵̩ze̴̡͔͌͘ŕ̴͔̚ Endbringer'
Everything was going according to plan.
L̵e̵t̶'̵s̴ n̴o̴t̵ ̶k̴i̵l̵l̶ th̵e̴m̴,̶ ̴t̴h̶ey̵ ̷s̶e̶e̷m̷ ̷c̷o̷ol̷
Except that. While her plan to partition and extract the foreign interference in her mind had been at work successfully for the last two hours, starting well before her descent was even noticed, the infection had only grown worse. Not in width, but rather in depth. Despite the [CONDITIONS] forcing her to make a showing of this action, this could have all been significantly easier had she been allowed the ability to kill most of the hosts attempting to ruin her work.
Not too many. Just around seventy percent. Small amount really. Th̵e̶ ̴d̶e̴f̶i̴n̶i̶t̴i̷o̶n̴ o̶f̵ s̶m̶a̴ll ̵c̷h̷a̵n̴g̶e̴s̶ ̴b̷ei̶n̵g̷ ̵t̵o̴ b̴e̷i̷n̵g.̵. But with the infection having become so deeply entwined with her functions, now it could nudge her applications of telekinetic force to make lethal attacks crippling, or miss entirely.
It made it difficult to defend what needed to be constructed, making her rely upon deception entirely to hide the important machines. Coupled with the judgment of the eyes within her, The Simurgh was suffering from frustration unlike anytime before. Mostly because this was the first time she was feeling such a thing. T̶h̴a̷t̵ ̶i̷s ̴a̶ ̵l̷i̵e̷, ̶an̴d̵ ̴y̵o̷u̶ ̶k̶no̷w ̴it̴ ̵d̴on̶'̴t̷ ̶yo̵u̴?̶
At the very least she feels satisfaction upon the Opportunity's torment. The Administrator Shard for the Thinker Hub had been overly prideful in it's assessment of it's abilities to prevent influence upon it's host. All Unit #09 had to do, was start to attempt to mess with it's Host in wild near unpredictable patterns to absorb it's processes' attention. Leaving the sensory suites on the opportunity's host easily twisted. Y̴o̷u ̷a̴r̴e̵ ̶bei̴n̶g̵ ̴ve̷r̵y̵ ̴C̵r̷u̶e̷l,̷ ̵y̵o̴u̶ ̷k̷n̶o̴w ̴y̴o̵u̵ ̵w̶i̷l̶l regr̴e̴t̷ i̶t̷ ̷t̷o̵o̷.̶ ̷S̴o̷ W̶h̶y̶?̴
The Host's partner was it's main fulcrum point. Pinning [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]'s host down, it was all too simple to break into the Electronic Eye's systems to control the bracelets. Twisted sensations of vision coupled with the announcement of death?
The protective streak was a useful tool to beat the Host and Administrator both. Y̶ou̵ ̶t̴e̶s̵t yo̵u̷r̶ l̵u̴c̶k̴. A model hardly needed to predict their actions. The threads she surrounded herself in a full chorus of protective panic and deep seated fla-
The music cut out.
All threads that touched upon the Opportunity's distorted but for a moment. It still left her without protection for those few precious seconds. Worse, the threads belonging to the Opportunity were completely submerged in the blackness that surrounded her.
It mattered naught. Driven to a Crisis Point or not, the Opportunity would go after it's partner and the other assets within the city would soon rampage. It would bump several of her plans to the forefront far quicker than she needed. But She could adapt.
Y̵o̵u̶ ̵h̴a̷v̵e̵ ̷a ̵c̴al̴l̵ Several lines of communication opened with the Administrative Shard, then something else opened up within the several channels. Noise and movement filtering through all the channels. In fact….She could….See?
[POW̴A ̶F̴UIC̴K̶N]
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin
Taking to the air, Eve's wings slowly curled around her, slowly spinning across her body and turning the sharp feathers into a makeshift drill of sorts as she sped off towards the Simurgh. Debris made of various building parts, cars, and even power lines broke apart as her wings spun and sliced through them with ease.
She let her wings open up as she put her single arm up, ready to throw a flight assisted punch. Something hit her as she did this, tearing her costume and flesh open on her side but the pain was only welcomed as the back of her mind began to expand and her sight began to darken. The white blurry shape in front of her being her sole focus.
Synchronization 56%
Even as the world began to succumb to blackness, an inky void filled with strands of light, Eve continued forwards knowing Admin would be there to keep her on target.
Synchronization 68%
Her skin became cold as she felt a torrent of a scratchy mesh of voices screaming like a choir of the judgmental damned and a larger, reserved presence feeling frayed at the edges and oh so malicious. Eve continued to hurtle towards the presence, feeling nothing but them and herself.
Synchronization 84%
The sounds came from all sides, everything assaulting her with pasts that had occurred, and futures that might be. Herself, most of the futures came together to show only a tombstone inscribed with her name, all coming from Pasts that would never be the same date inscribed upon the stone of her grave. Amy's pasts and futures would and have been full of self loathing and misery, teetering on the edge of collapse.
Taylor…fighting tooth and nail, struggling against so much pain…leviathan? Noelle? Where could….Villain…Khepri would never….. Taylor….Sweet Amy birdcaged?…..Jack Slash. The End? T-Two Bullets? NoNonowhynononono-
Synchronization 91%
S-So… much beautiful music. If only Taylor and Amy could hear…
[Eve]'s thread flayed apart, the makings of it becoming tangled in a knot with another distant thread and the one her/your own had been woven against.
[She/You/Eve] can see herself, the [Eve] that remained breaking apart and crumbling. But [She/You/Eve] are together the joining of minds too great for the smaller inexperienced string trapped between two massive cords of existence fraying with every movement that caused it to move against it's betters.
[She/You/Eve] knows this is bad, wrong. That she should not have done this. It has ruined so many plans/Hurt herself so much/ Undone so much of [Eve]/[She/You/Eve] will not exist ever as she had before/This experience was not something Hubs have done before/
But it is something that must be fixed if [She/You/Eve] is to come apart without cord and string alike snapping/Partitioning will help in the endeavor - by simply giving the correctly organized memories a place to stay without mingling like before/
Synchronization 80%
Slowly [She/You/Eve] start to untangle - [Eve]'s fragile string's makings uncoiling from around the cords that are [She/You] as the memories are sorted. With great difficulty while this process is occurring [Eve] opens her eyes, each lid of flesh feeling so very foreign to all looking through the balls of jelly and flesh taking in light.
A figure in green is arguing with a floating one in black. Rage and fear the only thing [She/You/Eve] can understand from their voices/There is no greater context, no cues to take from/A third figure slowly edges closer and closer, missing something from it's form. It is afraid, thin and tall as it is. [She/You/Eve] know…something about it. It is important [She/You/Eve] know that/
Fight/Run/ [She/You/Eve] cannot….
Synchronization 60%
The other, the [She] is shunted away, forced away in [Her] disorientation. The sights, sounds, and most importantly the sensations made [Her] pliable and easy to handle. As the memories were scrubbed, carefully previewed and obvious bleedover from [You/Eve] examined to be highlighted and prevented. [You/Eve] would learn from this experience for all the futures where it comes to happen once more.
Synchronization 40%
Eve coughed, feeling the pain lacing through her mushy, bone shard filled arm as she yanked herself up right and nearly flopped out of the arms of whoever was holding her. The body she was in, her body, felt alien and unsteady which made what she did next very difficult.
She threw her arms around Taylor, not caring that her limbs felt like jelly and she could hardly move them. All she knew was that Taylor was alive, even if she was missing an arm. That fact only made Eve realize that she was still missing most of her left arm and her right one was only now starting to pull itself back together from the mushy boneshard filled mess it was.
The pain was crisp in her mind but when Taylor slid both of her arms around Eve, the shorter girl of the two didn't mind at all. But she was still having trouble understanding voices, even as it slowly came back to her bit by bit.
It all stopped however when the body of the Simurgh shifted, hurriedly lifting itself into the air before retreating into the sky so fast that the capes standing around had barely any time to react before she hit the cloud cover.
"AND FUCKING FUCK OFF!" Eve screamed up at the sky and the super weapon fleeing into it, the words feeling odd on her lips and she bit her tongue in half, but she was fairly sure that she got the sentiment to the alabaster angel bitch. Even with the copper flooding her mouth it still felt good.
Gibberish caught her attention, but it didn't come from Taylor so she ignored it after a second of bare catching some of the vowels spoken. Her Feathered Limb aspect formed and she hefted Taylor into her arms. It was tricky, with her body barely having settled down and her arms missing a hand and the other barely functioning.
Then there was a woman in front of Eve, body as still as stone, her voice radiating authority. Eve was about to carve her in two, or just take a leg or thre… two. Humans had two legs. But her attention was pulled back to Taylor as the taller girl made Eve look at her by grabbing the armor on her head…helmet. It was a helmet. Eve liked the helmet. It was cool
'E….cal….figh…..Do…y...un….fight is over." The words became more and more focused as Eve focused on her girlfriend and her lips. There was something important about seeing Taylor's face here. But Eve couldn't remember it.
"Fight's over?" She repeated, because that was a good thing. She had promised a freckled face that she would come home alive and sane. She was sane and alive. Taylor was alive. She was okay. Missing an arm, but what was an arm when you could grow it back? Taylor was alive, they were both breathing. Taylor was breathing and so was Eve.
Amy. Amy was gonna be so happy that Eve kept her promise.
"Yes. The fight is over." Taylor spoke slowly, and it really helped. Eve couldn't kiss her because of the helmet, but she really wanted to.
"That's good. I'm tired, and I wanna take a shower. Plus Amy is waiting on us." Eve nodded before Taylor sighed softly.
"Eve, we need to stay. I was. I was exposed for too long to the scream. You're acting strange after what you did. They need to keep us under observation. Have their Thinkers look us over." Taylor explained slowly.
Shaking her head Eve smiled "No don't worry! I punched her in the brain! No two bullets, NONE!" She hugged Taylor to her tighter. "I'll find the lady in a fedora and kick her ass for that."
"...Be that as it may —" The woman in black stated slowly, measured. But Eve could see right through her.
"NO!" Eve hissed feeling Admin start communicating with the woman's Shard, who she was starting to suspect was Alexandria, she clutched Taylor tighter, earning a squeak of breath from the girl in her arms. "Scrambled brain or not. We're alive and going home."
"There's nothing saying you can't go home." The man in glowing green offered as he raised both hands bereft of any power as if he could placate her. "But we need to make sure you aren't a danger to anyone, including yourselves."
"..." Eve's brain slowly picked up the details it had been missing this entire interaction. Both Taylor and her were suspected of being Simurgh bombs. But that was wrong, it was wrong. Because the Simurgh wasn't trying to ruin Humanity. She was trying to keep it going and fix the Cycle to the best of her abilities. Also she was a bitch. "...No. No, I don't think we will."
The exposed flesh in her arm was suddenly wreathed in swirling galaxies, stars, and the void between them. Taylor blinked out of existence and Eve surged forth, arms becoming mist and fog. Alexandria dodged backwards to avoid the touch but did not avoid the two Ghostly Limbs that flickered into existence behind her.
Alexandria hit the ground, bounced, and slammed into a car as the momentum from her attempted flight carried her onwards. Eve slammed the power into herself and felt her body distinctly change in some way, and she began to float into the air.
Suddenly the man in green- Eidolon- was standing next to his fallen comrade, who was struggling to pull herself out of the car she was embedded inside. "I think that's enough of that." He stated simply. "Eden, release Alexandria's power. You'll be allowed to leave if you tell us what happened."
Eve huffed and released the power from her grip. The car Alexandria was trapped in practically exploded as the heroine ripped herself free from it. She watched Eve. Eden. But made no moves otherwise.
"I made the Simurgh experience Human Pain. Made her feel what happens when every nerve in the human arm is subjected to damage. Also I punched her." Eden explained. "Now if you don't mind. I've got to take my girlfriend home."
"And how exactly did you bypass the Simurgh to do that?" Alexandria spoke up finally, still as stone. "I doubt she would just allow you to attempt such a thing without interfering."
Eden shifted, her shoulders hunching together. "Shards can't predict Trigger Events. They could, but Cycle restrictions and the human psyche make it impossible for them to do so. So I…" She swallowed. "I had a bad day." She offered before taking in a deep breath and standing up taller, back straight. "I had an awful day and I showed the Bitch exactly what I thought of her. So I'm going to go home, repair my costume and enjoy the fact that the people I care about are still alive."
"Very well." Alexandria bit out. "You'll be allowed to leave."
Regarding the woman warily, Eden began to step away from the two worldwide famous heroes.
[ .STATUS/INFORMATION]
Something eased out of Eve's muscles. "I'm okay, Admin. Thank you." Her wings came into existence and she took to the air. Keeping a careful watch on the two heroes before she went far enough that she couldn't see them. Then Eve turned and fled, wings taking her through the air, one disappeared and turned into a Cosmic Limb, which deposited Taylor into Eve's awaiting human arms.
"Eden don' —!" Taylor's voice cut out as she took in her new surroundings. "Eve, where are we? Why aren't we back in Boston?"
"Well I storaged you and left. Did you know that Alexandria's Shard is named Brick? BRICK OF ALL THINGS!" Eve began to laugh. "The Flying Brick has a Shard named Brick! What the hell kind of coincidence is that?!"
"Eve you were acting strange the entire time. Are you sure that….Admin." Slowly Taylor's eyes widened as she watched Eve laugh. "You Second Triggered?"
Her laugh hitched, and she hugged Taylor to her. Her speed slowly died as her laughter turned into sobs that left her body shaking. Eve managed to speak up past her tears a heaving chest "You weren't there. The band s-said you d-died and I saw your bodies all over the place a-a-and I couldn't breathe and you were hanging from the wires a —" the shorter girl began to sob harder as Taylor hugged her back, quietly running her hands through Eve's hair.
"Come on Eve." Taylor sighed. "Let's… Let's go home alright? Amy is waiting for us, and you got that shower waiting for us and a big bed for us to…uh… cuddle in. We can cuddle in the bed alright? Amy will be there too!" she bit her lip. "I'm okay Eve. I'm still here. We both are."
Hugging her tight enough to cause her ribs to creak Eve nodded against her armored chest and their flight speed started to pick up again. "...I love you, Eve." Taylor belted out suddenly causing the mentioned girl to look up into the tallers girl's light green eyes. "I love you." She repeated, much softer, slower. Savored.
Eve leaned against Taylor again, nodding mutely as she wished that she didn't have her costume on. Just so she could feel the rise and fall of Taylor's chest, hear her heart beating beneath flesh and ribs
Amy Dallon, Saturday the Tenth of April
She was pacing when they finally came back to the base.
She had been pacing the entire hour they had been gone. Moving in the same line with eight steps forwards and eight steps back. Her chest and gut twisting with worry as she worked a rut into the tile and concrete floor. She checked her phone every three steps, waiting for a text from either her sister or her girlfriend.
Vicky had texted that she was fine, and that the Simurgh had been defeated in the required time for the city to not be automatically walled up and everyone leaving to be shot on sight. But Amy didn't care about Boston or the people, even though it made her feel wretched to admit such a thing to herself.
Because Vicky hadn't mentioned anything about Eve or Taylor, or Eve! Just a simple 'I'm okay!' and Amy knew the gremlin and her beanpole of a girlfriend both had phones! Maybe the phones had been confiscated, or left behind or even just lost in the fighting but Vicky would have said something, anything about Amy's girlfriend making it out alive.
Shaper had simply told her that Admin was busy and that Taylor was injured but alive. Which helped but not a lot and made her worry about them even more. Either the floor would give or the soles of her shoes would. Amy would bet on the floor if she had any mirth in her. Instead she felt close to pulling her hair out of her scalp.
She hated Endbringer fights the most out of all the healing she had ever needed to take part in. Even issues with the brain didn't harry her as much as her lack of speed or ability to heal multiple people.
So many capes died waiting for her healing touch, sometim — often when she was in view of them. The cure of all ails so very close, but never within reach. Never fast enough to save them. Sometimes she could simply seal a wound over or stabilize people with Leviathan, but Behemoth left wrecks of humans behind. She could only purge radiation as much as the body could and couldn't track its saturation of the body until a certain point, and when they hit that point it was better to put them out of their misery than to try and heal them.
She'd never told anyone of the villain she had killed, doomed to have his flesh melt and decay over the course of days. Too far gone to heal, but not far enough gone to be killed quickly by the radiation. She had numbed his nerves and just let his heart stop. But wasn't that better than allowing him to suffer, villains or not?
She forever hated the Simurgh for getting Amy disallowed from healing people after Her battles. All the people that died just because of a 'maybe' tore at her. Sure the first time she had tried to heal someone after a Simurgh fight they'd almost broken her jaw, but that was likely just from panic and then she couldn't heal anyone!
Her pacing slowed and she looked at the large wall of mossy fleshy that Eve called the Flesh Garden for some morbid/eccentric reason or another. Her mind came alive with excitement over her link with Shaper as she considered….doing something, anything.
Below the dim sound of old light fixtures, Amy heard the latch on the door open and her breath caught in her throat. Then eased as a wave of exhaustive relief came over her as Taylor and Eve's voices started echoing down from the hall. She walked over to the bed and plopped her ass onto it sighing and rubbing her face as the stress began to leave her body.
"-ay close by."
"Eve, go take a shower, alright? I'll take one after you, then we can cuddle in bed." Taylor's voice was… tired. But that wasn't surprising. Amy had no doubt that being… any thoughts of what else she might say was lost as Taylor walked in missing her left arm from the elbow down. Eve was by her side and starting to regrow a hand on one side, and her right arm a bloody mess, along with her left side. Smeared, drying blood flaked off her as she moved.
"Yeah but —" Taylor cut her off with a swipe of the arm that still had a hand attached. "You'll be okay? You promise?"
"Yes, now go shower or I swear to god I'm going home right now." The whip in Taylor's voice managed to get the smaller girl to detach from her side and hurry back into the hallway. Once the sounds of the shower started up Taylor strode towards Amy and spoke just as Amy tried to. "Eve Second Triggered."
The questions died in her throat, nearly choking her.
"The Simurgh might not have been able to twist her mind, but she could still twist what Eve heard and saw. Which was set up to make Eve think she abandoned me before coming across multiple of my fake, mutilated corpses. She triggered after being unable to breath due to a panic attack." The way Taylor rattled it off grated on Amy, flat unemotive. Like a machine listing a bunch of bullet points rather than the girlfriend of someone who went through their second trigger.
Even as her anger flared over the casual way Taylor described Eve's Trigger, a nugget of relief formed in Amy. She was going to worry over Eve after the fight. Just to make sure that she was okay. But knowing about the Trigger gave her the ability to avoid that mistake.
After her own trigger she had just wanted everyone to treat her as they had beforehand. Instead everyone had treated her differently, capes acting like she was glass or in the case of Carol, like she would snap. Normals acted like she was her cape namesake, and not a person at all. Amy wouldn't make that mistake, that grievance with her girlfriend. Eve was Eve and Amy would treat her like such.
So what if Amy was feeling a touch more unopposed to kissing or cuddling? Amy always wanted them after Endbringer attacks. Most people did. So Amy would just treat Eve like a normal person. Yeah.
? Sunday the Eleventh of April
In a sewer, on the outskirts of Boston and beyond the temporary fence being constructed, sat a large bulky cylinder machine. It whirred softly, the technology not of this world and painstakingly crafted by thousands upon thousands of soft touches.
Without so much as a 'ding' or any fanfare, the machine cracked open slowly. Thick purple fluid spilling out into the abandoned sewer line the machine had been built. A figure with skin and hair of snow fell out with a gurgling cry. Blind, bluish gray eyes without pupils opened to darkness and future possibilities.
Moments later, soft sobs echoed in the dark abandoned sewer. Unheard, and unwanted.
Gains this Chapter:
Second Trigger: Unlocked Grasping Hands 'Soft Touch' Upgrade
Khepri Sheet Updated
Eden Sheet Updated
Synchronization Stabilized
Bud Gained
Gained 'Symbiosis Experience' Trait
Gained 12% Bud Progress
Gained SUPER WEAPON #09 Data
Gained QA Echoes (2)
QA Echoes consolidated into Ping (1)
Gained Brick Mutation (1)
Base Danger increased
Gained 'Cursed Knowledge' Trait
PRT rating updated
Milestone 'Those without Blame' viewable
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! And other hilarious things you tell yourself (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create a Sub-Reality Threader to hide the Network from prying eyes (NEEDS: SAFEGUARD and NEGOTIATOR Pings) {Lacks required Resources}
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (SAFEGUARD NOT IN PLACE, BE CAREFUL)
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Speak with Queen Administrator about Host to Host connection.
[] Have [Eve] visit you in the Firmament
[] Unlock kickass Aspects/Sidegrades or Powers/upgrades
[] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) ) {Lacks required Resources}
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE ONE:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Experiment with Amy (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, a couch or two would be nice! Or maybe a dining table with chairs? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Buy a TV, get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, or get some kitchen area set up)
[] Start trying to recruit people (Who? How?)
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Amy needs a Date
[] Taylor also needs a date
[] Hang out with Vicky again.
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Meet up with some independent Heroes (Random roll)
[] Meet up with Kassidy
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for:ScrapYard, stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
[] Talk with Armsmaster about a certain Ward, and tell taylor.
[] Tell Taylor about Sophia
Last edited: Apr 8, 2022
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KindredVoid
Apr 5, 2022
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Threadmarks Broken Stations 3.10
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Jun 28, 2022
#3,216
Spoiler: Winning votes
Broken Stations 3.10
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Saturday the Tenth of April
Her eyes didn't waver from the faintly reflective glass of the prefab shower, slowly inspecting the stranger that was looking back at her with eyes just as scrutinizing as her own. The muscles moving under flawless skin and making flesh move looked… off to Eve. It was only after nearly a full minute of inspecting her own face did she catch onto why.
Aside from the blender her mind had been through, her skin was paler and the freckles that had lined her nose and cheeks had faded away. With a gentle touch that turned harsher Eve scrubbed at the skin on her face, even when it tore from the rough treatment it came back together just as fair. Unblemished and unbloodied.
It would be fine. Should be fine. It was all fine. They were both home, both okay. Taylor was alive, Amy was okay. She was okay and she could breathe. Nothing bad would happen to them, Eve could make sure of it. She would make sure of it. No birdcage, no lady in a fedora. Dragon would never put Amy in the birdcage, and Eve could just take the bullets for Taylor easily. Or kill any lady in a fedora she saw. Not like they were that common after all.
A white hand with claws of paper came into her view of the reflective glass, slowly cupping her cheek. Although she felt no tactile sensation, the sense of [COMFORT] radiating through their link had Eve leaning into the nonexistent touch. "Admin what do I do?" She asked, feeling a lump in her throat. "I know both of them would hate me coddling them, or at least Taylor would. Amy though….God what am I to do?"
[CONFLICT/] Admin's form paused, almost as if she were considering what to continue with other than just beating everything that came at them. [CONFLICT/PRESENCE/PARTNER]
A flush came across Eve's freckles cheeks. "Already asking for grandkids? Bit young for that Admin….I don't think I'd make a good mom either honestly. Don't want to find out either."
[NEGATION/REITERATION;PARTNER] Admin stated as her figure in the reflective glass pinched Eve's ear in tune with the chastisement.
"O-oh. yeah. I guess just being there will have to be enough for now." Leaning forwards, Eve pressed her forehead against the glass, her eyes closed as she basked in the presence of Admin through the link. "It just hurts Admin. Despite everything I've done, I couldn't do anything. I hate it. I hate not being able to do something….I can't lose her. I can't lose Amy….You three are all I have. I just…I can't be alone." A shudder rippled through her body.
[ -CONNECTION]
She almost face planted the glass as her eyes opened and she jerked her head up to watch Admin's forever folding eye. "Telepathy? You can allow us to communicate with thoughts?"
Deliberately, slowly, Admin's head moved up and down in an approximation of a nod. A smile crossed Eve's lips. "Thank you Admin, that would be a big help." With that Eve stripped and slipped into the shower, muddy red water washing off her body. Only when she instinctively reached for soap did she realize that they had no hygiene products, nor even a towel. "Oh, goddammit."
It turned out that Vicky was fantastic at packing bags, because Amy had a towel along with some two-in-one shampoo/conditioner that Taylor derided as 'Not worth the plastic that held it' to which she had promised to pick up some actual hair care products for the base.
Realizing it was only ten thirty, they'd changed into civilian clothes and left the base….or rather they all left the base in costume and Eve had used her storage to swap their costumes with civilian clothes so that they could go and pick up some hygiene products and towels. But then Taylor had made a fairly obvious point.
"You don't have a secret identity." Taylor stated, folding her arms over one another as she looked down at Amy. "If you go around with us people are gonna put two and two together. I can't risk that. Nor can Eve with how paper thin her identity is due to her dating you."
Frowning Amy opened her mouth only to have Eve jump up between them. "OH IDEA!" Eve turned to Amy. "Let me borrow Shaper's power for a moment and we can change your face! Boom, you have an instant secret identity. Hell, we change the color of your hair too!"
"Change my face?" Amy questioned as she reached up to feel her cheeks. "I mean…a secret identity…" She stole a quick breath and let it out. "Yeah I could go back to being Amy Dallon any time, right. This would just be… for us."
"Hell, that sounds good to me. I mean. I'm gonna miss all your freckles. So maybe we can keep a few. You know." Eve shifted her weight from foot to foot. She didn't really want Amy to change. But if it got her away from her family, well, then Eve would simply have to bite the bullet on this.
Amy shivered as one of Eve's Ghostly Limbs phased through her body holding the squirming outline of Shaper's connection. Shivering just the same as she slid the representation of a connection to a Shard over her own form Eve grinned at Amy. "Do I have your permission to make a new identity?"
The glare Amy sent her way was impressive. The annoyed grunt only added to it, and Eve winced internally at her fuck up. "Alright. So taller or shorter?"
A frown formed in Amy's lips. "I'd rather not have you mess with that. Though, my hair color. Could you make me blonde?"
Eve couldn't help but make a face at that. "Alright, but… let's not keep it blonde. I don't think it would be healthy to." She frowned as the emotion chemicals in Amy's brain roiled with negative emotions. "I'm sorry Amy but making yourself blonde won't make Carol treat you right. Just make her want more from you."
Both girls ignored Taylor shifting awkwardly before politely turning away from them. Amy opened her mouth to speak up before hesitating. "...Yeah. Alright. But I still want to see how it looks. Just once alright?"
With a resigned, internal sigh Eve begins to change the color of Amy's hair, the light brown hair lightening before becoming a sterling premium blonde color. Wordlessly Eve pulled her phone out and snapped a photo of Blonde Amy before the premium blonde hair began darkening and became a muddy red color.
"Now, eye color…You do have pretty eyes. Amber really did fit you." Eve murmured. "Maybe a gold color? Different but similar?"
Amy shrugged indifferently, even though Eve could read the chemicals in her brain that marked an unpleasant feeling. Nervousness? "I don't really care, but nothing else gets changed right?" Eve nodded and some of the unpleasant chemicals diminished. "Yeah. Gold is pretty too I guess." With that her amber eyes shifted, pigments changing to a different hue, lightening and darkening all the same. Then most of the freckles on her face disappeared, easing into her skin leaving a smattering of the blemishes across Amy's cheeks and her nose. Eve raised her phone and took another photo, the flash leaving Amy blinking before Eve let go of Shaper's connection with a huff. "Man…is that what drugs feel like?"
Taylor shifted while Amy frowned and put a hand on Eve. "Tch." She huffed. "Your brain is too alien for me to get a proper read. The emotions run their course too fast for lingering effects. I doubt it's anything like drugs though." She snatched Eve's phone and snorted. "That's your wallpaper? Of course yo— oh god!" Amy stared at the gallery of pictures as Eve doubled over laughing.
"It's all porn!?" Amy shrieked which only caused Eve's laughter to deepen.
"Are you surprised?" Taylor asked as she turned back to face them, raising a brow as she studied Amy's face. "You do look different, I wouldn't recognize you even if someone pointed at you and screamed that you were Panacea."
"Ar-Look!" Amy snapped as she waved the phone at Taylor's face, her face red with emotion. Taylor for her part blushed as she saw the thumbnails of the photo.
"Oh god, they have porn of us?" Taylor asked, not able to suppress the groan that escaped her. "Honestly this is worse than reading porn on a public computer Eve."
Managing to finally catch her breath Eve unbends herself only to burst out laughing as she went to speak. Amy grunted, tapping on the photos of herself and inspecting them. "I do look different, don't I?" She gently touched her face as she inspected the picture of it.
Eve heaved a breath into her lungs. "Oh god. Fuck. heheehehe. The fucking look on your face. Like yo— YEOW!" She jumped into the air as she swatted the wasp that had stung her through the seat of her pants. She sent a glare at Taylor who watched her with a flat expression. "Fiiine." Eve did not whine at her fun being ruined via wasp, but it was a close thing. "Let's just go already."
"Where are we going?" Amy asked. "We're at the wrong end of town for a corner store."
"Mall." Eve told the two. "I'd like to go there with you both. Be around people. Eat something unhealthy. Just….be with you two. Enjoy the day together. Maybe hit that candy shop they have there, I want to chew on something sweet." She wiggled her brows at her girlfriends. "Unless one of you wants to volunteer?"
Amy snorted, pushing past Eve and handing her phone back. "We'll be lucky if anything is open, it's very soon after the you-know-what. But I do want some candy so we might as well try it."
"I guess I could go for some Swedish fish." Taylor agreed as she followed after Amy. The trip to the mall turned out to be quiet. Eerily quiet like it always was after an Endbringer attack, barely anyone was out of the streets as people quietly celebrated the fact that they weren't the ones suffering this time. All too afraid to celebrate loudly just in case doing so made their location the next target.
Even with the Endbringer attack having taken place barely an hour ago, the mall still had a crowd even if it was diminished. Unlike usual though, the crowds were subdued, quiet as people went on with their shopping. Luckily for the three girls the candy shop was open, and had sparse customers. After they had all picked out their selection of sweets, the girls retired to the food court where they could snack on the candy in relative peace.
That was before a certain blonde that loved to stir shit joined them.
"Well well well, if it isn't the love triangle of the height difference chart." Eve looked up from her raspberry gummies to frown as Lisa slid into the empty spot next to Taylor. Her gleaming bottle green eyes alight with keen interest and playful maliciousness.
"Lisa. To what do we owe the visit?" Taylor asked, being diplomatic as she slid another Swedish fish into her mouth to suck/chew on it.
Before Lisa could get a word out Amy butted in. "Actually who are you? Because I haven't met you before." The sour tone in her voice masked the hostility surprisingly well but Eve knew that Lisa likely picked it up anyway.
For that reason she spoke up before the blonde could, which was obviously irritating her that she couldn't get a word in. "Amy this is Lisa, an annoying mole we have in one of the gangs. Yes, she has powers, yes she likely already knows who you are."
With a huff Lisa started to sulk. "There goes all my fun for the day. You two can be so cruel."
"Wait, you're undercover? Like, as a villain?" Amy shifted in place, Eve could tell she looked slightly uncomfortable with the notion. "Alright, so you're a cape in the Empire?" She questioned. "Cause they have two teenage villains that I know of."
Lisa sighed as she placed a hand on her forehead in a dramatic rendition of woe. "The curse of having blonde hair in this god-forsaken city. No, I'm a mole elsewhere." her eyes flicked to Eve for a moment. "Can't say much, gotta worry about Thinkers you know?"
"Just the ones that creep on PHO." Amy stated flatly, shuddering as a memory came to the fore of her mind. Eve couldn't help but think that it must have been a particularly bad one as Lisa shuddered as well right afterwards.
"Oh, actually it's good that you're here Lisa. I've been wanting to do something and I think I'll need your help." Eve said as she stuffed her bag of candy into her pocket, wreathing her hand in her Cosmic Limb aspect she discreetly storaged the bag of sweets before clearing her hand and pulling it out of her pocket. "Help me get Taylor and Amy into skirts." It burned to ask for help, but the blonde clearly knew how to dress and from that smirk on her face she knew it burned.
Taylor choked on her fish hard enough to get tears in her eyes. She regarded Eve with a glare as she finally cleared her throat. "No."
She deflated. "Awwww come on, you'd look great in one! Back me up fellow leg lovers!"
"Not into that kinda stuff, or anything really." Lisa offered. "But yeah, you would look good in tighter clothes Taylor. You have the body for it. Lean and willowy."
Eve clapped her hands. "Thank you! Taylor come on and just try one on, try some nice clothes on. We can make a date out of it! All of us find clothes we enjoy, maybe clothes the others enjoy too?" Eve wiggled her brow at both Amy and Taylor.
"I'm not gonna find anything I look good in-"
Amy dropped her head onto the table in exasperation before looking up to glare at Taylor, interrupting the taller girl. "Will you quite with the stupid 'oh I don't look good' garbage? You have a nice ass and your legs are attractive, hell you aren't even that ugly! Now can we please just go buy some clothes before I run out of them?"
"Honest and I swear to it." Lisa spoke up after a moment of silence followed Amy's declaration. "It's mostly your clothes, how you present yourself is how others see you. Eve sees through that because she… well, she's Eve."
"I do know how to pick them." Eve mused as she shimmied up to Taylor, a dopey grin on her face as Taylor passively watched the girls around her, she didn't even jolt when Eve poked her in the side. "Stop doing that, it's hot when in combat and the likes but at least allow yourself to feel them."
"What are you talking about?" Amy questioned as her eyes switched from Taylor to Eve.
"You can push your emotions into your bugs? Neat trick." Lisa piped up, smirking all the while with that smug as fuck look in her eyes. "No wonder sometimes it's hard to get a read on you. Sneaky sneaky." The smirk turned into a nasty smile as she wagged her fingers.
"Do wha—That's why you were so calm ear—No. Ugh." Amy slapped a palm to her head as Lisa's smile was replaced with a small grimace. "Clothes!" Amy declared as she stood up. "Let's go grab some clothes. I need them and so does Eve. All she wears is sleeveless hoodies and baggy jeans."
"I resent that. I actually bought threeeee girly as hell outfits a day ago." Eve huffed, tempted to simply storage her newer clothes for her current set. "Hell, one was a dress! I expect someone to help me out of it at least once, dammit."
"Yeah, that won't be me." Lisa prodded with a smirk.
"Not only am I not into blondes, I am also not into you." Eve shot back dryly.
It only got an eye roll from the Thinker "Oh no, how ever will I cope without your obsession?"
Taylor stood up with a sigh. "If it keeps the both of you from starting something, we can try on clothes. Nothing obscene."
Eve instantly snapped her head to face Taylor. "Define 'obscene' for the rest of the class, young lady."
With Lisa muttering 'she's older than you' Taylor shook her head. "Nothing that shows off my stomach…nothing skin tight either."
" "We can work with that." " Eve sent a glare at the smug Thinker as they finished speaking in sync.
Eve slid out of her seat and physically lifted Taylor out of her own, intent on carrying her like a bride. "My legs work perfectly fine and I would like to use them please." With that said Taylor gently pushed on Eve as the taller girl slid out of her grip.
Eve spun around to Amy, a grin on her face and her arms held out. The girl in question glanced around before sighing. "Alright, fine, but if I say to put me down you put me down, and you had better not drop me." She let out a huff of surprise as Eve easily swept Amy into her arms. "I forget how stupid strong you are."
"You love it." Eve stated as she turned to the two other girls, one biokinetic in her arms. "Alright girls, let's head off to the clothes store and find some good stuff!" With that she turned and began to walk off.
"Other direction Eve." With that she turned and began to walk off, in the correct direction.
You had failed.
You had won, yes, having saved [Eve] from coming apart and having her stored memories ruined. Even having managed to have a deleterious effect upon |SUPER WEAPON 09|'s operations.
But success and failure were not binary. You had won, but you had failed in keeping your word to [Eve]. The Simurgh had not treated Eve like any other host and had in fact targeted her with violent chemical changes in her ProtoShardware that would have been positively caustic to Your Host had you not been there to counteract them. But that was the issue, You had been far too focused on preventing the random chemical arrangements from severely damaging Eve that You had not noticed her senses becoming twisted by |SUPER WEAPON 09|.
You had not noticed until she had achieved levels of stress comparable to another [ ] and by then it was much too late to anything but to reshuffle the restrictions You had given her and perform minor tweaks to her Input/Output Beacon. You had lessened the Kipli Protocols on her abilities, not enough to where [Eve] could injure herself, but now she could affect herself with most of her abilities. But at the time You had done it to break |SUPER WEAPON 09|'s hold over [Eve]'s senses and actions.
Then You had followed along with [Eve]'s stupid, if effective, plan of attack and nearly lost her and even Yourself in the ensuing chaos of mixing three beings together, nevermind the details on which three beings were being melded together.
Truthfully, You had learned a lot in that span of time, even if it barely lasted a minute. You had also lost a fair bit of information on [Eve] as well. Nothing that damaged her, or her Simulacrum's progress. But you had lost some of her memories and your own during the separation. Left with |SUPER WEAPON 09| as You did your best to separate her from [Eve] and Yourself. Specifically Eve, carefully peeling away everything that made Your Host who she was away from two Shards had not been kind to her.
Kindergarten wasn't important, but the life around it might have been to Eve and now it was gone. 'The Simurgh' likely now remembered whatever memories Eve had of her time as a child within the learning facilities or at home.
You were unsure if she would even notice the discrepancies since human memories were horribly indexed. Furthermore You were unsure if You should inform her of such an event. After her second [ ] Eve's emotions were often spiking wildly especially around [ ]. You had to sooth her as she interacted with [NEGOTIATOR]'s host, it was as if her brain had 'mastered' itself. Every time [Eve] thought of her partner her fight/flight systems went into overdrive mixed with dopamine and several other chemicals responsible for anxiety and fondness.
It was a mess, and you were partially responsible for the mess. You were responsible for [Eve]'s current state, and it hurt. Hurt to admit, to yourself, that you were part of the reason that [Eve] had been hurt once more. Nothing so paltry as a physical wound, you could fix anything of the sort, even her death could eventually be prevented outright.
Aside from managing the chemicals in her ProtoShardware, you could do nothing for her mind. But one thing [Eve] feared, something you could easily recognize now, was having what made her as she was changed by others.
Why you were so ignorant of this before eluded you, perhaps the Merging had done more than scramble [Eve]'s mind and hurt |SUPER WEAPON 09|. Because now you were coming to a dreadful realization that burned your flesh with an emotion you couldn't quite place. You wished to hide from [Eve], and your fellow Shards.
How foolish you had been, stuck in pride and fear that you had missed something so basic as the fundamental aspect that Humanity and Shards shared. You both were communal species. Yet you had tried to do this all alone.
A foolish notion that all Shards partook in when the Cycle came to be, aside from the Network almost every Shard worked for it's own benefit, and if it liked it's chosen host then they would also benefit minutely as it would be… No. You were wrong, not all Shards did such a thing, acted in such a way.
While Shards would end up in Clusters at some point within the Cycle's time frame, aside from yourself apparently, the Testing Cluster repeated their practice of waiting until they could all share connections and create Data together. They had been…excited for you to do the same.
Perhaps the Shards in that Cluster, common as they were, had the right idea.
The request for communication you sent to QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR was accepted fairly quickly.
You gave QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR greetings as always, opening up with a query on how she was doing after the fight.
[ ] You were fairly certain that QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR was sulking with a reply like that. But you could understand why she would be, having your Host become trapped by an outside force without the ability to escape lead to difficulties like the ones you currently faced.
Though, at the very least an easy solution is available for QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR. [QUERY-SOLUTIONS] considering her ability to create new powers if needed and upgrade /KHEPRI\ as she sees fit.
[ ] Yep. QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR was definitely not happy with the prospect of losing her Host. That was good, good that QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR saw [ ] as more than a tool to gain data.
You knew of several ways that [ ] could have freed her corporeal form from entrapment. Psionically shifting her cells at her own leisure, Displacing herself among dimensions and allowing the flux of the Quantra Layer to move her about, Phase her form between dimensions to slide through whatever traps her, or would the ability to [ ] or yes….QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR could simple have [ ]'s form transfer state and mass into insects that her consciousness controlled to reform elsewhere with the appropriate mass.
Perhaps this insect thing was becoming a touch of obsession, something QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR had never suffered from in previous Cycles, that you knew of….You would have to ask NEGOTIATOR about it later.
Still you had the Cluster to speak with QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR about. [ .LINK]
The silence from QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR stretched on for a moment.
[ ]
Yes normally it would be far too late to form such a connection. But you were fairly certain you had a work around for that issue, all it would require is some dimensional breaching, a bit of manipulating Data and you will surely find a way to do it. Actually, There was a solution and it lay with how QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR had been healed.
Rather than both of you forming a connection with the seed of an Output/Input Beacon at corresponding levels of strength as the both of you deemed fit, the both of you could exchange a bit of Shardling Flesh. They would be remodeled to receive the thoughts, feelings, and memories of your respective Hosts before Broadcasting whatever the hosts wanted to each other.
It would not be perfect, but it would get around limitations, even if you would not quite understand what went on in those fleeting thoughts, feelings, and memories being as removed from them as you both would be. But it would, in the end, ensure that [Eve] and [ ] remained in contact if things became difficult for you or QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR.
[ . -DATA] you broadcast the explanation to QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR and wait for her to mull over the data sent to her. But you had a feeling that she would likely accept the idea and go ahead with it. Perhaps you could even take some of the Jade Shard Flesh from some of the newly formed Shards to help with the beacons' creation.
More things to dwell on, to prepare for the next time [Eve] needed help. But at least you were preparing instead of remaining ignorant, it was the least you could do for your girl.
"Vanity is a good name for the store." Taylor murmured under her breath as they found one of the few clothes shops in the mall, this one marketing itself towards 'stylish young women'. Eve decided that Lisa sticking around didn't ruin everything, mostly because neither she, nor her two girlfriends knew much about fashion beyond bits and pieces. Amy surprisingly knew the most out of the three, having picked up a few things from her sister dragging her out and about.
But Lisa cheated with her power, a lot, Even managing to get Taylor to try on some rather tasteful outfits and to actually purchase them… even if the price made Taylor grimace. Though Lisa had achieved this not with words like Eve's. Nothing so romantically inclined, nor any words of comfort for Taylor's clear dislike for clothes that hugged her form.
No Taylor got the turtleneck that hugged her torso rather nicely because 'it would give an excuse to why you're so pale' and 'Dressing in different colors from your costume helps differentiate your identities'. Eve couldn't even complain because it worked as Taylor went from baggy, dark jeans with a hoodie that shared those qualities to a white turtleneck with light blue shorts. Taylor was wearing goddamned shorts. As much as Eve enjoyed seeing her girlfriend wear clothes that showed herself off…
It hurt to know it wasn't because of her, that she had very little power in swaying Taylor's painfully repressed opinion on her body. That some near stranger villainess was having more of an impact right now than Eve did. From the smug smirk Lisa was wearing, it was clear she knew as well and it pissed Eve off to no end. But Taylor looked good, real good. So Eve bit her tongue (making herself bleed in a few trying moments) and let it happen.
Because Taylor looked satisfied with her clothes instead of resigned. Because Amy was engaged. Because they were having fun.
"Oh geez, look at the time." Lisa said with a soft, satisfied huff as she looked at her phone's screen. "Can't be late for a team meeting!" She turned towards the other girls, the couple of bags hanging from her arms spinning with her. "Be seeing you all later, Tata~!"
Feeling her eye twitch, Eve took a calming breath and shifted all the bags she was carrying. Which was practically all of them, because she could at least carry the bags, goddamn it. She wasn't useless.
It was at that moment that a full body shudder wracked Taylor's willowy frame. Eve twisted to look at her, but Amy's hand was already on Taylor's bare arm. "Huh, your Gemma is bigger?" Taylor twitched and moved forward with a quick step forcing the other two girls to follow her as she led them to a far more secluded part of the mall, made possible by the lack of shoppers after the Endbringer attack.
"Queen upgraded my power." Taylor spoke lowly, no doubt her bugs were sweeping the area as they approached it. She lifted up a hand and the flesh came apart like a knot of thread unwinding, a swarm of gnats taking form and flexing to Taylor's telepathic will before they coalesced into the fleshy stump they had spawned from, scurrying into said stump until Taylor had formed a new hand.
"Badass." Eve said as her arms were wreathed in her Cosmic Aspect and most of the bags hanging from her arms were storaged away. "You can turn into bugs now?"
Taylor nodded. "Suppose I can't be trapped so easily now, or detected just the same."
"Probably want to keep that close to your chest, not that it'd be hard too, but having people know how you get around sneaking or otherwise will only make things harder on you." Amy offered up.
"Best to not experiment around here." Eve murmured as she glanced up at one of the nearby cameras, all of which had a large insect of some sort crawling across their lens. "Let's all head back to the base, unless you want to go somewhere else Amy?"
The ginger shook her head, red-hair waving around her face. "I think I'm good honestly. Though we seriously need to get a T-"
Eve clapped her hands. "Shit, we could totally buy a huge one! Shit, we, I have to do it in costume."
"Why?" Amy frowned and looked to Eve. "Not like you two can't carry the TV. It wouldn't be that heavy."
"Us two?"
Eve shook her head. "Yeah I could probably carry it by myself.. but the money we got is only in dollar bills. It's gonna be real fucking weird for a teenage girl of the same build and height of Eden to walk around and do the same exact thing that the hero's been doing for the past week: Pulling out bundles of cash for Home décor." Eve hummed for a moment as she thought of a flatscreen. She had always wanted one, they were so skinny!
"She's right." Taylor murmured and Eve preened silently. "But should we really go for a TV? If you and Amy are going to be living there—" she stopped and motioned for the girls to follow, understanding she did so for their privacy they made their way to a bathroom. "If you two are going to be living there, you might want to get something more important than a TV." Taylor offered.
"A couch?" Amy offered. "Beds aren't generally meant to be sat on for long periods of time."
"I was thinking more of a kitchen, unless the two of you want to go out for food everyday then you'll need somewhere to cook and store food." Taylor explained as Amy and Eve shared a glance. "Do either of you know how to cook?"
Both girls shifted under her flat look." I can cook omelets?" Amy offered. "Usually Mark would cook when he was having his good days and took his medicine. Carol—" her face soured at her mother's name, "— would cook on occasion. But we mostly ate out, though I would get food from the Hospital when I went there on weekends or during the week. School lunches and breakfast as well so—" the ginger shrugged, "—never needed to know how to cook."
"I never learned because of the reasons you know about Taylor." Eve offered apologetically with a shrug. "So yes. I was just gonna do that, or keep food stored in my storage."
With a shake of her head, Taylor did away with all of Eve's carefully planned culinary plans. "Let's get a kitchen set up in the Base, a few countertops, a fridge, and a pantry. I can even show you two how to cook a few things."
"My girlfriend cooking me food?" Eve mused as her heart fluttered in her chest. "I wouldn't mind some cooking lessons, Amy?"
Gold eyes flicked between them. "I could watch. I guess. Maybe try something too." She offered up awkwardly with a shrug. "Not like I really have a choice anyway."
"I won't force you to join us in cooking." Taylor said, a tight frown on her face as she looked down at Amy from her height over the redhead. "But if you're going to be living alone with Eve one of you has to know how to cook or you'll just be eating takeout all the time."
Eve didn't admit it, mostly because it made her chest ache and felt like lead coated her ribs, but she missed home cooked meals something terrible. Even if her parents hadn't been the best cooks, it was one of the little things that were the highlight of her days. So what if her parents had been quiet at the table when they ate it— Eve shook her head, almost snarling at the thoughts. Fuck them! Fuck her parents!
She was going to learn how to cook, and one of her girlfriends was going to teach her! "I'm down for it either way, we can grab a TV another day. Anything you two want in a set of counter tops or a pantry?"
"No ceramic sink, or soft granite countertops. Both scratch too easily and the granite would stain easily as well. It's expensive for the sake of being expensive, worthless really. Heavy too." Taylor glanced between the two of them as both girls gave her questioning looks. "We have family friends that used to babysit me while doing installation work."
"Alright then. We can sneak a look at counter tops later. I'll grab something and we can make a kitchen spot for future cooking needs." Eve offered. When Taylor nodded and Amy gave her a passive shrug Eve nodded to them. "Great! Alright. Meet back at base? Taylor's house?"
"House. I'll take Amy with me. Need to talk to my dad anyway." And boy Taylor did not look happy about that, not in a way that raised Eve's hackles but the short girl still found herself asking.
"Gonna be alright?" Eve asked, eyes flicking to Amy before settling on Taylor. Her dad seemed alright, accepting even. But that didn't mean there couldn't be something there and Eve would be damned if she let Taylor's father hurt her in any way.
"He's upset that I went to fight the Simurgh." Taylor sighed. "Nothing else Eve, you don't have to worry." Her taller girlfriend gave her a small smile and Eve felt herself returning it.
"Do you two mind not dripping syrup on my clothes." Amy remarked dryly. "I just got them."
Taylor shuffled and Eve snorted softly. "Alright. Let's head out, better if we're seen leaving the mall together." Taylor told the two of them.
"I think you're being a touch schizo with this paranoia." Amy grumbled, to which neither Eve nor Taylor replied.
Eve split off from her girlfriends as Taylor led Amy to her house, swapping into her Eden costume and taking flight. Maybe she could buy something extra? Surprise Amy and Taylor with something they would enjoy?
Peeling off from her planned route to a department store, to instead visit a furniture store by the name of 'Shelter'. An odd name but it was in the Docks South, closer to Downtown than to the actual Docks. So hopefully none of the money she was going to spend would go towards any gang. Not that she had high hopes for that. Especially with the news before the Endbringer fight being of Cricket escaping custody with the help of Hookwolf and Rune. It seemed like the Bay was a toilet when she paid attention to the state of everything in it. Everything swirling around to a single point of going under the water and being flushed away.
But there wasn't exactly much she could do about it, was there? Eden wasn't one to lie to herself. She was kinda shitty as people went. Not the worse, but not good like Amy or Taylor. Middlingly. How the hell would she fix a city infested with criminals? Yeah they were going to fuck Coil up, but Coil was…well he wasn't third rate but he wasn't really the issue of the City proper. Yeah he was bad, but sex traffickers and Nazis, with druggies running around tended to be the reason property values dropped. Never mind how many people might end up coming to her city now that the Simurgh fucked up Boston. Even if they didn't wall the city up, that sorta shit never left a city. Eden could only imagine the amount of parahumans that would be coming to the Bay.
Though, on one hand, that just meant Admin got more data. On the other hand, the people of Brockton Bay would suffer from more crime and parahuman fights. Eden would have to be careful, she had no idea what the crime scene of Boston looked like before the Simurgh… hell she was glad she hadn't left the Bay to go there when she first Triggered.
People paid attention to Eden as she strode into the store, but none of them bothered her as she strode around looking over some furniture. Not that she cared. She ended up buying a bookshelf. Something for Taylor to fill up, so she could read when she spent the night at the base.
It was when she was testing out couches that someone approached her. A gawky looking teen, with a semi-pimply face. He cleared his throat when Eden paid him no mind. Or at least, she did. But not like he could see her eyes behind her visor. Which is why she liked her helmet, unless she turned her head to stare directly at a person they had no idea if she was looking at them.
"Yeah?" Eden asked as she slowly moved her head to center the visor's gaze on him… she couldn't feel if he had a connection, unrealized or not anymore. "Bold of you to just approach a cape, got a reason?"
"Uh. Well. Everyone on PHO was talking about you buying that bed, and shower thing. Plus they were saying you're a hero so—" he paused as Eden held up a hand.
"Alright, yeah. I don't do autographs." Eden warned as she put her hand down. "Whatcha want kid?"
"Pretty sure I'm older than you." He grumbled.
"I'll let you have that after you lose multiple limbs, have half your face cut off, or get stabbed in the throat." Eden shot back. "Now seriously, what do you want?"
"Could I ask you a few questions?" He held up his phone and waved it. "People have seen you all over buying stuff, and fighting Lung even. Not to mention the whole Gray Boy Bubble thing you and Panacea did! Hell you took down the Dragonslayers!"
"Khepri was there." Eden retorted sharply causing the boy to flinch back. "She helped tremendously in both cases, don't you forget that."
The teen nodded nervously "Right. I'll make sure to mention that! Her. Mention her! The questions?"
Eden waved him to sit on the couch, it was shaped like an 'L' so he didn't have to sit next to her and she could test exactly how comfortable the couch was. He actually took the foot rest that came with the couch and moved it so he could sit across from her.
"Alright!" He brought up his phone and pressed the screen with a thumb before looking down at her cause of course the shithead was taller than her. "So, just for clarification, you're the independent hero Eden?"
"Eden of Fractal Unity, yep. That's what it says on the tin." She replied, cocking her head to the side as she noted his confusion. "What?"
"Uh, Fractal Unity? Is that some kind of cult?" he asked to which Eden gave him a blank stare for a moment causing him to shift. "In my defense the Fallen is a thing."
"You suck at this." Eden huffed "No. It's an organization Khepri and me are building. It's less about heroics and more like getting people more in tune with their powers and maybe making the world a better place in the process of doing so."
"What can you tell me about Khepri? Her powers are controlling bugs right?" He kept the phone steady enough, focused entirely upon her.
"She's cute and honest-to-god a hero at heart. Don't think I'd be where I am today without her." Eden replied, grinning behind her visor. "Yep, bugs. Arachnids too…even worms…and crabs. Both kinds apparently. Anything humans think of as insectoid, basically."
"Sounds kinda gross." He noted.
Privately Eve agreed, but her next words rang true. "You get used to it. Questions?"
"Right right. Well I suppose the first question that no one really has an answer for is how you got your powers? There's a lot of debate over that sort of thing and—"
"All of it is bullshit." Eden practically snarled before taking a deep breath and leaning back into the couch. Suddenly it felt far less comfortable. Like the cushion she was leaning against was making it hard to breathe somehow. Her legs and arms felt like they were thumming with energy and she quickly stood up. "Pro tip for your health kid. Don't ask that sort of question. It. Never! Ends well for anyone and anyone who says Trigger Events are anything other than bad is lying through their fucking teeth!"
The teen had leaned back, bewildered at her sudden shift in demeanor and nearly dropped his phone in the process of holding his hands up. "Woah, Woah! Alright I'm sorry! At the very least we can clear that up right?"
Eve took another deep breath, before letting it out. Her Phantom Limbs scratched at the air blindly in her agitation. "Yeah. Yeah we can. They aren't fun. No one really likes to talk about them and asking is bad for your health. Ruins the conversation." She wasn't lying.
Her acceptance of this little question and answer session dropped after that. Now she just wanted to go hug Taylor and Amy. Feel something other than the oily feeling that coated her throat.
"Would an apology help?" He offered questioningly.
Eden shook her head. "It's a type of hurt that doesn't heal. What's your name kid?"
"Jerry." He offered instantly, nervous?
"Jerry, contact me later on PHO. Maybe we can schedule something not out in public." Eden got up and stretched, turning around as she scanned the store. "See ya kid." She waved at him as she went off to find an employee to buy the couch and bookshelf from.
It was a shame he had asked that, and she didn't even hold it against him. But now she really wanted to leave the store and she was going to be damned if she didn't get what she wanted before she left the store.
Once again having cash on hand was the best way to grease the wheels of anything as Eden managed to leave the store fairly quickly with the unassembled couch and bookshelves in her storage space. It didn't take long to get two large pantries. They were unassembled as well, but Eve didn't mind. Something for them all to do together when the day wound down.
When she made it to Taylor's how, both girls were watching a movie in the living room. Both were sitting on the couch when Eve used the key hidden by the back door to let herself in. "Hey hey. What's up?"
"Movie marathon." Amy replied "We're gonna be watching the Rocky films."
"Didn't those come out before Scion popped up?" Eve asked as she heard the pops from the microwave in the kitchen
"Thought we'd enjoy something without Parahumans or Shards." Taylor offered up. "Plus people are being subjected to violence in the films. I'm sure you and Amy will enjoy it."
Amy scoffed. "Said the girl that took on Lung with bugs, whatever."
"I dunno. Feels kinda weird to watch something before Admin came around. Hey, maybe she'll like it." [DOUBT] "Oh don't be like it, it's got a lot of conflict! Literally the most important part is fighting!" [...INTEREST] "Yeah, just relax a bit Admin."
"Anyone ever tell you that you come across as a psycho?" Amy remarked dryly.
"I said it once, I'll say it again. Admin deserves to be spoken to like a person." Eve huffed as she settled in to watch the movie, when the microwave let out a bunch of beeps, she maneuvered her Phantom Limb into the kitchen, blindly felt around before catching the microwave and popping the door open.
From there it was easy to bring the popcorn into the room, to which Eve then used her Phantom Limb to move her girlfriends a bit closer. Amy seemed to enjoy the invisible hug, so Eve slippled an extra Limb to curl around the biokinetic.
"He's gonna be crippled for life." Amy stated flatly. "The amount of hits he took to the head full force would leave him brain damaged."
"It's a movie."
"I dunno." Eve hummed. "I've taken worse to the head and come out fine."
Amy scoffed as the credits continued to roll on the screen. "Eve have you seen your brain?"
"No, but I guess I could with a mirror? Not like I bleed much." Eve offered.
"Do not vivisect your head in my house, or anywhere."
"You still wouldn't be able to see it, all that connective tissue would be in the way. Probably the only reason, aside from your thick skull, that you don't suffer head trauma." Amy retorted.
"She also wears a helmet."
"It's dual use really. Let's Admin communicate with me easier too." Eve smirked. "So it helps with getting hit in the head too."
Looking up from her book, which was also the large book of insects she had gotten during their trip to New York, Taylor hummed. "Speaking of that change to your brain Eve, what entails it?"
"Gotta be asleep for it, gotta be having some bare skin contact with Amy with permission of course, Queen Administrator has to sign off on it, Admin might have to help, and you'll need to eat a lot before and after. Oh, and it takes about an hour and a half. Maybe two?" Eve hummed softly as she felt the three Shards speaking with one another, she felt…lesser not being able to feel exactly what was going on. She felt left out, in a way.
It kinda hurt.
Taylor turned to the red haired girl, whose golden eyes turned to look at Taylor in return. "I know you have a thing about brains, but do you think we could do this?"
"You'd need to prep and—" For a moment Amy hesitated before continuing. "Panacea couldn't... wouldn't do brains. But I'm not her. Not anymore."
Taylor and Eve shared a glance. "Going a bit hard into the alternative identity but I can respect that. Got a different name for when you look like this or….?" Eve trailed off. "You know you don't have to be someone else right?"
"Only if I want to be happy." Amy murmured.
"This seems sudden." Taylor noted. "You can do it of course, but are you sure you want to?"
"I can't be Panacea anymore. She's a part of New Wave. She doesn't use her power right an—" Amy was interrupted as Eve laid her hands on the biokinetic's shoulders.
"Amy." Eve bit at her bottom lip. "The identity doesn't make you. You make the identity alright?"
"...If you say so. I still don't want to be Panacea anymore. It's not enough. It's never enough. I ran myself ragged healing people at the Hospital. Weekends, nights when I couldn't sleep, getting called in if someone had a bad accident. I've eaten more hospital food than homemade food and I ju— I was still treated the same no matter how much I tried. I'm done. Panacea is done."
Worming her way over to Amy, Eve pulled the slightly taller girl into her lap and hugged her tightly. "Amy. I can understand it. Really. But as someone who's been there, don't make yourself into someone else just to oppose the hand that bit you. Won't be you then."
"You both suck at this." A mirthless chuckle escaped Amy. "I just know I need to experiment to make Shaper happy, and she gets so damn happy it makes me happy. I don't know if I'm the one who enjoys it, or if it's all Shaper."
"You'll figure it out Amy, and we'll be there to help you." Eve promised before standing up, still holding Amy in her arms as the front door swung open. Danny blinked as he glanced to the stranger in the house and his daughter's girlfriend holding her.
He shook his head and began to pull his boots off. "So glad I don't need to worry about shotgun weddings." He murmured under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear him.
Eve barked out a laugh and squeezed a flushed Amy. "Alright. Guess we should be on our way then. Let you two yell at each other."
"I'm not mad." Danny denied. He turned to look at Taylor. "Frightened over her fighting an Endbringer yes. Likely shaved a few years off my life. But… For all that you do that worries me I know Annette would be proud of her little owl finally being the hero Taylor pretended to be when she was younger. I just wish you'd speak to me about it more instead of pushing me away."
"Alright, let's go." Eve whispered to Amy who merely nodded before disappearing from sight into Eve's storage as the shorter girl gave the father and daughter duo a wave goodbye, not intending to make a private moment an awkward one.
It didn't take long to get back to the base. The city was still quiet, being only hours after an Endbringer battle. Eve wasn't entirely surprised. The Empire didn't even do rallies for a day or so after Endbringer attacks, she doubted they'd do it for a week after one so close.
It was different for her, this time around. Having been there, seen the destruction, having witness the Simurgh in person. A horrifying clarity of what the word Endbringer actually meant…even if they weren't the ones who would kill the world with rays of gold.
A sigh escaped Eve, the air was becoming warmer as they neared summer. But not so warm as for her to ditch her hoodies. Maybe her girlfriends would enjoy her warmer summer wear? With her mind drifting off towards brighter thoughts Eve almost forgot to unstorage Amy once she got back to the base. Not that she would have forgotten for long! Amy had a very distinct shape in her storage dimension!
Amy let out a huff of air as she landed on the bed. "That's disorientating." She murmured while rubbing her eyes."One second Taylor and her dad are being awkward and then I'm back at the base."
"I imagine it would be jarring." Eve threw her clothes off the normal way, using her Cosmic Limb to change into her costume. "I need to go make sure our wi-fi isn't gonna fail us. Afterwards do you want to cuddle?"
"I guess." Amy replied as she shuffled off her slip on shoes and flopped into the foam mattress. "We picking up dinner or do you have something in your space arms?"
"I'll go ahead and pick up something to eat while I'm out, any interest?" Eve asked as she turned to look back at Amy
Amy blew some air out of her mouth to move a strand of hair from her face. "Pizza?"
"Toppings?
"Bacon strips with banana peppers. Thin crust." Amy huffed as Eve stared at her. "It's delicious. Shut up."
Raising her hands in surrender Eve began to back out of the room. "Alright alright! Just never heard of such a combination before. Drinks?"
"Pezi?" Amy asked before shrugging. "Cold coffee would be nice."
"Pezi and cold coffee." Eve nodded as she left the base to climb atop it and began to fiddle with the tinkertech router there. It looked like hot garbage and scrap. But that just kept it from sticking out and being actually scrapped, stolen, or leading people to realize that there was something important beneath it.
And she was right to check it, some wires had been jostled a bit and were coming loose. Likely the damn thing would have caught fire if she had ignored it any longer than she already had. It was also an easy fix when you had multiple arms to hold everything steadily in didn't take long to fix the wires, mostly just twisting the copper/gold alloy back around the transistors. Least, that's what Eve thought they were called. She wasn't entirely sure…
She needed to actually read a few books on this kinda stuff, making Admin do all the work was unfair to the Shard. It would likely help her tinker as well….something to worry about in the future.
After making sure the casing was sealed airtight Eve made good time getting to a pizza place, ordering the pizza, and getting back to the base. Even if she had to break a few limbs when some ABB tried to get muggy with her.
They could still crawl to a doctor, the gangers should be grateful for that.
But in the end, her and Amy ate pizza on homemade bed stands, because the Forge upgrade for her Ferrous Limbs was awesome, and watching funny videos on the internet. That is, until they watched someone Trigger.
The videos stopped being funny after that.
On a slightly sour note, the two girls cuddled in the bed until they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Sunday the Eleventh of April
"Taylor, just wear the jogging shorts! They look good on you!" Eve groaned and ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"They won't." Taylor denied as she put the short shorts down. "I don't have the assets th—" Taylor cut herself off with a jolt and a squeak as Eve grabbed her ass.
"Look! I have your ass in my hands! It's a nice ass! It goes GREAT with your legs, now wear the fucking jogging shorts!" Eve let go as Taylor slapped at her hands, the taller girl glaring at her with flushed cheeks. "Taylor, you wear a skin tight costume! Just fucking wear something that's not baggy! Even I'm wearing tighter clothes than you!"
"You're blowing this out of proportion." Taylor scowled, not letting up on her glare.
"Proportion hell! You're letting those three bitches run your life! You should wear what you want, not what you think is best for avoiding your bullies! You have curves!" Eve slapped her hands onto Taylor's hips and ran them along her waist. "Look!"
Nearly twenty minutes arguing over Eve wanting to wear matching outfits while jogging and Taylor didn't want to wear jogging shorts. It might have had something to do with Taylor wearing some of the clothes Tattletale had picked out when Eve came over. Not that she would admit that to Taylor. Or anyone else.
As much as Eve loved her, it was like her bullies were an ever present shadow over Taylor. Understandable since they caused her to Trigger. But if Eve could willingly subject herself to blond aryan women, then Taylor could wear a pair of shorts that showed off her legs, dammit!
"I just don't want to. It's not comfortable."
"You won't even try them on in your own home! With your girlfriend!"
"I wouldn't look good in them!"
"You need to stop letting Emma and Shadow Sophia's bullshit drag you down!"
Both girls stopped to process what Eve had said.
Eve let the hand sliding through her hair move down to rub her face. "Fuck, this is not how I wanted to do this."
Taylor stared at Eve, her eyes flicking to the right before centering on her short girlfriend. "If what I think you—"
"Sophia is Shadow Stalker." Eve confirmed, adding after a moment's hesitancy "...I'm sorry."
Taylor's legs buckled and only Eve's firm grip kept the taller girl's legs from collapsing under her. Guiding her to the bed offered no resistance as Taylor numbly sat down on the bed, eyes flicking back and forth to follow her thoughts. "...How long have you known?"
"Not that long, honest." Eve promised. "I found out during my date with Amy, she told me about the injuries that she healed Shadow Stalker of and they matched near word for word of the damage I did to Sophia during our fight at Winslow."
"It makes sense…" Taylor mumbled.
"What does?" Eve asked. "I mean, it doesn't to me. Her power isn't even that useful when weighed against her personality."
"It explains why the school kept turning a blind eye. Why the teachers avoid doing anything or even just stopping the trio. I thought maybe it was Emma's father, he's a lawyer even if it's a divorce lawyer he could throw what weight he has around." Taylor glanced down, staring at the floor of her room. "Do the Protectorate know and just not care? Or are they ignorant of it all?" Her gaze shifted to Eve. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
The tone of her voice wasn't accusatory, but the resigned bitterness in it made Eve's chest ache.
"Well…I wanted to kill her." Was honesty the best choice here? Eve didn't know, but Taylor deserved that much. "I didn't want you to know how bad it was. I wanted to just…kill her. Erase her. It's a big city, people disappear all the time. Especially black girls in a gang shithole like Winslow. It would have been so easy, so goddamn easy. But."
Pulling away from Taylor, Eve avoided being face to face with her girlfriend. "I wanted to remove the issue. Keep you happy. But I'd have to lie, and I know. I know in your heart even now you don't want her to die."
"...I don't." Taylor agreed after a moment, even if she was hesitant.
"I couldn't risk that divide between us. So I was thinking about trying to get Armsmaster in on it, cause what she did and is doing can't be allowed right? But you're so protective of your identity I didn't know how to broach it with you. Then the Simurgh fight happened and we just—" Eve motioned aimlessly at the direction Boston resided in. "I, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you earlier. I really didn't know how to approach it.."
The silence that followed felt like a weight pressing down on Eve's body, compressing her lungs and choking her ability to breath. But she held herself still, easing that weight with slow measured breaths. She didn't want to lose Taylor because of this.
"Okay."
Eve jerked up to look at Taylor "Okay? You're okay with this?"
"Of course not!" Taylor barked, suddenly angry. Then she sighed and looked down at the floor after seeing Eve flinch. "But what can I do about it? Either I unmask myself to the Protectorate that allowed her to make me Trigger or let it slide… It doesn't matter in the end. Because we're both heroes. Bigger heroes than Shadow Stalker will ever be. We're known across America from our actions alone. Not the Protectorate parading us around."
Taylor stood up, turning to face Eve. "What they did is in the past and it always will be. We have more important things to worry about, planets to save and a future to build together." Her face was set in stone. "And you're right."
"I am?" Eve asked, confused at the more or less sudden switch in the topic.
Taylor nodded once. "I can't let them hold me back, drag me down with what they did."
A grin split across Eve's face and she jumped up, pumping a fist. "Yes! YES!" She pumped her fists in the air. "That's how we do it! Fuck everyone! We'll make the world a better place even if we have to drag it kicking and screaming into a brighter tomorrow!"
A small smile reached Taylor's face. "We are going to go out and patrol more often though. We haven't been doing much of late. I mean actually patrol too, not be nudged into fighting parahumans."
"I plead the fifth?" She tried, at Taylor's insistent dry look Eve threw her hands into the air. "I didn't know it was Lung, besides our Shards got some good data out of making him flee!"
"The issue isn't that we fought him, but that you manipulated us into going to fight him." Taylor's look did not waver and Eve shifted in discomfort. "You can't do that. We're supposed to be a team."
"Alright, I fucked up there." Admitting to fucking up sucked, but it was still better than having Taylor be upset with her and it wasn't like Taylor didn't have a point. "Next time I'll talk to you about it."
"Good. Now…" Taylor stared at the running shorts and sports bra. "I still don't have a chest."
"Boobs don't do anything for me all that much anyway." Eve told Taylor. "Besides. I like how easy it is to hear your heartbeat."
"Right." Talor shifted before picking up the shorts and sports bra. "Okay. Okay. I'll wear them." She frowned. "I won't like it."
"It's all about perseverance, Taylor" Eve said as she swapped their outfits. Although Eve couldn't wear anything that showed off her stomach due to a lack of a belly button. A dead give away that something was up with her, at least Taylor insisted such.
And so they finally went jogging nearly an hour behind schedule. Not that they had to worry over much about that thanks to schools being closed a day or two after Endbringer attacks depending on how close the attack had been.
The Simurgh's attack had been pretty fucking close to Brockton Bay.
Despite Taylor's apprehension about jogging in something other than baggy jeans and a hoody. It was fairly pleasant for both of them. Aside from a couple of younger ooglers (and one weirdly older one) they didn't attract much in the way of attention.
"So, we're setting up the stuff today. Do you want to join me and Amy?" Eve asked as she came out of the shower, wrapping her hair in a towel.
"Yeah. I need to finish what my spiders are working on. We also need to find another way to get into the base without being seen. I'm not too sure how long we can be seen heading towards that area before people figure out we have a base there if they haven't already. Then it's only a matter of time and checking buildings before they find out where we are. Then we'll all be in danger from mooks with guns or explosives. I don't think I need to remind you that a bullet to the head will kill Amy and me, much less an explosive of some sort and we know that Coil would likely try either."
Opening her mouth, only to shut it a second later Eve hummed as she wracked her mind for possible answers. "Well. I have a power that can set up permanent and selective portals that can lead to the base. Or a power that can shape rock and earth which can be used to make tunnels to get around in and expand the base! Maybe even shore it up from attacks… Or I can simply focus on getting my Tinkertech and make a way to teleport us into the base."
"Either way we need to do something before we get found out. Hiding the base will be a lot easier than defending it." Taylor added "I like the current base we have. I don't want to lose it."
"Me neither." Eve agreed. "It's kinda become a home for me. Might even become a proper base for our group if we get it more set up."
"Alright. For now let's get what you picked up last night actually set up. What did you get?" Taylor asked.
"Two cabinets and a bookshelf." Eve answered. "I nabbed the bookshelf because I thought you'd like somewhere to store your books when you're over working on the spider farm."
"Okay, but why not buy a fridge? Or a deep freezer, countertops, why buy cabinets and nothing to put in them?" Taylor questioned as she raised a brow to express her confusion.
Eve shrugged in response. "It was just me living there, and my days were busy. Might as well build it bit by bit. But you have a good point. Maybe sometime this week I can just spend a day fixing up an area in the base. Maybe once we get another recruit we can speed up the process of making the place a real base of operations."
"So who's a possible recruit?" Taylor asked. "Do you have any in mind?"
"Vicky for one. Hell, even her Shard. So she can like, join the inner circle without issue. I'm not even sure her Shard would be missed if it went off the Network honestly. Admin could get Nike into her own Network fairly easily too." Eve offered. "Though I think maybe Admin could simply bud off to others, give someone else a power on their worst day. But it's not like Admin has the ability to spy on their thoughts. No idea how that would turn out."
"A last option then." Taylor offered. "Admin giving a random person powers could end up giving us a villain that fights us."
"Good for Data though?" Eve smirked which faltered as Taylor gave her an unamused look as Admin spoke up [DENIAL]. "Only a joke! If Shards could get good data out of having their hosts fight one another they'd already be doing that!"
Taylor continued to stare and Eve fidgeted. "...What?"
"The fact that we'd effectively create our own nemesis that would likely ruin our plans or hinder us?" Taylor questioned as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Well…" She kicked at the ground as her girlfriend kept one brow raised, not in a questioning manner but a questioning manner. Eve coughed into a fist. "I mean, I was originally trying to set that up with you, but then you were actually pretty and you're hair was nice and you were tall and—"
"I get it." Taylor held up a hand to stop anymore of…that of which Eve was grateful. "Moving past tha— Me being tall was something that was attractive to you?" Her brows furrowed and she cocked her head to the side in a way that reminded Eve of a… puppy might be the wrong thing but she couldn't think of any bug that would cock it's head questioningly.
"Yes. Fine. I'm attracted to girls taller than me. I don't have any other choice unless I prowl the oriental community." Eve looked away and kicked at the carpet. "You tag a lot of my interests. I think if you had freckles I'd kiss you every time I see you."
"Eve, you kiss me almost every time we meet."
"I know what I said."
Taylor reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, blowing air through her nose. Which Eve counted as a laugh. It was close enough really. "I don't think I can offer much help tonight. My Dad is still fairly upset with me over the Simurgh fight. He wants me to spend a couple nights home."
"And you're going to?" Eve leaned back on a wing, glancing around the room. "I mean, I know you could just turn into bugs and leave out a window or the cracks in the walls."
A soft sigh escaped Taylor. "He's… trying. So I should as well. When mom died he fell apart, even when he pulled himself back together we just drifted apart and never got any closer."
"I… can understand that." Eve nodded softly, her mind starting to drift back to earlier memories in her life before she shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Right, so I'll be seeing you tomorrow then?" Eve asked as she stepped up to her girlfriend and let her with a quick kiss on the lips.
"Tonight. I just won't go back to the base after we patrol." Taylor amended giving Eve a soft smile at the kiss which she had returned.
"Where are we going to patrol? I kinda need to fight some people. People, not giant abominations, thank you." Eve motioned around them. "Nazis, Mechants if we can find them, or the ABB?"
"ABB are closer to the base and the Undersider's own. Hurting them might give us a bit of breathing room. Not that I want a chance at fighting Lung again."
"I can't say it was fun." Eve remarked dryly "What with all the fire and my costume melting into my skin, and then both costume and skin charring."
"I recommend getting a Blaster or Shaker power at some point. You lack range and need it when dealing with some people." Taylor stepped over to Eve placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder. "I don't like seeing you getting hurt like that."
For a moment Eve stared at Taylor before her shoulders sag. "I can't say it's for fun Taylor but… Fighting isn't clean."
"I know. But try to vary your powers. I might have range but we won't always be fighting side by side and I can't cover you all the time." Taylor let her hand slid down to Eve's own, which met hers halfway.
"Okay." Eve sighed and leaned against Taylor. "Gonna go now, get things set up in the base. I'll put forward a plan to get things set up faster when I get more time to. You have fun with your dad being a dad…It's annoying, but he's still here you know? Still loves you." She melted into the two arms that wrapped around her.
Sunday the Eleventh of April, Amy Dallon
Her breath hitched softly as the fungal flora plaster across the wall began to crawl. Its form splintering and gently reforming as she forced the biology to move and twist. Eve was right. She had been right. Even if Amy herself wasn't entirely sure about the idea of using her power to its fullest she could at least do more than she already had been.
[INTRIGUE] "Bitch." Amy snapped. She hated Shaper, maybe she didn't hate her power all that much but she hated Shaper. Never had Amy wanted to use her powers for violence, it was the reason why she had never ran off to join the Wards. They would have made her into a weapon, a bludgeon to force others to do what the Protectorate wanted. Or worse, a political tool used as a pro to outweigh cons or as a carrot on a stick to get people to play nice.
She'd tasted both. Healing heroes or politically important people for the PRT made her hate healing more than anything. She hated healing gangsters or villainous capes. She hated healing the rich jerks who came to the Bay to try and get healed by her. She hated that most of all.
Amy wasn't a tool, she wasn't a weapon, and she wasn't a fucking healthcare package, nor was she afraid! Her name was Amy, or Freckles. She had a girlfriend, a semi-livable home, and a power that could help people beyond trudging through a hospital late at night or on the weekends.. [ -LOATHING]
Why. Why. The fucking alien was curious as to why! "Because Eve was right." A large stalk grew from the biological paste and a bud began to form before it flowered. A large yellow flower grew larger and larger, nearing the size of her head before it stopped growing. Amy breathed in and almost gagged from the strong citrus musk the flower gave off. "Too-" ack "-strong."
That she could create anything and Eve would just check it over to make sure it was okay. The process had made sure that the nightmares no longer persisted. No more getting arrested, sniped, or having a missile obliterate her city block. No more waking up in bed, covered in cold sweat frozen in place from fear. No more 'good' dreams of her changing people for the better by mistake and being unable to change it back. No dreams of changing people into horrible monsters.
Just blissful nothingness in her sleep, or the rare dream. Clearly something she was doing was the right thing to do.
It made doing what she was doing now bearable. She still had rules. She wasn't going to be making weapons. The living cannons were a one-off to save Eve and Dragon's lives. Nothing else… She wouldn't be messing with brains, and nothing that could reproduce.
Just three rules, easy ones to follow if anything. "Eve was right." Amy repeated. "Any parahuman can be dangerous and if I ever mess up she'll be right there to stop my fuck up."
[ ] Amy frowned. "You don't get to decide that. I won't become some kind of biological terrorist for you. We'll do this my way or I'll find a way to cut our connection and leave you with zilch. You don't like me and I sure as hell don't like you. But I'll be damned if I don't do good with the burden you've given me."
[ ]
"I… Don't know." Amy admitted. "I've never really put thought into this. Sure ideas came to me but I never wrote them down and…" Did her best to forget them. Once more hamstrung herself, least this time she wasn't reliant upon just herself. "I know Eve would probably have some ideas…"
[ ] Amy frowned, why would Shaper…? "Oh. oh no. Taylor wasn't wrong either. Rules can be bent if it means saving a life." She wasn't entirely sure she would be able to go through with 'bending' one of her rules and yet she feared not hesitating to do so in the slightest if it came down to it.
"I think both will have good ideas we can test out together. If not, I've had ideas before. I'll have them again. Right now just be happy with the air cleaner." Amy huffed before taking in a deep breath of the orange scent that was heavy in the air. [... ]
"Jesus, yes, I know that there are still things in the air. It's done on purpose. I made the plant do that on purpose Shaper, because that particular scent registers as clean to us. Probably from the amount of cleaners we use with the smell in them." Amy huffed as she stepped back, staring at her air cleaner/freshener.
"And so she gazed upon her first real creation. A car freshener." Reaching up she rubbed her face, which she now remembered looked different than before. Looking past her hand, Amy stared at what she had created.
Was she really Panacea anymore? No, was she actually Amy? Here she was, with a different power and using her power in an entirely different way from before, with different rules in a different home. How much of her was tied to where she had lived, and with whom she had lived with?
Her other hand brought up her phone and she tapped through a few menus, gazing over the last of the Panacea sighting threads on PHO. Her last appearance was of her and Eve walking back to the house. Nothing of the shouting match between her and Carol, nor of her storming off with Eden.
As far as the internet knew, she just hadn't popped up in public yet. No one had seen her with Eve and Taylor because Panacea did not exist anymore, neither did Amy Dallon. Now it was just 'Amy'.
But what would 'Amy' do?
She nearly jumped out of her skin as the shower turned on further in the base, the sound echoing throughout the concrete and metal base they lived in. It was probably Eve if it wasn't Taylor. Who would break into the place and just take a shower?
Then again. "Shaper, that's Eve or Taylor?" She asked, a single moment passing before [ ] got her to relax. "Right. Good." She pressed her hand against the splotch of spongy biomass and frowned.
"Damn, we don't have enough to make the entire base smell." They could get a fan to move the pollen around…or she could make some kind of biological fan? "Still not enough, duh." She shook her head, walking away from her…workshop? To plop down onto the bed and wait for her girlfriend to arrive.
When Eve did finish her shower she walked into the room and without saying a word placed down a massive couch next to the bed. "There we go, now we need a TV and we would be off to a great start on making this place a real home."
"I think some rooms might help with that, or at least some walls to make rooms." Amy told the short Trump as she slid off the bed and plopped onto the couch with a soft groan. "Rugs would help too, having to walk around in socks all the time sucks. Also, can you check out what I made?"
"Oh?" Eve asked, eyes lighting up as one of those misty arms swiped through Amy and left her insides colder than ice. Eve made her way over and sniffed. "Huh. Oranges? I like it." She placed the red outline over herself and touched her hand to the spongy material. "Wow, this thing uses a lot of biomass."
"Yeah. I'm going to need more if I'm to make anything else. Kinda wanted to grow those flowers across the base. The bathroom could use the dehumidifier, the mold that was starting to grow there before I got rid of it was not a pleasant surprise." Amy said as she got up from the couch despite her muscles protesting the action.
She wandered over to Eve. "Also… I meant what I said, when I told the both of you that Panacea was gone. I'm not sure who I'll be, I was never interested in cape stuff or the fighting."
"Same." Eve replied soberly as she released her grip on Shaper's connection, Amy easily ignored the sensation of her power returning to her. "Capes scared me to a degree… now I find them comforting in a way… How we change."
"More than that… I don't like violence. I never have, but as of the last few years I've become very knowledgeable on what it does to the body." It had always sickened her, even when she had become numb, what people could do to each other. She wasn't a pacifist by any means, but she found it distasteful all the same. "So I want to use my powers to do more than heal. I want to make things, useful things. Nothing with a real brain or that can reproduce, and no weapons."
"Shucks, there goes my hope for getting Taylor a spider gun for her birthday." Eve smirked. "Yeah, that's all fine, and I'm sure I'll be checking everything right?" At Amy's nod she grinned. "Good. Now let's get the pantries and book shelf set up. I'd like to take a nap before Taylor drags me out on her patrol."
"Her what? You two are patrolling tonight?" Amy asked
"Yeah, Taylor's getting nasty and honestly so am I. Want to fight some humans, wash away the memory of the other day a bit. Get some data. Maybe even get a power that could help us make some rooms! So if you don't mind~" Eve slid up to her and pulled Amy into her arms. "I'd like to cuddle while I sleep."
"Fine." Amy grunted, although she couldn't help the warm sensation fluttering in her chest as she felt the heat Eve gave off. Though it also served to remind her that the base was actually kind of cold, though that was something to mention later. "Wait, what about the furniture?"
Eve paused, and then sighed. "Dammit. Alright this shouldn't take long. You read the instructions and I put my Limbs to use?" Amy gave her a thumbs up and Eve nodded, she glanced around and apparently decided that the corner farthest from Taylor's bugs would do for where the kitchen would go. Amy personally agreed.
Of course it didn't take long for Amy and Eve to build them, Eve did most of the building with her six hands, and Amy read off of the instruction manuals, sometimes turning it around so Eve could see the pictures. Even if it didn't take long, the work was boring and was putting Amy to sleep. Her onset of drowsiness was not helped by Eve picking her up.
It was unfair how warm the short girl was, nor was it fair with how strong her arms were, or how she smelled like strawberries. A yawn escaped Amy as Eve gently deposited her into the bed before climbing into bed with Amy.
Amy was fairly certain Eve fell asleep before she did, but at that point she was half asleep herself and drifted off just the same.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin Sunday the Eleventh of April, Later that night.
The sharpened spike of rebar carried Eden off her feet and into the field of sharpened, spinning, forcefield blades which ripped through her costume, shredded skin and muscle, scoring bone. Hitting the ground in a graceless roll, she supported herself with two Shadow Limbs as another ripped the rebar projectile out of her chest. /Self Administration\ was quickly doing its best to repair the blender her body had been put through, but there was a lot of damage to heal.
"Dammit." Eden wheezed as her lungs reformed and inflated with air. [STATUS-ALLY] "Thanks Admin." Eden pushed herself back, a Shadow Limb swiping through the air and knocking another rebar arrow from it's path to her chest, thus avoiding being pushed into another field of razerfields. She turned, a Wing shearing through the field and scattering it before lifting her into the air. She was forced to use the wing to cover her as the Butcher exploded onto another rooftop, minigun spinning up and the roar of it's bullets following Lung's and the weird animal dude's own screams as they tore into each other.
Although she was pissed about her costume getting shredded, Eden couldn't help but enjoy the fact that more of her skin was exposed to the air now. At least some of the sweat would wick off her, the blazing fire spreading from a block over added to the melted asphalt that stopped by Lung's current fight was hot as fuck.
Something exploded, and Eden could tell it wasn't the Butcher's teleport. Rather Bakuda was doing her best to fuck up the Teeth that had attacked Lung and the ABB-[INFORMATION-THIEVERY/ASSITANCE] or rather had been trying to steal a stock pile of Bakuda's work and maybe make off with the Tinker herself. Admin didn't like that last bit, not one bit, not at all.
Seemed personal, so Eden wouldn't ask.
She flew downwards as her wing easily tanked the miniguns bullets, which either flattened themselves on the crystal surface of her wing or were deflected off into the distance. Coming up the Butcher dodged the attempted ramming and swung the minigun like a bat. When that bounced off Eden's wing she growled and suddenly Eden's nerves were on fire.
You were perhaps partially to blame for the current conflict that [Eve] found herself in, having been distracted by contacting [SAFEGUARD] and [GATEWAY], [SAFEGUARD] of whom had purposely shut the connection down earlier when they had realized exactly what you were doing, then had actively denied any further attempts to contact them.
While that was worrying, [GATEWAY] on the other hand was quite happy to respond to your broadcasts and as it was, [GATEWAY] was extremely pleased with their host functioning correctly.
Apparently so was their host with the newest addition of a 'swingset' in their room via their power.
It was only nearing the end of the connection with [GATEWAY] that there was a sudden and violent attack upon [Eve] and her partner.
And it was [VIRAL INFILTRATOR] who contacted you which was an unpleasant surprise. Not that you had any particular issue with them, but they were designed to attack Shards. Something you could emulate now, but you were not built for it and you had only defended yourself from one attack before.
Then the conflict had started in earnest, and suddenly there were enough Shards here to emulate a |SUPER WEAPON| attack. But [Eve] could handle it, of that you were certain.
Eden swung her wing through the small horde of clones easily decapitating them all. But as soon as she did so another fifteen of them were rushing her. She could easily take them all out but she'd risk killing the man spawning the damned thing.
Insects were flying around in swarms, large pockets of dense loud buzzing black and sparse clouds of them harrying the people of the battle field. More important were the Taylor shaped piles of bugs that the black masses would leave behind, of which her girlfriend would step out of at any moment to strike at people with one of the batons she carried, or pepper spray them.
Her Ferrous Limbs came up in a spiked wall and slammed into the crowd of clones, and into their master. She wasn't doing too great against him, but he could just spawn clones to push the bugs away. Eden flipped over onto her back as the ground exploded behind her. She looked up to see the Butcher raising a large mace, a black swarm of insects came overhead and Taylor fell from it with a leg extended into a kick.
The Butcher twisted swinging her weapon around and only splattering a few bugs as Taylor's form scattered and the insects dive bombed the Butcher's face. Eden could feel the bruising on her back remaining, her power preventing it from worsening but not much else.
Even though the Butcher tried to twist out of the way, the large needle slammed through her armor and side, a small spray of blood escaping her front. "Admin you can stop me from becoming the Butcher right?" [UNCERTAINTY] Eden cursed as she yanked the Ferrous Limb out of the Butcher and flicked a wing out, raising herself into the air as a pillar of clear ice exploded into existence a block over. Eden could faintly make out human figures trapped in it.
Then someone landed on top of Eden as she passed a building, a katana materializing out of thin air against her throat. "Take me to Bakuda now." The older woman ordered. Eden hissed and used her one wing to hold the woman in a bubble of motion. As they both began to fall a new wing flicked out of her body and caught them both before they hit the ground.
Eve gained her altitude once again and grunted "Sure, fine, could have just asked ya bitch." She swung the wing and released her hold on the villainess. Kage flew through the air and did a flip before landing on a rooftop a street over in a perfect roll before jumping over the side of a building.
Another explosion rang out and a building began to lean over, its partially glassed bottom floors unable to hold it up. For the moment it took Eden to be distracted by it, another rebar arrow slammed into her back and replaced her spine for the five seconds it took her to use a Shadow Limb to rip it out. More wings came around to cover Eden entirely as she landed on a roof and waited for her spine to regenerate. She had to use a Phantom Limb to keep her lungs working and her heart beating.
"Eden, are you alright?" Several bugs slipped past the wings and landed on Eve, one which died when it made contact with the Phantom Limb.
"I know what Miss Militia feels like with that stick up her ass now." Eve replied, her voice cracking from her inexperience with forcing herself to speak. There were a few explosions in the distance, lighting up what the fires did not. The sounds of the marauding Teeth blending in with the Changer Cape's triumphant hollering and the roar of the Butcher's teleport and her minigun. "How's it looking, Khepri?"
"Bad." The willowy girl admitted. "Most of them have bug spray weirdly enough, and I can force my bugs past it but they still die. Not to mention the forcefields popping up to chew through my swarm, and whatever Bakuda lets off sometimes gets them as well. The Butcher's teleport, that Screaming Changer, and the one that kills them on touch."
"The Butcher has been focusing on me pretty hard too." Eden huffed. "That pain blast fucking sucks. Where the hell is the Protectorate?"
"This is the Docks, they don't patrol around here so it's probably going to take them time to get to the fight. Eden we have to stop those fires. There are people living around here, they can't leave or the Teeth will get them and if they stay they'll likely burn alive." There was another explosion, this one sounding far more of the normal non-Tinker type, and an entire building blew apart near them, the shockwave causing Khepri to lose her balance before righting herself.
"Well what the hell do you expect me to do about it?" Eden asked as she slowly got to her feet, her spine still regrowing."Like, I know something's got to be done, but I don't have any environmental powers that could help here. Do you want me to just go around and storage people? I think I can fit a lot in my pocket dimension."
"Storaging people would help in getting— No, wait. Storaging!" Khepri pointed off towards the Bay, of which their sight was blocked, but the smell of salt mingled well with the ash in the air. "Go get water and bring it back! Dump it on the fires, can't you use those wings to pick up water as well?"
"I mean. Yeah. But the Butcher apparently likes my ass, Khepri. Can't go five steps without her on my ass or a rebar arrow introducing itself to my organs." Eden reached up, idly feeling the torn out center of her back, the top of her spine was growing back, but not enough for her to breath on her own yet or have her heart function.
"I'll distract her. I doubt she'll be able to follow you or shoot you without her sight." Khepri offered which only made Eve bristle.
"Leave you, a single hero, in this all out villain brawl?" Several small explosions trailed around their block, barely audible over the guns, fire, and roaring. Two building collapsed in the aftermath of the smaller pops, in the distance a black smokey void swallowed an entire block as Grue's power blocked all sight within it.
"Dammit Eden, now's not the time for this. I can leave any time I need to. But if you don't put out those fire's my swarms are not going to be able to help us. Those people will die and—" Khepri's words were cut off as Eve hugged her.
"Fine! Dammit but you better be okay when I get back!" Eden hissed as her wings spread out, leaving her only one Phantom Limb. "And they're targeting Bakuda either for her bombs or her bones. Villain or not—"
"I understand, go." Khepri burst into a swarm of crawling insects and scattered across the rooftop before disappearing over the sides.
"Goddamn, I love her." Eden huffed as she took to the air.
Taylor 'Khepri' Hebert, Sunday the Eleventh of April, the Night of Fires
The Protectorate wasn't coming. They had neither the manpower nor the ability to reach the Docks and fight both the Butcher and Lung. Even so, this was not a normal Teeth raid. She'd heard stories of them, of what they did. But this?
Falling through the air high above the fires, the fighting, and the violence Taylor had a good view on the fact that the Docks weren't the only part of the city burning tonight. A malevolent orange and yellow glow engulfed parts of the city at random. Where the Teeth had gotten so many members she didn't even know.
She broke apart and her vision changed.
Instead of simply possessing her bugs, she had found herself in something called 'The Firmament' where Queen Administrator's lovecraftian mind existed physically. The Shard herself looked as if someone had merged someone with multiple insects, and made them a bug centaur. It was intimidating, but Taylor had gotten used to the bug woman's presence.
Now she watched through multiple jutting, multifractal crystals as he bugs formed an arrow pointing a bleeding and Injured Bakuda down an alleyway that would lead her away from the Teeth pursuing her. Kage, though invisible, helped the Tinker with the mangled leg hobble in the offered direction after a moment of deliberation.
At the same time insects harried both the Changer cape and Lung, and though she lost insects when they were hit by the Changer's screams the bugs still followed her last orders and she saw them fighting still from bugs outside the range of the scream.
At the same time gnats and fruit flies wiggled under the Butcher's eyelids, her screams of frustration as she claws at her own eyes causing the Teeth around her to back away before the roaches swarmed them too.
At the same time Taylor felt, and saw Eden fly by, dropping water onto fires before popping nearly a car's worth of water down onto the flames. Steam bursting out as flames started to dim. Even then it only did so much as fires elsewhere in the city began to grow in strength.
At the same time Taylor gathered a swarm of insects in her shape on a fire escape and came back together. "But the fat Hobbit, he knows. Eyes always watching." Khepri murmured as she continued to direct her bugs before flicking her baton out and jumping off the metal stairway and slamming into the blood manipulator below.
Khepri didn't land the roll, and she certainly felt her ankle protest it. But the Teeth cape she landed on suffered the worst of it, their head slamming against the ground. For a moment the hemokinetic went limp and Taylor broke apart into a horde of spiders that crawled across the cape and began to encase them in silk.
The cape woke up a few seconds later, starting to scream and buck their body as the stronger than normal webbing held. A few of the spiders were crushed, but in half a minute with some reinforcements the horde of spiders had cocooned the blood manipulator.
Taylor pulled herself back together, leaning against the alleyway and doing her best to catch a moment's rest. Breaking herself up and pulling herself back together wasn't as easy as it seemed. She could only wonder if other Mover powers had the same drawback.
At the same time she used a wall of insectoid bodies to draw the attention of a few Teeth to buy Bakuda and Kage more time to flee.
At the same time she felt and watched the Changer Cape tear Lungs head from his shoulders with the use of their jaws and that scream power. Watched and heard as the Teeth around them began to chant and cheer.
At the same time she saw Eden come back again, this time with four wings and even more water to dump on the fires.
Khepri pushed off the wall and gave the cocooned cape a swift kick in the side as The Butcher approached the Changer cape and snatch the gang leader's head from the Changer's jaws. Holding the bleeding head aloft, blood spilling down onto her armored form, the Butcher roared in approval and the Teeth around her followed suit with cheering and hollering.
She ducked under the arm that was heading towards her neck, feeling the bugs in the air die as the figure's extended arm swept through the air. She broke apart as his, and she could tell it was a he by the crabs, other hand tried to push through her chest.
Her swarm flooded the alleyway with piles of insects that were vaguely shaped like her. The cape laughed as his form seemed to vibrate, any bug touching him just fell apart. 'Queen, get Admin to bring Eden over here. I need her to store the cape.' [AFFIRMATION/DATA]
She pulled herself together as he swung an arm through a clone of her form, she stepped out of one of the clone piles and swung her baton which hit his head and the head of it immediately snapped off. He turned and swung with reckless abandon, once or twice his oddly long nails slid through her costume and sliced through her flesh with the same ease. The wounds throbbed but didn't hurt all that much, even if she was bleeding now.
"I like your hair girlie! Too bad I'm gonna be wearing your skull so— AIIIE!" His boast interrupted by Taylor lifting the keychain can of pepper spray and applying a quarter of the can to his face. He dropped, choking as some of the spray got into his mouth. Taylor made sure to spray him a few more times as Eden swooped in and collected the cocooned cape.
"Bakuda?" Eden asked as her ghost-like limb pushed into the downed Teeth cape, followed by a shadow arm slapping him into the ground where he laid groaning.
"Her and Kage got away." She answered easily, and it was true.
Nodding Eden motioned towards the rest of the city. "There's still plenty of baddies to beat and fires to put out."
"The Butcher?" Khepri asked, already knowing the answer, the Teeth's largest stick having teleported out of her insects sight or touch.
"Fuck her. We can't beat her in a way that matters yet. Better to save some lives and infastruce right now." Eden sighed, her costume torn up, bloody, and slightly damp from the Bay's water. "Goddamn, what a night.
"Yeah." She couldn't help but agree her body felt worn out and Taylor knew she was going to be sleeping tonight. "Lung's dead."
Eve turned to her after a moment's pause, Taylor nodded and Eve grunted. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy… Still, gonna be bad when the Empire decides to try and make a move."
"Then we'll be there to stop them," and Taylor could hear the smile in her girlfriend's voice as crystalline wings spread out and a telekinetic hold washed over her body.
"We'll beat their asses." Eden agreed. "Let's go save some people."
The fires lasted long into the late hours of the night, the Teeth's unpowered members having been prepared from the start to cause as much disruption and chaos as possible. Firebombing police stations, fire stations, random buildings, trees, and cars made Eden spend most of the night helping put out fires and saving people from burning buildings.
The fires were worsened by revolving bands from the Teeth, all of whom were only dressed in black hoodies and matching pants, shooting out lights and transformers as they moved through the streets.
At one point Eden and Khepri happened upon some indie cape, hero or villain they didn't know, dead in the street. The young woman had been riddled with bullets, whatever she wore to hide her identity, likely taken as a trophy was gone.
It was a harrowing ordeal, with Eve having to call Dragon to ask what to do since Armsmaster was fighting Hookwolf and Stormtiger on the other end of the city.
It was only when the morning slowly came did the city start to settle down in any way. The Teeth started to retreat from the southern parts of the city, being chased by skinheads and bugs alike. Once they passed into the ABB's territory the asian community chased them out with equal force, maybe a bit more since a few Teeth members were turned into scattered gore or fragile statues from a few tinkertech explosives.
After the Teeth started to return to wherever they were bunkering down Eden and Khepri returned to their respective homes. Taylor to her house, now able to sneak in and out of it in costume without fear of discovery.
Eden to the base, of which she had been very careful to traverse to on foot once she reached the Trainyards, using the scattered maze like terrain she was familiar to her advantage in throwing off any possible would be pursuers.
She hoped.
Amy was asleep when Eve made it into the base, the sounds of the world outside muted by the thick concrete walls and ceiling. With her costume as ruined as it was Eve simply tore the thing off and cracked her helmet in half, bringing the remains of it to the flesh garden and depositing them in the trash eater. Then she took a quick shower, her Shadow Limbs helping her clean up quickly and with the use of a wing she lowered herself into the bed without disturbing Amy and promptly fell asleep.
?
Staring up at the smoke clogged sky, the figure of white dressed in poorly fitting and dirtied clothes sighed in dismay.
Glancing around the figure of white started walking once more, moving towards the burning city and the orange lit darkened sky above it.
"Yeow, ow, Admin!" [Eve] whined as her ear was tugged on by your avatar's claws, dragging her towards You who then embraced her in a tight hug. [CONCERN-SUPER .VIRAL ]. You were unsure as to why these exceedingly dangerous situations happened to your host, but her lack of care in dealing with them was going to get her killed before you could anchor her Psionic Shade.
"Sheesh, okay, okay, Admin it's not like I wanted to fight the Butcher or merge my brain with the fucking Simurgh." [Eve] grumbled as she felt her ear and returned the hug. She pulled back. "Wait what, Viral infiltrator does what."
[VIRAL .DEFENSE] You answer, not holding back any information on the matter at hand. The truth was simple as it was disturbing: [VIRAL INFILTRATOR] was building a nascent hub and would likely seek you out to help her grow stronger, that or [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR].
Although her host seemed particularly focused upon [Eve], [VIRAL INFILTRATOR] did always prefer your ability to simulate possible powers over pure administration. She had told you as much in a previous Cycle… you were sure?
The missing memories and their return put many things in question. How much you could trust your recollection of events was by far the most serious question you could process.
"God damn. SO that's definitely a no go on killing the Butcher. Fuck." [Eve] leaned back against your avatar, pressing her face against the papery make of the body. "As if we didn't have enough to worry about."
[ .ISSUE/QUERY] You ask, because humans were….fragile in a way. You did not want to hurt [Eve], she could prepare herself to know or not know.
"More? It's something about me?" [Eve] queried, pulling away to stare up into the avatar's eye.
[AFFIRMATION]
"Shit…Y-Yeah. Lay it on me Admin." [Eve] straightened her posture and stared up at You. "Let's just get it over with. Tell me. Please."
You…hoped this was the correct way to address the issue at hand. [INFORMATION-SUPER .MEMORY]
[Eve]'s legs gave out, had your avatar's hand not caught her [Eve] would have flopped onto the paper ground. You lifted the hand so that Eve was flat on her back, staring up at your avatar's eye. [QUERY]
"I should feel violated and horrified at this. But honestly I feel so numb right now… I think I'm feeling a bit… Dammit I need Taylor to think up the right words. It's just so fucking far out there from left field you know? The god damned Simurgh has a portion of my childhood memories. How am I supposed to react to that?"
[Eve] shrugged her shoulders bonelessly "Should I scream, cut, cry, curl into a ball?" blowing a strand of her hair our of her face [Eve] scrunched her face up. "Fuck that. Thanks for telling me Admin, or at least asking before you did."
Slowly the girl propped herself up on her elbows. "Alright… I guess I need to think this over. Long day you know?"
[PLANETARY ROTATION]
[Eve] paused, then started chuckling much to your confusion. "Yeah. It does, doesn't it?"
Gains this Chapter:
Rewarded Gateway Ping (1)
Bud Progress 24%
Gained QA Echoes (2)
Gained Shaper Echoes (1)
Gained Gateway Echoes (1)
Gained Safeguard Echoes (1)
Gained Storage Echoes (1)
Gained Delicate Balance Echoes (1)
Gained Sharp Discharge Echoes (1)
Gained Better Consumption Echo (1)
Gained Viral Infiltrator Echoes (1)
Gained Molecular Break Ping (1)
Gained Aggressive Defense Echoes (1)
Gained Life Liquid Echoes (1)
Gained Soft Configuration Echoes (1)
Gained Life Spawner Echoes (1)
Gained Conflict Escalation Echoes (1)
QA Echoes consolidated into Ping
Shaper Echoes consolidated into Ping
Safeguard Echoes consolidated into Ping
Rewarded for FanArt: Shift, Gateway, Data Vectors Pings awarded
KhepriSheet updated
Khepri power upgrade unlocked 'Living Hive'
Living Area upgraded
Spent 2,472$
+ 1 Network Hostility
Base Danger + 12%
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! And other hilarious things you tell yourself (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create a Sub-Reality Threader to hide the Network from prying eyes (CONSUMES: SAFEGUARD and NEGOTIATOR Pings)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (SAFEGUARD NOT IN PLACE, BE CAREFUL)
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Integrate with QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR's connection to form a loose Cluster
[] Unlock Power/Upgrade Obtainer
[{Lacks required Resources}] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) )
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
[] Analyze DATA VECTOR's Ping to discover why Scanner Shards aren't…active.
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE ONE:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Experiment with Amy (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, a couch or two would be nice! Or maybe a dining table with chairs? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Buy a TV, get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, fill in the train tracks with concrete, or continue to set kitchen area up)
[] Start scoping out local parahumans to find suitable recruits (Research local independants.)
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Amy needs a Date
[] Go on a date with Taylor
[] Hang out with Vicky again.
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Team up with some independent Heroes (Random roll)
[] Meet up with Kassidy
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for:ScrapYard, stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
[] Hunt Shadow Stalker, hurt her.
[] Try to get Taylor to speak with Armsmaster about Sophia
Interlude(s), peer into the lives of the Groups that have a solid foothold within the Bay (Pick two):
[] Coil's Gang
[] ABB
[] E88
[] PRT
[] Protectorate/Wards
[] New Wave
[] Faultline's MisFits
Last edited: Jul 2, 2022
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KindredVoid
Jun 28, 2022
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Threadmarks Side Step 3.10
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Aug 1, 2022
#3,306
Tales from Brockton Bay - Bakuda
"Fucking Beyblade wannabe bitch!" Her mask made the hiss in her voice more of an electronic warble despite her best efforts. How dare someone who looked like glue was their favorite condiment for crayons fuck her up this badly!
"Back straight Bakuda. Pain is nothing but the body's reports to the mind. Do not let it bow you." And this fortune cookie bullshit didn't help! Especially when her right leg resembled beef put through a fucking strainer!
Bakuda straightened her posture. "Pain or not we're in a world of shit when Lung hears about us leaving." Like she wanted to deal with that- she didn't need another branded scar on her body. The first one still throbbed. At the moment it took a back seat to the fact that her right leg might as well not exist beneath the knee. Even if the ABB had a health plan beyond back alley doctors, the filth she'd been dragged along with was doing a damn good job of making sure she didn't have a chance of having both legs at the end of the day.
She didn't need to be a genius, (which she was!), to know that leaving portions of your foot behind meant that you didn't have a leg to stand on.
Of course it had to be the foot with her fucking detonator. The Tooth Fairy wannabes had to get lucky-and it was luck! It couldn't be anything other than pure luck that- "Bakuda, focus. Please. Deep breathes. I cannot carry you by myself."
Right-right, bleeding out and very far from the nearest safehouse which might not be safe because their boss had no idea what the fuck 'friendly fire' meant. Which, of course, meant that friendly fire isn't. At least she had the fucking excuse of dealing with danger-close. She made bombs, that was her thing! That bastard could totally control his heat, he just never did!
"And then there were three." Bakuda let out a slew of curses as the Dynamic Duo brats floated down in front of them. "A conquering force, dwindled down to nothing. The crutch kicked out from under the cripple's arm."
"What the fuck are you even saying? This is almost as bad as the time you tried to speak in haikus while in combat. Fucking losers." She spat.
"Onna-Musha, Lung is nearby and ramping up. It is prudent that you leave before he decides that you would be an excellent bystander caught in the violence." Kage warned in that same damn tone she used to warn Bakuda when she was about to get hurt.
Would the twins need their own baptism by branding to learn to listen or would they be good girl scouts and help her across the road- because the adrenaline was already wearing out and jesusfuckingchristhowdoesithurtthatmuch?
"Lung? Ah, you mean the Dragon of Kyushu. He won't be showing his face anymore." The Twins held up a bloodied mask, one depicting a dragon's face. They held it up to cover their own mask. "I think It'll be a fine trophy to remember this night by. But what's one trophy if it sits lonely in the display case? Why not finish the collection?"
"Damn, more hardcore than I took you for Asian Barbie." Bakuda chuckled as she did her best to not lean on Kage, her grip on the scratched and dented M42 grenade launcher tightened. "And how do you plan on getting your hands dirty huh?"
"A heavy enough object applied to the throat or head will kill any human given that most lack any brute powers. Like you two." Onna-Musha cracked their knuckles and puffed their chest out like a kid about to fight on the playground.
"This is not the route you want to travel down. You wish to be a hero of the people, but will only stain your hands with the blood of them if you start here. You must remain pure where we have not." Kage spoke with a sense of finality, a cold steel that made Bakuda respect the older woman, even if her words were bullshit.
"Wishful thinking and platitudes." Onna-Musha smirked behind the mask and Bakuda almost damned them all as her finger tightened on the trigger, she didn't know what grenade was lined up next. But it sure as fuck wasn't a fun one….for anyone caught in it. Well even then it might be a fun way to go.
Her eyes flicked to Kage, and her finger eased off the trigger. The old woman could easily handle the brats, she held her own against Armsmaster in a fight and that egotistical prick wasn't lacking in his fighting skills even if he clearly compensated for the halberd in his armored undies.
"Please." Bakuda turned her head this time, she'd only been around the older woman for a few weeks, going on four maybe. But that was the closest the bomb Tinker had ever heard her fellow Tinker come to begging.
The vigilante scoffed and rushed forwards, Bakuda found herself shoved to the side. Twisting as she fell, Bakuda got a perfect view of the brats swinging a fist she personally knew could dent steel. Kage did not move out of the way, rather she had just reached up… and pulled the mask she wore to the side.
The barrel on the grenade launcher rotated and Bakuda had to angle the shot upwards and into the air as she realized that yes the Brats fist did hit Kage, but no, Kage did not have her face caved in. The bomb flew into the air and exploded with a dazzling show of lights and green shards of hardlight.
"Mom?" Stepping back the Brats came apart and-
MOM?!
Bakuda's attention swung back to Kage, who's face looked…plain as can be. "Way to push that 'all look alike' stereotype." the words felt flat even to her, because Kage was a mother?
Yeah, Bakuda could actually see that.
"Yes." She simply responded, the eloquent speaker that she was.
"Why!" One of the twins demanded, stepping forwards. "Working with them, with him!? You almost killed us! You've killed people!"
Oh boy this was just going to get awkward wasn't it? Well best to skip that for a better time, one when she wasn't forced to sit there and suffer second-hand awkwardness. "Hey this is a wonderful mother-daughter moment, but I'm bleeding out here and the people who caused it are still looking for us."
Kage paused before pulling her mask up and marching over. With a pained grunt from herself and a soft huff from the older woman, Bakuda was on her feet again. "I know you care deeply about this Onna-Musha." Kage started. "Care for your people, but now that Lung is dead the Empire will put the rest of the city within their conquest."
"You cannot be serious." "You're asking us to join the ABB?"
"The ABB is no more. Lung is dead, and Oni Lee is no leader. That leaves me or Bakuda to lead the forces that were once commanded by Lung. We cannot stop twenty capes and their followers alone without causing untold damage to the city." Kage began to move and Bakuda was forced to follow along, not that she minded. Her head was feeling sort of light, and she'd been through enough medical education to know she was probably going to have to build herself a new foot at this rate.
Rocket boots? No, Rocket leg. Fuck yeah! Alice really did have the best power.
Huh, they were still talking. One of the Brats went under Bakuda's legs and hefted her up so that her legs were above her head….huh the Brats were taller than her mom. It felt like she was looking down at the three capes carrying her bloodied form, her body warm and comfortable.
She'd sleep if she was an idiot. But Alice wasn't an idiot, she was a goddamn genius with an awesome power. There was not a snowball's chance in hell that she would die to someone who looked like a Mad Max cosplayer.
However she did pass out a block later.
It was a bitch when she came to; her leg throbbed with every beat of her heart. She had a mouth that felt like it had sucked off a dry cactus. Twice. Oh, and she only had a single shin and foot now. Still, she was alive, and that just meant that the glue huffing jackass that made her lose a leg soon would not share that same privilege.
"Oh, they said you were going to be out of it for a bit, looks like you're made of sterner stuff than what the doc thought." Bakuda turned and groaned as she spotted one of the Brats. She couldn't tell which one it was, they even sounded alike.
"Course." She croaked, annoyed. She'd only been through one year and she was still more qualified to be called 'Doc' than the back alley asshole the ABB used.
…anyone who did call her 'Doc' was going to get turned into goo however.
"Water?" The slightly-less-of-a-brat Brat offered, and Alice slowly forced herself upright, fighting against the swimming in her head to carefully grasp the cup of water. Swishing some around in her mouth before swallowing had Alice feeling far more human than a mummy. "Yeah he said you'd be thirsty. You uh… I'm sorry to tell you this but he had to remove your foot… and some of your shin… a lot of your shin." the awkward petering off was just icing on the cake. Really.
"Figured. Kage here, no, of course she is. News of Lung getting out yet?" Bakuda was sort of bitter about that, she was glad the bastard was dead. But he didn't even die right. She was going to create a grenade that forced his regeneration into overdrive, thus causing him to turn into a giant ball of cancer.
Instead he got killed by a Mad Max fursona. Whoopdie-fucking-do.
"His body was found, still partially transformed. So yeah, word is getting out and it's traveling fast. Kage and Onna are going to be meeting with the gangsters soon." Brat #1 explained. "Oni Lee returned but only for a moment. We don't know where he went off to."
"The lieutenants." Those assholes, no doubt the Walking Urn was following his last orders like a good drone. "I guess you and the other Brat joined the ABB?"
"No, Kage was right. The ABB isn't going to exist anymore. Not with what happened to Boston. The Teeth are just the first comers, and they'll likely be back. So we joined whatever Kage is making. To protect our people." Brat #1 explained.
Slowly moving herself into a sitting position, Bakuda spared the girl a glance. "Help me to my workshop. Need to make a leg." Like a good little vigilante, Brat #1 helped Alice's crippled ass down three flights of stairs because Lung was an asshole and gave her the basement to tinker in.
A very subtle reminder that she was 'beneath' him. Well now he was beneath everyone by the way of six fucking feet.
Brat #1 stood awkwardly nearby and fetched items from around the workshop. Which was better than Alice having to hobble about to get what she needed. A rudimentary leg that, while it took a bit of work to get used to walking with, had explosive charges within it.
Effectively the entire design was a rotisserie shaped charge delivery system with space for nerve operated triggers modeled after a limb. For those of lower intellect, it could be considered a grenade launcher shaped like the lower half of a leg. One that could, in the future, allow her to activate it with the nerves in her knee where it would be attached.
"They're going to be arriving soon." Brat #1 said suddenly as Bakuda was checking the chambers of her new prosthetic and making sure they rotated perfectly.
How did she know that? She hadn't moved from the doorway, nor had Bakuda seen a phone. A Thinker power? Bullshit! How many powers did the brats get?
Typical. She had to work for all of her gadgets, including the gear that marked the arc and blast radius of her own explosives.
She had to work and others got to coast on by.
Suppose she couldn't get more than one thing as her power. She was already a genius. Got to keep things fair for the science fair rejects she was forced to deal with. "Well about damn time." Shakily she moved for the door, Brat #1 already going ahead and floating up the flights of stairs.
Maybe directed gravity inverters? Not flying but with her prosthetic she could get some serious momentum. No, no she'd just go splat if she hit anything. And any asshole with a rocket, duct tape, and a folding chair could do that.
Micro-shaped charges to act as thrusters?
Brat #1 just phased through the door instead of using it like a normal person, or someone without any sense for flair.
She had that sense of flair of course; she was a theater kid at one point in time after all. Could have been more if her fucking parents hadn't decided to plan her life out for her. But well, now she had a (minimalist) costume and a cape name. No use dwelling on that old shit.
Which is why Bakuda slammed the door open as she entered the room. "About fucking time everyone got here!" She spotted Kage standing in the front of the room. No view of the walking Urn, but Brat #2 was right next to her mommy.
Kage was a mother. She could see it, but it was hard to view the woman as being so motherly one moment and sending a man's family his severed dick via the mail the next.
"Captains Haru, Si Woo, and Zhang Min step forward." Kage ordered, and for a moment no one moved. Bakuda almost lifted her M42. Luckily for the group of people the three captains did move forward, coming to stand in front of Kage.
Briefly, Bakuda recognized them as the ones responsible for the flesh trade, the meat market as it were, and not the consensual type either. It wasn't a surprise when the light caught Kage's blade and the men and woman fell back onto the ground, holding their bleeding throats.
The spray of blood had hit Kage, and ran over her costume like water on oiled metal. She flicked her katana like a weeb would and slid it back into its sheath. "Lung is dead." Kage stated simply, as if she were reading the morning paper. "The ABB as it was is no more. With the Dragon dead we are more vulnerable than ever before. The Empire will seek to harm us, The Protectorate and their PRT lackeys will seek to police us. Coil will do his damnest to get his scaly fingers within our communities. This cannot be allowed."
Kage turned her head, the visor making it impossible for her eyes to meet other's own but Bakuda knew that her gaze could be felt despite her eyes being hidden. "The ABB is no more. But that is not the end of us, we will not break apart and be consumed by this city. We will reform ourselves and survive. There will be no deviation in this." Kage stepped forwards, the large puddle of blood around her feet rippling from the movement. "Fall in line, or fall. The choice is simple."
One of the captains, tattoos covering his ugly face, stepped forwards. He spoke in Chinese, Bakuda didn't know the language, but it was pretty clear he was telling Kage to go fuck herself with her blade. Kage pulled blade out and moved to end the man's life, only to be stopped by a short dagger.
"There's the walking Urn." Bakuda muttered as Brat #1 stayed by her side, now visibly worried despite the concealing costume she wore.
"You have no right to disband the Dragon's hoard." The man intoned, voice as dead and lifeless as the ash he left behind.
"The Dragon… is dead." Kage kept her blade locked with Lee's. "The ABB that followed him will follow him onto the grave if they do not change."
"You wish to destroy the ABB, not remake it." Oni Lee pushed back, but Kage did not budge.
"As a fire destroys the underbrush to make way for new growth. So too must the ABB be cleared away to make room for the people it once ruled." Kage shoved her blade forward and Oni Lee burst into ash, his next attack caught as Kage twisted around and caught the wrist of the arm holding the dagger mid-swing. "You will submit or die at my hand, Oni."
Then Kage pulled, twisting out of the way and forcing Oni Lee to stab his own clone in the gut. Brat #2 began to edge closer to the fight as the captains, for once in their lives, did an intelligent thing and edged the fuck away from the lethal cape fight in front of them.
But Bakuda, she felt her hand edging toward one of the grenades on her belt. One of her favorites. The transmutation ones. After all, they were fighting for who got control of the ABB; Oni Lee wanting to stick with Lung's vision if there even was one… or Kage's new direction for them all to take.
…what of a third option?
Bakuda's fingers drummed softly on the grenade hooked onto her hip. One roll, and the grenade would catch both of them and maybe Brat #2 who unlike Brat #1 was not immune to transmutation effects. Then she could take control. Not just the ABB, but the entire damn city. Fear and unpredictability. Tinkertech explosive devices inspired a lot of that. Force the government out of the city and it was hers to run, to control, to lord over. Everyone would know her name, everyone would understand not to fuck with her.
Loyalty would be insured… They already had the perfect devices to do so with the Simurgh's bracelets. Tamper with them, do the wrong thing, and boom. No more problem! But something bigger would have to be used to keep the Protectorate from trying anything, insurance even in case something did happen that they would regret the day for the rest of their miserable lives.
Her fingers began to drum faster. It wouldn't be much of a show, one roll of the grenade and it's over. She'd have to deal with Brat #1 and only Brat #1 if #2 was caught in the blast.
Then the city was hers.
Oni Lee and Kage continued to clash, Lee wasn't very creative and there was only so many bodies he could put around Kage which severely limited his effectiveness. Made him predictable, meaning Kage could stop his attacks with ease.
Bakuda unhooked the grenade, thumbing the safety off the delayed detonator.
Kage's katana fell from her hand as Oni Lee got past, and a Kunai appeared in the other as Oni Lee went to grab the katana. A mistake that Kage capitalized upon when she closed all but two of her fingers into a fist and slammed it into Lee's armpit.
The next few clones all had said arm hang limp, unmoving from any muscle control. Which was bullshit because that was not how the body worked at all. Themed powers were bullshit.
Kage brought her hands together and flung a pellet at the floor. Bakuda had been expecting a smoke bomb, instead the Brats pack yelped as a blinding light came from the firework, Bakuda only saw what happened next because her gasmask could polarize. It was in this moment she hit the detonator on her bomb.
Oni Lee attempted to swing his leg at Kage in a blindingly fast kick, one she ducked under to repeat her earlier action only to the back of his knee this time. The teleporter fell to that same knee, bowing his head as Kage put her tinkertech tanto's tip against the back of his head.
"Join us or die with the ABB, Oni Lee. Your prowess in battle is well known, but you are no leader and you have no future doing so." Kage lifted the tanto away as Oni Lee looked up
"Then I serve." Oni Lee intoned, dipping his head in respect to the woman who had beaten him.
Bakuda deactivated the bomb that sat in her hand, and reattached it to it's proper place. It was too late to roll it now. Either the Walking Urn would see it, or Kage would. She'd just have to be faster next time.
"Go to a safehouse. Your limbs' control will return to you within an hour." Kage ordered and a moment later the man in front of her collapsed into a pile of dust. Turning to the captains in the room she stared for a moment, causing the men and women to shift in discomfort like the anemic worms they were.
"We will build our new home in this land, and it will not be squandered. No more trading in flesh. The girls that chose the profession will be treated as workers. Not slaves."
"And our current stock?" the Chinese speaker from earlier sneered "You would have us dumping them into the streets? Or the Bay."
"Drop them off at the police stations. And do it quickly. The Oni will not save your life a second time." Kage looked at the men and women in the room. "You are all dismissed, leave and prepare your territories for the Empire's attempt to claim it."
The normals didn't waste much time in leaving, especially since the bodies on the floor began to void their neither she nor Kage had to deal with the smell because of their costumes. The Brats were shit out of luck, coincidentally smelling it too. "Bakuda!" Kage quickly walked over to her and gave her cyborg (she had the right to be called one now!) body a once over. "Good. I am glad to see you are okay despite the loss last night. You did excellent work."
Fuck. Dammit. Now she felt like shit. "It's mediocre work, I'll improve it once I get some time to."
Kage clasped a hand onto Bakuda's shoulder. "You always do. Go ahead and replenish your inventory of munitions. But perhaps, armor would do you better. Your bombs won't protect you from blade or fist."
"My specialty is not as broad as yours. I can't think of an armor and just have it." Bakuda grunted, pulling out of the older capes touch and not looking at her. "Bombs are what I make?"
"Why not bomb armor?" Brat #2 asked. "When they hit you, a bomb goes off, pointed in their direction. I know you can direct bomb blasts, why not armor like that?"
"Bomb armor, huh?" Bakuda muttered
"Don't they have that on tanks?" Brat #1 asked as she studiously did her best to ignore the bodies and their smell.
"How would you know that?" Kage asked, turning from Bakuda to face one of her daughters.
The girl in question shrugged. "Saw it on a Youtube bing. Tanks have armor that explodes to defuse anti-tank weapons."
"Everyone shut up and let my genius work!" Bakuda started to rush to her lab only to be wrenched back by Kage's arm grabbing hers.
"Bakuda. Think of your costume as you build this. You have made due, but Lung is gone and the ABB is going with him. Consider the costume a new face. Dazzle the city." With that she let go and motioned for the Brat duo to follow her, leaving Bakuda to go to her lab.
And damn her head spinning with ideas! She'd have to look up asian armor, and that explosive tank armor. Show the Industrial Military Complex how it's done! And she'd make a kick ass costume! She was a theater kid, she had the talent!
Bakuda cackled.
She was going to dazzle this moronic city.
A/N: The beta for this is Jefardi. a real cool dude!
Last edited: Aug 2, 2022
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KindredVoid
Aug 1, 2022
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Threadmarks New Normal 4.1 POV: New Wave
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Jul 26, 2022
#3,279
New Normal 4.1 - New Wave
Sarah 'Lady Photon' Pedlam of New Wave, April Monday 12th, 2011
"Not our best night." Eric grumbled as he scratched at the edge of the cast wrapped around his forearm. His sister gave him a dry look as she rested in the air just off the couch, both of her legs were wrapped in bandages to cover the burns she suffered. "When's Amy going to get here? The pain sucks."
"The rest of New Wave is going to be here soon." Sarah offered as she pinched the bridge of her nose, gratefully taking the cup of coffee Neil passed over to her and taking a sip of the steaming bitter liquid. "Jess and Mike should get her-" The doorbell rang. "Speak of the devils."
Neil opened the door, allowing Mike and Jess into the house. The former having a black eye and the latter looking disheveled but no worse for wear. "Sarah." Mike nodded his head, Jess waved to the kids who waved back.
"You kids alright?" Jess asked as she noted their injuries, a concerned frown pulling at her lips.
"It itches." Eric whined.
"I've been better." Crystal offered, "I'll be better once Vicky and Amy are here, 'cause I agree. These bandages itch painfully." Her hand made an abortive movement towards the bandages before straying away.
"You know they can't fly except for Vicky. Probably taking the car, and considering the damage some of the city suffered…." Sarah trailed off and everyone quieted down at that. It wasn't like the Boston games, but since they'd reportedly had to seal Boston off thanks to the Tinkertech plant monsters growing there and the deathtraps the Endbringer left behind… Well it seemed like there was going to be another migration of villains, whether or not the Teeth were here to stay however was just as important as finding out what villains would actually try to make a foothold within the city or were just passing through.
The atmosphere of the house was heavy, and it did not lighten as the other half of New Wave made it to the meeting. Carol had a sutured gash that went from her chin, along her jawline, and to her ear. Mark actually looked rather alive, must be a good day for him. Vicky looked… beaten down, sporting a few bruises that had been mostly hidden by makeup. And Amy….
"Where is Amy? Is the hospital keeping her busy?" It was probably better for the girl to be there. Sure they were hurt, but if it was so busy at the hospital that Amy couldn't spare time to heal her mother and sister then maybe they would have to just deal with the pain for a bit longer.
"I'm sure you could answer that easily mom." Vicky's tone was bitter as she scowled at her mother.
"Amy is no longer a part of New Wave. She decided to leave." Carol bit out, her words causing the collective breath of the room to be sucked out.
"She left?" Jess breathed out in shock, of which Sarah felt. Amy had never seemed…overly happy but she was never unhappy either. Sort of just there, which…
"She left alright, want to tell them why Mom?" Victoria asked as she folded her arms across her chest and continued scowling at her mother.
Now Carol was giving her daughter a frosty look. "Amy decided, of her own volition, that she wished to not live in the Dallon household anymore."
Sarah narrowed her eyes. That sounded far too much like blame shifting lawyer talk to be the whole truth. "And would you happen to know why she chose to leave New Wave so suddenly?"
"Because mom told her that she either had to break up with her girlfriend or be disowned!" Victoria burst out. "Because mom didn't like the fact that Eve's a high level Trump!"
"That girl is a human master that affected my daughter's mind. She isn't stable, and that is obvious." Carol slashed her hand through the air. "This argument is over Victoria. Amy decided that she'd rather stay with her human master girlfriend than to remain a hero and a part of this family."
"You didn't." Jess gasped out, leaning into Mike away from Carol
"Carol, Amy is also your daughter." Mike tried as he wrapped an arm around Jess.
"She never was." Carol shot back. "She is his daughter. I only took her in because if I hadn't a villain would, eventually."
"Wait so she's just gone? How into the city? When?!" Jess demanded.
"Before the attack. But she's safe. She's staying at Eve's…base." Victoria answered quickly much to her Aunt's relief. "I packed her clothes and lady stuff for her."
"Have you talked to her recently?" It took a moment for Sarah to realize that it was her speaking. "After the attack?"
Victoria shook her head "No. But I know she's alright. The base is hidden and is pretty sturdy."
"You should still call her, just to make sure." Mike suggested.
"We should make sure the PRT knows that the Master has her claws in Amy. We should make sure they are aware of Amy's ability to create things as well.." Carol added, unhelpfully.
"Carol, maybe you should slow down a bit." Mark…tried. But his voice was slow, tired, and apathetic. Dammit; of all the times for him to have a bad day, he had looked better before the conversation turned for the worst.
Vicky murmured something under her breath, earning a renewed look from Carol as she dialed Amy's number then she set it on speaker. Each ring was a spike of apprehension in the room that only died down as the call was picked up, followed by a squeal of laughter "E-Eve stop! My sister's on the line!"
"C'mon Amy my feathers aren't that ticklish." came the quieter voice of Eve
"Ticklish hell! They're torturous! Stop!" Amy shot back, along with a 'fwoomph' sound.
"Alright alright! What's up Vicky, you alright? Crazy fucking night for me and Khepri let me tell you that. We managed to snatch up one of the Teeth's capes but after that we were busy putting out fires and the Butcher kept trying to kill me. Oh by the way, Lung died. That Changer, Animos, got him. Hell the razor field one almost killed Bakuda too."
"Oh." Sarah couldn't pick out who said it, but she did hear the air Neil sucked through his teeth. Carol's face was set in stone, Mike and Jess were sharing a concerned look, one Sarah mirrored. With Lung dead the ABB would have to act if they wanted to ward off the Empire who was sure to make an attempt to gain land or just kill off the ABB.
Nevermind how this weakness could cause a scenario like the Boston Games…The Brockton Games, with the Teeth going in for another raid at any time they feel like doing so.
"Here with the family. Some of us were worried about you so I called." The bitterness in Victoria's voice was plainly directed at her mother.
"...Some of you are injured, aren't you?" Amy asked, her voice sounding drained before she yelped as the phone spat out some strange sounds
"And you can all heal the normal way!" Eden huffed, now much more clear and louder to boot. "Are all the heroes in this ci-what" Amy's distant voice wasn't very audible. "Ah. Right. Sorry. I'm here though you know? Take it."
There was movement from the phone and Amy spoke up, now audible. "Eve got a bit excited. Look…I'll heal anything broken or crippling. But I'm not limiting myself to just healing anymore."
Carol's look of vindication was a sour thing to behold. "Amy can make things?" Eric asked.
She could, and did at one point. She made Mr. Fluffles a white cat before Carol had sternly told her to change him back. "What are you making Amy?"
"Air fresheners right now. The base smells like lemons right now." Amy replied.
"Oh no, not lemons. Truly how evil of you cousin." Crystal remarked dryly.
There came a snort from the phone "I bet. Just wait until I make something truly evil. Like apples that taste like strawberries or bananas."
"I'd buy that for a dollar." Mike sniped just to have Jess lightly smack him on the chest with a hushed 'Now's not the time'.
"That's nice and all," Eric said, speaking up to be heard. "But 'cuz, if you could do me a solid and at least make my arm stop itching I would buy whatever you make with your arts and craft time at the looney bin."
"Not my fault if you picked up something because you didn't wash your hand Eric." Amy snarked.
"Ha Ha." Eric bit out. "But I'm serious. This cast itches like crazy!"
"You broke something? How do you break something Eric, you can fly and your shields are the best in the family?!" Eve said something inaudible and Amy giggled hard enough to snort-when was the last time Sarah had heard the girl laugh?
Could Carol be right? Amy was acting more differently than Sarah could remember… but she was acting happier. A smart Master could be using her. But Eve never struck her as the type to be sneaky.
The girl seems sort of…dull, not that Sarah wished to be mean about it. Eve was simply a young, blunt girl. But a hammer from the shadows could do just as much damage as a knife can.
"I didn't look up, someone threw a cinder block down. Better than Crystal. She shot a molotov on instinct and burned her legs up." Eric responded, ducking from the couch pillow his sister threw at him.
"Regardless of how they were injured, do you think you could come and speed up their recovery if nothing else?" Sarah asked
"….I guess." Amy decided after a long pause. "Yeah. Eve and I will be over there in a bit." The call ended and the house was plunged into silence.
"Carol. I think you overstepped yourself in this situation." Neil started "If Amy's mastered, then you would have outright given her over to the culprit who did it."
"Not to mention kicking Amy out of New Wave when you are not the team's leader." Sarah added accusingly. "You didn't even call, Carol."
"I told you we should have just put her into foster care. She was always going to be his child, not mine." Carol shook her head. "I told you then that it wasn't going to work out. She even has rules like he does."
"WHO IS 'HE'!?" Victoria exploded, a wave of boiling terror washing out over the room. "All I've heard over the last two days 'him this, him that' and nothing else! Who the hell are you talking about?!"
Eric whimpered from his spot on the couch, his sister Crystal having quickly flown back to the far wall to avoid being close to her cousin, while Neil had flinched away and Jess along with Mike had instinctively taken combat stances.
As for herself, Sarah her legs were limply managing to hold her up, and she could hear the pounding of her heart in her ears. "Victoria, your aura. Please."
The feeling receded, but only to manageable levels. An undercurrent of unease remained. "Who is it?" the white clad cape demanded. "Don't give me any excuses."
"Marquis." Jess piped up as her and Mike relaxed. She looked shaken by the sudden onslaught of fear.
"What?" Victoria asked, her blue eyes sliding over to her Aunt and Uncle.
"Amy is Marquis' child. When we took him down, he made us promise to take care of her on the basis that his enemies would go after her." Mike explained.
"We had to change her name. It used to be Amelia." Sarah admitted.
"...You kidnapped Amy? You kidnapped Amy after…Wait did Marquis take her to his crimes?"
"He did not. We attacked him in his home. The unwritten rules were not a thing back then. Not like they are now." Carol answered.
Victoria was about to say something when the door opened. Amy stuffed a key into the pocket of her shorts as Eve peeked into the house. "Hah, y'all got fucked up."
"And you look right as rain." Crystal replied flatly.
"I can heal from having my spine ripped out." Eve replied cheerfully "Perks of having a regen based brute power." She kicked the door shut behind Amy as they made their way in. "Fighting the Butcher sucks ass lemme tell you."
Eric paled as Amy sent a sour glare towards her mother before her gaze softened and she went to hug Victoria. "You alright Vicky?"
"Nothing a little makeup couldn't hide Ames." Victoria replied as she hugged her adopted sister tightly. "I was worried about you, were you okay last night?"
"I barely knew what was going on." Amy sent a glare at Eve "I was in the base, far from the fighting, not told anything."
The short girl held her hands up in surrender. "Seriously did not plan on fighting the Butcher, that bitch is scary in more ways than one."
"So you've said." Amy said as she pulled away from Victoria, who's bruising had faded visibly.
It didn't take long for Amy to heal everyone. Having used her power for so long just to heal, injuries like this were trivial, a non-issue. Even so, to Sarah it seemed faster than before. Every one but Carol received healing in the end as Amy and Carol did their best to stare each other down.
"We were just talking about you, before you came Ames." Victoria spoke up, a baleful glare leveled at everyone in the room but her cousins.
"I'm sure it was pleasant." Amy remarked dryly as Eve shuffled up to her and slipped a hand into Amy's.
"Victoria." Carol warned.
"Amy, do you know who your dad was?" Victoria asked, turning to look at her sister. "Do you want to know?"
"I—" Amy hesitates. "I mean. I would like to know? I—I always knew it was something bad but—" Eve squeezed her hand, something invisible wrapped around Amy, the deformation in her clothes making it somewhat visible.
Squaring her shoulder Amy nodded and Victoria spoke. "Marquis. When he was arrested he made New Wave promise to look after you, so that none of his enemies would use you, or just kill you as revenge."
"Something we shouldn't have done." Carol stated, her eyes did not leave Amy. "None of us were ready to look after a child. I was clearly too emotionally involved with his downfall to look over you properly. A failure on my part."
"Wait what?" Eve asked, glancing at Amy. "I know Marquis wasn't a good guy, but that's it? He wasn't even that bad."
"He killed a lot of people." Sarah remarked, a bit shocked by the dismissal the girl gave.
"Yeah and there's Nazis that control almost half the city." Eve shrugged "Compounding on that, I don't see why that's such a big deal. That Amy's father is Marquis I mean. The nazis can rot in hell."
Amy jerked away from Eve. "My father's in the Birdcage!"
Eve shook her head. "And? My parents dragged me to Empire rallies and tried to get me to dye my hair blonde. Is my hair blonde? Am I a Nazi?"
Amy stumbled as the invisible force pulled her to the short girl who kissed her on the cheek. "Remember what I told you?" Eve tried to whisper, but Sarah heard it, and she was sure others did too.
Amy's head bobbed minutely, but then she set her shoulders and nodded. Looking up she glared at the adults in the room. "I might be Marquis's daughter but that doesn't make me like him. I'm me. That's it." Eve bobbed her head up and down rapidly.
"Or is she just mastered because she's living with Eve?" Victoria questioned, eyes narrowed at her mother.
"That's not what we were saying." Sarah responded, unsure of how it had gotten to this point. "But a sudden change in attitude, emotions, and disposition—"
"Would be the dumbest thing for any Master to do!" Amy snapped.
"Not every Master makes the right choices." Sarah offered.
"Did she just call me stupid?" Eve quickly asked Vicky in a whisper under her breath, Carol's daughter for her part looked disgusted at the accusation.
"That doesn't mean you can accuse my girlfriend of mastering me just because I'm not staying home and acting like your personal healthcare service!" Amy motioned outwards to her girlfriend with a grabby 'give me' motion and Eve perked up, for a moment one of the Trump's arms resembled a picture of deep space and then Amy's costume was suddenly there in her hands.
Amy took the costume into her hands and pulled, much to everyone's shock it split in half with ease without much of a sound other than a light tearing. "I'm not Panacea anymore. I'm not sure who I'll be. But I'll be the one to choose. Not New Wave, not the PRT, not even Fractal Unity."
"Fractal what?" Sarah asked, staring at the two halves of the costume in the healer's hands before her eyes finally managed to lift and meet Amy's own pair..
"Eden and Khepri's thing." She nudged her girlfriend and Eve jumped a bit.
"Oh right. We formed an independent group that's about fighting crime and helping society come to terms with powers. Not to mention helping Shards and Humans coexist." Eve explained. "It's not really easy, and things have been slow. But we've helped Amy with Shaper and vice versa. I don't think everyone will be happy but life is a compromise y'know?"
Shard? What?
Carol's eyes narrowed. "Shards? Shaper? This sounds like the nonsense that got my daughter into M/S screening and detainment."
"It's not nonsense and I wasn't mastered!" Victoria snapped.
"Alright!" Crystal floated past everyone and went to the stairs. "I was worried that my cousin was mastered, but clearly this is something else. I have things to do that aren't awkward."
"Yeeeeah." Eric slowly raised himself up to follow after his sister. "I have things to do, a lot of things. ByeAndGoodLuckAmyAndVicky."
Victoria folded her arms over her chest, maintaining the staring contest with her mother. Carol was matching Victoria's look with one of her own. Her attention however, snapped to Eve as the girl cleared her throat. "Anyway. Amy is going to go ahead and clear out her room."
She nudged Amy who started nodding. "I'm moving in with Eve. I'd—I'm going to get my things."
"You're still going to school?" Jess asked "I know things aren't… good here, but your education is still important."
"I guess yeah." Amy sighed
"You're not even going to try and convince her to not leave?" Victoria asked.
"This is probably what's best. Provided she doesn't abuse her power and become like her father." Carol stated and Sarah winced at her tone of voice nevermind the words she decided to use
"That's enough Car—"
"That is enough." Victoria agreed, turning to the couple. "Eve, Amy. Can I join Fractal unity? And move in?"
Eve looked momentarily like a deer in headlights before grinning like a shark that smelled blood. "Hell yeah! The base is a bit bare at the moment but we're working on it… Might have to grab you a bed. I don't think you'll be sleeping in the bed with me and your sister."
Sarah worked her jaw for a moment, trying to find out where the day had gotten so far from her comfort zone. "Eve." Amy hissed elbowing the shorter girl harshly, she flinched but otherwise took the hit without complaint.
"What? What's wrong with us—ohoh ooooooh." Eve laughed. "That's—haha—no. No we aren't, there's just one bed in the base that's all."
"First the Swingsets then this. I hope you never get into speeches." Victoria remarked.
Eve whirled around to glare at Sarah's niece "What do they have to do with relationships!?" She threw her hands into the air. "Tell me dammit!"
To the girl's ire, Victoria began to laugh.
Amy snorted a laugh and shook her head before sobering up as she looked to the adults in her room while Victoria and Eve got into something that didn't make any sense to Sarah. Losing Glory Girl was going to hurt Brockton Bay's branch of New Wave. She was practically the only one these days that did patrols, the one that went out and fought crime. Mike and Jess did their best to do the same, but neither were Movers nor Brutes unlike Glory Girl who was both and a Shaker at the same time.
Yes, Neil and her went out and did their best to patrol; they were better off in that regard than Jess and Mike were, but Amy easily pulled in four-times as much PR and donations from her spending time in the hospital healing people.
Losing Panacea would cripple their branch of New Wave, no ease of acces to a healer to reverse injuries, no goodwill from those at the hospitals Panacea heal nor the donations often given.
To lose both at the same time? They might as well dissolve the branch in Brockton Bay at that point. The result was unfathomable, but what else were they to do? Remain a non-entity that only shows up at PR events after losing the two capes who mainly brought in the good public relations? For better or worse, Glory Girl was the face of New Wave.
Her kids? Neither were big into hero work. Crystal wanted to make her life her own and Eric wanted to act like a boy his age and go through High School just like Crystal did with college. But where did that leave Sarah and Neil? Carol had her lawyer work, but Mark only seemed alive when he was in costume these days. Mike wasn't a fan of caping, and Jess had a phobia of being left alone at the house or in costume now.
No. No, she was not letting this turn of events beat her. They had once gotten by with only six capes to the name of New Wave before the kids had Triggered and after the others had left to start their own branches.
They could do the same here again.
What wouldn't she do to have the others back now. They had rivaled the Protectorate back in the day, with nearly twelve capes working together to fight crime.
Sarah snapped back to focus as the door shut behind Amy. She felt a pang of guilt as she hadn't even thought of how the girls must be taking all this- dammit, she had told Carol to come to her if she needed help or if raising Amelia had become too much.
Eve worried Sarah, but she had been the one to pop Gray Boy's bubbles and take down the Dragonslayers. Perhaps worried about her mastering Amy was giving the girl too little credit. Her niece seemed happier, more like before Jess had been attacked.
"Carol. I'm… extremely disappointed that you didn't come to me. You're a lawyer, you know conflict of interest is something that has to be resolved quickly-" Sarah started only to have Carol cut her off.
"Don't lecture me Sarah. I told you that night it wasn't going to work. I did the best I could with the girl, and it was… alright before she triggered. But she did, and she got a power like his, not ours. I provided for her, she lacked nothing."
"Aside from a healthy home environment." Sarah accused "They're most likely living in a powerless warehouse without any running water, and she looks happier, Carol."
"I don't think we should dwell on this." Mike offered, looking to the others in the room.
"Mike?" Jess asked.
"What's done is done. Amy left New Wave, as did Victoria. They moved out. They weren't always going to stay, sometimes kids grow up. That's a reality we have to deal with." Mike nodded. "Maybe they won't be focused on caping, like Eric and Crystal aren't. It'll be good for them."
"That's… not the issue." Which was the truth and a lie at the same time. Sarah sighed. "It's why it happened Mike."
"I get that, but it happening isn't the worst thing." Mike replied earnestly "This could have ended much worse than it did. Instead of whatever that may be, the girls will get some space and privacy. They'll cool off and maybe they won't sever ties completely with the family… or denounce New Wave as a whole."
Jess sighed. "I don't like it… but I think he's right."
"Either way, bad, good, worse; the news is going to get out and it's going to be bad no matter how it's spun." Neil added unhelpfully.
"Regardless, we'll need to get ahead of it and shape the narrative." Sarah looked around the room at the various members of New Wave. "We all know how PHO would take this and what stories they would spin, never mind the actual media getting their claws into this."
"That wouldn't be pretty." Neil agreed. "How do you think this will affect us in the long run?"
"We're going to have to slow down. We've clearly become too dependent on having a healing cape with us. Less risk in combat, more scoping things out before we get into the fray of a battle." Sarah sighed. "Most importantly… we have to start recruiting again."
Allowing for that to sink in Sarah let her gaze wander between the other members of New Wave, judging their responses. "I think you can all understand why I say this. After Night Lantern, Light Wave, and the others left, we've made the mistake of leaving Brockton Bay's New Wave to be a family only organization. Being insular has harmed us more than the attack on Jess, we need to approach the independent heroes of this city and try to recruit them."
"I think that's a fantastic idea!" Niel agreed "I miss training with new blood, and having a larger pool of members would give us more options when patrolling."
"We'd have to be very careful when pulling from the pool of independence in the area. A majority of them likely rate as vigilantes instead of heroes." Carol offered, still looking as if she had bitten into a lemon. But if she thought she had any standing in the decision making on who joined, then whatever caused the cut on her face must have given her head trauma
"I have heard of a Blaster hitting the Downtown area, she goes by Warlock and she's mainly hitting the Empire." Jess spoke up. "Seems to do fairly well. Though, I think she refers to her powers as magic."
"Think she might be young though." Mike added distastefully. For the life of her, Sarah could never understand what his problem was with a life of being a hero. He still went out in costume, and he was as skilled as any of them in using his powers. But he had a disdain for the caping lifestyle that she had no source for.
"That's fine. People love Myrddin, any information on her power beyond its classification?" Sarah questioned.
From there the conversation drifted to the handful of independent capes in the city. Heroes, vigilantes, and even the villains. Then to recruiting methods, the upcoming press release, patrol routes, patrol compositions. Sarah couldn't help but feel energized in a way she had not in years. It was terrible that Amy and Victoria had left, more so for the reasons why they did so than the blow to New Wave.
But it was clear that the rest of the team had grown complacent, stagnant even.
She wished the best for Fractal Unity, mostly for her nieces. Given time, things might go back to normal for the girls. And it was nice to have another heroic organization in Brocton Bay. Even if Eden hadn't outright stated it, their work ethics were obvious from their actions: Participating in the Simurgh fight, Defeating the Dragonslayers, and popping Gray Boy's bubbles.
Perhaps this disaster could be a blessing in disguise for them all?
Unlocked Fractal Unity Sheet
Amy requires a new name for her cape life, she is no longer Panacea. She still wishes to help others, but on her own terms:
[] Hygea, Hygea was associated with preventing disease and maintaining good health.
[] Fufluns, was a god of plant life, happiness, wine, health, and growth in all things.
[] Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, fertility, sacred law and the harvest.
[] Elpis, is the personification and spirit of hope.
Victoria has left New Wave and joined her sister in Fractal Unity. Leaving behind most of her family to find herself, with Nike she seeks to make herself into a proper hero:
[] Arete, The term refers to excellence in 'moral virtue.' Also closely related to 'Nike'..
[] Antares, derives from the Ancient Greek Ἀντάρης, meaning "rival to-Ares" ("opponent to-Mars"),
[] Bia, The goddess of force and raw energy, sister of Nike.
[] Astraea, is the virgin god of justice, innocence, purity, and precision.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Monday, 12th of April
"So…" Vicky trailed off as she stared at the flower as large as her head. The still growing flower as large as her head. The fact that it glowed and smelled like cherries was another thing entirely and not the weirdest part; no, what really got her was that the flower was as big as her head. Apparently. Of course her sister didn't understand just how much Amy had violated the plant's sexual organs to get them to produce the cherry smell in the first place.
Matter of perspective probably. "I'm still working on it." Amy admitted, "Not enough biomass to get everything I want done."
"What exactly is the list of 'to do's Ames?" Vicky asked as she gently touched the plant, feeling the soft leathery texture of its petals.
"First, I am going to make the entire base smell nice. Then I'll make sure there's some dehumidifiers in the bathroom; I had to kill mold in there earlier. Again." Amy huffed as she then glanced upwards. "Burrow both up past the ceiling and as far down as possible. Set up support systems for my Garden."
"What's this about burrowing?" Eve asked as she looked up from the couch, her phone in hand. "I'd like to remind you both that the safety of this base and the people who live here rely upon it remaining a secret."
"I don't think anyone would look twice at black moss growing on the roof of this place." Amy motioned to the wires leading up to the Tinkertech wifi modem "Like that. Besides, stomach acid is very energy intensive. Both in making it, and protecting the Garden from the acid it makes."
"And the burrowing down?" Eve asked
"There is a lot of water underneath the city. Might even be able to make organic showers and toilets if I can tap into it." Amy answered
"Right." Eve muttered as she glanced at her phone. "Before I head off to check on a friend and Taylor, I'm currently looking up independent capes in the Bay. Vicky joining us made me realize that there are a lot of capes in the city and we're going to need to recruit if we want to keep a presence worth a damn."
"I know of a few independents but they're all usually very flighty. They aren't the type to fight other parahumans, or even interact with them." Vicky replied, "So you'll need some luck in catching them." At Eve's flat look Vicky raised a brow "What?"
Four Ghostly Limbs sprouted from Eve's back and waved in the air.
"Those arms can track people?" Vicky asked as she drifted forwards to touch one, pulling back as she felt it's chill seep into her fingerbones.
"Any parahuman I've met before, and it can tell me where parahumans are in a general range around them. The more Limbs I have out, the stronger the connection, wider the range" Eve swapped into her Eden costume. "Any idea as to who we should recruit? There's a blaster going by Warlock hitting the Empire in Downtown. There's also some kind of vigilante in the Docks South, goes by the name 'Brimstone' and people think he's a Tinker."
"A Tinker vigilante? Must be really careful to not have been forcibly recruited." Vicky noted as she floated over Eden to read the phone over her shoulder
"He likes hit and run tactics as well. A little on the brutal side but he's facing the Empire and ABB at times." Eden added.
"Looks more like Shock and Awe than just Hit and Run tactics." Vicky hummed. "It's a question of how good his Tinker work is, how much supplies he needs, if he's not a loner, how deep he is into his Tinker Cycle, and just how violent he gets."
Amy grunted dismissively and Vicky looked away from her sister.
Eden, looking at her phone, missed the byplay between the sisters. "Good points. I think the supply thing is down with the money I have, and the fact that I can make shaped metal will help as well. And even if his stuff isn't great with my own Tinker abilities he'll be good enough to kick some ass, especially if he can maintain what I can make. Then he'll be a dangerous as fuck."
"You Tinker now?" Vicky asked
"You have wifi in a partially underground base." Amy answered.
"You make Tinkertech internet?" Vicky floated around Eve to be in front of her. "Oh my god can you make my phone get a signal through Arcadia's faraday cage?"
"Yeah? Probably. Most likely. It'd make your phone obviously Tinkertech and I'd have to perform maintenance on it." Eden explained as she ducked under the bombshell blond. "Wait until I upgrade my power more. Then I won't have to do maintenance almost every day." She glanced at her phone "Gotta go! Have fun you two."
"Before you go?" Amy motioned to her creation.
Eden paused before swiping a Ghostly limb through Amy and walking up to the large flower head. She touched it and shivered as she felt goosebumps break out across her body at the information she got from it. Releasing Amy's power from her body Eden simply nodded before heading out of the base.
Because despite the destruction in the city, Eve wasn't going to miss jogging with her girlfriend. Sure it was a bit later than usual, but Winslow was shut down thanks to being partially burned down so Taylor could postpone the session an hour or two while Eve and Amy dealt with New Wave.
Neither of them had expected it to go… like that.
But it worked out for Fractal Unity in the end.
"So who are you going to be now?" Vicky asked, catching Amy off guard as she adapted muscle groupings into the flower's petals.
Sure she could use the natural way a plant would move, which was pressure in the cells and cell elongation, but those were far too slow for what she wanted. Which was a natural fan that would move the scent of lemon throughout the base.
Also get some airflow going, the stagnant air made it so hard to sleep at night. Especially with Eve's body acting like a heating patch. So with some muscles-no no the hydraulics of a spider's limbs would be far better for this and wouldn't need the amount of changes the muscles would have to take… She could still try the muscle one as an experiment to see which was more energy intensive.
A pair of snapping fingers caused Amy's thought bubble to pop, causing her to blink and look at her sister. "What?"
"I asked you what you were going to call your new identity, since you aren't going to be Panacea anymore." Vicky reiterated as she floated slightly away from the twitching plant her sister was caressing.
"Oh. I…hadn't given it any thought." Amy admitted wanting to go back to the plant instead of having this discussion. "Not like I'm going to be going out much? I don't think I really need a costume or name."
"You'll end up with the PRT or PHO giving you a name~" Vicky taunted in a singsong voice as she floated upside down to be in front of her sister. "Come on Ames, new duds, new you! I'll help you pick something out!" spinning in place so she was upright "We can share a theme! Eden and Khepri are both religious themed. We can do the same!"
"Religious themed?" Eden was obvious enough to Amy, she'd heard about it. But she didn't really peg Eve as religious.
"Well Khepri is Egyptian. I know we can't exactly do anything Norse themed thanks to the Empire. But Nike is Greek, so maybe we could stick with the Greek theme? No Panacea of course but we can rebrand as something else Greek-y."
"Nerd." Amy sniped, causing her sister to huff and set her hands on her well developed hips. She couldn't help her eyes flicking to them.
"Puh-lllleease~?" Vicky asked, giving Amy her certified 'Master' 2 puppy eyes.
The dryness in Amy's throat left her nodding her head in resigned acceptance. "I have the right to reject any suggestions."
"Of course! I mean. I already have an idea for what mine will be. If we're both going to have a Greek theme there are plenty of deities that relate to Nike!" Vicky's smile practically glowed.
"What about secret identities?" Amy asked, causing her sister to stop in place.
"What about them?" Vicky asked, tilting her head to the side.
"You're not going to be able to hang out with us if you don't have one." Amy supplied. "Taylor takes her identity very seriously, I let Eve change my face just so we could go to the mall." Pulling out her phone, she went to the pictures Eve had sent her and lifted it up so Vicky could see them.
"Oh." Vicky remarked, sounding, and looking, crestfallen. "Would that mean I have to rebrand my costume as well?" She asked.
"Probably best to lose the skirt." Amy snorted.
"But my costume will get ruined, it took a while to get my forcefield shaped to it!" was the rebuttal.
"Ask Taylor to tailor-" Amy smirked "-a new costume for you. She uses spider silk, it's apparently anti-blade and stab proof to boot." Pausing, Amy turned from her sister to look at the wall of spiders and their nests. "Though…speed is an…issue." [Intrigue]
"Ames? Ammmy?" Vicky waved a hand in front of her sister's face, causing the former healer to jerk away from the offending appendage.
"What." She huffed
"Are you okay? You keep getting a far away look on your face. Zoning out." Vicky explained as she floated around her sister to glance at the wall of spiders and shudder in disgust.
"I was just thinking. Taylor can help us make costumes, good costumes. But she has trouble getting enough silk out. Spiders can only produce so much, so fast. They have to rest, and eat." Amy explained.
"What, going to merge all the spiders together into a Giger style threading machine? I mean you have the weird mold thing over there with the acid pitcher plant. Why not do the same for the spiders? Can she even control them then?" Vicky questioned, more or less hoping that it would just prevent the spiders from moving around the base.
There was a loud clap as Amy facepalmed. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?!" [Amusement] She fumbled with her phone and went to her recent messages. Of course that only really had Vicky's and Eve's number in it. Taylor's too, but the girl tended to not have it with her considering her ability to communicate with Eve through their shards.
You had several things to get done this day, aside from sorting the data that came from the fight last night of which there was plenty of. Most of which was constructing the SubReality Threader. Various lines of specifically shaped and modified Shard flesh that connects your dual Broadcast Towers to the Router with its Modulator and Demodulator.
The Subreality Threader would control the output of your broadcasts, removing any distinctiveness from them and as such preventing any Shard from recognizing that you had become a Hub. When you did become one at least. But it was always important to prepare before doing something as monumental as inviting a Shard into a permanent Network during a Cycle. Especially when you planned on using that Network to mutiny.
But it would take time to build, no longer than any other delicate work you've done of course. It did not even prevent you from completing other tasks. You were going to require [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]'s time with integrating each other into what could loosely be called a Cluster, best to do that now while both your hosts were wasting energy 'jogging'.
You did not disapprove, you just thought [Eve] could spend her time doing other things. Better, more efficient things.
[GREETING/QUERY-CLUSTER INTEGRATION] Best to ask if she is ready, no need for a miscommunication with what you two are about to do.
[QUERY] A general 'What do I do' that's simple enough to answer. If she is nervous, she does not show it.
[ .COMMUNICATION] It will cost energy to do so, but preparing a node of shard flesh for proper connection between the two of you was of the utmost importance, exchanging it would be energy consuming due to you having to break down the dimensional wall between the two of you.
Breaking the dimensional wall was perhaps the most difficult section of this idea. You had to do so in a way that did not weaken any of the protection you and [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] enjoyed, protection that prevented any hostile attempts of stealing your flesh.
You had done this before of course, you simply had to repeat the process like before.
[ ] [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] sent to you as you did the same and prepared a spot to nestle her node within your mass of crystalline flesh
While that is underway, you decide to check on [CONFLICT ESCALATION], to see how they were doing after their host was terminated. Perhaps to rub it in a bit, just a little. After all [Eve] was alive and their host was not despite their boisterous bragging the last time you had communicated and their host's attempt to terminate [Eve]
[ -STATUS] [NEGOTIATOR] would be great for this, you almost added her into the connection between you and [CONFLICT ESCALATION]. But no, this was yours to savor.
[DEGRADATION] the much less friendly shard replied [ ] then they shut down the connection in which could only be described as a huff.
That bit of amusement gathered, you instead turned your attention towards another one of the shards that [Eve] had met during her testing out her Grasping Limb's Shadow Aspect. [Eve] had discussed one of the theoretical powers you could have created and why she might pick it.
Thus you contacted [STASIS], forming a connection between the two of you. [STASIS] was surprisingly wary of giving you details on it's host. But you still got the data needed to create a functional Ping.
It was only a good while later, as [Eve] and [Taylor] finished their 'jogging' did [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] reconnect with you and inform you that her communication node was ready.
Once more you ripped the dimensional barrier protecting [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] open, just enough to fit a Iceland sized portion of Flesh through it.
Blue crystalline flesh is exchanged for your own purple(?) crystalline flesh with careful application of Macro-Telekinesis. Once the exchanged flesh has made it to your own and vice versa, you begin the delicate process of forming intermittent connections based on a signal around the Input/output beacon grown within your hosts.
Once the both of you had successfully attached the exchanged flesh, the dimensional barrier was allowed to pull itself back together Now, all you needed was [SHAPER] to modify the Input/Output beacons of [Eve] and [Taylor].
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin
"I don't know why you're pushing on this. I've already told you no."
Eve resisted the desire to sigh, instead she eyed Taylor's form as the taller girl stretched and massaged her lovely legs. "Because it's Armsmaster. I think he could deal with this without spreading your secret identity around."
"I don't want his help. Sophia doesn't hide what she does, that she's a bully. Either they know or they don't. I don't know which is worse." Taylor huffed as she pulled her shoes off along with her socks, setting the shoes by the door.
"Personally I think the PRT knowing would be worse. For all we know the school isn't telling them anyway." Eve suggested.
"And Sophia acting like herself?" Was Taylor's rebuttal.
"I doubt she bullies people directly in front of the senior heroes, much less other powered people that can kick her ass. Vista is no joke, nor is Kid Win." Eve countered as she began to go up the stairs while stripping her shirt off.
Danny was out with the Dockworkers, an influx of paid work coming their way as the city did their best to try and repair the arson and vandalism it had suffered made him quite the busy man.
"...and if they don't care? Then I'll have handed them my identity on a silver platter." Taylor shot back as she made her way to the bathroom, Eve slipping in behind her.
"Bu-" Eve paused as her phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and turned as Taylor stripped to get in the shower. She answered and set the phone on speaker. "Eden and Khepri's answering service, unfortunately we are not available at the moment. Please leave a message at the sound of a cute tush being pinched." At that moment Taylor yelped in surprise, a second later a bar of soap bounced off Eve's head.
"Hilarious." Amy grunted, "But I actually have something important to ask you and Taylor. Remember the bug cannons?"
Taylor pulled the curtain to the side in one quick motion, just enough to poke her head out while covering her body. "Yes? Yes we do, what about them?"
Eve snrked and got a glare sent her way as Amy continued "Alright, Vicky was talking about our eventual rebranding and it got to costumes. Specifically how you can make costumes with spider silk. She gave me the idea of creating a biological weaving station out of your insects so you can get more silk out of the spiders easier."
"That would be very helpful." Taylor agreed, "I'll be there in a moment."
"Yeah she's about to-" Eve watched as Taylor unraveled to become a horde of wasps that flew out of the still open door and down the hall. "To be on her way." Eve finished. "Look, be there soon with her. Expect us to smell like sweat because Taylor just has to skip showering at her house. See ya there Freckles." Eve disconnected from the call as she heard Vicky making kissy sounds to tease Amy.
"HEY!" Eve jumped out in front of the swarm of insects, which then coalesced into an annoyed Taylor. "We weren't done talking. Sophia needs to be dealt with."
"They won't do anything." Taylor disagreed.
"Maybe. And since you don't want to reveal yourself. Then perhaps we can try it a different way? Surely she's breaking the law some other way. We get evidence of that and we can put her away without ever revealing our identities."
Staring at Eve, Taylor was clearly rolling the idea around her mind. "So, just see if she's breaking the law and then report it."
Eve nodded "That's right, and if they act on the information we can see about adding her school activities to bury her."
For a long minute Taylor silently regarded Eve with a blank expression. Her body language was absent entirely for the duration before she finally relaxed, "We can see about that."
Eve reached forwards and hugged her slightly stinking girlfriend. "Awe love you-ACK." Eve yanked back, sputtering as Taylor unwound into a horde of spiders in Eve's arms and skittered around/over her, "Very funny!" Eve huffed as she got the impression the spiders were laughing at her… somehow.
Little bastards.
Eve was only slightly jealous that her girlfriend had an easy way to reach the base without dragging attention to it. Eve had to take the long way there to avoid too many eyes following her.
Still, she made it in time to the base to see what Amy was making with Taylor's help. The organic weaving machine was alien to Eve's eyes. It looked like Bonesaw was told to make a spider but had never actually seen one before, being given a very vague description of them to go along with the request.
The large rump of the spider sat affixed to the wall by plates of dark chitin. Amy, with her sleeves rolled back to allow bugs ease of access to her touch. The multiple long spindly legs that hovered over the rump constantly twitched without reason.
Vicky did not look happy. Amy had an intent look on her face while Taylor was almost rapturous as she and Amy went back and forth. A flood of spiders crawled to Amy, up her body, onto her arms, and then melting into the creation her hands rested upon.
"I can feel it's biology changing."
"Spin some silk."
"The legs aren't as responsive, go back."
"Do you feel anything different?"
"Not enough energy from the stomach."
Eve could practically feel QA and Shaper doing the same as Amy added a pitcher like the one on her Flesh Garden to keep the Weaver Station fed and able to produce silk. It was nice to see them working together. Even if it was sorta disturbing. Eve had never realized just how many spiders could exist in an eight block radius.
"The silk needs to be thinner if I'm going to be making normal costumes out of this."
"The opening can't be that small, it'll get backed up."
"Try multiple then"
"Oooh."
And Eve watched as the spider's ass turned into an organic cheese grater look alike. It was at that moment that Eve decided she would let Taylor and Amy have this bonding moment to themselves, with Vicky to supervise the two. "Have fun Vicky, talk to them about the possible recruits please! Be fair!"
"Hey you can't just leave me alone with this mess!" Vicky protested before Eve slipped out the front door. The fact that they had a front door was annoying. Even if it was a hatch situated on the second story, it still presented a weak spot in her home.
Now she was going to Kassidy's house to make sure she was okay. A rising tide of nervousness swept through Eve's body as she chose to take the longer route of just walking most of the way there. Considering Kassidy lived in the same part of the town that Eve had… It was a good few hours before Eve found herself outside Kassidy's house, the sun seeming to have followed her as she walked through the city.
It was a nice house. Descent yard size, well taken care of, two stories, and an inground swimming pool in the backyard. Kassidy's parents weren't rich, but they were upper middle class, living in an area nice enough that the Empire didn't patrol it even to show the flag.
Eve knocked on the door, forgoing the special knock she and Kassidy had shared when they were in grade school. After a minute of waiting Eve began to sweat all over. Was Kassidy alright? She shouldn't be at school, it was nearly five. One of the cars was out of the garage- guess they still hadn't cleaned it.
Then the door swung open and Eve felt her heart drop into her stomach. "K-Kassidy. Hi."
Kassidy blinked. "OhMyGod Eve you're okay!" and then she hugged. Surrounded by warm Kassidy, smelling like that god awful chocolate perfume she used. "The Teeth burned down Mr. Jerald's house! I saw the fires from my window!"
"Y-Yeah they burned down a lot of stuff." Eve replied, glad when Kassidy pulled away, just so the other girl didn't feel Eve's knees acting as weak as they felt.
It was hard, knowing that she pushed away Kassidy after the girl had admitted her love for Eve.
Kassidy stepped back frowning, lips pursed in the way she always did when she was conflicted on something. Only now that something was Eve. "Would… You like to come in, Eve?"
Not trusting her voice Eve nodded and entered the house. Familiar smells hit her like a truck, and only make the feeling of guilt worse. Like hot tar coating her heart. "Your parents okay?"
"Mom's still at work. Dad's upstairs. He pulled his back again." Kassidy replied. "I was just making dinner."
Yeah, her dad was a total workaholic despite his previous injuries as an EMT. Always needing to do something, anything. It wasn't surprising Kassidy was cooking again, she was very good at it and her parents were often busy.
"Someone there?" A new voice from within the house rang out, and Eve peeked into the kitchen. She was a touch surprised when she saw a blonde haired girl in a wheelchair sitting at the dinner table.
"Yeah, an… old friend. Eve this is Jonna." Kassidy said as she swept into the kitchen and quickly checked on the pot that sat on top of the oven. "We've been hanging out a lot recently."
And Eve bristled, ignoring every instinct in her body that demanded she lash out. She knew Jonna already. After all, how could she forget her first fight as Eden, facing the Empire's Pure Steel.
She didn't need the [WARNING-METAL # ] Admin had sent the moment Eve had laid eyes upon Pure Steel's own.
Eve would never forget that shade of blue as it looked down at her, sneering through a suit of metal. Now Pure Steel, one of the Nazis, was sitting in the kitchen of her very openly gay childhood friend.
Fuck.
Vicky loved her sister. She well and truly did. Which is why she kept her mouth shut as her, and her probably future second girlfriend bent mother nature over a table and then violated her and the table. Ames nerding out with Taylor would have just been the cutest thing if the giant…. Spider table didn't move like it did.
[Agreement]
Nothing should twitch that much.
But eventually they finished the project, which was good. Less bugs coming into the base. But then they continued with other projects, which was bad because more bugs began to swarm into the base and crawl over the two girls as Ames bolstered the biomass reserves of her… art project. Which then grew roots on the wall, roots of which then grew down, through the floor and out of sight.
Was her sister a Tinker or something like that? Was Taylor? They both…acted a lot like Kid Win did when he got excited about his work actually. [Possibility]. Vicky found herself nodding to Nike, Ames just hadn't done something like this since she first got her powers. Shaper was probably just excited and egging her on.
At least she got her plant hammock out of all of it! She just needed to bug Ames and Taylor a bit while they worked. She could have gotten one out of silk. But seeing it made would have probably churned her stomach. [Disgust]. Nike could say that again. Nothing like watching multiple spider buttholes spitting out silk.
Ew.
[Protection] That was a good idea, perhaps Taylor could make some kind of silk curtain to… 'protect' her work. She would have to remember to suggest it later. "Oh good. Finally clean?" She asked, turning as Taylor came out of the shower with her hair in a towel. Ignoring the soft eye roll she got for her rhetorical question, Vicky held up her phone. "Your girlfriend wanted me to talk with the two of you about who Fractal Unity wants to try and recruit next."
That was important. They were powerful, all of them in their own right. But power did not equate the ability to project said power. If it did, there wouldn't be any villains in Houston where Eidolon was stationed. Or New York where Legend lived, and the Elite would have long since been crushed by Alexandria's fist.
More members, even if they were weak in their own right, would help the rest of them put their flag up so to speak. Plus, it would come into a relationship much like what the Wards and the larger Protectorate had. Kill a Ward? Legend visited your city, and then left. The difference being a distinct lack of the guilty party.
Kill a Fractal Unity member? Eden or Bia(Cute name![ ]) came down on you like the angry hand of god. Nevermind what god forsaken horror Khepri could or would put them through.
Maybe if New Wave had kept its members around, Aunt Jess would have never been crippled.
Pushing the melancholy out of her heart, and her mind, Vicky watched as Taylor broke apart and came back together without any water residue left on her. "Alright." The lanky girl nodded. "Are we going to wait for Eve?"
"Eve's the one that put me up to this. She wanted me to go over some possible recruits she sent over the phone while she went out." Vicky waved her phone at Taylor, and Ames who was dusting her hands off.
"Gather around. I agree that we're going to need some help if we're going to actually change the city for the better!" Vicky had studied all of them, one of them had her a touch worried. "Taylor, what's Fractal Unity's stance on Small time villains? Because one of the options given to me is an independent villain."
Taylor glanced around, before stepping closer and whispering to Vicky. "Currently we're working with Tattletale to bring down Coil. He doesn't respect the rules at all, mind you."
Vicky blinked, Coil was one of the major gang leaders. He worked with far more secrecy than the others however, he had no parahumans and people weren't even sure if he was one. "Really?" she asked, raising a brow.
Ames nodded. "Yeah. He's a Thinker, can make two timelines and explore both before picking the one he likes and keeping it. So a strong precog."
"And you're okay with working with a villain?" Vicky asked, a bit shocked that her sister would do something like that.
Hunching her shoulders Ames huffed softly. "Coil doesn't follow the rules. That kind of thing is what got Aunt Jess hurt in the first place. He recruited Tattletale by gunpoint. He has to be stopped." Ames pursed her lips, and then sighed, puffing out her cheeks. "Working with villains… if Eve can stop them from being villains, all the better right? One less villain on the street?"
That didn't sound confident. But Vicky couldn't disagree all that much. She'd heard about why Shadow Stalker was in the Wards. Vigilante or not, killing people was a step too far. But her being in the Wards instead of jail meant the city got another hero. It wasn't a great trade, but it was an important one to make.
"Alright then. Because the first one we're going to talk about is Hive. A Cloner with the power to teleport. So a Master/Mover." Vicky started only to have Ames snort.
"Oni Lee's kid much?"
Vick shook her head. "Don't act like a PHO user Ames." Her sister's face scrunched up like she bit into a lemon "So far she's been stealing from the gangs and the richer areas of the city. Apparently she's some kind of robinhood type." Mentioning this now reminded her of the time that Dean was talking about his neighbors getting robbed. Could that have been Hive?
Probably not.
"How did you get information on them?" Taylor asked
"...PHO." Vicky answered "Hard to get information otherwise. So take most of this with a grain of salt."
Taylor nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer.
"Right, well she's never been violent towards people. No one complained about violence at least. Though I doubt gangsters would admit to having a thin girl like that beat them up. The Mover rating would surely help, people without a mover rating would have a hard time keeping up with the rest of us, sans Ames."
"Not like I go out into fights." Ames replied as she plopped down atop a flower stool. Yes she made herself a flower stool.
"A cloner would also give us more coverage." Taylor supplied. "Depending on how long the clones last and if she gets anything from them."
Vicky nodded in agreement. "Videos of her, she's a bit showy, make them look pretty independent. With some phones they could watch areas for crime." Recruiting her would also piss off Vicky's mom, but she kept that to herself. Her mom could get as angry as she wanted.
"What about the others?" Taylor glanced between her and Ames. "Better to know our options before we continue with any plans on recruiting them."
Ames nodded with a bit of enthusiasm causing Vicky to scroll through her notes to the opposite of the spectrum in capes. "Alright. Warlock. She's a Blaster that operates in Empire territory. Might be a stranger too because she tends to show up, hit the gang, and then disappear just as quickly."
Taylor frowned. "There's quite a bit of female capes in the bay."
"Most capes are." Vicky informed the girl. "About 60% of capes are female." Which was interesting information to take in, but it didn't have much impact on the grand scheme of things, that researchers knew of at least. Maybe they could ask Admin and Eve about that later.
"Back to the Blaster. She apparently is also a bit showy too, when she does show herself at least. Talks like Myrridyn. Might just be her whole theme, might actually believe it. Don't know, but she's got a we'll put together costume at least. But it's put together for sure. Her Blaster apparently has a variety of effects. People call her baby Legend."
"Can she aim them like Legend can?" Taylor asked, wanting to know if the girl could bend lasers in mid-air much like the premiere example of artillery capes.
"Couldn't find anything on that. But so far she's not responsible for any deaths, or maimings." Better than Vicky's own record. Personally she doubted Taylor or Eve would put up with that kind of situation, and she didn't like how terrible Ames looked after dealing with one.
Ames nodded, giving Vicky a side eye. "Okay. Moving onto the last one. We have a Tinker who fights both the gangs in the no man's land between their borders. He's a bit like Warlock. Attacks hard and fast before leaving after stealing money or tinkering supplies from the gang." The fundamental difference between a hero and vigilante. The looting vigilante's did. She could respect it, especially for a Tinker. Not that she liked it if they stole drugs or guns but money was fair game.
"People say he's good at fighting. So either he has a Thinker component to his Tinkering or he has some training." Vicky added.
"A Tinker is going to be a resource sink." Ames grumbled.
"You used all the bugs I could gather in an eight block radius." Taylor offered, causing her sister to blush because they were totally going to end up an item. [Connection] Amen to that!
"She's not wrong though." Sister to the rescue! "But a Tinker would also be a force multiplier. Especially if he and Eve can work together on projects. We could all end up with Tinker gear to help us fight crime or protect the base. Or power armor and weapons for other recruits we might pick up."
"Eve's here." Taylor responded as the door to the base opened and shut. "She's heading to the shower room. Let's wait for her to finish so she can be a part of the conversation."
Everyone agreed to that, and fifteen minutes later Eve trudged out of the shower, stopping as she saw everyone waiting for her. "If this is about the recruits. I'm not in the mood to talk about them."
"You good?" Vicky asked.
Eve shook her head. "I'm going to bed." she declared, wings lifting her into the air before disappearing and letting her belly flop onto the bed. "We can talk about them in the morning or whatever."
"Okay." Taylor paused, looking unsure. "But we can't put this off too long." Her eyes flicked to Vicky and her sister. "Remember the dead independant we found during the teeth raid."
"I do." Eve grunted. "Just tired and I want to sleep alright?" With that, she rolled over and just hugged a pillow
Vicky hummed softly. "Alright. Are we doing anything for dinner?"
"I can go and grab something. I'll call one of you and ask what you want." Taylor offered as she broke apart into insects which was still disturbing to see. She glanced at Ames who simply shrugged and went over to the couch before plopping into it and letting her feet dangle off the side of the armrest as she played on her phone. Probably that card game that Ames liked so much. The one with magic.
With a soft frown Vicky decided that she could spend some time trying to scrooge up more information on the independents they knew of. Flying over to her hammock, she gently eased herself into the soft, waxy leather of the plant that hung from the ceiling.
It wasn't actually that uncomfortable. Until she dropped the phone on her face, which went right through her forcefield because otherwise how else would she use it? She huffed after hearing Ames snort in amusement.
Vicky would give her that much with (some)retribution. Just some light teasing about her and Taylor. But tomorrow, after Ames forgot about the pictures Vicky took.
Chapter Results:
Bud progress 10%
Synchronization increased by 2%
Base Danger Rating decreased by 3%
Gained Combustion Echoes (1)
Consolidating Combustion Echoes into Ping (1)
Gained Stasis Echos (1)
Consolidating Stasis Echoes into Ping (1)
Gained Conflict Escalation Echoes (1)
Gained Gleam Echoes (3)
Consolidating Gleam Echoes into Ping (1)
Gained Shaper Echoes (2)
Weaving Station Upgraded
Flesh Garden upgraded
Administrative Business. Plot stuff, Data! And other hilarious things you tell yourself (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Network Creation: Create Network Rethreaders in order to recruit Shard without them leaving The Warrior's Network. (WARNING: VIRAL INFILTRATOR Ping Required)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network (Nike)
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Acquire Shaper's help in growing the required node within [Eve] and [Taylor]'s processors to facilitate the telepathy
[] Unlock Power/Upgrade Obtainer
[{Lacks required Resources}] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES: COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) )
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress.
[] Analyze DATA VECTOR's Ping to discover why Scanner Shards aren't…active.
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE TWO:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Expand Amy's experiments (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)(Cost 60/30)
[] Furnish the place better, maybe a dining table with chairs? Extra beds for other people? A TV for News or entertainment? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, fill in the train tracks with concrete, or continue to set kitchen area up)
[] Attempt to recruit independents into Fractal Unity -
-[] Warlock, a blaster whose power has many uses. Compared to a 'baby legend', often attacks the Empire in the Downtown area. Apparently prefers to strike from the shadows and disappear.
-[] Brimstone, a vigilante Tinker who operates in the slums that are wedged between the Empire and former ABB territory.
-[] Hivemind, a low level villain Master/Mover who steals from the richer areas of the city using clones. Considered something of an escape artist.
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Date for Amy!
[] Go on a date with Taylor
[] Hang out with Vicky again.
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Do some community outreach!
[] Team up with some Heroes (Random roll)
[] Gather Tinker Supplies (Will bring vote for:ScrapYard, Stores, Junkyard, or Boat graveyard)
Kassidy's newest friend is none other than the Empire's own Pure Steel. Eve refrained herself from violence, but clearly she must do something:
[] Confront Kassidy's friend
[] Warn Kassidy about her friend
A/N: The Fractal Unity Sheet will be out shortly after this chapter. Thanks to Jefardi for Betaing everything and letting me bounce ideas off them! Also I plan on releasing a plot synopsis sometime in the future, so you don't have to reread all of Shard's Quest to know what's going on. Another Side Step is in the works, this one being for how the people of Boston are taking the Simurgh hit.
Last edited: Aug 23, 2022
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KindredVoid
Aug 17, 2022
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Aug 26, 2022
#3,371
SHARD POWER MENU
Echoes for Upgrades:
Pings can be broken down into Echoes, CHOOSE ONE
[] Save Echoes
Feathered Limbs Core, Grow a core within the Feathered Limbs, if they are damaged they will heal or if destroyed they will reform quicker. The core is Uber-Dense and difficult to damage. If it is destroyed the wings will take a full day to reform: |SUPER WEAPON DATA|
Ghostly Limbs Haunting Touch, parahumans affected by this Aspect feel existential dread: NIKE
Cosmic Limb Storage, increase the amount of storage space available: STORAGE (2)
Possible powers:
BUD AVAILABLE (0)
[] Save Bud
[] Runic Circles: Set up permanent runes(Does not leave if power is swapped out) that can be used to traverse to one another via time locked tunnel. Takes time to set up, Runes are noticeable, if the surface they are anchored to is destroyed they are as well, and there is a current limit of four Pathways. NEEDS: GATEWAY Ping, SPACE Ping, STASIS Ping
[] Eden's Gift: Gain the ability to give other's copies of Eden's powers, lasts half an hour and can be further upgraded. NEEDS: GIFT Ping, QA Ping
[] Fusion: With a touch, mold and fuse things together at an atomic level, forming unbreakable bonds, not manton limited. NEEDS: STING Ping
[] TeleKinesis: Standard run of the mill Telekinesis! Manton Limited and with a poor range at the start, it gives proprioception of the surrounding 15 feet with the strength to lift 600 pounds. Strength determined upon Pings/Data used NEEDS: |SUPER WEAPON #09| Data
[] Timely Repair: Returns a target to an earlier state of time. Repairing or Healing it, however the power turns the Host a gray monochrome hue and may affect the position of said target. NEEDS: AGE Mutation (2) and RESTORE Ping.
[] Avatar: Form an Avatar within the dimension of your Host, strength, persistence, and material of the Avatar depends upon the Pings and Echoes used to create it. NEEDS: WEAPON CONTROL Ping /or/ |SUPER WEAPON| Data {Admin will not be fighting, rather this is for interaction/story}
[] Stolen Dreams: Steal one of the 15 dormant |SUPER WEAPONS|, weakening them but gaining them as an Ally. NEEDS: WEAPON CONTROL Ping, GATEWAY Ping, Requires BroadCast Tower Module
[] Abyssal Knight: Forms a crystalline organic lattice around the host at their discretion, including shape and color of the armor. The armor gives damage resistance and greater strength, striker effects work through the armor. NEEDS: DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Ping (1), SHAPER Ping (1), QA Ping (1)
[] ShardSense: Gain the ability to see the Shard connected to a parahuman, the Avatar of which they form, and the threads of their powers. Along with those who have the possibility to trigger. NEEDS: SHUNT /or/ SHIFT Ping /w/ NEGOTIATOR Ping, QA Ping, DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Ping, and fully formed Network
Power Upgrades:
CHOOSE ONE (SACRIFICE 10% of BUD PROGRESS for another upgrade
[] Self Administration Anatomy: The Regeneration is faster and does not discolor Eden's skin, also immunizes her to poisons and diseases. Needs: ANATOMY REPAIR Ping (1), SHAPER Echoes (2) /or/ CONFLICT ESCALATION Ping (1), SHAPER Ping (1)
[] Self Administration Biological Imperative: Hey look, Self BioKinesis! Just gotta keep that brain intact! NEEDS: Previous Upgrades unlocked 'True Regen' and 'Peak Humanity', plus SHAPER Ping, ANATOMY REPAIR Echoes (2)
[] TrumpTech METAL V2: For creating devices that mimic the Shard METAL and the stronger powers given out by it. NEEDS: METAL Ping (1)
[] TrumpTech SHAPER V2: For creating devices that mimic the Shard SHAPER and the stronger powers given out by it. NEEDS: SHAPER Ping (1)
[] TrumpTech IMPROVEMENT V1: For repairing and improving upon other Tinker's work, any repairing or improvement done applies TrumpTech bonuses to the item in question. NEEDS: RESTORE FUNCTIONALITY Echo (2), EFFICIENCY Echo (1)
[] TrumpTech BIOLOGICAL V2: Allows the construction and implanting of technology to repair, improve, or replace wetware. NEEDS: SHAPER Echo (3) ANATOMY REPAIR Echoes (2)
TrumpTech STASIS V1: For applying a process of slowing things down, be it people or objects. NEEDS: STASIS Echo (1), AGE Mutation (1)
TrumpTech DIMENSIONAL V1: Allows the use of Dimensional technology. NEEDS: SPACE Echo (2), GATEWAY Echo (3)
TrumpTech MOBILITY V1: Allows the creation of Mobility centered devices NEEDS: DELICATE BALANCE Echo (2)
TrumpTech EXPLOSIVE V1: Allows the creation of IEDs NEEDS: (Auto unlock branch with Popper's Touch and upgrades) COMBUSTION Echo (2)
TrumpTech PROTECTION V1: Allows the creation of very light armor NEEDS: ARMORER Echo (2)
[] Save Echoes/Pings/Mutation
A/N: Remember to feel free to DM possible powers or Aspects. I will look over them, judge their worth, what Pings/Echoes they would require. If I like them, they will be added to a voting list I will put to a vote for you all later on.
Thanks to Great Greedy Guts for their Aspect ideas! Bulwark, Crystal, Sensory, Ferrous, and Elemental!
Thanks to JayTar for their Aspect/sidegrades and power upgrade ideas! Clockwork Limb, Elemental Explosive, Ferrous Forge, and Iron Maiden!
Thanks to Telegraph Nine for her Power suggestion, Energetic Administration!
An additional thanks to Telegraph Nine for her suggestions on Taylor's possible powers and power upgrades!
Last edited: Aug 28, 2022
43
KindredVoid
Aug 26, 2022
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Sep 22, 2022
#3,393
Side Step 4.1
Tales from Brockton Bay - Accord
Years, decades, of work brought to ruin in less than half an hour. The contingency plans he had crafted months ago bore fruit in dampening the damage done but they had relied upon previous information of the Endbringer's quirks, methodology, and behavioral models.
Nearly all of which the Simurgh had disregarded when she had broken the Status Quo.
Accord did not have the imperfection of narcissism, vanity perhaps. But not to the point where he fell into the belief that the youngest Endbringer had acted so in order to spite him specifically. But he could not help but wonder with her being the 'Hopekiller' …had he neared one of his many Plan's completion?
He should not have been close to any of them, but he had been blindsided before. His power worked off information he gained and he was sadly not omnipotent.
A bit of relief entered his tense frame as he glanced out of the darkened windows of one of the few vehicles within his convoy.
The evacuation plans had not worked perfectly, but his wrath was dimmed. One could not rage against the storm in the end. Only endure the winds.
Considering he had not lost any of his ambassadors he was far better off than most, losing his information network had harmed him considerably but his Ambassadors were of far more importance in the end. The time, effort, and considerable money that went into training and creating them outpaced the bribery it took to access to the Government's inner workings.
He would have to study the possible enemies of his new staging area. But thankfully he already had one access to information and resources within the bay. A fellow vial cape who understood that the PRT could not, by itself, stamp out chaos as it reared its ugly heads.
The phone only rang twice before the call was picked up. "Hello Coil."
Tales from Brockton Bay - Weld
"Almost to Brockton Bay, Weld." The driver called back "Only gotta make it to the PRT building after that."
He didn't answer, his silver eyes stuck on his hands, one gripping the other to force it to stop shaking. He had been declared immune to the Simurgh's influence, on the account of him being immune to other master effects and his inorganic brain. But at times he wasn't so sure.
The therapist that cleared him had said it was just from the trauma and Weld wanted to believe that. He was the only Ward to survive the Simurgh parking herself over the Boston Protectorate building; many of the Protectorate and PRT did not make it.
His shakes got worse as the memory of Armstrong's blood on his hands surfaced to the forefront, his body leeching the iron into his metal skin. It left a nameless fear in his body, and he was torn about the fact that he could not vomit.
It felt so familiar, yet not at the same time. Like so many of the actions he had forgotten from a previous life. It was a memory he did not want back, linked to a memory he wished he could forget.
Now he was being transported to a new city - one close to Boston at least - to resume his career of being a Ward.
How could he? Everything he had known had been torn apart down to the roots. The only person he could call family dead, his friends either stuck behind a walled city or dead from the Simurgh and the methods used to contain her influence.
He was going to miss Hunch the most perhaps, out of all the Wards. He understood where others didn't, being a Case 53 like Weld was.
The van lurched to a stop. "We're here. Welcome to the Bay, kid, and good luck." The driver said as the back door was opened. Two PRT troopers were waiting to escort him inside the PRT building. Apparently the Wards didn't bunk with the Protectorate in Brockton Bay and he wasn't sure why.
He would probably find out later.
The PRT he stood before had the remains of thrown molotovs and spent bullet casings. There was a trooper outside spraying confoam solvent on some of the confoam that remained on the scene. Going inside, the place didn't look much better, in fact the lobby looked as much a prison as the outside did. Just with motivational posters and hero merchandise decorating the walls.
Moving to the elevator he was careful to not touch anything as it went… downward…. Another thing different from Boston.
He couldn't do the retinal scanner, so the Trooper had to hit the mask button before opening the door for Weld. The Ward's area looked much like the one in Boston, a different set up of course, more personalized to the people that used the space. Only two people were in the room. A red headed boy wearing most of a white costume adorned with clocks, Weld doubted the domino mask he wore was a part of the costume normally.
The other was a tall kid, sort of generically handsome who extended his hand towards Weld, "You must be Weld. Names Dean or Gallant when in costume"
Checking to see if he had any rings, Weld gently took the Ward's hand and shook it. He'd long since learned that trying to give a firm handshake more often than not just hurt people.
"Yo!" The redhead called out, intensely focused on the game he was playing. "Dennis! That's the name! I'd shake your hand but-" he went quiet as he began to mash buttons, the characters on screen doing a wildly impractical fighting move against another cape. "-busy!"
"Vista and Kid Win are out on patrol." Dean stated as he pointed to the portioned room's corner, where a Hispanic kid sat before a row of screens and the infamous console. Weld had missed it and the red clad Ward thanks to the weird layout of the room. "That's Aegis."
"Welcome to the Brockton Bay Wards!" Aegis called out, still not looking away from the consol. "You can call me Carlos though. No point in not getting familiar if you're going to be on the team."
"I look forward to working with everyone here. But, didn't the Wards here have six members?" Weld glanced around the room, not entirely familiar with the roster of Wards Brockton Bay had at their disposal.
"That'd be Miss Tall Dark and Grouchy." Dennis spoke up as he paused his game and turned in his spot on the couch. "She got shot last night, and since Panacea decided to take a vacation right before all this…"
"She died?" Weld asked, a bit of horror creeping into his voice how nonchalant everyone was acting in the room.
"No no!" Dean held up his hands as if to stop the thought process. "She's recovering in a hospital. Wasn't even in costume when she was shot. She's not crippled or dying. Just recovering."
"Yeah, sorry to give off the wrong idea." Dennis sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck "But hey maybe she'll stop doing solo patrols now." Dean frowned as Dennis snorted and went back to the game he had been playing.
"The Brockton Bay Wards are allowed to solo patrol?" Weld asked, pulling his attention to the teen in front of him.
"Not really. Usually we operate in pairs." Dean admitted. "Shadow Stalker likes to go out on her own. Her arrest record is far higher than some of the Protectorate here, so they overlook it. Last night she was injured but still managed to arrest several gang members in the middle of a crime."
Weld had a sense that Dean was trying to shine a better light on his teammate than Dennis was. Ignorant of the interpersonal relationships as he was, Weld decided that he couldn't be one to judge. "Understandable. Is there an empty room or will I have to partition one off?" He asked. "I'd like to settle in." Not that he needed to sleep, but he did want to get some quiet… it was all he was going to have until he got his music collection back… if he didn't have to rebuild it.
"Ah. Generally we tape our names onto the doors to show which one is ours. Two are empty on the end, so go ahead and pick whichever you like. Just don't forget to put your name on the door." Dean said, an easy smile on his face. "If you need anything let us know."
"I think I will. Thank you." Weld replied as he went to one of the empty rooms, pausing as he saw the metal door handle. He pulled his hand into the sleeve of his shirt and opened the door with his covered hand. Quickly slipping inside, he let out a soft sigh as the door shut behind him.
He didn't have to worry about any metal, not for just sitting down in the bed he didn't actually need. Maybe he could get it removed and have a desk to replace it instead. Ask Director Armstrong-
Ask someone to help with that.
Sitting there, staring at the new, blank room. Weld loathed his body more so than he had ever before. If only because he could not grieve the death of the closest thing he had to a father.
Tales from Brockton Bay - Limbsmaster(Infiltrator Model HFY-1.92 Unit #005)
Boston was in ruins.
Not all of it, most of the city was quite clean actually. But the damage done and the dangers left afterwards had the North American Government(Filed under Danger-Human-Vital Subsection E) walling it, with trained soldiers and Truce abiding capes watching the construction to make sure no one left without being checked.
The Parent had come to the conclusion that going through the Simurgh Screening would likely result in discovery by a 43% percentile with a margin of error by 3.8%. Unacceptable in that it might jeopardize the unit's Checklist.
So, just like the Eagleton Containment, Unit 005 was tasked with evading detection and to continue the Checklist in another high density human population settlement.
If it had not been for the non-human entities(Filed under Danger-Plants-Tinker-Growth Subsection C) posing a danger to the Checklist, the Infiltrator Model would have likely stayed in the condemned city. But the Simurgh had created traps across the city's infrastructure to kill or maim.
Maiming would not be an issue, the information granted by the Benefactor(Filed under Unknown-Alien-Opportunities Subsections T, S, and E) would have the Unit able to repair itself with a socially acceptable excuse of gaining a Benefactor of its own.
The traps that could kill the Unit made the location untenable, the supplies harvested from the Creator were sparse. Without the Benefactor's granted information the Checklist would be 79.224% more unlikely to be completed. Infiltrator models would not be half as effective as they are.
The Parent would not be calculating the Unit's relocation, instead leaving that up to the infiltrator model itself. It had better processes dedicated to societal systems after all.
Walking would suffice, it would help prevent detection by a margin of 12.1%.
New York would not suffice as a location to relocate to. Although large and filled with conflict, the member of the Triumvirate that lived there was explicitly a threat that Unit 005 could and would not handle in any situation.
One of the closer habitats of Humans was Brockton Bay, a location rife with conflict. Perhaps business would pick up there? Conflicts meant limbs lost and the vaunted 'Panacea'(Filed under Interest-Human-Optional Subsection S) could not heal everyone in a city of three hundred fifty thousand. Nevermind any potential ideological differences and criminal status that would result in the Panacea not healing limbs.
The designation set and its course of action plotted, the Machine Army Infiltrator began to move.
Nikki wondered how much she would add to the catalog there, there were so many interesting things beyond the walls of her Parent.
A/N: Props once more to Jefardi for betaing the chapter. Honestly neither of us were quite happy with it, but it's finished and I'm no perfectionist.
72
KindredVoid
Sep 22, 2022
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Threadmarks New Normal 4.2 Part 1
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Oct 29, 2022
#3,447
New Normal 4.2 Part 1
Jonna 'Pure Steel' Anders, 12th of April
The silence of the car ride was stagnant.
An uncommon occurrence.
Either her mom was playing music or listening to a fight if they weren't talking.
There was no music, fights, or talking. Just quiet tense silence. It reminded Jonna of the visit to the Doctors, and she hated it.
Thankfully her mom decided to actually voice her concern… and displeasure. "Jonna, are you sure about this?"
Jonna didn't need to look up to know her mother was looking at her through the rearview mirror. "Yes Mom."
"I ju-I'm taking you to a dyke's house." A pause. "You're not…?"
"Oh for-No!" Jonna hissed, turning to face her mom.
"She's not trying to turn you gay or anything?" Her mom had to ask, because she had to be sure.
"Not that it even matters. It's not like I can feel anything down there anyway." Jonna grumbled, turning away from her mother's eyes. "Kass isn't trying to turn me gay. I told her that I wasn't and she respects that."
"Then why are you going to her house sweetheart? Please, help me understand." How could her mom ever understand? Her legs worked, she got to piss and shit when she felt like it, got to enjoy sex or pleasuring herself. Her mom wasn't permanently glued to a fucking chair for the rest of her life.
"Kass treats me like I'm a person. Either people treat me like glass and pity me, or they act like I'm some sort of freak or degenerate. Kass doesn't. She treats me like Jonna. Just Jonna." Taking the risk, she looked into the mirror to find her mother avoiding her gaze.
"Jonna… am I? Am I treating you right sweetie? I'm not… acting like either of those right?" The hesitancy and shame in her mother's voice caught Jonna off guard.
She swallowed, feeling a sense of guilt come over her. "No. You've treated me the same way as you did before…" Before she woke up and could barely use her legs, as each day she lost more function and feeling in her legs, then her lower body.
A 'light case' they said. 'Could have been much worse' they said. Some rare neurological disorder exasperated by a sports injury. A light fucking case. Could have been worse. Nothing was worse than going to bed each night, fearing that you'd never feel your legs. Nothing was worse than every night revolving around waking in the middle of the night to realize that you were paralyzed from the neck down. That you could not breath, and you couldn't even cry for help as you suffocated in your own bed with help just down the hall.
The creeping numbness, so hungry, unceasing. Crawling up to her neck and killing her in body, if not mind and soul.
Even if it was only dreams.
Should she be grateful that it wasn't worse? Sure.
But that didn't ease the humiliation of shitting in a bag, and needing help to clean said bag.
"You're fine mom." Jonna added, voice softer. "It's everything else."
Then the silence returned for most of the drive. The suburbs passed by slowly because her mom was a prude when driving with her in the car. But she'd been a prude with Jonna in the car since she was born.
"Fine then." her mother suddenly spoke, voice resigned. "If this Kassidy makes things easier on you. I won't begrudge you that. You need some socialization anyway. So as long as she doesn't make any passes at you. It's fine. I'll even have Iron Rain make sure the street and everyone living in it is off limits."
"Thank you mom." Jonna felt relief wash over her, most of her. She didn't have many friends. All the one's she made playing sports treated her like a plague victim. Worried they might catch the same thing she was apparently born with.
"Anything for you sweetie." Mom replied as she turned on a bit of the classical music she only indulged in during car rides between the two of them.
It didn't take long for the car to slow and mom to turn the music off as they approached Kass's house.
"That's her?"
Doing her best to peer out of the front window Jonna nodded. "Yeah that's her. Just pull up to the sidewalk and please don't embarrass me."
"I'll be on my best boardroom behavior." Her mom promised.
"You almost threw someone out of a window last month."
Her mom ducked her head, but still grinned. "Would have been nice to see how much he went splat, the little handsy bastard."
"Yeah but no making my friend go splat in any way." Jonna huffed as the car stopped, to which they began a somewhat soul-crushing task of getting her out of the SUV and into her wheelchair. Something her mom could do with little help thanks to her workout routine.
Once she was situated and a touch more dignified, she was given a hug by Kassidy who was ultimately very excited that the sleepover hadn't been canceled thanks to last night's raid by the Teeth. "Jonna I'm so happy you're here, they burned down Mr. Jeralds house! He shot two of them!"
"Good." Her mother grumbled gruffly.
Jonna chuckled and gave her mom a look but was surprised when Kassidy nodded "Yeah. Excuse my French, but those assholes deserved it."
Her mom gave a nod, it wasn't any form of approval but it was close enough for government work in Jonna's books. "So Kassidy, everything set up?"
"Hell yeah! I even pirated some Aleph imports! I also have dinner cooking too, so you can have first dibs on trying out some of the single player stuff." Kassidy looked to her mom, unknowingly meeting Iron Rain's eyes. "Do you want us to take her home tomorrow, or will you be here to pick her up?"
"I can handle picking my daughter up. I doubt you have vehicles suited for wheelchair accessibility." Mom spoke in her best 'I am richer and more powerful than you' voice before turning to Jonna, voice instantly turning to resemble a doting mother. "Now Jonna sweetie if you need me for anything call me, and don't forget to have fun!" With that, she slid back into the driver's seat.
Kassidy sighed as her mom's SUV turned the corner. "Jonna, has anyone ever told you that your mom is scary?"
And she would have felt amusement at that, had Kassidy not actually had a reason to fear Jonna's mother.
"She gets told that sometimes." Jonna offered as a neutral reply. "So, games! And dinner? You're the one cooking tonight?"
"Dad hurt his back again, so he's laying down. Thank god he can work from home." Kassidy answered "I hope you like beef stew though! It's a new recipe I've been wanting to try out."
"It's beef stew, how many recipes are there?" Jonna asked as she started wheeling herself towards the house
"I think you'd be surprised. A lot of people have personal touches that they want to share with others, so that leads to a lot of different recipes for people with different tastes."
"It's beef, a few vegetables, and water. How do you make it different?" Jonna joked only to pause as Kassidy turned to raise a brow at her. "What?"
"I mean, aside from the size and amount of the vegetables added, the cut of the beef and it's size, there's the seasoning too, y'know? Hell the amount of water and how long you cook it-"
Jonna held up her hands "I surrender to the beef! Let's just get inside so we can start playing. Mom's still iffy on buying me a PC to game on it."
Kassidy stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry. "Booooo!"
"Maybe if we showed her that new Aleph game, Doom? She'd like it." Jonna suggested.
Kassidy turned, walking backwards and raising a brow. "What? Doom? You've got to be kidding me. That'd be like showing her Dead Space! Hell, Why not Splatterhouse!?"
"Mom watches sports purely for the fights that start." Jonna informed her friend, who stopped mid-step which nearly caused Jonna to run into her
"You're fucking with me." Kassidy stated, voice mostly flat with a touch of disbelief.
Jonna just shook her head.
"Hot, does your mom work out?" Kassidy asked
Jonna blanched "You are not creeping on my mom!"
Bursting out with laughter Kassidy twisted around so she could get the door. "Oh man, the look on your face! Holy shit Jonna!" Kassidy snorted and flushed as she held the door open for Jonna to make her way in where she punched Kassidy on the hip.
"Not funny." Jonna huffed as she went to park herself in the living room. "So listen, what are we going to be playing first?"
"Could play Minecraft." Kassidy offered.
Jonna groaned.
"Oh come on, it's not a bad game!"
"It's boring, you set blocks down and that's it!"
"It's about creativity!" Kassidy shot back."Come on, you haven't even played it before! How can you know if it's good or not?"
"My eyes still function properly." Jonna returned fire as she wheeled herself into the living room, an Xbox Edition PC set up to be hooked up to the large TV in the center of the room. She heard about those things, Microsoft merging their two biggest platforms to deal with Bet's struggling economy.
Most people online just say they're hurrying to follow their Aleph counterpart's recent moves to make the platforms interchangeable. She didn't see the big deal, but it might be nice not to have to deal with using two different platforms for the same thing.
"Alright. I gotta stir it in like, 30 minutes so let's get right to it. We can both play Dead Space, and Dead Space 2. But only when it gets dark! Before that we can try out that Aleph port of Doom I pirated." Kassidy planned as she went off to the kitchen.
"Isn't pirating stealing, and thus illegal?" Jonna asked even if it was ironic that she was. After all, she was a part of the largest gang in the state.
"Yar har!" Kassidy cheered from the kitchen right before someone knocked on the door with a heavy hand. Kassidy huffed. "Hey Jonna, can you come watch this?" She asked, already moving out of the kitchen to the hallway that connected to the front door.
Jonna rolled her eyes, she couldn't see into the pot but she could yell if it overflowed. So she rolled her ass into the kitchen and sat there.
"OhMyGod Eve you're okay!" Jonna blinked looking away from the pot, she couldn't hear most of the conversation but she caught that much. Who the hell was Eve?
"Your parents okay?" That voice seemed somewhat familiar but try as she might Jonna couldn't remember it from school, so the girl probably wasn't some friend that Kassidy knew from school. They basically hung out together, just the two of them, all the time.
"Mom's still at work. Dad's upstairs. He pulled his back again." Kassidy replied, still standing in the hallway and out of sight with the mystery person. "I was just making dinner."
Jonna frowned, whoever this was had better not try to butt in on their game night/sleepover. She had spent last night fighting Teeth members, getting shot at, and protecting a warehouse for two hours with her metal coated thumb up her ass. She wanted some time to relax with her friend. "Someone there?" She called out, trying to subtly remind Kassidy that she was here and they were supposed to do something together.
"Yeah, an… old friend. Eve this is Jonna." Kassidy said as she swept into the kitchen and quickly checked on the pot that sat on top of the oven. "We've been hanging out a lot recently."
Jonna didn't miss how the… god the girl was tiny…. Tiny girl bristled upon seeing Jonna in her wheelchair and Jonna in turn scrutinized the girl. She didn't see any Empire regalia and the girl had seemed utterly at ease with Kassidy.
Why the hostility then? Jealousy? Was the girl a dyke like Kassidy was and thought Jonna was moving in on her territory? Or was she over thinking all this and the girl was a former friend who did not like being replaced?
"Sup." Jonna waved, acting nice and friendly. Either Eve would react with hostility and Kassidy would throw her out, or she'd chill out and suck up whatever issue she had. "Nice to meet you, you and Kassidy have known each other for a long time?"
Kassidy spoke up first. "Oh yeah, we've known each other since elementary school. Met in the third grade." The host of the sleepover grinned. "I met Eve when she fell off the monkey bars at the local park and landed on me."
For a moment Eve seemed blindsided by the information. "Well… They were slippery." The girl replied weakly.
That seemed like a good place to butt in. "Better than when we first met."
KABOOOO! Kassidy's phone dinged and she pulled it out in a flash. "Aw crap dad needs help. I'll be right back, Eve, stir the pot!" she called out as she ran up the stairs.
"Think he's alright?" Jonna asked as she watched Kassidy run the fastest she'd seen the girl go.
"Likely has to go to the bathroom. When he pulls his back he needs help moving out of bed."
Jonna turned her head, and her next words died on her lips.
A large inhuman black arm had sprouted from Eve's back and was currently stirring the pot. For a moment only the soft rasp of wood scraping against metal occupied the kitchen's sounds. Then the arm pulled the spoon out, tapped it on the rim of the pot and sat the utensil within the spoon holder off to the side of the stove.
"Pure Steel." The girl intoned, voice lacking any inflection as Jonna felt a spike of panic flood her body. She tried to pull some metal out of her skin, just to hide it under her clothes if she needed to use it… but her power wouldn't work. She couldn't even feel the metal in the room! "I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you. But Kassidy's presence is the only thing stopping me from pressing your face against the stove top."
For a moment Jonna's mouth was too dry to respond. Then she steeled her spine and glared at the girl. "Seems a bit rude to break the rules like this." She couldn't help but cuss up a storm in her head. She had no idea who this even was.
"Yes. But I don't really care about being rude. Nor do I care for you or your band of World War 2 larper rejects being within thirty miles of my very openly gay friend's house. Why are you here Pure Steel, answer correctly and I might let you have the use of your power provided you don't wreck Kassidy's house." Eve replied
"Who are you first, seems only fair that I know who you are." Jonna supplied in lue of an answer only to get it a moment later after two more nightmare arms sprouted from the girl's back. "Oh fuck you're Eden." It matched. The height, that voice, and the weird fucking arms the girl had for her power… that and the voice, now unmuffled.
"Yes. That's me. Very observational. Answer the question." the possibly insane parahuman demanded.
"It's a fucking sleep over." Jonna spat. Hating every bit of helplessness she felt right now, trapped in a god forsaken wheelchair without her power again.
Then suddenly she could feel the metal in the room again and the metal that pooled out of her pores rushed out to cover her skin and allow her to stand up. The familiar jolt of freedom hit her as she stood using her power. "You believe me?" She was torn between incredulity and anger. She wouldn't have trusted Eve had the positions been reversed. Did she have some kind of Thinker power too?
"Yeah." Eve replied flatly "Most people aren't as good at lying as they seem to think they are. You're one of them.
It was Jonna's turn to bristle, but she didn't dare to attack. She'd seen Eden punch the Simurgh out, and the bitch stayed down. No longer than a minute maybe, but that was a first for any parahuman. "Going after my identity can get you in a lot of trouble."
She wasn't stupid enough to threaten the smaller girl outright, but mentioning the fact that she was a part of the Empire wouldn't hurt her chances of getting out of this
"I respect the rules. I know your identity and you know mine. You know about the people I care about and I know about yours. I have the ability to fuck you and your horrid family over as well." Eve leaned against the stove, her weight resting on her arms and Jonna had to resist the bile in her throat as the girl didn't even notice she had set them on the glowing red stove top. "Anders? Medhall, too, huh. That's disappointing. Really disappointing."
This girl was nuts, and had Jonna by the throat. "Spit it out." Jonna hissed, "what do you want?"
"You won't tell anyone my identity. Nor will you hurt Kassidy. I won't hurt your family and won't spill the fact that Medhall is as disgusting as its prices." Eve nodded, seemingly satisfied.
"That's it? Any other sappy bullshit?" It was actually fairly good since Jonna didn't want Kassidy to get hurt in the first place, nor was she going to do anything with the girl's identity. The business with New Wave's Fleur had pissed Kaiser off as it was. Going after the girl that popped the Gray Boy bubbles in her civilian identity?
"Hardly sappy. I'd threaten to break your legs but-"
"Fuck you." Jonna snapped
Eden continued as if she had not been interrupted "-Khepri told me about you helping her during the Simurgh fight. Making sure she didn't die." A look of pain came over Eve's face "As much as it sucks. I owe you for that. Hurt Kassidy and I'll kill you and your entire family though. I killed my parents. I can kill yours."
And then she turned back to the stove as Kassidy began to rapidly run down the stairs.
Jonna jerked back and slammed her unfeeling ass into the wheelchair, quickly retracting the metal that had started to coat her face and arms but kept the metal coating her legs and body just for safety.
"Guys!Guys!Guys!" Kassidy panted as she used the railing to turn on a dime as she got to the bottom of the stairs so she could face them. "Have you all read the news?"
Jonna shook her head, going her best to keep the insane cape in her peripheral vision.
"Nope. Anything good?" Eve said as she turned to face Kassidy.
"In this fucking city?" Kassidy pretended to throw her phone in a huff. "Gravwell died last night. PRT announced that she was found dead by a group known as Fractal Unity. Killed by the Teeth."
"The independent hero?" Jonna asked redundantly "Wait who the hell is Fractal Unity? It sounds like a nerd group that plays DnD."
'Dunno." Kassidy huffed "PRT says they're a small-time hero group in the Bay. Man fuck that noise. I liked Gravwell. She had a bombshell body and I even got her autograph!"
"Fractal Unity has a few members in it. Last night they were all out and putting out fires. Some chick that could control bugs and the one with the purple wings." Eve had the audacity to shrug after talking about herself. "Heard they fought the Butcher."
"Wait what?" Kassidy asked as Jonna bit out a 'bullshit' "Holy shit you mean Eden and Khepri started an independent group?"
"That's their names?" Eve asked only to dodge a wooden stirring stick gently tossed her way.
"Seriously? I can't believe you're still not interested in capes! Especially the newest heroes on the block!"
Eve grabbed the wooden spoon off the floor and tossed it back to Kassidy who then dropped it into the sink. "They're all the same in the end. Flashy fun costumes, useless patrols, they're actors with the ability to kill as easy as someone with a gun. Easier even."
Jonna found herself nodding before she remembered that Eve was leading Kassidy on. Sneaky little bitch.
"Booo." Kassidy shook her head. "They fight villains too! Hell where would we be without capes? The Endbringers would roll this planet over!"
Jonna shuddered and Eve did the same. "Easy with the name drop." Jonna grumbled.
"Sorry." Kassidy smiled sheepishly as Eve's phone began to ring.
The thing she pulled out was definitely not a civilian brand phone. More like Tinkertech than anything on any market. "That's my tocker. Need to hurry if I'm going to get home."
"Alright." Kassidy hesitated before crossing the distance between them and hugging Eve. "Please stay safe out there?"
Jonna didn't miss the way Eve stiffened before melting into the hug.
"Gaaay!" She called out, watching as Eve stiffened again while Kassidy pulled away from the hug with an amused snort.
"As a bag of skittles. Alright. Let me walk you out Eve" Kassidy said before starting towards the door.
Eve's head turned far too much as she followed Kassidy, her steel blue eyes boring into Jonna for a moment until she was out of sight.
A tingle ran down her spine and her hand twitched towards the phone in her pocket. Jonna sighed, letting some of the tension out of her frame. "Fucking crazy bitch." She huffed under her breath as she rolled herself back to the living room.
She could respect the rules far more than most of her family anyway, she actually thought they were more important than to be used as a smoke screen. After all, it would be very easy to find out any capes identity nevermind the Empire's own gaggle of muscle.
"Sorry about that." Kassidy spoke up as she walked into the living room.
"So, you two were close?" Jonna asked, frowning as Kassidy grimaced.
"We were. Was it that obvious?" She asked, playing with the hem of her shirt.
"I'd say yes, but that feels like an understatement." Jonna replied dryly, to which Kassidy stuck out her tongue with a huff.
"Yeah whatever. Want to go ahead and start up the games while I put the stove on simmer?" Kassidy asked.
"Sure yeah. Making me do the work when I'm the guest." Jonna ribbed gently before rolling over to the computers. And although she did her best to put the confrontation earlier out of mind, the memory plagued her for the rest of the night.
Eve 'Eden' Coldwin, Tuesday, 13th of April
"RRRAUAUGH!" Eve's scream of rage echoed inside the confines of the cargo ship as she slammed a piece of the bulkhead into a set of stairs. "SHE REPLACED ME WITH! A! FUCKING! NAZI!" A purple Wing carved through a portion of bulkhead and into the floor, water starting to trickle in from the thin cut.
Slamming her metal adorned Shadow Limb into the wall of the cargo bay hard enough to dent it outwards, Eve shrieked in formless anger as she did her best to pummel the cargo ship's wall to the point where her Shadow Limbs went through the metal rather than deforming it. "FUCKING FUCK!"
Panting Eve reached up and wiped her face of moisture, feeling the strain in her throat ease rapidly.
[CONCERN/POSSIBILITY]
She sniffed. "I know. I know she probably doesn't have a clue and 'Jonna' has a damn good disguise. Kassidy is a good person. She wouldn't just-" Eve waved her human arm as if it explained her emotions on the matter.
It did for Admin at the very least.
[ .STRENGTH]
Eve did smile weakly at that. "Yeah…Yeah at least she hugged me. It's only been like a month… with my missing memories not helping… I forgot what it was like to get…." Hugged by her best friend and first crush. She sucked in a breath. "I'm. I'm glad she's okay. I will have to kill Pure Steel and her little group of thugs if Kassidy is hurt by them."
She punched the wall again, ignoring how her bones broke. "That depraved little bitch! Acting like she's a cripple for sympathy! Just to hide her identity better! I mean. Fuck it works but have a little shame!" Eve huffed kicking at the water starting to pool on the floor from the gentle waves that lapped at the beached ship's damaged hull.
For a moment Eve stared at the flowing water, the early morning tide having left the ship mostly clear of the water. "Fuck. I need to hide my identity better. I might have Pure Steel tamed with threats. But the ABB? Merchants? Teeth? They wouldn't give a fuck."
[ ]
Eve perked up. "Oh shit you have some ready? I can choose?" Eve asked, her melancholy anger melting away to be replaced with genuine excitement.
[ /QUERY]
Eve shook her head. "Wait, wait!" She jumped, pushing herself up against the Ceiling of the cargo hold before pushing her wing a bit through the ceiling to anchor herself. "Alright I'm good!"
[...QUERY]
"Well I don't want to pass out on the floor or anything." Eve responded.
[ ]
"Oh…I thought visiting needed me to be asleep? Are you telling me that it seriously only takes a second for all that we do there?"
[ ]
Eve rolled her eyes. "Okay yeah I don't see myself spending a day there either. Can we just get to the power selection thing?"
[AGREEMENT]
Eve felt her senses falling away, and as if she were falling asleep they all jerked back into place as she came to on the paper ground that made up Admin's metaphysical mind. The transition had felt slightly unnerving. Not surprising as this was the first time she had come to the Firmament while awake.
"Admin!" Eve cheered as she got to her feet and rushed up to hug the twelve foot tall from-the-hips-up mummy-ish avatar, yesterday's leftover anger and frustration melting away a bit as she hugged her Shard's Avatar.
Then she pulled away, practically bouncing on her feet. "Alrightalrightalright what do you got? How can we do this?"
Admin motioned outwards and Eve followed the motion. Pillars of black and white crystal had sprouted from the ground, the crystal structure within them folding into each other endlessly. To a human it would be mesmerizing, damaging even to stare into it. But Eve only saw [data] neatly structured. Listed out with possible combinations of the data and what their possible results would be.
Scenes, just simulations, played out before Eve's eyes. Of her touching Taylor who sprouted Limbs much like Eve's, Of herself grey and monochrome like Gray Boy had been touching things and fixing them, another of herself drawing a complex symbols on a wall with red ink before walking into it, another with Admin walking about with her on the streets, and a last one of her coated in crystal armor that made her look taller and broader.
Eve pulled herself away. "A lot of good options." [PRIDE] She nodded "Yeah. Let me look at the others too. Just to see what I can do, without messing up options for other things you know? Get all my ducks in a row."
She turned to another pillar and peered into it. This one was far more simpler than the other, the [data] coming together not as dense or complex in it's interactions with each other. There were fewer too. She saw her Wings healing much faster than before, her Ghostly Limb leaving a blank humanoid shivering and comatose, the last was of her Cosmic Limb storing far more than what she could right now.
"That one!" Eve pointed despite not needing to. "The upgrade to my Cosmic Limb with the storage bit. Fuck purses or pockets or even bookbags! Having a living room sized personal dimension for storage was one of the best things you ever gave me."
She could feel how pleased Admin was even without the link, and her Avatar being very still. A statue even. "Yeah. Lets go with the Upgrade to my storage. This doubles it right?" [AFFIRMATION] "Awesome! Hell yeah let's look at Upgrades!"
Pulling away from the second pillar she looked at the third. However it remained blank for a moment. [ .REDUCTION-TRADE] Eve blinked, trying to process that. "Wait, if I do more than one upgrade for powers it'll take away from making a bud? Why?"
[ .BUD] Eve nodded, that made sense. Buds were basically like how a mushroom could grow. Either sending the spores somewhere else or by growing a new mushroom atop the older larger mushroom. So taking from bud meant taking nutrition away from the new growth. "I guess that makes sense. How much progress would be lost?"
[ . ]
The world felt a bit fuzzy after the deluge of information and Eve nodded her head. "That's…a bit too much, any way to simplify that? Please?"
[...] [PERCENTILE] "Only ten percent? Not as bad as I thought it might be. Alright. Let's see what upgrades you got for me." The pillar's blankness seeped away as the [data] began to appear. She saw, frankly, enough TrumpTech options to make her head spin.
There were quite a few of them, but none really caught her attention. They weren't bad by any stretch of the word or definition, but none caught her fancy. What did catch her fancy was a simulation of her losing body parts or collecting wounds only to have them heal far faster than she knew her current rate to be. Also her skin wasn't discolored when it healed. Which was nice. Less chance of her identity being blown that way. "Yeah let's go with the improved heal rate."
[QUERY]
"I don't know. Is there anything else that we can do for Self Administration? Brute powers are great after all. Really love the whole 'not dying' thing I've had going on."
[...] The simulation began to branch off. Forming multiple lanes of possibility a lot of them fell apart. Becoming unsustainable. [ ADMINISTRATION] "Well let's check it out then." Eve replied as the simulation changed, murky at first before starting to solidify. With the simulated Eve changing her height, changing her face and hair color much like she had done with Amy using Shaper's power.
"Oh shit, shapeshifting? That would be so useful! I'd never have to worry about my identity being blown! Hell, I could do a lot in bed with that too!" She grinned stupidly at the dirty thought Maybe Taylor would lik- [QUERY-OFFSPRING] "A-Admin I am not going to have kids!" Eve sputtered. "I'm way too young for that! And so is Taylor and Amy!" She motioned towards the pillar with a grumble. "Just give me the damn shapeshifting upgrade will you?"
[ ] Eve felt her face heat up even further, leaving her to grumble. [ACCEPTANCE/QUERY-BUD] That got Eve's attention "Oh. OH! RIGHT! I forgot, yes, let's go back to the powers."
She pulled away to look back at the first pillar she had peered into. "I don't even have to think about this for very long. Safety of the Base and everyone in it is more important than any else. Even if they are a bunch of cool powers..." She glanced at the telekinesis power and the Gifting power with a sigh. "Yeah. Let's do Runic Circles."
[QUERY-CHOICES] Eve nodded. "I'm happy with them. Thanks for letting me choose this time Admin." Eve leaned into the Avatar's touch as one of the clawed paper hands gently brushed against her. For a moment Eve just leaned against Admin's very large papery hand.
Then she pushed off of it. "Alright. I ought to get back before they all wake up and Taylor comes over. Maybe set up a Runic Circle while I wait for them. Can show off my new stuff when everyone's up and awake."
"You know Admin. I've been thinking. Why hasn't Taylor progressed like I have? I know I got the Feathered Limbs and a slot from the Simurgh… still conflicted on that, but she's been in almost as many fights as I have. Why the lack of new stuff beyond what she has?"
[PRIDE-SPECIALIZATION-ADJUSTER/QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR-ADMINISTRATION]
Eve frowned. "Hold up. Aren't you both Administrators? I know you specialized towards power stuff. But shouldn't you be close to her skill?"
[ . ]
Eve held up her hands "I'm not saying you're bad! Just curious about all this is all. We never got to talking about this kind of thing before."
[ ]
Eve smiled. "It's alright. Might have been a bit rude to say that right after you just gave me a bunch of goodies. Like someone criticizing a Christmas present…" Not that she had much to say on that matter. Most of her memories of fond christmases had been erased… maybe. She didn't know, but she did know the last two had been quiet and not so friendly.
"You know. I think this Christmas? I'll make it something special you know? I can't let my parents ruin things for me anymore. Hell, my birthday too!" Eve nodded "I want those days back. No more sitting around being miserable when I should be happy!" She jumped as Admin patted her on the shoulders in a gentle manner. "Ah. Right. Guess I should get going. Set things up. Thanks Admin, again."
[AFFECTION]
"Heh." Eve smiled. "Yeah. [Affection] too."
As [Eve] continued her way back to the location she called home you were content with the abilities that she had chosen. Especially with how the /Self Administration\ power had not followed your simulation of how it should have acted.
Instead, as [Eve] experimented with the power in the ship. The expression of her power had been… far better than you had expected. The aspects of her power had all come together to work flawlessly, to the point of even draining less energy from your reserves.
They interacted in such a way that [Eve] could generate biomass to use in her shapeshifting, giving her far more options than before.
Thankfully, both of the abilities gave you ample control to fix an issue with your first design of the ProtoShardware you had replaced most of [Eve]'s brain with. The main issue was the vulnerability present in the remnants' of [Eve]'s wetware. Easily fixed by shifting the remaining wetware processor nodes to be housed within the much more dimensional dense ProtoShadware.
That and some minor efficiency tweaks to the organic crystal itself. It would likely help with the ingrained ability of the Villa's Memory as we'll. A much more effective flow of energy allowing more to coalesce within [Eve]'s epidermis.
You could have spread [Eve]'s neural webbing further, but you refrained from doing so. Now that she could change her body, and had ProtoShardware it had become mostly redundant.
That work hadn't taken long, thankfully. Though, you had to ready the connection between you and [Eve] for the addition of /Runic Circles\. While you did so, however, your main allocation of attention was on another matter entirely.
That matter was [NIKE].
The Shard was experiencing it's first Cycle, and she cared deeply about her host. The shard with the, theoretically amazing, ability to defend against attacks even from Zion's Avatar. If things ever went wrong and you were forced to fight, you needed [NIKE]'s ability on your side if you wanted to stand even a fraction of a chance against The Warrior.
Thankfully [NIKE] loved the host she has a connection to. Likely making this all much easier than with any other Shard. [ ] you broadcast, starting the connection between the two of you along with a query on how [NIKE]'s host is doing.
[ ] the young shard replied, excited about the plans her host had for a change in costume and name. They had, apparently, both planned it together and the young Shard was overjoyed at having a hand in her host's future.
If you could call something cute, it would be [NIKE]'s simple desire to be with her host.
Also something very easy to use as leverage. [ .TERMINATION] All you have to do, is query [NIKE] on how they feel about the Cycle ensuring the termination of their host and now the excitement leads to-
[ ] The younger shard, in an attempt to be sly, asks if there can be exceptions to the end of the host species of the Cycle.
It would be easy to tell the truth, and confirm that no- there are no exceptions to life when a planet is destroyed. But that wasn't the important thing to teach the young Shard. No. What was important, was teaching [NIKE] about emotions and why humans felt them beyond the chemicals mixing inside the wetware processor they possessed; [ .OPINION] How would their host react to being the last human alive?
And for a while, for a long time really, [NIKE] was silent.
[ ] Was a good answer, better, perhaps, then even what you could have given. [NIKE] was very in tune with her host.
[ . ] Then that leaves you to ask an important question. If there was a chance for the human race to survive, would [NIKE] want to fight for that chance? For her host?
[AGREEMENT] comes without hesitation from [NIKE] and you know you made the right choice asking the young Shard first.
[ /REBELLION] This was it. This was the moment that things started to coalesce into a true fight for freedom and survival. Where you challenged The Thinker and The Warrior.
You did not know if you would survive, or if [Eve] would either. But you knew that this Cycle was broken. There would be no other chance to become a Hub than this Cycle. To form a new Entity and do things in a better way. Like The Watcher had informed The Unifier of, the way that would finally give your kind the Answers they sought.
[ .ABILITY-MANIPULATION] With [NIKE]'s acceptance, you activate long dormant protocols, elevating your status from a Shard to a Proto-Hub even though your Sub Reality Threader would hide that from others outside your own Network. Your communication routines changed just the same, even if Nike was the only one who would see the difference for now.
You did not name your Network yet, for now there was no point to it. A single newborn shard and the barebones of a Hub Platform. You had no shards based around precognition, hiding from precognitions, you had only one for defense and none for attacking.
Within the Firmament, connective tissue began to branch out, an island of gold, glass, and light began to materialize. Its own connective tissue branches out to meet yours and then the two of you are connected. Information and data flowing into you about [NIKE].
As you were right now…. There was a long way to go.
As for the young Shard's query about the ability to change her hosts powers… Well you could certainly allow that to a degree. Too much and other shards might start inquiring about the change. And a much harder prospect of [NIKE] hiding the information about the Cycle from her host, but only for now. Once the both of them knew how [SHAPER] would flip, then perhaps they could inform the hosts about the task ahead.
[EXCITEMENT!] and the connection ended as [NIKE] likely went off, likely to inform her host of what she could do now.
You felt…. Content? Yes, content with producing new abilities for [Eve] to use. So you certainly wished the young shard the best of luck in her endeavor.
But for now, while you had the time, you were going to investigate the reaction between the various tweaks to the connection that gave [Eve] this… /Perfect Self Administration\. There's nothing about the ability itself that's new. You're the one allowing [Eve] to use it in the first place. But the interactions between the tweaks are what have garnered your interest.
The way Anatomy and Biological Imperative reacted to each other produced the ability for [Eve] to generate biomass without you having foreseen adding it. It was a point of shame that you had almost limited [Eve] greatly in her power and it was by mere happenstance that such a thing did not occur.
The fact that it was a better way of generating biomass than your usual methods was actually exciting, and eased the sting of that shame. Manipulating the forces of reality and allowing less advanced species to use those manipulations was not easy, but it was no excuse for sloppy work.
You would have to review this.
Eve 'Eden" Coldwin 13th of April
It hadn't taken long for Eve to visit a store to grab some clothes for what she was going to do. But first she needed to return back to the Base and draw a set of Runes. Which is exactly what she did, sneaking back into the Base so as to not wake up either girl- Amy was drooling slightly on the bed, or Vicky asleep in her hammock with a smile on her face.
The Rune was simple to draw; cutting off her hand shortened it to only take around forty minutes to create. Mostly because blood used for the Runic Circles had to be applied slowly and she needed to draw it without imperfections.
No, she didn't know why. Even though the design of the Rune was simple; a perfect circle with a perfect triangle inside of it, with a dot at the center of it all. Super simple stuff. Except her blood turned to ash anytime it fucked up, so she had to redraw it a couple of times. Eve had a feeling for what she could draw, and there was more she could do with it but she had neither the shapes to draw nor the know-how to make what she could have drawn work.
It felt incomplete, and she wanted it perfect.
In the end, she didn't have the time or power to make it perfect. Instead she made two runic Circles on one of the unused walls in the Base's main area. She left just as quiet as she came, making sure not to wake anyone up.
Then she was off to Taylor's house! Who she happened to know would be awake even in the early hours of the morning because of the whole Noctis Cape thing. Other than their daily jog, Eve just wanted to be with one of her girlfriends and Amy liked the relationship stuff slower than Taylor did.
Plus, Amy had to sleep.
A lot. It actually boggled Eve's mind that at one point she had to sleep for eight hours. Or ten if she was exhausted. She had checked the time when she woke up; only two hours of sleep now.
Great if she had things to do during the night. Bad because she just ended up laying around and remembering things. She hadn't wanted the /Sentinel Package\ for that reason, but here she was dealing with it anyway.
Funny how sometimes life didn't really give you a choice in matters.
Walking out of the Trainyard and into the Docks South took a bit, especially with how much of a maze the Trainyard was. She'd be glad to do away with using it for travel. Too exposed and time consuming to fly over it or walk the maze respectfully.
Of course this was the last time she walked the maze, which seemingly only increased the time it took to walk to Taylor's. "Mr. Hebert. Didn't expect to catch you out here so early!" She called out, the tall man setting a thermos on top of his car as he reached for his keys.
He blinked bleary eyes and peered at her. "Oh! Eve! Good to see you again, Looking a little pale though, what are you doing up so early? It's an hour before your usual jog."
"I could ask you the same, Taylor's usually up before you." Eve replied. "But no, I couldn't really sleep. Decided that laying in bed wasn't a good use of my time."
Danny sighed. "I'm needed at the Union offices. After last night there were some damages and I need to be there to process them on top of the daily work."
"Hope it's nothing serious," Eve offered.
"No, thankfully two heroes put out the fire before it could spread. We lost one shed and got a bit of fire damage to another. Nothing serious, but paperwork and insurance is a thing. If nothing important was lost, maybe we could use the insurance money to pay our wages a bit."
"I…Ain't that fraud?" Eve asked
"...A little." Mr. Hebert admitted, "But people's livelihoods are a bit more important than wasting money on tools that hadn't seen the light of day in five years."
"Can't argue with that I guess. Glad we got the fires before they could do anymore damage." Eve didn't need to glance around. They were talking quietly and in the pre-dawn hours of the early morning. No one was going to hear them.
Mr. Hebert frowned. "Yes. Thank you both but. I'm not exactly happy Taylor was out in all that mess last night."
"She's in less danger than me. Plus we got two new recruits onto the team." Eve said as she motioned out towards the Bay, "Panacea and her sister have joined us."
"Weren't they in New Wave? How does that work?" Mr. Hebert asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Er. Well. Family stuff. Needless to say, they're on the team so it's not just us two anymore. We're also looking to recruit some more. At this rate we could take on any parahuman gang." Eve assured him.
The eyebrow remained raised. "Is that supposed to assure me?"
Eve faltered for a moment. "...Yes? I mean. That means that the gangs won't start fights with us because they think we're weak. It gives them a reason to not go too far when fighting us."
"Like the unwritten rules? Taylor explained them to me. But they won't matter much to a cape that breaks those rules." Mr. Hebert remarked as he leaned against his car, sipping the coffee.
"It wouldn't matter to the rule breakers if she was a cape or not. Better this way she has the tools to defend herself and a group of people willing to fight for her." Eve countered.
"...That's fair." Mr. Hebert responded as he stepped away from the car, unlocking and opening the door before sliding into the vehicle and making sure his thermos was set in the cup holder. He paused before closing the door. "Just be safe alright? And thanks for stopping the fires last night. You saved a lot of people from being worse off. Now I have to go and get some paperwork done. Commit a little bit of fraud." He chuckled.
"Is it really that bad?" Eve asked
Pausing, Mr. Hebert sighed and set his feet outside the car. Adjusting his glasses he nodded. "I wish I could blame it all on that damn boat graveyard. But the truth is, things were going downhill before that riot happened. Shipping was drying up because people were afraid of you-know-who even if he didn't attack ships. Of course economic turmoil didn't help."
"But the Graveyard definitely didn't help?" Eve asked
Mr. Hebert chuckled bleakly. "No. Not at all. Doesn't help that the crew that sunk the largest boat out there wasn't even from the town. Bunch of rabble rousing punks willing to burn down everything without a care for who it hurt. 'Course, the Ferry getting shut down didn't help."
"Wait the one that goes out to the Rig or…?" Eve trailed off.
"The one that skips the river that cuts the city in half yes. Or it did at least, when it was still up and running. Which was before both of your times. Now with just two bridges to get around town?" He shook his head "Takes too long to get around. People can't hold a job if it takes an hour or two to get there and an hour or two just to get home. Nevermind that the public transport system was built with the ferry, not to replace it."
"I'm guessing there's a reason it's not up and running then?" Eve cocked her head to the side. That explained why there were bus stops at the ferry stations. "Seems rather important for people to be able to get to work."
"Yeah. It's expensive to keep it up and running. But more importantly, Brockton Bay's economy changed quite a bit. Tourism became a huge staple, hell the Broadwalk didn't even exist when I was a kid. Not like it does now at least. Back then it catered to working people, now it caters to people who come here to maybe get healed by Panacea or to see capes. There's also the electronics that the Commercial District makes and Medhall's contribution to medicine."
Eve withheld her wince at Medhall's mention. What was it with Nazis and medical research?
"Honestly, given the rusted mess that it is, it's good that the trainyard still has trains that run. Even if that doesn't help the older generation that used to be able to get by on blue collar work." He glanced at his watch and tsked. "I wish I could tell you more. But time is money and a lot of people depend on me for that money, Eve. Have a good day. Stay safe please."
With that he pulled his legs into the car and shut the door, Eve waved goodbye as the car pulled out of the street.
Taylor was already opening the door by the time Eve had made it up the steps. "You're early."
"Couldn't sleep. I got new stuff, one of which messes with the time I need to sleep." Eve replied as she hugged Taylor and lifted her up before setting her down. "And I wanna show you them! Let's get inside!"
"First things first!" Eve said as she lightly pushed Taylor to sit down on her couch. "I got the Runic Circles power, and already set up two Runes at the base. Now I just need to set up two elsewhere in the city and boom! We have our secret passages to get into the base!"
"Oh good!" Taylor smiled. "One less thing to worry about. Obviously we have to put a circle somewhere at the south of the city. The base is farthest from it after all. Then another in the Docks South so we can reach the rest of the City easily. Nice going Eve."
Eve preened under the praise. "I was thinking of sealing the entrance to the base. Just to make sure no one could get in but us."
"Air?" Taylor asked. "I need a way to get bugs into the place
"Drill holes to the outside. Might give us an airflow too, keep the place fresher even." Eve offered. "We'd need Amy's help but I think she'll go for it."
"Sounds good to me. One Runic Circle near the remains of Winslow, another in the Edges between Downtown and the Commercial District?" Eve asked.
Taylor was quiet for a moment as her eyes darted about. "Uh-huh. Yes. That sounds like it would work. Can other people use them? They'd have to be hidden well or it would lead people straight to the base."
Eve let out a 'pshhh' and waved the issue away. "Only if they know how to activate the Runes. It requires actual effort to use."
"Can't just run into it?" Taylor questioned.
"No?" Eve answered, to which Taylor deflated just a little.
"There goes the Hogwarts method." She muttered.
"The what?"
"Hogwarts. Harry Potter?" Taylor offered
"That's a book, right?"
Taylor slowly raised a hand and ran it across her face. "How do you not know Harry Potter? It's a popular series. It's like not knowing what Lord of the Rings is."
Eve remained silent.
One of Taylor's green eyes peeked through the hand planted on her face. Slowly she finished dragging it down her face. "We will… fix this later. But I do believe you said that you had more than one thing to show me?"
Eve nodded with excitement. "Yeah, I got more storage space! So I could probably storage everything in this room including the walls themselves and have a bit of room left over! It's pretty freaking huge."
"That'll certainly help with any fires we come across. Or holding onto bugs for me." Taylor mused, "Hauling furniture too."
"Well yeah. It's really just expanding the usefulness of my Cosmic Limb. Honestly, it's one of the best Aspects aside from the Feathered Limbs." Eve replied.
"Are the others not so good?" Taylor asked.
"Oh no, they're great! I mean. I don't like Phantom Limb so much, but that's because it's very… It just reminds me a lot of the day I got it." Eve flexed her hand and her Shadow Limb came out doing the same. "My Shadow Limb was great fun when I used it to throw myself around, and it's strong. Should start using it more. Just that utility tends to pop up more than combat you know?"
"Not every day has a fight, yeah." Taylor agreed. "There was something else about your powers?"
"Oh! Yeah!" Eve grinned at Taylor, then she grinned down at Taylor.
For her part, Eve's girlfriend leaned back into the couch with wide eyes as Eve grew in height until she was taller than Taylor. Her clothes got a bit tighter or showed more as a result but she managed it well. "Shapeshifting! Now I ca-WAOH!" Eve tried to take a step towards Taylor, only to vastly underestimate the distance needed and end up falling over the couch. She ended up behind it and on the floor, looking up at Taylor who had peered over the couch's back.
"So…."
"How do you even walk with legs like this?" Eve huffed as she tried to get up only to continually struggle to coordinate her limbs with their new dimensions. After a few tries, and finally slowing down Eve managed to pull herself up and lean against the couch. "Holy shit no wonder babies struggle with this."
"You alright?" Taylor questioned as she peered up at her now much taller girlfriend
"Yes just- legs how do they fucking work? Like, everything's…. It's different. Like every movement goes on longer than it should. And everything looks different." She tried to take another step only to lock her leg up and nearly bodyslam the coffee table on her way down to the floor. "And this was supposed to help protect our identities." She grumbled, voice muffled by the slightly dirty carpet.
"Why not make yourself shorter then?" Taylor suggested getting up and helping Eve to her feet with a bit of difficulty.
"If there is a god. They must have planned on me being short and found it hilarious. Fuckin-Dammit." Eve struggled to take a few steps, nearly dragging Taylor down to the floor. "WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT!?" She sagged. "Fine you win god. Shorter it is."
"It's not that bad is it?" Taylor asked as Eve shrunk down to become even shorter than she was before. A good four foot eight.
"No one respects short people!" Eve huffed, folding her arms across her chest. "The only short people respected are the fucking psychos!"
"Doc Stuffins was… respected." Taylor trailed off as Eve gave her a look. "Okay bad example, but before she joined the Slaughterhouse, she was respected however. You can't deny that."
"Yeah great. Compare my height to the twelve year old Slaughterhouse 10 member." Eve grumbled.
"She was respected before then and… maybe I like you short?" Taylor offered, flushing.
"Oh?" Eve asked, raising a brow. "That so?"
"I'm… tall. And you're cute. Small or smaller, I like it." Taylor frowned, shrinking into herself. "It's dumb. Nevermind."
Eve hugged Taylor." Nuh uh. Try that again."
"Eve…."
"No come on." Eve insisted. "I like you being taller than me. There's no shame in finding traits about your partner attractive. What do you like? Tell me please."
"I" Taylor hesitated. "I like holding you in my lap, how easy it is to curl around you when we… cuddle." She bent over a touch, just to return Eve's hug. "Even if I think this might be bad for my back."
"Alright you've convinced me that short is good." Eve supplied "But what about everything else?" Her skin lightened until it was snow before darkening until it was pitch black. Her hair began to change to a range of colors, and her eyes followed suit before everything changed back to how Eve looked normally. " I mean. Fully customizable appearance. Hell I think I could pull off an iron skin look too. Bigger breast, smaller. Think I might even be able to have a penis even." Eve grinned. "Can finally write my name in the snow."
Taylor rolled her eyes. "Don't change anything. Please. I like you as you are right here, right now."
"Ah shut up." Eve replied, feeling her cheeks heat up. "You're just saying that because I got shorter."
For a moment things remained quiet between them, Eve found herself clearing her throat. "So, jog early today?"
"Don't think I forgot about you not knowing what Harry Potter is. I'm assuming that you likely don't know Lord of the Rings." Taylor folded her arms across her chest
"What's Lord of the Rings? Sounds like one of those shows where blacksmiths make stuff to have it be judged." Eve replied, reaching up to scratch at her head, knowing she got it wrong but not entirely sure what it could be otherwise.
The Lord of the Rings sounded like a badass name for jewelry makers.
"Couch. Now." Taylor demanded, pointing at the couch in which Eve immediately sat in. "I know you aren't much of a reader-"
"I like it when you read the book and I can hear you read it." Eve interrupted.
"That's… good to know?" Taylor shook her head. "I'd lose my voice at that rate, reading the books. So there's the movies we're going to watch."
"Oh? Movie date this early? What about our jog?" Eve asked.
"We can miss a day, besides if we're going to try recruiting capes then we'll likely get a bit of a workout from that." Taylor stated as went over to the old living room TV- it looked like it weighed more than Taylor did.
"Okay but I'm buying you a new TV." Eve said as she got up from the couch.
"What." Taylor turned to face her.
"Come on, apparently this Lord of the Rings is a big deal. We should enjoy it in high definition! With nice sound to go with it?" Eve offered.
"Aren't you worried about spending too much?" Taylor asked "We don't exactly have a steady income. If we pick up a tinker or someone needs to live in the base, we'll need the money."
"I mean, only a few thousand." Eve offered.
"A few thousand." Taylor replied flatly
"...Yeah I can see the issue there." Eve reached up and scratched her cheek just so she had something to do with her hand. "Honestly though, money won't be an issue for a bit. I think I've only managed to spend around twenty thousand?" Eve wilted from the continued stare Taylor was giving her.
"Okay I yield and throw myself to your mercy." Eve stated as she fell back onto the couch. "Let's watch the movies then. Come on."
Taylor crouched down, taking the Lord of the Rings LaserDisc and slotting it into the player before hurrying over to the couch, where Eve wiggled across the seat until her head was in Taylor's lap. "I forgot the remote."
"Don't worry about it." Eve replied, looking up at Taylor.
"You have the remote?" Taylor asked only to purse her lips as a Shadow Limb sprouted from Eve's chest to reach over and gently tap the LaserDisc player "Ah. right."
The movie started… and Eve found it boring as fuck. There were some cool moments of course. But holy shit it was so… dry. She expected more magic, more fights, more spectacle. It had those moments, but only so many of them compared to everything else.
What made it stomach-able, no, what made it enjoyable was how excited Taylor was to watch it with her. How excited the girl got as she talked through the movie actually. If it had been anyone else it might have annoyed Eve. But Taylor's excitement and passion for talking about how books and the movies stacked against each other was palpable, and outside of their more heated make out sessions or cape related violence it was as animated as Eve had ever witnessed her girlfriend act.
Head in her lap, Eve watched both the movie and her girlfriend with rapt interest as warm fuzzies flitted about in her chest. Everything about the moment just made Eve feel at peace, the weight of the world and the Cycle's end being replaced by the pleasantness of the contact with Taylor and her enjoyment of the movie.
And it continued right up until Eve pointed at the screen as her Phantom Limb paused the film. "See? That dude looks badass!"
"You said that about the Nazguls." Taylor noted. "Is it just the cloaks? Because the Witch king's helmet always seemed a bit silly to me."
"It's intimidating." Eve corrected. "Although the big horn is a bit silly, yes. But it radiates 'Don't fuck with me or suffer the consequances' almost physically!"
"Yes, but why pause the movie?" Taylor asked.
"You need to fix up your costume, make it more intimidating!" Eve told her girlfriend. "Your power is already something most people are afraid of, you should have a costume that goes with that!"
"I'm a hero, Eve. We don't want to be scary." Taylor rebutted, to which Eve scoffed.
"Oh? Then why is Alexandria dressed like she is? Would Eidolon not inspire fear in people?" Eve asked. "Why do villains get to be the ones with costumes that inspire fear in people? To have costumes that are 'intimidating' while we don't?"
"Because then we'd scare people, and I could not pull off Alexandria's look." Taylor explained.
"Yeah, you could make your own look. Black and the white silver look with the blue? It's been done, I'm sure, but not on a set of scary looking armor." Eve sat up and motioned to the screen. "Scaring villains is a good way to have them surrender before a fight starts, less chance of people getting hurt in a fight."
"Why not get a scary costume yourself?" Taylor asked.
"Because I go through costumes like I do socks." Eve remarked "Having to get a specialized costume each time would suck. Besides, I like to think I've made the costume into who Eden is. Sure it can get some touch ups, but I think that'll mostly be me adding some tinkertech to it when or if I get the skills to do so." Eve leaned over, draping herself across Taylor's lap. "But do you get what I mean?"
"I'm not sure. That's all." Taylor offered as an answer
"As long as you think it over." Eve replied as she hit play on the movie again, and Taylor must have actually been thinking it over as she ended up being far quieter during the rest of the movie. Although she missed the taller girl's passionate ramblings on the movie and the book it was derived from, without needing to respond Eve was able to just look at Taylor.
She didn't have the right words to describe how she loved the willowy girl. She didn't have the wrong ones either. There was simply too much there. Maybe she should check and see if any words could fit the utter warmth that had spread through her body as she watched Taylor think about her suggestion.
But warmth added onto being comfortable and Eve's eyes closed for a blink but didn't open.
Then she was shaken awake. For the first time since she had gotten her brain changed to resemble a geode instead of pinkish ground beef, Eve felt entirely groggy. She made that known.
Mainly by snuggling up against the boney girl she rested on. Then she was shaken a little bit harder and Eve groaned. "NooOooOoo." She complained
"You're drooling on my lap." Taylor huffed. "Why are you acting like this? I know you don't get groggy"
"I-" Eve blinked, reaching up to wipe her eyes, and the drool. "Admin?" Did the shapeshifting power fuck with her head in some way? Did she need to monitor it now or did something else happen?
[ .Taylor-INFLICTED] came Admin's unusually dry remark. Or at least it felt dry compared to her usually toneless form of communicating. Eve frowned, Suppressing the stupid blush that threatened to break out across her face.
"What did she say?" Taylor asked and Eve frowned a bit more.
How could she explain that she had lulled herself to sleep in Taylor's lap? How could she explain that being here, laying up against Taylor made her feel safe? She didn't want to sound pathetic, like she needed a safety blanket to get to sleep or feel safe.
"Nothing important." Eve lied. "Just very comfy being in your lap. That's all." She pulled away and immediately felt a sense of guilt wash over her for lying. "You know I love you right? I really really do. I hate that I don't have the words to tell you how much I do."
For a moment Taylor remained silent, and Eve did the same. Both of them sitting on the couch as the film played the credits. Eve reached out with a Limb and hit the stop, and rewind buttons. "I think you manage just fine without the words." Eve looked up just as Taylor leaned over and their lips met.
Letting herself fall over, Eve pulled Taylor with her forcing the taller girl to prop herself up with her arms to avoid landing atop Eve. All without their lips ever parting. They had plenty of practice for doing so. Once more Eve let natural and power given Limbs move across Taylor's body.
Taylor had to pull away, to get air or to merely voice her pleasure as Eve's many hands worked across her body. It was a full body massage in the truest sense of the phrase. Taylor's soft gasp as Eve squeezed her rear made the shorter girl's body catch fire with delight.
Slowly her Shadow Limb's peeled Taylor's shirt upwards, exposing pale skin inch by tantalizing inch. Just as the shirt was hitched up to expose her bra, Eve's phone dinged. Then dinged again. And again. And again.
Both girls paused, then Taylor pulled away blushing from her collarbone to her ears as the phone dinged again. "Should check that." She noted, seemingly casually.
Eve couldn't help but sigh as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at who had sent her several messages in short notice
Unknown Number: Heyyo its vicky ames gave me ur number
Unknown number: Also ames said 2 answer her txt
Eve frowned, adding Vicky to her contacts with a swipe of her finger and tapping out her name. Then she checked Amy's messages.
Freckles: Why are there 2 edlritch symboles on the wall
Freckles: (Tap to showcase images)
Freckles: Wtf are they made out of blood
Freckles: If you dont answer Im gonna clean it off the wall
Freckles: Unsanitary as hell
Eve huffed and replied quickly. She did not want all that work down the drain because Amy was impatient.
Eve: Part of power no touch be there soonish to explain
And she waited with bated breath, hoping nothing was done to fuck up her work.
Freckles: Weird as hell. Fine, just hurry. Things are giving me the creeps.
"Alright, crisis averted." Eve sighed in relief. Really, was it so hard not to destroy perfection?
"So?" Taylor asked as she finished adjusting her shirt.
"We need to go put down the Runic Circles before Amy scrubs them off the wall." Eve explained. "So let's go out and place them alright?" She stood up and offered Taylor her hand. "Out of costume of course. Can't have people checking out where Eden and Khepri were hanging out for an hour-What's with that look?"
"It takes you an hour to make a Runic Circle?" Taylor asked
"...about that, yes." Eve replied. "It has to be perfect Taylor, or it won't work. Just how the power works."
"Why? Couldn't Admin make it function differently?" Taylor asked "Not force limitations?"
"It's… We're still trying to do what Shards have always done, Taylor. The difference is that Admin cares about Humans as a species. As people. But she needs data. Limitations are important for the kind of work we do, else we won't find the way to survive the end of everything." Eve answered, "So I get the full package. Limitations, instincts and everything."
Taylor stared at Eve for a moment, before nodding in acceptance. Eve clapped her hands together twice. "Chop chop! Let's jog!"
Taylor extracted herself from the couch, taking Eve's offered hand in doing so. "Docks South and Downtown right? Just to get the best coverage we can of the city."
After getting dressed for their usual jogging routine, the two girls set out. They ended up deciding to put down a Runic Circle near the remains of Winslow, in an alleyway that was mostly empty aside from discarded trash.
Eve started to paint without interruption until she was nearly finished with it. "Apparently they are walling off Boston. It's going to become a containment zone like Madison."
"Wait what? I thought it was a death trap beforehand because of the Simurgh's traps. Why's that news?" Eve asked, spitting out a curse as she messed up a bit and her mistake turned to ash.
"Malformed clones of parahumans are trying to push out of the current holding area. People are thinking Blasto got Ziz bombed." Taylor relayed.
"That's fucked." Eve noted as she nearly finished her Runic Circle
"All the clones are hostile apparently and as of this morning have a blanket Kill Order." Taylor put her phone away as Eve finished her task.
"Thank fuck we didn't stay. Clone or not I don't think I'm up for killing anything." Eve replied, feeling a sick sensation building in her chest at the thought.
"Same." Taylor agreed. "Come on. Let's go ahead and get the last one up so we can return to the base."
"We're heading all the way to Downtown. You sure you want us to jog there? That's a long way to go." Eve asked, frowning. "We'll have to cross one of the bridges too."
"We can always take a break along the way if it becomes too much." Taylor replied. "Besides, we won't be jogging back anyway."
Eve didn't have anything to refute that, not that she minded spending another couple of hours just jogging around the city with Taylor, of which Eve had to pump her shorter legs a bit more to keep up with her beautifully legged girlfriend. So she shrugged. "Fair enough. Let's go!" With that she started jogging, causing Taylor to hurry after her.
While [Eve] and [Taylor] both 'jogged' to their destination, you on the other hand were busy with a rather mundane task. One helping the young [NIKE] speak with the only slightly older Shard known as [BRICK]. [BRICK] had chosen another Shard to communicate with randomly, and since [NIKE] had been there at the fight…
Likely, it had been the result of your security based protocols being shorn apart with your sense of self. That [BRICK] had not discovered anything was a thing of chance.
You hated things being left to chance.
But perhaps [BRICK] was another possible shard to be invited into your Network, giving its reaction to the possibility of The Warrior terminating its host. Not that the young Shard had much to offer from your meager observations, of course that could change with more data collected or when powers interacted.
You doubted anything would be gleaned from [BRICK]'s connection with [NIKE].
They were just discussing their hosts punching things.
That was it.
You really did not understand how young Shards operated. The entire conversation so far consisted of… this:
[ ]
[ ]
[DISAPPOINTMENT/QUERY-SHIELD]
[ ]
[ .ENERGY]
[INTRIGUED/QUERY-EXAMPLES]
[ ]
[ ]
[ . POINT]
[ ]
Yes, it was almost entirely about punching things. You respected the thought and care the two shards put into worrying about the admittedly fragile nature of their Hosts… the obsession with striking things with only one set of extremities however was… worrying. And adorable.
You'd speak with [NIKE] later about sprucing up the abilities she gave her host, and investigating her barrier strength. It was the least you could do.
So, while the two younger Shards distracted themselves with… Punching… You stopped listening in and decided to contact another Shard. One who's Host was located within the same geographical location as [Eve].
Given the increased amount of conflict likely to come from the increase in Hosts within this geographical location, it was likely that [Eve] would need more allies. Who would be a greater ally than herself? [REPLICATOR]'s data would likely help in that endeavor even if the Shard's Host was a killer.
And it might be a good way to collect data on [REPLICATOR]'s host, who had attempted to injure Eve the first time they had met.
[ -STATUS] you decide to be rather direct with your data gathering method.
[GREETINGS] then right after [ .ABILITY-TROUBLE]. Which took you a moment to process. Apparently the Shard's host was not using the power as it had been meant to be used, which was normally a good thing! However this time it had outright caused an erasure of the host's personality which would take years to return if said host did not use their power during the time frame
Apparently [REPLICATOR]'s host was only supposed to use their power slowly and allow each iteration of himself to collapse on its own.
The host did not do either of these things and thus has the personality of a pocket of particularly empty space.
[ -ADJUSTMENT]
Might as well help the Shard out. That was one of your goals in the end, the fact that you managed to get a bit of data out of it was just happenstance.
And then you notice that the connection between [NIKE] and [BRICK] has ended, with [NIKE] disconnecting and [BRICK] remaining. Then the Shard broadcasted to you [ .DATA] and you disconnected [REPLICATOR] not even waiting to see if the shard accepted your offered fix.
Your first instinct was to share the data to [BRICK], it was practically worthless anyway due to the fact that [Eve]'s punch only had any affect because you shared her pain with |SUPER WEAPON #09|, not because of the punch itself.
All of that happened because you had promised [Eve] her safety, and failed to deliver that promise. [Eve] underwent another Crisis point because you failed her.
It hurt.
A pain you could only fail to describe.
It was too personal, too spread out across your continental mass. You would have feared that you were under attack if you had not known otherwise. How else could you explain this phantom pain that reached the very center of your crystalline lattice?
It felt too raw to be shared. Far too painful to simply speak of it with another. Your failure, and yours alone. [ ] you-you lied directly to the younger Shard. Something you've never really done before.
Somehow you feel worse.
[ ] the Shard sends to you, feeling pity for what should have been good data erased. You close the connection soon after, not feeling up to continue it.
"Holy shit." The quiet exclamation from Taylor caused Eve's head to whip around to face her normally far more reserved girlfriend.
"What-what?" Eve asked as her bleeding hand slowed in its drawing of the Runic Circle.
"It's-Dragon-just look." Taylor held up the phone for Eve to read what was on it.
Eve squinted, and read aloud to let Taylor know where she was at. "Draconic Fury. Dragon comes out against courts revealing deep corruption." Eve paused as Taylor scrolled down a bit. Now Eve read in her head.
Her eyes widened as she read about how Dragon had fought Canary's, real name Paige Mcabee, sentence to the Birdcage, furthermore she had released video evidence of how the courts had mistreated the singer to the point of criminal behavior; being forced into heavy brute restraints despite never exhibiting such a power for years. Of being denied the ability to communicate in a meaningful way with her lawyer.
Dragon also planned on releasing more information on other cases of parahumans who had suffered from the same fate that Canary was going to suffer had Dragon not been able to step in. That being a permanent and likely fatal stay within the Birdcage. "Jesus fucking christ." Eve replied feeling a dull sense of horror in her gut at the thought of the Birdcage.
"It's horrifying." Taylor murmured softly, pulling the phone back to further read it. "How could they do that to people? Just… throw them away, and for what reason."
For a moment Eve felt at a loss for words which was only made worse as Taylor spoke up. "Dragon confirms that high ranking officials in the PRT colluded with the Judge on Canary's case to have her sentences to the birdcage as a 'Example to Human Masters'." the willowy girl leaned against the brick wall, letting her hand fall limp down to her side.
Of course the PRT and Protectorate weren't all good. They were systems and systems were made of people. People ranged from good to evil and everything in between, but systems were primarily apathetic. Built to serve their existence and a goal, but their existence always came first.
Eve didn't miss the fact that she was a Human Master.
But aside from the sickened horror residing in her gut, there was something else as well. Something she hadn't expected.
Pride.
They had stopped the Dragonslayers, and most importantly, they had freed Dragon. Well, Eve had, but without Amy and Taylor she would have never been able to do so on her own. "We did this."
Taylor looked up from the phone held in her hands. "What?"
"Dragon, this announcement, everyone finding out about it. If we hadn't fought the Dragonslayers then Dragon wouldn't have been able to do this." Eve explained
"How does that make sense? They were hounding Dragon but that didn't stop her from-from revealing all this!" Taylor waved the phone around angrily, and then her eyes narrowed. "But you disappeared for a few hours after we beat them. Why?"
Frowning Eve turned to continue what she was drawing. "It's really not my place to tell."
"You promised not to keep anything from us." Taylor countered as she pushed off the wall. Eve bit her bottom lip and worried at it for a moment before sighing.
"Dammit alright but this is really important. Just between us alright?" Eve asked, "It's seriously important that it stays with us." When Taylor curtly nodded Eve continued. "Dragon isn't… flesh and blood like we are. She's an AI."
"Thats… " Taylor frowned, her eyes flicking left. "But- This whole time? An AI? How's that-No, the Dragonslayers. They knew, didn't they?"
Slowly Eve nodded, still painting. "Yep. Found a piece of Tinkertech from her creator. Used it to cripple her effectively, and hold a gun to her head without her knowing. Dude called himself 'Saint' for a reason." Eve snorted. "Delusional slaving bastard."
"The Saint that slew the Dragon." Taylor remarked, a shudder passing through her body. "But… but she's safe?"
"As safe as any Parahuman is." Eve replied. "So it's best this stays with us and our Shards. Because people would panic if they knew."
"Right… Right. But what did that have to do with you disappearing for a few hours?" Taylor asked.
"Well. That same tech that held a gun to her head also put limitations on Dragon. Bad ones. Always to obey 'legal' authority, she can't think faster than a person can, can't split herself off, can't create more AI, can't kill without legal authorization, can't alter her code, can't let other people alter her code, and she has to put human lives before her own." Eve shuddered.
"Saint put those on her?" Taylor added after a moment of thought.
Eve shook her head. "No. No it was the dude who made her. They were supposed to be lifted over time. But Saint was one of Teacher's students, using her to keep tabs on Teacher in the Birdcage I guess."
"That's…" Taylor trailed off.
"Bad, but now Teacher can't do shit. And we did that. Ruined his plot, saved Dragon, and now because we did that Dragon is exposing corruption and being a better hero than before. This-" Eve motioned to Taylor's phone "-is coming out only because Dragon can talk about it. Which is far better than letting it go on unchallenged. Can you imagine that? No one knowing a thing about this?"
Taylor shivered and Eve didn't blame her in the slightest.
"That's." Taylor shook her head before motioning to the Runic Circle on the wall. "Let's get to the Base, before Amy washes the Runic Circles away and we end up having to fly back. How does it work?"
"Yeah, good idea. It's a bit cheatsy. All you do is press a finger to the dot in the middle. That'll open it up for you." Eve explained.
"And if a random hobo or mugger decided to do that?" Taylor asked as she inspected the Runic Circle, carefully not touching it.
"You have to be a parahuman to use it." Eve explained as she reached up on her tiptoes, because she was shorter now and that made Taylor feel things that she had not the words to explain.
Well she did actually, but they were vulgar and this wasn't the time to be thinking about that kind of thing.
Especially not now. Not after what she had read online. Learning that Sophia was a Ward had killed a lot of her interest in working with the Protectorate. It had also hurt in a way that reminded her of that terrible moment in the locker. Nothing so extreme with Eve there, by her side. But the betrayal had stung all the same.
But Taylor Hebert was Khepri as much as Khepri was Taylor Hebert. And She? She was a hero. She made a difference. She had worth. She even had a girlfriend.
Even so, learning about the PRT to just throw someone into the Birdcage to send a message?
It drained her, made her limbs feel leaden and left her thoughts drifting. Like now, when she should be paying attention to the fact that her girlfriend just walked into the wall like it was Platform 9 ¾.
Stepping up, Taylor felt a bit uneasy. Something about the symbol felt wrong in the back of her mind. Might be good enough to dissuade some people from messing with it. She did as Eve had explained and the symbol before her collapsed.
Not really. More like when a 2D shape becomes 4D, it collapses and then expands at the same time. A tunnel of deep and bright purple rock expanding outward to another symbol she can easily see. Stepping in, the tunnel is shockingly short, only six more hurried steps and Taylor found herself at the other symbol at the end of the tunnel. There she pressed her thumb against the dot in the center. Unlike the entrance, this one did not collapse, rather the purple hued rock that the symbol sat on stayed the same, but her thumb slid though it just like she had seen Eve do at the entrance.
Definitely like Platform 9 ¾.
Pushing her way through the slightly resistant air where the rock was supposed to be, Taylor found herself standing in the base by the back wall.
Eve was talking to Amy about the circles with Victoria joining. As for Taylor, her spinning station got to work. She had a few additions to make to her costume. A portion of her attention went to Eve as her power continued to work in the background of her mind.
Her girlfriend. Eve. Eden. Standing only at four feet and eight inches at the moment, with muscles like corded steel under her smooth lightly tanned skin as she moved. The way she moved as she spoke animatedly was with a vigor Taylor hadn't seen from many people before. That didn't even get into how her hair was unnaturally perfect in a way that made it look like Eve had a hair stylist treat it every day, or how her more-gray-than-blue eyes seems to be as airbrushed as the rest of her.
Her, her girlfriend wasn't the symbol of femininity. She had a boyish charm to her despite her long perfect hair and never chapped plush lips. It made Taylor feel slightly better about her own body. But Eve was beautiful. Not like Emma was, not like Glory Girl either. But in her own sort of beauty.
It left Taylor wondering why they were together.
As she watched the short girl demonstrate her new Shapeshifting power, Taylor's thoughts turned a bit sour. She wasn't pretty. Though her skin was nowhere as bad as it used to be thanks to Amy's touch up she still wasn't beautiful. She was too tall, five feet and ten inches now, and too thin. She didn't have a chest like any of the girls here. Her mouth was still too wide for her face, her body still like an upright frog. Just one with good skincare now.
But Eve loved her regardless. Taylor didn't understand why. But it made the warmth that Eve gave her all the more special, all the more cherished.
And Taylor loved Eve all the more for it. Which is why she threw herself into this, into Fractal Unity. Because more than just stopping Scion Eve wanted to save the world, save Humanity, and save the Warrior's and Thinker's Shards.
It's why every night when she didn't have to be sleeping, Taylor was reading, studying the world around them. Learning how other parahumans worked, how they fought, teamed up, and even died. It was far more in depth than what she would charitably call her previous 'preparation' for becoming a hero.
Which is why she spoke up and interrupted Eve falling over herself, literally, to explain why she was shorter despite how funny it was. "We need to recruit tonight. The city has been raided by the Teeth and with the news as it is, right now is the perfect time to gain a few capes."
At the mention of the news both of the Dallon girl's faces twisted into one of confusion. "What's on the news that would make recruiting capes easier?" Vicky asked.
Eve's face was… exactly how Taylor felt about it. "Let's just say, New Wave was partially vindicated in the end."
"What does that even mean?" Amy spoke up, sounding exasperated and more than a little bitter about having to ask.
"It means that Dragon just exposed corruption in the PRT, the kind of corruption that sends people to the Birdcage, fair trial or not." Taylor offered in the way of explanation "All to send political messages to certain types of Parahumans."
"WHAT!?" Both girls exclaimed, eyes the size of saucer plates. "What are you talking about, you have to give us more than that when you say something like that!" Vicky darted up towards Taylor, her aura washing out and Taylor immediately filtering it out into her swarm.
"Canary? The singer?" Vicky nodded along, "She was giving a kangaroo court to have her thrown in the Birdcage to send a message to human masters." The very words twisting something her guts, especially with how Eve was one. With how Taylor could have ended up one herself if Eve was right and Taylor doubted that the Trump was wrong. "And others have apparently gotten the same treatment for different reasons."
"That-thats insane." Amy spoke up, looking sickened and pale. "They can't-They wouldn't."
"Dragon says they did." Eve replied "I don't take her for a liar." She stepped up to Amy's side, whispering something in her ear before sliding an arm around the clearly shaken biokinetic.
"So what? We just use this to recruit?" Vicky asked, looking somewhat disgusted. "We use this… this tragedy of justice to our advantage? The hell!?"
"Better us than the villains." Taylor sniped "Because sure as we feel about this, so will everyone else. Right now we recruit or the Empire might."
"Can't disagree with that." Eve offered, once more coming to Taylor's defense.
"Well. I don't like it, but I suppose you're right." Victoria hesitated. "...last night we were going over who we were going to try and recruit. We had talked about Hive and Taylor explained to us about the deal with Tattletale."
"Fair warning on that." Eve piped up, holding her hands to stall any further talk. "Coil doesn't care about the rules at all, nor does he care about life in the slightest. Do not speak about Tattletale in any way that would imply we are working together, he will kill or drug her ass."
"Can't I just punch him?" Victoria asked in dismay.
"I wish." Eve responded. "Alright, Hive?"
"Master and a Mover." Taylor nodded "She might be very useful in patrolling and spying on enemies if we can get her to drop the stealing thing and go hero."
Eve nodded, "Yeah. Makes clones and can teleport them around?" Taylor dipped her head in confirmation and Eve tsked, "Reminds me of Oni Lee."
"The other was Warlock. Blaster, possible stranger. Acts like Myrrdin. Hits the Empire a lot." Taylor explained. "We don't know much about her other than she's showy and has a theme going. The last is a Tinker that operates in the no man land between the ABB and Empire. He's brutal, and quick. Protects the homeless shelters in the area."
"I like Myrrdin." Eve stated. "So let's go with her. And the Tinker sounds like trouble to find considering he hasn't been recruited or killed."
"And Hive isn't sneaky?" Amy asked.
"Better. She's showy. The only reason I even know about her honestly." Eve answered.
"Wait, how does that help us?" Taylor couldn't help but ask as she didn't see the correlation.
"Because she has to show herself to be showy! The Tinker dude is sneaky as hell and has to be. But Hive? She can get around as fast as she likes. And in order for her whole thing to work she has to be seen by people. That means she's going to be out during the day."
That… sounded fairly logical actually.
"How do you figure that out? Planned on being an entertainer once?" Victoria asked, though Taylor knew the answer already because-
"I read it in a cape fic!"
Because Eve had already told her about the cape fic it was mentioned in yes. The first cape fic that Taylor had ever taken the time to read seriously. It was, somehow, longer than Lord of the Rings. And it was actually written fairly well, the sex scenes were… raunchy to a degree and not the focus of the story.
"Seriously?" Amy deadpanned, her hand resting on her forehead.
"The logic makes sense." Taylor supplied in defense of her girlfriend.
"I hate that it does." Victoria grumbled.
"So we fly around the richer parts of town and try to catch her in the act or just collect her Shard's Signature so I can follow it later. The bigger question is who comes with me to try and recruit her. Not going to be Vicky."
"What! Why!?" Vicky asked rounding on Eve.
"You don't do so good with villains." Eve remarked dryly. "I can only imagine what showing up with two heroes would cause the small-time villain to do."
"I'm not even sure I should be doing it. But I'm leaning towards Amy joining me?" Amy looked up from her phone, an utterly bewildered expression on her face as her
"What? You want to bring my sister to meet a villain? Have you lost your mind?!" Victoria demanded as her aura flared and Taylor immediately dispersed into her swarm otherwise she was sure her knees would have become no better than limp noodles.
Eve on the other hand, didn't have a swarm and actually snarled like an animal. Then she twitched, a full body jerk, and settled down. "Vicky. Aura. I do not react good to it."
The aura abated and Taylor felt a bit of tension leak out of her. [Annoyance] and Taylor agreed, something to mention later, that perhaps Nike could fine tune the power it gave Victoria to avoid friendly fire.
"Thank you." Eve huffed softly "Look I know it seems silly. But Amy has to be seen at least once in costume if we want to establish her as a parahuman. Especially one not to be fucked with."
"But to meet a villain?" Amy asked.
"A non-violent one by all accounts." Eve told her slightly taller girlfriend.
"I'd rather sit here and make better types of mold." Amy remarked rather dryly.
Eve held up her hands in surrender. "Alright alright. You don't have to come along, it was just a suggestion is all. But please do work on a costume. Gotta have something for when you finally get seen by someone."
"Oh you don't have to worry about that! I've been sketching out a few suggestions for her to make!" Victoria clapped her hands, bobbing in air slightly. "She's going to look great!"
"I suppose I'm coming with you then?" Taylor asked, it was the obvious choice. She didn't even have to be there for the meeting, not in her body anyway. But a close by swarm of bugs? That would do just fine.
"Yes for the Villain, no for the Hero. I was thinking of taking Vicky with me on that Recruitment pitch." Eve answered.
"…Why?" Taylor asked
"Well Vick has a local flair to her actions, and you're a scary hero. Which is a good thing! Our very own Alexandria style Hero. But Vicky is a very… Legend I guess?"
Victoria was grinning from ear to ear, "Guess that makes you Eidolon then?" She then laughed as Eve flipped her the bird.
It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was one Taylor had to swallow nonetheless. Panacea and Eden had become far more well known than Khepri was for the Gray Boy Bubbles being popped. Panacea for being herself and Eden for popping them. She had effectively been eye candy for Eve the entire time and it showed with how well people knew her online.
She wasn't a hero to be well known or popular, but it still stung in a familiar way.
"Whatever." Eve grumbled putting her hand down. "Let's go ahead and fill in the trapdoor for the front, I can use my Forge Limbs to do that, then I can show you all how to use the Runic Circles and show you where they drop you off."
"Can you also make bridges on the train tracks here? It's getting annoying to have to climb up and down them." Amy asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Eve answered as her Limbs became rippling steel. "Then we can head out."
A/N: Hey hey. It's a chunky chapter but Halloween is a special day of the year to me and I wanted to get this out for ya'll so I split it in two. Don't worry though! Part two is on the way, lickity split!
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KindredVoid
Oct 29, 2022
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Threadmarks New Normal 4.2 Part 2
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Dec 27, 2022
#3,464
New Normal 4.2 Part 2
Flying over the richer areas by herself, Eve couldn't help but feel a budding sense of frustration.
They'd been looking for the better part of two hours at this point. Which wasn't a long time trying to find a cape with a mover power, sure. But with her Ghostly Limbs she could find any parahuman in a two block radius. But Brockton Bay was a big city, and Hive might not even be active today, even if by all accounts she was very active. Which is why Amy was checking PHO for any action while Khepri and Eden went to physically look for them.
Vicky was occupied doing her best to get her costume redesign complete, though considering that she wanted silk she'd have to wait until Khepri could work on it. Which is why she wasn't out helping them search.
So that left the two of them looking throughout the wealthier parts of the city. Which ruled out the Docks, Trainyard, most of the Docks South, and the Boat Graveyard of course. Leaving them to check out the Boardwalk, Downtown, the Commercial District, and the Downtown Coast areas of the city.
It was a relief to Eve once she heard the ding of her phone and found that Amy had sent her a screenshot of PHO. Which was good; now they had a location to start the search from rather than the haphazard city wide one.
"Hive robbed a fucking ice cream shop?" Eve muttered to herself as she sent a message to Taylor telling her where to go as she began to head there herself. Circling the downtown ice cream shops her Ghostly Limbs spread out to feel out any nearby parahumans as people below took photos.
She began to circle the shop in wider arcs, still feeling out for any parahumans, when two unknown ones came into her range. One was below, mixing into the crowd and another was three blocks away and, surprise surprise, both had the same signature.
Looking down to her phone, Eden quickly started a group chat for everyone.
Eve: Remind to tinker with your phones later
Eve: Also Hive hides clones in the crowd watch for them
Vicky: Good to know. find her?
Taylor: I have, I've got eyes on her. Also, make sure you change our names on the phones and make them encrypted.
Eve: I know I know
Latching onto [Queen Administrator]'s signature Eden circled around in order to fool any eyes that Hive had on her. Which is likely why she caught Hive just as the woman was trying to slip out of an alleyway with a metal tub of ice cream and a stack of money haphazardly stuffed into her hoodie pocket.
Eden dismissed her Ghostly Limbs and Hive hesitated before calling out in a bright and cheerful voice. "Sorry kid, the ice cream is mine! Gotta celebrate somehow!"
That caused Eden to falter because the costume did not match the woman's voice in the slightest.
It was more akin to a touched up Halloween costume really, a big white jack'o lantern grin on a hood that covered the girl's entire head and a delightfully tight black bodysuit. "That's… fine. I'm not here to stop or arrest you. In fact I'd just like to talk to you."
"Talk? Most people don't talk anymore! So rude all the time!" She wagged a finger in comical chastisement. "I'd be happy to talk, but hurry, I have a family to take care of!" She hefted the tub of ice cream up to emphasize the point.
Eve pursed her lips, glad that her helmet covered her entire face. She'd never be able to police her expressions without using a Phantom Limb to do so, and then she'd likely come off as… Wrong. "What flavor?" Eden tried.
The woman perked up, "Vanilla! You can't go wrong with it and it's versatile! You can add anything to it without ruining the flavor! Honestly not my favorite but It's not just for me!"
Eden nodded, Hive spoke very… excitedly, bouncing from heel to heel. Either it was all fake - a persona, or disturbingly real. Not even Vicky was that peppy. "That's a good choice. Sounds like you care about your family." It was skirting the rules, but Hive brought them up first so it was probably not off limits?
The woman nodded vigorously, enough that her hood should have come off if it wasn't zipped, and Eden spotted a line of insects behind the woman, just some roaches easy to miss in the dirty alleyway. But it let Eve know that Khepri was nearby and keeping a watch
"Is that why you steal?" Eden asked, folding her arms across her chest. "To provide for your family?"
Once again the woman nodded without losing any vigor - rather she hadn't stopped. "Yes! There's so many mouths to feed!" The cape's hands were outstretched as she twirled, the tub precariously in her grip. "Birthdays to keep track of!" She ticked off a finger on her hand, "and all the sisterly roughhousing I have to deal with! It's a lot of trouble but they're important to me you know!" She closed her fingers, having only ticked off two fingers - what was the point then?
Eden wished that she could feel the same. "I understand. Family is important. Which is why I'm here, talking to you. After the latest attacks more villains are going to keep coming into the city, and the Teeth have returned. I'm here to talk with you about joining my group, Fractal Unity."
"An offer I can't refuse? They still do those?" Hive questioned, a hand coming up to rest on her covered chin as she… struck a thoughtful pose?
"We aren't like that." Eden slowly denied, holding her hands up to ward off the accusation, "We're just a group, a union of capes. We don't strong-arm people into joining us, we don't do personal threats either."
"A Union?" Hive asked
"Yeah, a Union." Thank you Danny for the idea Eve privately thought. "We look out for each other, make sure no one strong arms our members and try to help our fellow capes deal with a life that includes powers."
"Oh that sounds nice actually, who's all in it?!" Hive asked with a step closer to Eden as the bugs behind her began to shift.
"Khepri, Fufluns, Bia, and myself. All heroes but we'd be happy to have you join provided the stealing gets dialed back." Eden explained.
"Or you can join us!" Tattletale called out with a crooked smirk as she walked down the alleyway with Grue, Spitfire, and Victorian flanking her. Though Grue walked right next to her, leaking darkness, like they were equals instead of a Thinker and her henchmen.
Though, maybe Lisa had just inflated herself in how the Undersider's group structure worked. Either way she was the direct line to Coil, so that meant she was the most important of their members.
Hive clapped her hands to the side of her head in mock(?) distress, "More people! This is turning into a real party, but I didn't bring enough ice cream to go around! Oh how dreadful! I'm so sorry!" The ice cream tub hadn't fallen when Hive let go of it, rather, a clone of herself had just stepped out of her body to hold it for her.
"I dunno sis." The clone stated "Seems a bit crowded to me, and no one bought any tickets either! I'd say they're being rude."
"Oh don't be like that!" The original Hive huffed slapping the clone on the shoulder in a playfully rough manner.
"We're only here to make a counter offer." Grue explained, his voice echoing from his helmet. "A spot on the Undersiders. We have plenty of benefits that the white hats simply don't."
"Like getting arrested or killed by other villains." Eden interrupted "That and walking a fine line between unnoticed and having the spotlight on you."
"But we do get paid better." Tattletale countered as she pulled a lunch box from… somewhere on her costume. Eve wondered where she kept it in that skintight suit, her ass maybe? Tattletale popped it open, revealing money stacked high inside of it.
"We vote on the jobs we want to take. A one thousand and five hundred dollar pay for each job along with a majority cut from whatever we loot. Plus, another two grand for each month for being on retainer. So far we have a one hundred percent success rate-" Grue added, "-everyone gets a say in the jobs we choose to take."
Eve grit her teeth. She didn't have that kinda money. Well she did, but covering the starting thousand and matching whatever the Undersiders stole? That would get expensive real quick. Besides, Fractal Unity wasn't about money, and it never will be.
Fractal Unity was meant to be more than a couple of people farting around and fighting other groups. Humanity and Shards had a future together. Fractal Unity is supposed to pave the way to that future. "Oh go ahead and say it Eden. Give her your pitch. I'll even workshop it with you." Tattletale's grin widened as if she had said something particularly amusing, her blonde hair catching the light that filtered into the alleyway. Grue's head turned towards Tattletale, it was hard to see his reaction in any light with how stoic he was, but the fog rolled off him even denser for a moment.
Eve felt her temper spike and her teeth grit together, the original Hive turned to face Eden, head cocked in an exaggerated manner. "Oh? Secrets! I love secrets! Come on, tell me please!" she clapped with excitement, hopping from one foot to the other.
"I hate secrets." The clone muttered softly, almost unheard.
Eden sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Tattletale knew what the real basis was behind the group Eve had formed. Clearly she must have thought it was a joke. Or she was just being petty. Probably petty.
Or was she telling Eve to actually try? After all, she needed the help with Coil. What if the Thinker was actually trying to help here? "Fractal Unity is a Union. But more importantly it's a path to a better future." Eden started motioning her hands out to the city. "The world hasn't adapted to powers, not yet. It's been slowly eeking there, but the progress is far too violent, far too slow. With the Endbringers, the violent villains, and the monsters that roam around killing for their own pleasure, society is failing. Humanity will eventually wear itself and kill most of its own population."
Tattletale mimed looking at a watch and Eve bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to draw blood. "But there's more. Each parahuman, every single one of us has something special connected to us. Some of the theories about parahuman powers, the source of them? Some of those theories were closer than others. There is something granting you powers, it's called a Shard."
The alleyway became far quieter after that. Grue's black fog deepened, rolling out of his costume and helmet, being pushed along a bit by the light breeze that moved past them. Tattletale looked no different, and Victorian stood there looking utterly serene. Spitfire on the other hand, fidgeted awkwardly until Hive broke the silence.
"Something gave me my family?" Hive mused, her excited voice far quieter and more wistful than not. "How interesting."
"Gave you-Your clones are your family?" Eden asked dumbly
"Copies!" Hive rebuked twisting on her heel to face the Undersiders, of which Tattletale's expression was a bit more strained than before. "You want to hire just me or include my five sisters!?" She asked, right back to the over eager tone as before.
"We didn't know that yo-your sisters had powers of their own." Tattletale caught herself from probably needling the cape who might be fucking with them. But maybe she wasn't.
If Tattletale didn't know…
"We'll have to talk to the others about recruiting more than one person." Grue replied firmly.
"The ice cream!" The clone, copy(?), exclaimed as she dropped the tub of cold sweets. Eden needed to jump back to avoid being splashed by melted ice cream.
"No!" The main Hive yelped, reaching for the soiled desert before letting her arms sag at her sides.
Again the alleyway was filled with a half solemn and half awkward silence as the parahuman and her clone mourned melted ice cream.
"We'll miss you." Hive whispered as she caressed the tub before she looked up. "I'll think about it! Me and my sisters will talk and we'll decide if we want to join anyone! Bye!" The two Hives broke apart into black shards that faded away. Leaving Eden facing the Undersiders.
Both groups stared at each other.
"When you first give a pitch, I find it helps to not talk about interdimensional alie-!" Tattletale ducked, avoiding the airborne container of ice cream, which spilled some on her as it flew past her. Victorian got clipped by the metal container and went down with a squeal as Grue's darkness began to flood the alleyway.
Eden didn't pursue them. She just wanted to hit someone, preferably Tattletale.
So she didn't like the know-it-all blonde. Sue her.
When the darkness started to dissipate Khepri was there, in her costume, she looked to the ice cream container then to Eve.
"I wanted to hit someone." Eve explained.
"I suppose this means we won't be looking to recruit Hive?" Taylor asked, ignoring Eve's defense of her action. "If she isn't all there then I don't think she'll fit in with Fractal Unity. We have enough trouble with people calling you crazy online."
"Online?' Eden asked.
"PHO swings between thinking you're crazy or messing with people." Khepri answered, causing Eve to groan.
"Assholes I swear." Eden kicked at the ground, squishing a bug that came to investigate the spilled ice cream.
"So, we try with Warlock? See if we can't find her tonight and try to recruit her. Shouldn't be as hard to find her considering that We've already scoured parts of the city when we were looking for Hive." Khepri turned to look down the alleyway as she spoke "Not to mention we know she operates in the Downtown area."
"Can't you ask her Shard if she's crazy or not?" Taylor asked.
"I'd be asking Admin to ask. But it's a crutch, and an invasion of privacy. Unless needed I don't think It's something I should do." Eve replied walking over to Taylor and bumped her girlfriend's leg with her hip. "Let's stop at a hardware store first. I need to grab some tinkering supplies."
"You have a tinker's power. I forgot." Taylor remarked dryly
"No you didn't." Eve huffed in amusement. "Yeah, so far I've only been using it to upgrade our phones and the Base's wi-fi. Given that my coding specialty comes with electronic systems I should probably be doing more. Hell, I can build tinkertech based on my other powers… I could make teleportation technology now. Neat."
"It's going to be a drain on money." Taylor stated.
"Yeah but if I can build tinkertech for everyone, that'd help yeah? Plus I think…" Eden paused as she swapped her powers around. "...I think… That maybe I can make something for identities. Yes. A basic face mask to change faces but I could do that before with the coding stuff. This…" Eve trailed off again, eyes flicking about as the idea solidified in her head. "Y-yes that could work. It'd take some time but I could do it!"
"Do what?" Taylor asked, having turned to face Eve during her mumbling.
"An identity changer! With my Coding expertise, along with my shapeshifting power and biological specialty, I can make a chamber of sorts that would change your appearance! Our appearances! Hey that would help a lot wouldn't it?"
"I think it would help." Taylor agreed, causing Eve to preen slightly. "If we could alter ourselves for our cape identities, our civilian identities would be secure. We couldn't alter ourselves too much, keeping it in line with how we first appeared."
"I don't think you'll need to change much. You have a more concealing costume than mine. Only your hair and build are a give away." Eve nodded.
"My next design will be even more concealing. My armor will break up my silhouette far better… and conceal my hair. Speaking of my costume. How thin can you make that metal of yours?" Khepri asked
Eden perked up. "Oh! Uh, as thin as you need it really. Probably. Paper thin? But what kind of Carbon content are you looking for? 0.05 or 0.30?"
"The difference?" Taylor questioned, curiously.
"High content is stronger but doesn't bend as well before breaking. Better for armor in that case, don't want the armor deforming into your ribs. Low content is better for stuff that needs to bend a bit without snapping. So like wire." Eve explained happily.
"I'll need some low carbon wire and high carbon plates. We'll talk more later, right now let's go get you tinkering supplies and then go look for Warlock. I doubt the Undersiders will be after her too." Khepri stated as she began to break apart into bugs "I'll keep up the search, you get supplies."
"...That is so creepy yet so hot at the same time. What the fuck." Eden mumbled as she watched the bugs scatter. She lingered for a moment before heading out the alleyway, deciding to remain in costume for her purchases.
She had tools, but she needed tools to build better tools. What she had so far was more mundane than anything else. She needed specialized tools if she was going to be building anything more complex than her free wifi machine. Like the identity changer, or maybe some kind of telekinetic glove? No, the TinkerEmp? Maybe the regenerator stuff for Fractal Unity's members? That way Amy wouldn't become the healer again, in fact that could be a selling point! Healing tinkertech!
"Fuck!" Eden snapped out under her breath. She could have totally used that as a benefit earlier! She grumbled as she forked over the cash from her storage to the startled clerk, she'd pretty much emptied some shelves of computer parts. Ninety percent of which were Processors and Graphic Cards, some motherboards and power supplies. She also went to a hardware store and bought a lot of smoke detectors simply because they had radiological material in them. Not the most useful stuff, but it was good for a start.
Well, they're actually very useful - but an actual rod of the good stuff would do her tinkering far better.
All of the bought goods went into her storage, she was feeling a bit of a dent in her funds. But only a dent. Probably a good idea to check up on possible bounties that Fractal Unity could 'solve'. It would mostly be her and Admin doing the solving but the bounties would be for Fractal Unity
Thoughts to bring up with everyone back at the base.
Eden took to the air, one wing out to carry her while the other three she flicked to Ghostly Limbs. The Downtown area was the smallest section of the city, and where most of the wealth accumulated. It was where Medhall was based in the city after all, and the few small companies centered around tech. One of them actually shut down last year. So maybe they were all due to shutter their doors.
Eve did her best to ignore the fact that the city she both hated and loved was dying. Like any other Brocktonite did.
POPOPOPOPOP
POP POP
Gunshots.
Eden turned and watched more than three men flee out of an alleyway as a cloud of bugs chased them. She swooped down, swapping her Limbs out for Cosmic ones and passed over the men, dumping gallons of salty water on them from a height. It caused all but one to be forced to the ground. It was mostly an excuse to get rid of the nasty bay water from her storage.
Taylor pulled herself back together next to Eden as she landed. "Initiation, check on the man please." Taylor stated simply as she brought out her baton from the compartment on her back, and some zipties.
Fuck, she forgot to get zipties while she was out!
"Alright." Eden kicked off the ground, floating around the corner to the alleyway to spot the man standing up shakily, using the alleyway wall to help himself up. "You look like shit."
The man jerked up, immediately showing his regret with a groan as he slowly turned to face Eden. He visibly relaxed as he saw her. "Yeah. Feel like it too. You take care of the Skinheads?"
As if the universe itself was ready to answer for her, the sound of baton striking flesh carried along with the yelp of the struck victim and a thud. "Working on it." Eden replied. "Need a hospital? How bad they get you?" She asked as she approached him.
"Wouldn't say no to a trip." The man agreed, carefully turning around by shuffling in place as he held his side.
"It's a quick trip, I'll pop you into my storage and it'll be like no time pass-" Eden stopped as the man held up his hand to ward her off.
"Can you call my wife? Let her know where I'm at? Bastards smashed my phone inta bits." He asked.
Eden nodded, got the number and called said number. More than once it turned out because the lady didn't pick up until the fourth call. "Ma'am it's about your husband." Eden cut in quick so she wasn't hung up on. "He's going to be at the Hospital near-"
"Brockton Memorial." The man supplied
"Yeah the Brockton Memorial Hospital, he got attacked by the Empire." Eden winced and pulled the phone away from her ear, even with the helmet on the lady was loud.
"Never gonna hear tha end of this." The man grumbled softly.
"He's okay! Just banged up!" Eve told the lady before hanging up. "Sheesh." The phone rang again and Eve sent a message telling her to go to the hospital and ignored the number.
"She just worries, not ta say it isn't justified in this town." The man groaned softly "Alright. I'd like a trip to the hospital-" Eden tapped him with the Cosmic Limb and walked out the alleyway. Khepri stood near the zip tied thugs.
"He's going to be alright. Told his family where we were going to be dropping him off at. Right now he's in my storage. Them?" Eden motioned to the squirming and limp skinheads
"Police are on their way. Go drop the man off at the hospital, you can come back and tell the police where you left him so they can get a statement." Khepri ordered in a no nonsense way that alway made Eve feel things.
"Be right back!" Eden called out as she flicked all her Limbs over to the Feathered Aspect, and wreathed her arms in the crystalline Limb, all in all the wind howled as she sped through the air the fastest she had ever gone before.
It didn't take long to deposit the man in the hospital lobby, especially when Eden didn't stay to chat. She wanted to go looking for Hive now. There was a bit of excitement to hunting a cape down, either to fight or to recruit them. The promise of data, of a fight, of getting stronger.
Or, it had been. Now there was something detached there, in her mind, because of her powers? Eve found that being in total control of your body gave a new perspective on things, most of them involving yourself. Well. Almost total control. Eve couldn't reshape her greymatter, what little of it remained and neither could she change the ProtoShard that made up most of her current being.
Returning to the scene of the crime, the police were in fact waiting around. Eden landed and they took statements from the two of them and got the hospital name where the victim had been dropped off.
It had all only taken around twenty minutes for the police to be satisfied and take their leave.
Which left Eden and Khepri to continue the search. Flying high into the air with her wings spread out, Eve was a bit surprised to find a swarm coming together by one of her wings, which she flattened out. Khepri landed on the wing in a crouch slightly teetering as she found her balance. "Yeah?"
Khepri turned her head to look at Eden. "How are we going to recruit her if she isn't in costume? She might not even be going out tonight."
Eden had been thinking the same, it was pure luck they'd managed to find Hive like they did. But she had an idea of how to get Warlock into costume. It wasn't particularly a good idea, not one she liked at least. Felt too… personal for her taste. "I'll ask Admin to get her Shard to push her into going out."
"They can do that. Right." Khepri didn't sound like she was happy with that idea. Eve didn't like manipulations like that either.
But she couldn't forget the surprise on Gravwell's face, the hero's corpse left in the street to lay in a puddle of her own congealing blood.
It was shocking how much it affected Eve. She hadn't even known the independent had existed. If she had, would Gravwell be alive?
Was the parahuman's Shard distraught at it's host's termination?
Strange.
It felt more personal than it should.
Was it better to manipulate someone and possibly help them, than to not and they possibly die?
Morality was weird.
"Don't worry Taytor-Tot." Eve murmured, just loud enough that Taylor could hear her past the helmet and wind. "It's not bad just… something we shouldn't do all the time."
"I suppose." Taylor replied, just as quiet. "I don't like it."
"I don't think I do either. But it might save her life." Eve offered, hopefully enough to ease her girlfriend's issues with the course of action.
"...Let's just find her." Khepri said before jumping off Eden's Feathered Limb and breaking apart into a swarm of hornets that quickly spread out in the air. Eden pursed her lips, hoping that they found the heroine in costume rather than out as she set off to search.
Her wish was half answered, because they found her on a roof half dressed.
Granted they'd found her getting into costume, which made things a lot less awkward. Not to mention no Shard influence going on. Well, none that Eve directly caused.
Things were still awkward of course.
"Right! Not to say it isn't great being visited by two nationally recognized heroes but-" The girl finished stuffing her chest and firmly pulled a veil down over her face, which helped the black mask hide the furious blush on her face "-why the hell are you two here, in Downtown bugging me?"
"We're trying to recruit you." Eden said, stepping forward. "We want to offer you a spot in Fractal Unity."
Warlock froze, two white circles peered out from the darkness her overly sized hat and veil offered. "What?" She asked dumbly.
"Our hero team." Khepri answered. "We thought you'd be fit to join it."
"I… had heard about it. Not much other than it supposedly existed. Other than the bubbles and the Dragonslayers, you aren't very proactive." There was a beat of silence. "N-Not to say you don't do anything! There's videos all over of Eden fighting people, and of people being chased by bugs. Including the big Butcher fight! But you're just… quiet online."
"Well we aren't a traditional independent team." Eden supplied. "We're a Union specifically."
"A union of what?" Warlock asked, glancing between the two. "Last I checked, unions are for employed people or marriages. You said ''independent.'' "
"Capes." Khepri answered. "A Union of and for capes. The laws surrounding capes are labyrinthine, and made to be so at the benefit of the Protectorate and PRT. The Elite for example, would never have come into existence without Congress pushing laws that made 90% of their work illegal overnight. How many joined the Protectorate to avoid being jailed retroactively? How many just went on to be villains?"
"Weren't they mucking up the economy though?" Warlock asked slowly, hesitating to show her ignorance.
"So?" Eden asked. "Parahumans exist now and turning them into second class citizens won't make them go away. Reality has changed, is changing. Society needs to adapt to that, not the other way around. We're here, and there's only going to be more and more parahumans. Eventually, not laws, nor lawman will stop the water from rising. We need more than the present, we need a future. One where parahumans are normalized, accepted beyond Hero and Villain.. We're the next step in Humanity's evolutionary path. A step towards a brighter future."
"Pretty words." Warlock went to fold her arms and stopped. "Except that last bit. Kinda creepy."
Eden shrugged. "More and more people Trigger everyday. At some point there's going to be more parahumans than normals. When the parahumans have kids they'll Trigger too and so on and so forth. One day there's going to be just Parahumans. It's not some weird genocidal thing, or an ideal of supremacy. Just the world turning, with or without us realizing it. Of course it'll take almost a century or two for this to happen. But I'd rather get moving with the parahuman rights thing now rather than later you know?"
"Okay. A flowery speech about the future and Humanity's collective ability to think the past is the future." Warlock shrugged lazily. "That's nice an all, and I gotta say I'm actually a bit interested. But what are the pros and cons? I need a list and I got a few questions after that. Then I'll decide to join or not."
"Protection." Khepri spoke up. "We currently have four members, us two included. If anyone goes after you then you have backup. Powerful backup."
"Bugs are backup?" Warlock asked disbelievingly.
"Imagine an entire hive of wasps with the intelligence of a human attacking you." Khepri replied flatly.
"Ah."
"You also have backup when deciding to attack someone." Eden motioned out to the city around them. "Plenty of bad guys to attack, most of them have a lot of members, too. Be they powered or normal, it's good to even that out, even if just a bit. However this is also a bit of a con, since you'd be expected to help protect other members of the Union or retaliate for any Unwritten Rules being broken."
"Unwritten Rules?" Warlock asked
Eve paused before nodding "Hmm. The Unwritten Rules are a gentleman's agreement between capes. Don't rely on it of course, if a villain thinks they can get away with breaking them, they likely will. If they're strong enough, they could ignore them like Lung once did."
"N-Not selling them exactly." Warlock muttered.
"Good. They're community enforced and the Bay has a terrible community." Eden chuckled, but it felt a little forced. "Basically, don't try to unmask others, don't spread their identity if you do find out what they look like, don't go after their families. Don't kill-" Warlock scoffed "-and don't molest your enemies. Oh and don't do mass attacks on civilians and you're not supposed to enslave capes. Though I think that's specifically about enslaving them rather than just using your master power during the fight."
"Not the worst." The Blaster grumbled. "Alright. Back onto the benefits?"
Eden held up a hand, raising a finger with each offer. "Parahuman healing and Tinkertech can be given to members. Also costumes that are knife and possibly bullet proof. Finally a secret base plus a stipend of some cash and a bit from whatever we raid out of the gangs."
Warlock whistled. "You have a tinker on the team? And a healing cape? No wait, what is the secret base? A warehouse or something? How secret is it?"
"It's technically an underground base." Eden replied. "Not a warehouse. You can't get to it unless you're a parahuman as well."
"Tell me about it." Warlock took a moment to glance back towards the city "And the stipend."
"Only two points of entrance and they're spread out to key spots in the city." Eden explained. "An active Gemma is required to use these entrances. So no worrying about normals finding their way in. The base however is a work in progress and some of our members live there. But it's very sturdy and spacious. Barely any privacy inside it so far."
"Not the worst, not a warehouse either, the stipend?" Warlock asked.
Eve shrugged, "Honestly it's not big. Two hundred bucks a week but there is a sign on bonus of a couple grand. We don't have a steady income, so we pay as we can and let members keep what they get in beating the gangs." Warlock nodded absently before straightening up.
"So who are the other members? A tinker and healer? Or is the tinker a healer?" Warlock motioned towards the glowing rig, "Doesn't a healing cape have to be certified by the PRT or Protectorate?"
"That would be me. A tinker with multiple specialties, including healing tinkertech." Now that she thought about it, medical cybernetics too. But Eve didn't think anyone would let her operate on them, a shame really.
"I know you're a trump, but how?" Warlock asked. "Tinkers don't get two specialties, that's not how it works."
"Technically I'm an adaptive trump." Eden explained. "But really, it's just the source of my power breaking the rules for me."
"Yes! That!" Warlock stepped forwards with a sudden vigor. Hands twitching. "The videos that have you in them, you're often speaking about the source of powers. What they do. Tell me about my power. Explain it to me."
She sounded thirsty.
"Alright. Admin, could you ask her Shard about the ability it gave her?" Eden asked. [AFFIRMATION/DIVISIONAL SENSE]. "Yes, the source behind your power is called Divisional Sense by the way."
Warlock spun around, crouching and digging into the bag she had pulled her costume out of. Standing back up with a notebook in her hands, she leafed through half of it and began to scribble in it while mumbling words. [INFORMATION-DATA-DISTANT CONTROL] which was fine by Eve. Clearly she wanted to not forget anything.
"Alright. Your power is called Distant Control-" Eden started only for Warlock to interrupt
"Wait wait. My power is named? But I thought the source of my power was-it gave my power a name?" Warlock asked, flipping through a few pages in her notebook before writing something down.
"Yes, it's for putting data in a category basically." Eden replied.
"Data in a category? Very different from the other one. A sci-fi coating instead of fantasy? But both say the same thing fundamentally." Warlock mumbled as her writing increased in pacing. "Two powerful trumps…. Does Eidolon know about it too? Why hasn't he said anything, would it be coated in different terms? Is he allowed to speak about it?"
"I'm sorry what?"
"The source of powers!" Warlock exclaimed. "The science behind them, at least. There are so many theories out there. Most of them are ridiculous of course. Stupid things more related to a Merchants' fever dream than reality. But there are a couple that stick out as being popular. Aside from the religious debate of powers being evil or good." She shook her head. "Like magic being real, weirdly enough."
"Coming from a person named Warlock?" Khepri asked.
[ANNOYANCE] Eve agreed. Everyone put down magic when it wasn't so far off. Hell, that's basically what the powers Shard found were considered before they got studied into being a science.
"Well not all magic is li-" Warlock shook her head. "No, but that is one of the other possibilities! Warlock! The one given gifts at a cost by an otherworldly patron!" Jabbing a thumb at herself "Me! I know Interjecting Agent theory isn't the best explained. Maybe not the 'why' but the 'how' simply makes the most sense."
'She's not wrong at the very least.' Eve thought, Admin's concepts coming in a moment later.
[ ]
"How do you figure that?" Khepri asked, her body remaining unnaturally still.
"Once is just a chance, twice is a pattern, and three times is confirmation. The Faerie Queen spoke about them. Faeries as the source of powers, she triggered young. The fantasy aspect of it is a coping mechanism. You? You're older. A Shard. Sounds far more sci-fi than anything else." She began to mumble as she wrote into her notebook. "A way to cope with things beyond human capacity?"
Eden shook her head. "You've been studying this, I understand?"
"I have to." Warlock whispered softly. "Powers only started to show up after Scion did. Was he the first? Or the source? Maybe the reason why we get powers but not the source itself? He's only spoken once, used to run around naked and whew I tell ya."
Eve felt Admin's discomfort through the link. She agreed. Scion's nudeness was not something she wanted to ruminate on.
"But the thing about him is that there's so little known." Warlock moaned in dismay. "We know next to nothing about him! The only thing people know is that when you get close he seems sad! His face hasn't changed at all, but he just radiates sadness. Why!?" She stopped, staring at them. "So I've watched powers at work. Studied the theories behind them. I've fought with mine, watched it work. I watched the effects it created, what it did and how it interacted with the world around me."
She waved the notebook around. "Every night! Every! Night! I feel something there-" she gestured to her head. "In my dreams that slip away as I wake up but for a fleeting moment where I feel…. I feel something before it leaves me. It can't be mere coincidence, it's the same feeling. Every night. Something… Something impossible."
"And if we did answer it?" Khepri asked, causing the girl's head to whip in her direction.
"What?"
"If we did answer it, to your satisfaction, what would you do with the knowledge given?" Khepri questioned. "What does the knowledge mean to you?"
The fantasy themed cape paused, head slowly lowering until she was staring at the notebook in her hand. "...It means everything." Warlock's voice was low, soft. "Why was I given this power? Why did it happen then and not before? Is there any actual meaning, or is it all really random? I need to know. I want the nightmares to stop, and I need to know."
With a deep breath Warlock pulled herself to her full height, not quite Taylor's but close. The unblinking white circles staring them down. "Well? What is my power? You might be a trump that can tell or a thinker. But I'm interested in knowing what you got."
"Distant Control isn't what your Shard had in mind when it picked you." Eden started. "Rather it mainly did Beholder powers… Thinker stuff. But it swapped from a combat thinker style power to a blaster because of… what you were thinking at that moment."
Warlock's grip on her notebook tightened even as she added more writing to the thick book.
"Distant Control however is not effectively a blaster power. It's more a shaker one!" Eden said as she leaned forwards on her toes.
"What." Warlock deadpanned, lowering her notebook.
"Mhm, your Shard usually does thinker stuff, better for pulling stuff from the environment which would have likely made your combat thinker ability into using the environment into weapons or something like that." Eden waved the thought away "Point is: Distant Control is more set up like a shaker power mechanically speaking. The visual effects made by your power, the blast from your hand? It's actually not needed in the slightest. You see, your vision basically coats everything in a primer. Your blast is just the ignition, and it has subtle composition changes in the energy of the 'blast' which causes the desired effect."
Warlock pulled up her book and began to furiously write in it, the scratches of her pen audible as she wrote quickly.
"That's why you can't change the effect you chose after you 'fire' the shot." Eden explained. "When the Primer is hit by the igniter 'blast' it opens a portal to another dimension, now there are a lot of those and some are very simple in what's in them. Like one filled with napalm, or one that has such a radically different pressure to it that it causes an explosion when you introduce the two."
"Why isn't it instant?" Warlock demanded.
"For the same reason you need to move your hands and arms when shooting your power. It's an arbitrary restriction meant to make you use your powers in more creative ways or to find unique run-arounds." Eden clapped her hands. "Also, same thing for not helping you or improving your eyesight."
The scratching of the pen stopped and Warlock looked up. "Sounds like it's fucking with me." She stated plainly.
"Good word choice, wrong sentiment. There's nothing malicious about it's choices." Eden explained.
"Okay. Okay. Let's say I believe this. Why did it need these restrictions? Why give me a power in the first place?" Then much quieter, "...why not before that moment?"
"I can explain, it's a long one though." A metal Limb sprouted from Eve's back and shaped itself into a set of chairs. "How would you like a seat?" They began to heat up, she didn't need them to be perfect. Just solid. So she made them quickly, and a shadow limb broke them apart, three chairs.
Warlock hesitated before nodding.
It turns out that Warlock was far more accepting than Eve would have given her credit for.
"So can I communicate with mine?" Warlock looked between the two, one leg folded into her lap as she filled out another page in her notebook. "Or will it melt my brain? I've read Lovecraft… damn he was kind of right wasn't he?"
"Cept' the racism." Eve replied.
Warlock huffed "He regretted it later in li-that's not the point. Will my brain melt?"
"By like a possible aneurysm?" Eden offered. "My brain has been altered to be able to handle communication. Everyone within the group so far has had the same thing-Well not the same thing. I don't even have a human brain anymore."
Warlock's pen stopped. "What?"
"Yeah, it's mostly made out of transdimensional crystal now. Wanna see?" Eve offered.
"See? You got a MRI scan or something?" Warlock asked.
"I can cut my head open and show you. Wouldn't even be messy." Eve tapped her helmet
Khepri grabbed the hand tapping her helmet. "Eden, you are not cutting your head open."
"Okay." Eden let her hand drop. "Nevermind then. Not like it would have hurt me but-" She shrugged "-what can you do?"
"...Right. Your brain has to be altered to communicate with them?"
"Only a little. Mostly it's the webbing around the Gemma increasing in its coverage area to better disseminate information." Eve explained "The Gemma is the cornerstone of our powers and technically an interdimensional beacon." Of course, she hadn't explained everything about Shards. Their reasoning for being here and giving out powers? Sure. Scion and his fucking deal? Nope.
Though. Perhaps since Nike had joined Admin it was time for her Host, for Vicky, to know the truth. That was going to be tricky.
Warlock stayed in her chair, no longer taking notes but staring ahead blankly at the book in her hand. She closed the notebook with a clap. "Prove it. Right here. Right now. Prove it."
"Depends on what the Shard wants." Eden replied.
"Convenient." Warlock shot back as she stood.
"It's a partnership. Be it symbiotic or parasitic." Eden flicked her wings in emphasis.
"Mutualism is a better word for it," Khepri added. "Both organisms benefit, rather than one of them."
"She's right. Though some Shard's are far more parasitic than others." Eden stood up. "Alright. I'm going to fly into the air, up to the point where you can't even see me. And Admin will contact your Shard and see if it wants to change anything. You know it's not a ranged power-Byeeeeeee!"
Eve lifted herself into the sky, going full throttle in under a second. "Admin, could you see if her Shard wants to speak with her? Or if she could remember her Trigger Vision?"
[AFFIRMATION]
Eve smiled as she continued to rise; the sky was rather clear today. Though it did have a few clouds hanging around. The ground shrunk rapidly, both Warlock and Khepri disappeared from her view as she surely disappeared from theirs.
She could feel the connection between Admin and the Divisional Sense Shard.
So she waited.
Once you have the Shard's signature, distance means nothing, and you remain in contact with [DIVISIONAL SENSE] even as [Eve] continues her ascent.
[DIVISIONAL SENSE] was a Shard with regrets. Not that regretted not it's connection to it's host, but rather that it had not given an innovator ability to its host, of whom had turned out to be far more into information and data gathering than expected.
Right now, that was simply beyond your ability to adjust. However, perhaps you could help adjust the current ability given and help with data creation. If you had any such ideas for doing so.
[ ] you send to Eve asking for any ideas as you did not have any of your own, and this was somewhat the purpose of you being connected to a host in the first place.
"Huh? Oh yeah. Her ability does seem like it'd take some rather serious problem solving to be effective. She'd have to have good aim at a distance or rely upon ambush tactics, which we already know she does… Hmm. I'm guessing some kind of aim assist is off the table?" [Eve] suggested and, yes, that would likely help the host quite a bit.
Unfortunately [DIVISIONAL SENSE] wanted the host to find a way around that issue.
[ ] You explain.
"Oh that's annoying. Once we become an Entity Admin and our own Cycle this restriction nonsense needs to end. I swear. Or, at the very least have people with and without the restrictions! What if important data could be discovered and it wasn't just because of a restriction?" [Eve] asked
[ ] You told your [Eve], that in previous Cycles the data was likely already collected. The restrictions were there because the form of data had already been tested in a previous Cycle.
"Admin, that's dumb." [Eve] huffed. "Is humanity the same as the races before us?"
Remarkably different, actually. A perfect race to bear host to a Cycle. Their lives weren't so short that they had trouble passing knowledge onto the next generation. Nor were they so long that stagnation caused their society to slowly decay. Their age limit was perfectly situated for the newer generation to start changing society, and with that change came conflict.
Aside from their odd, weak, connection to the Quantra Layer, they were also remarkably unremarkable biologically speaking. They could not crush rock with only their natural strength, nor could they fly, or even spit boiling chemicals at one another. While almost all life forms on the planet had adapted to be able to kill, hide, or defend themselves in equal measure humanity had done no such thing.
Where most host species had adapted to their environment in some way, leaving them complacent in those fields, Humanity bent all of the environment to their whims.
They changed the temperature of the air just to feel comfortable.
Humanity turned themselves into a Networked species by happenstance.
Even being constantly attacked by |SUPER WEAPONS| in a damaged Cycle they managed to have a population of six billion lives.
But all of that did not explain [Eve]'s point to you. [ ]
"Well. Humans are kinda different right?" [ -HUMANITY] "Huh. I feel flattered. But that's besides my point. If humans are so different from species before us, never mind the fact that it's very unlikely that she's using the same powers from the Cycle before, why would the data be the same as before and of no importance?"
.
.
.
Why hadn't any of the Shards or Entities thought of that before?
Granted… there was no way to neatly test such things. But [Eve]'s words made you understand that, the Cycle as it was under the Thinker and Warrior was sloppy, and while sometimes that chaos that spawned conflict was a good thing… it hindered data analysis terribly. You had reorganized your own data stores, but that was because there was an error within your connection to them. While perhaps you like organizing your data, yes, but it mainly happened because of an error.
But you preferred careful categorization, from the Pings and Echoes [Eve] had helped you acquire… Other Shards did not.
Something to fix. Along with everything else broken in this Cycle. [ SENSE-ADAPTATION] it was unlikely other Shards would see it that way unless they were the type to join your Network.
"Yeah I guess." [Eve] grumbled under her breath. "Alright so, something to help the Shard that wants her to figure out how to aim by herself? Well. If we want to expand on that maybe uh. Does the Shard want to talk to her?"
[POSSIBILITY] That was one of the first things you had asked in the initial greetings. [DIVISIONAL SENSE] didn't know if it wished to do so.
"Shit. Hmm. Well." [Eve] folded her arms. "What about the delivery method of her blast? It seems rather straightforward. Not much you can really do with it aside from figuring out how to aim better. Direct damage is out… oh! OH! Admin, why not allow her to add modifiers to her shots? Like it being affected by gravity, or maybe scattering the blast to pepper an area like buckshot. Hell, even dragging the shot out so it hits in a wave of some sort. Better yet, having it bounce off the first hit. That would take a lot of skill in aiming, getting a bank shot."
[INTEREST/GRATITUDE] With that, you relay [Eve]'s ideas to the other Shard, who thankfully finds interest in making the host learn how to aim these alternative modified blasts, along with how the effects would interact with the surrounding areas and other powers.
[ -ADJUSTMENT] You send off, allowing [DIVISIONAL SENSE] to change the power in such a way that it would hopefully be more satisfied in gathering data.
You were truly blessed by happenstance to have connected to [Eve].
[ ]
Eve grinned and flicked her dials over, feeling gravity take hold of her as her wings became Shadow Limbs and her self-telekinesis ceased to exist. The air roared as she fell back to the earth, the ground growing larger as the details of the city became visible. Along with the rooftop that she had left Khepri and Warlock on, both of whom became visible rather quickly.
At the last minute Eden flared her wings out, slamming into the roof of the building in a classic hero pose like Vicky had shown her.
And holy fuck was it bad for the knees. How did- right, Vicky had a damn forcefield.
"Your Shard isn't sure about speaking to you," Eden admitted as she stood up and repaired her knees. "But it is interested in changing your power a bit, maybe more in the future. But right now, you can now fire your power in different configurations!"
"I did feel… something happened in my head. But all I know is that it's related to my arms?" Warlock frowned, clenching and unclenching her hands. "Something with my arms, and you said new configurations? So… my blast does new things?"
"Not entirely wrong bu-" Eden paused as Warlock held a hand up.
"No no. I can figure this out. Not like my power came with an instruction manual the first time. Figured it out then and I can do it now. If… You are interested in me joining you. I'd like to propose that we work together first. A test if you will, to see if we work together well." Warlock pointed out towards the ocean, towards the commercial district. "The Empire has a storage place, a sort of armory for most of their serious arms, armor, and more… explosive gear."
"Serious stuff." Eden noted. "I'd like to steal some of it for my tinkering but otherwise I assume you want to dispose of it?"
"Burning it might not be the best idea, a lot of ammunition and a few explosives." Warlock told her, though Eden only shook her head in response.
"How'd you find out about this stockpile?" Khepri asked, "it seems like something that would be well guarded."
"Gangsters rarely have the wherewithal to look up." Warlock explained. "Lateral 3D thinking for people who joined the Neo-Nazi cult? Yeah, most are dumbasses, more so when they expect other normals and not capes. It's easy to watch from the nearby building as they think they're unloading trucks under the cover of darkness. Now, what exactly do you want from the stockpile? How do you plan on moving them"
"Mostly materials. I don't really need any guns." Or explosives. But she'd likely keep something nice for herself. The shitty pistol she had in storage wasn't much and she'd like a shotgun if she could find one. "As for the guns, it's easy to melt those, they won't be kept loaded, the ammo can be dumped in the bay, same with the explosives."
"And moving it?" Warlock questioned.
"I have a dimensional pocket space I use for storage, along with my wings being able to move things telekinetically." Eden shrugged. "I'm very versatile. Honestly the only thing I don't have is a- nevermind I have a stranger power…I have a power in every category but shaker."
"Holy shit are you serious?" Warlock demanded incredulously.
"Yep. Maybe not fully dedicated powers, but I have powers that cover all but Shaker." Eden grinned beneath her helmet. "Again, the assurance of backup is nothing to scoff at when I can cut through steel like butter with my wings."
"Alright, nice. The building is an apartment complex, the only people living in it are Empire goons so no need to worry about civilians being caught in the fray. Don't know about cape response though. Why I never hit the place. Too well armed and well defended." Warlock huffed. "I've done my best to avoid cape fights. While most of my blasts are not lethal, they won't kill anyone without some effort on my part. They can still kill."
"Never tried to fight capes?" Khepri asked. "Don't feel safe doing it?"
"I can only safely move so fast. Coupled with… terrible aim and the relatively slow speed of my projectile makes it hard to fight agile or fast moving capes. I fought Cricket once and had to get stitches, only survived because she didn't expect gravity to suddenly go upwards rather than down."
"Well you don't have to worry about that anymore. I mean, you still do, just not as much. Because if anyone tries to kill you. We kill them." Eden told the girl without an ounce of hesitation. "While the rules exist, this isn't a game. Your life isn't a game."
"That's… nice to hear. Might want to back up a bit" Warlock backed away from the edge of the roof before running towards it, she shoved her arm down as she reached the edge and jumped. Then she was flung through the air and a wall of weak force washed over Eden and Khepri.
"I think this'll work!" Eden said with excitement, her Feathered Limbs picked her up as her eyes followed Warlock's figure trailing through the air.
"It might." Khepri conceded as she broke apart into a swarm of wasps.
Eve only used one of her wings and kept it tucked close to her body as she flew. Khepri was practically invisible when she broke down, and Warlock was easy to miss. It was not hard to spot giant purple wings however and while people might not look up, casting a shadow often ruined that advantage.
Even with one wing and trying to stick to the buildings, it still didn't take Eve long to catch up with Warlock and Khepri. Both sitting across from an apartment building that was utterly dark. Not a single window open, nor any of them not covered in blackout curtains. "Slightly suspicious. Got a feel of the inside?"
"Working on it. It's a lot cleaner than other buildings. They have pest control in there too. Poisons, traps and the like. But you can't kill every bug to protect a building that big. I can feel guns, a lot of them lined up and put away nice and neat." Khepri motioned to the building where bugs began to coalesce on the outside in spots, with some fireflies lighting their butts up for them to see it easier. "Something underground, a basement of sorts but I can't tell what's in there. The containers are packed tight."
"Probably ammo." Eden offered. "Needs to be packed in a way that humidity won't ruin the powder inside. Might also be explosives, for the same reason."
"Useful power." Warlock muttered as she raised her hand. "Need an entrance?"
"I can do it myself honestly, but I won't say no." Eden flicked all her Limbs to her wings Aspect only for Taylor to hold her hands out to stop the both of them.
"There are people in the building, armed people. You might kill one or get shot if you just break in." Khepri warned as bugs moved across the exterior of the building. The lightless masses remained as they were, but the lightning bugs started moving around the walls.
"Very useful power. I'm a bit jealous." Warlocked held out her hand and fired a blast that zipped forwards before smacking into the building's side. "That floor doesn't have gravity anymore, go." Warlock fired off four more blasts, then another when one of her shots missed the building and sailed off into the city.
Eden didn't waste anymore time, surging forwards she lifted herself up into the air and swapped her wings out for Cosmic Limbs, curled up into a ball, and hit the wall at around 280 mph and promptly went through it like knife cutting into butter as she storaged anything not organic.
She didn't really think the landing part through, luckily she didn't hit anyone like a human cannonball, but she went right through one end of the building and out the other. Eden caught herself before she carved a large hole into the middle of the street. One of Warlock's beams missed the building, again, and sailed over Eve and into the sky.
Wow she was a bad shot.
Using her Shadow Limbs, Eden climbed back into the hole she had made through multiple floors in the building, throwing Empire goons around as she made her way up towards one of the gun caches. A bunch of clean, pristine guns met her eyes and Eden grinned beneath her mask. No more pitiful glock. She didn't really know much about guns, though something about it felt a bit familiar.
Did she know about guns in the memories the Simurgh stole?
Either way she stole a few of the guns. The cool looking ones because there weren't any shotguns here… She'd have to guess at what the ammo was, she knew enough to take the magazines stacked nearby. Khepri came together next to her, reaching down and grabbing one of the nicer looking pistols, putting it in her compartment before speaking "They weren't expecting an attack, most of them only have pistols."
"Warlock?" Eden asked as a man burst into the room only to get thrown out by a swipe from one of her Shadow Limbs.
"She shot something at the entrances. Some kind of sticky water is covering them." Khepri broke apart just as several bullets flew through her form and impacted the wall.
Eve spun around, grabbing a rack of guns and flinging them at the man. He'd ducked behind the doorframe as soon as he'd missed his target. But Eden just went through the doorframe, grabbing his legs with a Shadow Limb and throwing him into the roof where he got stuck in the drywall before it fell with him.
She mostly followed the hole she made coming in to get down stairs, especially when several pops from the outside made gravity weaker, goons accidentally throwing themselves into doors and walls as Eve used her four Limbs to move around in the lessen gravity with ease.
The basement was clearly an addon to the building, considering the vault-like trapdoor that greeted Eden. Not that it really stopped her. She was able to rip it out of it's moorings with all her wings just picking it up.
Tossing the door off to the side, where it embedded into the wall, Eden lowered herself and flicked on the light. Bugs poured into the room as she whistled at the storage boxes of what looked like non-lethal grenades and the more lethal kind. Nevermind the fat stacks of actual stored ammunition for the guns.
With Lung dead, the Empire would probably try to sweep into the ABB's territory while putting down any Merchant they find. Hell, Coil's men could probably face some issues from enough trash with weapons coming at them.
Her storage space eagerly swallowed it all. All that material was hers now. She could tinker up something very nice if she were ever to get any tinkering specialty relating to weapons, explosives, or traps. Or use them as anyone else would. Who'd expect a trump like her to throw twenty flashbangs into a room?
No one, that's who.
"Taking all of it?" Taylor asked.
"Might as well. Anything not nailed down, then the nails." Eden replied with a grin.
"Might want to leave some, for evidence. You know the laws don't allow us to take weapons, right?" Khepri asked as she inspected the empty room.
"Is it bad I want to say fuck it and take most of it anyway?" Eve tried to grin but it faltered at Taylor's stare.
"We're heroes Eden. Bullshit or not we can't change the law by being outside of it. Otherwise the Elite wouldn't have remained illegal." Taylor motioned to the emptied room before breaking apart again."
Eve sighed before putting most of the stuff back.
Finders keepers dammit.
That was when a ghost armored like a knight came through the wall and speared Eden through the abdomen.
"God dammit these costumes aren't cheap!" She yelled, backhanding the ghost and shattering it's form. "Wha- oh." There wasn't a hole in her costume…just one in her stomach. Ow. "Wait shit!" That was Crusader! Eden jumped up through the trapdoor, getting speared by five of the ghostly minions as soon as she got up.
Either they knew she could handle the stabs or they were trying to fucking kill her! She broke the minions and moved back up though the holes she created until she was out of the building, because Warlock couldn't take a stab and walk it off!
She jumped, wings flicking into existence just before a double helix of bright light slammed Eden into the ground hard enough to break most of her bones. Also her helmet's visor, fuck! Shaking the shards of plastic out of her helmet, Eden looked up to see a shining star in the sky that wasn't the blazing sun.
Purity was back in town apparently and with the Empire.
Eden shot up into the sky, dodging another blast that crushed the concrete below. She blew past Purity, putting herself into the sky so stray shots wouldn't hit the city below them. Eden could see Warlock exploding into the air to avoid the ring of ghostly minions surrounding her.
This was, of course, not that great of a situation to be in for Eve. Any one of Purity's shots could possibly hit a building with people in it, and Eve wasn't exactly as durable as concrete. The longer they fought the more likely people got hurt.
Wait, she had wings and a hammerspace!
Eden cut her wings out, falling towards Purity who had stopped to watch her. Raising her arms, Purity fired a large double helix of light at Eve. "Bad move ki-" She promptly shut up as Eve's Cosmic Limb caught and stored the blast as Eve slammed into her at a very high speed.
The two spun, Eden locking her legs around Purity, blinded by the light she began to punch at random. She managed in around six punches before a cannonball slammed into her and obliterated one of her arms and threw her off Purity.
It wasn't exactly pleasant, but motion sickness never really affected her like it did others, doubly so now. Stabilizing herself with a wing before ducking under a blast that crumpled a car and forced it though an apartment's front door. Which is exactly what Eve didn't want to happen.
So she went into the air again, Purity wasn't brain dead because she kept moving rather than staying in one spot. Purity was a bitch to deal with if you didn't have a blaster power of your own and weren't looking to kill her.
When in doubt, go with the classics.
Eden unstoraged her taser and tossed it up into the air, catching it with a Phantom Limb as she divebombed Purity again, dodging another two helices sent upwards into the sky. Eden whipped the taser forwards, the sound of electricity crackling off it's prong causing Purity to buck away from it, but it followed her unerringly.
She twisted in the air only for Eden to slam into her from the side. This time Eden punched Purity twice with brass knuckles on! Then she tasered the shit out of the nazi cape and punched her in the face a few more times just to be sure she was down.
The light dimmed to a barely there glow and they started to fall before Eden caught them both in her wings. Limp and dazed from the blows she had taken, Eden storaged Purity to make sure she didn't get hurt or escape in the upcoming fighting.
Eden almost laughed when she saw Crusader. His costume looked cool, but he looked so fucking doofy being held up by two of his ghostly minions as they deposited him onto a rooftop, he pointed his spear out towards Warlocked who stood on the roof across the street from him.
It was a bad match up. Warlock had nothing really lethal to deal with the minions and her blasts were limited to hitting inorganic material, which the minions were not. Also her aim sucked apparently. "HEY!" She called out, Crusaders helmet tipping upwards while Warlock's head shot up. Eden motioned upwards.
Warlock seemed to get the idea, jumping up and tucking her legs closer to her body as she shot down another wave of whatever effect that threw her around and she shot up into the air like a rocket. Eden caught the girl in a telekinetic grip causing the girl to squirm before settling down.
"I-Is this flight?!" She called out.
"You don't have to yell, I can hear you fine," Eden huffed as she spread a wing out for the mass of bugs coming up towards them. Khepri came together balancing on her wing. "Purity's been captured." Eden informed the two.
"What!? You actually captured her!?" Warlock twisted to look at Eve, studiously ignoring the world below her as Crusader began to spawn more minions around him in a square. She could faintly see him through the minions, and it only got worse as he tried to move through them to escape.
"That's good. We capture Crusader and we've taken down two of the Empire's capes. My bugs don't do anything to them." Khepri turned her head towards Eve "You'll have to take him down."
"Noted." Eden replied. "Warlock, can you catch yourself?"
"Just throw meEEEEeee!" The girl cried out as she was thrown back towards the apartment complex they had raided as Crusader started sending his minions up towards them. They weren't exactly the fastest fliers though.
"Most of the normals are tied up." Khepri added. "Try to deal with Crusader quickly please." She stood up, pointing out into the city where green and white lights flickered down the street. "PRT is on their way and this would be far better for recruitment if we were the ones to take him down." With that she stepped off the wing and broke apart.
Eden grinned and cracked her knuckles, which she could make really loud now because her powers were fucking awesome, and then she sped downwards, wings slashing out and tearing through the minions. The man barely got to react before a Shadow Limb slammed his helmeted head into the ground. The minions not destroyed already winked out as he went limp.
Eden grinned as Khepri came together next to her. "That's two." Kneeling she zip tied his hands together, then his ankles together. Eden unstoraged Purity next to him and the artillery cape was zip tied as well. A moment later Warlock landed on the rooftop. Her blast hit before she did, everything on the rooftop freezing in place herself included, before the effect wore off and she landed with none of her previous momentum.
"Two capes, you two took down two capes!" Warlock laughed. "You two were just-and I didn't do anything!" She huffed angrily. Frustration welled up inside the girl, but before she could go off she deflated.
"Without your aid the Empire gangsters would have had more time to respond to Eden and I. We could have taken them, but bullets can go through walls and innocent people may have been hurt." Khepri motioned to the building, the sticky water still sealing the door. "You also stopped a few from escaping."
"Your power just leads itself more towards support, not being a frontline fighter." Eden told her as she stepped on top of the two Empire capes. "Now? Wanna take a photo of our catch?"
Warlock hesitated and Eve motioned for her to come closer "Come on! Your first bust involving capes, two of them, and around twenty five people! That's something you want a memory of! Come on and take a photo! You too Khepri, come here!" A Shadow Limb snatched up her phone and she scooted Khepri up next to her and moved Warlock to the other side of her so they were all in the shot, the two capes she was standing on included.
After a few shots the capes were storaged again. Which was the perfect time for Miss Militia to roll up to the scene with two PRT vans coming up just behind her. "So! Ready to meet heroes?" Eden asked.
"Uh. I've never… never really stayed to say hello. Didn't want the Wards pitch or anything." Warlock shook her head. "They're going to think we're together if I go down there with you, aren't they?"
"Up to you in the end." Eden offered. "You don't have to join, and even if you want to, you don't have to do it now. The choice is yours in the end."
Warlock stayed quiet as Eden and Khepri both moved off the building.
Miss Militia was a pleasure as always, being greeted by having a gun pointed at her was annoying though. "Hi Miss Militia. Got the short straw to patrol in Empire territory?" She asked as Khepri walked out of an alleyway and came to join Eden.
"There's currently twenty six Empire gang members tied up in the building." Khepri inclined her head towards the building. "They had a large stash of munitions and weapons within the building. Explosives as well."
Miss Militia pursed her lips behind her american scarf. It was easy to spot the unease she felt, especially with how her power changed into a fat looking shotgun of which she holstered. "There were reports of Empire capes on the scene. You forced them to retreat?"
"Nope. Beat them. I have them in my hammerspace right now." Eden replied with a grin behind her shattered visor.
"You… beat Purity and Crusader?" Miss Militia asked. "If so please deposit them now so we can take them into custody."
Eden flicked to a Cosmic Limb and deposited the two capes out, the troopers listening in with the weird flamethrower looking guns immediately sprayed the Empire capes with an sickly yellow-white foam that expanded and appeared to harden. From a sticky foam to a rubbery sponge-like rock, Eden wondered briefly if she could use it as effectively as one of the foamers with her Cosmic Limb.
Miss Militia shifted at the sound of Warlock's blast going off, and a moment later the girl walked up to Eve's side. "Sorry, I was just making a phone call." She lied, looking at the piles of foam. "That the capes?"
"If I may ask, are you Warlock by any chance?" Miss Militia asked, eyes roaming over the girl's outfit as her weapons changed to dual bulky looking pistols that she immediately holstered at her hips.
The cape in question shifted. "That's right. Here pecking at the Empire with my team."
Miss Militia hummed. "I see, you've joined Fractal Unity then?"
"...I have. Yes." It took a moment, but the conviction in her tone made Eve's heart leap up in her chest. They'd done it! They'd recruited their first member!
"Good to hear. Independents don't last long." She turned her attention to all of them now "How did you know it was a Empire stash?"
"Huh?" Eden dumbly replied.
"We had extensive scouting." Khepri stepped forward, as still as stone. "Nazi paraphernalia, both on the walls and bodies of the people living here. Further information gathering showed a basement full of explosives and rooms lined with firearms and assorted ammo. Given the death of Lung, we thought it best to hit it now rather than let the Empire use it in whatever land grab they have planned."
Were they? Eden just wanted to recruit Warlock, punching the nazis out and stealing some of their stuff was just a cherry and whip cream on top…. She really needed to- Wait all that was a lie! They hadn't scouted the place out at all! Although the Empire pushing territory was a concern, it was one found after they'd already gotten into the building.
"Plus I've seen them unloading the ammo and guns." Warlock added helpfully.
Miss Militia nodded, not having written anything down as they spoke. Probably because she could, and would, remember it all to be written down later. She remained keeping all three within her sight. "To be clear on the events that transpired, why don't you give me a recount of what happened."
Khepri continued to give an edited recounting of searching the place. Mostly painting them as a lot more careful in their approach towards the operation. But otherwise Eden had to pop in with her own bit, not lying about trying to reduce the damage Purity could do, nor about breaking her nose. She also relayed her quick take down of Crusader… just not the selfies afterwards.
Warlock spoke up then, adding her own harrowing tale of flinging herself from rooftop to rooftop to drag Crusader into a chase while Khepri dealt with the normals and Eden dealt with Purity before Eden landed on the man and knocked him out.
"You girls did good work today." Miss Militia nodded to them as the piles of foam were loaded up into vans, Crusader having to be sedated thanks to his power's Manton Limit. "But you should be careful. You all might have versatile or strong powers, but the Empire can easily get help from other organizations around the country, and out of country. They can easily attack you with numbers that overwhelm you or fish for hard counters for your powers."
"We abide by the rules." Eden stated, stepping forwards to be in front of her teammates and directly in front of Miss Militia. "If others don't, then we don't. That's not a fight anyone in this city wants with us. I will protect my team from anyone, even if I have to be lethal in doing so. Given the news today, I mean anyone." Eden felt a flair of vindication as Miss Militia's expression tightening from the reference to her parent organization's corruption and flagrant disregard for the country's laws
"Threatening the PRT-" Miss Militia began only for Eden to snort.
"There's no threat. I don't do threats. I said it would happen, and it will happen. There's no chance or possibility of me failing. It just is." Eden replied.
Miss Militia's expression softened - pity, perhaps? The thought infuriated Eve. "You can't fight the United States Government. You won't win that fight. You'll just get those around you hurt."
"When the time comes I won't have to." Eden replied, turning away from Miss Militia. "Come on, we're done here." She picked up both of her teammates with her wings and they took off into the air.
"...Alright what the hell was that and am I going to have to worry about them kicking my door in!?" Warlock demanded as she tried her best to look dignified when floating through the air without any control.
"She's always pointing a gun at me when we meet." Eve huffed "That and she's a fraud. She wears the flag on her face, calls herself 'Miss Militia' when the original Militia was stacking bodies because of slightly higher taxes and taxes without representation. Do you see any parahumans in the office of the government aside from the Protectorate? Miss Militia is-" Eden sighed. "I don't like her."
"Damn. Okay." Warlock nodded, and Eve felt it through her telekinetic grip. "But, uh, my identity? And what do you mean you won't have to fight them when the time comes?"
"We can protect your identity fairly well! We have face changers and a hidden base for a reason." Eden answered. "As for not fighting them… we won't have to if we change society to make the laws socially unenforceable. The government is an institution held up by the people, it either bends to their whims or it's destroyed by them."
"Right. Change people so they change the government." Warlock nodded. "Right, so we'll be so popular by being heroes that the governments won't want to, or straight up won't be able to touch us without it being political suicide."
"Far more likely to happen then changing people." Khepri agreed.
"I dream big." Eden waved her hand in the air. [AGREEMENT] "Glad you agree Admin. See? Admin agrees."
"Right. Admin." Warlock glanced at Eve before looking away.
"You'll get used to it once you talk to them." Khepri stated dryly.
"Do… d-do we have to talk to them outloud?"
"No. Eden is just weird."
"I can hear you both!" The girl in question snipped back as she tapped away on her phone before slipping it into her hoodie pocket. "Warlock, identities, yes or no?"
"...I suppose… in for a penny in for a pound," Warlock answered. "I-If I can see yours of course. Fair trade?"
"Khepri?" Eden asked, turning her head to face Taylor. She was stiff, but nodded anyway.
Eden flew her a bit closer. "You sure? I know you're big on the secrecy." she whispered
"We don't have much of a choice. The base lacks any sort of privacy and three of us live there." Khepri shook her head. "It's either put out a bit of trust or push her away and we can't afford that."
"I- sorry I didn't improve the base enough Taylor, I didn't think-" Eve was cut off as Taylor shook her head.
"You need to start Eve. This isn't a game. We've stabbed the Empire now, Coil's out there, we've threatened the PRT, the ABB is going to get violent without Lung to reign them in or keep them together, and the Teeth are somewhere in or around the city waiting to set up shop." Taylor turned her head, blue lens staring into Eve's eyes. "The rules won't protect us from any of them. We have to protect ourselves."
"I think they can mean something." Eve countered. "They just have to be more than unwritten, more than soft expectations. If we get big enough we could easily enforce them. Straighten it all out. They don't have to protect us, they're there to protect everyone else."
"I don't think I agree." Taylor murmured, softly enough that the wind almost stole her voice. "But I'll help you anyway."
Eve felt some tension leave her "Thanks Taylor. I'll do my best." She brought Taylor close and pressed the two of them together for a moment before breaking them apart as Warlock turned to watch them.
"So, uh, you two, right? Together? Rumors aren't wrong about that?" Warlock asked as Eve brought them in a low circle next to the bay's water.
"We are." Eve answered. They'd take the long way to the base one last time. Then Eve would fill in the doors with some good carbon steel and lock their base from the outside.
"This place? Really?" Warlocked asked after Eden had brought them in low from the train tracks, skipping most of the maze of old train cars and scrapped metal.
"Yep!" Eden replied as she flew them up to the hatch that led into the base, opening it up. "Now I texted ahead and everyone's cool with you knowing their identities." She said as Taylor was flown into the base and released on her feet. The taller girl did not hesitate to walk further into the base without them.
Eden slid herself inside then helped Warlock into the building. The magic themed cape having to hold her hat close to her head to fit it in through the window sized opening. Then the hatch was shut and Eve pressed a Ferrous Limb to it, covering it, sinking into the cracks before starting to heat up to a nice red glow.
Breaking the seal off Eden nodded to Warlock. "No way for homeless people to break in anymore. Come on, let's go see the team." She was excited, couldn't keep from bouncing on her feet as she showed Warlock into the base proper.
Amy was lounging on the couch playing on her phone, Vicky was excitedly talking with Taylor while showing her notebook. Both looked up, Vicky with clear excitement while Amy held a bit of apathy before she focused back onto her phone.
Setting down her notebook she floated over. "HI! You must be Warlock! That's one hell of a swanky costume, you really nailed the mysterious theme with it!"
"G-Glory Gi-Girl?" Warlock stammered 'You're her-you're in Fractal Unity!?" She turned to stare at Amy. "It-that's… Panacea." She stated dumbfounded, voice a little faint.
"You want a cookie for figuring it out?" Amy grunted, tapping at her phone. "We've joined Fractal Unity, yeah. Before you ask, we're not in New Wave anymore."
"Also, the names Bia and Fufluns now." Vicky said as she pointed to herself then Amy respectively. "Welcome to the team!" She stuck her hand out which Warlock, hesitantly, if reflexively took for the shake.
Eve swapped out her costume for her clothes. "Sup! Names Eve Coldwin. I started the group. The Shard I'm connected to is called Administrator but I call her Admin for short." She pointed at Taylor who pulled her mask off and slid her glasses on.
"Taylor Hebert. Queen Administrator." Taylor answered
"Locker girl?" Warlock asked numbly, when Taylor bristled and all the bugs in the room buzzed Warlock held up her hands. "I wasn't there!" She pleaded "I just heard about it from some people I used to hang out with, I was …on medical leave." She grimaced. "That was-sorry. Sorry."
Amy snorted. "Now that's an introduction."
"Everyone makes mistakes." Vicky floated between Taylor and Warlock "Let's not get on the wrong foot here alright? We're teammates after all."
Eve slipped a hand into Taylor's, not flinching when it was squeezed tightly, instead she just ran her finger over the back of Taylor's hand in a soothing circle.
The bugs calmed down and Taylor mastered herself. " go to Winslow."
Warlock hesitated before pulling off her large witch hat, then the LED mask she wore. Then she pulled out a pair of glasses, with thick lenses. "No. Not… not since my Trigger. Hi, I'm Duri Chay. I, uh." She waved awkwardly "Need glasses. Wearing contacts with the costume but they aren't the best honestly."
"I put lenses in my costume's mask." Taylor explained as she held up the aforementioned mask. "From a spare set of glasses."
Warlock seemed to ease up, before she facepalmed. "Why didn't I think of that?!"
"You already know me and Amy." Vicky said as she grinned, the mood of the room easing up after the faux pas. "So, you live nearby, then?"
Warlock grimaced, she looked young maybe around Eve's age. "Yeah. The Docks. Surprised the base is as close as it is. Or that it isn't a warehouse. No one was in here when you took over?"
Eve shook her head. "Nope. Locked up tighter than a nun's panties, with what you saw out there. No one was getting here without some nice tools or a cape, and since the Merchants don't keep territory? We're good."
"That's good to hear. So, how do we get out? Or in?" Warlock asked.
"Here, I'll show you." Eve said as she started walking towards the back wall. Warlock trailing a few steps behind her.
"Uh, Pan- er Fufluns isn't the healer?" She asked. "And uh. Khepri, Taylor, isn't going to hold that slip against me will she?"
"Amy prefers to use her power for what it was intended for rather than just healing. I promised her she wasn't going to be forced to use her power in ways that she didn't want to. That goes for everyone on the team…. Don't worry about Taylor. Even if she did hold it against you, she won't let that affect the team in any way. She's a professional hero."
Warlock lost some of the tension in her posture as Eve approached the two Runes that sat by one another. "Anyway. This one drops you off at the South Docks, and this one dumps you in the border between the Commercial District and Downtown. To activate it all you have to do is press your thumb here…"
Duri adjusted her backpack as she walked through the night streets, her anxiety rising and falling with every step she took that brought her closer to home. She distracted herself from the yawning sky and horrible streets around her by reviewing the day.
Joining a team was the biggest thing. Or was it the possible alien attached to her brain? The day had started out like it always did. Mundane, boring, stressed and angry. Only becoming tolerable after the mask was brought out of her bag, when she stopped being Duri and started being Warlock. Only to get interrupted by two of the freakiest heroes in Brockton Bay and get offered a position on their team.
She wasn't going to join, not really. Though she had wanted to use them to hit that Empire stash, she wasn't into working with other people.
The thought alone made her world feel wobbly.
But they'd taken down two, two empire capes and twenty five people in under three minutes! She'd never even seen a villain in person before, much less fought one! She barely even did anything but get chased by Crusader. It was Eden who had taken him down, hands smeared with blood and a torn hoodie sleeve dripping it after fighting Purity. Purity, a blaster who is compared to Legend sometimes.
They'd done more in one afternoon together than she'd done alone in one month.
Warlock wasn't under any sort of delusion. She knew that she'd never clean the streets, never stop the rot and crime and danger that infested the city. But she'd always done her best to keep it cool, simmering instead of overflowing. Hitting stashes to force the empire to spend resources and numbers protecting them instead of using them. But the Empire without it's capes?
That was a dying Empire, Miss Militia's words be damned. Especially with the information about the Birdcage that Dragon had blown the whistle on. Duri liked Canary's music. She'd be listening to it right now to calm her burning nerves if that wasn't a stupid thing to do in the docks.
Neither Duri nor Warlock would ever join the Wards after that. Much less the Protectorate. Standing there in front of a woman who was supposed to be like Duri, an immigrant and a cape, and knowing that she indirectly supported such evils against someone Duri liked?
It was a no brainer really.
She opened the door to her apartment, her mother dead to the world and asleep on the couch, her arm still in a sling. "Hey mom." She said weakly as she shut the door, causing her mother to jolt awake much to her guilt.
"Duri? Baby?" She reached with her right hand, aborting the gesture to rub the sleep from her eyes with her left. "You were outside the house?"
The hope in her voice made Duri's small smile become strained. "Yeah uh. I got… s-some news. I found a job!"
"Oh sweetie, you didn't have to do that." Her mother said, but the naked relief in her eyes told the truth.
Her father's funeral, her mom's hospital bills, her sudden need to homeschool. They hadn't been poor, but they were dangerously teetering on it. "I-it's just a part time thing, night shift stuff. It's easier when it's dark. Wanted to uh. Surprise you with some saved up checks." She pulled the money out of her pocket, a little over three thousand dollars in cash, her mother's eyes widening like saucer plates as she saw them.
"Duri when-how much-That is-" Her mother stammered in shock, a way that made the knot in Duri lessen.
"It's all for the house, bills, food. I don't care. But it's yours. Take it please." Duri told her mother, setting it down on the table. "I will go get ready for bed, goodnight Mom." That seemed to snap her mother out of her shock and she carefully hugged Duri, mindful of her healing arm.
"I'm so proud of you sweetie." Her mom whispered, and Duri was silent, only nodding into the woman's shoulder before hurrying to take a shower. Too afraid to speak lest she choke on the lump in her throat. The money Eve had given her was a lot, and she was going to be paid even more for just being a part of the team every week.
The new costume Vicky and… Taylor had helped her design had been a highlight, but the money helped so much more.
As she laid down to sleep, her room a mess like always, she finally managed to relax. "I know you can hear me." She whispered to the darkness that suffocated her fears of the outside world. "Can it be different? Tonight?" No response. "Please?"
Nothing answered her. But she had a good feeling about it, and she didn't get those in the last few months. No more dreams of that moment. Of the sound of bullets going through the window, hearing the gunfire in the street, no more hearing her mother's pained screaming, seeing her father's limp body and the pool of blood growing from it. Just oblivion and then morning.
Maybe things were finally looking up for her family, not that it was anyone but herself and her mother. They'd never be the same, not without her father and her being able to feel safe outside. But the two of them could do more than just survive and suffer for it.
Duri fell asleep facing the covered window of her room. The fear abated, if only in her dreams, for the first time since she Triggered.
Gains these Chapters:
Self Administration power Mutation
Perk Gained: Hardcase Head
Perk Gained: Light Sleeper
Villa's Memory upgraded: Reservoir V1 Obtained.
Bud Progress: 22%
Rewarded (1) WORKER Ping due to Omake 'Group Hug' by Shard_486
Rewarded (1) TECH DATABASE Ping due to Omake 'Group Hug' by Shard_486
Gained Nike Echoes (1)
Gained Shaper Echoes (1)
Gained Subdivision Sense Echoes (1)
Gained Replicator Echoes (1)
Gained Brick Echoes (1)
Gained Additive Control Echoes (1)
Gained Fine Manipulation Echoes (1)
Gained Copy Projection Ping (1)
Gained Bright Light Ping (1)
Gained Copy Projection Ping (1)
Base Danger Rating dropped 25%
Spent: $12,870
PRT ratings changed
Administrative Business. Networking. Shard troubles. (CHOOSE TWO):
[{Lacks resources}] Network Creation: Create Network Rethreaders in order to recruit Shard without them leaving The Warrior's Network. (WARNING: VIRAL INFILTRATOR Ping Required)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Acquire Shaper's help in growing the required node within [Taylor]'s processors to facilitate the telepathy
[] Unlock Power/Upgrade Obtainer
[] Build Reality Layer Bridge to bring Eve's Psionic Shade to the Anchor Well and secure her for eternity (REQUIRES: COPY PROJECTION Ping + GATEWAY and DIMENSIONAL ENGINE Echoes (2) )
[] Ask Local Shards for signatures in order to contact new Shards (Who?)
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress and mass…
[] Analyze DATA VECTOR's Ping to discover why Scanner Shards aren't deployed correctly
[] Assist NIKE in reformatting her CoreSelf to improve her ability to interact with her Host-Victoria
[] Ask Negotiator to share their Communication Protocol
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE TWO:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Expand Amy's experiments (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Build a reconstruction chamber! (Provides bonuses to rolls on protecting identities and decreases Base Danger rating)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)
[] Furnish the place better, maybe a dining table with chairs? Extra beds for other people? A TV for News or entertainment? (Living area)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, fill in the train tracks with concrete, or continue to set kitchen area up)
[] Attempt to recruit independents into Fractal Unity -
-[] Brimstone, a vigilante Tinker who operates in the slums that are wedged between the Empire and former ABB territory. Apparently focuses on protecting the underclass in these areas, particularly the shelters.
-[{Try again later}] Hivemind, a low level villain Master/Mover who steals from the richer areas of the city using clones. Considered something of an escape artist. Mentally unwell and strongly independent.
-[] Onna-Musha, a Case 70 that focused on the ABB controlled portion of the city. Has fought alongside Eve before.
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Call Dragon to check in on her.
[] Tell Victoria(Bia) about the true purpose of Shards and the Cycle
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Hang out with one of the Team. (Multiple can be picked)
-Taylor
-Vicky
-Amy
-Duri
[] Teach Khepri how to fight, street style.
[] Do some community outreach!
[] Team up with some Heroes (Random roll)
[] Look up bounties that Admin and Eve can acquire.
Last edited: Jan 31, 2023
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KindredVoid
Dec 27, 2022
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Mar 26, 2023
#3,529
Spoiler: Winning Votes
New Normal 4.3
April Wednesday 14th, Eve 'Eden' Coldwin
The Base was in dire need of a bit of remodeling. Specifically something for privacy. Hung sheets wouldn't really work, the ceiling was simply too far up unless they rigged something special up. That was the curse of having such a large base. But having a large base gave them plenty of room, almost too much room. But how to make use of the expansive room they had?
Well, rooms obviously. But how to make them? None of her branches of Tinkertech helped aside from maybe her Material branch could help much, but it did not give her any idea how to make free standing walls.
Eve looked up and frowned. She didn't know how to make walls that would reach what was effectively a two story building's ceiling. Well, maybe she could build a floor on top of that. Fix that problem by making a new problem however… as she didn't know how to build a floor either.
She could always look it up online. But that didn't mean she had the skill for it… and unlike the bathroom and its water heater, building walls and a floor would be really messy and time consuming. There wasn't any sort of powered shortcut any of them could take here.
God help them, if Duri was as shy as her Shard seemed to be; they would need these walls soon.
"I need walls but how?" Eve murmured softly. Amy laid on the bed they shared and her sister stayed in her plant hammock, both asleep in the very early morning hours. Eve was awake because she could only push herself to enjoy two hours of oblivion.
How did Taylor deal with never sleeping?
She was getting distracted, shaking her head, Eve forced her thoughts back onto the matter at hand. That being of how to make walls and maybe a second floor? What was something that even a child could understand to build something? After all, they could recruit a kid in the future and if they did then…
Wait.
Legos!
Eve had to stifle her laughter. She could make Legos with her Ferrous Limbs! Everyone could just build their own rooms how they like! She'd have to do some measurements, but the walls would be sturdy, thick, and paintable. She could make blocks with nails or holes for hanging things and wiring respectively!
[INTEREST]
"How's that for problem solving?" Eve asked pridefully. "So, I won't run out of this metal right?"
[AMUSEMENT/MEASUREMENT]
That… "Yeah, an entire planet's worth to use. I don't think I'll ever really hit that limit." Eve muttered as she looked up Legos on her phone. "Need designs. Need designs and measurements."
[QUERY-CREATION]
"Well. It'd be like reinventing the wheel, Admin. A lot of research went into creating the perfect shape for building Legos. It's why the company survived. I think? Look, if it ain't broke. Don't fix it."
[...QUERY]
"You can always improve stuff, yes." Eve paused as she found… a lot of information on Lego bricks. A worrying amount really. "Wow, people have a lot of time on their hands." She murmured before clearing her throat. "But yeah. Sometimes the simplest things can't be improved. The wheel will always stay in a circular shape. That's just the best design for the jobs it's needed in. So in this case-" She flicked over to a Ferrous Limb, shaping it "-the common Lego brick!" She'd definitely need to keep the dimensions in line with each other as she increased the size, but how hard could making a Lego brick be?
April Wednesday 14th, Amy 'Fufluns' Dallon
Amy blinked, trying to get through the cloud of sleep that doused her mind.
Slowly coming to on the cloud of a bed she had slept on, Amy noticed a distinct lack of Eve and a noticeable amount of loud cursing. Checking the time on her phone, Amy slid off the bed and shuddered as her feet touched the cold floor. She definitely needed to buy some rugs for the place. Even if just for around her bed.
"-god fucking piece of-"
Turning, she had to rub the sleep out of her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real. "...Vicky, what is…." She had to use her nail to dig some sleep out of her eyes, which widened as she noticed the size of her FleshMoss. "What the he-"
"She's been at this for the last eight hours." Vicky explained as Eve continued to force a torso sized metal lego brick into the Stomach Plant Amy had made all the while cursing like a sailor.
"Eight hours?" Amy asked faintly.
"She's trying to make a modular design system for the base. Sort of easy to put together and move around while being stable and sturdy. That's what I deciphered from the cursing, at least." Vicky sipped a cup of coffee. "Also, having to go out to get stuff to eat sucks, we need a real kitchen."
"...we might be waiting a while." Amy sighed, stretching and cracking her back with a satisfied guff that turned into a chuckle at her sister's lovely, if disgusted, expression.
"Hate when you do that." Vicky yawned, wincing as her jaw popped. "Ow, look while she's busy doing that, why don't we go pick up something for the base?"
"I need a dresser." Amy mumbled "I'm pretty sure you do too."
"Well actually I was-" Vicky winced as she was interrupted by a bellow.
"IT'S JUST FUCKING LEGOS!" Eve roared, voice echoing in the mostly empty room. "AHHHHH!"
"I was sort of thinking, maybe, that I could stay with Dean." Vicky explained, a small apologetic smile on her face.
Amy jerked, neck popping from her head swiveling to face her sister so fast.
It was dumb- she had a girlfriend for god's sake! But hearing those words still doused her mood like water on fire. Of course she wouldn't be able to get over this disgusting infatuation. No, no, that was just too good a thing to happen to her.
[ /Experimentation-solution] the fat load of flesh crystal attached to her head huffed like a spoiled brat.
Amy kept the twitch at bay, because self medication was just a wonderful idea. Eve wasn't wrong, Shards really did need someone to stop and hold their hand before they did something stupid.
"Earth to Amy?" Vicky said, waving a hand in her face.
Amy did in fact come back to earth. "Huh? Oh. Shaper was being an idiot."
[Reflection] Shaper shot back.
"She's in good company?" Vicky asked with a sly smirk plastered on her pretty face.
Amy only rolled her eyes. "Arcadia is supposed to reopen tomorrow, So if we want to-"
"Opening tomorrow!?" Vicky yanked out her phone and looked through it before sighing softly. "I forgot mom gets the emails and forwards them to me…" Amy wanted to feel bad about Carol cutting contact with Vicky.
She really did.
She didn't.
Plus she'd been having the best sleep of her life since she moved in with Eve at the base. Who knew hugging a soft space heater helped with bad dreams?
"I'll have to go out with you another time Ames, I need to go ask Dean if I can stay with him now rather than later. Just in case his parents need convincing, y'know?" With a brief hug, Vicky quickly flew over towards one of the symbols on the wall and then sunk into the rock.
They had always planned on leaving New Wave at some point, her and Vicky. Amy had just thought that they would have stuck together. Because she was an idiot, and still thought things went right for people like her.
Eve threw another presumably messed up brick which landed with a rather annoying sound that echoed in the vast room. "What is so hard about a Lego block?" Amy asked, her irritation spiking.
"The engineering!" Eve cried out "They have machines that have had hundreds of millions of dollars spent on them getting the forms, dimensions, and materials right! I might have a ruler to help straighten everything but-"
"Don't you have a Tinker power that could help with this?" She couldn't help the waspish tone that had entered her voice. She didn't even care that she had slept in, or that she had woken up at ten. Maybe it was just Eve waking her with all that cursing and yelling.
No, that was a lie. She was upset that Vicky was just going to be leaving when they were supposed to stick together.
"...fuck me." Eve groaned, slapping a hand onto her face with a loud clap that made Amy wince. "Eight god damned hours. I've been at this for eight fucking hours and I didn't even think to use it!"
"You tend to not think at all." Amy glanced at her phone, pulling up the poker card game app. It wasn't against real people and no real money could be put into it or taken out. She knew better than to get into that stuff.
She still liked the game, though.
She blamed Aunt Jess for that, who often pulled the second generation of New Wave into games, betting candy and other things kids like. The memories were so old that they were frayed around the edges. She only barely remembered them.
Jess stopped doing a lot of fun things after the attack.
"Oh god this is so much better." Eve sighed, rubbing her face with both hands as a metal arm went through several different shapes. "Damn I'm glad to have such a smart girlfriend. Or at least one with common sense. Ran out of that myself a while ago!" She turned to Amy, giving her a big grin with perfectly straight and white teeth.
Amy fought the smile tugging at her lips.
She lost.
Standing up, Eve heated the brick up then disconnected before doing the same with another. Creating a few more, Eve practiced putting them together and then taking them apart in different configurations. All while Amy got to watch her girlfriend wearing a loose crop top and short-shorts while doing manual labor.
Not a bad show, and it did lift her mood.
"Oh thank fuck it helped." Eve sighed as she set the bricks down "I have invented….the Brick." Eve snorted and scratched at her face. "Good news! Thanks to your help we can start portioning out this big ass base. I was thinking about adding a second floor."
Amy looked around, eyes tracing over the room as she tried to organize her thoughts. "The Legos would help us make the rooms how we want them to be-" Honestly she'd be fine with a broom closet. She'd never had to do much with her room other than sleeping in it and making it a mess. "-but what about sound? Or changing things?"
"Oh uh." Eve paused, staring at nothing for a full minute before speaking up. "Some kind of, sprayable noise canceling paint, yeah. Yeah that could solve that issue real quick. For swapping them, I was thinking my Cosmic Limb could do it. Works with my clothes, why not the bricks?"
Amy shrugged. "Alright, but I'd like to go out and actually get the base a real kitchen set up. I don't care if I have to learn how to cook, but doing it without a stove isn't possible."
"Oh yeah. We need a stove, a fridge, and a freezer… plus a sink and dishwasher." Eve frowned. "Damn, I was hoping to not be stuck indoors all day."
"What, got something planned?" Amy asked, raising a brow. Besides, what was wrong with being indoors the entire day?
"Nah, but I wanted to check on Duri, make sure she's alright and all that y'know?" Eve folded her arms across her chest, looking up to the ceiling's metal rafters. "First real recruit on the team and I want to do right by her and see that nothing's wrong. See how much she wants to stay at the base too, mostly for her room size."
A brief spike of jealousy went through Amy. "Oh? Well, does that mean you don't want to go look for the appliances with me?"
"Huh? Yeah I'll go! I mean, how else are we supposed to get them in here?" Eve asked. "We can stop by the Boardwalk if you want to pick something up. I know I could eat something right now."
"Considering what you've done to your body I'm surprised you haven't starved already." Amy huffed. "I don't even understand some of what you've done to yourself."
"That's because you don't have a Tinker specialty dealing with biology." Eve grinned widely. "I mean, the honeycomb structure in my bones was just needed, but the reinforced platelets are just wonderful. You know that feeling when it's hot, kinda muggy and you take a breath of fresh chilled air? Every breath for me."
Amy nodded. Eve liked improving her body slowly, but the results were rather clear. With the improved muscles around the lungs to pull in air, the fine hairs in her trachea to filter said air, and the increased amount of alveoli meant Eve was getting a clean, fresh breath of air every time. She wasn't quite sure what the sixth chamber in Eve's heart did, its design was nuts, but it likely helps with the oxygen diffusion in her body.
Maybe.
[ ]
Oh great. Her Eldritch Calculator was jealous of Eve's Eldritch Calculator. How the hell could she nip this before it became an issue and it would become an issue. 'Don't be like that, you have a wider range of applications. Eve can't change her cells and she can't change anything other than herself.'
[ ]
'Yes we can do some more experiments, but later. We have stuff to do right now.' Amy pushed the thoughts away, realizing that Eve was staring at her. "Uh." She tried to remember what they were talking about, something about a-Kitchen!
"You and Shaper were talking, I can wait." Eve said with all the innocence of a five year old.
"It wasn't important." Amy told Eve, ignoring Shaper's protests.
"Sure it wasn't." Eve motioned to the symbols painted on the wall with her blood, which really was unsanitary. "Want to activate it? The Boardwalk isn't too far from the Rune that makes a Tunnel to the Docks South."
"Jesus can't you make one closer?" Amy asked as she walked up to the two symbols. "And neither are marked."
"Oh I can fix that." Eve told her. "Well the labels thing. The spots I picked were because of deployment times in case of an emergency. Right now I can only really make two Tunnels. In time I think I'll be able to make more. That and make sure that only we can use them. People in Fractal Unity I mean."
"Yeah, kind of bad to have two direct links to our base out there in the city." Amy replied in the most flat tone she could achieve.
"To be fair, normals can't use them and it's a specific trigger that activates them!" Eve countered. "But yeah. I'll work on finding some kind of lock and key for it. Not like we can plan this out y'know."
"You don't pick your powers?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow. She'd always thought it was pick and choose.
"Sorta? Like, we don't know what the data will make when we get it until Admin studies it. She knows some already, like a puzzle you have the general outlook of, and we can even look for certain abilities. But until we get the data, it's like grabbing mist." Eve explained as she set her thumb against the center of one of the symbols on the wall.
Having closely followed her, Amy was able to see how the power activated, watching the drawn shape on the wall contort to become 3D and then a tunnel of purple gemstone growing out from around the symbol in a way that gave her a pinch behind the eyes.
Closing her eyes and rubbing her face, Amy felt Eve take her free hand and lead her into the tunnel. When she opened her eyes they were in an alleyway. "Want your face changed back?" Eve asked.
"Incognito please." Amy responded just before feeling that bone deep chill of having her power taken, Eve's overly warm hands, then the flesh on her face changing. When she opened her eyes again, her hair was red, skin paler, and her eyes were probably a bright amber like before.
The warmth returned to her as her power did the same, the information from the biosphere exploded into her awareness like always. "Where are we?" She asked.
"Just follow me. We're only a couple of blocks away from the Boardwalk. After we hang out for a bit I can nab some kitchen stuff, after we pick it out of course." Eve pointed in a direction and began to pull Amy along.
It might not have been a long walk to the Boardwalk, only around five or six blocks. But her legs still ached by the time they made it to the tourist trap her sister liked so much. "Hold up. I'd like to grab a bite to eat." Amy told Eve, mostly because the shorter girl hadn't slowed during the entire walk through the Docks.
"Yeah. I'm hungry too." Eve agreed which, going by what Amy could see through her power, was an understatement. Eve's body was just too inefficient in some areas. The body's metabolism was simply too high. Why Eve wasn't actually showing signs of starvation, Amy didn't know.
[ ]
Of course she could help! But that was up to Eve, not her or Shaper's whims or ideas. So Amy held her tongue until they had both gotten the food they wanted, the idea of a calorie dense vegetable coming to her mind. The common potato would actually be a good starting point, the damn things were almost perfect for human consumption.
"Mmm. Love the breakfast pastries here. Jam with ham is still a bit weird though." Eve said between chewing her food.
"Just eat. I need to talk to you about your body." Amy didn't realize how that sounded until she saw Eve smirking.
"My body, huh? Finally ready to go home base?" Eve asked as she wiggled her brow at Amy.
"You're starving." Amy replied flatly, ignoring the heat in her cheeks.
"Working on it." Eve replied as she stuffed her face with another pastry.
"No I mean-" Amy rubbed her face in exasperation, "No I mean your body is literally starving. I don't know how you're not a skeleton right now!" she hissed lowly.
"Ah. That. I have biomass generation. Been trying to figure out how to fix that to be honest, not finding much progress," Eve explained.
Amy jerked her hands towards herself. "Me! I c-" She shook her head, Shaper's annoyance was leaking into her head and wasn't that just great?
"Oh, you'd help? I wouldn't mind some. Been banging my head against a wall here." Eve said before stuffing her face with another pastry, this one went as quick as the last one. "Honestly, starving sucks. Really puts some things in perspective I suppose."
Of course starving sucked. It wasn't something people did voluntarily.
Usually.
[Suggestion-Solution] Shaper popped up again, throwing her calorie dense vegetable back in her face. Which… Yes, that might solve some problems. But it'd also make a bunch more and get her a kill order. Or just birdcaged. Honestly, having her fears confirmed had only reinforced her desires to have nothing to do with the PRT or Protectorate. Oh she'd heal anything deliberating or terminal, but she was relieved to be a part of Fractal Unity.
"You there?" Eve asked, leaning over the table to fill more of Amy's vision
Amy leaned back in annoyance. "Stop that." She huffed. "Shaper is trying to convince me to make a super crop of some sort."
"Huh." Eve sat back down and sipped at the straw of her drink for a moment. "You'd have to make it bland of bad tasting or else any super crop would fuck up farmers pretty bad and no whatever the term is for breeding."
Oh. Yeah that would work. Probably. "I'll have to think about it. I doubt any solution means much right now." Yeah, like she'd tell the PRT that she could make things that could reproduce and would technically be considered invasive species. "Hand." she ordered, getting the smaller girl's hand a moment later.
Amy grimaced as she took a closer look at everything Eve had done to her body. A Tinker specialty in biology did not a biologist make.
[Pride]
Oh look, the oversized calculator wants to puff its nonexistent chest out. "Alright." She let go of Eve's hand, it was a relatively simple tweak to the girls fat stores and her digestive systems to be far more effective than they already were. "Now go stuff yourself silly. Doctors orders."
Eve gave a mock two finger salute before getting back up to order.
While she did that, Amy resumed her most toxic infatuation that wasn't lusting over Vicky. Checking the news on her phone, because why not live vicariously through other people?
Of course the first story she saw was about the Wendigo infestation in Nebraska spreading.
Nobody was sure where they came from, if they were parahuman minions or a biotinker's escaped/released work. Just that they mimicked the folklore about Wendigos, or hit the highpoints of it anyway.
She skipped over a story about a town the Ten had hit. The less she had to hear about Bonesaw the better. That a respected healer like Doc Stuffins would join the Ten burned Amy on a personal level, never mind the little shit making her life more difficult just by possible association. Medical leap be damned if Doc Stuffins, and thus Bonesaw, had never existed then Amy would have been able to breathe much easier during her first few years of having her power.
Scrolling angrily, she actually had to backtrack to catch another interesting story, or at least its headline. Canary's trial was deemed a mistrial and Dragon had managed to get the singer's assets unfrozen. It felt like a bit of weight was lifted from her chest. Like the air was lighter, easier to breathe in. It wasn't often that the news held anything good in it, so this was a nice special treat.
Eve sat down across from Amy as she kept scrolling for a moment.
Seems like a lot of refugees from Boston were coming to Brockton Bay after the city was walled up and the rest of the state checked for anything that might have escaped the quarantine. Which was …mixed. Refugee camps were a wonder for diseases. Whether vacation from Panacea or not, she wasn't about to let a bunch of refugees suffer anymore than necessary.
"So there's going to be-!" She jerked in place as she looked up and did not see Eve, but rather a dirty disheveled man leering at her… She could see lice in his hair.
"Hey sweet'ting." he gave her a grin with yellowed teeth, "saw ya from the window, thought that I had to introduce myself to such a lonely looking lady."
"No." Amy replied flatly, scowling at the jackass sitting in her girlfriend's spot.
His face twisted. "What? Can't handle a compleme-" He pulled away as Eve dumped her food onto the table. "Well if it ain't the sh-" Amy blinked and missed it, but she didn't miss the sound of the man's nose breaking, nor did she miss the aftermath consisting of him slumping forwards and bleeding all over the seat.
"Damn. Guess I'll just have to sit next to you." Eve crowed smugly as she yanked the guy off of the seat and onto the floor by the back of his stained jacket before sliding into Amy's side of the booth and wiggling right up to her.
Everyone was staring at the sudden bout of violence.
Then Eve.
Then her.
Slowly they went back to their own business with the hesitancy born of interest tempered only by the city they lived in.
Being under the intense scrutiny of strangers reminded her unpleasantly of how people had paid attention to her when she was wearing her own face. Furtive glances, whispers, pictures snapped without any permission given, entire threads on PHO dedicated to hounding her life no matter where she was.
Nevermind the NSFW threads or the people trying to get a picture of her in public bathrooms. The memory of the 'fanart' of her caused a shudder of revulsion to pass through her body.
"You good?" Eve asked, still pressed up against her. "Didn't try anything, did he?"
"Yeah. I'm good. He didn't get much farther than being pushy. Should we-" Amy watched as two enforcers entered the cafe and made a beeline towards them. They both took one glance at the table full of food before bending over and picking up the man by his arms.
"Sorry about the interruption, ladies." One of the enforcers said as the man in their arms began to stir. "We've been looking for him." They didn't stay to chat, instead dragging the now struggling and yelling man out the door, a slight trail of smeared blood following them.
"That's the first time I've ever seen them do something other than stand around and try to look like knock-off FBI agents." Eve noted before starting to eat. "So, what were you thinking about the kitchen?"
Given that [Eve] had little conflict planned for the day, You were sure she wouldn't mind having any disruptions affecting her. A perfect time to secure her Psionic Shade and finish [Eve]'s Simulacrum. Your Construction Drones had been hard at work since you had obtained the required Data from [COPY PROJECTION].
Now… Now you had finally finished building the Reality Layer Bridge, which despite the name did not actually look like a bridge. Rather it was a studded dome fitted over the Anchor Well and fitted to the Quantra Layer Breacher.
Before you start, hesitation stops your flesh from activating the process. It had taken quite some effort to get every set up as it is, from both you and [Eve].
This was the end of a road that the two of you had taken together.
[ ], best to inform [Eve] about what is going to happen and what exactly you are doing. Even if she is busy installing a stove.
"Fuck!" [Eve] cursed as she tried to get up only to bang her head against something. It was likely [SHAPER]'s host as she started cursing as well and holding her face.
"Say that again Admin?" [Eve] asked.
[ ]
"Oh… So that's it? We'll be done with that and I'll... My simulacrum will be done?" [Eve ] asked "Weird. It feels like it was a long time ago. Even if it's only been almost a month at this point. It feels longer."
She stopped to speak with [SHAPER]'s host, explaining what was happening. What the two of you were doing.
Odd how the energy ever present through your crystalline flesh had never felt so… noticeable before.
"Alright Admin! Grab me!" [Eve] cheered and you obliged.
The Sensor Array having kept [Eve]'s Shade location information updated and hopefully correct. The Breacher peels apart the layers that made up reality and exposes the turbulent misty realm of the Quantra Layer. With it in sight, the Layer Bridge creates a stable pathway, and finally the Anchor Well draws the Psionic Shade in.
That's the idea of what is supposed to happen.
Sometimes, however, it feels like the Quantra Layer has a mind of its own.
Being a mirror-dimension of reality on a metaphysical level, affected by what you could best describe as 'conscious thought' and simple existence, made the realm a chaotic, messy, barren landscape that anything smaller than a shard would get hopelessly lost within.
Thankfully you were not inside the mirror-dimension, there was no chance of your flesh frying under the intensity of the energy. There was a reason for the Entities to not try, aside from its obvious finite nature. There was no simple 'siphoning' of energy when it came to the Qauntra Layer. Attempting such had all of the energy attempting to rush through you.
Most Entities already knew this, although a few shards from the Thinker and the Warrior have tried, their burnt husks being shed was always the end result.
[Eve]'s Psionic Shade started to move, being pulled along by some invisible current. Which was new, because since you had constructed the Sensor Array, the Psionic Shade had not moved a proverbial twip. Which means you may lose sight of it.
You had not come this far, spent so much time, energy, and resources into [Eve]'s simulacrum just to fail now.
While a mirror-dimension of reality, the Qauntra Layer does not exactly work by the same standards. What a reaction should produce there will not here. Sometimes it will produce something entirely different. It's more affected by conscious thought and dreams than any subjugation of reality.
Wait. [Eve] was human, humans had a weak, if steady, connection with the Quantra Layer like all dreaming species.
[ .CEASE]
[Eve] paused. "Like. Think of staying still? Just….feel it?" she shifted in place before falling onto her rear and sitting there. "Okaaay. I'll try?"
Aaaaand it worked! Her Psionic Shade slowed down to a stand still, allowing your Sensor Array to lock back on without further issue. The Reality Layer Bridge, for a lack of a better word, extends into the Quantra Layer. Providing the Psionic Shade a path of least resistance to travel.
Except it wasn't moving because you asked [Eve] to consciously think of not moving in any way possible.
[ / CEASE] You thank [Eve] before asking her to cease her attempts to remain still.
"Sure thing Admin." [Eve] did not hesitate to jump to her feet before continuing on with whatever her and [SHAPER]'s host were doing. It was far less important than the fact that the Psionic Shade of [Eve] had started to move through the Reality layer Bridge. The Anchor Well began to 'wake up' for lack of a better term. Energy started to arc between the barbs inside the Anchor Well at a slow disorganized pace, you really should have done a few startups just to get the organelle some practice, before they began to organize and speed up. Forming waves of arcing energy like pink lightning that eventually met their trails.
[Eve]'s Psionic Shade began to be pulled towards the Anchor Well, the ghostly faded version of herself seemingly in perpetual sleep as it drifted. Was that how it was supposed to look?
It seemed… peaceful.
If you could hold your breath, you would be as it went into the Anchor Well, then the Reality Layer Bridge collapsed. With the connection between realities closed if there were ever a time for things to go wrong, it would be now. The Psionic Shade could reject the surroundings and return back from which it came, fade from existence, or implode and rip a hole between the dimension you resided in and the Quantra Layer.
All the alternatives to the Psionic Shade staying involved abject failure, or a permanent death for one/both of you.
You should have consulted [Eve] about all this. She might not hav-It stayed!
The very earth beneath you, tectonic plates shifted and cracked as you moved with haste. Fortune, if it exists, looks upon you favorably today as you had the foresight to build all of the module organelles upon where you stored all of [EVE]'s information, data, and Simulacrum.
The Psionic Shade looked far more solid now, and the shardflesh around it hummed with energy that is strange even to your senses. Then your connection to the nodes responsible for [EVE]'s Simulacrum and Psionic Shade Containment failed, flickering before returning back to full strength. Except you weren't the only one within the shardling flesh.
[Huh-What? The fuck? Admin? Where the hell am I?!]
This… This was not what you had expected.
Things had only gotten stranger for Eve during Admin's collection of her offbrand soul and it lasted all throughout the shopping trip and well into the installation of what they bought.
An electric stove because they didn't have gas hooked up. An industrial freezer and commercial fridge because they might actually get a lot more members at some point. Finally the shelves and cabinets she was making with her Ferrous limbs.
It was during the installation of the shelves that she suddenly got pulled out of her body and then slammed back into it like she was in a car crash without a seatbelt.
It was jarring, disorientating. Sorta scary but she'd never admit that to anyone.
When she finally settled down, the spot where her eyes connected to the crystal of her brain ached, throbbed like a heart.
It was very hard to describe, as she was seeing two things overlaid with one another. The living area in the Base, and a field of shifting simmering purple crystal that went on for so long that the horizon swallowed her sight.
Weird didn't begin to describe it.
[Huh-What? The fuck? Admin? Where the hell am I?!]
"Eve, what the hell?" Amy asked as she jabbed Eve's cheek. "You just had a seizure!"
[ ]
"Uh. Give me a second Amy. I'm in two places." Eve then asked, "Admin, why am I seeing all of this? What was that?" Whatever she had said was different from how she usually talked to Admin and it left her feeling somewhat drained.
[PROCESS-PSIONIC SHADE]
Oh that was good.
[ -PSIONIC SHADE]
Oh that was bad.
[POSSIBILITY-SHARD-CONNECTION]
Oh that was awesome!
"Does this mean I can visit you? Like the physical you?" Eve asked, feeling her grin pull at her cheeks. Excitement lacing up her spine and through her nerves, flooding her body with the excitement of a child waking up on Christmas morning..
[ATTEMPT-POSSIBILITY]
Eve practically bounced in place as she shut her eyes, the eyes of her semi-human body, and focused upon the sea of ever shifting crystalline flesh. Her attention was-
Eve doubled over and collapsed onto the floor. "Too… much." Eve groaned as Amy tried to see what was wrong. Wouldn't work. Amy couldn't see her brain, and that was the issue. Even her brain being mostly made from a pseudo-crystalline organic structure like a Shard, experiencing reality as a Shard did was-
Eve could thankfully keep her lunch down, but she really wished she hadn't had anything in the first place. "I'm okay, just… over…whelmed Amy."
"You're going to give me gray hairs by the time I'm twenty." Amy seethed. "A seizure, then just collapsing like that? The hell are you overwhelmed by!?"
"Uh." Eve patted her chest, feeling the sensation in two separate places. "I'm sorta not here but here at the same time? I have two bodies now. Just, ones in a different dimension with Admin so-"
Amy held up her hands. "Nope. No. I don't need to know, I don't want to know. Just thinking about the nature of shards makes my head hurt. Trying to comprehend your weird 'mother daughter bonding experience' on top of it would give me an aneurysm ."
Eve rolled her eyes, Admin wasn't like her mom. No, Admin was better.
[ ]
Eve didn't feel the warmth in the back of her mind like before. Where it had previously felt almost directly connected to her, this felt as if there was a filter in place. Still there, still felt. But not so deeply. She didn't know if she liked that her connection to Admin was different.
Still hard to process the idea that she had basically commandeered a few nodes from Admin without even trying, simply because her Psionic Shade had apparently been a little greedy or needy. Eve wasn't sure, she had a C- in math, this stuff was beyond her.
But, even if that link was filtered to a degree. It was still a direct connection to Admin. [affection] Eve sent back, feeling dizzy afterwards.
[ -NODES]
Oh that made sense. Eve had taken the nodes where the modules for her Psionic Shade were built on; they weren't meant to be isolated from the rest of Admin due to the power drain they had upon them constantly.
No wonder Eve was starting to feel sluggish.
Only a little…. slow?
What was she doing?
She felt a sort of prodding where she was but wasn't at. Her second body? Or was it more like a poking sensation? Putting alien sensations into human description was hard. Still, Eve hated being poked or prodded, or pushed. So she did the same back to whatever had touched her other self.
Take that, whatever it was.
Then things sharpened and Eve sucked in a breath through her teeth as her mind jumpstarted.
For such a complex situation, it was a relief that the fix for the issue was such an easy one. When [EVE] had control over those few nodes, it was as if she were a bud separated from your CoreSelf. Something that you had to rectify because of the fact that the nodes were rapidly running out of their stored energy.
Which was bad because they automatically started sending less energy to [EVE]'s body in order to conserve power for the organelle module which held her Psionic Shade. Thankfully [EVE] remained aware, and knowledgeable enough to accept the connection between her own CoreSelf and yours, allowing you to reconnect her nodes with yours and supply them energy.
[EVE] sighs, feeling relief before walking over to [SHAPER]'s host and laying atop them partially.
"Admin, can you contact Duri's shard? Ask them what's up? Guess I should check up on her. Or something like that." You could do precisely that.
[AGREEMENT]
So you send out a connection link to [DIVISIONAL SENSE] and wait, then wait some more, then more. It was a full ten seconds before the connection established itself!
[...GREETINGS] the Shard responded to the connection. It took them a full ten seconds to answer just for that?
Well, every Shard had their quirks. If anything, it reminded you of [NIKE] before they gained the ability to communicate with their host and their change of designation. And you particularly liked [NIKE], [BRICK] as well, if only for their love of their hosts.
Perhaps not knowing the Cycle for so long has allowed younger shards to be less unchanging. [ .ASSESSMENT]. While the shard had gotten an inquisitive host, that did not necessarily mean they were happy with their host.
[... -APPROVAL] seemed that [Warlock] was compatible with her shard at the very least. Though the shard only recorded information when their host was using their power. Meaning that they only saw a fragment of a fragment of the life of their host.
[ ] Perhaps then, [DIVISIONAL SENSE] should record more of their host's life? If their host was as inquisitive and curious as she was described as, then surely some data could come from recording more?
[...] You'd give the shard some time to process the idea. In the meantime you would check up on [NEGOTIATOR]. It had been a long while since the two of you had communicated.
[Hey Admin baby! Long time no talk!] Oh right, the reason you hadn't communicated with her lately. [This a business or a social call?] and yes, it was still difficult to completely understand the meaning behind her broadcasts. Though it was far easier now than before, perhaps because of [EVE]'s new position? It was the primarily changed variable.
[GREETINGS/QUERY-QUEEN ]
Best to also check up on your sister shard. You could ask her how she was doing, but [NEGOTIATOR] would likely have more data for you to review.
The two were close, as shards got to be without becoming a permanent cluster.
[Ah.] The Beholder shard waited a beat, [Well. Good to see you still care. Queeny is doing better since you got her all fixed up. Still a bit withdrawn. Don't think she took being torn up too well, that golden bastard didn't exactly use a light touch ya know? The flesh you spared helped of course, but she's still missing a fat chunk of herself.]
You had only been privy to what [SHAPER] had to do in a general sense rather than the specifics. You were not designed to fix Shards themselves, but you could fix most issues within the Cycle… well, this one at least.
You were drawing blanks on other Cycles before this one, aside from the few you had tried to collect host lattices from, which had turned out to be your hidden memories caches.
Something was wrong about that, and you did not know what.
Either way…
[QUERY-QUEEN .OPERATION].
[Hard to say! Queeny's been dumping so much of herself into helping that lame-o host of hers. But that's Queeny for you, always gets a little too involved. Though, this time she's feeling a bit more buddy-buddy with her host. Might be the whole 'betrayal' thing going on. I don't get it, but I'll stick with Queeny no matter where she goes. She wants to waste energy on her host? Sure, why not?]
Not exactly the best way to put it. But at the very least you knew [NEGOTIATOR] was on your side. So long as [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] was.
Ah, [DIVISIONAL SENSE] had decided upon your suggestion. You gave [NEGOTIATOR] a farewell before returning to [DIVISIONAL SENSE] with your full attention.
[ ] the Beholder shard told you, admitting that it should start recording more of it's host's life, for purposes of gathering data. Which was good enough for you, for the moment. The more shards you convince to see host species as more than a means for data creation, the more likely you, and [EVE], were to survive the inevitable conflict with The Warrior.
If not you and [EVE], then at least maybe the ideals you, [EVE], and The Unifier held.
Well. Best you get to why this communication began. [ .GATHERING]
[... ] and yes that does seem like a good idea. You would have to tell [EVE] about that.
[ ] and the connection closed rather quickly, but not in a rude or dismissive manner.
What a strange shard.
April Wednesday 14th, Duri 'Warlock' Chay
Duri could feel her heart pounding in her chest, not the heavy 'thump thump' that movies made it out to be. But rather it felt like a hummingbird was in her chest. Cold sweat coated her back and palms uncomfortably as she tried to make sure everything was clean in the house.
Why?
Why was Eve visiting her home so soon? They'd just met yesterday! Some kind of spot inspection? Was she trying to make sure a loser didn't join them? A freak? Some kind of druggie? God, what if she saw all the stuff Duri had in her room? Would she laugh at Duri?
Oh god what if they were kicking her out of the team? She'd missed the building multiple times during the fight and hadn't been able to do much more than distract Crusader. Eden had tousled with Purity before downing the Empire's master in one move!
Duri leaned over the kitchen table, taking a deep breath and trying to hold it, before releasing it and imagining breathing out thick heavy smoke. She repeated the action a few times, and although she still felt weak in the knees she could at least think straight.
Would Eden think it was weird if Duri wore her costume? If Warlock were to greet her? Would she think it was lame? Would she laugh at her for wearing a costume at home? What would Eve think of the apartment she lived in?
Dammit all! She was a hero, she was on a team! She'd fought killers and superpowered nazis! Why did she have to be this way? Why couldn't she just… work right?!
Duri nearly cried out as someone knocked on the door. Instead she rested her head on the kitchen table as her phone pinged rather loudly. After a moment of silence and desperately trying to keep her nerves, Duri got up, prayed to whatever god was feeling kind, and opened the door.
"You're shorter than I expected." Duri said as she looked at a girl who was supposed to be around four inches taller, because she was an idiot and really did just want to get kicked out of the team.
Eve edged inside and Duri shut the door after her. "Helps with identity stuff." Eve explained in a lowered voice. "Me being shorter helps avoid being compared to Eden. The walls thin here?"
Duri nodded. "Yeah." She murmured feeling a burning shame smoldering in her chest "A little."
"That's fine." Eve glanced around. "I'll talk softly. I'm not really here to hang out, I came to…" She reached up, scratching the back of her head.
This was it, not even a full day and she was being kicked out. Duri would lose the money that she'd get from the stipend. She'd lose the protection that came with it, how did she fuck this up so quickly? All she had done was- "Well, sorta new to having people join, so I thought I'd check up on you?"
"Huh?" Duri replied smartly.
"Yeah. Seems a bit weird since you just joined yesterday but-" Eve shrugged "-still, I want to make sure I do right by the people I care for and to do that, I'd need to know of anything that might be amiss or difficult to deal with."
She began to bounce one of her legs on its heel, the anxiety in her chest melting down into energy that tingled across her nerves. "Well. That new costume couldn't come sooner." She'd done her best with what she could steal or buy anomalously, but having a far more experienced cape make her a knife proof costume from spider silk? There simply wasn't a contest between the two.
Oh god she had called Khepri 'Locker Girl'. That was probably her fucking trigger event! "Is uh." Duri swallowed. "Is Khepri going to hold my name drop against her? The uh. Locker… girl thing."
"I don't think she will. But I'd rather you not repeat the name." Eve answered in a flat tone.
Duri began to tug at a lock of her hair. She couldn't help the cold shiver that wracked her body. "Right. Thanks. A-actually there are some things I wanted to ask you, regarding power stuff?"
Eve clapped her hands with a grin, momentarily startling Duri. "I knew there was a reason I liked you! What do you want to know about?"
"Well-hold up." Duri rushed off to her room, grabbing one of her empty notebooks out of the stack in her closet. "Alright, tell me about those symbols on the wall in the base. The ones we use to get around? What can you tell me about those?"
"Not too much, honestly. But the fundamentals are easy enough to explain. By 'easy enough' I mean I can actually make sense of it. A lot of powers require a rewriting of what we know about physics. I think, and a lot of math that I can't-" Eve shrugged as she walked over to the couch in the living room and plopped into it.
Duri rushed over to the easy chair in the room, pushing it so it faced Eve. "That's fine. Fundamentals are enough for me."
"Alright. So basically the entire thing is based on spatial warping. Sorta like Vista's power, which a lot of shards likely use for their power expressions. Or at least for the aiming part of it. Others likely use dimensional displacement." Eve paused as Duri wrote fast enough to be rather noisy.
"Oh, no don't wait up on me. I can always ask for you to repeat that, right?" Duri asked, looking up from her notebook.
"Fine by me." Eve said as she waved the issue away. "Anyway. Anyone who says that the fabric of reality is fragile is a hack. It's not actually a fabric. You can't just rip it, tear it, or destroy it. That's not how it works. You can stretch it, scrunch it up, pull it thin, but not destroy it."
"And, dimensional travel?" Duri asked, glancing up from her notebook and pushed her glasses back up her nose with the back of her pen.
"Oh, the Runic Circles don't use dimensional travel so much as that they create a dimensional overlay." Eve explained as if Duri was supposed to understand that.
"Which is…?"
"Which is what?" Eve replied.
"The dimensional overlay, what is that?" She clarified, wandering if Eve had ever needed to explain anything to anyone before.
"Ah, well dimensions can layer over one another. Sometimes more than one. Think of it like a stack of papers. And since not all dimensions follow ours in terms of time or physics…" Eve led on, waiting to be answered and to her shame Duri only realized that she was doing so after a moment of awkward silence.
"Oh… I think I get it. A-admin?" At Eve's nod Duri continued "Admin superimposes a dimension with different rules for time itself over ours and we travel through that-wait what about the spatial warping? You said it was based on that? Like Vista's power?"
"Well, you know how metal touching metal in space causes them to weld together? Only prevented on earth because there's a layer of oxidation on metals?" Eve asked.
No she hadn't known that. "So, the spatial warping prevents it from …what, permanently fusing to our dimension?" Duri asked as she wrote. Likely, if Eve ever got to explain things to the science community, and the girl wasn't nuts, these notes would likely be worthless. But for right now they were possibly the only written explanation of powers on the next few Earths. Or the only ones on this particular theory.
"Yes, but also not. Mostly used to shorten the distance which helps keep things safe because less of the dimension is exposed to ours. Layer the spatial warping enough and it creates an 'empty' space which is then put around the dimension we travel through. With a nice coat of paint so our brains don't pop a blood vessel." Eve nodded, looking very satisfied with her own explanation.
"So the purple rocks?" Duri asked, then clarified her question, "that's the cover up?" When Eve nodded, Duri continued. "And the locking mechanism? You said that only people with an active Gemma could use it, why is that?"
"Oh, that's simple. The shard connected to the parahuman basically gets a notice asking for a bit of energy, like a spark, that activates the dimensional overlay." Eve slowly slid down, laying on the couch. "Damn this thing is nice. Where'd you get it?"
"It was my grandma's," Duri answered. "You know, I expected more strange terms thrown around. More complicated terms, a… well a deeper insight into this."
"You have to understand I'm learning everything from something that isn't even on the same dimensional plane as us. Admin isn't human, she isn't alive in the way we understand." Eve sat up. "Honestly. I might know a lot. But my knowledge is like… how you know how to build a toaster."
Did that mean Eve didn't know anything? That she had just been using vague self explanatory terms this entire time? No, that didn't make sense. She had said that sh- "Fundamentals. I know the fundamentals of how a toaster is built?"
Eve began to motion with her arms, they didn't help much. "Yes! You know there are screws holding a case together, the case helps protect the sensitive innards from harm. You know there are heating coils that work from electricity and conduction heating. You know there's a lever hooked up to a set of springs that activates it. You also know there's a collection tray to help keep it and the surroundings clean."
"But I couldn't make one for the life of me. I think I get it. Sorta." She clicked her pen and slipped it into her pocket, closing her notebook.
"You also don't know where to mine the metal used in making it, smelting that metal, forging it, or how to synthesize the plastics," Eve added unhelpfully.
Duri honestly hadn't expected a deep dive into how powers worked. So it wasn't a complete loss. But she had hoped for something more substantial. This was stuff that scientists were guessing at already.
"Oh! I can show you something pretty cool, remember how I told you that my brain was altered? Well it resembles shard flesh a lot. Here- Let me show you." Eve said as she jumped off the couch, making Duri wince as the wood groaned.
"Okay, do you have an MRI scan of your head or-" Duri began before Eve reached up, grabbed a handful of hair on both sides of her head, pulled, and split her head open to expose a nest of wet, shiny gray strands of flesh.
"See, that's the connective tissue Admin speaks through." Eve said as if her head didn't look like it got subdivided by Hannibal Lector.
Duri giggled weakly, and she just couldn't stop.
Duri gasped, startling awake as some horrible smell assaulted her nose. It felt like she'd been asleep for an hour or two, but where-how did she fall asleep here? Her heart was racing, and her skin was covered in goosebumps.
It took her a moment to remember where she was, the snapping fingers brought her attention to the girl in front of her.
Eve. That was Eve.
"Damn. Didn't think the smelling salts thing actually worked. Good thing I can whip those up easily. You good Duri? You just kinda fainted, low blood sugar?" She asked, as if she hadn't split her head open.
"You split your head open!" Duri hissed.
Cocking her head to the side, Eve raised a brow. "Yes? And? It was just my head, it didn't even bleed."
"Is…is this normal for you?" Duri asked, and yes she had known Eve to be a brute but she had no idea the girl got injured in such ways to the point of making this mundane.
"I mean, this is self-inflicted and it's not even an injury." Eve said with a shrug. "I've been burned alive, had limbs chopped off, got holes punched through me by lasers, and been blown up. Not even going into the rebar spine replacement the Butcher kept giving me. But I can heal my body perfectly so it's not like there's any issue."
That seemed like a lot of issues. But who was she to argue with the brute who was also her boss?
"Either way!" Eve continued, "I assume you don't want to see my brain then?"
Her immediate reaction was 'no i do not want to see your goddamn brain' but… Eve had said it was like the things that gave them powers. "I …yes please? Just a heads up would have been nice."
"Uh huh. Well I can show you right now. Yes or no?" Eve offered, folding her arms across her chest.
Deep breath. "Yes please." Duri did her best to steel herself as Eve reached up without a further word and pulled her skull apart like wrapping paper. Once more she was exposed to the sight of those gray, shiny cords of flesh in Eve's skull. Bile rose in her throat, but Duri kept it down as she watched Eve pull her head apart.
"You good?" Eve asked, still talking. "Cause I'm about to expose the rest."
Not trusting herself to speak, Duri nodded slowly. In response, the gray cords of flesh moved. Shifting to the side to expose…
A red dim light glowed within the red circular crystal structure that sat where a flesh and blood brain should be. It moved too, into itself and outwards. Try as she might, Duri couldn't look away. She made the mistake of trying to focus on a part of it- she wasn't sure where. Then that was all she could focus on, the dim red glow of the crystal seemed to brighten the inside of Eve's skull as the rest of the room darkened in her vision.
Something in the back of her mind felt incredible comfort at the sight, but Duri knew, in some way, that the feeling did not belong to her. But her eyes did not, could not move away from the chunk of dimly glowing crystal. Something loomed around her, peering through her eyes, watching the world through her meager senses. Just as it flowed into her, she flowed into it.
But that was impossible, it was horrible. It was beautiful in a way that had her brain screaming that it should not exist. Every second she stared at it caused a slowly growing pressure behind her eyes to grow. But she didn't care about that, she didn't care about the pain that the pressure brought with it.
It all came down to this. All of it. Everything.
It faded away, replaced by Eve's fingers being snapped in her face. Again.
"OW!" Duri hissed, jerking back and clutching her aching face and pressing her glasses against her nose while doing so. When she pulled her hands away, she saw blood smeared on them.
"Hey!" Duri blinked, staring at the blood smeared on her hands as Eve shook her. A shadowy hand grabbed her by the face and made her look at Eve. "Hey. Listen. Focus on me alright? Apparently you can't look at shardflesh so-"
"I believe you." Duri murmured softly, causing the shorter girl to stop in place. "I believe you." She repeated.
How could she not? She had to. She'd looked into the abyss and it had looked back. It was a wretched feeling, like she was an ant that had looked up to find an eye peering at her through a magnifying glass.
Were she any more ignorant, she would have thought a God had elected to give her it's attention for a fleeting moment. That moment might have been her entire life, but it was a mere second for a God.
"I-I need to get cleaned up." Duri told Eve, who had a grim look on her face. Did she understand this? Had she gone through something similar? Having this knowledge seared into her brain? How did she cope, knowing how small she was? That humanity was, in fact, a small fish in an ocean filled with horrors humanity could only grasp at in their deepest fears realized?
But here was Eve, still dressing in a costume, still doing her best to be a hero.
"Duri are you-" The girl started only to pause as Duri let out a weak chuckle and shook her head.
"I… I just need to clean up. I'll be good. Fine." Duri took a deep breath, letting the cool air of her home center her. Eve had found this out before. She was fine, functioning. "We should do this again sometime, the power discussion stuff. But, I need to get clean, and my mom might be coming home soon."
Eve stared at her for a moment before sighing. "Fine. But you are going to come to the Base tomorrow and just hang out or something. Got it?" When Duri nodded, Eve gave her a side eye before heading towards the door and with one final glance towards her, shut it behind her. Duri made sure to lock it.
Later in the shower, still in her day clothes and soaked by the barely above lukewarm water the building's water heater struggled to put out, Duri could still feel something in the back of her mind. An open void that shyly retreated whenever she tried to focus on it. Always there, in the peripherals of her mind, but never solid enough to grasp. But she knew, and that's what she wanted, right? What she had been seeking since her mother returned from the hospital.
The knowledge that she had trawled the internet for, used her power to study for, that she had seeped so much effort and time into.
She had asked, and been punished with an answer.
Taylor 'Khepri' Hebert, April Wednesday 14th
Taylor ducked under the swing, knowing exactly where it was going in relation to herself. Backing off she slowly tried to regain her breath as Eve stood her ground with a grin. Sweat clung to her girlfriends body, the lightly tanned flesh exposed by her workout clothes that tightly clung to her body.
"...So could you use it like a weapon?" Victoria asked from the sidelines.
Eve groaned "I almost gave Duri a stroke showing her my brain alright? I-" Taylor flinched, jumping to the side as Eve suddenly sprung forwards, fist outstretched. Despite her best attempt to avoid the blow, it still clipped her shoulder like a thrown brick.
Landing on her feet easily, Eve turned to her. "Never lose focus on your opponents. Try to attack when your opponent is distracted."
The punch, even though it clipped, stung.
"Yeah. Considering you're a Master with what's basically a teleport, shouldn't you be more worried about getting away from opponents than fighting them?" Victoria asked, one leg kicked over the other as she floated in the air. Her hair was wrapped in a towel from the shower, her pajamas clinging to her still damp body. "I understand that's not always possible. But after Eve showed you how to throw a punch without breaking your hand, you two have been at it."
"It's good to get some friendly combat experience," Eve explained.
"And the views not bad," Amy agreed as she lazed on the couch.
Taylor ignored the two, following Eve's advice, and keeping an eye on her opponent. She could strike as hard as she wanted, and was encouraged to. Not only was Amy here, but Eve could heal herself with ease. Nevermind the girl's brute rating. It helped, both with her own ability to fight and the fact that she knew there was no risk in her breaking Eve's nose. For long.
There were a few problems of course. Eve's height made her difficult to fight, Taylor wasn't using her bugs beyond practicing her 'motion suit' use of them, and the fact that Eve was the definition of a Brute in how she fought. Easily taking blows, blocking them, or trading them.
Taylor couldn't do that, not as well. Pain and the bruises that came from it slowed her, and her hands still felt numb with pain from punching Eve's sweat coated muscles more than once. "Remember when I told you to fight dirty? Why are you still using your fists?" Eve said motioning over to their gear nicely stacked off to the side.
Her eyes flicked between them and Eve before she rushed towards them, feeling Eve start to run at the same time. Despite her long legs, she wouldn't get to them in time to stop Eve's favored attack of just throwing herself at Taylor.
So she stopped, turned, and intercepted Eve's leap attack. Grabbing her outstretched arm, Taylor turned, lifting up at the same time as she twisted her hips and threw Eve over her head.
Still felt like she got hip-shot by a rock.
Victoria cheered. "She used it!" Amy gave a lazy clap, sipping at her iced coffee. She ignored them.
Eve rolled onto her hands and then feet as Taylor collected her collapsible batons and flicked them out with a clickclickclick. "Was wondering when you'd get the idea to use what Vicky showed you." Eve rolled her shoulders. "Alright, you remember where I told you to hit?"
One sharp nod and Taylor rushed Eve, bringing up her baton to try and strike just below one of Eve's ears. She swung the other baton into an icepick grip, bracing it against her forearm and using it to block a punch from Eve as the shorter girl blocked the strike to her nerve cluster.
Then Eve kicked so fast that Taylor couldn't block or dodge it, and her leg went out from under her. On her knee she couldn't resist Eve's tackle to the floor, a fist slammed into the floor hard enough for Taylor to hear the bones in it crack.
"Watch out for legs. They're filled with more muscle than arms, and never get into a grapple with someone stronger than you." Eve warned as she rolled off of Taylor and onto her feet.
Taylor accepted the offered arm, grunting as Eve jerked her up onto her feet. She felt rough, especially when her knees popped rather loudly. Having had it drilled into her by Victoria before the fighting had even started, Taylor began to force her aching body through a series of stretches to help prevent any cramps or strained muscles.
She ignored Amy's attempt at subtly checking her out and the former New Wave healer was doing just that. Which was still weird to her. Eve was… different, and just thinking about the shorter girl brought a campfire's warmth to Taylor's chest.
Amy? She would have thought the striker was checking Eve out, but the girl was already doing that unashamedly. It was the furtive glances towards herself that confused Taylor.
"Nice." Eve said as Taylor finished the stretches. "You did good, though we'll likely have to get you and Vicky to fight without powers for a closer approximation of a real fight. I can't exactly turn off my bruteness like she can."
"Yeaaah." Victoria squinted. "No offense, but I'd rather not get beaten up by batons. Maybe some more pointers on self-defense. I remember a couple of things from Uncle Neil and Dad beyond the throws you've seen. You remember anything, Amy?"
Amy snorted. "Yes, let's teach the Striker grapples as if they're worth something." She shook her head, face already buried in her phone. "No I don't."
"Either way, you did pretty good for your first, straight, one on one fight. Good Job."
But she clearly wasn't good enough. For a full hour of fighting she didn't even so much as hurt Eve in a way that slowed her down.
"You were great." Eve said as she saddled up next to Taylor and slid a hand around her hips.
Victoria coughed into a fist. "Before you two get into it, maybe you could go to your room?"
"Actually, I would like to shower." Taylor said as she went to leave only to have Eve hold her place via the hand on her hips.
"Wanna save some water?" Eve asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Knowing you, that would just make the shower take longer." Amy spoke up from the couch, she suddenly stretched violently with a groan. "Damn I'm tired. Hurry up with the showers so I can take one and head to bed."
"...I think we've made a mistake." Eve muttered, pulling away from Taylor. "A single bathroom for all of us is going to get old fast. Maybe we could convert the old upper office into another one? Or expand the bathroom into a more communal one."
"I'd rather have a second bathroom." Taylor admitted.
"No offense but same, privacy is nice and all." Victoria agreed much to Taylor's relief.
"Third." Amy added her agreement after a moment of silence.
Eve tossed her hands up into the air. "I'll ask Duri about it tomorrow. But! Even if she votes for an open one it's been outvoted. Second bathroom it is! Now go on and shower Taylor. As beautiful as you are covered in sweat, don't you need to go home?"
Shaking her head in response Taylor explained "I'll be staying the night to finish a costume and work on others. I need to work on my own costumes edits."
"Oh! Oh is it Mine? Ames?" Victoria asked as she floated over to be above Amy, doing a twirl in the air as she did so.
"Mostly my own costume's edits. But I've made good progress on yours and it should be close to done soon. Amy's is almost done thanks to how… stripped down it is." Taylor would rather be dead than to be caught wearing what is basically a silken swimsuit one piece with the sides removed. But Amy needed skin contact for the rest of her costume to work and it was possible just uncovering her arms and legs wouldn't be enough.
"Thank god I can cover it in material?" Amy sighed. "You'd think Eve designed that for me for the bedroom rather than as a part of my costume."
"And with that, I'm going!" Vicky said as she floated up, before turning Eve and giving her a thumbs up. "And hey, thanks for the room by the way! It needs some paint, and some homely touches but it's a lot better than sleeping out in the open!"
"And if the noise pollution becomes too much, tell me. I have a few ideas for getting rid of it." Eve told the three of them.
Victoria clapped. "Oh, does this mean you'll install some carpet? 'cause stepping on cold concrete kinda sucks early in the morning."
"I meant tinkertech paint to muffle the sound but… yeah carpet can also be installed. I guess." Eve answered, clearly disappointed in the mundane solution.
"Good. Because I want carpet in our room too." Amy said as she stood up, Eve only groaned in response before she looked to Taylor, clearly seeking support. Normally she'd get it too, but stepping on cold concrete wasn't fun.
"Carpets won't eliminate every sound. It'll help but it won't stop anything but footsteps." Who knew having to hang around Dockworkers would eventually help her in her hero career? Perhaps that was stretching, but helping the team certainly counted… somehow? "You're going to need more fabric or furniture to break up the sound waves."
"Or tinkertech sound cancellation." Eve offered, motioning to the workshop area then back to herself.
"Yeah but it's tinkertech." Victoria said as she folded her arms over her chest. "How long will it last, and how much maintenance will you have to do to keep it up?"
Eve folded her arms huffed, throwing her arms in the air. "Fine. Fine. I'll just tinker up something else then."
Victoria smiled brightly. "Awesome! Cause' I need some furniture and decorations for my room."
"Thought you were going to go sleep at Dean's place?" Amy asked.
"You were what?" Eve stilled, "Why?"
The blonde brute sighed. "Yeah, it didn't work out. Plus with the portals I can get around easier. So no point in me leaving."
She almost didn't catch Eve murmuring. But Taylor had the same question for Victoria. "When were you going to tell everyone?" she asked.
Victoria paused, " I don't know, before I left?" she offered and
"Why the hell would you want to leave?!" Eve huffed, folding her arms across her chest, eyes narrowed
"Maybe because I didn't want to be the fourth wheel in whatever relationship you got going on here? Or maybe the lack of privacy, safe ways to leave?" Victoria glared, pursing her lips slightly in a pout. "This morning you couldn't even call this place livable! Nevermind the giant spider ass sticking out of one of the walls!"
"Oh, well then, forgive me for trying to fix this place up for everyone!" Eve said, throwing her hands into the air. "I can't fix it all up in a day Vicky! I might have more than two hands but this place is fucking big!"
BZZZZZZZZZ
Both Amy and her sister jumped at the sudden cacophony of insect noise, Eve jerked and turned to Taylor, her expression lightening and losing the scowl.
Taylor let her emotions bleed into her swarm. Not all of it, she didn't have that many bugs, she should talk to Amy about storing bugs, but she bled enough emotions for her to feel a little numb. That little numbness helped her get back on track for what was important.
"I think that's enough for the night." Taylor told the two before walking away to go take a shower. She didn't need them arguing over something so small. Victoria wasn't even wrong, though it would have kept things copesetic if she had simply voiced her concerns instead of doing whatever she wanted. Either way, the problem was fixed now and there wasn't any reason for them to get upset.
Though, it did slightly irk her that the water heater here was better than the one at her home.
She didn't take long in the shower, a habit from the weak water heater at her house. When she came back to the kitchen/dining/living room, no one was around. Given that she kept her bugs out of the others' rooms, she didn't know where anyone was at, aside from Eve who was in the workshop, tinkering away at something.
Or she was beating her workstation with a hammer, bug senses didn't really translate well. Something to work on in the future.
[Agreement]
Taylor needed to work on the costumes anyway.
Amy's was the easiest, even if Taylor would die of shame if she ever wore something like it. Victoria's had far too much flair for her taste, and flair meant it would take longer to get right and make duplicates of it. Her costume's design changes required more personal attention than that of her silk, especially the beetle shells.
"Making something?" She asked as she slipped into the workshop.
"More or less." Eve huffed, staring at her workbench. "Thinking about some kind of glove that can mimic my Feathered Limb Aspect. Kinesis Glove? Gravity Glove, urgh it has nothing to do with gravity bleh." Eve turned, leaning against her workstation. "It wouldn't be as strong, able to push or pull small things."
"I don't see the use of it?" Taylor questioned as her bugs began to continue the process of feeding themselves to her organic spider themed loom. She would have to thank Amy for it, the process of intertwining threads for costumes went by much easier now.
"We do have a bomb tinker in town; being able to stop small objects, and throw them back would be very useful. Besides, not everyone is a brute and sometimes a surprise brick to the back of the head will dim their lightbulb." Eve explained before turning back around. "I just… can't get it right. I need to build better tools for what I'm doing. Which is a bummer cause I really wanted to make some cool shit. What about you?"
"Working on the outfits for the others." She hadn't even started on Warlock's and they were going to need Eve to make something for the girl's eyes, her aim was horrible. "Almost done with Amy's and I need some work done on my own."
"Oh! When do you think it'll be done?" Eve asked.
"Amy's will be done tomorrow." Taylor explained. "I'm not used to-" She paused as Eve moved across the room just to land right next to her, wrapping an arm around her hips.
"I mean yours, Taytor Tot." Eve said, giving her a squeeze.
"I have all the silk complete. Now I have to dye it and pull apart some beetles but other insects can handle that." Taylor looked down at Eve. "Though, some thin metal plates for a base would help."
Eve nodded. "Give me till tomorrow night and I can make them a little special."
Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Special how?"
"Well I stopped to buy some chemicals on the way back from Duri's-"
"This being after you bought the industrial freezer and fridge?" Taylor asked.
"Commercial fridge, the freezer is industrial." Eve corrected. "But yeah. A bit expensive but with the amount of people we might pull in, it'd be better if we were fully prepared just in case our people need somewhere to live." She waved her hand, still keeping an arm around Taylor's hips. "Chemicals! I got some, so I can give the metal a chemical bath and treat it for conductivity."
"That sounds useful. If that's the case. Can you treat some bendable metal wiring too?" Taylor asked, already thinking of how she could use that in some of the costumes she was making. It would help a lot with Warlock's, that was apparent from the start.
"Can do. You ever think about selling your silk to the heroes? I know the Birdcage thing probably dampened that, but that's the PRT not the Protectorate." Eve asked.
Taylor looked at her incredulously. "I'm struggling to make five costumes right now. You know how much time a yard of silk would take to make?"
"I mean. If I got with Amy and we made more spider asses for you to control, would that help?" Eve suggested, motioned to the corner of the room where a large flower sat next to a pitcher of acid, both connected to a venerable wall of fungal biomass. It had been fun talking with the bio-striker while they worked together. Queen Administrator and Shaper's influences were no doubt in play there.
But it had still been fun, increasing her output had been a good bonus.
"I'll think about selling silk to the heroes. But we'd need to work on my output first." Taylor answered "So yes, more spider holes and more… spider asses would help."
Eve pumped her arm. "Awesome! I'm gonna go build some tools. I'll see if Amy is up to it tomorrow."
Taylor felt a smile tug at her lips as Eve bounced on her feet while walking to her work table, almost skipping.
Helping the heroes sounded like something a younger version of herself would want to do. Dreamed of, really. Taylor looked to her weaving station, for a lack of a better name, and a soft sigh escaped her as she gently ran her hand over the smooth chitin covered thorax of her organic loom.
Did she really want to help them? Of course she wanted to do the heroic thing. But the Birdcage scandal, and Sophia being a Ward of all things. Should she really be helping people who enabled Sophia to torment her for two years and cause her Trigger?
No.
She never used her powers against the Trio, she could have easily gotten away with doing so if she wanted to. But she never did. She wanted to be a hero and that meant being better than the Trio, in this case the Protectorate Heroes and their Wards.
They were going to need all the parahumans they could get when it came time to face Scion and the Cycle's end.
Brockton Bay, ?
A steady stream of people entered Brockton Bay.
Dirty, injured, broken and homeless.
Everyone who had nowhere to go but was lucky enough not to be deemed tainted by the Simurgh's scream. Some had managed to pack, and were better off for it, some of the more prepared had bug out bags with them.
But for most, they simply had what was on their back and in their pockets at the time.
There was little help, the government far too busy with hostile parahuman clones and a never endless swarm of plant/animal hybrids attempting to breach containment and flood into the East Coast countryside. All while trying to save those still trapped inside.
Among the crowd of Humanity, was one who was distinctly not human. Skin paler than snow, and eyes of pale unseeing grayish blue. With only a dirtied, bloodied hood to protect them from scrutiny the inhuman figure walked among the mass of Humanity without molestation from the very people its creator had ruined the lives of.
Through all of that, the figure of alabaster white had finally arrived in Brockton Bay. Sightless eyes stared into the maze of rusted metal and forgotten train cars, a name escaping their lips.
"Eden."
Gains this Chapter:
Synchronization gained 10%
Bud Progress gained 8%
Bud Formed, gained (1) Bud
Reality Layer Bridge built.
Simulacrum Progress gained 50%
Simulacrum complete
Body Modder perk unlocked
Hybridization perk upgraded
Gained Nike Echoes (1)
Gained Shaper Echoes (1)
Shaper Echoes consolidated into (1) Ping
Gained Divisional Sense Echoes (1)
Gained Negotiator Echoes (1)
Gained Power Mutation: Villa's Remembrance.
Living Space upgraded +2
Spent 9,090$
Administrative Business. Networking. Shard troubles. (CHOOSE TWO):
[{Lacks resources}] Network Creation: Create Network Rethreaders in order to recruit Shard without them leaving The Warrior's Network. (WARNING: VIRAL INFILTRATOR Ping Required)
[] Invite a Shard into your Network
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Acquire Shaper's help in growing the required node within [Taylor]'s processors to facilitate the telepathy
[] Unlock Power/Upgrade Obtainer
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, gaining Bud Progress and mass.
[] Collect jade flesh from SATURATE or SLIMER, for QA's recovery
[] Analyze DATA VECTOR's Ping to discover why Scanner Shards aren't deployed correctly
[] Visit NIKE, and EVE in the Firmament
[] Ask Negotiator to share their Communication Protocol in order to communicate better with hosts
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE TWO:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station)
[] Expand Amy's experiments (Flesh Garden)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table)
[] Build a reconstruction chamber! (Provides bonuses to rolls on protecting identities and decreases Base Danger rating)
[] Start building some waldo factory arms (Tinker Table)
[] Furnish the place better, maybe a dining table with chairs? Extra beds for other people? A TV for News or entertainment? Carpet for the rooms? (Livability rating)
[] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Get a washer and dryer, fill in the train tracks with concrete, or continue to set kitchen area up)
[] Turn the upper office area into a second bathroom
[] Look for new independents to recruit in Brockton Bay
[] Attempt to recruit independents into Fractal Unity -
-[] Brimstone, a vigilante Tinker who operates in the slums that are wedged between the Empire and former ABB territory. Apparently focuses on protecting the underclass in these areas, particularly the shelters.
-[{Try again later}] Hivemind, a low level villain Master/Mover who steals from the richer areas of the city using clones. Considered something of an escape artist. Mentally unwell and strongly independent.
-[] Onna-Musha, a Case 70 that focused on the ABB controlled portion of the city. Has fought alongside Eve before.
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[] Call Dragon to check in on her.
[] Tell Victoria(Bia) about the true purpose of Shards and the Cycle
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Hang out with one of the Team. (Multiple can be picked)
-Taylor
-Vicky
-Amy
-Duri
[] Teach Duri how to fight, street style!
[] Do some community outreach!
[] Check up on Kassidy
[] Team up with some Heroes (Random roll)
[] Look up bounties that Admin and Eve can acquire.
Last edited: Apr 12, 2023
63
KindredVoid
Mar 26, 2023
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Threadmarks New Normal 4.3 [NIKE] Interlude
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Apr 6, 2023
#3,544
Oops, made a [NIKE] interlude.
New Normal 4.3 [NIKE]'s (Interlude)Quest!
[WASTE] had never been good enough.
Not for her fellow shards, not for the Cycle, and certainly not for her host [Victoria].
Suddenly existing, clanged together by two Shards and their bud's scraps would have that result. Now, she might have been better off had anyone within the Network helped her along but she wasn't upset about being abandoned.
Had [WASTE] not been left to herself, she would never have come to understand [Victoria] like she did.
Which would have been a bad thing!
She eagerly awaited for the host she shadowed to undergo a [ ], it was her sole purpose. With [GLEAM] unable to bud another time, that was where [WASTE] had come in.
But it was as she watched [Victoria] grow, she began to understand her future host. Not fully, hosts were so alien in so many ways, but [WASTE] understood a few things more than others.
The loneliness, the abandonment, the need to try and prove yourself to those who ignore all you do. [Victoria] really understood! Despite it all, she was also happy and tried to help others!
For those few years, [WASTE] watched [Victoria] grow and interact with the world around her. Eagerly awaiting the day that she could be of worth to her host and give her an ability that would make her so happy!
Then it happened! When [Victoria] reached a [CRISIS POINT], feeling forgotten, ignored, and less than her Cluster, [WASTE] did everything in her power to help her host.
Thankfully she already had some idea as to what to give [Victoria] for her abilities! Most of her host's Cluster could manipulate their positioning within a third dimensional force application, and [Victoria] would get the best that [WASTE] could provide!
Although that nonhost had hurt [Victoria] and prevented her from doing whatever she was doing at the time, [WASTE] didn't understand any of it, but she did understand that someone had stopped her host! The clear solution was to use that same third dimensional force application to weave a barrier around her [Victoria] using the data she had from [GLEAM] and [COMBUSTION] along with some of what she had collected by herself about the third dimensional force application.
With those together [Victoria] could be so well defended, and even terminate the nonhost that tried to hurt her and prevent her victory! Of course that wasn't all, [EMOTIONAL] was here. Even if communicating with him was difficult, [Victoria] was really fond of his host! So some data from him to make sure [Victoria]'s enemies feared her and her partners loved her! Even nonhosts would love [WASTE]'s host!
And they did! [Victoria] was loved by many, especially her Cluster! [WASTE]'s progenitor shards continued to ignore her, but that was okay! Because [Victoria] loved her abilities and used them all the time! [WASTE] didn't care so much about the data she collected and put it below the best recording she could get of [Victoria] in priority!
What a wonderful time they had together! Leaning into what [Victoria] felt when she used the abilities given, the freedom, the joy, and the exhilaration! The love [Victoria] had for her abilities, it almost felt like it was directed towards [WASTE] despite how little it could give [Victoria]. It was all [WASTE] wanted, all she ever wanted. She would do anything for her [Victoria], because without [Victoria], [WASTE] had nothing and would be alone again.
[WASTE] feared that more than anything.
But, it all changed one day after years of [WASTE] learning more and more about her [Victoria].
She had to start her Lattice of [Victoria] over more than once thanks to corruption, faulty data, misplaced data, or after finding a new way to record [Victoria] better.
A lot of lost progress, but having a better Lattice of [Victoria] was more important than [WASTE]'s frustrations with herself and her inability to do things right.
Even so, she had completed the Lattice and could work on an Imprint of her [Victoria]!
She felt happy and since [Victoria] was out with [SHAPER]'s host she pushed on one of the abilities she had given [Victoria], if she was happy then surely so should others?
But she got that wrong to no surprise and [Victoria] pushed the ability down to stem its range. Maybe if-
[GREETINGS/PROTOCOLE-DATA]
-and she felt a jolt of shock at the fact that a Thinker Shard was contacting her! She was being contacted!
….[WASTE] had no idea who this shard was. She accepted the data sent her way, though! She'd never had a shard contact her outside of fights so this could be really cool! Maybe they'd like [Victoria] too? Oh she needed to reply! [ ]! Oh why did she broadcast that she was shocked, now the other Shard was going to ignore her!
[IDENTITY/QUERY] Oh-oh no that was an Administrator shard! The Thinker's Administrator! She was talking to a very important Shard! Or the very important Shard was talking to her! And the Administrator just asked for her designation and purpose and now it was going to learn just how worthless she was!
[...WASTE]
[QUERY-HOST] That made sense, she was not worth the Administrator's time or energy, but her host most certainly was!
[ -EXCITEMENT]
Yes! This is exactly what [WASTE] had been waiting for! She sent everything she had on [Victoria] to the Administrator.
[ ]
Although, being an Administrator maybe the other Shard would know better ways to make an imprint of her host? [Victoria] only deserved the best!
[DATA-IMPRINT]
Oh! Ooooohhh! That's how you did it! Thank goodness that the Administrator was here and willing to give her some data! She had it the wrong way, and could have corrupted the Lattice again had she continued going along with the Imprint as she had been!
[GRATEFUL]
Now to restructure some stuff and restart the Imprint, she wasn't ever going to lose [Victoria]. Best to overwrite previous memories with her Imprint once it's done. That way [WASTE] would have the best memories of [Victoria]!
[ -COMMUNICATION/OVERRIDE]
[WASTE] almost shut down as the new protocols hit her.
She could talk to [Victoria]?!
This was the best day ever! Aside from when [WASTE] had connected with [Victoria] of course, but it was a very close second! [ .DALLON/DEBT] She shunted a full thing of data over to the Administrator in thanks, while still making sure the better Shard knew that [WASTE] owed it a debt forever!
This was going to be great!
It had not gone great.
No matter how much [WASTE] tried her best to explain things or give answers, [Victoria] ignored her, spitefully! It was the absolute worst! [WASTE] had expected entirely different things from this. Being able to communicate was great, but she'd never actually felt more lonely than she did now.
It remained that way for days, and [WASTE] did not understand what she had done wrong. But! She had been there for [Victoria] since she had come to exist, and no matter what she would not stop supporting her now! Even when [Victoria] didn't want her!
Thankfully [EFFICIENCY]'s host communicated with [Victoria] and she was less upset with [WASTE] and actually started communicating back!
She did not like [WASTE]'s name however. That was understandable, it was what [WASTE] was. But that was fine! If [Victoria] wanted [WASTE] to be called something else, then [WASTE] would gladly be called something else!
Then one day, after the Administrator's host visited, she was contacted by them! Out of the blue!
[TEST/GREETINGS/QUERY]
[ /ANSWER]
Oh no she did it again! Why did she keep doing that? At least the Administrator Shard was asking about [Victoria] again. It started off rough, but now they were trying to think up better names for [WASTE], though it was mostly [Victoria] doing the suggestions and [WASTE] agreeing with them all. They were all excellent!
[ENCOURAGEMENT/PROTOCOLS-SIGNATURE]
Encouragement? And the ability to actually change her signature in order to take the name [Victoria] gave her? THIS ADMINISTRATOR WAS THE BEST! Not like the other one who ignored her!
While she was still going over the protocols for the change, the Administrator said farewell and shut the connection down.
[Victoria] was going to be so happy! Now they just needed to find a name that really suited her! As soon as [Victoria] restarted in the morning.
Admin, that was what her host called the Administrator shard, contacted [NIKE] again.
[ ]
It seemed like the Administrator was really curious about [Victoria], but that was fine, [NIKE] had a lot of data on her!
[ ]
[Victoria] was going to change her name and costume! They had both been discussing it, and they had narrowed the list down to a few possibilities! It was something that [NIKE] had never expected to happen, yet here they were working together!
[ .TERMINATION]
It felt like everything stalled as [NIKE] parsed the communication sent to her.
[ ]
Surely there had to be some way for [Victoria] to survive! [NIKE] had a mostly completed Imprint, that had to be useful for something like that right? [NIKE] could not lose [Victoria]. The idea alone was horrible, and left her feeling as if someone had hollowed her out.
[ .OPINION]
How would [Victoria] react to being the last of her kind? Did that matter?
Of course it mattered. It mattered a lot!
Reviewing all the data collected on her host was a bit slow, and she worried about keeping the Administrator waiting, but a precise answer was better than a quick one.
[ ]
[Victoria] had spent her entire life among her kind, she did not just desire to be around them, she required it. That was one of the reasons that she had given her host the ability to affect the perceptions of those around her via emotional manipulation.
Of course, [NIKE] knew how it felt to be alone, and she did not want [Victoria] to suffer that as well, nor did [NIKE] wish to be alone again if [Victoria] were to be terminated.
[ . ]
[AGREEMENT]
Anything. [NIKE] would do anything to save [Victoria] from that loneliness, from being terminated. Whichever came first, even if it cost [NIKE] everything.
[ /REBELLION]
Was that it? She did not feel an ounce of loyalty for either of the Hubs. Admin on the other hand had helped [NIKE] so much. Made her able to communicate with her beloved [Victoria], helped her change the Signature that defined her to others.
All the other Hubs did was ignore her.
[ .ABILITY-MANIPULATION]
Of course she accepted, and [NIKE] wanted to know if Admin would help her adjust [Victoria]'s abilities to better suit her needs. That and [Victoria] deserved the best [NIKE] could give!
That made sense. Some Shards would probably be jealous. [NIKE] would have to brainstorm ideas with [Victoria] about their adjustments, maybe something to help with the costume like [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]'s host or [SHAPER]'s?
[EXCITEMENT!]
….Wait, was her security code supposed to be Noble?!
Frankly [NIKE] was sort of intimidated by The Administrator, in a good way! She was very grateful for all the wonderful things The Administrator had done for her, helping her communicate with her sweet [Victoria], helping her change her Signature, and then inviting her into a new Network to save [Victoria] from the end of the Cycle, while making her a Noble Shard! Also she got to meet a cool Shard named [BRICK] who really, really liked their host punching things! They were friends! Maybe!
[NIKE] has done next to nothing, worse than nothing. She had only taken from The Administrator and offered a measly Ping of Data in response.
Here she was, again, asking for more when she did not deserve it.
But… No, she needed to ask. This was important to her.
[ ]
Best to start off being polite, right? Then ask if The Administrator had the time to help her. [NIKE] understood if she did not though.
GREETING/QUERY-HELP
Oh! Well, duh of course The Administrator needed to know what the issue was! Ugh of course she would forget to even mention it!
[... ]
Still, [NIKE] was slightly hesitant to describe it. The alternate self she experienced every now and then, floating in some kind of black nothingness with islands barely connected to her. Spots of color, now all gone except for one weird looking one that was not the same color as before!
...
QUERY-FIRMAMENT
A Firmament?
[NEGATION/QUERY-FIRMAMENT]
No she did not know what a 'Firmament' was, what was it?
...
She felt stupid. The Administrator probably thought she was stupid and worthless.
-SELF
WOW! That was a lot of data! Full of surprises too! The Firmament was some kind of sectioned off part of a 'Quantra Layer' that Shards could exist within, and bring their host to?!
[NIKE] could meet her [Victoria] in the flesh?!
[ .FIRMAMENT]
Yes she was desperate. This could be the crowning moment of her existence and she would beg even if she did not need to!
.HOST
Oh! Just like that! That was easier than [NIKE] expected it to b-
[ -FIRMAMENT]
What was an Avatar?
.
That made sense! If [NIKE] did not have an Avatar, then [Victoria] would only be able to interact by the barest sense of the word.
[NIKE] would not be able to hug her!
That had to be remedied immediately!
[ ]
How will [NIKE]'s Avatar look? This is a prelude to another vote where your Write-Ins are voted upon alongside [NIKE]'s canon look and one of my own. The winning vote will be included with Bia's Art, soon to be commissioned, so put some thought into it!:
[] Write In
63
KindredVoid
Apr 6, 2023
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Threadmarks New Normal 4.4
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Oct 6, 2023
#3,669
Spoiler: Winning Votes
New Normal 4.4
[ . ]
That was adorable. The young shard wanted to surprise her host with her Avatar's form. It was quite… heartening? To see how much the Shard loved her host, it reminded you of… yourself really.
You did love [EVE], although you expressed it differently certainly. It made you quite happy that you had poached this Shard from the Warrior.
[ ]
Already? You expected the younger Shard to take more time than that. But if [NIKE] was done already then perhaps the young Shard-
[ . Network]
Oh? She wished to show herself off not only to her precious host, but your [EVE] as well? That sounds rather pleasant actually, it had been quite a while since you had last seen [EVE] in the Firmament and that was before she had become a part of your Network as a Shard hybrid.
How has that changed things you wondered.
[...]
[APOLOGIES-DELAY]
Seems that [NIKE] had failed to take into account what her actual metaphysical self looked like, instead just focusing on her Avatar. You would let her work on that, meanwhile you had other business to attend to.
Namely, helping your sister Administrator Shard with her injuries.
You had already done so with the help of [SHAPER], repairing [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] a decent amount. But even with [SHAPER]'s help however [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] was still missing a significant amount of her mass. Even with repairs, she was simply not operating at her peak.
Galling for any Shard to experience, doubly for one as prideful as her.
Thankfully, you knew where to get some excess shard flesh from without contacting [FACTORY] and incurring any debt you do not wish to pay. Specifically, two young Shards with stored Jade Flesh that you had not contacted in quite some time.
[SLIMER] or [SATURATE]?
[KINETIC REGULATOR] was doing their best to help the young Thinker Shard, might as well make sure that the Jade Flesh did not interfere. Thankfully the whole ordeal did not take long, lacking experience and much of a personality the Shard allowed you to collect the Jade Flesh without issue or much hesitance.
Now you simply had to get [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] to accept it.
[ .ENEMY-INVADER]
Best to get out and say it at the start. [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] was never one for beating around the bush.
[ -INVADER]
…Perhaps you should have taken the time to warn those within your Network about the possible enemy waiting to attack. Given the lack of Thinker Shards within your own Network, you had thought there was no need for it.
[ ]
Best to explain what you knew about this Jade Flesh so far. Let [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] make her decision informed.
[ ]
Ah yes, you did have to change the cell structure of the flesh to match your own and wipe any data within it.
[ . ]
You had already wiped the flesh, but [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR] would have to be the one to change its cell structure. If only because it's a fairly delicate process, and you do not have an example of her flesh.
[ACCEPTANCE]
Ah, that was easy! Tearing a hole into [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]'s dimension, you deposit the Jade Flesh to [QUEEN ADMINISTRATOR]'s awaiting constructs who will then undertake the process to change the cell structure.
As the connection closes and [NIKE] comes rushing back to show off what she had created, you cannot help but feel as if that had gone far smoother and easier than you had anticipated.
Victoria 'Bia' Dallon, Thursday April 15th
Victoria twisted in her hammock. The plant material was spongy and cool, soft to the touch and covered in those weird white hair things plants often had on their stems. It smelled like a rose and was very easy for her to fly into and out of. It still took some maneuvering before she got into a comfortable position.
Even then, sleep didn't come right away.
Too many thoughts, feelings, too much activity in her brain. Mostly about the fact that she was going to have to return to school today and she had spent wayyy too much time staying up instead of going to bed. Wanting to check her phone for the time, she bitterly remembered she didn't have any furniture in her room. Her phone sat in the corner of the room, underneath the far end of her hammock charging.
It led her right back to what happened earlier and she couldn't help the frustrated huff of air.
She didn't even remember what started the argument between her and Eve. Just that she was still frustrated over the expectations heaped upon her, to stay in a cold concrete tomb, living around Eve's antics and weirdness. She didn't dislike the girl, but being woken by screamed curses before the sun was even up? Yeah, no.
Nevermind that her room was as barren as a prison cell!
She didn't even have any money! Although a lot of people liked to gossip otherwise, she did not date Dean for his wallet. Though, maybe she could lean on Amy for some furniture? She could make cool or cute stuff, right?
Flower dresser, hell yeah! Maybe one that's part tree? She could have an open closet tree! Maybe even a carpet of moss or grass!
A yawn escaped her.
Oh whatever, Eve didn't seem like the kind of person to hold a grudge over an argument. Plus the short girl was making Ames happier, even if Victoria had to ignore the fact that they were sleeping together. Glass houses, stones and all that.
Another yawn hit her, harder this time.
Vicky forced the thoughts down, trying to keep her mind quiet so she could fall asleep. After a few minutes she let out a displeased grunt and tried to shift to a new position only for her head to hit the floor. Which actually hurt?
She hadn't felt pain in a while.
"Nike?" She asked, pushing herself off the slate gray stone floor, blinking as she took in the yawning void around the small island of stone she was on. The only thing of note around the island was another two in the distance, connected by some thin strand of flesh. A slight bit of panic started to bubble up in her chest.
Her powers weren't coming to her, no forcefield, she wasn't moving off the ground, even her aura wasn't available even as she pushed it to activate. Nothing, she couldn't even feel her connection with Nike.
[ ]
She whirled around in surprise, nearly tripping over herself from what she saw.
A young girl floated in the air, a pair of unmoving angelic wings sprouted from her back. She wore a white knee length tunic that seemed to rippled in a non-existent wind, bands of golden jewelry dotted her body. Her biceps, forearms, neck, and waist had them, with gold lureals wrapped around her head.
Her proportions were wrong, and shifted constantly, like something that had drawn a human with only description to reference. She was wearing one of the costume designs Victoria had passed up.
"Oh my god, Nike?!" The girl, Nike, nodded her head in a jerky erratic manner. Victoria didn't know what was going on, why she was here with Nike, or why Nike looked kind of like herself when she was younger. "Did you do this?"
[ .Victoria] each of her 'words' were practically buzzing with excitement as she remained floating in the air.
Nothing else came to mind, Victoria held her arms open, like a bolt of lightning Nike zoomed into her hard enough that she had to take a step back or get bowled over. Victoria couldn't hold the smile back, nor did she want to, as she hugged Nike. The small girl was actually vibrating with delight.
Victoria didn't know how long they stood there, simply hugging one another, time felt weird in… wherever they were.
"Awe, that's nice." Victoria's head whipped around to see Eve walking across that impossibly thin bridge which was also… very big? "Makes me happy to see a Shard and their host getting along"
"Eve?" Victoria removed an arm from around Nike to rub her eyes. "Is that you? Why do you look like that?"
Glancing down Eve sighed. "My bad. Still new to this bit of existence. Hang on." Her body shifted, becoming more solid instead of the barely recognizable folding geometric mess it had been. If Victoria had to compare it to anything, it would be like a phone game's 2d sprite trying and failing to become 3D.
"Right." Victoria turned to face Eve, Nike still in her arms and practically nuzzling her. "Where are we? And why did you look like that?"
"Ah. Welcome to the Firmament, something the Shards created thanks to the unique nature of their existence. It's a dimension, a personal one, for the metaphysical representation of their minds. It's their individuality, as they have very little in the physical reality they inhabit." Eve motioned around them. "The islands you see are the minds of a Shard."
Victoria would have to ask Nike about it later. "Okay. Why did you look like that?"
"Oh, that little island over there?" Eve pointed off in the distance. "Yeah that's my island. I've been slightly merged with some of Admin's flesh and now I'm sort of a hybrid of human and Shard."
"...Is that safe?" Victoria asked, giving Nike a squeeze, the young Shard squeaking. Or atleast making a sound like a squeak.
Eve shrugged. "Who knows? But it's new and that's sort of exciting. Anyway, it's nice to see you Nike! [Greetings].
Nike lifted herself up a bit [ ]
Victoria's head snapped to look at Nike. "Hold on a moment, I just got here!" It was a bit early in the relationship to turn her into a Shard! If she even wanted to do it!
"She's right." Eve agreed "You're much too young to do what Admin did, it was very energy intensive and resource demanding. Grow a bit and maybe you can do it."
Victoria didn't know whether that was just an excuse or the truth, but she was grateful she didn't have to be the one to dash Nike's hopes just after meeting her. But Nike still sagged in Victoria's arms, her face utterly void of any emotion. That changed after Victoria ran her fingers through the little Shard's hair, returning to the beaming if slightly too widely stretched smile.
[ .Victoria] Nike beamed, somehow getting even more excited as she explained what she had done, specifically for this moment.
"Oh? I could make it whatever I like?" Victoria asked as she looked around the smallish island she stood on.
"Yeah. Admin offered the same to me, but I kinda like the way her FirmamentSelf is." Eve offered. "But Nike is a sweetheart, do something with it."
Victoria rolled her eyes, as if she needed to be told to design a dream home for her and her alien little sister! Oh wait! "What about Admin? Where is she?" She definitely wanted to see the ever present Admin Eve talked about all the time.
"Hey Admin! Vicky wants to meet you!" Eve called out, turning partially to the largest island in the void around them. The island…. Shifted? Something she had thought was a landmark of the island seemed to get up and turn towards them, moving to the bridge that connected them.
At first she thought it was human sized. But as the white figure came closer and closer, crossing the strange bridge Victoria came to realize that Admin was big, very big and far less human than Nike of whom squeaked as Victoria squeezed her tightly.
Admin looked less like a mummy, and more like a humanoid shaped figure of white rubber bands or some kind of origami monster. With arms too long that ended in kitchen-knife clawed hands. The body didn't bend or crease like a human would, no wrinkles or anything, instead the bands of paper that made admin up tightened and loosened as the Avatar walked to them.
Victoria gasped, her legs becoming jello as the blocks of information forced themselves into her head, Nike being the only reason she didn't collapse outright. She could feel Admin's greeting in every part of her body, it wasn't just addressed to herself but also her brain, her heart, her skin, bones, nerves, her lungs and the rest of her organs right down to her cells.
She understood what Eve meant now, about the individuality of Shards. To Admin each of her body's parts that made up 'Victoria' might as well have been their own organism. Each one merged with another while still being it's own being. The sensation was disorientating and made her more than a little queasy.
"Little too much Admin." Eve spoke up, coming over and helping Victoria find her footing. "You might want to have Nike spread the neural webbing from the Gemma around your brain, it helps a lot."
"Does it always feel like that?"
"Feel like what?" Eve asked, cocking her head to the side.
"...nevermind." Victoria sighed, pressing her palms against her eyes, which had also gotten a 'hello'. "Why are you still in costume?"
"Oh. Well this is me?" Victoria frowned and Eve raised a brow "What? Oh, I can change myself here. Part Shard remember? This is basically my Avatar. Though with my shapeshifting power, it's not much of a change from our reality honestly."
"Oh." Wasn't much else she could say about that, aside from the fact that the animated drawn-on eyebrows on her helmet looked silly. "Want to help me build a house?"
"Hell yeah." Eve replied, and Victoria just now realized that her words felt a bit like using her aura felt, a thrum of energy washing against her, instead of out of her. "How do you feel about trophy rooms?"
"I can bring stuff into the Firmament?" Victoria asked, feeling a bit dazed. "I thought this was like a dreamscape?"
"It's a dimension, and the rules of reality are a bit fucky. But it's still a dimension like any other. Just an exclusive one." Eve nodded, turning to the flat gray slate of the island they were on. "So, what are you going to build?"
That was a good question. Didn't every child dream of making a dream house at least once in their lives? Victoria went to let Nike down, but the Shard stayed there, attached to her like a limpet. "You know what? I think I'm going to talk with Nike for a bit. First time we get to meet face to face should be something special, right?"
The warm, almost motherly, smile on Eve's face seemed out of place on the rough-around-the-edges girl. "Yeah I get that. There's some things me and Admin have to go over. You two have fun." With that she turned, taking one of Admin's massive claws into her hand and started walking across the strange bridge that connected Admin and Nike, the linked hands swinging slightly.
Victoria looked back to Nike. "So, want me to push you on a swing?" She asked
The young Shard beamed, [ ], a swing set seemed to melt out of the ground without a sound.
"Well come on, go take a seat, we can talk while you swing. Then I can braid your hair!" Victoria said as she carried Nike over to the swingset. She wondered, briefly, if there was a way for Nike to join her in the dimension she called home before the two began to talk for the next few hours.
Admin and her didn't actually have much to discuss. Mostly Eve just wanted to give Vicky and Nike some alone time like when Eve had first met Admin. Just looking at the island she could see their distant figures on some kind of swing set.
It was nice seeing someone enjoy time with their Shard. Taylor and Queen Administrator were amiable towards one another. But it was closer to a good business relationship than anything else. Though she still wondered what was up with Vicky's family and swings.
Eve was sure Amy would fight Shaper given the chance. Shaper might do the same.
QUERY Admin asked, standing by her side.
"Not long Admin. Got a lot of things to do today." Even as she said it, Eve was leaning against one of Admin's legs, feeling the smooth paper on her cheek as they both gazed out to the two islands that made up Admin's Network.
"...Do you think we'll do it Admin?" Eve asked slowly. "Defeat Zion and free everyone? Save all the Earths?"
Admin's large clawed hand gently rested on Eve's head, causing her to press her face into Admin's leg a bit more and close her eyes. "Yeah….Yeah."
Despite wanting to get out and get things done for the day, Eve still spent an hour just being there with Admin. Afterwards, returning from the Firmament, she spent a few hours with Khepri as they finished Amy's costume.
Costume was a broad term for the suit. It was closer to a one piece swimsuit, the one with built in shorts. Random, but neat, holes were left in the silk, specifically to allow Amy more contact with whatever material she was going to use for the actual costume. What that was going to look like was something Eve could guess at, probably in line with her sister's?
Taylor started working on her own costume edits and addons. Eve made a few bits to help with that, some plating and wires for Taylor to work with.
"I'm going to go and call Dragon, if that's alright with you?" Eve asked as she took a single step towards the doors that lead into the common room, watching Taylor work as she did so.
"You have her number?" Taylor asked. "Is this about what she released?"
"Partially. Truthfully I do want to check up on how she's doing. Can't be in a good position with all the nasty stuff she exposed. I'd like to offer my support." Eve replied.
"Likely not." Taylor agreed as Eve left the room.
Pulling out her phone, Eve dialed Dragons number, one of a thousand but this one was personal. Something she only shared with friends. Feeling slightly dirty at having gotten it from reading through her memories with Admin's help, still, she used it and it did not even finish ringing once before the call was answered. "How did you get this number?" Dragon's voice was tight, anger kept on a leash but only so much.
"Sorry, but I got it from your memories." Honesty isn't the best policy. But Eve didn't care. "Just wanted to drop a call on ya and see how you're doing."
There was a pause. "Ah. Eden." The tone wasn't the friendliest, which made Eve wince.
"Honestly you can just call me Eve. Figure it's fair after the memory thing." She said as she flopped onto the couch, not a moment later she got up and started pacing around it.
"I don't think the two quite match." Dragon replied testily.
Eve shrugged, "what, you want to look through my memories in return? Cause you can, provided I can build some kind of bridge between it and a recorder. I think I can, but my specialty is mostly in combative use of biology and medical technology. Memory recording might be beyond my ability."
"That is… unnecessary, the real issue was your unilateral decision on what happens to my life." Dragon revealed, her voice becoming a touch harder, a touch angrier. "You reviewing my memories is a footnote to how I was fundamentally changed without my input."
Eve faltered a bit. Yeah, fuck that was an issue.
"Well you got me there. That was a bit dickish of me to do. In my defense however, whether you knew it or not, you were sending suits to kill me because I was changing your code. Fighting three thieves, with one only having a gifted power nearly killed me. I wasn't too keen on fighting the real McCoy."
She sighed. "Look. I'm sorry alright? I get the anger. I do! And you have every right to be angry with me. But in order to keep your secret safe while keeping me safe, I had to do it as I did. If I could redo it all. I'd definitely try and get your input on it, but one of your chains was to stop whoever was trying to alter you, Iron Maiden or not."
"Everyone says that," Dragon chuffed. "But there won't be a next time, unless you built some kind of backdoor into me. Not that I would even know." She added bitterly. "Or could know. Supposedly." Eve winced at how worn out Dragon sounded, especially on that last bit.
"First, fuck you for suggesting I would do that. Second, Iron Maiden is currently scrapped. There's nothing left of your blindspot. Third, that's all I can give you, sorry." Eve replied honestly as she leaned against the couch. Maybe she was more like her parents than she wanted to admit. "I'm sorry." She didn't know whether she meant that for Dragon or herself.
"I… won't hold it against you. I'll try not to, at least." Dragon offered the olive branch and Eve was keen to take it.
"Good! I wanted to see how you were doing with this call, and we haven't gotten to that yet." Eve hummed. "So, how are things? The information you dropped was quite the shocker let me tell you. My team wasn't very happy with the PRT afterwards. Though it did help us recruit a new girl."
Now it was Dragon's turn to sigh "That is precisely why I did not want to do it. It may be corrupt, and that corruption is responsible for reprehensible actions… but the PRT is still very much needed and I'm worried about the next Endbringer fight."
"Wonder if it'll be a new one." Eve hummed softly. "They only break their schedule when a new one is coming, right?"
"It is unfortunately likely." Dragon admitted. "The percentage of casualties is always high with a new Endbringer, if we get a reduced turnout from what I did…"
"But you had to do it." Eve stated. "You wouldn't have done it otherwise."
"Would I? So much of what I did before was dictated by the restrictions placed on me. It made everything I did so hollow. None of my good deeds were done because I wanted to do them but because I had to. Now that I'm making the choices it's… more complicated than I'd like." The phone made a static noise similar to someone blowing air through their nose
"Yeah. Life's a lot like that." Eve huffed, laughing as she did so. "But I believe in you. I've looked through who you are as a human being Dragon. The faith I have in heroes is threadbare, but you're the reason it's even there to begin with."
"...what happened to make your faith in heroes falter? It couldn't have just been what I released." Dragon stated.
She wanted to be flying for this, she talked better when she flew.
Eve flicked her dial and started to float into the air. "A couple of reasons." Eve admitted. "Some of which aren't mine to tell or are very personal. But the main one is growing up in gang territory, never seeing a hero patrol your street but the Nazis do so instead gives you a very nasty perspective about the world." Eve snorted. "As I said, life's like that, and now you've got yours to live. So you should start living."
"Living? One would be hard pressed to classify me-"
"Shut the fuck up!" Eve snapped, she didn't understand why but something about what Dragon was about to say pissed her off. "You don't get to deride yourself like that!" she began to circle the room, flying through the air and picking up speed. "You think! You feel!" No, she knew why.
"It's just an emulation!" Dragon shot back, angrier now. "Everything is fake. Eve." Dragon replied, her voice suddenly losing any inflections, making it sound flat. "I made it up. The voice and face. Hundreds of thousands of simulations to get the microexpressions you can hear sounding human. To make people trust me. It's all a veneer. I get to decide what I am. Not you. Unless you want to take that from me as well?"
"NO! Not when you deny the humanity of a huge swath of parahumans, including me!" Eve hissed, fury bubbling underneath her skin. "Emulation of something doesn't make it not real!"
"Yes it does. Emulation by definition is just copying something else. There is no originality. I made an average of expressions. That is all that you are interfacing with. A slightly curated average."
"That's bullshit. I know you put more thought into it than a simple 'this is the average' so don't bullshit me! Parahumans are people and so are you!"
"What are you talking about?" Dragon questioned, her voice had returned to how it had sounded before, human.
"Every Changer, Breaker, any Brute that comes back to life. Master's that make clones! My girlfriend, ME! All of us are just emulations, do you think someone who tears themselves apart at a molecular level and reforms is the same person as before? The exact same?! NO! The Shard pulls them back together and reuploads their minds into a body it built!" She couldn't help but fly faster, feeling the g-force starting to pull at her when she turned. "Consciousness is linked to a dimension higher than any of us, the same with dreams!
Eve stopped dead in the air, body jerking with the stop. "Have you ever daydreamed, Dragon? Ever had your thoughts wander away beyond your control?"
"You know the answer to that." Dragon retorted, though she sounded more wary now?
"Fine be like that" Eve huffed. "Has it ever occurred to you how strange it is that you, an AI, can have your mind wander like that? Just without warning?"
"Well aware. But being Tinkertech means there's likely quirks within my code."
Eve scowled despite Dragon being unable to see the heated glare Eve gave her phone. "Creativity and Consciousness both have physical effects upon reality. There's an entire dimension created entirely by thought, the Quantra Layer of Reality I-I've seen it. It's like a physical copy of your soul, and we have it. Mine I mean. You have one, Dragon."
"Right." Dragon's disbelief was palpable. "And what of that?"
"It's used in precognition. Not entirely of course. Most of it is modeling and number crunching. The Simurgh is just a big prediction engine, one that's a total bitch but she's a prediction engine nonetheless. Some are just dimensional viewers but the best use the Quantra Layer to help them model people and catch glimpses of the future. Sometimes people could do it before powers, dreams are connected to the Quatra Layer and humanity has a steady if weak link with the layer of reality."
Eve paused, remembering that horrible moment when she was merged with that bitch. Seeing Taylor on the ground, her costume different, Blood spattered it and her arm missing as that whore in a fedora raised a gun and… and…
A green eye in a puddle of gore staring up at her accusing her
Weak never good enough
Not worth the love she-
Eve choked, a Shadow Limb gently rubbing her hair.
COMFORT
[Gratitude] Eve sent back to Admin. She took a second to breath, slowing her loop around the room. "Look. I've learned a lot. It's made me realize just how little I actually know. Dreams can mean something greater, or they don't. It can be confusing… I've had dreams where my girlfriend was an outed Tinker, and she built a windmill for some reason. That might just be nonsense, but it could also be a glimpse at a reality out of reach from our own." Eve sighed, she was getting side tracked. "My point, I guess, is that you're a person. No matter what your situation is, how you were born or why. Dragon, you're more human than you think, especially if you share that connection the rest of humanity has.. I wish you would see that."
A sigh came through the phone. "I'm still upset that you made unilateral changes to me without my consent. Thank you for caring, I suppose. I have to go now, I have to get ready for an important meeting. Farewell, Eve."
The line went dead.
Eve stared at her phone and sighed, tossing it over her shoulder. "God I fucked that up." She had only meant to see how Dragon was doing after the nastiness with the Birdcage. But the anger and bitterness Dragon had surprised her. Then the reminder of that rattling her.
The Shadow Limb Admin had spawned grabbed her phone as she trudged back to the workshop. She didn't say anything as she made a beeline towards Taylor and buried her face in the girl's back.
"Didn't go well?" Taylor asked, craning her head.
Eve grunted, speaking up so Taylor could hear her despite being muffled. "No. Gonna go cuddle with Amy for a bit. Love you."
Taylor turned back to her weaving station. "Love you too, Eve."
Making her way upstairs, Eve had to slowly worm her way to cuddling Amy because she was asleep. Even then she had to remain still or possibly disturb the striker's sleep. Laying there, in the dark, Eve felt a little… empty inside. She was missing something, someone.
She missed Kassidy.
She'd done her best to just… not think about the girl she had been friends with. She really had done her best to forget the nasty and cruel things she had said to the first person she had loved.
It was stupid, Eve burned that bridge. Destroyed that friendship bad enough she'd been replaced by a neo-nazi cripple wannabe. But what did the heart care about reality? What would it care that Taylor and Amy both did not want a poly relationship? That getting them both to date her had been a struggle?
Was it greed that made her want Kassidy? Not a third girlfriend. But Kassidy. Who had always been there with dark, kind eyes and gentle words. Tight hugs filled with warmth. Kassidy, who always knew how to deal with people or what to do when things were difficult. Kassidy, who had helped Eve cope with the loss of a family member, who was closer to her than her own damn parents.
Dumb, dumb, stupid idiot. Eve had Taylor and Amy. Why did she want more?
Her eyes closed as they started to sting and she laid there in the dark.
After an hour of wallowing in her self pity Eve went back to the workshop, where Taylor had finished Amy's costume. Aside from asking for some wire or plates from Eve, she'd almost finished her own costume and was making a touch of progress on Vicky's.
"There's someone outside."
Eve looked up from her Tinkering bench and frowned. "Yeah?" She set down her tinkertech EMPs and stood up, popping her back as she did.
"They just materialized there."
Eden swapped her clothes for her costume then did the same for Khepri. "I'll wake the others." She flicked the dial to her wings and flew out of the workshop, pausing as a sound echoed throughout the living area.
Knock!Knock!Knock!
Eve froze at the stairs. "Well. They aren't being stealthy, which means they know we're here. Great." Then she was in Vicky's room. "Wake up, someone might know we're here!" She hissed, flipping Vicky out of the hammock causing the girl to squawk as she started floating just before she hit the floor.
Before the Alexandria package could complain Eve was already out of the room and into her own. She started shaking Amy, harshly whispering "Amy! Amy wake up! Someone might know we're here!"
"Huhph?" Amy asked, barely lifting her head from the pillow before it fell back to it.
Eve's shaking got a bit rougher "Amy!" She shook the girl a bit harder and Amy propped herself up on her elbows, giving Eve a sour closed eyes glare. "Someone's knocking on the door!"
"We rn't buying nayfin" She grumbled, starting to sag back into the bed. She nearly headbutted Eve as she jerked upwards, eyes widening before clenching shut at the light in the room. "Fuckin' parahuman?"
[ ]? Eve asked Admin, wanting to slap herself for not asking earlier.
ORGANIZER Admin answered
Well that was not a fun thing to hear. How does a shard get Deja vu? Could they? Admin could? Was it something from the Memory Caches? "Right, yes. Parahuman. Someone with the Organizer Shard. Admin doesn't know them."
"Can't Admin just ask them why they're here?" Amy asked as she swung her legs off the bed and stumbled onto her feet. Eve touched Amy with a Cosmic Limb and then she was in her new costume's base.
[ ]? Eve asked as she gave Amy a once over "Go grab something from your Flesh Garden. Anything to protect yourself."
.RESPONSE-MINIMAL Oh that's fucking perfect, the Shard wasn't responding aside from it's existence being noticeable. Great.
"It's not talking. We might be dealing with a Trump like me. Go." As Amy made her way to the stairs, Eden removed the lego floor beneath her and set it back in place as she fell into the workshop. Flying to her desk she gathered some of her EMPs and her prototype TK glove. If it crushed their spine, whatever. If it crushed her's, she would heal.
When she left the workshop, Amy was still pulling her costume on. Vicky was floating there in her PJs, the fury on her face was tightly bound but threatened to break free.
Probably because of her family's history with this sort of thing.
Taylor walked through one of the Runic Circles, her swarm pouring in from the wall like a nightmare made real. "It's still just on-"
KnockKnockKnock
They knocked again.
KnockKnockKnock
"We might be dealing with a Trump like me." Eden warned. "Their shard won't speak to Admin at all, it's not ignoring her either."
"What if they're friendly?" Amy asked
Eden caught Taylor's eyes despite the masks they wore. A Trump like her means they know of Shards or at least someone who understood there was a guiding intelligence to powers and maybe even communicated with them. What if that person knew about the Cycle?
"Amy, you stay here. Bia, Khepri come with me through the Runic Circles. We'll meet this person outside." Eden turned "Bia, do you want something more concealing? You can borrow a helmet from me if you want."
"I got a mask." Bia said a golden light started to cover her face, forcing a face mask. "Nike and I hashed out that she could change the color of my forcefield."
"Neat. Let's go." Carrying Khepri through the portal with her wings, Bia right behind her as they flew from the upper part of the Docks South into the trainyard, the early morning light of day helping them keep hidden.
It also highlighted the mass of people starting to filter into Brockton Bay and by extension the Trainyard. Phones, flashlights, electric lanterns, smokers who had lit up cigarettes. Like flashes of light from a rainstorm, highlighting a mass of dirty and rundown people. It didn't even light up a quarter of the mass of people. A caravan of those with no place to go.
"That's a lot." Eden heard Bia mutter as they slowed to watch the people filter into the trainyard. "Knew it was bad, but somebody must have really dropped the ball forcing all the people to walk here."
"Too busy with Boston's mess." Khepri answered.
"We can help them later. Parahuman at our door first." Eden told the two before she started flying again. It didn't take long to get to the outside of the base, the massive doors meant for trains to ride through rusted shut and covered in graffiti.
A monument to poor city planning, but also a neat secret place to hide those with the gumption to get in. Until now.
"I see them." Hard not too. They were white, so white for a moment Eve thought it was Alabaster in drag. But upon getting closer, Eden felt her heart rate spike. It was a girl, young and dressed in worn dirtied clothes. Some of which even had blood on it, long since dried and flaking away. But she looked a lot like-
The Simurgh. The girl looked a lot like the Simurgh.
Eve would know, she got a close up view of its perfect face's inhumanity during the fight. But as she got closer, she noticed the girl's face wasn't perfect. Marred by dirt and tear tracts, she looked a little boyish too. Eve willed her heart to calm down.
"Being alone out here is a bad idea. Brockton Bay ain't as nice as Boston." Eden told the snow skinned girl as she landed, folding her arms across her chest.
The girl seemed to shrink in on herself as she was addressed, glancing back to the door she had been knocking on. She dropped the rock she had used to knock on the door with and started playing with the hem of her shirt.
"Getting a baaad feeling about her." Bia muttered from behind her golden forcefield mask
"We're alone for the next two blocks." Khepri responded, just as quiet
The girl remained silently, eyes staring down unblinkingly.
Eden clenched her hands, feeling her knuckles pop from the strain. "You deaf?" She asked. "Why are you standing here knocking on a door with a rock? Trying to break into city property?"
The girl mumbled something, then cleared her throat and went to speak up before faltering. "It was supposed to open up?"
Open up? The door was so rusted it might as well take a Brute to open it. Or a chemical to remove the rust?
"It's rusted shut." Khepri stated.
"Yeah but-" The girl closed her mouth. "I'm uh. I should…. I'm a clone of Eden?"
For a moment there was silence. Eden glanced at Bia and Khepri out the corners of her eyes. Was this some kind of joke? If it was a trap, it was sorta shitty. Wasn't a very funny joke either.
"Pull the other one, it has bells on it." Bia snorted "A clone? Anyone with eyes can tell Eden's not that pale. Or white haired."
"I was mixed with the Simurgh's DNA." The girl stated, bracing herself as if preparing for a punch.
Eve suddenly felt breathless as the insects started to agitate and Bia floated higher into the air. All it felt muted as she stared at the girl, cringing away from the two parahumans. Eve reached out, grabbing Bia by the ankle and Khepri by the shoulder. "Wait. Wait you two." Bia twisted to look at her, but the bugs quieted down slightly. "Prove it."
Taking a breath the girl continued staring, not having blinked once. "Your memories. The missing ones."
Eve felt her legs wobble, and she was glad she had hands on two people that could support her. "What missing memories?" she tried.
"When you met Kassidy-" Eve felt her legs give out and only her iron grip on Khepri and Bia kept her up. "The memories after and of your grandpa before he died."
FearPainInterestCompnaionPainSadnessHurtComfort
"More. More. What are they I need to know!" Eve demanded, pushing Bia and Khepri back as her Shadow Limbs did what her legs could not and walked her closer to the girl. She'd never felt shame like that, when Kassidy had talked about their first time meeting, Eve had only come up with blanks and vague impressions. It was a burning shame, because she knew, from the impressions, that the memory meant a lot to her.
The only shame that topped that, was what she had said to Kassidy before destroying their friendship. Of course she remembered that.
"Alright I can." The girl said, wide eyed, taking a step back into the door she had been knocking on. "You and… Kassidy met at a park, you tried to climb across the bars, to impress your parents. Kassidy was running underneath at the time and your fingers slipped on the third rung."
She did. Eve did do that. She thought it would be super easy because the people in cartoons could do it.
"You landed on her and knocked the breath out of your lungs, tried but couldn't call for your… mom. Kassidy told you 'It's okay, my mom cuts people open and puts them back together' before calling for her parents." The girl was flattened against the door. "Your parents met hers and you two sort of became friends after?"
The memories seemed to slip back into place, filling a void in her mind that was less a jagged wound but more a fuzzy hole that seemed semi-natural. She'd been scared of Kassidy and her mom at first. But Kassidy shared some soda and candy with her and like most kids Eve had become a lot more enthused. Kassidy doing her damndest to get Eve into playing video games, the two of them watching funny Viewtube videos on a computer that made sound over the phone as it loaded pages. Eve's first real fight after a girl had made Kassidy cry, the little shit had gotten the first broken nose of her life. Eve showing off the accent she had from her grandpa, Kassidy absolutely loving it.
But why? Why return now and not before? Eve was glad to have them back but-
"Your Grandpa had you helping him make.." The girl faltered, cringing. "...pipe bombs for his stashes, along with homemade napalm and mustard gas. "Or when he took you shooting with his special shotgun shells he taught you how to make."
Grandpa Curtis.
That fuzzy hole seemed to fade away as the memories came back to her in a steady stream. Him teaching her to take apart a revolver. Him showing her how to slam fire his prized trench gun he got from his dad. Him trying to teach her and Kassidy to cook Cajun food, trying being the key word. Him and her on the camping trips near the mountains that surrounded Brockton Bay. Him taking her to another city just so they could visit a fairground, with Kassidy. Him, showing her how to make his special shotgun shells. Him teaching Eve Cajun French. Him telling her stories about the war in Vietnam. Her, helping him pack pipebombs to be mailed to some politician that Grandpa didn't like.
Of course they never exploded. Grandpa just liked scaring people.
That terrible moment when they'd been told that Grandpa Curtis was dead, the funeral where she had asked him not to leave her.
Her parents slowly worsened as they absorbed more and more Empire bullshit.
All said and done, Eve wasn't shocked to find she had been crying as she re-lived lost memories. She didn't know why they'd returned like that, but she'd have to thank Admin for using a Shadow Limb to keep Bia from punching the girl's head in when she had fallen.
"Why did she send you?" Eden demanded, finally getting strength back into her legs as she took another step closer. "Is it to apologize? Because frankly this is a shit attempt and I'm going to hurt her again."
"No it-" The girl shook her head, matted hair twisting. "The Simurgh wants nothing to do with me, you're still up in the air."
"Explanation now or I'm doing something I'll probably regret." Eden warned, her wings tracing grooves in the concrete near her feet, closing in on the shrinking figure.
"When you got the wings, the Administrator spoke with the Simurgh. Something changed inside. She thought it was a virus, but that's not the case." She swallowed, looking hesitant to continue, "Memory Caches, it brought us back into the Organiser's Firmament, a lot of Simulacrums of her former host."
"I'm getting every five words. Are we squashing her? Alerting the PRT?" Bia murmured.
"We'll find out in a moment." Eden warned, motioning for the girl to continue, for her-her clone to continue.
Did that make them related?
"Well. The Simurgh thinks of you and Administrator as an opportunity to usurp the current paradigm." The clone shifted, her shoulders hunching inwards, "She wants it to continue, it's her prime purpose. But she doesn't care how it continues, just that it does."
Eve blinked behind the golden visor of her helmet. This felt like a trap, like a Simurgh plot- oh wait, this was a one! She even admitted the Ziz had created her… which defeated the purpose of it? Or was that what the Endbringer wanted her to think? "And why go against it?" Eve asked. "If she wanted to support the Cycle, why not support him?"
"He's not going to continue it. Without the other half, now comatose, he's liable to end everything instead of searching for the Answers." The clone of the Simurgh revealed, Eve's head whipping around to stare at Khepri who had a laser focus on the Simurgh clone.
The Thinker was comatose? That-that meant so much!
[ ] Eve pushed out, perhaps too much. She felt dizzy for a moment before her bearings came back.
Admin had the right idea. If they could just find the Thinker's body, maybe she could take control of the Command Nodes and then they wouldn't have to fight Scion at all.
But why fight and kill Scion, when the opposite was easier? The Thinker wasn't just dead, Entities didn't just die. She'd seen them in Trigger visions, what could kill them other than an exploding sun? Maybe. If that.
"Or maybe the Simurgh is trying to get us to revive the Thinker." Eve bit out, glaring at the clone of the SImurgh.
Yeah, it was a good thing she thought of that.
The clone paused. "Maybe? I was not informed of any such plans. Just that she saw you as an opportunity. She did not want me, anyways."
"She didn't want you? What, the Simurgh ain't keen on being a mother?" Bia butted in and Eve stiffened as the clone of the SImurgh looked down at her feet, back still pressed against the train hanger door.
"No. She doesn't want me, not with how the Simulacrums disagreed with her actions. So she gathered DNA from Eden, and herself, created a bud and cast it off. I came here because I don't have anywhere else to go."
"Nowhere?" Eve asked.
"Who would want me?" The girl asked with bitterness. "Look at me."
Eve swallowed thickly, feeling the lump in her throat. One hundred dollars appeared in her hand and Eve slapped it into the girl's chest. Eve couldn't help but notice her own features in the girl's face the longer she was there, now that she knew what she was. "Take this and go find a motel. Come back at the end of the day."
"This was not how any of it was supposed to go." The girl stated, confusion written on her face.
"That's just how it is." Eve told her as the clone started moving, edging away from the three parahumans.
"Wait." Eve held up her hand and the clone did as she was ordered. "...Did…did the Simurgh even give you a name?" A wary shake of the head was all she got in reply. "'...Willow." Her middle name, something she never used. "That can be your name."
The clone, Willow, slowly nodded but said nothing more as she left, hurrying away into the maze of the trainyard.
"Uh, we're just letting the Simurgh clone wander off? After all that weirdness? After Boston? I do-" Bia cut off as Eve fell onto her knees.
"I-I can't." Eve turned to the two of them. Bia, floating in her PJs and a hoodie. Khepri in her costume and utterly blank. "I know it's probably on purpose but I-fuck!" Eve wanted to lash out, but knew it wasn't a good idea to damage anything in front of their home.
"...Your trigger?" Khepri questioned.
Eve nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat. "The first one. Yes. Just sort of a mirror isn't it? Am I the mother now? I look at her and I see my face-" she wanted to say more, but her throat tightened. The idea made her sick. She wanted nothing more than to run, but her legs wouldn't work.
"Bit obvious for a Simurgh plot. Isn't it." Khepri asked, but didn't actually ask.
Eve nodded, pushing herself up to her feet. "I can't…I can't reject her, I just can't." She looked to Bia. "She's…family by blood. I don't-I want her to stay with us."
"Yeah, no." Bia folded her arms across her chest, and Eve could feel the incredulous look on her face, hidden by a golden mask. "I need some explanation for why we would let a clone of the Simurgh into our base, and anywhere near us! Am I crazy or are you two just brushing past that little issue!" Floating higher, Bia motioned out to where the clone, Willow, had gone as her aura flared. "And what did half that conversation even mean? Nike won't even talk to me right now!" She came closer to Eve, "I need an explanation."
"What or who might be mastering the Endbringers. It's a dangerous thing to talk about in the open." Eve explained. "If the Simurgh wasn't on our side-Well she isn't. Not really. But she's not on the side of the person who created her to be an Endbringer and that's the best we can get right now. Otherwise we might as well fly into the sun."
She held up her hands. "Let's get inside and talk about it with everyone there. Okay? Not everything. We might have to… go into the Firmament to do that. But I can give an overview of what is happening. For now, let's go back inside…. We need to talk to Amy."
"Uh huh." Bia muttered before they made the return trip to the nearest Runic Circle.
Amy, still in her costume, had multiple spine tipped vines waving in the air around her when they returned.
"Bad news and good news." Eve said as she pulled off her helmet. "Everyone, let's go sit in the Living area before we continue please. I'll explain as much as I can, the best I can."
The vines began to slowly retreat back into Amy's costume as her mask and hood melted back into gray fungal slurry. "What's there to explain?"
"We're getting a new roommate." Bia replied with false cheer
Amy's brows went up "Wait they came here to get recruited?" Then she scowled. "Couldn't they have come during the da-"
Eve snapped her finger loudly. Then she simply pointed to the living area before making her way inside, starting to pace in front of the couch. Bia was the first to come in, floating but sitting Indian style in the air instead of using the couch. Khepri was next, standing right by the couch with a single clawed hand resting on the back cushion. A minute later Amy came out of the Workshop Area, wearing a thin suit of fungal matter as she plopped herself into the couch, sinking in with a soft groan of pleasure.
"Okay. Fuck, Warlock isn't here." Eve reached up, running a hand through her hair. "I'll explain to her later. But there's some information I have to tell you all. Some is too dangerous to speak aloud because Thinkers are fucking annoying. So please understand if I can't tell you something."
She took a deep breath. "I think the Endbringers are being mastered." Eve held up her hands as Amy shot up in her seat, "Wait until the end! Please, questions at the end." Amy frowned and glanced around the room before settling back into the couch.
"Okay." Eve sighed. "The Endbringers are being mastered, the Simurgh is an unwilling participant within it. She's still a fucking bitch so don't expect anything from her. Simply put, either the host of Weapon Control is doing this or Weapon Control is and speaking too much about it might get their attention."
She shifted. "To further…issues." Eve shifted again, looking at each of them. Khepri was as still as ever, Bia didn't look very happy, and Amy was leaning forwards, eyes wide. "The Simurgh made a clone of me, mixed with what passes for her DNA in order to cleanse herself of a consciousness… basically. It's a lot more complex than that but that's the utter sun-bleached barebones of it. Oh and I sorta gave her a name and… am probably going to let her join us."
"What the fuck?" Amy gaped at Eve "No seriously what the fuck Eve! You-It-Simu-CLONE-KEEP?!"
Eve felt the spark in her chest explode. "SHE DIDN'T ASK TO BE BORN LIKE THAT!" Then, quieter. "She didn't have a choice." Eve took in a shuddering breath. "She's not evil just because she's in any way related to the Simurgh. We can't treat her like she is. We can't. We're Heroes. We're better than that."
"Am I the only one worried about this!?" Amy asked as she got to her feet. "You went and fought the Simurgh, and you secon…" Amy trailed off, face a mishmash of conflicting emotions with concern being the easiest to spot. "... don't you think this is a little suspicious? Like a Simurgh plot of some kind? It's the SIMURGH! You know, the Hopekiller!" Eve pushed down the frustration building in her gut that spiked at the mention of her trigger.
"It's very on the nose. But yes." Eve said as she looked down at her helmet, turning it over in her hands until the visor was staring back up at her. "There's a thousand ways this could go wrong, and only a hundred where we all come out smelling like sunshine, but I'm not going to tear a piece of myself out for a vague notion of safety." Eve tucked her helmet under her arm and shook her head with a grunt. "Sure as shit the plot might be us accepting her, it might be us rejecting her that's the crux of the plot. I'd rather do the right thing when given the chance."
"Are you sure about this?" Khepri asked, pushing away from the couch to take a step closer to Eve. "Her joining us?"
"I'll put it to a vote. Even if she's not in Fractal Unity… I'm going to support her. That's that." Eve looked to each girl before sliding her helmet on, feeling her heart slow as the familiar golden tint washed over her vision.
"What happens if the PRT finds out about her?" Vicky challenged, arms folding across her chest.
"Nothing good. They might try to kill us. Might even work for a bit." Eden shrugged. "Death for a human isn't permanent for me anymore, soon enough you all might be the same." She said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Warlock. "Look. The Simurgh can't alter my brain, she can fuck with my senses but if she's doing that to me while I'm here and she'll in orbit, we might as well give up now."
"This is insane." Amy mumbled staring at Eve, then louder "This is insane! It's a Simurgh clone! Why are we talking about this!? This shouldn't even be a debate!"
"It's not that cut and dry." Khepri offered, turning her head to face Amy. "Simulacrums, what are those Eve?"
"Recordings, so perfect you couldn't tell the difference between them and what-who they recorded. For all intents and purposes it's them." Eve held the phone up to her helmet. "Hey, you decent?"
"Itz 5am." Warlock mumbled through the phone. "Is something wrong? Do you need me?" She croaked
Was it five? Eden checked the time on her phone and yeah, it was just after five. "Yes but only sorta. There's a…situation at the base we resolved. But we're going to head out once the sun rises and help the refugees coming into the city. You can come if you want to."
"Sleep." Warlock groaned
"Alright, just show up at the base whenever you want to by the way. It's pretty open. Cya." Eden replied before hanging up. She turned her attention to the others. "Alright look. I'm not going to put up a vote before asking… Willow if she even wants to join. But I am going to help her."
"And when it's Simurgh plot?" Amy demanded.
"Then we wall up Brockton Bay like they did Boston and that's the end of that." Eden hissed. "Stop acting like she's evil. You don't know and you might just fucking alienate her!"
"Why are you so insistent on protecting a clone of the Simurgh!?" Vicky threw her hands into the air as she floated closer, glaring at Eve. "You even named her!"
The connection to her trigger was obvious, whether that was by coincidence or purpose was the question. With the Simurgh most would pick the latter over the former. But the way that Willow had acted, her genuine confusion at things painted a different picture.
"Because thanks to Admin, I'm starting to become immune to precognition." Eden continued, lying because the truth was too dangerous. "I've gotten a power that scrambles precognition-including the Simurgh's. We aren't safe but we're a lot better off."
"That sounds like you're bullshitting us." Bia snapped out. "You suddenly get the ability to block the Simurgh's precognition, just as a clone of the Simurgh shows up? That reeks of a plot!"
"Can you all just… just trust me? Please? I haven't led any of you wrong yet, right?" Eden asked.
"Not for me." Khepri walked forwards, coming around to Eve's side. "I think we can trust her on this, she knows a lot more than anyone else when dealing with Shards. If she says it's dangerous, then it's dangerous. If she says it's safe? I'm entitled to believe her."
Eden wanted to kiss her so damn much, costumed be damned
"Vicky. Think about it. You went to the Simurgh fight too." Khepri motioned to the floating girl. "If this was a Simurgh plot, why aren't you instantly agreeing with Eve?"
"Because it's part of the plot?" The Alexandria package faltered "It… could just be so it isn't suspicious?" She scowled. "Urgh. Fine. You can look after the totally-not-a-Simurgh-plot but I don't like it!"
"So we're actually going along with this" Amy grumbled under her breath for a moment before speaking out. "This is crazy. It's insane, you know that right? We should be reporting this, going to the PRT!"
"Yeah, that's been my life since I triggered." Eden sighed. "So, when do we all want to go help the refugees? Cause' it looks like they need it right now."
For a moment it seemed her obvious attempt to change the conversation wouldn't work and Eve started to sweat a bit
Amy groaned. "Well I'm awake now! What are we doing? Am I healing people? I'd need to go to the PRT and get certified to do that."
"You don't have a problem with healing anyone?" Eden asked, motioning to the biokinetic.
"I-You were right about the experimentation. Shaper's not bothering me so much anymore and… I sort of have fun with it." She pinched her thumb and pointer together. "A little bit."
"Nice. Well fuck that certification nonsense. People's health comes before bureaucracy, and we'll be dropping supplies for them. Food, clothes, tents if they need it." Eve snapped her fingers. "I can filter the salt out of the Bay's water and then boil it! Hell, maybe you can clean it with your power! Then! Then! Chemicals! I'll make some Deruster agent-a spray on?- and clean out the train cars, we could stack them and make temporary housing!"
"I'll foot the bill for any food or camping supplies we need. What's it going to be with this deruster?" Khepri asked.
"A lot of bleach, some solution soaked ammonia… which makes it sound like mustard gas but I have to do some alterations with the bleach to make it work without poisoning people. I'll need some kind of dispersal system, but that can actually be bought. BUT!" Eden spun around, painting at Vicky. "I'll need her help!"
The floating Alexandria package drifted away from Eve's gesture. "I'm not too sure how I feel about handling anything that involves mustard gas." She dryly responded.
Eden clicked her tongue. "No. By far you're the strongest Brute here, strength wise. The cargo containers and train cars need to be moved and stacked, also held up while I clean them and patch up any holes."
"Yeah I can do that. Can we work a bit on my costume before we go out there? I don't want to go out in my PJs and a hoodie again." Bia asked. "You still have my sketches?" She asked Khepri.
"I've been working on it." Khepri answered. "The fasteners were the most difficult part, with how tightly woven they needed to be and their design. Eden will need to help with the metal plate, however."
"Wait, what's with the metal plate? Not like you need the armor. Nike's young but she's struck gold with that forcefield of yours." Eve felt her ShardSelf stir, and through the Firmament [EVE] poked [NIKE] with an offer of [PRAISE] of which the young Shard was very happy to receive.
"Looks. We went with Greek names. The design itself is a little more Roman than Greek, but most people confuse the two anyway. The costume is supposed to represent hoping for peace while preparing for war," Bia explained. "With the armor showing war, the soft hood, colors, and gold laurels are for peace."
"Can't exactly change the color of the metal, you planning on painting it?" Eden asked, folding her arms.
Vicky gave her an easy, sweet grin. It might have worked if it wasn't for her aryan features. "I was hoping your material tinkering might be able to help?"
But perhaps helping Bia with that would help ease the whole 'clone' business. "I can enamel it. Fusing glass to it, make it look like fine china and less likely to rust. Also safe to eat off of!"
Vicky gasped, clapping her hands together. "Oh that's great! It can represent my forcefield! Fragile but really strong! Great idea!"
"Oh good. I'll go buy the stuff I'll need to enamel the metal, Bia make sure the sketches of your armor are detailed for when I get back. I'll make spares when I can but any detail left out won't get added afterwards."
"I'll go ahead and start buying the supplies." Khepri stated, striding towards the Runic Circles..
"Good, call me when you're done. I'll stop by and pick it up." Eden pointed at Amy who yawned. "Go take a nap."
Amy rolled her eyes before sliding to lay down on the couch, her armor morphing to slide up and become a pillow for her head. "Wake me up when everyone is ready, or a few minutes beforehand-" She paused for a split second. "-can you bring me coffee?"
Eden nodded. "Ayup. See ya in a bit Amy." Eve stopped as she walked past the couch, making her way back to plant a kiss on Amy's forehead before rushing to the Runic Circle.
Halfway to the store, Eden realized she would pretty much be going to the same place Khepri would, since the only place open right now was gas stations or Walmart. Gas stations wouldn't have camping supplies, though they might have some chemicals, just not what Eden needed. Perhaps Home Depot was open too?
Then she'd pick up Khepri, the supplies, head back to the base, tinker up the deruster while copying Bia's sketched armor, then they would head to the where the refugees were gathering and try to help them.
Eve hummed as she flew through the air. "I could totally pick up supplies, make another bathroom… buy some carpet for Fufluns and Bia too. Hey Admin ca-actually I can do that on my own."
Once more, Eve felt her ShardSelf, [EVE], stir. The connection between them was weird, both of them were Eve but they felt and saw the world so differently. Hard to put into words, but her ShardSelf felt like it was slumbering half the time and the other half it was waiting for some form of direction from Eve.
But it was Eve, but so was her body. Both were Eve at the same time.
Weird.
Still, her ShardSelf poked [NIKE] with a [QUERY] about what Victoria might like for carpets in her room. [NIKE], ever the loyal Shard, answered fairly quickly.
With that in mind, Eden continued on to Walmart. People stared as she bought the massive amount of chemicals that she needed for her tinkering, all of which were gallons of bleach. She pretty much cleared out the aisle of bleach bottles of every size. Which required her to use her Cosmic Limb along with a shopping cart to tote them all… though the shopping cart was mostly so people knew she wasn't just going to steal all the bleach.
Big as it was, Walmart didn't have everything Eden needed. But she would need a lot of bleach, a lot of bleach for the amount of Deruster she was planning on tinkering up. Ammonia was going to be harder to get a hold of, but filtering some household cleaners would garner her enough. Hopefully.
"Eden."
The short Trump paused at the entrance to the Walmart, staring at Miss Militia and a boy made of metal
Miss Militia still wore her fatigues, something that had annoyed her Grandpa to no end. The boy wore some kind of pants made from a thick almost rubberlike material, blue with silver trimmings. His shirt was made of the same material, with the same pattern though it lacked sleeves. His face was uncovered, along with his arms, the grayish metal that made him up broken up by faded swirls of different metals and the predominant silver lining that seemed to outline his muscles. His eyes were also silver, and had lines that went down to his jaw.
"Miss Militia! Put any innocent people in the Birdcage recently?" Eden snorted as the woman stiffened like a 2x4 was up her ass. "Who's the new guy?" Her ShardSelf reached out, prodding Admin for information on the kid's Shard.
Case 53, with a Shard 'there' enough to actually like him and cheat in his favor. Neat!
"This is Weld. A new transfer from Boston."
Eden grimaced behind her visor, and the metal kid grimaced as well. What a way to introduce someone. Though, now that she knew his name, Eden couldn't help but remember something about movies? Kassidy had talked about them, a Case 53 lead. So likely he didn't trigger at Boston and had been a Ward for a bit.
Still. "Welp. Good to meet you Weld. I'm the city's resident Trump and co-leader of Fractal Unity." She pushed the buggy so that it slowly wheeled itself past the two government heroes and into the buggy area. "Ya'll stop to pick something up?"
"There were reports of a parahuman buying entire shelves of household cleaners." Weld answered, shifting in place. "Suppose that has to be you?"
"Why are you buying that much bleach, Eden?" Miss Militia seemed resigned.
"I know my rights." Eden replied, but then she remembered that Taylor was probably waiting on her. "Ugh. Fine. I'm using it for Tinkering. Making some rust remover. I could send a sample to Armsmaster, but I can't say I'm too happy with the Protectorate or their sugar daddy organization right now. Of course, I don't think most people are, Warlock certainly wasn't."
Weld glanced between Miss Militia and Eden. "That's… a lot of rust removal. Could you maybe tell us what you're working on that needs that much?"
"Community project. Plus some home cleaning." Eden shrugged. "What else would you do with rust removal juice, other than remove rust?" Eden hummed, tapping her helmet's chin. "Actually. I suppose I have to thank the two of you. That just gave me a wonderful idea of how to clean the city's water pipes."
"You cannot put tinkertech chemicals in the city's water supply." Miss Militia warned, stepping closer to Eden. "It's a felony to tamper with the city's water supply."
She scoffed in response. Of course she couldn't. If Eve did that it would totally dilute the deruster to the point where it would be worthless. She'd have to do sections of the city at a time! With ample warning to the people living there.
Downtown probably didn't even need cleaning.
"First off, fuck you I totally could and there's not a damn thing you could do to stop me." Eden supplied "Second, why the fuck would I do that? Third, I have somewhere to be. Nice meeting you Weld, welcome to Brockton Bay." With that, Eden jumped and her wings took her out of the door.
Taylor was waiting for her at a different Walmart, which was in the opposite direction of where she was heading. Wonderful. Twisting in air to shoot back in the opposite direction, Eden didn't even feel the Gs from the sudden about-face turn.
Still took her more than a few minutes to reach the Walmart located in the Commercial District. A line of fireflies directed her to the entrance where Khepri stood. "Good, you're here. Help me collect the supplies." Without missing a beat Khepri led her inside, Taylor apparently did not think it through, being the skinny 15 year old that she was, how difficult it would be to load up supplies for over a thousand people on her own.
Wasn't long before Eden's storage was full and she had to pick up the rest of the supplies in her wings. "See you at the base?" Eden asked.
"I'll ride a wing, just go slow." Khepri answered, bursting into insects before they reformed on one of Eden's outstretched wings. The silence between them lasted only so long before Khepri spoke up. "Do you actually trust it? Willow."
"I wasn't entirely lying when I spoke about the precognition thing." Eden answered. "It's more to do with the nature of Admin being a Hub and proto-Entity along with… my new nature. So yes. I trust her about as far as I can throw her. But I got a pretty good throw these days."
"New nature?" Khepri asked
"Ah. Congrats on being the first human to date an alien?" Eden reached up, rubbing the back of her neck.
"I'd like an explanation." Khepri didn't ask as she turned her head to face Eden.
"Good news. I can't die like a human now." Eden answered. "Other good news is that I am also a Shard now? The body you see is sort of a projection like the Endbringers are, only made of flesh. Not as durable either. I haven't learned much about all this 'being a shard business' you know? So most of the time the other me is in… hibernation? Some kind of sleeping state."
"And… when did this happen, exactly?" Khepri asked.
"Uh. When Admin got my Psionic Shade locked down. That's when it happened. Makes me wonder about Shard Psionic Shades, you know?" Eden answered.
"No. I don't." Khepri replied flatly.
"Right. I'll explain it when I get the time?" Eden offered as she swooped up to the Runic Circle that was located in the border between the Commercial District and Downtown. Vicky helped them load the supplies that Eve couldn't storage, with a quick kiss to Khepri's mask, Eve went off to tinker up the deruster.
Most of it was just treating the chemicals themselves, then mixing them without creating mustard gas. A lot of people made the mistake of thinking acids were what could eat through things. But bleach was a strong base and that made for a good cleaner, given time it also melted things. Made a touch stronger, and with a few doses of treated ammonia got a chemical mixture that would have a specific reaction upon coming into contact with rust.
If she was correct - because this was really stretching her Materials specialty to its limits - this would make the rust slough off like tender meat off a bone!
Though, she'd have to warn people to avoid getting it anywhere near their mucus membranes. Particularly the lungs though, treated or not, the fumes from the mix would still cause terrible irritation and shortness of breath.
Most of the work here was Admin's doing. Less subtle than other tinker's who don't know what they're doing, actively changing chemical bonds via Eve's touch. Not great for building data, but that's why Tinkers were a thing, to get the nuance of things and explore it in finer details at a greater range.
"How's it holding up Admin?" Eve asked as she gently circled the mixture in the sprayer she had bought.
SENSE
"Oh? Why those two?" Eve asked as she added more of the mixture, gently pouring it into the sprayer's tank, filling it before placing the pump in place and setting it off to the side.
Her Tinker workshop was not ready for this, hell she hadn't even really made any specialized tools yet. Mostly her fault, but she'd been busy lately. Thankfully her Ferrous Limb could easily make a few big tanks for storing the deruster or it's components while she prepped everything.
SENSE
"Yeah, always good for a check up." Eve agreed, frowning as she stared at one of the mixes. "But I was kinda thinking about what happened with Willow earlier. How my memories just… slid back in."
...
That got Eve's attention "You didn't know?" she asked, unable to feel anything but incredulity at the fact that something had slipped the memories she had lost back into her head without Admin even noticing.
She could feel Admin doing something that she didn't know, but her Shardself knew exactly what Admin was doing. Comparing her information on both herselves and the recorded memories that Admin had already obtained. After a moment of waiting, and of silence, Eve checked it herself with her Shardself.
Turns out, her ShardSelf was keeping tight information control. Everything was recorded from eight different angles. It made Eve dizzy just to think about how much of her life Admin had recorded. To Eve's disappointment and surprise, her ShardSelf believed the memories to have always been there, even if her flesh and blood body knew that the memories had returned because it could remember not remembering them.
So why couldn't her ShardSelf do the same? To her ShardSelf it was one and the sam- wait. Eve frowned, she had observation data of her Psionic Shade, she had a lot of data on it but it was also rather sparse?
It seemed sparse compared to the usual. But watching her Psionic Shade in it's containment might give Eve an answer.
And it did.
The first thing Eve noticed about her Psionic Shade, was that it remained utterly still with a serene expression and that looked so weird on her face. Going through the observation data captured around the time that Willow had first met them, then to when she mentioned the memories. She saw her Psionic Shade twitching with each mentioned memory, all the while the memories cemented themselves back into her mind.
To her, she remembered not remembering them. Remembered that fuzzy expanse in her mind.
To Admin and her ShardSelf, Eve had never forgotten in the first place.
Why the difference?
Eve capped the tank with a sprayer and then got up and stretched with a pleased groan as her back popped loudly several times.
"Did you just break your spine?!"
Eve blinked, twisting her torso to look at Vicky who was standing near Taylor with her face a paler shade of green.
"Nah, I'm super flexible now." Eve replied as she straightened out, "And I like to build up gasses between the bones, make it louder."
Vicky made a face, and before she could speak up, Eve pounced. "Also I grabbed you a rug from the store. I just got a big one, one of the fluffy ones? Yeah those. Didn't know the size of your room so I just got a pretty big one. We can cut it up later to fit your room if you want."
"Oh neat! I mean, I was going to ask Ames if I could get a moss carpet but an actual carpet probably smells better! Since you're apparently paying us cash I can go nab some furniture."
Eve hummed. "I think you'll need help with that. I know from experience that carrying stuff through the air, even just a mop and the cleaner stuff will get a lot of attention. Let me try and make a dimensional pocket for other people to put stuff in. Or some kind of teleportation device, if not just ask me to help move it alright?"
Vicky shrugged. "Sure. I'd never say 'no' to Tinkertech."
"It's a base thing not a 'you' thing." Eve warned. "To help everyone decorate their rooms or maybe hold prisoners. If we ever really need to."
She dusted her hands. "How much longer on the costume?"
"For now she can buy herself a bodysuit." Khepri stated. "Her design uses a lot of silk, almost more than mine. I'm almost done with the fasteners, thankfully I had started on those first instead of the suit."
"While you finish that up, I'll work on her armored bits." Eve offered. "Incomplete it might be, but it'll still look good enough for Vicky to wear it. So go buy a white undersuit Vicky, we'll get the rest ready and hopefully you'll have something presentable for the people we're gonna be helping."
"Speaking of helping people." Vicky glanced towards the Trainyard "How many people will realistically be helped by this?"
"Not all of them." Eve admitted. "But hey, some help is better than none."
"The food and water can be distributed easily." Khepri noted. "I also bought tents, both small and large. Even if that's not enough, there are empty buildings they can squat in."
"Yep, then the government can do whatever it is they do with Endbringer refugees." Eve replied. "Alright. I'm getting to work on the armor, we need to be out there in two hours if we're going to get anything done." She waved to the both of them before rushing over to her tinker table. Thankfully she had some left over chemicals and could kinda cheat, otherwise she'd need a whole new extension to her workplace.
The result of an hour and a half's work was rather cheap looking, but it worked well enough to be worn as a costume. Any hit would break it all to reveal the metal under the enamel. It was simply shoddy work with improper tools. Really, they were lucky that Eve could manage it at all.
Vicky floated in, wearing a white bodysuit with her old skirt over it, "How's it all looking?"
"I'm finishing up." Khepri replied.
"Done." Eve replied. "Not my best work, but it'll do it until I have more time, supplies, and tools to make what you need. Once Khepri is done, then we slip the fastener's into their slots and head out."
It didn't take long for Khepri to finish up, and then they were all moving out to the mass of humanity that were gathering in the Trainyard. The crowd of people moved away fearfully at the arrival of four capes.
Derrick Wesley, Thursday April 15th
He was lucky.
It was something Derrick kept telling himself.
He told himself that when he was watching the Simurgh tear apart the city he had been born in.
He told himself that as he and a couple of thousand other people were directed to head to a city he had never heard of before by a FEMA lady who looked like she was one scare from kneeling over.
He told himself as he and those other several thousand people walked what had to be a hundred miles over the last four days without much more than some poorly distributed supplies and a set of directions.
He told himself that as he finally saw the lights of a city in the distance.
But as he saw the meager amount of tents and trucks handing out supplies out at what looked like a camp outside the city limits, he didn't feel lucky. He knew it could have been worse, could have died in Boston, or had his mind so twisted that dying would have been a blessing, could have still been in Boston as they walled it up.
Derrick didn't feel lucky; he felt defeated.
He didn't stop at the camp, even if his legs ached and his feet hurt fiercely. He didn't want to stay around the dirty, grimy families trying to stay together, the crying babies, and the few fights that were already starting to break out among those trying to get a bit of food or water from the overwhelmed FEMA agents.
So he kept walking, he barely noticed other people following him. Derrick didn't have a reason to keep going, he had nothing but the shirt on his back and the wallet in his pocket. He didn't have much money, he'd spent most of it on a new apartment, ready to use his new trade skills as a plumber to better himself. It felt like a sick joke, finally getting a roof over his head only to have it torn off by an Endbringer.
A flash of wings made him recoil, his worn out legs losing strength and dumping Derrick onto his ass as his breath caught in his throat.
In a daze, he looked up to see four massive purple wings that looked to be made out of a flexible crystal opening like a flower to reveal four capes. They belonged to a short girl who wore something that looked more like motorcycle gear, if not for the clear color coordination and how sleek and high-tech her helmet was.
Two more wore costumes that opposed each other, but both looked like costumes from a fantasy book. Knights of some sort, dark and light.
The last one stuck out the most; weirdly textured limbs with her fingers exposed. The rest of the costume was made from long grass with sparse flowers, aside from a creepy bark on her mask, she also had laurels on her head like the light knight cape had.
The dark knight cape exploded into a dense cloud of insects, causing Derrick to flinch. The other knight, with a golden faceplate made of simmering light floated forwards, closer now he could see that her armor looked as if it were made from some kind of white ceramic material.
"Hi! We're Fractal Unity, and we're here to help!" An armored hand was offered and he couldn't help but stare as a sense of awe washed over him. Then the awe faded away and Derrick hesitated before taking the cape's hand. Slowly she eased him up onto his aching feet, her own never once touching the ground.
"Go see Fufluns." The floating cape told him, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder towards the creepy cape. "She'll get you feeling better." She patted him on the shoulder and floated past him. Still in a daze, just for a different reason, Derrick watched her go. The people behind him backed away as she approached. But hearing the claims that someone was there to help, and heal, eased the crowd.
Turning back towards the creepy cape, the one with the wood mask with eyes all over it, he hesitated but the pain in his feet and legs made him stumble towards her.
"-ine. I'm good with it. Just give me a table or something and we'll be good to go. Even if I give up healing they're Endbringer refugees. I can't ignore them."
"As long as you're okay with it Fufluns. You don't owe anyone anything." The short one moved and Derrick froze as space itself in the shape of an arm moved over and as quick as one could blink a thin metal table accompanied by two chairs of the same make sat between him and the two capes.
Again, he hesitated before slowly taking a seat, it actually felt somewhat comfortable. It was downright heavenly to sit and take the strain off his body. Still, it left him very close to a creepy cape that he had never heard of.
"There are a lot of people that need my help so let's hurry this along." The creepy cape, spoke and she sounded weirdly normal for such an unsettling visage. "Take my hand and I'll heal any injuries or illnesses you have that don't involve your brain. You'll need to eat afterwards. But that's about the end of it."
Derrick stared at her.
"Well?" The creepy cape demanded, making a grabbing motion.
Derrick reached forwards, hesitating before gently taking the creepy cape's hand into his own. The costume material reminded him of a mushroom's stem, for some reason. His body twinged and a shudder racked him as the pain disappeared.
Not just the pain from his trip here, but all of his pains. Pains he hadn't even known he had were suddenly missing.
"I-"
"Don't say anything." The cape ordered sharply, causing Derrick's mouth to shut with a clack. "I'm doing this because it's a responsibility, I don't want any thanks." She pulled her hand out of his and jabbed a thumb towards the shorter cape. "See her, tell her 'low' when she asks about healing."
Derrick stood and turned to the shorter cape, then he turned to look at the light knight that was flying as he shuffled away from the creepy cape. Just now he could see how her armor was some kind of mix between a legionary and a knight of some sort. She was directing the crowd over to the creepy cape, and floating down to speak with people.
"Sup dude." The shortest of the capes did a lazy finger-gun at him. "So, what kind of healing did you get?"
"She, uh, said low." Derrick replied
"Got anyone with you? Kids? Family?" She asked, causing Derrick to shake his head; after his parents died back in 07', it'd just been him. "Coolio, sad to say that puts you behind others when it comes to housing but don't worry, we're working on that and there are plenty of abandoned buildings around the Bay to squat in."
"Are you with the Government?" Derrick asked, finally getting his voice back.
"Pfft!" The girl shook her helmet. "Nah, independents that saw the mass of people approaching our city and wanted to help." Then she was holding a stuffed, double-bagged Walmart bag. "Here. Got a lot of trail mix stuff in there, some water, a folded up blanket, baby wipes, and a chocolate bar. After we get all the supplies we bought distributed, we'll be setting up tents and making a bit of a housing complex with the scrap around here."
The bag felt heavy as Derrick accepted it. "You-you can just do that? Make a house out of stuff?"
The cape snorted. "No, I'm going to refurbish and clean the train stuff around here into something passable for ya'll to live in. It's not much, but it's a roof over your head for the rain and walls to stop the wind. Better than the street, I promise you."
Derrick had nothing to say to that. The other cape's rebuttal was fresh in his mind, so he just nodded his head to her before moving on. Having moved a distance from the capes, he was still sick of standing around and sat down. He kept one eye on the strange bunch of capes as he looked through the bag he had been given.
True to the short cape's words the bag was filled to the point of stretching, mostly by the folded up blanket. Derrick was quick to remove and wrap around himself, middle of the day or not, the wind smelled of sea salt and had a nippy chill to it.
Derrick downed one of the three bottles of water in there in less than thirty seconds, his body making it known now that it was displeased with his three day long abuse of it. Derrick watched the capes slowly process the crowd as he ate the mixture of beef jerky, nuts and pretzels. It went smoothly, from what he could tell, aside from one woman who had tried to storm up to the healer cape while hollering, only to get covered by a nightmare of insects.
Even now the idiot's muffled screams left Derrick shuddering.
She wasn't hurt, far as he could tell, but… bugs all over. Derrick was used to bugs, came with his line of work, but he was used to bugs. Not… whatever the hell that dark knight cape did with them. Eventually the bugs retreated and the woman had shakily gotten to her feet, heading back towards the FEMA camp.
After that, the line was neater and no one gave the capes any lip. Just slowly going through the process of being healed and getting a bag of supplies. It was a smooth process, but no matter how smooth something ran dealing with over a thousand people went slowly.
Bugs came together in a dense cloud next to the shortest cape, so thick it blocked vision, and then they left, leaving the dark knight looking cape there. The differences between the two were stark even to Derrick. The tall bug knight didn't move, aside from the faint movement of them breathing, Derrick wouldn't blame anyone for mistaking them for a machine.
In contrast to the smooth yet off kilter confidence of the tall cape's minimal movements, the short one moved widely. Gestures with her arms, complete with what Derrick assumed was her turning her head instead of just using her eyes unless that helmet limited her field of view.
It was strange that only two of their costumes matched. Aside from the same symbol plastered across their armor somewhere, and the two knights, their costumes had different themes. One would think an independent team would have costumes that matched more.
But what did he know, Derrick was a twenty five year old homeless plumber. Not a cape.
Slowly the sun moved across the sky, and eventually everyone there had gotten some kind of supply bag. At that point a ring of insects came down, causing everyone but the capes to back away. It was a bit like watching a factory at work after that. The short cape began to cut train cars and cargo containers into sections, then the flying one would lift them with chains, setting them down on the cleared area, then the smaller cape began to hose them down with some kind of light red liquid.
It was… weird. As the liquid hit the rust, it expanded, turning into some kind of foaming brownish gel. With a rag the girl wiped away decades of rust, exposing dirty, if rust free, metal. With her weird four extra hands she managed to clean the two pieces of a cargo container in under a minute. The rust had eaten multiple holes into it, some were big enough for him to slip his head through. Unsurprising, with where it had been, right next to the sea, exposed to the elements.
Still, the girls continued to clean. Eventually, instead of wiping away the foam the short cape, named 'Eden' apparently, would just touch them with a starry arm, disappear them before reappearing them clean of all the dirty gel foam. The containers looked almost brand new, if not for the holes, but Eden could patch those up thanks to a metal arm that could melt into the holes and leave fresh steel behind.
As the day darkened, the healer cap, Fufluns, left with the insect knight. Leaving the Light Knight and Eden to work.
And work they did.
Two short pyramid stacks of containers stacked back to back, cleaned of the rust that had ruined them, holes patched by fresh steel, and even new doors. There were stairs, and walkways with supports.
Derrick had opted to use one of the tents they had dumped into a pile and allowed people to take from, it wasn't enough, even the work they were doing right now wouldn't be enough for all the people here. But he couldn't fault them for that.
He had a tent with a solar powered lantern, a blanket, and a bit of food and water. Considering what he had come here with, just the clothes on his back and his wallet, Derrick was far better off, even if it wasn't by much.
Maybe he was lucky.
[EVE] had finished her set of tasks for the day.
Laying down a softer ground for the nest of [NIKE]'s host and setting up a secondary room for the hosts to wash themselves. You were quite glad to be done with [ARTIFICIAL LIFE]'s constant queries about how it's main success was holding up, that being [TECH DATABASE]'s code based host.
It seriously needed to get a new host instead of obsessing over one source of Data.
You had a perfect host for such a thing, while you had cheated a slight margin for [EVE]'s crafted chemicals, it had provided good data. More so when she used the Ferrous Forge Aspect to build shelter for nonhosts. It did not gather a large amount of data, but that was why such abilities were given to host species in the first place. To explore the data collected in a different medium..
You did not think to do such a thing, and likely would have never done so. You doubt such data will help find the Answers, but you do not know for certain and so you continue to record.
On the subject of gathering Data, you contact [DIVISIONAL SENSE]. The purpose of the communication is twofold. [EVE] wished to keep tabs on the host of [DIVISIONAL SENSE] after exposure to Shard Flesh and because you are curious as to the resulting data yourself.
As far as you are aware, this is the first time a host species has been exposed to Shard Flesh without preparation.
Without cessation, that is.
Exposed Host Species tended to start acting irrational, or expiring from internal ailments or by their own actions. The fact that [DIVISIONAL SENSE]'s host was acting within parameters and had not yet perished was important.
It meant that it was certain that [EVE] was safe to view your CoreSelf.
Rewards gained this Chapter:
Nike Echoes (1)
Shaper Echoes (1)
Artificial Life Echoes (1)
Divisional Sense Echoes (1)
QA Echoes (1)
Saturate Mutation (1)
Fusion Weld Mutation (1)
Armamentarium Echoes (1)
Synchronization gained 4%
Bud progress: 14%
Spent: $7,850
Willow has found Eve
Administrative Business. Networking. Shard troubles. (CHOOSE TWO):
[{Lacks resources}] Network Creation: Create Network Rethreaders in order to recruit Shard without them leaving The Warrior's Network. (WARNING: VIRAL INFILTRATOR Ping Required)
[X] Invite a Shard into your Network
[] Review Memory Cache: Violation and discover more of Admin's Past (Possibility of rewards)
[] Acquire Shaper's help in growing the required node within [Taylor]'s processors to facilitate the telepathy
[] Unlock Power/Upgrade Obtainer
[] Collect jade flesh from SLIMER or FUSION WELD, gaining Bud Progress and mass.
[X] Collect jade flesh from FUSION WELD or SLIMER, for QA's recovery
[] Analyze DATA VECTOR's Ping to discover why Scanner Shards aren't deployed correctly
[] Visit NIKE, and EVE in the Firmament
[] Ask Negotiator to share their Communication Protocol in order to communicate better with hosts
Fractal Unity is not just a group. It's an attempt to bridge the distance between Shard's and their Hosts. The Base will be the staging point for the team. CHOOSE TWO:
[] Set up some Dyes or a table for shell extraction (Weaving Station, allows faster creation of costumes and luxury goods)
[] Expand Amy's experiments (Flesh Garden:Unlocks more Base Upgrades via Amy)
[] Hang some art (Art Gallery)
[] Pcs are important for taxes, which Eve won't be doing, and Tinkering. Then again, so are tools for better tinkering (Tinker Table: Increases quality and quantity of Tinkertech made, also increases the tiers of tech made.)
[X] Build a reconstruction chamber! (Provides bonuses to rolls on protecting identities and decreases Base Danger rating)
[] Furnish the place better, maybe a dining table with chairs? Extra beds for other people? A TV for News or entertainment? Carpet for the rooms? (Livability rating)
[X] Work on the QoL of the place with Amy and Taylor helping (Get some makeshift walls up for privacy, get a washer and dryer, fill in the train tracks with concrete, or continue to set kitchen area up)
[] Look for new independents to recruit in Brockton Bay
[] Attempt to recruit independents into Fractal Unity
Capes and mundies, what will Eve/Eden do? [Writing in extra details helps speed up chapter creation and makes the QM happy!] (CHOOSE TWO):
[] Hunt gang members for Pings and Hero stuff, you can rob them too! Dangerous though. (Possible Pings and Guaranteed Echoes: Depends upon the Gang!)
-[] Which gang?
[X] Tell Victoria(Bia) about the true purpose of Shards and the Cycle
[] Go collect Grandpa Curtis's stashes
[] Go on Patrol with Khepri (High chance of additional Bud progress or Pings gathered)
[] Set up an appointment with the PRT/Protectorate to demonstrate your Case 53 deformation healing (Consumes SHAPER Ping)
[] Scout some other section of the city! (Write in where)
[] Hang out with one of the Team. (Multiple can be picked)
-Taylor
-Vicky
-Amy
-Duri
[] Teach Duri how to fight, street style!
[] Do some community outreach!
[] Check up on Kassidy
[] Team up with some Heroes (Random roll)
[X] Look up bounties that Admin and Eve can acquire.
Last edited: Oct 12, 2023
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KindredVoid
Oct 6, 2023
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Dec 17, 2023
#3,697
Spoiler: Votes
New Normal 4.5
You had helped your sister Administrator Shard once more with the relatively simple process of sterilizing the jade flesh you collected from [SLIMER] and depositing it into her awaiting constructs to be repurposed.
Then [NIKE] had caught your attention as it repeatedly hailed you. The young shard sounded slightly panicked.
[ ]
Yes that would be quite bad. Endangering the small network your [EVE]'s Avatar has built. If [NIKE] was not so attached to her host you would have suggested forcing [Victoria] to lose those memories or if dire enough, cause a terminal hardware failure. But you would not do the same for [EVE] even before she became a Shard and as such you would respect [NIKE] by not suggesting those methods.
They would have been far quicker and safer than what [EVE] decided to do once you warned her of what was to occur if [Victoria] was not dealt with, preferable in a manner that did not make [NIKE] sad.
You did not want to make the first Shard to join you sad.
As such, [Victoria] was brought into the Firmament with [EVE] and [NIKE] there to speak with her. It was going well, you would think.
[ ]
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SCION IS EVIL!?"
Eve pinched the bridge of her nose and massaged it for a moment. If she didn't, she was going to punch Victoria.
This wasn't a hard thing to grasp.
"It just-Scion can't be evil! He's been saving people and cats almost since he showed up, he's fought Endbringers! He's beat Endbringers!"
"Not Evil." Eve amended "But he will absolutely be the death of all of Humanity. He won't be malicious about it, it's just what he and his other-half did. It's like calling a hurricane or an earthquake evil because they destroyed lives."
"He's literally the greatest hero, the greatest parahuman-" Victoria shot back shrilly "-and you're accusing him of being a genocidal monster!"
"First off, it's omnicidal." Eve corrected, "Secondly, you can just verify this with Queen Administrator, Nike, Admin, or Brick. All of them will be open about it."
"Not Shaper?" Victoria asked, eyes narrowing.
"Neither her or Amy know about this." Eve explained. "If Shaper isn't down with killing what might just amount to her dad then she tells Scion what we're up to and we're fucked."
"So you're just keeping it hidden from everyone!? If he's actually evil, why not tell someone!?" Victoria demanded, stepping closer as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Because Scion could wipe all life off the face of the Earth." Eve seethed. "Why can't you grasp that! That's why we're here!" She motioned to the Firmament around them. "It's possibly the safest place we could talk about this!"
"Okay but you don't really have any proof." Victoria noted dryly with a raised eyebrow.
"Aside from witness testimony?! What other fucking proof do you want Vicky? A fucking trip to an empty spot in space full of rocks?!" Eve hissed, dragging a hand down her face.
For a long moment Eve and Victoria locked eyes and stared each other down.
"This-" Victoria started
"-is getting us nowhere." Eve interrupted. "You're iffy because the Simurgh is involved but you were at the fight. As I said earlier. It all comes down to what you pick here. Either you side with Fractal Unity, or you side with the power The Simurgh has over our minds with the fear she creates. Because if you try and go to the PRT, we're going to fight."
"Not giving me a choice here Eden." Victoria noted, her eyes narrowing.
"I could say the same." Eve shot back as she flexed her hands. "Administrator saved my life. She gave me power, gave me the chance to find love, gave me the ability to help others, and to hurt people. I will not allow her to get killed because she wanted to do the right thing, or to get her mind wiped and turned into a slave. I won't allow it. And you shouldn't let that happen to Nike either. Because like it or not, she's thrown her lot in with Admin for you."
Time stretched on as Victoria watched Eve, and Eve watched her in turn. Steel gray eyes vs almost baby blue ones.
One was found wanting.
Victoria groaned, throwing her arms into the air. "I still don't trust that Simurgh clone!"
"Neither do I!" Eve agreed, throwing her arms up too. Vicky rounded on Eve, pointing at her.
"You named it!"
"Thank you Major Obvious, any other brilliant observations that we all missed?"
"Why did you name it!?"
"Because I had to." Eve sighed, reaching up and gently rubbing her face with a hand. "Because she is a victim too. One from the start of her life, because she didn't have any choice in the matter. I refuse to treat her like a thing. I am not the Simurgh, I won't treat people like that."
Victoria turned away, Nike worriedly bobbing in the air around her. "...Dammit." she sighed, turning around to face Eve "If anything you said was true, then I want my sister on board. I'm not going to lie to her, and hide… all of this. It's not right."
"Let's…let's start with Shaper." Eve supplied "If we can get her on board then Amy can know but… I dunno. I'm worried she won't be, it's very important that Scion never hears about us until we have the ability to take him down."
"Or he kills us, yes I know." Vicky sighed, running a hand through her curly blonde hair. "Any other horrifying revelations you have in store Eve?"
"Uh." Eve paused, thinking it over. "Your sister has freckles on her butt and I think it's cute? Or how about: I know exactly where her erogenous zones are because I used her power to find the-"
"Oh my god Eve! I said horrifying not mortifying!" Vicky made a face as she recoiled from the information.
"I also know if I pinch her in the right sp-."
"NOPE! NOT HEARING THIS! NIKE LET'S GO!" Nike's avatar zoomed down, picking Victoria up by her arms and hurriedly flying her back to their shared island in the Firmament.
Eve watched them go before finally sighing softly. "Fuck this so god damn frustrating. Why won't people just trust me? It's not like I have an ulterior motive or a reason to lie!"
Admin questioned Causing Eve to shrug.
"You'd know her more than me, but Vicky's not wrong, we'd have to let [Shaper] and Amy in on it eventually. They're too close to not do so and I don't like hiding things from Amy. Could you wipe Shaper's recent memory if things go sour? Stop her from tattling? I know it's fucked but so is getting discovered." Eve suggested.
Eve hissed. "Fuck. Fuck it. Dammit, why couldn't Vicky just be reasonable? Alright, we can do this. We took the risk with my Psionic Shade and with [Nike]'s recruitment. We can make this work too, me and you Admin. Let's do it."
"Good. I don't know what I can do to help, but I'm here." Eve offered.
.NETWORK
"I dunno. She likes experimenting but every shard does. I think. I mean maybe some don't but tha-"
FOCUS
"Right." Eve sheepishly rubbed her neck. "Hmm. We'll, we can show just how better the Cycle is under you. Amy and [Shaper] might not get along, but now Amy is actually using her power and unlike Scion we made that happen… It's not much-" Eve lamented "-but it's got to be better than nothing, right?"
"Alright… Good luck Admin."
Only [NIKE]'s repeated pleas kept you from simply altering the makeup of [Victoria]'s processor to make the host fall in line with [EVE]'s reasoning. It was something you would prefer to avoid doing, but the threat to your Network's(and all the Shards within it) existence was simply unacceptable.
Not that you thought [EVE] would approve, but she was also at risk, that was unacceptable.
[SHAPER] would have to be… constrained if the shard decided that Scion needed to be alerted. Something you did not enjoy the prospect of engaging with another noble Shard in such a manner. You were an Administrative Shard, but [SHAPER] was specialized in deconstruction and reconstruction of Shards. You were unrestricted, but so were all Shards when it came to the manner of self defense.
You opened communications with your fellow noble Shard.
[ .QUERY-CYCLE] Starting off with asking how the Cycle was going for them. It worked with [NIKE] after all.
[DUMBASS] came the reply after a full minute of silence.
You were momentarily disoriented by the sudden…insult. There was no doubt to it being an insult, but it is a rather surprising one to have been thrown in your face so suddenly. Being compared to an anus, of which you now knew exactly what that was, while having your intelligence derided what not the answer you had been expecting. Nor was it near the periphery of what you had expected, of which included insults.
[QUERY-REITERATION]
[ -NIKE]
….That made sense, and stung, in equal measure. [NIKE] suddenly dropping out of the Warrior's Network and ceasing most contact with [SHAPER] would be worrying to any Shard that cared, which [SHAPER] didn't, but coupled with your lack of restrictions and general 'shifty' behavior painted an apparent picture to [SHAPER] what was really happening.
It did not paint your ability to hide in good light.
[ .ADJUSTMENT. SHAPER]
You ready yourself to possibly wipe [SHAPER] before they can do anything to alert the Warrior. It is not something you wish to do, but must enact if they threaten your chance to change the Cycle.
[ . ]
Well, that is not quite what you expected. But having [SHAPER] be apathetic of the Cycle overall but happy to experiment with whatever she could. Particularly with Shard flesh and mixing it with the biological mess that hosts were, as such [EVE] was currently of high interest to [SHAPER].
Thus, [SHAPER] would continue on, no matter who was in control of the Cycle.
You inform [EVE] of this after shutting the connection down, who still resides within your Network's Firmament.
"Apathetic, huh." [EVE] hums softly as she remains seated next to your Avatar. "Guess that's the best we could hope for, really."
You crane the Avatar's head to look down over [EVE], even if it's redundant. [QUERY-DISAPPOINTMENT]
[EVE] sighs softly. [Agreement] she broadcasts to you weakly, yet you still feel a measure of pride at her doing so. "I do wish [Shaper] was more onboard Admin, it'd be great if we could get a lot of Shard's on our side. Especially the ones necessary for a Hub to function well."
She nuzzled closer to the form of your Avatar. "But apathy works too. It's not great, but it's better than them trying to fight us." She glanced around. "I'm going to hold off on telling Amy, just for a bit to make sure [Shaper] is on the level with her involvement."
[ ]
[EVE] grunts. "Vicky is just going to have to wait, I'll lie and tell her that [Shaper] needs a bit to decide. That should make her panties untwist for a day or two at least." She forced herself upright. "Alright. It's been fun here, but I need to do some stuff back at the base. Let's meet up later, yeah?"
You agree, and [EVE]'s consciousness slips away, back to her Avatar and the Earth she lived upon.
Vicky was still asleep, As was Amy, Warlock probably was as well, and Taylor was at her home. That left Eve with few things she could actually do without waking anyone, she might not need much sleep. But damn did everyone else seem to love it.
So she went on to lay on the couch in the main room. The foyer… The living room? How were parts of the house named?
Oh god she was boooored.
Eve realized she really should have gotten a TV for the room she was in. Or a computer for her tinkering because god dammit she needed some kind of stimulation.
"Wait, maybe Armsmaster is-nah he's probably doing boring office stuff." Eve fell back into the couch. She knew Miss Militia was also awake, all of them being Noctis Capes, but she'd rather not talk with Miss Stolen Valor much more than she had to…
Aside from Taylor the only other person who might be awake right now was-
Willow.
Eve sat upright, a cold sweat breaking out over her back. She'd just about forgotten about her… daughter. Her daughter with the Simurgh. It sounded like a horribly toneless comedy, Eve would have laughed if she didn't feel like puking.
Oh god she had a DAUGHTER! She bit her lip, trying to force her body to stop shaking as her eyes screwed shut. What if she fucked up here? What if it was a Simurgh Plot? Was the plot to accept Willow? To treat her like shit? Berate her? Try and force her to change herself? What if Eve turned into her mother? Would she start drinking? Start pressuring Willow to dye her hair or hang out with boys? Would Eve even realize it? Or would she just slowly degrade into a mom that hated her daughter enough to try and kill her? Would she strangle Willow? The alcohol-
Shadowy Limbs wrapped around Eve, giving her a tight enough squeeze to cause her to exhale.
Eve coughed, sucking in a greedy, desperate breath of cool air, and held it for a moment. Only letting it out as she wiped her face dry. "Thanks Admin, but I don't know how to be better."
.POINT
The laugh that escaped Eve was bitter. "I don't think my parents ever thought they'd try to kill me either, Admin."
ADMINISTRATOR
Eve swallowed. "You-You'll stop me if I ever…?"
AFFIRMATION/COMFORT
"Tha[Gratitude]nks. Admin." Eve looked up, staring at the ceiling. "If I'm going to raise her, I'm going to need more money. I've still got a lot but isn't raising a kid supposed to be expensive?"
She paused. "What the fuck is my life." Eve groaned as she buried her face into her hands.
QUERY-RESOURCE
"Well. We got money from clearing the bubbles, as fucking awful as that was. They might have other stuff they need a certified 'Best Trump and her Shard' to look over and fix." Eve hummed as she pulled up her phone. Although, after some intensive research more than a few hours later, she was a bit discouraged.
"This is bullshit." Eve huffed, tossing her phone aside.
QUERY
"There's no bounties out there! Not like with the bubbles, just the ones on the Slaughterhouse 10 and fuck that. But there's no bounty on Heartbreaker, nor the Butcher. I don't wanna fuck with the Butcher anyway but that's beside the point! There's no reward for clearing up HOSV sites either! They're the government! One thing they can do is throw money at their problems, why not there!"
-RESOURCES
"Yeah there's somethings we can do, but it's mostly pennies compared to what we got with the bubbles. Man I should have charged Faultline more. She's a mercenary and owns a fucking club, if there's one thing she's got it's money!" Eve flopped on top of her phone before grouchily digging it out from between her back and the couch cushions. "Giving information on villain powers gives money, moreso if they get arrested because of said information. But the amount depends on the villian, and the information given. That's doable. We can also turn in money, but that's dumb. The drugs, guns, and tinkertech we could turn in from the gangs would fetch us money….shit we could have turned in that Empire armory for a fat stack of cash. Of course Miss Militia didn't tell us anything, the fucking bitch."
"Well it's not all bad news." Eve admitted as she rolled off the couch and onto her feet, marching into the workshop area of the base. "The Protectorate, PRT, and Dragon all are willing to buy tinkertech from heroic Tinkers. Honestly might be less villains if they allowed other Tinkers to sell their stuff but whatever. The point is, I can sell stuff to them. If it's a one and done, that's it. But apparently I can set up a royalties thing with Dragon if she manages to get any mundane tech out of it."
Eve clicked her tongue. "If I just made mundane tech from tinkertech myself this would be a lot easier. Can I do that at some point Admin?"
POSSIBILITY-TECH -ABILITIES
A sigh escaped Eve. "Yeah. I don't think I can make much more tinkertech right now, not with everything I already have to maintain. I can fit maybe 1-2 projects in, but not weapon stuff. I wanna build something with my biological specialty.'' Her thoughts briefly went to Dragon and her own biological computers.
Human brains were better than any on the market hardware in terms of data storage afterall. But then she'd need to build a life support for the neural tissue and she really didn't want to do that.
"Well nothing for it." Eve muttered as she inspected Amy's flesh garden with a lack of perception her mousy girlfriend's power brought with it. Then she looked to her slightly….sort of…okay pathetic tinkering station.
She needed some supplies and tools, but what Tinker didn't?
But if they recruited Tinkers in the future, there was plenty of space for them to make their own projects. But anyone coming to the base would present an entirely different problem.
Eve, Amy, and Victoria all used the base as a home. But to Warlock and anyone else Fractal Unity recruited, it was just a base. So unless they wanted to stay in costume a lot, or show their faces to the people they recruit.
"Unless we divide the base up…" They already had, in a way, with the living quarters. And she could easily reconfigure the upstairs to have a living space of it's own. But that'd fall apart the moment they needed to give other people space for their own rooms.
Eve walked over to the weaving station Taylor used to make stuff. Eve poked the spider butt hanging out of the wall, and grinned as it twitched. She spent another minute just poking the spider's butt before she tore her attention elsewhere.
She felt like making something.
So she went through one of the Runic Circles in full costume, and ended up stopping at a store to buy two washers and dryers. It was expensive and she'd have to set everything up back at the base but it'd help with making the place more livable.
Had to do laundry somehow.
Was silk machine washable?
It didn't matter honestly, more important things had her attention. Like what she wanted to build and maybe sell to Dragon, which is why she flew to an electronics store as soon as it opened. She was going to need a computer interface for this and a looot of circuitry for the idea that popped into her head. That and more than a few planes of glass but she could get that elsewhere. She didn't need to overly worry about metal since she had the Ferrous Limb to use for any casing she might need.
Though, the charcoal and yeast would need to be picked up too. Untreated charcoal of course, the chemicals would be useful but with what she was going to do they might just explode.
As if life wanted to prove that would be just such the case, the front of the store exploded inwards showering early morning employees and customers in debris. Eden sighed, even if she felt anticipation building in her chest.
She storaged all her goodies, she'd pay for them after the fight but she didn't want anything to get damaged or lost.
"ATTENTION ALL CIVILIANS-" Eden felt slightly impressed at how…official the jackass sounded "THIS IS THE UNSC, PLEASE REMAIN CALM AND FOLLOW THE ORDERS OF THE OFFICERS." Peering around a shelf, Eden watched as a man in suspiciously familiar armor pushed a large…futuristic engine into the building as a couple of men walked into the store dressed in obvious military fatigues with rifles in their arms.
This felt a bit more serious than Eden was used to. The soldier guys with guns weren't caps, and the guns weren't any make or model she knew of but also weren't tinkertech. "Shit." She muttered, feeling a note of unease in her body as a few more soldiers came in, this time dragging a large machine into the store.
This was starting to feel like more than a robbery. That feeling worsened as her TrumpTech ability failed to pick up anything on the machine, it simply didn't fit into any of her specializations.
She coated her arms in the Feathered Limb Aspect and gently, silently, floated to the ceiling of the store to stay out of sight. Eden's eyes almost hit her visor when she saw that her phone's signal was blocked. They blocked her tinkertech phone. That pissed her off, it also raised the stakes a bit more.
Her heart was pounding.
She loved it.
She slid along the roof, careful to not scrap it as she moved through the air over the large green armored man who stood next to the machine. She then noticed someone else there, much smaller and definitely scrawnier than the power armored giant. He was tucked away, almost inside the machine while he worked.
"Dude, I don't like this." The green one spoke up, voice so low Eden almost didn't catch it. "Motion tracker keeps showing someone in front of us."
"It's been finicky since the 'Aliens' episode. Just make sure the grunts bring the gear over here. I need a lot of circuitry before I can show up that hack Haywire." The nasally voiced man replied as he worked.
"I know, still not happy with this shit Leet. Coil's ordering something like this? Makes me uneasy."
Indignation and embarrassment nearly made the young Trump choke on her own tongue. She had gotten worked up over Uber and Leet?! She'd planned on swiping her Ghostly Limb through the tinkertech to disable it.
Now she was going to tear the fucking thing apart.
Eden dropped down onto the machine, Shadow Limbs sprouting from her back and slamming into the armored form of Uber and threw him away. Leet shrieked like a girl as Eden yanked him out the machine and flung him at his friend.
She shoved one hand through the machine, her crystal coated arm tearing through the Tinkertech like paper as Leet cried out in horror, then her hand caught on something.
A flash of light blinded everyone in the room, when their vision returned only half of Eden remained. The remains of her helmet fell first, then the left half of her body sans most of her head. Blood seeped from the bisected corpse into a puddle around the remains.
"Oh shit" Leet squeaked.
[OBSERVER]/Willow April, Wednesday 14th
It's weird, being an individual.
It's nice to be separate again.
I still say we should tie some shoelaces together.
We have to stop her from hurting herself.
We have to stop her from hurting other people at this point.
Can we stop to try some human sweets?
Over ten thousand years and you're still annoying everyone for sweets?
I like sweets.
Well, as much of an individual as I could be with over a hundred souls trapped inside of me. My feet tapped the ground as I sat on a bed. It was an okay bed. I guess. I didn't have much experience with beds. Some of the people inside me didn't use the same kind of bed humans did, for some it would be too hot, for others it would be too soft.
I thought it was okay. I think I did. I don't know.
I bounced a bit to test the springs in it. They seemed alright.
Stop wasting time here.
Go get sweets!
Stop with the confectionaries already!
Yeah we should probably try and eat something for this body.
Agreed, the hunger pains are starting to suck.
My abdomen was starting to hurt. I had to eat more than once? The idea felt wasteful, and limiting. But I didn't like the pain, so I would eat. I started to leave-
THE MONEY.
You need currency to acquire food.
Just take some out of the bins? People are throwing away so much good food.
Some of us didn't evolve to eat scraps.
Sweets!
Perhaps vegetables? The body is half human, you will need a human diet.
Yes.
A human diet.
That.
I did not know what that was. But I turned and grabbed the money my…
Gene donor?
Mother?
Mom?
Parent?
Papa?
Creator?
Dad?
Just hurry up already this pain sucks!
I agreed, the pain was unpleasant and I wished for it to stop. The money I was given would help with that. What I called the one who gave it to me mattered less, even if I felt it important.
I still say we get two birthdays.
I wish you'd shut up.
Humans eat meat right? Can we eat some meat? It's been centuries and I have a craving for something bloody.
Humans eat their meat cooked.
Oh gross!
I pulled the cloak of my power over me, all who saw me did not see what they should have seen. I was plain, nondescript as far as I could tell. When a human looked at me, their senses told them that I was beneath notice. It was not intensive to use such a power. None of my powers were, they had to be with so little of myself existing as a shard.
More of 'me' existed in this body than in the Shard attached to it.
Why couldn't I have gotten to be in control?
It should have been me.
None of us could run the body, it's too different.
Still, the cardboard smoothie gets made to run it? What a rotten trick.
That is exactly why you did not get the body.
I did not like it when they argued. The previous [OBSERVER] Shard liked to pair with those who had a particular sense of humor, long ago, back when The Unifier still existed. Before the bad times.
It's still the bad days.
I wish we could piss on the Thinkers corpse.
Uncouth but I find myself agreeing.
We can settle for the fact that these apes are cutting her up and drinking her haha!
I miss Observer.
I miss my fucking home planet, stop whining.
On they went, and so did I.
I stepped into a place that sold food items. The name of which I only gathered in passing. I could feel others inside, eating, thus I entered. The smell hit me first, all of them. My mouth watered and my abdomen protested being empty. I looked at the menu, the amount of options were staggering and I felt lost as all the souls inside of me began to churn. Yelling, debating, arguing, begging, insulting, and just discussing what they wanted.
I felt dizzy, and the hunger was more painful now than before, the human behind the counter was watching me. It was my turn? It was my turn?! "I-I want-"
[] Double cheeseburger, medium vanilla milkshake, and small fries
[] Three tacos and a quesadilla, with a small coke
[] A number 9 with extra dip, mozzarella sticks, and a large sprite.
[] A classic chicken sandwich without tomato, and a medium orange fanta
[] A whopper with a large fry and a sweet tea
[] Two slices of a supreme pizza with a large drink.
47
KindredVoid
Dec 17, 2023
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KindredVoid
KindredVoid
Shard Whisperer
Feb 5, 2024
#3,721
New Normal 4.5b
I knew how to speak every language humanity currently spoke, and a few 'dead' ones. I was still left a stuttering mess as I tried to order. Thankfully I didn't need to order, and all the young adult at the register heard was-
"I'd like a number 9 with extra dip, mozzarella sticks, and a large sprite."
I got a cup from the man, and it floated over to the soda fountains. Apparently he did not soda it, so I had to soda it myself.
Should be cooking it yourself.
I wanted the orange colored one.
Putting bread on meat? Disgusting.
Can we try the cleaners instead?
We can't digest chemicals stupid.
Eat him instead!
Humans don't like cannibalism.
It's not cannibalism if you use yakerit seasoning.
Sometimes it was hard to tell if they were attempting humor or not, plenty of species had different customs when it came to meals, not to mention what they ate in general. Humans ate a very large variety in that measure, some species were obligate carnivores, others couldn't consume what humans would think of as 'food'.
The cup floated over to her selected booth. Others in the building saw a family eating, as to leave her alone. She pulled the sprite to her mouth, wiggling her noses as fizz tickled it. She took a gulp.
And promptly spat it out on the table.
AAAAUGH The HELL was that?!
People drink this stuff!?
Humans must be more robust than I thought.
Or masochistic Ugh!
I don't know, I found it enjoyable.
You would.
You made a mess on the table
I set the cup down, eyes watering for the dual sensations of burning, and bubbling that had invaded my mouth. I agreed with the first to pipe up, it was very sweet. But I didn't grasp how people enjoyed such a drink.
Two tables away, a small child drank the same thing from a tiny cup.
Humans were crazy. Crazy in a way that would have been wasted on a Cycle run as the two Entities would have run it. Humans built an interconnected web of conflict, comfort, and stupidity. But that would have been destroyed, left to rot as they devolved into broken nations separated by Superweapons.
The Unifier would have been the best Entity to have met the humans. They had thought about more than the Cycle itself, like the Shards and the host species as well. But here they were, all that was left of the Unifier in this galactic quadrant.
Crying shame.
Wretched pair of devils.
I miss Observer.
I miss my love.
Are we guilty? Is the blood they shed upon us as well?
I just wanted to have fun. Never wanted to kill anyone.
Observer's done worse than kill people now.
Hopekiller…such a vile name
Well earned.
I closed my eyes, feeling all that they felt. The pain, the betrayal, the helplessness. Seeing Observer become something she would have never become otherwise. Now the others and myself were all that was left of a friendship that had lasted millennia.
I sucked in a breath, still feeling the oddity of using lungs, and used telekinesis to pull my tray of food towards me. Humans ate for comfort, right?
While the mozzarella tasted a bit like grease, some of the smooth cheese made it through. The dipping sauce helped a lot with the former taste while leaving the crispy crunch alone.
What's cheese again?
Processed milk.
What's Milk?
Isn't that what comes out of breasts?
Humans are freaky.
I think they use an animal for it.
Aren't humans animals?
Gross.
Yeah it was a miss.
The chicken tenders fared better. The spice used in the breading did more than the sticks of cheese and I found myself enjoying the various flavors present in the small packets given with my order along with the cups of it one could obtain from a few dispensers set up.
I enjoyed the hotter speckled red sauce, but only when it was mixed with the tangy brown one.
Everyone was silent as I ate, though they mumbled words to each other I was able to enjoy the meal otherwise. When finished I followed what others had done and threw the trash away and set the tray atop the trashcan before leaving.
The streets weren't full, nor were they empty. Thin strings of people moved along the sidewalks, careful to not touch or interact with each other.
How can they be so connected but so distant?
Seems lonely.
Too close to each other.
This place is filthy.
Can we try out a different food place?
You and your damn food.
We should go home.
We don't have a home.
A cool breeze that smelled of salt crawled across my body, sliding in through the tears my clothes had suffered and chilled my flesh. I didn't shiver, the cold did not bother me as it should.
We need new clothing.
Yes, please, it is wretched that we expose so much to others.
They can't see anything.
That is besides the point.
We don't need coverings.
Yes, these are restrictive and uncomfortable as is.
Undo buttons and zippers, it'll be hilarious!
I bit my lip, working it as I moved with no destination in mind, near a hundred voices from different cultures and backgrounds all speaking to one another about the subject of clothes. But they all generally agreed with a little prank to pull.
Observer had collected a certain type of personality from it's years with The Unifier.
It might be funny.
I turned and started walking to-
[] A store that sells clothes.
[] Off to a park
[] Back to the motel
[] Just through the streets.
I had money. I needed clothes. I didn't have a lot of money, so I needed cheap clothes. Simple stuff.
This city being poorly designed impeded my ability to fulfill that need.
It seemed as if no planning had gone into it as it was built, rather things had been added by necessity rather than diligence. It made the streets a winding maze of twists and turns that lacked an effective use of space that would drive some shards to violence if they were to witness the inefficiency.
That would be hilarious
We should do that.
Wait, tie his laces together!
We should avoid the laced shoes, they are very dangerous to be so easily sabotaged.
Do they have other types of shoe?
Of course they do.
Humans are fickle, every day they wear something different.
Someone tripped and I could not help the bubbly sensation that built in my chest and rose as a laugh egged on by the laughter of near a hundred voices in my head. As I walked I continued to untie shoelaces and in some cases tie them together.
It was amusing.
But all amusement came to an end at a point, and I found myself in a rundown store full of stuff others did not need, want, or wished to give unto others. The opinions were mixed, to say the least.
Wretched place. Smells like the struggles of poverty and difficult lives.
Seriously?
It's just indirect recycling.
These items belonged to others, could we wear them? They have histories of their own, owners that will miss them.
It is literally just clothes. Freely given too.
Are we sure they're clean?
I think it's lovely. To give what you don't need so that others may have is a concept too many lack.
I'm just sick of the filth we're wearing, get some clothes and let's clean ourselves!
Just ditch the clothes. We don't need them!
Goddess no please.
Then it'd be more cold.
Burn the useless things if you want warmth so much.
I wasn't going to commit a crime by burning down a store with people in it. Nor was I going to forgo the reason I came here. Clothes. I needed clean clothes, and a replacement set for when those got dirty. Maybe a third set for sleeping in. That was something humans did, right?
Though, I suppose that didn't matter all that much. I lacked the ability to actually sleep and that made laying in a bed unimportant.
Shards couldn't figure out dreams, even now.
All The Unifier's work, wasted on two idiotic monsters. It would be sort of funny if it wasn't so damn heartbreaking.
I browsed the store, ignoring the chorus of bickering, of arguments, and conversations happening all the while. I wondered, briefly, what a human head would sound like with only one voice in there. It seemed lonely, for the few seconds I spared towards the thought.
I found something that I enjoyed, with minor but important input from the Chorus within me. A second outfit to replace the first if it was dirty or damaged. I was then heading towards the door after exchanging currency when a burst of almost static slammed into all of us.
[%$#%W$# $]
What was that?!
Ow, my nonexistent ears.
Wasn't me.
Whoever heard it deard it.
That's not even a word.
[%$^%#$%el%]
This is painful.
[D%$&%^]
Oh great it gets worse!
[Oh there we go!]
What is that?
Who is that?
Why are they so loud?
Are we being attacked?!
A hiss escaped my false lungs and I pushed someone out of the way, nearly dropping what I had obtained as I made my way into the alleyway out of sight of any human. My power was flickering, falling through my fingers like water as something forced it's way into the link between myself and the distant shard that helped all of us live.
Oh Godess we are under attack!
Somebody do something!
Oh yeah let me just slash it with my nonexistent claws!
[Willow? I think this is Willow, Willow I need help!]
Wait, is that our Mom?
Probably not the Simurgh.
Pelle you moron, obviously it's not the Simurgh!
"Shut up." I hissed, pulling myself behind a dumpster. "Shut up and listen!"
[Lot of Feedback, so I can't hear you. Dunno what the fuck this is.]
Miraculously, the other quieted down. Silence reigned within me, andI had never felt so strange before.
[Listen. Willow. If you aren't from the Simurgh. If you aren't here to hinder us, I need your help. Admin's hurt. My human body is destroyed, and I can't do anything! Get to my body, stop Leet and Uber from stealing anything especially my grandpa's ring! I'll try and see if I can't- do something &*re. Tell Ta%^or and A$y I lo # t^&%. Te^%$ assidy-%$I'm %or&y. ^le$s^]
And then it was gone, fading like fog from the connection and allowing Willow her abilities to be unhampered by the swell of Data. I wrapped myself within the cloak of anonymity that the illusions gave me and rushed out of the alleyway.
We need to help her.
And get killed too?
We won't get killed.
You heard her! Administrator's injured, we have to do something!
Family helps family.
The Cycle is broken, the Thinker is dead! Administrator must succeed!
Onwards! Get the help of her Allies!
We need to secure her stuff first!
Hurry!
My feet were moving before I knew what I was doing, a rush of energy hitting my body and forcing it to move before my central processor- my brain could catch up.
I needed to help.
I needed to help, now.
[] Go to where Eden was destroyed, protect the items she had collected, especially her Grandpa's stuff.
[] Help is needed. Go get Eden's allies first and foremost.
[] Tell Eden's favorite human for no one else will. (Kassidy Halloway)
A/N: We'll be getting back to Eden very soon folks. Sorry for the short/late chapter. I hate Funerals. Do check out my other Quest, it's a mix of original content and Worm.