I Didn't Do It, They Killed Themselves! (Worm AU Endbringer SI)

by Throwaway1971

All credit goes to the OG author Vert Heart on QQ

6. Interlude 3: The Third War Review

AN: If you read the NYC War from the index chapter, the PHO post is the same. The only new parts are the interlude at the beginning and the comments at the end. Sorry for the confusion.

Interlude 3: The Third War Review.

---

Center of NYC, North America. July 1st, 2005. 3rd Day of the War. 4:28 PM. Captain America:

I'm always ready to fight for my country, but never like this.

The point of the Wards has always been to help kids learn their powers and use them in a safe environment while learning heroic morals.

NOT to be used as child FOOT SOLDIERS.

While I'm rarely one to curse, Tagg is possibly one of the biggest pieces of shit I have ever seen. There are the PRT directors who do their job to try and integrate the parahumans together with the general populace. Then, there are the ones that work like him..

The type of director that sees parahumans as a resource. The new brand of tank or battleship in this age. The latest assault rifle for their war on crime. Disregarding the fact that we are of course ALIVE. I've dealt with PRT directors like that in the past but involving the Wards in a situation where mass murderers have been seen at the very least?

I felt like ending him then and there at his audacity to involve children in a war if I didn't wish to be a better man. We should always try our best to never commit harm to anyone else but my father raised me to fight for what I believe. I've already had two arguments with the man before I left for my daily patrols but I gave him an ultimatum this time around.

Either get these kids off the front lines and in safe places or I will disregard all orders and take everyone I can with me. We can't forsake our morals in the pursuit of justice.

I hope he changes his mind by the time I get back to base because I am not changing mine. A bottom line has to be made. If I have to put down all these villains by myself then that is going to happen.

While I don't fight as much as most of the other Houston Protectorate, I still know how to get down in the trenches. Just because I spend most of my day handling PR, people assume I can't still put the law down on some criminal's heads. I just handle the paperwork because it helps more people that way.

Being second in command of Eidolon isn't that bad of a job. Despite what everyone seems to think, he's not that bad of a person. Sure, he's over-confident and arrogant but anyone with that much power could become like that over time. He still spends most of his life defending people from harm, which earns my respect.

I was always told from the PR department that I was a better face for speaking with people. Strong, patriotic looking, good values, agreeable yet stern, and easy on the eyes. I gave the Houston department a sense of integrity while Eidolon was the hammer that kept criminals cowered according to them. If I could speak to the media more to allow Eidolon to do his work, I have no complaints. Anything to save more people.

That's why I rushed to the scene. I barely made it in time yesterday to stop Juggernaut from destroying multiple lives and I'll be damned if there is a single death on my watch. I arrived to see the Juggernaut hovering over my fellow Protectorate member's body and ready to go for the kill. Not on my watch.

I sling my shield at full force in the way of his fist with it flying perfectly in his path. It took years of work to get my aim this precise even if my reflexes and dexterity were boosted by my powers. His hands lose all momentum when coming into contact with my shield and I quickly summon it back to my side while he is bewildered. When he goes for a second strike, I'm there to intercept and get him away from my downed comrade.

She backs away and I stand tall to keep this man down. As she gets away from the immediate melee, I continue my advantage and distract him.

Of all the things to be thankful to Osiris for, at least she picked trustworthy heroes so we could have each other's back. I've known one for the longest time since she is Legend's second while I'm Eidolon's second. The woman I just saved has been known to me since her Ward days and I've never had a complaint. While I haven't known the heroic independent for long, I can tell the kid has heart and that's all I need to know.

I dodge a grapple he tries to put on me and respond by releasing some of the stored energy while bashing him over the head with my shield. He flinches back while attacking in response to my strike but I'm already in position to block this attack as well.

He has far more strength than me, but his reflexes just aren't at the same level. As long as I avoid his grapple I should be good. Ten more seconds spent up close without any good progress but he takes a step back to pummel the ground and mess up my footing.

Of course, I can see him prepping the move before he is even halfway done and respond by dropping my shield and sliding it where he hits. Even more kinetic energy stored for future hits.

I summon it back to my hand and watch for his next move. He doesn't really have any other options so he moves back in for the grapple again. He has plenty of pure strength but it doesn't really help when he can't leverage it for results.

As we continue this game of cat and mouse, I contemplate just how a person could justify this kind of massacre.

Horrible parents? I assume plenty of villains have them, but that should help them understand and try to reduce others' pain. Why people would want to cause others to experience trauma after experiencing it themself is beyond me.

Allies convincing him to go to these extremes? I know he is probably working with the other villains just like how we heroes are working together, but I can never understand how anyone is willing to trust that man.

There's only one other thing I can think of right now in this melee as to why he would cause all this tragedy.

That stupid wish? What is the point of a wish when you earn it by throwing everything away of true value? Your integrity, your honor, your relationships to others. You threw it all away by showing everyone what a monster you truly are in this world.

I've fought Endbringers with Juggernaut at my side before as we were both usually on defense. While I can't say he is a good man, I would never imagine he would fall to these kinds of lows.

I can't let this stand. I'm not a fan of murder, but I believe that some crimes are unforgivable and as I remember the young bodies. No mercy is going to be given. Lord, forgive me for allowing these travesties by not being strong enough.

Another grab is dodged and a low sweep of the legs blocked by my shield yet again. Minor blow after minor blow has been absorbed to stack up and make a difference.

He grabs my arm but another bash by my empowered shield forces him back and takes his retaliatory strike. As he is slightly wobbling, I see my chance.

I got him now!

As I gained the slightest distance and ready my shield to end this monster, I put my all into ending this mistake on God's planet.

I get in the perfect position for the throw to end his life and line everything up.

Amen.

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Topic: Past Grail War Events: The 3rd Holy Grail War

In: Boards ► Endbringers ► Osiris ► Holy Grail Wars

Answer Key (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Jan 30th 2011:

Welcome Back.

So, 2004 went and will still never be forgotten by anyone a decade later but we have more atrocities to cover.

The only bright side being that the war is the only endbringer-created horror show we have to look at for the years of 2005 to 2007 due to All-Might's wish.

Besides the war itself, most of 2005 was just spent on a world-wide recovery effect. You don't commit mass slaughter over a population that size, ever one as war-torn as Africa, and have no long-reaching effects for everyone. No to mention All-For-One took a lot of their better powers while they were alive so they didn't really have any parahuman defenses either.

Everyone started moving into the destroyed land due to Osiris' announcement of the continent never having another endbringer fight, driving the wealthy to try and secure land for themselves earlier. This year, Panacea turned 10 and started 'playing' with her biotinker power in the safety of her home, allowing the Brotherhood to release her products in order to help reclaim the lands. Crops that grew faster and yielded more food, medicines that could cure most problems, high-quality vegetation to encourage the wildlife to return, breed, and help the food chain be restored.

Despite the good she was doing, she still would've likely been killed with the high negative biotinker sentiments covering the world if she left Egypt, her father taking time off his work in order to constantly watch over her despite her safety in Egypt.

I could write multiple thesis on everything 'The Collapse' did to the world and still never cover everything, but that will be work for a different historian's paper. Let us move on to the next war.

Thus it started on June 29th, 2005: The Third Holy Grail War. New York City, USA. The first time an endbringer attacked the same city one of its siblings did.

The beginning was quite standard with all the contestants being moved into the area, several already residents of the city. Some of the highest peaks and lowest valleys of human nature are displayed by the participants. Let's get started.

The Third Holy Grail War. New York City, USA AKA 'AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!' By Osiris AKA 'The War Of Good And Evil' By the general populace.

A.) CONTESTANTS

NOTE: ALL Contestants are given an ability to tell another contestant is a participant if they see them, a derivative of the last war's direction sense after teleporting near them. This will continue in all future wars so I won't repeat this note again.

3 Villain, 4 Heroes

1.)Juggernaut

Original Power:Extreme durability, stamina, and a resistance to being unwillingly moved. Famous in Endbringer fights for tanking multiple hits and remaining in place, saving the lives of those behind him. His stamina includes having no need for sleep, air, food, or water. Once hunted and fought a rival gang for a week straight, literally a week straight. Main weaknesses are a lack of movement speed and physical power, but is a skilled fighter to make up for the second issue. Brute 7

Upgraded Power: Added breaker/striker effect that shatters whatever the Juggernaut's body touches on contact, maximum size of broken objects depends on the force Juggernaut uses to hit it. Must be manually turned off by Juggernaut to not activate, keeping him safe even in his sleep. Is unmovable unless desired otherwise. Increased movement speed, can run up to 80 MPH. Brute/Breaker 12, Mover 4

2.)Miss Militia

Original Power: Protectorate member in LA, California under Alexandria. Was about to be moved to the recently operating New BB City, but the war happened first. Can create any singular mundane weapon at will on her person. Weapons can be modified freely, resulting in such things as infinite ammo. Strongest weapon is a Davy Crockett. Blaster 9

Upgraded Power: Can make infinite copies of mundane weapons, lasts 24 hours(Appro. 1 weapon a second) outside of her hands. Has one tinker tech slot which can reproduce any singular piece of tinker-tech seen with full knowledge on how to operate it. Tinker-tech can be modified as a regular weapon could. Blaster 12, Tinker/Trump 9, Thinker 1

3.)Spider Man

Original Power: Iconic Independent of New York. Member of a cluster trigger. Combat thinker that is part brute, part danger sense, and has an ability to spew webs from his hands. Webs are highly adhesive and difficult to remove but dissolve after 3 hours. Brute 4, Thinker 4, Mover 3-6(Based on terrain), Blaster 4

Upgraded Power: Increases brute strength/reflexes/Danger sense. Increases web stickiness to be nearly impossible to remove without waiting for it to dissolve in 8 hours. Gives webs a power-dampening effect, stronger the more a parahuman is covered until their power is completely nullified. Blaster/Trump 9, Brute 6, Thinker 7, Mover 3-6

4.) Captain America

Original Power: Second-In-Command of Austin, Texas under Eidolon. Handles PR. Beyond peak human performance in every category(Strength, speed, reflexes, flexibility, durability, etc.). Has a shield projection which can absorb all physical impacts and be summoned back to his hands at any time. Brute 5, Mover/Thinker 3(Brute rating gained two points from the shield projection)

Upgraded Power:Increased peak human package. Shield can now absorb all impact that hits it regardless of the esoteric nature, power, or area affected and store it. Can release any percentage of stored impacts as kinetic energy. Brute 8, Blaster 4-12(Thrown shield counts as a blaster rating which depends on stored energy released), Mover/Thinker 5

5.)String Theory(Teleported out of the birdcage for the war, 2nd of 4 from 2003-2010):

Original Power: Tinker favoring macro-scale doomsday devices, created objects had timers built in from the start of creation process, with catastrophic misfires if interrupted. Tinker 8(Tinker 10 in terms of being a threat to the public if left to work unwatched)

Upgraded Power:Removes unneeded maintenance. Added Noctus powers(another staple given to tinkers starting now). Added Specialty in Explosions and Hacking. Increased production speed. Tinker 12(Tinker 15 in terms of being a threat to the public if left to work unwatched)

6.)Jack Slash

Original Power:Leader of the SlaughterHouse 9 who recently went into hiding. Can project a blade's edge to strike distant foes. Unknown until Osiris revealed it, he is also able to predict/manipulate other capes through a power that keeps in constant communication with parahumans. Thinker/Trump 7, Blaster 4

Upgraded Power: Can mark parahumans and constantly know their location. Blade projections are sharper on demand and can cut through objects easier. A recent slash mark can connect to other previous slash marks, opening portals between the two. Only one portal but no cooldown. Thinker/Trump 8, Blaster 6, Mover 8

7.)Stars-And-Stripes

Original Power: Second-In-Command of New York, works hand and hand with Legend. Worked on the same team as All Might when he was still in America before he returned to his homeland. Could set one power-based 'rule' on a person with a striker effect. Ten minute cooldown on setting a rule. Usually used to grant a useful power to a teammate/herself or nullifying a villain's ability until they reach prison. Powers granted are usually capped around an 6 on the threat rating scale. Trump 8

Upgraded Power: Added the ability to use a second Rule. 5 second cooldown on setting a new rule. The average rating caps at 8. Can set rules on others with vision now. Trump 12

B.) BATTLES & EVENTS:

Day 1:

Early Morning:

Citizens rush to endbringer shelters as the morning starts, seeing the red barrier surrounding the town and the sirens blaring.

Jack Slash is seen to be projecting his blade to all the top edges of skyscrapers in his area during his free time while slashing at any groups of people he sees running nearby. He seems half amused at his new abilities and half at being in the game, a childish glee displayed on his face.

The Juggernaut is also near, running towards the constant blade projections he sees flying in the sky. When he arrives near Jack Slash and rushes for the kill, Jack Slash slashes the ground in front of Juggernaut, opening a portal.

Juggernaut falls through the portal and starts dropping from the other end at the top side of a skyscraper. As Juggernaut falls and lands on the ground, the large force of his landing causes his new breaker effect to shatter entire blocks, killing tens of thousands still fleeing apartment buildings.

The large landing explosion attracts mass attention. Protectorate support was gathered to help the civilians with their evacuation in the area but they were quickly demolished.

Adamant was killed on Juggernaut's drop, Cache was cut in two by Jack Slash, and Astrologer is treated to a similar fate as Juggernaut by Jack Slash and dies to gravity. Jack Slash once again uses Juggernaut as a weapon of destruction by opening a portal at his rushing feet from the cover of smoke, shattering more blocks as Juggernaut drops to the ground in the distance.

Jack Slash uses this opportunity to teleport away, making portals from slash to slash. Juggernaut, expecting extreme Protectorate response now, ducks in the wreckage and slips into vacant buildings after everyone living has evacuated.

Further Protectorate response gets there too late, as both villains escape.

Noon:

The first war where a team was quickly gathered. The Protectorate advises all heroes and independents to gather at their headquarters in case of a war, which was done in this case.

Spider Man, Captain America, Miss Militia all met Stars-And-Stripes at the Protectorate Headquarters. The area was practically packed with parahumans, especially since New York City was in the middle of a yearly meeting.

A yearly meeting where they gather all the new wards from around America for a week to get to know each other and socialize. There were a total of 196 Wards hosted at the NYC Protectorate in this week and it was the last time America hosted a large-scale, in-person parahuman meeting.

Protectorate secrets go unspoken as everyone is aware at this point that Osiris loves to share, most discussion being of a more public variety. Stars-And-Stripes presiding over a large assembly as the current acting leader of the NYC Protectorate since Legend couldn't be found. Stars-And-Stripes states that she trusts the integrity of everyone present and doesn't care who gets the kill and makes the wish, but at least Jack Slash needed to be put down. All four heroes agree similarly in a display that hasn't been repeated since this event.

Miss Militia begins making as many weapons as she can, arming most of the PRT, Protectorate, and Wards with her weapons. She spends the rest of the day giving a comprehensive as-possible safety lesson to the Wards. From her memories of her Ward days, she uses her tinker-tech slot to give herself Hero's armor.

Jack Slash continues to move around at high speeds with his teleporting ability, leaving slashes on every possible surface he can manage. He kills stray people for sport as well as Protectorate member Clay before continuously moving through the city.

Juggernaut stays hidden as he can't really move inconspicuously.

String Theory spent the entire day in a large-scale car assembly factory on the edge of the war zone. She hid during the beginning of the day until everyone evacuated then got to work.

Day 2:

Early Morning:

Despite protest from nearly all Protectorate members, PRT NYC temporary Director James Tagg insists that the Wards should be allowed to volunteer to participate much like an Endbringer fight.

James Tagg, who was filling in for the next three months due to the last director's sudden resignation, is known for his heavy-handed tactics in the face of crime and violence.

He argues that parent consent wouldn't be required in this case since the war itself has never been officially declared an S-class threat.

The Wards, children that they are, agree and suddenly Miss Militia's safety lessons are about to get more use than merely self-defense. Wards will travel with Protectorate members in groups of 1 Protectorate member and 20 Wards, the children vastly outnumber the adults due to the yearly event.

Stars-And-Stripes uses her rules to give herself a high brute and mover rating so she can back up anyone who needs it.

Everyone begins to cover ground and patrol.

Mid-Day:

Jack Slash sees one of the patrolling groups of Wards and stalks them while they talk about which of the allied heroes they want to win. Jack Slash takes this information and starts working with it.

He has marked most of the city and found String Theory's tinker lab through his constant movement. It takes Jack Slash awhile but he manages to expertly throw his projected slashes through the traps to make it beside the woman and begins to chat her up after dismissing her attempt at an attack. String Theory threatens to blow the whole building up where Jack Slash responds with wanting to work together.

He tells String Theory about the united Protectorate and heroic contestant front and says that the villains have to join together to have a chance. He says that he will leave for now and locate Juggernaut while he should prepare as many offensive weapons as possible.

String Theory wasn't originally too convinced, but she became more trusting as the conversation continued. It took about 20 minutes of discussion before String Theory was more willing to work alongside him at least for a while. This caused consideration over whether Jack Slash's intuition power also counted as a master power, but either way it seems the continuous conversation helped him get through String Theory's resistance.

He teleports and attracts the patrol heading towards String Theory's base away by killing a few Wards before turning and running. He teleports after distracting the heroes from their original destination, the heroes not thinking anyone would be working with Jack Slash.

Speaking of Juggernaut, he is found by a Ward Echo who announces the man's location. Juggernaut jumped out of the top floor of the apartment complex he was hiding in and landed hard on the ground, shattering blocks for the third time of the war.

This kills Protectorate member Tigress and 16 of the 20 Wards in the group through the shockwave. It appears at this point Juggernaut has thrown away any morals or hesitation since he already knows the united heroes will do anything to end him after the earlier disasters.

Stars-And-Stripes and Spider Man begin to rush to the scene with their mover ratings, Stars-And-Stripes getting there near immediately. She switches out her mover power for a disintegration power and uses her brute strength to lunge at Juggernaut.

Juggernaut hammers onto the ground aiming his breaker power downward instead of transmitting through the flat ground, breaking the street and sending him into the sewers. Stars-And-Stripes sees the damaged and murdered bodies of the Wards and decides to switch to a regenerator-gifting power and a human locating power to try and save as many of them as she could.

Wards Firefly, Highlight, Gemstone, and Shockwave survived this War due to her intervention. Juggernaut runs through the sewer system and gets far away due to the thinker's immunity making him near impossible to track and regular human pursuit being a suicide.

Meanwhile, Jack Slash sees Spider Man rushing and decides to play with him. He throws slashes at Spider Man which is dodged by his danger sense but Jack Slash teleports away before Spider Man can reach him. This continues for a while before Spider Man is suddenly tackled out of the air by Venom, a local villain and cluster mate of Spider Man.

It seems Venom thought this was the perfect time to get a hold of Spider Man as he is distracted. The cluster trigger gave all members a danger-sense but gave them immunity to each other's danger sense, thus allowing Venom to sneak up on him.

Jack Slash is about to take advantage and kill Spider Man before he suddenly shifts and dodges a sniper bullet to the head. It appears Miss Militia is on duty and Jack Slash decides its time to go.

Venom is quickly losing to Spider Man without support so Jack Slash opens a quick portal underneath Venom's feet and he disappears. Jack Slash does the same to himself from cover and the villains get away back to String Theory's lab.

Jack Slash easily convinces Venom to join their cause and he will get him his fight with Spider Man. It seems like the Kiss-Kill relationship allowed Jack Slash to easily manipulate Venom. He leaves again to go scouting, String Theory giving him an earpiece that can untraceably go through all the heroes' comm channels before leaving.

String Theory returns to making a mass of explosives for the next day.

Evening:

Juggernaut has breached another apartment complex and hid out on its top floor, seeing the drop as a great opening move apparently. Ward Trace uses his power to see everything interacted with by a person and the time of the interaction to track Juggernaut, ignoring his thinker immunity by using the environment instead.

The Protectorate all begin to gather outside Juggernaut's complex without alerting him with Stars-And-Stripes, Captain America, and Miss Militia on the scene. The Wards were left out of this but there were 5 other Protectorate on scene.

The Independent Spider Man was left behind on Tagg's advice, saying that they needed to make sure all the hero contenders weren't in the same place at the same time. Some think he singled out Spider Man in order to make sure it was a Protectorate Hero getting the kill.

Right before they move in for the kill, a high-yield explosion is sent from a cut in a nearby wall into their formation. Jack Slash has been listening to their comms and stopped back at String Theory's base for some explosives before attacking the heroes.

Two of the Protectorate members die from the explosion and Juggernaut is alerted. He does his standard ground pound from the top floor but Captain America meets him at the bottom. He blocks Juggernaut's descent with his shield, absorbing all of the damage from the striker effect.

Meanwhile, more explosions are thrown from portals towards Stars-And-Stripes and Miss Militia. Stars-And-Stripe defends herself with brute power while Miss Militia has Hero's Armor to protect her. During this struggle, Jack Slash manages to mark Miss Militia with his power after a few minutes of combat, at least having permanent knowledge of her location for a couple of days with her resistance.

Juggernaut continues to brawl with Captain America, but the captain gains a little distance and throws his shield at Juggernaut. He also releases all the stored energy on impact. Juggernaut goes flying for about a mile through numerous skyscrapers and forms a crater on the ground.

Jack Slash decides he isn't going to get anywhere with mundane explosives no matter how strong the yield and backs out to pick up Juggernaut and return to String Theory's base. Juggernaut appears heavily damaged for the first time in the game but is still whole.

Day 3:

Morning:

The Hero group decides they need a new plan. Jack Slash has been a continuous problem with his relentless teleporting so they decide to take care of him at first notice. Stars-And-Stripes picks a mover power and a brute power but will switch her mover power for a trump power which prevents spatial manipulation in a shaker area when arriving near Jack Slash. She will move to him at first chance to lock him to an area where they can focus on him until he dies.

With all the explosions Jack Slash had yesterday, the heroes conclude that the seventh participant might be a tinker so they send large patrols out again to search for anything that could be a tinker lab. Protectorate members state that they shouldn't send out the wards against these killers but with no Youth Guard authority or local Protectorate leader present the decision falls to the PRT Director. He states the situation absolutely needs more manpower and the Wards are allowed to volunteer for missions if they desire.

Meanwhile, Jack Slash and the group of villains are listening in on the conversation thanks to String Theory's hacking specialty. Knowing that they couldn't keep their current abode, Jack Slash waits until after the heroes do their check on the Endbringer Shelters at 8 AM then teleports near the door of one. An EMP bomb from String Theory knocks off their communication, fakes the connection to any watchers, and then opens the door for Jack Slash.

Jack Slash and Juggernaut begin slaughtering the 60,000 civilians inside the multi-leveled reinforced complex, leaving only the ones that communicate with the Protectorate alive. They are quickly persuaded to tell the Protectorate everything is fine during checkups or else they get one of Jack Slash's famous torture sessions.

Jack Slash opens a portal from String Theory's base to the shelter and they begin to move everything except the traps that will blow up the whole facility. Venom went to find Carnage, the last cluster mate of Spider Man. Venom and Carnage are then picked up by Jack Slash and all the villains are gathered in their new base. String Theory passes everyone some exotic explosions, standard high-yield explosions, and communication-hacking earpieces but moves on to a different project.

Noon:

In a new and safe environment, String Theory starts to create a doomsday device with a 60 hour timer inside of it. The device will be ready to set off on the instant Day 6 begins. It will disassemble everything inside Osiris' barriers on a quark level, a level of subatomic manipulation only Scion has been shown capable of in the past. The exception to that bomb is those whose DNA is registered in the device beforehand will be ignored.

Evening:

The Protectorate hasn't found any leads all day while searching in full force when their main building is attacked. Jack Slash launches a concrete resonance bomb through a portal facing the Protectorate Headquarters, similar in effect to Shatterbird's silicon resonance ability. The entire building collapses, killing most working PRT officers in the structure as well as 63 Wards. The higher-ups of the PRT are still safe as they were in the PRT HQ, a different building.

All four contenders who were searching the city hurry and head back to headquarters, Stars-And-Stripes arriving first. Since Jack Slash knows where everyone is through the comms system, he can play with the separated heroes. Since he knows Miss Militia's exact location with his ability, he starts with her.

Jack Slash drops Juggernaut on Miss Militia whose life is only saved through the armor of Hero. Jack Slash himself drops Venom and Carnage into a building near his exit point stealthy and then goes to attack Spider Man.

When Stars-And-Stripes gets the call that Jack Slash is near Spider Man, she gets ready to teleport over and lock Jack Slash down but Spider Man says otherwise. He tells her to focus on saving anyone dying in the building and that he can handle it. Stars-And-Stripes agrees and focuses on the Protectorate collapse, saving the lives of 38 Wards suffocating under the debris.

James Tagg appears to have told her to go and make sure Jack Slash died, but that order never goes through due to being jammed by String Theory. She watched over all the calls while tinkering his project and would fake calls to confuse the enemies if his temporary teammates needed assistance.

Spider Man uses his danger sense to once again block Jack Slash's attacks. At one point when Spider Man is against a wall, Jack Slash throws a slash to open a portal instead of a damaging one, allowing Venom and Carnage to get right next to Spider Man from the wall behind him.

With Spider Man being aware of Venom helping Jack Slash, his raised instincts were enough to avoid the two and spray them both with his webs, heavily canceling their powers with ease. Carnage's blood constructed weapons disappear and Venom loses speed while they are both heavily trapped to the ground.

Jack Slash sees that this isn't a winning game and teleports away again, infuriating all the heroes at his constant guerrilla warfare. Venom and Carnage were both captured and executed since they couldn't afford for them to escape in the middle of this situation.

Meanwhile, Juggernaut is attacking Miss Militia with her constantly repairing Hero Armor barely holding on from his attacks. Miss Militia tries to attack back with the blasters on the armor but it isn't enough to pierce his durability.

The Melee lasts two minutes when Juggernaut strikes Miss Militia in the head and knocks her to the ground, slightly concussing her. He is about to attack her again and end her as Captain America appears and joins the fray. He takes Juggernaut's next hit that was meant for Miss Militia by throwing his shield in front of the blow then making it appear back in his hands.

Juggernaut stays close to Captain America and tries to get him in a grapple so he can't use the shield release against him again. They continue their back and forth while decisions are happening in the background.

Miss Militia has a far stronger version of the blaster in the suit but it has to charge and it would hit both of them. Over her comms, James Tagg orders her to prepare and fire it regardless of friendly casualties in order to get one of the main killers down. His logic is that while both sides would lose a contestant, there are still over a hundred heroic parahumans so it is a better death statistically for the heroes.

While appearing unwilling, Miss Militia still follows orders.

Juggernaut and Captain America are fighting for the next minute and Miss Militia prepares her forward blast then fires. Several blocks in front of her are completely demolished as everything in the direction starts to break down. As the dust settles, the results are shown.

Captain America is declared deceased and Miss Militia earns a kill, but the Juggernaut is still standing if barely. She goes to fire some more before losing her arm to Jack Slash's blade projection as he arrives to back up Juggernaut. The armor appeared to not have enough energy to protect her from the damage after spending it all on the blast, barely managing to divert it to a non-essential organ.

As Jack Slash hears over the comms that Stars-And-Stripes is coming over, he slashes at Juggernaut's feet then right next to himself to portal over there. After that he gets them both back to base with a second portal generated. The fighting ends as Stars-And-Stripes shows up seconds late.

Late Night:

A Patrol sets off the explosions at String Theory's original base, resulting in 1 Protectorate, Ursa Aurora, and 4 Wards deaths. The entire facility is destroyed, no evidence left behind for the heroes to examine.

Day 4:

Morning:

The morning hero debrief at the PRT HQ now that the Protectorate HQ is destroyed was interrupted by guests. Villain organizations The Sinister Six and The Adepts both show up under Endbringer truce to support the heroes against the villains. The villains argue that even amongst themselves there are levels they wouldn't stoop to in life and the 3 villain contenders have crossed those lines.

James Tagg suggests that Miss Militia uses her ability to make infinite weapons to arm all PRT lieutenants with Davy Crocketts. While Miss Militia appears to nearly give into the order, both Spider Man and Stars-And-Stripes completely dismiss Tagg's order and Stars-And-Stripes declares she is taking over this operation.

Tagg states that the Protectorate can't take over PRT command but Stars-And-Stripes immediately talks about his order from the previous day that killed Captain America at no gain. She says he has caused too much damage and that she will take over and face any consequences after the fact. The PRT officers don't all like it, but see no choice but to follow along with Stars-And-Stripes' leadership.

With how perfectly the Protectorate was routed yesterday, they concluded they were being hacked or bugged in some way by the opposing team's tinker. They decided to not announce any locations over transmissions unless they see a target, most not familiar enough with NYC protocol for code words. They retry patrols from yesterday and keep in decently separated teams with each team trying to have a mover so a mass slaughter like yesterday can't happen.

Evening:

Both sides of the war are quiet but Jack Slash thinks they need another offense so they don't start searching the shelters and discover their doomsday device. He tells Juggernaut to stand above a slash mark in the ground. Juggernaut and String Theory have been listening more and more to Jack Slash with less hesitation in following his orders. While they still have an end-game plan to betray him, it seems that they are more than willing to work with Jack Slash for the time being, whether it be from his power or necessity.

Jack Slash opens a portal on the highest surface possible and here comes Juggernaut, dropping from the sky for the 5th time this war onto Miss Militia who Jack Slash has tracked with his new power. Miss Militia barely notices before he lands and brings her armor's shields up, but the other heroes with her have no such defenses. More blocks are destroyed while 5 more Wards and a good portion of the Adepts are killed as Miss Militia is knocked into a far away wall.

Jack Slash stole the hero team's idea and asked String Theory to make a bomb to temporarily lock down outside spatial manipulation from coming into an area a while ago. He does so and Jack Slash releases the bomb, making Stars-And-Stripes unable to teleport in to assist.

"Got you, Bitch."

Juggernaut walks over then grabs Miss Militia by the head and crushes her skull when no assistance arrives, giving Juggernaut a kill.

Stars-And-Stripes is confused why she can't teleport into the area while Spider Man swings in and sprays Juggernaut with webs. Each application of webs onto Juggernaut's body slows him down and makes him slightly weaker.

Jack Slash throws one of the exotic bombs to help cover Juggernaut but Spider Man's senses alert him to it and he sprays it heavily with webs. It was found out with earlier testing that Spider Man's webs can also make tinker tech inactive or weaker as part of its power nullification.

The Sinister Six were nearby and arrived as Stars-And-Stripes switches her teleporting mover power for a speedster one and starts running.

Jack Slash throws blade projections at Spider Man, forcing him to move while The Sinister Six hold back a weakened Juggernaut. Jack Slash yells at Spider Man to save his enemies as he throws one of his last bombs to the group of Juggernaut and the Sinister Six, evidently not caring if Juggernaut dies.

As Spider Man focuses on the bomb and the other parahumans' backup in case it goes off, Jack Slash throws a slash at Juggernaut's feet connecting back to base then quickly repeating the process for himself. The night ends at another loss for the heroes.

Day 5:

Morning to Evening:

The heroes spend the day building a defensive position and setting a watch after Jack Slash's constant barrages. Stars-And-Stripes stays at the main base with her power ready to switch to lock Jack Slash in place.

All Tinkers from Villain Doc Oc to Ward Gurdy try their best to make the base completely unassailable. If it fails at that, they are making sure the base is inescapable to finally nail down the bastards.

The heroes have no idea where the enemy tinker base is and have no idea about the large-scale weapon so they are focused on defense.

A few speedsters are sent out on patrol but they are more concerned with keeping the remaining Wards safe after over eighty parahuman children are dead since it is just Day 5.

11:25 PM:

String Theory officially finishes her doomsday weapon.

11:30 PM:

Spider Man's danger sense is apparently going off constantly in the back of his head. He advises the other contenders of this and Stars-And-Stripes goes along with him in the direction it insists. She sets her powers to a brute and mover power and begins shifting location with him towards String Theory's base, the endbringer shelter.

11:35 PM:

As they arrive at the door, Jack Slash throws a bomb at them through a small portal he was using to watch the door. Spider Man stops the bomb but both the heroes back away from the door.

Jack Slash tries to attack them again with a bomb but Spider Man's danger sense predicts the portal and begins to pull him through with his webs pre-shot, binding Jack Slash's hands. As Jack Slash is pulled through the portal towards the heroes, a bomb begins beeping on his belt and he yells String Theory's name as it explodes. When the dust clears as Stars-And-Stripes protect the two, not a single sign of Jack Slash remains. They continue into the compound.

11:40 PM:

Spider Man's danger sense lets him identify the traps while Stars-And-Stripes dismantles them with her ever-switching power. Spider Man webs a few of the explosions that are remotely detonated to block their effects.

11:55 PM:

The two heroes get to the main base of the villains where the device is held. String Theory is holed up in a room while Juggernaut is already rushing towards them. Spider Man and Stars-And-Stripes both dodges while String Theory gives a speech reminiscent of a cartoon villain on their doomsday device. Spider Man's danger sense seems to be louder for him, completely panicked about the bomb in the middle of the room.

As Juggernaut fights the two, String Theory throws all the remaining bombs and last minute additions he created. Spider Man keeps webbing them to weaken their power but the constant explosions are still annoying. Juggernaut slams the ground extremely hard to break up the room and make time for the bomb to go off. He is not aware that String Theory took both Jack Slash and Juggernaut out of the exemption list hours ago.

Spider Man clings to the wall while Stars-And-Stripes engages Juggernaut with a disintegration and combat-thinker power that makes them near equal.

When String Theory throws another bomb, Spider Man perfectly sends it back right before the explosion. It explodes in String Theory's face and Spider Man earns a kill. Spider Man webs Juggernaut while distracting him and tells Stars-And-Stripes to stop the bomb.

Stars-And-Stripes switches her combat-thinker power for a thinker power which can analyze tinker tech and its weaknesses.

Shortly Before Midnight:

11:59:45 PM, 15 seconds until String Theory destroys the entire city.

Stars-And-Stripes switches her disintegration power to a brute one to break the outer shell of the bomb. She tries to break through the defenses but she finds the second she touches the bomb her powers flicker. The second shell of the bomb contains a short-acting power neutralizing gel that prevents powers from further being used on the bomb. Evidently String Theory's best work is pretty protected.

11:59:50 PM, 10 seconds until String Theory destroys the entire city.

Spider Man shoots some webs at Juggernaut's eyes to blind him after being informed of the problem before jumping to the bomb. Seeing that Stars-And-Stripes strength isn't working on it, Spider Man yells switch and takes over the bomb problem by continuously spewing his webs at it.

11:59:55 PM, 5 seconds until String Theory destroys the entire city.

Spider Man has heavily webbed the bomb, stopping its power nullification with his power nullification or having the two effects canceling each other. Either way, the bomb can have powers used on it now but its big, bulky, and there is no time. Spider Man yells at Stars-And-Stripes for a mover power which she gives up her thinker power to give him. As Stars-And-Stripes continues to block Juggernaut off from the bomb area with her brute power, Spider Man and the bomb disappear.

Day 6:

12:00 AM, Fourth of July. String Theory's bomb explodes.

Spider Man dies after the reduced quark bomb is taken as far into the sky as possible and kills him in the ensuing explosion. It seems he teleported with the bomb to make sure he could reduce the explosion as much as possible with more time to web. An explosion covers the entire sky, but the bomb wasn't designed with an extreme vertical height change in mind so the city escapes destruction. String Theory is given credit for the kill postmortem. All of NYC would be dead if not for Spider Man's power and sacrifice.

Juggernaut continues to fight Stars-And-Stripes for a few minutes with the fight completely destroying the base and going outside the shelter. Once outside, she switches her brute power into a gravity manipulation power to keep herself away and attack at the same time. It becomes obvious why she is not selecting a second power now that Spider Man is dead when Juggernaut finally slows down. Stars-And-Stripes was focusing a power nullifying rule on Juggernaut that just went into effect after around 5 minutes through his resistance.

Stars-And-Stripes quickly finishes him off seconds afterwards, using gravity to smush him into paste against the ground.

As Stars-And-Stripes has both powers busy and her full attention on Juggernaut, she dies to a slash to the back of the neck. It severs her head from her body and leaves one contender alive. She couldn't have switched her power to cover for this possibility for another two seconds.

Jack Slash asked String Theory the day before to have an emergency escape bomb to fake his death with a trigger hidden in his mouth if the heroes ever corner him. It seems that all the time Jack Slash spent around the other villains lowered their guards extremely towards him and caused them to be decently subservient. The bomb explodes all while protecting and teleporting pre-registered users to a preset location.

The war ended at 12:02:34 AM on Day 6, the shortest war and one of two to end before the week fully passed from 2003 to 2010. Just as all the heroic forces come to investigate the explosion that filled the entire sky, Jack Slash is teleported away from NYC.

Jack Slash appears in front of Osiris. All the world waits with bated breath at whatever atrocity he is sure to wish for with his twisted head.

"Hmmmmm, maybe I shouldn't have given you a teleporter power, you little energizer bunny you. Felt like I gave the others more than enough to deal with that, but maybe you're just better. After all, you did change String Theory's DNA exemption to only yourself when he wasn't looking."

Jack Slash walks forward extremely close to Osiris' throne and begins gesticulating while responding to her.

"Well, I have always been a fan of games, especially like the ones you run. Honestly, I would say I'm the most experienced at such a thing in this world! You would understand, we are the same type after all."

"Oh, Really?"

Osiris raises an eyebrow at his entire attitude and unwarranted closeness but continues on with the show.

"Well, if you say so. Anyways, your wish?"

"Ah, yes, pardon me. I suppose this dream of mine started when I was young. Every since I was a boy I thought about being the savior of humanity, but after I figured out what a fragile and worthless thing people reall—"

"Love the theatrics but I would appreciate reaching the conclusion. Just your wish for now, we could talk later if there is going to be a later."

"Oh but my dear, an event like this requires a speech. Why, I haven't had this much fun since the last time I convinced Crawle—"

"Hey, you heard me. I told you once. Now it's twice."

Jack Slash slows down and sees the emotionless look in Osiris' eyes as she is not caring about a single thing he is saying right now.

"Just get on with it, I don't need your life story right now, there's no acceptance speech here today. What's your wish?"

"Sorry dear, I'm just so jubilant at finally reaching my life goal, my raison d'e—"

"Your. Wish."

Osiris starts frowning but Jack Slash keeps going on with his performance, seeming giddier and giddier as he builds up.

"My wish? My dear, I want to do what you're doing and to be like you! I WISH TO MAKE THE WO—"

"Wish Granted."

Before Jack Slash can respond any further, we see his entire body crumble, closing more and more into itself. Before the process ends, we can hear his last screams as his mouth gets crushed along with the rest of his body into a spherical shape.

"This is my stage, not yours. Just say your wish and take it if you don't want me to grow bored. You should've learned from All Might. Obvious case of talking too much and listening too little, I sure wouldn't know anything about that."

One last crunch is heard, smoothing out the surface of the sphere that was once Jack Slash.

"Honestly, trying to ruin my fun this early in the game. The. Nerve. How can I play with you all if you're so eager to break yourselves?"

She makes a slight giggle while looking at what she created.

" *Snort* Well, to all the 'heroes' out there. After this war, I have merely one thing to say to you as a little review."

"Do Better."

The small sphere of Jack Slash's body gets telekinetically brought into her hands, pulsing and growing at the same time.

"Well, Jacob. You want it, you got it."

As Osiris throws the sphere into a rip in space that opens next to her, she states one more line with her mouth turned away from the camera that was not picked up by the program before ending the show.

.

.

.

"Want t- ma-e th- wh-le wor-d et-rna–y suf-er wi-h-ut r-st, huh? W-l, it fe-ls b-tt-r if y-u do i- yo-rs-lf. W-ome t- t-e fa-ly, br-t-r."

C.) RESULTS

Captain America(Killed By Miss Militia) 0 Kills

Spider Man(Killed By String Theory) 1 Kill

Miss Militia(Killed By Juggernaut) 1 Kill

Juggernaut(Killed By Stars-And-Stripes) 1 Kill

Stars-And-Stripes(Killed By Jack Slash) 1 Kill

String Theory(Killed By Spider Man) 1 Kill

Jack Slash(SURVIVED) 1 Kill

D.) WINNER

Jack Slash(1 Kill): 'Wishes' to be like Osiris.

E.)AFTERMATH

There isn't really much to discuss about the ending of 2005's war considering every contestant was disposed of, at least we thought. Between the much lower than expected death numbers compared to the year before and the lack of other endbringer attacks, it was one of our better years in recent times.

New York City had a low death count, at least when you consider its population before the war was 7.94 Million and the last war's deaths alone was over ten times that amount. Only 130,000 deaths occurred as this was the first war people started evacuating to endbringer shelters, and that is a number that hurts to prefix with 'only'. The main horrors were the near complete destruction of the city and a heavy number of the parahuman population ending up dead, heavily composed of children.

Let's hope the 89 Wards that passed moved to a better place.

Rest In Peace: All Gas No Breaks, Amplify, Apogee, Atomic Blonde, Barrage, Bionic, Blackbeard, Blackberry, Blazestone, Blitzerman, Bonfire, Bulletproof, Cannonade, Captain Kid, Cascade, Cast Iron, Dark Pearl, Downburst, Dynaguy, Dynamo, Echo, Ember, Everseer, Fironic, Flying Falcon, Fortitude, Foxfire, Gamma Jack, Glazier, Granite, He-lectrix, High-Flyer, Hollyshock, Hypershock, Iridescence, Iris, Ironside, Jade, Jawbreaker, Kraken, Licorice, Lilac, Lotus, Luminosity, Mako, Maestro, Manta Ray, MechaMan, Megalodon, Meta-Man, Metallic, Miss Mantis, Monsoon, Mr. Miraculous, Nebula, Night Watch, Opaque, Phylange, Plasma Bolt, Polar Bear, Psychwave, Quartz, Quicksand, Scorch, Solar Eclipse, Solar Flare, Solstice, Tanzanite, Tapestry, Tempest, The Rooster, Topaz, Torpedo, Tradewind, Tsunami, Turbine, Turbulence, Twilight, Twister, Urchin, Vectress, Velvet, Venus, Vertigo, Victorious, Vindicate, Voyd, Waterfall, Wildfire, Windstorm

PRT NYC Director James Tagg resigned in disgrace and was held in prison for his decision to involve the children. Anything to do with his decisions were then considered a political suicide, including a world-wide defense initiative he supported from CIA operative Nick Fury that was thrown out without consideration after Tagg's backing was discovered.

The Ward program remains alive but heavily restricted in times of crisis, not allowing any member to involve themselves in any Endbringer attacks, S-Class Threat, or Wars. Ward membership also heavily decreased as parents who saw the tragedy didn't trust the Protectorate to keep their children safe.

Surprisingly, The Sinister Six acted quite heroically for once and got rewarded for their effort with staying alive. They are the only participating group without casualties and dislike the fact that they have to thank Spider Man for all their lives.

The early destruction of the city by Juggernaut and the Endbringer shelter that was destroyed was where the majority of the lost lives took place. If String Theory's device wasn't stopped by Spider Man and Stars-And-Stripes, the deaths could have been the entire population of nearly 8 Million.

It wouldn't be until later in 2008 that we would discover what Jack Slash's wish really caused. The world was still celebrating the first Endbringer kill of Leviathan in February of that year before everything came crashing down. First was the War of Brazil in March, then came the first appearance of the Endbringer Obelisk on June the 2nd. Phoenix, Arizona.

—END OF THE FIRST WAR RECAP—

...So, How was my wrap-up? How do you guys remember the 3rd Holy Grail War and what were you doing?

Really, besides the damages to NYC, its residents, and reputation loss to America's Ward Program, there's not much to speak of in terms of long-term effects. At least, that wouldn't fit better in a different kind of Endbringer report.

The only real thing to talk about is the fact that Legend was seen in the city four minutes before the walls went up and he was never seen flying away from the city. This begs the question where he went and why he disappeared right before the attack, almost as if he knew. Some conspiracy theorists do claim that, but are quickly debunked by other events.

He was seen at the border of the walls from the outside crying and trying to break his way in merely twenty minutes into the war. He had to give up and accept the fact that the city was out of his hands after 3 hours of lasers being unable to break the walls.

Some suggest that Osiris waited for him to leave before starting the game, to which she has responded that she will 'keep that a mystery'. However, that still begs the question of where did he go? The PRT logs report no teleporters on base where he was last seen, so how did he leave and why did Osiris wait for him to leave if she did?

Till next time when we go over The War of 2006 AKA The War of Tinkers. Melbourne, Australia.

(Showing page 1 of 6)

►Dreams_Do_Come_True (Moderator) (Endbringer) (Cult Leader) (Goddess) (Academy Award Winner)

Replied On Jan 30th 2011:

Yeah, I got an attitude at the end but I was just disappointed in all you heroes. Jack Slash ran over all of you!

I work to balance my tournaments so everyone has a good chance. Maybe not hard but I do work!

Captain America could have handled Juggernaut and String Theory's doomsday device, Stars-And-Stripes or Spider Man would have eventually gotten Jack Slash if they didn't focus so hard on other things like those kids. Then there's all the other fights and combinations we never got to see because you split into teams and turned the free-for-all into a co-op.

Play the war how you want but you actually made it harder on yourself. Jack Slash didn't even have a real way to damage brutes by himself!

►Phantom (Grail War Survivor) (Spider-Man Fan)

Replied On Jan 30th 2011:

Even now it hurts to see some of the greatest heroes fall because some stupid bitch decided to just 'follow orders' instead of just be a damn hero! **** what the hell was she thinking when that moron decided to involve children when it was already proved that most Capes can't do shit against the Selected Participants of Osiris!? Spiderman, I know that the piece of shit with Hitler's mustache keeps giving shit even after your sacrifice but I always will remember who the true heroes were in this war and you were the greatest.

►Lucho9 (Verified Latino)

Replied On Jan 30th 2011:

Sinister Six it's 'Thank You' you damn ungrateful-argh is it so hard to at least say it?. While I can see you guys respect Spider Man (now after he died obviously), you should still be feeling sorry for escalating an already fucked up situation.

Dear lord, why the hell there were so many villains that hated the dude? Never understood all that hate boner for him. Even years later, this asshole JJJ still wants to bash the guy. Get real, people, Spiderman was a hero, end of the story, he didn't do any different than what a hero does. Same as Captain America. May they rest in peace.

Honestly, some people just have to over-complicate everything.

By the way, does anyone know where Venom comes from? I want to at least know the bastard's name who gave so much advantage to the villains. Yeah no, I blame this one. Who invited him to the party?

►The_Gmonger (Verified Reader)

Replied On Jan 30th 2011:

This is why Spider-Man is the goat

But to be honest couldn't Captain America just use his shield to reflect the bomb? Like I know I'm not the only one who thinks he could have reflected the bomb and eeked out a win if not for his horrible teammates...

PRT definitely held the idiot ball when they had what is basically an army of parahumans vs 3 Villains and killing Captain America who was able to hold off JUGGERNAUT?

►FrostyFeline (Verified Cape)

Replied On Jan 30th 2011:

Still can't believe what the hell could have gone on in Tagg's head with those orders. I mean, the man put kids on the front-lines. I can understand there's no real safe place for them in the Grail Wars, as evidenced by the destruction wrought on their 'home territory', but damn it all if Tagg's actions didn't smell particularly foul. Could there have been less casualties if other options were at least explored? Probably. Is it all just whining in hindsight? At least partially, but still. I would like to think most other people would not have given that order.

So maybe Osiris was looking for perfect circumstances. Legend was gone and Tagg was in charge, and that meant the 'playground' that Osiris chose was one that She and Simurgh might have predicted to be particularly entertaining. Given the subtle clues about whether or not they can tell the outcome, I have to wonder if they are partially in the blind for how things turn out. Might it be that there's some measure of blind-spot for them too, in these fights? Could Simurgh be somehow blocked from knowing the outcome, or at least ordered to not use it by Osiris, given how it seems to have brought out some accusation from Osiris?

►Dreams_Do_Come_True (Moderator) (Endbringer) (Cult Leader) (Goddess) (Academy Award Winner)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

FrostyFeline Hey!

I don't rig my games. I may look for interesting scenes to host my game on but once the game begins I don't affect it at all. Well, with the exception of when non-contenders manage to solo a contender. Then people get rewarded.

I don't look at how the game progresses beforehand either! It's not my fault the teleports in 2004 were so unlucky, it just happened! Also, I had absolutely nothing to do with Tagg and I'm here to inform you that Simmy states she didn't make him a simurgh bomb either. All the stupidity was Tagg in his natural habitat.

►DOC_OC (Verified Cape) (Villian) (Sinister Six)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

Lucho9

I think it was the snark...and the quips for the most part and the fact that he ruined many a debut...

Some of us hated him as much as we respected him as for Venom...Im afraid he was obsessed with killing spiderman but we have no clue from where he crawled out during the grail war. We thought he was still recuperating from the last beating he got.

►The_Host_With_The_Most (Verified Cape) (2nd Most At Best)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

A honest to God shit show. I hope that tagg fellow is rotting somewhere. Fucking..sending kids to their death.

►Lucho9 (Verified Latino)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

DOC_OC

While feeling pleasantly surprised you replied me, it's still kinda weird to me this much hate. But hey, at least you guys recognize it. The dude sounded like someone to banter nonstop. Maybe that's why I liked him.

...glad I wasn't the only one with the 'what the fuck' face meme in regards of Venom and his ugly red cousin. Seriously nobody knows?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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►RapidBatter (Unverified Cape)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

Huh... it's almost like you gave Jack Slash the perfect power to move around and manipulate his enemies so they don't use their advantages.

Not to mention that the built-in nerf that being obliged to follow Tagg represented

►Electro (Sinister Six) (Verified Cape)

Replied On Jan 31st 2011:

Also the puns...some of them were really bad.

We know Venom is a cluster...but we aren't so sure about Carnage...and we don't ask...dude freaks most of us out.

►FrostyFeline (Verified Cape)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

RapidBatter

Wonder if someone would make a Trap-card for Tagg.

"Incompetent Commander: Lose 1 Summon and 2000 Life."

Probably best not to, wouldn't want to give idiots a reason to think they can get immortalized for their stupidity.

►Mooring_Out

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

I feel like there's always at least one wildcard in these Holy Grail Wars that doesn't do what you'd expect. In the first war Brandish totally flipped her shit and killed thousands of people. During the second Ash Beast, despite being an A class threat, acted rather heroically and sought to defend people. In this war Miss Militia frankly ended up helping the villains more than the heroes by being completely rigid and incapable of thinking for herself.

►ItWasMeDio (Villain) (Unverified Vampire)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

Lucho9

Remember that Venom was a cluster mate of spider with the kill part of kiss kill, he had a power induced hatred from the guy. He was already a blood thirsty villain but when it came to Spider he was worse. As for the blood bag, I remember a rumor that he was a full on psycho serial killer BEFORE he got powers, he just got worse.

As for where they were hiding, those two tended to hide were ever they could in abandoned areas and buildings since they were not well suited for leading a civilian life even as a cover so fuck knows were they were before this went down. Although I am pretty sure Carnage had a kill order being argued when this all went down (he was a lot of things but he wasn't dumb enough to leave evidence he was killing civies when Legend was a local, too be honest I think the only reason he even stuck around was his cluster mates) bet the PRT was really regretting not pushing more for that sooner. Would have saved a lot of people if he wasn't around to provide extra muscle.

►unmoderate

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

you can say that miss militia was only following orders all you like but I'm pretty sure she just wanted to kill captain America.

And why wouldn't she? They were practically the opposite sides of the same coin. A white male from Brooklyn in one side and an female immigrant in the other, guns vs shields. Mark my words them fighting it out was going to happen one way or another and she shot him down at the first excuse she could get.

►Ready_Or_Not (Verified Stranger)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

unmoderate You need to either lay off the drugs or get on some, anyway she seemed to be pretty straight forward. Follow orders and nothings else. After all as the dragon lady said when it happened "Good Soldiers Follow Orders". But yeah she fucked up, not as much as Tag but still.

►Blissey (Cape Wife)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

Obelisk...

When he first appeared I was glad my husband returned safe and sound, but I didn't know I had lost him then.

►Whiner_And_Cheeser (Verified French)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

The Statue of Liberty survived (French engineering, mwah!), although I bet it wishes it hadn't. The dust hadn't even settled, and the local polis were lining up in front of it for photo ops. And based on the votes, it worked, you ignorant ketchup-drinkers.

►Forgemaster (Verified Tinker) (From Across The Pond)

Replied On Feb 1st 2011:

Mooring_Out To be slightly fair to her she did hesitate. Doesn't change the fact she decided to follow orders like some soldier instead of telling Tagg to fuck off.

How Tagg even got his position will forever remain a mystery to me. Maybe it was incompetence from his superiors or maybe the biggest case of the Peter Principle ever. It is clear however that Stars-and-stripes should have taken over the moment Tagg suggested using the Wards with a straight face.

Tagg is also the chief reason I keep such a tight ship in all my organisations. No stockholder board or other group of self-important people will keep me from getting rid of an idiot if he causes clear and detrimental damage.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

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►Lucho9 (Verified Latino)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Electro

It's always the puns haha.

Still, you guys tell me you didnt look at the murder Alien ripoff to the side and thought to themselves: "These ones need a hobby or lots of therapy". Although I dont blame you, they looked scary as fuck.

ItWasMeDio it sure says something of the state of our world when a 'supposed' vampire responds to me in internet as I wonder about Alien-looklike villains. Welp, mystery solved guys, they were two stalker hobos with too much free time. Sure, serial killers too, but really dissapointed on that.

►Lacking-Clarity (Tin-foil hat owner) (The One Who Gets It) (She's Watching You)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Mighty 'convenient' that Legends was 'somehow' away when that whole shitshow started, proving once again that the Kingmaker is also the Stringpuller.

But Legend, the myth himself, being mysteriously away when the events start? In circumstances such as those and with no one being aware of it until heads start getting counted? Methinks that my old theory about a secret parahuman cabal wasn't so far fetched anymore...

Edit: wait, who is 'she'? and who keeps adding to my tags when I'm not looking?

►UndeadFlowerBoy (Spider-Man Fan)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Captain America this, Captain America that... well fuck that. Jack Slash is still alive with that wish right? He killed Spider-Man, so even if I'm powerless I'll do everything in my power to end his miserable existence.

FUCK, I JUST GET PISSED OFF THINKING ABOUT IT!

►ItWasMeDio (Villain) (Unverified Vampire)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Lucho9 my powers get boosted when I absorb blood, which means I get all the jokes. At least I don't bloody sparkle.

►Simon_Says (Not a Master) (Verified Cape)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

ItwasMeDio

...surprised you don't incorporate glitter into your costume. Get an army of tween fangirls to be a human shield.

►AldariS (Verified Judicator)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Ah PRT, ah Protectorate, how you have fallen so far. To think you would have the audacity to represent order and stability only to spit on the face of those that believed in you. Not only have you damned yourselves, but you have damned the children that followed you.

This is a well done comprehensive summary of a war that gave an interesting showing of cooperation between participants. Many mistakes were made especially at the side of the heroes; especially when children are involved, powers or not. A shame that they had to die, but as morbid and callous as it sounds Osiris said it herself already; that we, humanity as a whole, would bring about great tragedies upon our fellows. And she never did lift a finger, she just set the stage.

Could things have gone better? Maybe, but what's done is done. I am just personally glad certain idiots have faced justice and would never see the light of day again. Their handling of the war was useless at best and a travesty at worst. You were warned, in multiple instances and occasion, and yet these idiots in power failed to grasp the gravity of the situation and let their shriveled pride drag their actions by the nose. To the one "hero" that should have been there, shame upon you forever. May you be judged harshly when you pass on from this world for your failings and hubris.

►HellWan (Best Doge) (Mutant)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Talk about cowabummer. Still, can't help but find it a bit weird how most of wars seem to be following a theme here. Every single one chosen seems to have a greater connection to one another. Knowing eldritch dragon mommy, I bet the reason they're chosen instead of any others is due to the fact that they either stand out or will in the future. I bet my fluffy tail that god exists and he just fucking gave up on humans entirely with the amount of shit I'm seeing here. SMH.

►ItWasMeDio (Villain) (Unverified Vampire)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Simon_Says Ignoring the fact that I like WOMEN not girls, I get enough Master accusations as is. Seems like you know about that as well from your tags.

Apparently being both naturally good looking and charismatic is enough to get people twitchy after the Master war.

►TREEvenant (Cape53) (Verified Tree)

Replied On Feb 2nd 2011:

Such tragedy... such loss of life... how did it come to this ?

Saplings murdered because of foolish orders...

Grown leaves burnt away in their crumbling towers...

... Why ?

►Forgemaster (Verified Tinker) (From Across The Pond)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

ItWasMeDio, I can set you up with some good, power fitting armour if you want. No more Master accusations while keeping the full range of your powers and added durability. Though we probably would need to go through Egypt.

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►Nero_Ambrosius (Verified Pessimist) (Verified Advisor)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

Real shame we didn't see some out of the box thinking from the heroes, maybe things would have actually turned out better. Like spreading Spider-Man's webs or using Stars-And-Stripes' rules better. But still, not gonna disrespect the dead, my condolences to those suffering as a result of all the Wars.

►Alzhan (Spider-Man Fan) (Grail War Survivor)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

I owe my life to Spiderman... It is disgusting that his heroism is still such a heavily debated topic amongst extremist news outlets. So what if he wasn't perfect? Nobody was. Everyone in this war did their absolute best when faced with a terrible situation and horrible leadership.

In reality, the real monsters of the war were James Tagg and Jack Slash. One was a short-sighted, incompetent and power hungry waste of human skin who directly led the charge of defeat for the Hero team, getting dozens of Wards, tens of thousands civilians and Captain America himself killed completely pointlessly. And the less said about Jack Slash, the better. Even acknowledging its existence feels like giving the thing what it wants.

In all honesty... it really feels like both sides had Devils whispering in their ear the entire way through (or I guess spit-laden shouting in Tagg's case). It is no wonder the Heroes couldn't simultaneously overcome the opposition within and outside. May they and all the victims rest in peace.

►ItWasMeDio (Villain) (Unverified Vampire)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

Forgemaster

Minor self biokinesis is part of the package so would be dificult, but I do have a few subordinates who could use some extra armor and close range power. I will send you the power details and you can send some price ranges over. Sound good?

[WARNING: OFF-TOPIC. Please take this conversation to the DMs]

►Ben10 (Verified Changer) (Verified Plumber)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

Nero Ambrosius

Bleh! Another wiki warrior with their power level comparisons and munchkining real fights from the comforts of their homes. Can't believe I used to be one of those assholes just few years back. Well, as Grandpa used to say, life teaches everyone their just lessons. Real fightings and more than a few scraps with their death, taught me mine.

Listen dude, IRL combat is much more complex than just power interactions and stuff. When you are fighting for your life, you won't have the time to brainstorm a thousand solutions for any problems. Also, the fact is that all the 'Munchkiners' forget the fact that they have (mostly) complete data and therefore they can prepare their ideas/advices/assumptions much more easily than capes actually fighting on the field with incomplete and (most of the times) incorrect data.

I have aliens(or Changer forms as the more 'sophisticated' populace likes to call them) for nearly every situation but most of the times, I don't have any freaking idea on most of the pieces on the board. Nowadays, I do have more control over situations, but even then I mess up at times. It's because you can't perfectly plan for everything. Even the most powerful Thinkers can't.

►The_Avenging_Count (Unverified Cape)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

Damn Tagg and Miss Militia. Killing Captain America because of an idiotic commander and a solider whose never heard of disobeying a command. Felled by a human evil, suffocated by their darkness.

►CookieKeeper

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

FrostyFeline

I think it's less a blind spot and more that they choose not to see what will happen (or at least Osiris, I suspect the Simurgh is cheating). Although it makes me sick to admit it, I can understand. It's as if you have a power that allows you to see the future and gives you spoilers for the ending of a movie you want to see. That would suck.

And I think this is proof to show that Osiris isn't just pretending to be fair with us and rigging the game in the background to get the ending she wants. She really sees us only as entertainment...

►Goris (Grail War Survivor - Twice)

Replied On Feb 3rd 2011:

Man I'm glad I cut my losses and moved to Egypt instead of going to New York like I originally planned, I know my luck no way in hell would I survive another explosion.

►ThunderWave (Verified Cape) (Former Ward) (Independent) (Formerly Known As Shockwave)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

RIP Stars-And-Stripes and Spiderman, thank you for saving some of us Wards in that war, we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you.

Also Fuck You PRT. Survive a war as a FUCKING child, leave your organization after being treated as a weapon, and can't even keep my damn super name!

►Ben10 (Verified Changer) (Verified Plumber)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

ThunderWave Their loss was honestly quite depressing for me personally. Spidey was one of those heroes who inspired me in my childhood. He died before I got my powers. I feel like we would have been great friends if he was still with us. His sense of humour was lit.

Rest in Peace, Spider-man. You were a true hero unlike most others I have met.

►AverageOfAverages

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Jack Slash showing how he successful lead a murder hobo squad for over a decade.

It's called manipulation and it's damn hard to evade if carried out competently. And for all that he was a monster, Jack Slash was competent at manipulating people and placing them in dilemmas. After all, problems have solutions, dilemmas have two answers, one worse than the other. So this plus a way to always escape via teleport made this result almost predictable.

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►LooseChange

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

I remember New York very well, it was scary to think so much destruction happened only 10 minutes away from where I lived. My uncle was in NYC when all that shit happened, he may have survived physically, but the same couldn't be said mentally and psychologically.

►SandInYourEyes (Villain) (Sinister Six)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Ben10 I honestly sometimes commit a crime and just wait on the webhead to show up for a bit before leaving.

I never thought I'd say this but I miss the damn bug...even his terrible quips.

►PenguinMaestro (NEET)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

...I really don't like to remember this war. Compared to Africa, that I talked so 'easily' about, the losses aren't as great. But they hit closer to home.

The 2004 HGW I could deal with by getting progressively more drunk as the days went on, thinking it might be my last few days alive with no time to go back home on time. I was ready to die of alcohol poisoning to avoid that. It didn't happen, so, yay.

With this I had to listen for days to a family next door mourn about the loss of their child and absolute loathing toward that Jagg asshole and the villains. I was at first proud about the Wards' bravery taking part, but hearing the wails of a mother through the walls and seeing, on my way to take out the trash, a shell of a man staring at a picture of a bigger family with a haunted look and silent tears... It was a painful couple of weeks. And made me realize that the wards still are just kids. They shouldn't be on war fronts, no matter how much they claim to want to help. Some days (most days now) I feel like the Wards shouldn't even be sent on patrols, at least before some age restriction of at least 15 and extensive training, and even then be pulled out if something serious is going down.

►ItWasMeDio (Villain) (Unverified Vampire)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

Man, when you really think about it though Juggernaut got pushed in a corner early. He wasn't always that bad.

The forced massacres Jack made him do caused him to look guilty for early on (look guilty because when you are trying to kill a fucking bastard like Jack Slash and you get sent flying into civies how are less durable its not really your fault, it's his)

Still a shit thing to do, instead of say trying to pop his head like a grape the second he gets within grabbing range then fucking hiding till the war ends then running to Egypt, but not that surprising.

►Official_Flechette (Wards ENE) (Conspiracy Theorist) (Temp-Banned)

Replied On Feb 4th 2011:

This whole war was a plan by Osiris to attract more people to Africa! By attacking again a place that already suffered an Endbringer attack in the past destroyed the illusion that people had that they were safe in a place that was already attacked and makes people think that the only safe place is her little kingdom!

►Scion_Son

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

Official_Flechette You're being paranoid, that only happened because Osiris is... unique. I think that for her NY was too good a setting to notuse, to the bad luck of its inhabitants. At least NY won't have to suffer another attack.

►Electro (Sinister Six) (Verified Cape)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

To be fair for Juggernaut...most of those kills were from Jack making him colony drop...Was Juggernaut a force of destruction in general..yes, did people get hurt when he committed a crime yes...but a cold blooded mass murderer No.

►DoNotCallMeKaren

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

Who makes these people PRT Director? In the first war the previous PRT ENE Director prohibited the Protectorate heroes from helping during the first war and later the PRT NYC Director is willing to let children participate? WHAT KIND OF LOGIC IS THAT!?

►Slypher (Private Investigator)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

DoNotCallMeKaren Too be fair, Karen, said NYC director was filling in for only a few months after the last director had to retire due to personal reasons. He was supposed to be gone when they had the candidate ready (politics for that important a posting and being so suddenly makes replacing him a slow process. Plus they didn't expect that huge a thing to happen and even if it did Legend would have normally been there). Tagg was normally at the shit posting when everything is basically hell anyway, with no Wards. Like the fucking containment zones. But with Nilbog and the Machine Army gone and them actually pushing to remove the zones no matter what it takes, suddenly the more crazy directors were freed up and he had senority.

Or to sum it all up, a the dragon picked the perfect time to hit New York as circumstances made that one of the most hard line directors who had been watching over what is basically hell pits for years now was filling in and the Protectorate leader who also had enough pull to tell the PRT to shut up and do as there told was out on personal business. (Scuttlebutt was that he was out with either family or friends).

►MrMcMan (Wiki Warrior)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

For all the conspiracy theorists, Legend did a press conference he did about a month and a half after the war. The whole reason he took so long to make a statement was because he was too busy helping the families of the fallen Wards organize funerals and attending them. He even footed the bill out of his own pocket when allowed by the families.

Here is the clip and here is the full uncut version of the press conference.

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►MaryJane (Actress) (Spider-Man Fan)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

Rest in peace Tiger, I miss you every day.

►J.J. Jameson (Verified Reporter) (Verified Extremis) (Tweaker)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

Don't be fooled by those supposed acts of heroism and that 'heroic' sacrifice that the arachnid made at the end! All this time this threat was always working for the Endbringers, he is still alive out there and plotting his next evil plan!

[PERMA-BANNED BY DREAMS_DO_COME_TRUE]

►Vigilant_Boy

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

Man fuck you. No wonder your family doesn't want to be associated with you anymore.

►Dreams_Do_Come_True (Moderator) (Endbringer) (Cult Leader) (Goddess) (Academy Award Winner)

Replied On Feb 5th 2011:

J.J Jameson I've not said anything to you for making fun of my worthy contender since I knew it wouldn't be what he wanted but I will say that pushing on 6 years has tested my tolerance. I generally don't care for humanity outside my own people but I enjoy those who back their beliefs with their actions and Spider-Man was one of them.

Just because I test my contenders doesn't mean I don't respect their commitment. Spider-Man probably would have been another All-Might if he won. He could've wished me away if he didn't like my games like some of you.

I won't do anything to you besides this ban on my platforms, don't worry! You'll live until it's your time. I'm patient and you'll come to me eventually.

I look forward to it.

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---

AN: Edited Jack Slash's power upgrade from the first draft. Instead of powering up his already broken thinker power to near impossible levels, I decided to give him a location marking ability to make it more fair. Not much has changed for the war but it was just a QOL thing for me.

Like usual, Chapter 4 in a day or two and then the same for 2006 war after that.