Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I, Greg Veder, was a loser.

I was awkward, clumsy and immature. I had no social skills, effortlessly annoying others as easily as I breathed. I tried, I really did make a sincere effort to interact with others, to follow all the invisible rules that everyone else seemed to know.

And that especially showed with my interactions with Taylor Hebert, especially my most recent one.

"Yes Greg, it is laundry day. Of course, I had to finish it last night to make sure things matched. You'll notice there's no glue or juice on this hoodie... Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

Taylor Hebert had come to school... in Teeth colors. I'd tried to play it off as a joke with some of their members nearby, only for her words to hit me like a metaphorical gut punch. Throughout the rest of that dreadful day, I had tried to recover from my self-esteem being irrevocably shattered to pieces.

Barely retaining enough of my senses to get through the rest of the day, I tried to recover from the feeling of being so useless.

I'd wanted to help Taylor? Bullshit, the Locker Incident had happened!

I would've intervened if he had the chance? I was a total computer whiz, and could've plastered video proof of the Trio's abuse online within minutes!

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

It was just as Taylor said. I wasn't just a loser.

I was a coward.

And perhaps it was karma that this had happened after trying to go home and cry myself to sleep.

"What's it gonna be, bowlcut?!" The E88 thug hollered as he kept a tight grip around my neck from behind, trying not to shiver more than I already was from the frost creeping out from his grip. "You gonna pussy out like some little race traitor bitch?!"

And as bad as it was for me, it was definitely worse for the black girl being held between two other E88 thugs, her mouth gagged while her eyes stared in naked terror. The knife that had been shoved into my hand definitely added to that, me avoiding her eyes to focus on the purple streak in her hair as a distraction to calm myself down.

It wasn't working.

"Look, are you sure we can't just go straight to Kaiser?" One of the guys holding the girl spoke up. "We already exchanged a small fortune for those vials and got instant superpowers without any of that trigger baggage. Do we really need the extra bit?"

"Yeah. This pussy can't even stab a little nigga bitch." The other thug scoffed. "I say we just off them both and get going before nightfall."

"Are you shitting me?! We've only got one chance to really impress Kaiser and get good spots at the high leagues!" I tried not to let my grunt be too loud when the cape with obvious ice powers jostled his grip a little. "The Empire ain't like those ABB losers, who've only got some Baku-something bitch now after Butcher was done with them. If we wanna stand out, we've gotta go for maximum effor-!"

Before I could make myself hesitate, I stabbed the blade in my hand up into the guy's throat.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

For two painstakingly long seconds, the girl and the other E88 members stared as my captor released my neck and futilely reached for the knife in his throat. This granted me enough time to temporarily kick aside my utter terror and disbelief at deliberately killing somebody before smashing my fist into the nose of the one who had the tighter grip on the girl.

Unfortunately, I'd forgotten one crucial fact: I was weak as you'd expect an average computer geek to be.

"You... fucking race traitor!" The thug snarled through his bleeding nose before he swung his palm towards me, causing something loud and bright to explode in my face and knock me into the wall at the other side of the alleyway we were in.

"GAAAAAAH!" I cried as I clutched my burned face, which of course made the pain even worse.

"That fuck!" Somebody screamed. "Gary's bleeding out!"

"Call Othala or something!" Another voice shouted back before I felt myself hauled up. "I'll break this fucker!"

I choked when a fist slammed into my own nose, definitely breaking it as fresh pain exploded anew. Still, I weakly clawed at my assailant, hoping beyond hope that their original victim had run away by now. I wasn't going to let another innocent person suffer again. Not on my watch.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

Never again.

[Trajectory]

[Alignment]

[Agree- ARISE]

"No. That one's... an important experiment."

I suddenly lost my footing a second later when there was a sudden change in our surroundings. Crawling away from the shocked thug after he dropped me, I also looked around to regard our new location. Rather than the dinky alleyway, all five of us, including the very shocked black girl, were now in a massive and circular chamber with mysterious blue flames lighting the area through torches circling the upper walls, along with two pillars by what looked like the entrance/exit with larger blue flames searing at the top within braziers.

Additionally, there were many gigantic statues standing against the wall, most of them resembling knights. Sure they had moss covering plenty of their bodies, but that just added authenticity to their looks. Especially with the giant stone throne holding the biggest statue of them all. It faintly resembled a king or priest, as its design included a crown and robes, and its presence made me shiver just by looking at it, especially with how I could almost imagine it looking at me.

Was this some kind of dungeon boss room?

"Oi!" The thug that had been strangling him suddenly shouted, looking around wildly for clues. "Where the fuck are we at?!"

"Forget that! I haven't been able to teleport ever since we got in here! We gotta leave, NOW!" The other E88 thug shot back with his bleeding out friend hoisted onto his back. "Look, there're the doors right there! Fuck these two and let's just go!"

Completely ignoring me as well as the girl who was apparently brought along too, the thugs rushed towards the door with one of them waving his hand to cause an explosion that briefly deafened me.

However, no visible damage was left on the doors after the smoke managed to clear, not even scorch marks.

"The doors are cape-proof...?" The girl muttered in confused terror, both her and I flinching when we saw something else begin to move. One of the giant statues right at the doors swung it's mace-like lance faster than I could see, and suddenly there was so much blood- "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"

"C-Come here!" I managed to scream as the statue slowly returned to its prior position, completely unbothered by the blood splattered allover it now. "Away from the statues!"

The girl staggered to her feet and rushed towards me, none of the other statues thankfully reacting to her until she came to an unsteady stop beside me. "Wh-What do we do?"

I didn't know what to do! All I got was the statues were bad news- Wait!

My stare turned back to regard the biggest statue of them all and gut twisted at the fact that it was looking back at me with it's eyes starting to glow-

"Get down!" Instinct had me force both the girl and myself down to our stomach, a rush of something hot and bright engulfing the space our upper halves had been a second ago. We both stayed as still as we could manage, with me slowly raising my head just to see the last wisp of smoke escaping from the statue's eyes before their glow faded. Behind us, the eye laser attack had gouged a molten trench across a good chunk of the ground.

"I-If y-you d-didn't see th-that coming..." The girl began to shudder heavily, tears dripping down her cheeks as she began to cry quietly. I didn't blame her in the slightest. This had to be a dream, some sort of nightmare that I was stuck in.

After all, what else could one call the casual slaughter of three capes, even if one of them had already been injured by me. And it didn't help that any potential rescue was unlikely to show up in any way.

Just look at Winslow.

I'd never wanted to cower in my entire life as much as I did now.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

But forget dying, would I be able to face Taylor again, if I did nothing again?

Think, Greg, think! Every scenario had its 'rules'! The statues had attacked the E88 thugs for attempting to leave or attacking the doors, but not me and the girl. The big statue had shot freakin' eye lasers at us, but hadn't attempted to correct its aim or shoot again to hit us... this time...

My stare shot towards the statue again, confirming that it wasn't making any indication to attack us again. But when I moved to get up, the statue's eyes lighting back up had me dropping back down immediately and gasping when they faded away. "It won't fire... if I stay 'down...? So there were 'rules' to follow..."

"R-Rules?" The girl whispered next to me. "L-Like that over there?"

Following her pointed finger (after checking if the statue would laser her for that), I saw what she meant when my gaze landed on the only standing statue had neither a weapon or a musical instrument. It instead had angelic wings and a large hood obscuring whatever face it could have along with a large stone tablet with writing on it.

Taking a wary crawl towards it, both of us inched closer and closer until we could both read the writing clearly. "C-Carthenon Temple's Commandments. First, worship the Lord. Second, praise the Lord. Third, prove your piety."

Wait, these... Was this all created by some religion-themed cape? "Those who do not follow these commandments..."

"...will never return alive." The girl weakly finished what I couldn't. "Wh-What does that all mean?"

"They're win conditions." I realized. "I don't know how exactly, but we've been somehow obeying them. Those guys tried to leave without clearing them and..."

And they'd died. However, this in turn meant that there was a chance for me and the girl to escape with our lives... as long as we followed the commandments. "Trying to leave gets a statue to swing at you... And getting up has the big statue lasering you..."

No... not getting up. Failing to worship the 'Lord'. A.k.a. the sole statue with both a throne and the closest thing to a crown. "That's the 'Lord'... Follow me, um..."

"...Aisha." The girl provided.

"Greg." I replied before leading the crawl back towards the center of the room, already having an idea of what to do once we were both before the Lord directly. How exactly would one 'worship' a 'Lord'?

Well, considering that it's laser attack could be considered a 'punishment' for holding one's head too high...

"First, worship the 'Lord'..." I took a deep breath and did the opposite of holding my head high.

I fully bowed down, to the point of pressing my sweaty forehead against the stone floor. A second later, I could hear Aisha uncertainly copying me. A few seconds of absolute discomfort passed before the sound of grinding stone reached my ears. Risking a glance at the statue, I choked at the expression on its face, having switched from complete indifference to a wide grin of sadistic cruelty.

"That sick fuck's enjoying this..." Aisha muttered.

"Yeah... but it's not attacking." I replied as I remembered the next win condition. "Second, praise the Lord... Are we supposed to sing hymns to it or something?"

A much louder rumble resounded through the chamber as the Lord got up from its throne, the ground trembling as it took a quaking step towards us after standing up to it's colossal height.

Along with it's glowing eyes, it's sheer size reminded me of-

-BIG-

-molten rock skin-

-glowing singular eye-

-NO, STOP REMEMBERING THAT!

"G-Greg, it's moving towards us!" Aisha grabbed my arm with justified panic, snapping me out of it. "What do we do?!"

I looked around desperately for a clue, but all around us were just the other statues. Considering what happened to the E88 thugs, neither of us had any extra lives to spare at the risk of moving towards them for cover, especially with their weapons and instruments...

Instruments...?

What would a attacking statue do with an instrument instead of a weapon? Heading towards them was a huge risk... but waiting for the Lord to reach them was certain death.

"The statues with instruments!" I gasped as I ran towards the closest one, this one being an unarmored woman in a robe while carrying a large violin. It thankfully didn't do anything to us after we reached it, but also didn't seem to beckon to stop the Lord's rumbling approach.

"Wh-Why isn't it doing anything?!" Aisha screamed.

"...because there's two of us." I realized before pulling my arm free from her grasp and taking some steps back. Almost immediately, the statue's eyes glowed as a soft melody emanated from the stone musical instrument. "It's one statue per person! I'll go for another one!"

Unfortunately, there were two knight statues between me and the next 'praising' statue, meaning that he'd have to run out of their range and risk getting into the Lord's. An uncomfortably close rumble reminded me of my lowering time.

"GODDAAAAAMNIIIIIIT!" I yelled as I took off as fast as I could make it, throwing myself aside to dodge the stomp that would've flattened me before sprinting towards the statue of an unarmored man with a drum before him.

Unfortunately, this was when my luck decided that it had reached it's limit, my path straying too close to the nearby statue of a knight with a halberd that moved to bisect me-

"GREG! FROM YOUR LEFT!"

-only for Aisha's scream to have me throw myself towards my right side and turn the lethal slice into a grazing cut that still stripped a good chunk of flesh from the left side of my torso.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" I screamed as I collapsed in agony before the 'praising' statue, unable to stop the tears of pain and relief in my eyes as the statue began 'drumming', which in turn pacified the Lord and had the massive statue return to its throne.

"Greg!" Aisha ran all the way towards him, only pausing to check when none of the knights moved despite her entering into their range. When she finally reached me, she choked at how much of my blood had already stained my blue shirt. "Oh, god... That's... That's too much blood..."

"It's fine... I'm not having any trouble breathing or spitting out blood, so it missed my lungs..." I tried to assure her, which clearly didn't work given how pathetic I must have looked to her. "C'mon, we've still... got one last win condition to pass..."

"R-Right..." Aisha gulped when the Lord sat down and waved its hand towards the center of the room, causing the entire chamber to shake when the circular emblem on the ground at that spot rose up to mimic a pedestal. "Wh-What now?"

"...third, prove your piety." I grimly responded, not missing how much that thing could pass for an altar. "Now that I think about, these are all the main stuff to do during church services: worship God, sing praises to Him... and offer up offerings. Or in the Old Testament or basically any pagan god mythology, sacrifices."

"...one of us has to die?" Aisha whispered.

"...I'll do it." I whispered, causing her to freeze. "I'm too injured to run away or do much else anyways. Plus, I've not really got many people that'd miss me."

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

"...besides, I wanna feel like I saved somebody today." I reached up to grasp her arm. "Now, help me to the damn altar."

"B-But what about the last commandment?" Aisha asked desperately as we slowly approached the altar. "We've obeyed everything, haven't we? Why would they put something like this then?!"

"Because the person who thought this up was a sadist." I determined as all the statue heads slowly moved to regard our approach to the statue. "I got too hopeful. The things I thought were win conditions had no clear reward, just punishments for losing."

Maybe this was my penance for being such a cowardly hypocrite.

Finally reaching the altar, several regular fireballs flared to life around the altar one after the other in a counterclockwise fashion until we were surrounded. Then another ring of fireballs surrounded us again, this time as blue as the ones illuminating the chamber and more numerous. But still, the flames did nothing to us.

Yet.

The doors suddenly rumbled open, spreading out invitingly into the void.

"They opened..." Aisha gasped, only to flinch when all the knights began moving towards us. Matching their movements, the ring of blue torches began snuffing out, as if counting down...

"Aisha, run." I decided, cutting her off before she could complain. "I can't guarantee that they'll ignore you, but we both know exactly what those statues will do to if somebody gets too close to them. Run, before they get too close!"

Aisha teared up before grabbing me into a brief but tight hug and then running towards the open doors with tears running down her cheeks. To my great relief, the statues completely ignored her as she made it all the way to the door and crossed it's threshold, vanishing the moment her body crossed its border.

"Ah, it probably teleported her back to where it took us from..." I determined as the doors closed back, the blue flames continuing to count down with every rumbling step from the stone knights. At least, it was me instead of another innocent girl needlessly suffering. "...I wish I'd at least apologized to Taylor."

I stared up at the first stone knight to reach me, wondering if the cape moving it could hear me through it. I wished I could give some sort of badass last words. A one-liner that maybe the cape would remember as at least something use later or as something to muse over. Hell, maybe even a bloody smile to haunt them with.

But I didn't have it in me. The best I had was a grimace, and I'd even closed my eyes in a futile way to ignore my incoming death.

That didn't make the giant stone sword that slammed down onto my shoulder any less painful, a scream ripping free out of my mouth and lungs as the weapon brutally cleaved upwards in a manner that sent both my right arm and body flying away in two different directions, feeling my ribs creak when I slammed back down onto the altar while my blood splattered down around its runic engravings.

This time, there was no denying the wad of blood I choked up as I began to cry again. "No... I don't wanna die..."

Another statue raised its spear before swinging it down, the large weapon obliterating my entire torso and pinning me to the altar while more blood gushed out of me.

"I... I..." I guess I couldn't even speak properly at this point, my lungs completely lost as even my breathing failed.

My last ever sight would be a giant stone knight raising its massive shield right above my head. If... If I had even the slightest chance to survive here...

The last blue flame extinguished.

And time itself froze.

The shield that had been in the middle of slamming down to crush my head stopped mere inches above me, all sound cutting off from my surroundings.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have completed all the necessary requirements of the secret quest 'Courage of the Weak'.

.

Huh? Was that... an interface screen or something? Why was there a blue and transparent computer-like screen hovering before his eyes?

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have acquired the qualifications to become a Player. Will you accept?

.

Player? Like a game? What kind of cruel joke was this?

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You do not have much time remaining. If you refuse, your heart will stop at approximately 0.02 seconds later. Will you accept?

[YES/NO]

.

Despite my current state, I still stiffened in trepidation. So there was a hidden win condition for finishing all of the commandments? But this meant that the cape in charge of all this had been clearly testing us all for... whatever this implied. If I didn't accept, I would die. If I did accept... I would be used for something.

Something I had no clue off... but still clearly required me being alive. And I wasn't very picky at the moment.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Welcome, Player.

.

"...finally. A successful Player."

After confirming with Igris that the girl had been properly umbraported to her home, Jin-Woo let out a weary sigh at the sight of the boy before him. After twelve carefully selected failures, this damned trial had finally spawned a successful Player. It personally disgusted him to use this particular method, but it still did the job of ensuring that he didn't grant the power of a Shadow Monarch to the wrong kind of person.

The mantle that he (and now his son) carried was a heavy one, millions of soldiers following his every step. It was because of this that he had personally taken the fight to the Itarim, and had happened to free another Earth-like world from one of them during his campaign. However, he'd been surprised to encounter how this world seemed to be suffering an invasion of its own. Knowing that he couldn't just put a pause on the Itarim, Jin-Woo had decided to go with the Ashborn Option.

A.k.a. Cultivate some unfortunate but responsible schmuck into another Sovereign of the Dead. However, considering that the person wouldn't have the advantage of being descended from him like Su-Ho, that meant that they would have to become a Monarch the same way Jin-Woo had.

Worship the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

Prove your piety.

"I'm really sorry about this." Jin-Woo sighed as he repaired Greg Veder's body and downloaded a variant of the System into him as well as a sliver of the Shadow Power. "But I never know when my son might need a Monarch ally of his own."

If this went well, perhaps he'd repeat this for other worlds as well.

Stepping back, Jin-Woo admired his handiwork and umbraported them both to the nearest hospital, gently dropping him amidst the stunned civilians. "Good luck, kid."

With that said, the Shadow Monarch stepped back into the void.

Chapter Text

I snapped awake to an unpleasantly loud beeping of a heart monitor beside me as it went haywire, the strong scent of antiseptics cluing me to my surroundings. "A hospital?"

Groaning at the headache the beeping was giving me, I raised my hand to rub my- Wait. My gaze snapped to my raised right arm, fully intact. A brief check over my body revealed that all of my injures were gone. His stabbed torso, his gouged side... Had it all been some kind of bad dream?

A person knocked on the door, opening it and stepping inside without waiting for a reply. "Oh, I see you're awake."

"Um, excuse me?" I frowned at the unfamiliar woman in the suit.

"My name is Kuroko Smith." The woman adjusted her sunglasses before giving me a card. "I am with the Brockton Bay Division of the Parahuman Response Team."

"What do you guys want with me?" I frowned after surveying her card before my eyes widened. "Wait, did I get superpowers?!"

"No, no, we checked." Ms. Smith casually crushed that idea as she took a seat, crossing her attractive pantyhose-beneath-business-skirt legs. "But we are interested in the man who brought you to the hospital. Are you close to or aware of the parahuman capable of teleporting through shadows?"

"Huh? Forget that guy, I don't know any cape, period." Ms. Smith must've believed me because she sighed in a weird mix of relief and disappointment. "By the way, did that guy heal me up or something after bringing me here?"

"No, you are reportedly in fine health." Ms. Smith replied. "The reason why you're still here is because you've been unconscious for the past three days."

"WHAAT?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "How?! No, wait. I remember what I suffered through."

"And that's why I'm here. When you first arrived, you were dropped here with your clothes in tatters and extremely bloodied." Ms. Smith leaned forward speculatively. "Judging by our investigation, we came to a conclusion that... frankly, you should've been a corpse if the damage to your clothing were any indication. Frankly, I'm lucky to have to popped in when I just did. Imagine coming here five minutes earlier and knowing that I missed you by that much, making me have to return. I'd like you to please state all of the events that occurred to cause your injuries, to the best of your abilities. Oh, do you also mind if I record this?"

"Sure, I'll tell you everything." I immediately dove into the whole thing and told her all that I'd experienced about the E88 and then the Lord and its statues, feeling emboldened as she seemed to be taking me seriously instead of dismissing my admittedly outlandish tale.

"I see... But we might have to assume that this mystery cape, whom we will designate as Tenebrous for lack of a proper identity, may not keep further track of you since you thankfully didn't Trigger from that horrific event." Ms. Smith sighed before getting up and brushing imaginary specks off her skirt. "Hopefully, the same goes for that Aisha girl. If there's any change, please call the number on the card. For professional purposes only."

Miss Smith finished her words with a warning stare before exiting the room, me giving her a befuddled look.

"Hmm... But still, despite her saying that I didn't get any powers..." I turned my gaze towards the blue screen that had been floating before him all morning. "Did she really not see this at all? Or is it that I'm the only one who can see this?"

.

-:Alert!:-

You have unread messages.

.

I reached out to touch it, only for my fingers to go through it as if it were a hologram. "So it's not touch-interactive, huh..."

Then how was I supposed to be able to open these messages, then?

.

-:Alert!:-

Welcome, Player.

The System is designed to assist with the development of the Player. Failure to comply with the System may result in Penalties.

.

You have acquired Reward(s) x3.[OPEN]

.

Daily Quest: 'Training Regimen' has arrived.[CONFIRM]

.

"Is this... a Gamer interface?" My jaw dropped in both shock and excitement. This! Was! "AWESOME!"

As I would later learn, it's generally a bad idea to shout anything, let alone 'awesome', so loudly in the hospital. At least me being a patient had the nurses letting me off easy. Which in turn flipped over to Mum's arrival.

After enduring a crushing hug from her, Mum had told me of recent news she'd heard at the docks where she worked, about how much ABB territory was being gutted down and absorbed by the new Butcher's Teeth and the overeager Empire Eighty Eight. Weaver, as she called herself, was slowly drawing Brockton Bay into another war, and I'd never been more glad to have powers that could potentially grow, allowing me to bypass the risk of stagnation.

I still needed to stay in the hospital for three more days, but that was fine. I was fit enough to do the {Training Regimen} that was required of me whenever they weren't running tests on me.

.

-:Daily Quest: Training Regimen:-

Push-ups[100/100]

Sit-ups[100/100]

Squats[100/100]

Running[10/10km]

Failure to complete the Daily Quest will result in an appropriate penalty.

.

You have acquired Reward(s) x3.[OPEN]

.

So far, I had yet to find out about the penalty, but this was now my second time fulfilling the quest. Even though my body felt like throttling my brain, I didn't feel any less motivated. Was this what a runner's high felt like? "Open."

.

+Status Recovery!

+5SP!

+Random Gift!

.

"Status Recovery." I sighed as all of my exhaustion immediately vanished, leaving me sprawled in relief against the bench I was resting on. "Now for the Stat Points."

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 1

EXP: 0/1,999

NRG: 100/100

Class: ?

STR: 70(E)

VIT: 60(E)

MOB: 80(E)

MAG: 10(E)

SNS: 180(D)

SP: 10

.

-:Quirks(Explosion, Frost, Warp Gate):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

My Status didn't translate like a regular rpg interface, but it still really pained to see my low stats. As much as I wanted to use up my SP immediately, I needed to store them up until I got into a fight and could adjust them according to what I needed. Perhaps at the end of my hospital stay, but not a moment sooner.

As for the Quirks(weird substitute name for Skills), finding a quiet place to test them out had me realizing that most of them had been parahuman powers, specifically the ones that had belonged to the dead E88 thugs. A bit of me was understandably squicked out by the idea that I had gotten their powers, mostly due to me being reminded of their deaths... but I was also relieved that I had considerably cool powers as well.

Frankly, I was also just a teensy bit relieved that they hadn't gone straight to Kaiser as one of them had suggested. The idea of the Empire Eighty Eight having a teleporter that could've made Oni Lee a joke was terrifying.

Perhaps that evening was in a way my Trigger Event: Want a Superpower? Have a huge helping of Trauma as garnish.

...come to think of it, Aisha could've Triggered as well. Wait, I'd read online that it was the zenith of rudeness to demand details on one's Trigger Event, and I certainly wasn't going to harass Aisha on that, wherever she was now.

Now for the Random Gift. Manifesting it into my hand, I blinked when it slowly unraveled itself to reform into... a key?

"I only got a pen that lets me write in mid-air yesterday." I curiously turned it over to observe it's jade-like composition. "But if this exists, there has to be a lock to match it, right?"

.

-:Gate Key:-

A key for teleporting into an instant dungeon. It can be used at Hanging Cat Apartment Complex.

.

"An instant dungeon... So it makes a gateway or something to a dungeon where I can grind and properly level up." I grinned in realization, only for my smile to dim when my mind flashed back to the Lord. Now that I thought about, that place was most likely a dungeon itself. An extremely high-level one, too...

Making up my mind, I dressed up and went down to take permission for an afternoon stroll or something, fighting down my nerves until I reached the spot for the key. Standing before the complex while the key seemed to heat up in my pocket, I wandered around for a secluded spot until I brought it out into the air.

Just as I wondered if I'd have to twist it into an imaginary lock, the tip of the key glowed before blue lightning sparked from it to form a glowing circular portal before him.

Holy shit. This was really happening! But I still had no clue on what kind of dungeon I'd be getting sent into. The most I'd taken into my Inventory had been some water bottles and a knife I'd bought on the way here.

"Well, its a dungeon IRL. If it's anything like the Carthenon Temple, it might still be do-or-die... but still doable..." Hoping to meet enemies that weren't so overpowered this time, I grit my teeth and stepped through the glowing doorway, sparks of blue trailing after me as I stepped before the entrance what looked like an temple-like ruin.

.

-:Alert!:-

You have entered into an instant dungeon. Until you defeat its boss or use a return runestone, you cannot exit the dungeon.

.

When the portal fizzled out of existence behind me, I gave it a dry look. "Yeah, I kinda already expected that. I don't even have any kind of runestone, let alone whatever a return runestone is."

Stepping closer to the entrance and peering into the darkness within, I considered the idea of entering inside with little idea of what to expect.

Pfft. As if.

I palmed the ground and beckoned {Frost} forward, having the growing ice rush forward and deep inside as far as I could manage until my NRG, which was most likely my mana, stopped at 0.

.

+900EXP(x10)!

.

Level Up: 1 → 4

.

+75SP!

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 4

EXP: 3/4,999

NRG: 400/400

Class: ?

STR: 70(E)

VIT: 60(E)

MOB: 80(E)

MAG: 10(E)

SNS: 180(D)

SP: 85

.

-:Quirks(Explosion, Frost, Warp Gate):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

Holy shit... After all that exercise, it'd taken actual combat experience to fill up that EXP gauge. This meant that even my ridiculously unique power still behaved accordingly to the Internet theory of all parahumans instinctively seeking conflict one way or the other.

My power blatantly wanted me to fight.

Shuddering as I pulled my too-cold hand free of the ice while the Level Up got rid of the growing frostbite I hoped I was imagining, I stared inside with a grin for about a minute to see if any enemy would come rushing out. But none showed up and I hadn't gotten an alert yet so...

"Into the unknown... But first."

.

VIT: 60(E) → 95(E)

MAG: 10(E) → 40(E)

SNS: 180(D) → 200(C)

SP: 0

.

I didn't want to get sneaked, so my SNS stat which (probably) governed my spatial awareness would very remain my highest stat. I also needed my Quirks to increase in potency as well as buff my body's toughness as much as I could manage when heading into unfamiliar danger.

Continuing inside, I soon came upon what the theme of this dungeon apparently was: Goblins. Ten of the green-skinned dwarf wannabes had gotten completely frozen over, with an eleventh barely having just the upper half of his head exposed. This meant that while he could see me approaching, he was completely unable to shout out warnings to what I suspected would be the rest of its horde or even try to free himself.

In games, goblins generally rated higher than slimes in terms of mooks. But they were also known to be the medieval fantasy version of roaches. Easy to kill or dismiss, but lethal to ignore or underestimate.

Especially with their numbers. What Mum had always told me about roaches could easily apply to roaches as well: "If one of them's here, there're many around!"

I almost considered using my knife for this, but the only viable place to stab was the goblin's skull, and I didn't trust in my STR enough to not mess that up and accidentally free the monster.

So I just placed my hand over it's bald green head and completely froze it over with {Frost} again.

.

+900EXP!

.

Continuing deeper inside, I spent the time experimenting with {Warp Gate}. From what I could tell, the black mist that would allow me to teleport anywhere always required its manifestation from my body. Plus, the places I wanted to teleport to always had to be predetermined, whether by my eyesight or my experience. My first clue of this was when {Warp Gate} had failed to work after trying to teleport straight to Hanging Cat Apartment Complex without even knowing what it looked like, requiring me to actually look up its location.

Additionally, using it to skip the long distances without needlessly walking it allowed me to grow used to the brief weightless sensation each time. And also 'assassinate' every goblin I'd catch off-guard before they could react.

.

+900EXP!

.

Level Up: 4 → 5

.

+25SP!

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 5

EXP: 404/5,999

NRG: 500/500

Class: ?

STR: 70(E)

VIT: 95(E)

MOB: 80(E)

MAG: 40(E)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

.

-:Quirks(Explosion, Frost, Warp Gate):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

A bit of me wondered if I should be worried about getting better at snapping necks, the latest one quietly dropping after I released it with my arms and my body having seven full meters between them with only smoky portals covering the separated parts.

But soon enough, I finally reached a large enough clearing that spanned out to reveal sunlight from above. It looked like the center of the temple itself, the exposed top letting the afternoon sun shine down upon the loitering goblins. From what I could tell, there were at least forty of them down there.

Plenty enough to overwhelm me if they'd gotten the chance to rush at me altogether.

"Hooray for the stealth option." I whispered before teleporting straight up to the temple's highest point within my sight, before then spreading out {Warp Gate}'s mist to blot out the sky.

The alarmed cries and clamoring from below signified that they were all aware of my presence now, but it was too late. "Fall."

A twist in space later and a portal connected to right beneath the goblins, causing them all to instantly fall into it and out the portal beside me... at thirty meters in the air.

.

+900EXP(x47)!

.

Level Up: 5 → 10

.

+125SP!

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 10

EXP: 2,709/10,999

NRG: 1,000/1,000

Class: ?

STR: 70(E)

VIT: 95(E)

MOB: 80(E)

MAG: 40(E)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 150

.

-:Quirks(Explosion, Frost, Warp Gate):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

If the sudden plummet and fall didn't kill them, the many stone pews that fell down after them certainly ensured their crushing demises. Plus, my level was finally in the double digits!

Teleporting down to the ground, my SNS alerted of the approaching enemy before the familiar shaking of giant footsteps did. Stepping out from a narrow doorway, a hulking humanoid with grey skin, protruding tusks and a beard stepped out, dwarfing me with a gigantic 13-meter figure.

[Ebony Hide Ogre]

"An ogre?" I questioned.

"So those damn goblins weren't even worth good foot soldiers." The ogre grumbled, its voice being a deep gravel-like growl that nearly shook my bones. "So you are the invader that dares to set foot in my fortress?"

.

VIT: 95(E) → 145(D)

MOB: 80(E) → 120(D)

MAG: 40(E) → 100(D)

SP: 0

.

"Yeah, I am." I confidently replied back even as I eyed the massive club in it's left hand. A bit of me had wanted to add to my STR as well, but one look at this guy's physique made me take a more realistic apporach to surviving any sudden hits that I wouldn't be able to teleport or dodge away from. A person not limited to pure melee didn't need to start seeing STR as their favorite stat.

Besides, I always picked the mage build whenever I played D with Mum, even if she always found a way to kick my ass with her preferred fighter/assassin build.

"Anyway, please die." I stomped my foot down, calling upon {Frost} to send forth a thick surge of ice that immediately engulfed the ogre. Not done there, I created a {Warp Gate} beneath the ogre and had it fall from the same height of the goblins earlier, stepping back to let gravity finish it up for me.

Crashing down hard enough to kick up both debris and dust, the surrounding air immediately cooled down as I waited for the Alert to signify my victory.

"Impudent fool!" I ducked down swiftly to avoid the club that was flung at my head, the giant weapon crashing down behind me as the dust cleared to reveal the ogre as it got back up, it's wounds visibly closing up. "Don't mistake me for these mere goblins!"

The ogre raised its hand, manifesting a giant fireball above its claws. Having no intention of letting it finish it's chargeup, I opened a {Warp Gate} and had it engulf the ogre once more, deliberately cutting it off when half of his body was gone.

"GAAAAAAAAAH!" The ogre roared in immense pain. "What did you do?! Where is the rest of me?!"

The 'rest of him' fell down in a splatter of bloody body parts nearby.

"...holy shit. That worked." I gushed as I walked towards the downed ogre, noting that it's healing apparently wasn't strong enough to regenerate lost limbs. "Well, best not to test my luck any further than it's been going."

Grabbing my arm as I pointed my palm towards the ogre's face, I braced and unleashed a powerful explosion that launched me away from it, getting a brief flash of the ogre's head and shoulder's being pulverized and incinerated from the fiery shockwave.

.

-:Alert!:-

You have defeated the boss of this instant dungeon.

.

+9,000EXP!

+9,000 gold!

.

Level Up: 10 → 11

.

+25SP!

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 11

EXP: 710/11,999

NRG: 11,000/11,000

Class: ?

STR: 70(E)

VIT: 145(D)

MOB: 120(D)

MAG: 100(D)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

.

-:Quirks(Explosion, Frost, Warp Gate):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

"Urgh..." I groaned as I rubbed my throbbing bicep, even as the pain soon faded away. Until I raised up both my STR and VIT high enough, {Explosion} wasn't going to be a Quirk I would use often.

.

-:Alert!:-

As the boss has been been defeated, the dungeon will now collapse.

.

"Oh?" I perked up when the same portal that brought me here opened up once more, quickly stepping through to regard the complex I'd left a while ago. Since I'd been there for over an hour, it didn't surprise me to see that as much time had also passed here too.

I'd almost think that I'd imagined it all if not for my increased level. As I made my way back to the hospital, a sighting of an Armsmaster toy made me consider new things going forward.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

Now that I had powers that I had a good enough handle on, I had even less reasons to stay back and be a bystander when I could save people.

I could join the Wards and actually do something about all the daily injustice I witnessed, showing those assholes and bitches that Justice was a real deal. Hell, I'd even get f̶r̶i̶e̶n̶d̶s̶ teammates! ...but I'd also stand out too much. The only other parahumans who was known to be get potentially and infinitely stronger through their powers were Lung and some other criminal already in the Birdcage. Just as Weaver with the previous Butchers, everything I did would be painted in their image rather than mine.

Of course, I'm different from Weaver. No matter how good they claimed to be, they were the one still stuck with multiple serial killers in their head. The sheer mental stress alone would soon break them.

And if I wanted to save Taylor from the inevitable fallout when that happened, I needed to get a lot better where my actions wouldn't be under heavy scrutiny.

Which meant I had to become an Independent Vigilante rather than a PRT Hero... Of course, this meant that I ran the immense risk of having zero allies or support... but that wouldn't be much different from my regular life anyways. Plus, acting on my own meant that I never had to answer to any authority beyond myself... or the System. Still, this also left me with little financial profit...

.

-:Inventory:-

Cellphone x1

Wallet x1

Light Pen x1

Common Knife x1

Water Bottle x4

Return Runestone x1

.

-:Shop:-

Buy: Please input keyword to aid in locating and purchasing the desired item(s). [?]

Sell: Please select an item in your Inventory to increase in-game currency. [?]

Budget: 9,000 gold

.

First of all, how long had that return runestone been in my Inventory?! Second of all, the System's got an online shop?! Okay, this would definitely help me along as a vigilante.

Things were going great!

Chapter Text

Friday, April 15 2011

Greg Veder

So apparently, my super healthy self leaving and returning with zero complications yesterday meant that the hospital could get away with discharging me a day earlier, even if to free up some beds.

However, this meant that it was back to school for me this morning. Back to Winslow, back to the gang recruiters, back to... Taylor.

.

-:|Daily Quest: Training Regimen|:-

Push-ups[100/100]

Sit-ups[100/100]

Squats[100/100]

Running[10/10km]

Failure to complete the Daily Quest will result in an appropriate penalty.

.

You have acquired Reward(s) x3.[OPEN]

.

Long after getting in the bus, I regarded the rewards from my mandated morning workout. Maybe it was time to finally get rid of that last (E) amongst my attributes.

.

STR: 75(E) → 105(D)

SP: 0

.

Huh. I guess mental commanding the System works without me needing to physically speak. Good thing I tried that on a whim, so that I wouldn't worry Mum. Also, having my physical strength rise up a rank barely felt like much, but I guess that was what it was for barely stepping past the line while hoping for an actual physical change. My sudden interest in exercise may have surprised Mum, but now that I thought about it, the workout would also serve as an explanation to the one person in the world who knew me best about the sudden (and hopeful) appearance of never-seen-before muscles.

Stepping out of Mum's car, I waved her goodbye before heading towards the stairs. I had just put my foot on the last stair, only for my SNS to alert me of incoming trouble. Reacting on instinct, I stepped to the side and dodged the foot that would've tripped me before spinning about to grab the wrist of the hand about to shove me.

"What the fuck?!" Sophia Hess snarled as she ripped her hand free of my grip, albeit not without difficulty as she gingerly rubbed her wrist. "The fuck are you on, Vetard?"

"So me not being your punching bag for this morning means that I'm on drugs?" I scoffed as my annoyance grew. I hadn't even stepped inside the school building and there was already trouble to deal with. "I'm fresh out of the hospital and out of fucks to ever give to you again. Try that again, and I'll break your arm just like you did to me last year."

Flipping her the bird as I left, I relished her gobsmacked expression as I remembered the spoken incident a year ago. Hess had wanted my lunch money, and then stomped on my forearm after knocking me down to the ground as a response to my initial refusal. Then she'd gotten the audacity to not only claim that I was accusing her of injuring me when I'd injured myself by tripping, but also get away with it.

Well, not anymore. Sure I would hide the extreme parts of my powers, but there was no way I wouldn't use my increased physicality to push back against those who would try to harass me again.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

Or others.

Entering the building, I made my way towards my locker and began checking around for which books I needed. Inside my bag, the boxed gift that I intended to give/return to Taylor as my apology was thankfully still intact. After all the effort I'd put into it for... something more, I hoped that using this as a physical token of my remorse for not helping Taylor would at least smoothen the rough patch between us-

I dodged aside from Hess's fist as it smashed into my locker, her punch actually denting the metal. "What now?"

"You think skipping school suddenly makes you better than the chump you actually are, Vetard?" Hess spoke in that unsettling calm way that emoted just how pissed she was, turning so that her scorching glare had a solid bead on me. "You think you can get away with mocking me?"

"...well, you're obviously determined to give me hell for whatever excuse you've cooked up today, so why not?" I shrugged with an obvious sigh. Given how much she was riled up, it was obvious that Hess had been previously pissed off by something else and had chosen him to vent, only to be denied one of her usual 'punching bags'. Now, all of her ire had been solidly redirected towards me.

Even while the surrounding students rearranged themselves to box us, or rather me, in, I was more preoccupied on the fact that this fight was really not stacked in my favor. My SNS alone gave me a rough idea that Hess was somewhere on par with me, and her muscular yet slender toned body didn't help my chances compared to my own body.

And to worsen matters, this was my first fight as a civilian, meaning that I couldn't use any of my Quirks to just finish her off as I'd done to the goblins and ogre. But for some reason... I didn't feel intimidated enough to cower as I would've normally done.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

Prove your piety.

...I guess I just couldn't acknowledge Sophia Hess as an enemy to be afraid of anymore. Not if I was serious about my resolve to change things from now on. I was Level 11 now, but would that be enough right now?

Hess moved faster than I could almost react, her fist smashing into my cheek as I kept myself from falling over or down.

"...my turn." My fist was a millisecond faster as it slammed home into her hastily raised forearm, knocking her back a few steps. "Brace yourself, Hess. Right now, I'm extremely invested in knocking your teeth out."

"Cocky shit!" Hess charged forward and punched at my face, suddenly dipping into a leg sweep just as I'd raised my hands to protect my face. When I nearly staggered from that, Hess landed a solid kick into my stomach that had me almost hurling my breakfast. However, this allowed me to get a solid grip on her leg and swing her off her own feet as well into a painful meeting with the floor.

Now that I had her momentarily dazed, I couldn't hesitate to capitalize on this brief chance. Just as I moved forward to stomp on her stomach, my SNS alerted me of one of the jocks coming in to shoulder tackle me from a 'blind' spot. Unfortunately, he was expected as I dodged back and stuck my foot out, letting him trip and hit his face against the lockers at full speed.

.

+800EXP!

.

Seriously? He gave less EXP than a goblin?

"Anybody else feel like stepping in?" My challenge went untaken as many students took a wary step back from me, especially as my grimace worsened at the sight of Hess getting back up.

(It would take a long while for me to learn that my blue eyes had glowed along with my growing anger.)

"Heh. I guess it's easy to be tough against a sure win." I scoffed at the other jocks I could see, a few of them having bullied me as well in this school. "I mean, it's all of you against just me... as usual."

"Big talk for a loser who's about to get-"

"Teacher incoming!"

Hess's taunt ended as all the students around immediately scattered at that warning, both of us fighters included as I spied the gym teacher making his way towards us, being hindered by the chaotic rush of the jock students deliberately using their collective bulk to take his attention of the perpetrators. Sighing at the weird disappointment I felt for not beating Hess, I left with the crowd.

And thus missed Taylor's wide-eyed reaction to this spat.

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

What... the hell just happened?

"The nerdy kid has finally crashed out!" Sabertooth shouted as if he were a commentator. "I totally lost faith in him, but there's Teeth material right there!"

"I wonder what happened to cause such a change." Damascian hummed. "Perhaps it has to do with whatever hospitalized him."

"Does it even matter?" Sanguine scoffed. "So the nerd grew a pair. Big whoop. I'm not considering him worth anything unless he's actually Triggered. We have too little capes on our side, even with Spree."

What? Greg could've Triggered?

That... was a scary thought. Greg was like a puppy or a possum, not something one would consider frightening for any reason. Plus, the idea of recruiting him to join our raids was laughable, especially as I imagined him awkwardly holding a weapon.

"Taylor, look up the percentage of school shootings done by bullied kids." Fester chimed in, causing me to no longer find an armed Greg laughable. "Frankly, you outstand us with every moment you went in this hellhole without taking a page from Carrie's book."

Watching him step into class, he locked eyes with me briefly before turning towards Sparky.

"Sparky, I have been burdened with glorious purpose!" Greg exclaimed as he took his seat beside him, his words causing the normally despondent guy to regard the blond geek with wide-eyed shock. Those particular words had meant something between them.

"That was definitely code for something between them." Alkaline murmured. "Nerds always tend to do that."

"Really?" Sanguine questioned.

"I've fucked a few nerds, okay?" Alkaline revealed. "They make sweet pillow talk."

"You know, you could just ask him." Knockout suggested. "Unless that's changed, the nerd's gonna bend over for you regarding anything."

"Mr. Veder, you've missed school for the past few days." Mr. Gladly noted. "I hope you have a good reason for that."

"Well, I was hospitalized due to an E88 initiation gone wrong. They wanted me to stab some innocent girl, and I showed my disagreement by stabbing the knife they gave me into one of the guys' throat." Greg answered as he answered the teacher, his words cutting off all other voices in the classroom. "Sure I nearly died from what came next, but some other cape killed off the rest and saved me and the girl. Afterwards, I didn't even get charged with anything since it was clear self-defense. But hey, I'm at least glad that I learned one sure thing about myself."

"Huh?" Gladly weakly asked.

"You never what you're capable until right when you're about to die." Greg responded, an absentminded smile on his face. "And even up to this moment, I still haven't felt anything about killing that guy."

Several guys in E88 colors suddenly looked very uncomfortable in their seats.

"He is awakened to the call of blood." Sabertooth sniffled. Actually sniffled like a proud parent. "And look at that murderous intent. He's not even doing it consciously!"

True. Whether he knew it or not, Greg was causing my danger sense to ping slightly now and then after Gladly shakily got the class going, up until Sparky did something to calm him down. Through it all, Sparky was the most animated I'd ever seen him be, definitely grilling Greg for more details.

Answers that my unnoticed fly was were going to get me soon.

Greg Veder

"So what did I miss?" I asked after I'd given Sparky the details of that night without mentioning the Lord or the Carthenon Temple in case of any annoying eavesdroppers, deciding to later tell her the real story at a safer location. I'd instead gone with the fake story of the shadow teleporter killing the other E88 guys after I'd stabbed one of them.

"A lot." Sparky said after she managed to calm down. "For starters, the school got fumigated back on Wednesday, and Assault and Battery paid a visit."

What.

"Assault gave autographs, by the way. Then yesterday, Weaver robbed a bank and apparently absorbed the Undersiders into the Teeth."

What.

"Oh, and I strongly suspect Hebert to be Weaver."

WHAT.

That...

The Locker... If Taylor had Triggered back then... then...

"Calm down."

Sparky whispered with her hand on my forearm, startling me when I saw that frost had begun to creep out from my hands and onto the desk. Thankfully, it was still small enough that Sparky was the only other one who could see it.

"Sparky... what do I do?" I asked desperately.

"Nothing. Taylor's cape status is none of our business." Sparky immediately answered. "All you have to do is give her your apology and say your goodbye. And then you'll never have to bother each other ever again. Whether its true or not that she hates you, it's still a fact that she doesn't really have a positive view of you."

"...yeah. You're right, Sparky." Sparky was always right. Even when being gloomy to the point that she was perpetually unkempt and be often mistaken for a shaggy long-haired boy. Even when she was unlucky enough to often suffer absurd strokes of misfortune.

Sparky was right. From what she'd trusted me with, Sparky had Triggered young with a Thinker power that let her see the future through tarot cards. And she seen something in the future so bad that she'd never recovered from it, as far as I knew as she never told me or anybody the details.

Curiously, she'd also destroyed all of my hard-earned Scion merchandise without giving me a reason back then. If it wasn't for the fact that she was the closest thing I had to a friend, I probably wouldn't have forgiven her.

But regarding Taylor... "Well, she's gay, so it's not like I had any shot with her in the slightest. Hopefully, she'll accept my apology."

I sighed. And waved the away the fly that had settled in my hair. For some reason, it kept triggering my SNS and I didn't like it.

Still, lunchtime came with a surprising piece of good news.

"Greg...? Greg!"

I was suddenly tackled from my side, nearly shaking off my attacker until I saw that familiar streak of purple in her black hair. "Aisha? I can't believe that you go to Winslow, too!"

"And I can't believe that you're actually alive... I thought you'd died..." Aisha replied as she kept hugging me, tears of relief starting to well up from her eyes as she beheld me. "...did you grow taller?"

"Well, I'm clearly alive. And I'm in the middle of my overdue growth spurt." I added, which caused Aisha to chuckle and release me. "Let's restart. I'm Greg Veder. And this is Sparky. My... friend?"

Was it okay to actually label her as such? We often hung around, but never went beyond exchanging contacts...

"I'm Sparky. I'll tell you my real name later if you don't look it up yourself at another time." Sparky replied, neither confirming nor denying my words. "And you are?"

"Aisha Laborn." Aisha responded with a challenging smirk before returning her undivided attention to me. "Now, give me details."

Once again, I delved into the story of the Lord's dungeon, this time mentioning the System along with all that followed.

Becoming a Player.

Completing all given Quests.

Gaining EXP and superpowers in the forms of Quirks and Perks.

Thankfully, there was no sudden message or warning preventing me from telling them, so I assumed it was okay for them to know.

(After all, Aisha had already suffered half of the trouble with me.)

"So you're saying... that right now, there's a popup screen right before you that only you can see?" Aisha asked as she waved her hand before my face, her fingers easily rippling through the System's interface. "Talk about high risk, high reward... Looks like this really was some kind of hidden reward for finishing all of those... commandments gave you the ultimate power."

"Yeah..." I weakly replied.

"Still, I wonder just how powerful the perpetrator is if they could do all this." Sparky's observation presented a real worry I'd given some thought to as well. "To reiterate so far, they're capable of dragging individuals into alternate dimensions they most likely have full control over, creating 'keys' that can do that as well, turning you into a freaking video game character, interfering with superpowers like a Trump that'd make other Trumps weep and finally... discreetly observing you on a constant basis. Because there's no way they're not keeping some manner of surveillance on you right now."

I stiffened at Sparky's words, mentally slapping myself for never having considered that. Was this 'Lee Ju-Hee' person? No, Ms. Smith had clearly stated it to be a man who had dropped me at this hospital, and I knew enough Korean from online to recognize a woman's name... Did that mean that it could be a whole group? "So what do I do about that?"

"Does it really matter?" Aisha shrugged. "If it's not doing anything but making your personal life better, then why spoil a good thing? If you're a geek like the rumors say you are, I'm pretty sure the getting of the System that bothers you more than the having."

"...well, when you put it that way, you're totally right." I hummed in happy realization.

"Of course, I am." Aisha nodded sagely. "Now gimme your sandwich. It looks delicious compared to the cafeteria's stuff."

Sparky shamelessly stole my sandwich as Aisha reached for it.

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

"Took you two long enough." I said after Emma and Sophia waltzed in, swallowing my latest chew of my lunch and putting it away. "I thought you might be getting cold feet."

"That would be incredibly ironic, given what's about to go down." Fester muttered.

"How the-" Emma started, only to cut herself off as her common sense began to catch up as she actually surveyed their surroundings.

Sophia, on the other hand, prowled forward with complete confidence and plenty of aggression. "First, you. Then, freaking Vetard. If only you two would just learn your damn places, we might have finally just ignored you both like the worms you were. But now you're the Teeth's newest whore, so we don't even need a reason to beat you up."

Bullshit. You never needed a reason to hurt people and even Greg knew that.

"Before you do..." Emma cut in. "Tell me Taylor, how can you even hold a cell phone knowing that was the weapon you used to kill your mum?"

"Oh, just how badly does this bitch want to die?" Fester growled.

I was of the same page, nearly losing it until I forced my anger down for the moment. I would need my cool for this. "Huh, maybe I did. Now that I think about it, the timing does match up."

Emma was clearly grasping for straws at this point when she saw me shrug. "Uncle Danny certainly believed it. I overheard him blathering on and on about how he blamed you for killing your mom when Dad picked him up while he was too drunk to remember you even existed."

"Wish I could get that drunk." Sophia quipped.

This caused both Emma and I to chuckle, albeit for very different reasons as she would soon learn. "Just what happened to you Taylor? What happened to that sweet girl who actually cared about her parents?"

"That's simple, Emma. You bitches killed her." I shot back calmly, enjoying the twitch Emma made with her face. How much more would it take to make her erupt? "Are you two done? If you are, then get the fuck out of my way. I've got shit to do."

As absolutely predicted, Sophia's fist took a direct path towards my stomach. I barely felt the impact, wondering how long it would take for either of them to catch on.

Sophia lashed out again, as fast as she could as her fist connected squarely with my jaw. Unlike the last time she tried this, I didn't let my head move even the tiniest inch as I sighed.

Either she'd snapped or she'd finally sensed my murderous intent towards her, Sophia was quite fast in drawing out a knife. Unfortunately, I was faster. Before she even had time to point the knife at me, my hand had already grabbed and twisted the black girl's hand to the point of breaking some bones. Then I lashed out with a kick that broke Sophia's shin and had her buckle under her own weight before kicking her away like the trash she was.

Apparently, Emma was still in the midst of processing all this until I hoisted her by the front of her coat with a single hand and slammed her against a wall, immediately snapping out of it to ignite her fist and punch at my face with way more strength than the visible muscles on her limb could offer.

Just like before, it didn't earn even a flinch. Neither did the following knee to my stomach. "Well, you're stronger than Sophia, I'll give you that."

For some insane reason, Emma grinned at that. "Fucking finally, Taylor. What the hell took you so long? I mean, you're in a shitload of trouble but-"

"Shut up, Emma." I cut off Emma off with briefly added pressure to her chest. "Do you want to hear something sad?"

"Like how you had to join a gang before you finally decided to be a person instead of a victim? Or that you got powers that just let people beat you up better?"

"I... I think this girl might actually be stupid." Butcher marveled with genuine confusion.

I barked a laughter at that, making sure that I didn't accidentally slacken my grip. "No. The sad thing is that the Teeth treat me with more respect than anyone has in the past two years. Now, I wonder why that is?"

Emma managed a passable sneer. "Because you're fucking them?"

"See, I'm not good with people anymore." I continued with an idle-sounding tone. "Until last weekend, I didn't have friends. I barely even had family, because my mother died and my dad still hasn't recovered."

Should I consider Greg? He may have been an annoyance at times, but he had been one of the few points of... neutral human contacts that I'd had during that time-

Oh, Sophia was getting up. Crucio, bitch.

Sophia let out an aborted scream before collapsing on the ground, twitching and hissing. Still, she still had enough sense of self to try and reach for her phone.

"Say what you want about this one. She is committed." Alkaline commented.

I made a noncommittal hum of agreement as my roaches and beetles swarmed Sophia and snatched the phone the moment it left her pockets, bringing the device close enough so that I could crush it with a stomp that cracked the tile below my foot.

"Here's the thing, Emma." My swarm spoke with me, my voice coming from both my mouth and hundreds of meticulously timed mandible clicks and winged beats. Raising up my hand, I displayed Sophia's crushed blade before reshaping its matter into the form of a flower, a butterfly from outside the window coming in to land in it's petals. "I'm not the Teeth's new whore. I'm their boss."

"Remember it!" Ironsides crowed.

"No." Emma whispered in what I could see was stark terror mixed with desperate disbelief. "No, no no no. You can't be. That doesn't make any sense."

It didn't make sense? Of course, it didn't make sense! Nothing had ever made sense! Not for the last fucking two years!

"You know what doesn't make sense, Emma?" I didn't notice my hand beginning to press harder against Emma, doing worse than choking off her breath. "Throwing away ten years of-"

"Stop it, Taylor." An unexpected hand patted my extended forearm, carefully not trying to pull it away from her. "You might kill her."

"The fuck?" Stratego muttered, several of the other Butchers mirroring him.

"Greg?" I growled in disbelief as Greg took a careful step away, somehow having entered the girl's bathroom without any of us noticing. "What are you doing here?"

"I... really wanted to apologize, but I didn't find you at anywhere during lunch, so I searched around and around until I heard Julia talking to Emma Barnes regarding your location, so I came here..." Greg looked incredibly uncomfortable under my glare - as he should - but he still decided to keep talking. "Obviously, I guess I can't tell you not to kill Barnes or Hess, since I have no right to order you around-"

"Good. A smart conclusion. Now leave." I gave out a warning.

"No." Greg responded without hesitation. "I want to talk to you, and I need you to please spare me your time. Just a few minutes or so. After I'm done, I swear that I'll never bother you for anything again. I just..."

Greg paused to take a deep and careful breath. "I just want... I just want to clear the air between us... and get you to hopefully hate me less."

Hate? I didn't exactly hate Greg. I don't know why he believed such a thing, much less why he'd been so obsessed that he would pseudo-stalk me.

"Really?" Reflex sounded genuinely puzzled at my confusion. Due to the sole heroic Butcher rarely speaking, even the others had quietened down. "From your very brief interactions with Greg Veder, he has shown himself to be a generally disliked outcast within the school with no social skills and plenty of bullies. Who does this remind you of?"

"...well, when you say it like that, he sounds so lonely." Fester hummed. "And if we go by your memories, he's been like this for much longer than your two years."

...I knew Greg as early as 5th grade. That's six whole years.

"Ah, then his 'stupidity' might be a mental defense." Stratego mused. "If he tried to mask his insecurities for so long, he would've eventually fallen too deep into the pretense."

"...wait your turn, Greg." I finally decided, the blond boy nodding and stepping back as I returned my attention to Emma. "You know, I've fantasized about this ever since I Triggered. Using my powers to finally fight back, to take down the bitches that ruined my life... But now? It feels... hollow."

And wasn't that startling to realize. I had both Emma and Sophia at her complete mercy, and I wasn't even in the mood to enjoy it. All because I literally had better uses for my time. Properly cultivating the Teeth, doing away with the Empire, resolving things with Greg...

When and how the fuck did Greg become a higher priority than Emma?

"When Greg Veder finally owned up... and Emma Barnes didn't." Damascian answered my rhetorical question.

I took a steadying breath. "I never gave in, even after I inherited, even after you used my mum's death as a weapon against me. Even as I had thirteen voices in my head screaming at me to end you, I held my ground. I stayed strong in the face of every temptation I had to just be done with it, and let me tell you, my predecessors can be creative and vindictive little fuckers."

"Guilty as charged." Fester readily admitted.

"Damn right." Damascian agreed.

"I'm still up for the surprise teleport fifty meters up in the air." Pyro suggested... again.

"No, I told you, the slow squeeze 'n' hug works better." Ironsides complained. "Especially with the useless struggling as their spine and ribs implode afterwards."

"Please. She should go for the simple and brutal: RIP AND TEEAAAAR!" Butcher finished with a roar, which prompted Sanguine and many others to mimic him.

"The PRT will..." Emma still managed to gurgle. The PRT? Really? Not much of a concern at this point.

Dropping her, I walked over to where I'd dropped my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. "I'm done playing this game. Winslow is mine now. If you try to bring the PRT down on me, I'll make sure you receive a personal visit at home. Hell, the PRT might not even listen to you, since a Butcher spending eight hours a day in school isn't using that time to wreck the city."

"And without taking lives, you could still give them hell." Greg suddenly spoke up. "When Brockton Bay inevitably runs out of bug spray, you could kick off a one-girl pranking war directly on the workers... sorry, please ignore me."

"What? No. Please, keep talking." Sabertooth beckoned.

"I haven't had a proper prank war since I was a kid." Stratego reminisced. "So many criers born from sheer annoyance at my victories..."

"I wanna see the entire PRT building doused in pink paint... and watch the reactions." Quarrel mused.

"Approved! We gonna need so much fucking paint!" Butcher decided.

"Do we have stop at just the PRT building, though?" Sanguine asked.

"And now they're arguing about raining rainbow paint allover the city. Thanks a lot, Greg." I chuckled with no heat. Any argument within the chorus that didn't involve some sort of murder or depravity was a welcome reprieve. "Well, I'm just about done here. Ah, I almost forgot. Greg, you listen to this too. There's this funny gentlemen's agreement among capes to avoid searching out or acting on secret identities, which is really important to me because I happen to be enjoying my civilian life for the first time in years. And while the Unwritten Rules are just that and really only apply to capes, I would be more than happy to make an exception if any one of you so much as think about telling anyone about me."

"I won't tell anybody." Greg immediately answered, which earned him an approving nod from me.

"Tell the authorities you slipped and fell or something, I don't really care. I have actual problems to deal with, like an Empire that is long overdue its fall." I stepped past Emma and gave Sophia a pointed glare when she didn't give me a vocal reply like Greg had. Leaning down, I grabbed her face and forced her to look me in the eye. "Did you get all of that?"

To Sophia's credit, she managed a stilted nod even if it was accompanied by a groan. That was good enough, I suppose... Oh, she was bleeding internally. Better put a quick fix on that. "Come along, Greg."

Leaving the bathroom, I kept half of my attention on two of the Trio while' I led Greg towards the nearest classroom. It was just the two of us (plus fourteen Butchers) now, in this empty classroom. "So? Get with it."

"R-Right." Greg gulped nervously before digging into his bag and pulling a small box out. "I... Half a year ago, I saw when... Barnes destroyed this, and how badly it hurt you. To the point of throwing away the pieces."

I stiffened, both in my human body and my bugs. Half a year ago...No... He couldn't have...

I never noticed Fester shushing the other Butchers as I mentally mapped out the objects that could fit into the box.

"I wanted it to, you know, get me a leg in. Give you something absolutely positive to think in regards of me. But now that I know you like girls, it almost feels laughable." Greg dropped the box on the table between them and gently shifted it towards her. "It took me so long so carefully fix the pieces and make sure it could still work fine without messing it up even worse..."

Hesitantly, I reached out and took the box into my hands. Reshaping the box's wrapping paper and ribbons into confetti, I pulled off the lid and gasped heavily at the sight of Mum's flute, returned to it's former glory.

"H-H-How?" Gently lifting it up, I turned it over and surveyed the very faint cracks that had used to be the broken pieces as well as the identifying scratches I had personally put there myself. This meant that not only had Greg returned this priceless treasure to me, he'd also repaired it meticulously rather than going the simpler route of buying a whole new one. "Why... Why did you do this...?"

Greg blinked in surprise at my question before giving me a sad smile. "Because... I like you. Like, like-like you. I've always had a crush on you since you saved me from a high schooler when we were kids. You probably don't remember it, though."

Eh? My first thought was to dismiss his words as a joke, but that was just distasteful with mum's flute miraculously repaired. It was all just too much! When did this happen?!

"No, wait. It's here." Damascian noted as she dragged up the needed memories, my breath catching as I recognized the small chubby blond boy as an eleven-year old Greg while Emma and I as kids chased off the drunk teenager. "Huh. The childhood romantic interest lost? This is bullshit!"

"Oh, the childhood friend loses all the time!" Fester challenged. "Out with the old and in with the new!"

"But doesn't this make it an Archie-Betty-Veronica Scenario?" Sabertooth pointed out.

"Yeah, but Weaver's the brunette Veronica here, with Veder being the blond Betty and Vex being the redhead Archie. The dynamic's been keelhauled from the start." Stratego noted, which caused a new wave of arguments to spring forth.

My cheeks warmed against my will as someone threw in the option of having both Chrissie and Greg at once, which was taking worrisome traction.

"Well, it looks like you like it. Thank goodness." Greg sighed in oblivious relief before stepping away. "With this, I say goodbye. We'll probably never speak with each other again-"

What.

"-but that's fine." Greg perked up, even despite the obvious pain in his eyes. "I can't be the lame clingy guy..."

Greg lowered his head before me, surprising me and a few of the Butchers. "Taylor Hebert, I sincerely give my apologies for never helping you with Emma Barnes and Sophia Hess. The only excuse I have is that I never wanted to become a worse social pariah than I was already currently living as."

Right... He'd been a victim far longer than I'd been...

"You don't have to accept it, but I'm truly sorry. Goodbye." Greg raised his head and tried to leave only to stiffen when I pushed the table out of the way and grabbed him into a crushing hug(while carefully securing the flute and making sure I didn't break any of his bones).

"Thank you. Thank you." I whispered into his shoulder, Greg floundering between whether to hug me back or stay stiff in my arms. Pulling back, I put the flute back into the box and resisted the urge to teleport straight home and lock it in the safest spot I knew.

"Tell Greg that he's a good kid." Reflex spoke up. "And that I personally wish him good luck in his future endeavors."

"The same goes for me." Fester added with a grin. "I don't really have good opinions of most men, but Greg's clearly a lovely exception."

"Ask him if he's interested in joining the Teeth." Sabertooth asked. "That bloodlust of his can't be wasted!"

"And his ice, too." Chisel pointed out, remembering that brief flash of frost we'd earlier seen from him.

They all made good points, even as I only gave out Reflex's and Fester's messages to Greg, who was shocked to hear them. None of us had never seen an ice-type cape ever, from either a hero or a villain. He would've been so useful against Lung...

But I wouldn't ask Greg to join the Teeth.

I wanted Greg as my friend, not my subordinate.

Chapter Text

Friday, April 15 2011

Greg Veder

Today had been good. I got into an unfinished fight with Hess, revealed my parahuman status with my closest thing to an actual best friend that was Sparky and TOTALLLY MADE UP WITH TAYLOR!

YEEEEEEES!

But I couldn't rest on this.

"Something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

I needed to be more proactive, to keep being the guy she wanted, especially with the other Butchers stuck with her. Otherwise, I would risk backsliding.

I sighed as I finally sat before my computer after dinner, regarding the device with a sort of distant fondness. Previously being a regular computer, I had upgraded my CPU with some Tinkertech I'd literally found in the trash a couple of weeks ago. Despite learning about how difficult it would've been to fix online, actually getting down to it hadn't been that difficult. For a glorious moment, I remembered thinking myself to have Triggered into a Tinker, only for my hopes to dash at the small branding of a name I'd almost missed in my fervor.

L33T

Uber and Leet were basically the runts of all Brockton Bay villains if they had a hierarchy. They weren't as hateable or numerous as the Empire Eighty Eight. They weren't as dangerous or infamous as Azn Bad Boys, which was mostly due to Lung. And they weren't even as disgusting or worrisome as the Merchants.

Ignoring Uber, Leet was actually a powerful Tinker beyond probably even Armsmaster, but his technical skill sucked. I only had one actual computer course in my belt, along with hardware disassembly and reassembly as a hobby, but that showed how much Leet sucked as a Tinker when someone like me could fix his Tinkertech into working again.

(KingVessel: It should be noted that Greg is actually very skilled with electronics and computer hardware, enough to be called an untested genius. However, he is unfortunately resident to a world where there's a specific class of superpowered people who can become the Tony Starks of any particular technological field with the right Trigger Event.)

Now my computer not only functioned better than the newest model would've, it also allowed greater protection against any viruses or incoming probes from online. One day, I'd find a way to attain superior browsing data as well.

Checking my email, my eyes widened at the new messages waiting in my inbox. Did I have any online friends who wou- Oh, wait I did, seeing most of them were from GstringGirl.

.

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Topic: Did Void Cowboy die?

In: Boards Places America Brockton Bay

Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Posted on April 14, 2011:

So, I noticed that everyone's 'favorite' conspiracy theorist has been radio silent for a while. His most recent temp ban was up days ago and he's usually back to posting the second that those go up.

Did he actually annoy somebody bad enough IRL?

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 14, 2011:

Last I heard from him, he was going to be grounded for a couple of days without internet access, but that was a few days ago. If anyone knows Void IRL, could they try contacting him, I'm getting kinda worried.

►IronCross (Banned)

Replied on April 14, 2011:

[Post removed for inflammatory content]

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on April 15, 2011:

I'm still alive, masses! I am... Invincible!

@GstringGirl, I didn't die. Just got hospitalized. Apparently, that tends to happen when you get dragged into an E88 initiation and you stab one of them in retaliation.

@Vista, quick question: how do you get over the brief nausea that follows up after a full-bodied teleportation?

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Oh my god! Void, you're alive! Wait, you got hospitalized?! And you stabbed somebody?!

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Yeah, that can apparently happen when you put a knife in the hands of someone who doesn't want to stab some innocent black person and actively hates prejudiced shits. It was a little bit scary, seeing as that was my first ever time fighting a person.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Void, your question to Vista a bit too worrying with this fresh context... Did you Trigger?

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Void Cowboy has achieved the Power of Teleportation! With immense trauma! Dying... is painful. I think I died. I'm here, but...

►Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Okay, ignoring the personal panic I have at you of all people getting powers, especially powers like mine, I suggest therapy with someone you trust. Trigger Events are no joke. Also, the nausea never really leaves. I always just have to suck it up.

►Tin_Mother (Admin)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Indeed. Cowboy, assuming that this isn't a lie-

►XxVoid_CowboyxX

Replied on April 15, 2011:

I WAS STABBED AND PULVERIZED BY FUCKING STONE GIANTS

Oh, and in completely unrelated matters, anybody know a cape who can manipulate stone giants?

►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Yeesh, I can actually feel the rage from your typing. Guess your Trigger Event was real after all. If you find a good a therapist though, let me know. That'd be nice to have.

►Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

@Clockblocker, quit it with the jokes. It's getting old and boring.

►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Vista, I will cease to be funny when it ceases being funny. Still, who said I was joking?

►Tin_Mother (Admin)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

I apologize for my earlier insensitivity. However, there is no known parahuman capable of manipulating 'stone giants'. Or any giants for that matter, except perhaps Nilbog.

►Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

Scary thought.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 15, 2011:

@XxVoid_CowboyxX, are you going to be okay?

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Unverified Cape)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

@GstringGirl, I'll be fine. Really. I've got a sorta good thing going that's allowing me to vent. Still, I missed you, though.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 15, 2011:

I missed you too.

►Point_Me_ @_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 15, 2011:

You should be more adorable like this, Cowboy. People would like you better.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 11, 12, 13

.

I stepped back from the computer at that point and prepared for bed. Even when being back as Void Cowboy, I hadn't felt my usual mania as I normally did. Maybe because I now had the System to vent excess energy?

Pulling out my Random Gift from this morning, I beheld the new dungeon key I'd gotten.

.

-:|Gate Key|:-

A key for teleporting into an instant dungeon. It can be used at the entrance to Brockton Arena.

.

I honestly hadn't expected another one of these so soon, especially with me beating the ogre mere days ago.

Still, Brockton Arena... Wasn't that within Teeth territory?

...meh, I'd figure something out.

Saturday, April 16 2011

Greg Veder

.

-:|Daily Quest: Training Regimen|:-

Push-ups[100/100]

Sit-ups[100/100]

Squats[100/100]

Running[12/10km]

Failure to complete the Daily Quest will result in an appropriate penalty.

.

You have acquired Reward(s) x3.[OPEN]

.

"Damn it!" I groaned as Mum beat me in our impromptu race. For the first time ever, we'd exercised together and she'd gone and reminded me that she was superior to me in terms of physical exercise. "This can't be fair!"

"Don't underestimate a dockworker." Mum beamed proudly, even as her chest heaved as well. But unlike me who had collapsed against a nearby bench, she was still standing strong on her own two feet. "I'll be heading back now, sweetie. When you stop attempting to swallow your own lungs, go take a shower and buy yourself some new clothes."

At my confused expression, she idly gestured at how my tracksuit pants now ended high above my ankles. "None of your clothes fit you anymore. I don't know why last night was a great time to hit a growth spurt out of nowhere, but I won't let you go around in clothes that clearly don't fit you anymore."

"Okay." I replied as Mum jogged back home, amazed at how either my awesome genetics or the System had Chadified me. There had been no physical changes yesterday after I'd pushed all of my physical stats up to D-rank. If this implied that I'd just needed to sleep on it, what kind of body would I have the more I leveled up? Right now, the usual baby fat I'd never been able to get rid off had finally left, leaving me with a sharper chin and a stronger jawline. Even my hair had changed slightly, growing from the permanent bowlcut to loosely reaching my nape from behind as well as gaining a wavy consistency to its usually straight composition.

Oh, and my abs were clear-cut now.

Yes!

Anyways.

.

+Status Recovery!

+5SP!

+Random Gift!

.

I let the {Status Recovery} stay unused, wanting to actually enjoy my upcoming cold shower later. Manifesting my new Random Gift, it slowly unraveled itself to reform into... a pair of weird glasses?

.

-:|Gale-Force Reading Glasses|:-

A pair of glasses that allow you to read books at an accelerated pace.

.

Huh. That'd be useful for school, at least. After later dressing up in my baggiest clothes, I then made my way towards the nearest mall. Weirdly enough, I got plenty stares on my way there for some reason. Actually entering into the mall worsened the intense gazes from every direction, which my SNS didn't let me stay ignorant of.

Did somebody tape something to my back without me noticing? A quick check revealed that to not be so. But if it wasn't like that, why were most of my observers smiling girls? At least the few guys staring looked more... jealous?

I curiously cast my gaze around. Was there a handsome man nearby who they were mistaking me for? As I did that, I met the gaze of a girl for the fourth time, only for her to abruptly turn away with a blush and hastily walk away.

...huh? Was she...? No, that was probably a fluke. I just needed to focus on what I was actually here for so that I'd later get to that dungeon.

Putting more effort into ignoring their whispers, I rushed towards the nearest clothing store. Checking through their wares, I hummed in thought as I appraised my choices. I'd usually just gone with blue due to it being my favorite color, but maybe I could add in some purple this time.

It would serve as a nice reminder of Aisha due to the dyed part of her hair.

"Hey, you there."

Not thinking that they'd been referring to me, I was totally flatfooted when two college-looking girls actually waltzed up to me for some reason. "Wait, me?"

"Do you have some free time?"

"You came here to shop for some clothes, right? How about you hang around with us for a while after you're done?"

Oh, they're flirting with me.

...they're flirting with me?! Why?! Why me?! Do I flirt back or something?! No, wait, that's stupid! I have zero flirting experience!

"S-Sorry." I awkwardly turned aside, sheepishly scratching the back of my hair. "I've got something else planned."

(Glamour Vision: "Sorry." The hunk casually turned aside, his hand sweeping through his hair in a way that had somehow had the store's fluorescent light leave his golden locks shimmering. "I've got something else planned.")

"O-Oh, it's okay!"

"D-Don't worry about it!"

The two girls actually seemed to lose their breaths for some reason, their faces flushed as I left them. But I never got to buy any clothes...

Well, off to another clothing store then. However, I found myself surprised when I got approached again, this time by a foreign looking man with a camera. "Um, can I help you?"

"Kid, how would you like to be a model for the next hour?"

"...eh?"

Yoo Soo-Hyun

"Wonderful, you two! Just like that~!"

*CLICK-CLICK!*

"Smile a bit more freely, Greg! Be more natural~!"

*CLICK-CLICK!*

"Now, sideways glance!"

*CLICK-CLICK!*

"C'mon, my boy! Use that untapped sexy smolder~!"

*CLICK-CLICK!*

I smiled easily as Jacques Beaumont and his crew worked themselves into a fervor, both to make up for lost time and to properly capture me with the new cutie trying not to be so stiff in my arms. "Calm down, Jacques. It's his first time, after all. It's not like you can do all that on command, right?"

"O-Oh, um, no. I mean, yes?" Greg helplessly stammered as she guided him away for a short break, the two of them leaning against a railing while the rest of the crew did their work.

"Still, we're really grateful for you doing this." I assured him. "With everyone's schedules, this was the only time that was available."

And that Min-Sung bastard had to mess it up for some reason that was making him late.

"W-W-Well, if I'm really being helpful to you guys, then its fine." Greg stammered adorably, which worsened when I saw Jacques raise up his camera for another shot and held Greg closer for a pose.

"You're still so stiff. It's a bit strange that you have such little exposure to girls despite your looks." Jacques mused before gesturing for them to move again. "Next, move over to those stairs, please~! Oh, and link your arms~!"

Greg choked as I locked our arms together, and then became a startling color of red when we had to hug each other closely for the next pose. Soon enough, they managed to finish up the photoshoot in time.

"Thanks for your work." One of the crewmen gave Greg and I some drinks to cool off.

"Thanks." Greg replied before immediately drinking from the cup. I wasn't unaware of the effect that my appearance could cause to teenage boys, but had my proximity been that heart-pumping for him? So adorable~

"Sorry about this. About all this." I clarified at his confused expression. "I know it was probably quite a lot to ask you to substitute one of our own models, using up your own free time for this."

"...its fine, Miss Yoo-"

"Please, you can call me Soo-Hyun."

"R-Right, Soo-Hyun." Greg stuttered. "I've never been considered handsome by others, so today was kinda strange for me. Model work is apparently a lot harder than it looks."

Eh? He was never considered handsome by others? Was he raised amongst only boys or something? It wasn't like Greg could've just woken up handsome after a lifetime of mediocrity. "I suppose that's how it looks from your perspective. I'm already used to all this. Not that I hadn't also made mistakes at the start, making others mad at me. Listen, Greg."

I leaned over and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You did good today and you've been an excellent model. Take pride in that, okay?"

Greg swallowed before giving her a relaxed smile. "Okay."

*CLICK-CLICK!*

"Surprise sneakshots!"

Calm down, Jacques. Thankfully, Greg was more amused than embarrassed or disturbed, allowing the head photographer to take many shots of the latter at his most relaxed.

"'Sup? I'm here late. My fans apparently held me up a bit too long."

Both Greg and I turned to see the man sauntering up to us, my face twisting into an annoyed expression. His arrival wasn't quiet either as the surrounding fans hyped the narcissist up for his undeserved fame.

Lee Min-Sung.

"Um, Soo-Hyun? Who's that?" Greg asked, causing me to almost giggle. Min-Sung's superior replacement didn't even know him. Well, he hadn't known me either, but that was forgivable. I wasn't a narcissist like Min-Sung, after all.

"Lee Min-Sung. A.k.a. the man you replaced today and did a much better job than." Greg blushed a little, but I considered that a complete truth. I'd come here to this dangerous city's mall, having expected to deal with Min-Sung's advances and ego. But I'd instead gotten Greg, who was meek but eager to please. It also helped that Greg clearly let me lead him through it all, compared to Min-Sung who would've drawn this all out to maximize the attention on him.

"Soo-Hyun, sorry to keep you waiting." Min-Sung strutted over to us, his eyes completely glossing over Greg as he spoke in Korean towards me. "As soon as we're done with this silly little shoot, lets go have a bite together."

Ew, no thanks. "I refuse with all of my might."

And that was in clear English.

"Now, now, you shouldn't play hard-to-get." Min-Sung was apparently very disregarding of personal space today, leaning uncomfortably closer to me. "All you need to do-"

"Could you, like, step away from her?" Greg interrupted with a firm hand on the man's shoulder. "Soo-Hyun's clearly uncomfortable with you being so close to her."

I flashed Greg a relieved smile as the latter actually pulled Min-Sung back easily, despite his smaller height. Apparently, the muscles I'd felt beneath his clothes hadn't been for show~

"Who are you even? Can't you see that I was having a conversation with her?" Min-Sung demanded.

"I'm... not good at social cues, but she was clearly leaning away from you." Greg replied nervously, which were at odds with how he briefly clenched his fists before pointing towards Jacques and the others. "You also haven't apologized to the guys you kept waiting."

Speaking of which, one of them was actually recording them right now. Poor Min-Sung~

"I'll get to them eventually. But you? You need to learn your damn place in the world, kid!" Min-Sung finished with a shove at Greg's shoulder. Or at least, that's what I assumed it would've been had Greg not grabbed the wrist of the incoming hand and squeezed it, causing a wet crunch to resound through the air before Min-Sung fell to his knees with a strangled cry as he cradled his injured hand.

"...oh, shit." Greg whispered, looking at Min-Sung in growing horror.

"Way to go, Greg~!" I stepped closer and glomped Greg close to me. "You're my hero~!"

My actions, while probably unneeded, swayed the surrounding fans into cheering Greg instead of potentially booing him instead for injuring a movie star and probationary model.

"Way to go, indeed." Jacques stepped up as well with a vindicated smile, holding up a tablet that displayed a recording of the whole thing from Min-Sung's disregard of my personal space to him being brought down to his knees by a teenager. "I look forward to your latest scandal, Lee Min-Sung."

"D-Damnit!" Min-Sung growled before getting back to his feet and storming off.

"Good luck getting another modelling gig ever again." Jacques called after him darkly before turning towards Greg. "Greg, I know that you've helped us immensely as a temporary model today. But would you like to do more work like this? On top of your looks, you're eager to learn and capable of working well with other models. Of course, we'll get your guardian's permission as well, but would you like to sign an exclusive contract with us?"

"...thanks for the offer, but I'm not suited to such a dazzling life." Greg replied with an apologetic smile. "I got a surprising amount of EXP- Sorry, I mean, experience today, so I really appreciate doing this. But I've got a prior set of circumstances that takes precedence over most of my life right now. Becoming as intensive as modelling might... get in the way..."

"...you've got a surprisingly serious tendencies, don't you?" Jacques sighed in a resigned manner, before gesturing at one of his crewmen. "Well, I'll just have to respect those feelings. With the kind of world we live in, youths should do their best to know exactly what they want at that point in their lives."

"Sir." The crewman arrived with a filled shopping bag.

"Thank you." Jacques took the bag before handing it over to Greg, who looked surprised at the gesture. "Here, take these. The truth is, I'd prefer to pay you directly, but it wouldn't look good from our agency's perspective since you're an amateur. And since you'd earlier told us that you just came here shopping for new clothes, every outfit you modelled for are hereby yours as payment for today."

"R-Really?!" Greg gushed as he looked them over. "Thanks, Mr. Beaumont!"

"We benefited a lot more than you today." Jacques shook hands with Greg. "Thank you, Greg, for being here when you were needed. Truly, thank you."

"Greg, if by some chance we should ever meet again..." I took his own hand to shake it as well, placing my other hand over linked hands fondly. "I hope I can count on you then."

"Me, too." Greg grinned back bashfully, which prompted another surprise picture from Jacques. "I hope for your continued success in life."

Watching him walk towards the mall's entrance, I sighed at how much might've changed if he'd agreed to become a teen model.

My mood would later plummet further when I remembered that I'd forgotten to exchange numbers with him.

.

+3,100EXP!

.

+New Quirk(s)!

.

Was this what a surprise encounter felt like in real life? Oh, well. Min-Sung being a parahuman had been a shock, but I didn't really care.

What I did care about was the new Quirk the System had given me for beating him.

.

-:|Whirlwind|:-

This allows you to control the air around you with little physical movements from you.

.

This was awesome! I was now a freaking airbender now! Of course, I'd have to later train with this to find out what my drawbacks were, but I couldn't help the giddiness. Putting my new clothes away into my Inventory, I barely remembered that the Brockton Arena was currently within Teeth territory before teleporting straight there.

So I teleported home first, changed into a black hoodie and a hockey mask to mask my identity(note to self: procure a proper superhero outfit later), used my computer to check out Brockton Arena's exact coordinates and then teleported straight there.

Unfortunately, my plan hit a snag. Because apparently, the arena seemed to be important enough to warrant having two Teeth gangsters as guards right at the entrance I needed to use.

.

STR: 105(D) → 110(D)

SP: 0

.

"Hey, who are- gurk?!"

"What the- glerk?!"

.

+900(x2)EXP!

.

Double neck shots for the instant win. Pulling out the gate key once again, I waved it around before the expected sparks came out and formed into the familiar blue portal.

A moment later, somebody explosively teleported just two meters away from me.

She was completely dressed now for slaughter, and was now acting as an alpha reacting to an intruder in her territory.

Taylor Hebert, Butcher XV.

I still hadn't put as much thought on my feelings regarding this, and I would still procrastinate on that. But for now?

I waved her goodbye before backstepping into the portal, smiling when her fist smashed uselessly against an invisible barrier that prevented her from coming after me.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Only the Player and Party members may enter into an instant dungeon.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have entered into an instant dungeon. Until you defeat its boss or use a return runestone, you cannot exit the dungeon.

.

I had the brief sensation of falling at a rapid speed before I splashed down into some kind of shallow pool.

Which smelt and tasted weird. Dismissing the now useless mask into my Inventory, I got up and surveyed my surroundings now. I could barely see in the darkness, but it looked like some kind of underground cavern with me being in a part that had gathered up years worth of dripping liquid.

But the smell alone was really starting to make me dizzy so I teleported to the nearest dry spot I could see. A second later, one of the smaller pools suddenly lit ablaze with its flames spreading rapidly across the liquid and towards me.

Oh, this must be natural kerosene or something.

...oh, shit!

I dropped and began rolling around to get off all the flammable liquid that I was soaked in before remembering {Whirlwind} and using it to forcibly dry myself.

I knew progressive difficulty was a thing, but a death trap right at the start?!

Damnit, System!

Stepping forward and out of the cavern, I stepped into a much wider area that was illuminated by many crystals that were glowing a soft yellowish orange akin to fire. Not to mention, there seemed to be several holes around that looked exactly like the one I'd just come out of.

Ah, so this was a matter of choosing the right one to enter? I turned back to see the one I'd just come out off, frowning at how identical it was to the others. One stomp of my feet, and the entrance was frozen over. Looking around some more, I noted the entrances to all have varying marks on the walls next to them.

As if there had been others before me to check them over.

If so, then that meant that the marked entrances were all wrong. What I needed was a 'right' entrance which would have no marking, because one wouldn't make a point of returning back out if they'd found the correct one.

Or died in them.

Well, uncertain success always triumphs over certain failure.

Stepping into the first unmarked entrance, I walked into the natural tunnel for at least ten minutes until I came upon a bunch of glowing cocoons. A second later, the cocoons burst apart to reveal horse-sized insects that were green and glossy and urgh.

Sparks burst along my palms before I swiped an explosion at it, bursting it apart into steaming goo.

.

+6,000EXP!

.

...wait, goo?

More of them began pop out, swiftly surrounding me. Stomping my feet, I willed ice to spread out into defensive spikes around me and force them back. However, their green bodies began to bubble up a yellowish light within them until-

FWOOOSH!*

-they each spewed powerful jets of flames that swiftly melted down my ice. Pumping out more ice to counter them, I used {Whirlwind} to build up as much air around me before exploding it as violently as I could, creating a surrounding wave of air pressure that obliterated the insect-shaped flame-breathing slimes in one fell swoop.

.

+6,000(x12)EXP!

.

Level Up: 11 → 16

.

+125SP!

New Super Move(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 16

EXP: 14,415/16,999

NRG: 16,000/16,000

Class: ?

STR: 110(D)

VIT: 145(D)

MOB: 120(D)

MAG: 100(D)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 125

.

-:Quirks(Explosion[Explosive Speed], Frost[Glacial Rampart], Warp Gate, Whirlwind[Air Ball]):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

I blinked at the new influx of information before grinning at the details of the 'Super Moves' which were apparently specific sub-skills for the Quirks that would've admittedly been difficult for me to come up with on my own.

Continuing on deeper, I soon came upon another chamber that had a new entrance to deeper inwards but with the stone head of a dragon's upper jaw overhanging it. And right before the entrance was a stone pedestal with words written into it.

"To reach the truth, overcome the dragon's fangs and find everything to behold at the dragon's tail."

"...yeah, another win condition." I sighed and continued inwards past the overhanging the dragon jaw. When it didn't drop down onto me or behind me, I knew that the 'fangs' must be something else inside. Sure enough, I came upon a long hallway with several thin holes along the floors and spikes hanging down from the ceiling.

.

MOB: 120(D) → 200(C)

SP: 45

.

"Plus Explosive Speed." I practically launched forward as my palms propelled me from behind, clearing the entire space in just three footsteps. By the time I came to a halt, the trap spikes had dropped down too late. Not too shabby, if I were to praise myself.

But this was turning out to be a pretty strange dungeon. I only had a grand total of three so far in my experience, but this place seemed more suited to be testing my creativity more than just tossing EXP bags at me.

Continuing onwards again, I soon came upon three identical entrances. Unlike before, none of these were marked, so this would be a true test of my luck.

Naturally, I chose none of the above. Instead, I pushed {Frost} along the floor once more and deeper inside all three entrances. Soon enough, monstrous shrieks burst forth from both the left and right entrances while the middle entrance remained silent.

Stepping up to the left entrance, I pumped it full of ice until it was practically jutting out in the form of a small glacier. And then, I did the same thing to the right entrance until it produced the same results.

.

+6,000EXP(x4)!

+6,000EXP(x5)!

.

Level Up: 16 → 19

.

+75SP!

New Super Move(s)!

.

-:Status:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 19

EXP: 14,418/19,999

NRG: 19,000/19,000

Class: ?

STR: 110(D)

VIT: 145(D)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 100(D)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 120

.

-:Quirks(Explosion[Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade], Frost[Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf], Warp Gate, Whirlwind[Air Ball, Air Blast]):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing):-

.

Stepping inside, I immediately used {Cold Surf} to clad my feet in ice that propelled me forward, allowing me to skate along the frozen ground at pretty high speeds. Judging by the trickle of my mana, I could probably go faster if I willed it.

After at least one minute of skating along empty hallways and zero enemies in my way, I soon came upon a huge set of doors.

Finally, it was time for the boss battle. Pushing them open, I was briefly blinded by a bright flash of light that engulfed me and my surroundings. When the light faded away, I gasped at the sight of a sprawling manmade cavern filled with so much gold.

I'd never even seen this much gold in anime, movies or even comics. It was literally as far as my eyes could see, in between the pillars and far into the ambient darkness. But as much as I wanted to shout in excitement, my SNS had been particularly helpful in warning about the humongous presence beneath all that gold.

Sneak attack overkill?

Sneak attack overkill, it is.

Why play fair when I don't have to?

"Glacial Rampart." I stomped my feet and pushed forth a wave of ice that completely engulfed everything before me, with me pushing at least half of my NRG into thickening the interior glacier I was creating.

By the time I was done, the entire underground treasury had become a frozen landscape. At least for the first few seconds.

Then the ice began cracking ominously. Fissures soon burst through the thick ice as burning steam heralded the deafening explosion of something massive bursting free from the frozen tomb. Something massive and reptilian in nature.

"Well, well, well..." A deep voice rang out from the big fucking dragon, possessing a gravelly and underlying growl tone as it loomed over me. "Is this how you greet your opponents?"

.

[King under the Mountain, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug]

.

"I could... sense your power while you were... asleep, I guess. Why risk a fair fight with someone so much stronger than me?" I somehow managed to speak despite my blank terror, automatically crosschecking it's size with other large things I knew.

I didn't like the answers my stupidly calculative brain starting to give me regarding the giant red dragon with wyvern-like wings.

...oh dear god, Smaug was bigger than Behemoth and the Lord.

Smaug was bigger than the biggest Endbringer.

"Oh, how flattering. To be so powerful that the enemy utterly abandons any pretense of fair play..." To my mild confusion, Smaug really seemed flattered. Unfortunately, he was leaning closer to me now while I forced myself not to scream or break into a run as he audibly sniffed me. "Hmm... There is something about you... Something hidden within your human stench..."

Smaug suddenly leaned back with a rumbling movement that broke even more of the melting ice. "Is that the Shadow I sense? ...no, you're too weak. You reek of fear. State your name and title, false Shadowling."

"...G-Greg Veder." I stammered with a shaky shrug. "No titles, I'm afraid. And what's this 'Shadow' you're talking about?"

"Oh? So the intruder doesn't know what he is..." Smaug mused with a growl. "Even though your predecessor slew my Monarch!"

Smaug's winged claw slammed down next to me, prompting me start running as he began chasing me as his angered roars grew louder. "Did you I did not know this day would come?! That the Monarch of Shadows would not ignore the servants of his enemies forever?!"

I paid little attention to his words as I teleported away from the jagged ice and the jingling gold all over the ground, clinging mostly to the pillars and the metal rafters. Smaug still tracked me down almost effortlessly, sometimes gliding along the way.

I didn't know whether that was a compliment to his size or the boss room's.

"As Monarch Antares's servant, I kill where and when I wish...! The armor that is my scales is far superior than any manmade weapon! That is why the Monarch of Shadows had to utilize his own shadows as his own armor and blades against my kin! Everything else was insufficient!" Smaug boasted as he gestured over a series of deep slash scars over his back. How the hell had he survived that?! "But it matters not. The fact that you exist... means that he is facing a threat far greater than even the Monarchs... a threat that even himself and the trillions of the dead that he commands are not enough for. Or is it that he seeks a successor after he has taken the Empty Throne? It must be so difficult to be both the Monarch of Shadows and the Absolute Being..."

Smaug's lumbering gait stalked closer to my latest hiding spot, alarming me at how the kaiju dragon was almost successful in being quiet while stepping across piles of ice and loose gold. "Are you aware that you're being used, fals- Ah, my apologies. You're not a false Shadowling, after all. You're just a very immature one."

"I already know that I'm being used!" I found myself shouting back. "But I would've died if this Shadow Monarch guy didn't step in!"

Because that was the undeniable truth. If this Shadow Monarch hadn't interfered with those E88 guys, I would've died that night and Aisha...

The point was the Shadow Monarch needed me for something, and I'd apparently pleased him so far. And given the fact that he had yet to put me into any unwinnable scenario no matter how terrifying...

He must believe that I could beat Smaug.

I swallowed nervously before teleporting right before Smaug, causing a very brief look of surprise on the dragon's face. "Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug... I'm going to start to kill you now. Maybe I'll have you become a fellow Shadowling, depending on my mood."

Smaug's eyes widened as he flinched back (as if he'd seen something else rather than me at that moment) in... terror? "Well, then... I suppose our pre-battle banter has to its end."

Smaug's chest and neck glowed orange from beneath his scales just as I prepped {Warp Gate}, opening a wide portal just as a torrent of fiery death bloomed towards me. A second later, the flames cut off as Smaug roared in pain as his own flames roasted him from below. Dragons may be immune to fire, but only had 'resistance' to their own flames. And while he was distracted-

"Glacial Rampart!" Ice surged and struck Smaug with enough force to launch back a few meters, the spikes digging as much as it could into his scales.

"I told you..." Smaug flexed his body, the ice immediately shattering off him. "None but the Shadows or my liege could hurt me! You should beckon to the Monarch of Frost if you desire for your ice to hurt a dragon of my caliber!"

My ice... had done nothing?! Was his resistance towards just the ice or basically everything I had?! I teleported to right beneath Smaug's head and stretched out {Warp Gate} to engulf it-

And promptly teleported away a millisecond before Smaug's jaws snapped free of the darkness and around the spot I'd been.

So {Frost} was negligible, {Warp Gate} couldn't even work directly on him, and {Explosion} on an enemy that was that durable and heat resistant was absolutely useless. This left me with just {Whirlwind}... which ran the risk of literally fanning the flames.

What the hell did I have that could help me put down a dragon?! Lob one or all of my water bottles at him?!

Wait. Water bottle. Inventory. Shop!

"Come now!" Smaug called out, his roar making my bones shake as I opened up the Shop. "You'll have to face me eventually! I can hardly imagine that your Monarch permits failure as well as mine did."

.

-:|Shop|:-

Buy: Please input keyword to aid in locating and purchasing the desired item(s). [dragon slaying item]

Balmung(B-rank): This is a greatsword that was wielded by a swordsman soaked in the blood of Glittering Gold Lord Fafnir, imbuing it with dragon slaying properties as well as the ability to unleash blue slashes of destructive energy.

Dragon Slayer Seal(B-rank): This is a magical sigil that enchants any chosen user or weapon with dragon slayer properties.[5,000 gold]

.

Wow, that was... limited as fuck. Probably only showing those within my budget. The sword was right out because I have zero proficiency for weapons that need actual skill. As for the Seal, I didn't want to risk using it on myself only to find out that it wouldn't affect my Quirks. This seemed like the thing to prefer melee combat like actual dragons and their slayers.

I mean, who ever heard of a long-range dragon slayer? Not me. Wait, new idea!

.

-:|Shop|:-

Buy: Please input keyword to aid in locating and purchasing the desired item(s). [powerful firearm]

Gianduja(C-rank): This is a brown and gold minigun that weighs one hundred fifty kilograms and fires custom-tooled cartridges at ten thousand rounds per minute, capable of subduing huge groups of enemies at once and raining down huge amounts of damage on bigger targets.[3,800 gold]

.

...I could work with that. Buying them both, I immediately merged the two together and liked what I got after a brief moment of the System upgrading them.

.

-:|Equipment|:-

Dragon-Slaying Gianduja(B-rank): This is a brown and gold minigun that weighs one hundred fifty kilograms and fires custom-tooled cartridges at ten thousand rounds per minute, capable of subduing huge groups of enemies at once and raining down huge amounts of damage on bigger targets. With the Dragon Slayer Seal, it has been upgraded to possess greater damage effectiveness against dragon-type opponents.

.

I took one final look at the weight and dumped all of my stat points into STR.

.

STR: 110(D) → 230(C)

SP: 0

.

"Alright, Smaug." I called out, gaining the dragon's attention on me as I stopped hiding. "Come at me!"

"YOU WILL BURN!" Smaug roared as he rushed towards me, his maw lighting up once more before he breathed a wave of scorching flames towards me. Portaling to a higher vantage, I Equipped Gianduja and took aim, the whirring of the firearm's barrel growing in speed and sound before I unleashed it's payload. "GRAAAAAAAARGH!"

Smaug roared in pain as the bullets tore numerous small holes into his body, even rendering one of his wings unusable. "HOW DARE YOU?! I AM A DRAGON! YOU'RE JUST A MERE HUMAN!"

"Yeah." I portaled above him and unleashed enough ice to freeze his entire head. And during the brief moment he trashed around to get rid of the ice, I fired upon his unprotected neck until he stopped moving. "But that just gives me incentive to cheat a lot."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have defeated the boss of this instant dungeon.

+182,400EXP!

+182,400 gold!

.

Level Up: 19 → 27

.

+200SP!

+New Super Move(s)!

+New Perk(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 27

EXP: 8,826/27,999

NRG: 27,000/27,000

Class: ?

STR: 230(C)

VIT: 145(D)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 100(D)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 200

.

-:Quirks(Explosion[Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact], Frost[Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis], Warp Gate, Whirlwind[Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice]):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Force):-

.

Unequipping my dragon slaying minigun, I sighed at the rush of levelling up from much EXP in one go. It almost felt addictive.

Almost.

Shaking my head, I checked upon my new Perk with gusto.

.

-:|Perk(s)|:-

-:Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing:-

Active Effect: This allows you to heal and regenerate all physical harm to yourself almost instantly. Any damaged area or lost anatomy will be completely restored with no lingering side effects in seconds to minutes, even forcing objects embedded out to heal properly.

Passive Effect: This automatically cleanses your body of any viruses, diseases, toxins and intrusive substances. Only the most potent of these will affect you and only for a brief period before you return to normal. Additionally, sleeping explosively boosts your regenerative capabilities.

-:Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Force:-

Active Effect: This allows you to manifest a massive draconic avatar out of your spiritual and elemental aura, surrounding you and fighting on your behalf.

Passive Effect: This automatically renders you highly resistant to most forms of supernatural phenomena, reducing their effects on you to a negligible threshold. This trait can be imbued into any impromptu defenses you can manifest.

.

I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing, right there and then. Once more, I'd nearly died and the System had given me rewards to encourage me to come back to the dungeons once more.

...could I take on an Endbringer right no-

I crushed down that foolish thought with ruthless finality. I, Greg Veder, am not suicidal.

No matter what Sparky's worried expressions may imply.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

As the boss has been been defeated, the dungeon will now collapse.

.

Remembering to put my hockey mask back on and walking through the expected portal, I paused at the sight of a problem I probably should've expected.

Weaver had apparently been patient enough to wait for me.

Saturday, April 16 2011

Lisa Wilbourn - Tattletale

"Took you long enough." Weaver said after the stranger returned out of his portal, as if us being here hadn't been a wild guess and hope that he would return. Right now, it was just her, Bitch, Weaver, Vex and Spree(who'd been unfortunate enough to be somewhat sober while they passed him). "Who are you and what was your intention here?"

Surprised to see Weaver still here. Annoyed at his own surprise. Wondering how to leave without fighting or revealing his identity.

The stranger in the hockey mask and burned black clothing, that I noted was still smoking, crossed his arms thoughtfully before snapping his fingers in realization. A few seconds later, a strange collar appeared in his raised hand with a crackle of electricity. After he attached it to his own neck, I immediately realized that it was a voice modulator of some sort before he even spoke.

"My intentions?" A voice way too deep and rumbling to come from a human body spoke forth, alarming me a little when Bitch and her dogs took a wary step back. "I was merely here for a fight directed to me by a higher power. Oh, don't worry. Whether the Teeth had this place as a hideout or not was utterly inconsequential."

"Now worried if further instances might take him to other gang hideouts. Hoping to be strong enough to deal with them when the time comes. Desperately wants to go to sleep and is considering violence to get it."

"I believe him." I spoke up, earning surprised glances from the others. Not that I cared. I wanted my sleep too. "He really didn't come here for the Teeth."

The cape turned his head to regard me-

Danger! Unnatural micro adjustments occurring within the body. Danger! Irises of unknown blue tint capable of bioluminescence. Danger! Dense reinforcements intricately woven into muscular and skeletal systems. Danger! Unknown glands passively generating unknown energy. Danger!

-and it took all of my effort to keep my kneejerk reactions on the downlow. I explicitly didn't want to aggravate something that was scaring my power. I did however sigh in relief when he looked away thanks to somebody else.

"Bullshit." Spree scoffed before stomping towards the unknown cape, his common sense apparently on a vacation at a moment as he grabbed him by his collar. "You think you can waltz up here, right in the heart of our turf-"

(.

VIT: 145(D) → 245(C)

MAG: 100(D) → 200(C)

SP: 0

.)

The cape suddenly gut punched Spree, folding the latter over his arm before he was launched away and towards Weaver, coming to a sprawled stop at her feet.

(.

+3,110EXP!

New Quirk(s)!

.

-:|Double|:-

This allows you to create an exact duplicate of anything, living or not, as long as you know its precise measurements and characteristics. Upon taking a certain degree of damage, the copies disintegrate into a mud-like substance. If a copy of a living being is created, you will have no control over it due to it possessing their own autonomy as their personalities and abilities will be identical to the original. Once destroyed, a living copy will have it's accumulated experiences transferred back to you.

.)

Say what you wanted about Spree, but I knew this guy was a lot more durable than he looked. So when I considered how much physical strength it would take for a single gut punch to keep him down... "Control your minions better, Weaver. I'll make my leave now before anybody else gets too eager for their own good."

"...noted." Weaver sighed. "May I have a name, so that I know what to call you?"

The cape tilted his head before finally shrugging. "Void Cowboy."

Familiar and pleased with his choice. Finally settled on having this as his hero name. Will work on costume later.

What the fuck?!

"What the fuck?!" Vex exclaimed what had just crossed through my mind as the PHO infamous cape burst into darkness that swirled and swallowed itself, disappearing along with him.

"Void Cowboy...?" Weaver muttered in disbelief. "That guy with the highest number of non-villain infractions on the PHO? The one guy who was always on my side but was such a troll about it? That Void Cowboy?"

"No way..." Vex muttered. "He must just be borrowing that loser's name or something."

Both common sense and my power strongly disagreed. I knew that people tended to differ from their online persona, but seriously?!

We were still in a state of disbelief as Rachel dragged Spree along until we'd returned to the others, Taylor making a straight line towards Big Robbie.

"What's wrong?" I asked Rachel after I noticed her to still be deep in thought. "Was it that guy?"

"...he felt dangerous." Rachel replied after a while. "And powerful, too."

I raised a brow. "Like Weaver?"

Rachel shook her head. "Like Lung. Like a dragon."

"...Lung died to Weaver." I pointed out after a while. "As did Quarrel."

"...yeah. But by accident."

I found myself unable to dispute Rachel's final point.

Chapter Text

[Trajectory]

[Alignment]

[Agree- ARISE]

"No. That one's... an important experiment."

[Confusion?]

"No matter how many times I see this... it's quite disgusting, to be honest."

[Outrage!]

"Oh? So this one would've been a... 'thinker' type? Something related to emotions specifically. ...Ah, I see. He just wanted to have friends."

[Agreement]

"But how's he supposed to make friends with what you would've given him? This wouldn't even fix his issues, but potentially make it worse. Even these 'thinking' types are geared towards conflict like the others... You know what? I can fix this."

[Alarm!]

"Frankly, it's not like he's unintelligent. He's just got social issues. With a little adjustment here..."

[Fear!]

"Stop twitching. I'd rather not make a mistake that I can't fix."

[Concussed!]

"There. Now then... Well, this part's needless. He'll be using mana, so I can just scoop this part out."

[Pain!]

"Now to add this in... Oh, you have restrictions. Well, that won't do."

[That was needed!]

"No, it wasn't. Greg will have you at full capacity when he earns you. I won't have the 4th Shadow Monarch having a needlessly crippled Skill. But perhaps having them transform into 'Quirks' was too limiting in its own way. Still, the superhumans of that universe had much better synergy with their powers compared to these... 'shards'."

[...ow.]

"Stop whining. You're already influencing Greg without negatively impacting his life and that's all that matters for now."

[...for now?]

"For now. After he Levels Up enough and beats the... Monarch-like entity posing as a hero along with the others his powers will soon attract, he and Su-Ho will join hands."

[Impossible. Zion cannot be beaten.]

"You should be proud then. Your owner's going to show you an impossibility down the line."

[...fine, then.]

"Perfect. Now how long will you go on without realizing that you've been speaking in full sentences now?"

[...WHAT?!]

Chapter Text

Sunday, April 17 2011

Greg Veder

I was almost tempted to blow the morning exercise off, my old laziness rearing its head.

Almost.

I still had little desire to find out the 'penalty' that the System would give me if I skipped it, especially with it being able to create or link with pocket dimensions of whatever kinds. After exercising together again, Mum had gone out with a few of her friends from the docks, only leaving me with a few chores to do before I would be free to do today.

Luckily, that just gave me a motive to experiment with {Double} after I'd gotten it from Spree last night. Calling it forth, I marveled as mud-like fluid pooled off my outstretched and rapidly grew into an identical copy of me.

"...huh." Other me muttered as we tilted our heads at each other, sounding as mutely bewildered as I felt. "I can kinda see how girls might now be attracted to us now."

I frowned. "Is that really what comes to mind for you? I mean, me?"

"It's just a thought. Sparky didn't react and I think Aisha probably already liked us a little after saving her, but I've- Sorry, we've still been growing more since Friday. School's going to be a pain come Monday." Other me sighed, me joining him in agreement. If the mall had been any indication, school really would be troublesome. An ideal superhero's civilian identity was supposed to be easily overlookable!

Wait, this was the whole reason why I needed to experiment with {Double} in the first place! "So how real are you? Flesh and blood, or just an illusion?"

Other me slapped my hand away when I tried to poke him. "Real enough. We share the same memories, so I know that I'm a clone and me potentially dying will just have me reunite with the original Greg."

"Right... 'a living copy will have it's accumulated experiences transferred back'." My eyes widened in realization. "Wait, so can you use the System too?"

I blinked when a {Status} screen immediately popped up before other me's face. "Looks like it... No wait, there's a prompt that says that half of my EXP always gets redirected towards you. But other than that, everything else seems good."

He raised up his hand and had a mild explosion blast off from it. "And I can use our Quirks, too."

Perfect. This would allow me to preserve my superhero identities with plausible denials... as long as 'Void Cowboy' was never shown being capable of creating copies of himself. "You'll need to be going out as Void Cowboy."

Other me, or rather Void Cowboy, shrugged. "Fine, but does this mean that I'll have 'sole ownership' of {Warp Gate}?"

"...sure, why not?" I shrugged. "Capes with similar powers get plenty of attention, and I've already spoken out on PHO to be a teleporter. And with us meeting Weaver and her minions last night, we've kinda had your debut already."

Void Cowboy frowned. "Does it count as a hero's debut if I don't save a person first? Or even have a proper costume?"

That... was an excellent point. Frankly, I really would need costumes for my superhero identities. The hockey mask could only work as a beta outfit for so long before people would (wrongfully) start associating him with that look. "...so Parian, then?"

"Makes sense." Void Cowboy agreed before frowning once more. "But can we afford her services?"

.

-:|Asset Conversion|:-

This will allow to convert your in-game currency into the current denomination of whatever nation you are currently located in, produced and manipulated via planetary data so that serial numbers and other aspects do not cause economic chaos.

.

I blinked as this screen immediately popped up to answer my problem. And here I thought that all of my gold would stay as in-game currency...

.

-:|Asset Conversion|:-

Budget: 182,600 gold

Bank Account: $6,472.37

.

"...wait, that's my savings account." I realized before gulping unsteadily. "C-Convert 2,600 gold."

.

-:|Asset Conversion|:-

Budget: 180,000 gold

Bank Account: $2,606,472.37

.

My jaw dropped as my phone rang out an alert, showing a message prompt involving my bank account.

Acct: XXXXX

CR: $2,600,000.00

Desc: Ah-Jin Guild XXXXX

Bal: $2,606,472.37

"...holy shit." Void Cowboy and I droned in unison.

Group Chat: Bouquet of Madness

Player: Who's free today? I have cash and I'm going shopping!

Oracle: How much cash?

Imptastic: How much cash?

Player: CAAAAAAAAAAASSSH

Imptastic: Are you offering yourself up as a free wallet, Greg? 'cause I've got a lotta stuff I'd love to buy.

Oracle: Greg's a sucky liar to girls. Besides, your answer proves how little you know of him. I'm already heading towards his house.

Oracle: [Uploading selfie of herself outside, looking as perpetually stoic as she did.]

Imptastic: Huh?! Well, I'm ready to head out too!

Imptastic: [Uploading selfie of herself in what looked like her room, angled in a way that highlighted her cleavage.]

Player: Ladies, do not fight over me. I have enough to spoil you both and get a superhero costume afterwards.

Oracle: Were you just trying to be smooth? :p

Imptastic: He can be smooth however he likes. Also, you're a lot more expressive over the phone.

Oracle: I struggle to properly care about others, and Greg's so far been the sole one to pierce my armor. After all, Greg's my carer. He cares so I don't have to.

Player: Liar. You do care about others.

Oracle: Want me to reveal who you first beat your meat to?

Player: HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?! YOU SEE THE FUTURE, NOT THE PAST!

Oracle: Be sure to bribe me well, today. :D

Imptastic: You two are fucking hilarious. How did I not ever hear of you guys?

Player: Bottom of the social hierarchy.

Oracle: Bottom of the social hierarchy.

Imptastic: Wait, hold up. Superhero costume? You're gonna join the Wards or something?

Player: What? No way. No offense to them, but I'm going independent.

Imptastic: Phew! Almost lost a smidge of respect for you. Just a smidge. See you guys at XXX-XXXX.

"Looks like you're set for the day." Void Cowboy commented from over my shoulder. "Good luck today, mule."

Mentally dismissing the clone back into mud that (thankfully) faded away from existence, I got up to do the {Training Regimen}.

.

+Status Recovery!

+5SP!

+Random Gift!

.

-:|Random Gift: Flying Carpet|:-

This is a intricately woven carpet that has been enchanted to fly and is capable of carrying up to four people at a maximum of 200MPH.

.

Damnit. No Gate Key.

Aisha Laborn

It's almost sad how long since it'd been that I was this eager to leave the house, even if I lived with just Brian now that he'd quit the Undersiders. "Brian! I'm going out!"

"To where?" Brian called out just as he stepped out of one of the rooms in the back.

"My hero called and invited me to go shopping with me and his friend." I grinned as I showed off our recent chat. "Wanna come with?"

I almost expected him to refuse, my brother still pondering on whether to shack up with the Protectorate or not. Not that I blamed him. I wanted to be away from Celia as much as he did, and getting government-sponsored aid would help a lot in him getting custody of me. Brian was often too focused on what needed to be done that he ignored everything else.

But I'd apparently underestimated just how much he wanted to meet Greg when Brian immediately offered to drive me there.

Giving him the address, I hopped into his car and hummed an anime tune from one of Greg's Asian cartoons along the way. When we reached the mall's parking lot, I was already perking up at the sight of them and leaving the car as soon as Brian parked.

While Sparky still looked so androgynous as ever despite Greg confirming her to identify as female, Greg himself now looked slightly less recognizable due to how... attractive he looked. "Greg? Do you have the right to look that hot?"

Greg blinked with honest confusion in his eyes before turning towards Sparky. "Do I really look that hot? From a girl's perspective?"

Sparky had the audacity to shrug, as if her best friend wasn't the same model I'd gawked at after seeing his face on a magazine. "You look no different to me."

"So you must be Greg, then." Brian stepped forward, extending his hand for a shake. "I'm Brian, Aisha's brother. I've been wanting to personally thank you for saving her from those Empire goons for a while now."

"No prob." Greg cheerily accepted Brian's hand, shaking it. "Fuck the Nazis."

"Fuck 'em." Brian smiled in agreement. "If you ever need anything, just give me a call, okay?"

"What's next, bro?" I teased. "Gonna give him an awkward manly hug?"

"Haha." Brian responded with a roll of his eyes as he stepped back. "So you're all really just going shopping?"

"Just for a bit." Greg shrugged. "I'm planning to go catch Parian's show in the afternoon."

"I'm off to find a suitable spot for a superhero lair." Sparky added, rolling her eyes at the surprised looks we all sent her. "Even superheroes can have lairs."

"...I'll trust in your judgement, then." Greg hummed after giving it some thought. "Are you coming along, Brian?"

"...no, I can leave Aisha with you guys." Brian turned about and gave me a serious stare. "Just be sure to call me if something happens."

I gallantly resisted the urge to roll my eyes and instead waved him off. At this point, Greg was probably a lot stronger than Grue so calling him would be useless if they ran into a criminal or villain that Greg couldn't handle.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

...how strong was Greg again now? "Greg, what level are you?"

"27." Greg easily answered. And Aisha had no idea if that was a strong or weak number.

"Is... that strong?"

Greg looked back at me before casting a wary gaze around. Satisfied that nobody else was currently in the parking lot with us, he reached for the nearest car's bumper and got me to drop my jaw when he lifted up the vehicle by it's bumper, easily dragging it along with a single hand until he reached an empty spot a few steps away. "How's that for strong?"

"Aim to match Alexandria." Sparky dared. "You have no theoretical limit, after all."

"True, but I'd need to actually fight enemies for that EXP gain." Greg replied. "Maybe if I fight some villain higher-ups instead of just monsters, I'll get more EXP."

Greg's smile turned particularly dark for a beat. "Or maybe even an Endbringer."

Both Sparky and I lashed out to smack his bicep in unison, wincing at how my fingers throbbed at the impact. Damn, those muscles were tough! ""Don't joke about that!""

"..sorry."

Greg Veder

.

-:|Inventory|:-

Cellphone x3

Common Knife x1

Designer Brand Clothes x12

Fried Rice and BBQ Dish x3

Gaming Console x1

Grilled Chicken x3

Headphones x3

Parfait x6

Scarves x2

Stir-fry Spaghetti Dish x3

Wallet x1

Water Bottle x4

Gale-Force Reading Glasses x1

Flying Carpet x1

Light Pen x1

Return Runestone x1

.

"And this doesn't even cover the movies." I sighed as I looked over the copious amount of items in my Inventory, it being shamelessly taken advantage of along with my money by Sparky and Aisha.

There was a brief moment when I'd wondered if I was actually on a date, but I had to be realistic. If that had been a date, either of them would've let me know. Or maybe even give me a classic kiss on the cheek or something.

So that was just an outing between friends. Even if Aisha had gotten extra clingy whenever random girls stared too long at me. Even if Sparky had actually deigned to wear a pretty flattering sundress for the rest of the day after she'd asked my opinion on it.

Just an outing between friends.

Now off to Parian!

Sabah - Parian

I smiled in satisfaction at another show well done, the many spectators cheering while depositing donations into various depositories I'd set up in advance. Then I saw him, calmly approaching me while the crowd slowly dispersed. Black jeans and hoodie, capped with a hockey mask.

"...I have no idea who you're supposed to be." I nervously admitted, which thankfully just amused him if his chuckle was anything to go by.

"Yeah, that's fair." He sounded young, a teenager perhaps? "I'm... new and I was wondering if you took commissions?"

"...a commission for what exactly?"

"Superhero costumes! I had some designs earlier, but both my friends called them trash and made me delete them! Seriously! Which is why I'd like to pay you to for your expertise in crafting costumes for me!" The boy gushed, pausing to breathe. "Of course, I'm totally willing to pay. Name it, and I'll give you the cash straight up."

"Just to be clear, this isn't an attempt to recruit me?" I immediately regretted my words, cringing at how paranoid they sounded. Still, this was a reasonable worry I'd been dealing with for a while now.

"Huh? Why?" The boy at least sounded genuinely puzzled. "I'm a fan of your shows and I actually appreciate your efforts brightening up the gloomy days of this city."

Oh, he was a fan. Well, at least he wasn't offering a creepy team-up or something. "Okay, then. How much exactly are you willing to pay?"

"I've got about $5,000 cash on me right now, as a starting fee." The boy casually replied, causing my jaw drop when he raised his palm and caused a wad of cash to appear on it with a flash of electricity. "Finish my commission, and I'll add in $15,000."

"Wh-Who the hell are you?!" I exclaimed in shock. Had he robbed some bank or gangs to get this?! Or was he an extremely rich civilian? No, he'd probably have better contacts than me if he were the latter... And I did need the money, especially with the Empire cracking down more on me and scaring away some of my usual customers... "Tell me-"

"Well, what do we have here?" A deep growl resounded, interrupting me and causing the both of us to regard the Empire capes that had just showed up. Hookwolf, accompanied by Cricket and Alabaster, giving us both a menacing smirk as they strutted towards us. "Parian... and some Jason wannabe?"

"Parian, will you be able to get the civilians to safety while I deal with these three?" Putting the money away with another electrical crackle, the boy stepped forward so that he was the sole barrier between them and me.

"...if you can handle them." I carefully replied, relaxing a little when he sent a thumbs up over his back.

"You think you can handle all of us, baby cape?" Alabaster scoffed.

"You overestimate yourselves." That calm rebuttal was immediately followed by a sudden burst of ice that immediately engulfed all three of them in an instant. My jaw didn't have time to even drop before Hookwolf bursted free in a whirring frenzy of ice and steel spires.

"Heed your own words, hoodie brat!" Hookwolf roared before he slammed his claws against the boy's raised hand, only for a chunk of ice to burst free and smash into Hookwolf's limb, knocking it off-course. A second later, the boy's kick smashed into Hookwolf's jaw and sent him flying several meters back, skidding heavily across the ground until he came to a groaning stop.

"And next up-" The boy turned towards a particular spot in the ice just as Alabaster broke free. "You."

"You dirty-" Alabaster didn't even get to speak anymore when all of the surrounding ice burst into floating pieces, inadvertently freeing a gasping and choking Cricket. I immediately flung some threads to tie up her limbs just as the boy made a crushing motion with his hand, turning Alabaster into a miniature planetoid as all of the ice chunks chose him as the strongest gravitational force around.

Lethal move for a newbie, but one I ultimately deemed necessary if what I knew about Alabaster's power was correct. Sure enough, the marble-skinned man soon punched himself free with a roar.

"Is that the best you got?!"

"...no." Turning his head to regard Hookwolf as he was getting back up, the boy gestured towards him and flipped him off. This immediately Hookwolf into an angered charge, his claws gouging sparks along the way as the boy turned back to Alabaster. "Let's check your pain tolerance."

"Huh-" Alabaster muttered before the ice chunks rose up to cling to his waist before flinging him towards the charging murder blender. A second later, Hookwolf didn't stop quickly enough before Alabaster became almost shredded in half, blood splattering allover the two as the latter screamed in tortured pain.

I almost winced in pity before remembering the scumbags these two were. And to make this better, sirens began to fill the air. One of the civilians I'd herded away must've called the PRT.

"SHIT!" Hookwolf roared before sending a nasty glare towards the boy, who responded again with a raised middle finger I almost giggled at. "Cricket, I'll bust you out later! You're dead, hoodie brat! I'm gonna fucking kill you later!"

"You overestimate yourself." The boy simply replied, his repeated words earning a murderous snarl before Hookwolf bounded off with Alabaster in tow. Staring them down until they were out of sight, the boy towards Cricket and I, ice chunks flattening and wrapping around the former's bound hands and legs as he approached us. "You think I should go after them?"

"A-After what you just did?!" I exclaimed at the cape who just singlehandedly trashed three of the Empire's capes. "You just beat all of them so easily! Are you really some newbie?!"

"Well... I've been fighting much stronger opponents recently." The boy admitted sheepishly, giving Cricket a dismissive glare. "Much stronger. I was almost shocked that my kick back then might've blown Hookwolf's head off."

"Heh... Well, the PRT's gonna want a statement." I smiled briefly, even if I'd have to deal with even them trying to recruit me again. Seeing those nazi assholes getting absolutely beaten for once must've put me in a better mood than I thought. After they'd been hounding me and harassing my customers, it really felt nice to witness them humbled so thoroughly. "Come on."

Greg Veder

.

+6,190EXP!

.

+3,190EXP!

.

+6,090EXP!

.

+New Quirk(s)!

.

-:|Scalemail|:-

This allows you to reversibly form iron scales that are reminiscent of a dragon's throughout part of (or the entirety of) your body, dramatically increasing your defensive capabilities against physical harm and extreme temperatures. However, the scales will break off relatively easily after suffering sufficiently strong impacts.

.

-:|Earphone Jack|:-

This allows you to reversibly form long and controllable earlobes that work like headphone cables, being shaped like jacks at their ends that allow you to plug them into a variety of objects. The earlobes can further channel the vibrations of your own heartbeats, dealing internal damage to said objects. Moreover, faint sounds can be caught through the jacks even across extremely thick walls, making it excellent for scouting work as well.

.

-:|Rewind|:-

This allows you to reverse living beings back to a previous state, undoing or bringing back injuries or modifications from the present or the past. It is even capable of reverting people back to a point before they even existed, effectively erasing them from existence. Normally requiring the accumulation of a yet unknown element in order to be activated, this can instead be fueled by your NRG.

.

Ignoring my new Quirks for the moment(especially that terrifying last one), I gave my full attention to the PRT squad moving in to secure the area. A pair of troopers came forward and took away the bound Cricket before Miss Militia herself stepped forward with a notepad in her hands, her expression composed but scrutinizing. She was dressed in her signature dark green hijab and military fatigues, her ever-shifting weapon currently resting in a holster at her hip. "Hey, Miss Militia. Big fan."

"Appreciated." Miss Militia replied, clearly appraising me, Parian and then the subdued Cricket as she was loaded into one of the vehicles. "Was this an unprecedented team-up?"

"Barely." Parian gestured towards me. "Hookwolf and Alabaster were here too, and this guy took down all three of them by himself."

Miss Militia gave the frozen over surroundings another lookover before giving me much greater scrutiny. "Really?"

"Taking down Nazis is an American duty." I smoothly replied, keeping myself from gushing and being so... Greg in front of this superheroine. "You can call me... Cryomancer, by the way."

Better to get ahead of whatever name the Protectorate was going to try and slap me with. Parian and Miss Militia nodded in acceptance of my new cape name, the latter jotting it down on her notepad.

"Can you tell me why you were meeting with Parian today?" Miss Militia asked.

"I wanted to commission her for a costume." I gestured at myself. "As you can see, my beta outfit is immensely inadequate. I have no idea where her shop is so I was willing to wait until right after one of her shows. Unfortunately, it seemed that those three were waiting for her as well. Fortunately for Parian, I was here first."

"I see." Miss Militia noted that down as well. "May I ask about your powers?"

Right, for the Cryomancer image I was about to cultivate. "As the name implies, I can create and manipulate ice into many forms. Along with some enhanced physical prowess."

"What's the maximum amount of ice you can create or control?"

I beamed, even if she couldn't see it. "I haven't reached it yet. It's just a hunch, but I could probably freeze this entire city block and more."

Briefly pausing in her writing, Miss Militia hummed in consideration before coming to a decision. "I'd like to discuss your future."

"Ah, is this is the part where you try to recruit me?" I feigned realization.

"Yes. Yes, it is." Miss Militia, being totally awesome, didn't even pretend to deny it. "You are young, but clearly very capable and powerful. On top of being able to push back two of the Empire Eighty-Eight's most dangerous parahumans by yourself, you also subdued one of their high-ranking members, all without injury to yourself or any civilians."

Wow. It sounded like she was buttering me up, but the matter-of-fact tone Miss Militia spoke with just made it a lot more genuine than I would've expected it to be.

"Have you considered joining the Wards? Costumes are a part of the deal, along with access to training, resources, and legal protection. You'd be working with professionals, not against them." Miss Militia continued with her pitch. "Your actions today have surely earned you the enmity of the Empire Eighty-Eight. With the Wards, you would have adequate backup against them."

"And what if I said no?" I replied firmly. "What if I told you that I can actually handle them all by myself?"

"I'd call you arrogant, but accept your refusal." She said without hesitation. "I'm not here to force you. But the offer remains open."

I considered her for a moment. I planned on staying independent, but my rapidly growing ideas for the 'Cryomancer' persona needed him as a Lawful type to match Void Cowboy's Chaotic Good. Best to show her that 'Cryomancer' would consider her words at least. "I'll keep that in mind."

Miss Militia extended a small card, which I took and put into my pocket. The moment it was out of sight, I immediately Inventoried it just in case they had tracking bugs on it. One could never be too safe with governmental types...

Nodding in acceptance, Miss Militia me one last assessing look before stepping back. "Good luck, Cryomancer. Good day to you, Parian."

Miss Militia turned back and signaled the PRT soldiers to withdraw, me sighing as they left. "So..."

Parian chuckled wryly. "So, let's talk about your costume. Follow me."

Greg Veder(Double) - Void Cowboy

The city stretched out before me, bathed in amber sunlight and the chaotic hum of distant traffic as I stood on one of the many rooftops. It really shouldn't be understated how convenient {Warp Gate} was. With the power to create portals to wherever I wanted, distance was now an utter joke... as long as I had a set destination.

"Hey!"

I blinked and turned to my side as a streak of white and gold came to a stop just out of reach, Glory Girl herself hovering there. Even in some sort of combat stance, she was still that amazing mix of gorgeous and-

.

-:|Alert!|:-

An unknown mental status effect has been repelled due to {Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing} and {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power}!

.

-:Perk(s):-

-:Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing:-

Active Effect: This allows you to heal and regenerate all physical harm to yourself almost instantly. Any damaged area or lost anatomy will be completely restored with no lingering side effects in seconds to minutes, even forcing objects embedded out to heal properly.

Passive Effect: This automatically cleanses your body of any viruses, diseases, toxins and intrusive substances. Only the most potent of these will affect you and only for a brief period before you return to normal. Additionally, sleeping explosively boosts your regenerative capabilities.

-:Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power:-

Active Effect: This allows you to manifest a massive draconic avatar out of your spiritual and elemental aura, surrounding you and fighting on your behalf.

Passive Effect: This automatically renders you highly resistant to most forms of supernatural phenomena, reducing their direct effects on you to a negligible threshold. This trait is automatically imbued into any impromptu defenses you can manifest.

.

'Intrusive substances'... While I marveled at the fact that the System, or perhaps my Perks themselves, apparently protected me from ever getting Mastered, why did Glory Girl have a Master power? Was it a power that she didn't want getting out? If so, I didn't blame her. Just like Taylor with the Butcher and me with Lung, any heroic Master would unfortunately be compared to the likes of Heartbreaker.

"So, who the hell are you?" Glory Girl demanded as she landed before me. "And what're you doing here skulking on some roof?"

"Void Cowboy." I smiled when her eyes widened in recognition. "New in the cape business and not sure where to start."

"...holy shit, this is real. Void fucking Cowboy actually got powers." Glory Girl muttered as she pressed her palm against her forehead. "So why the roof?"

"Just watching from above." I answered. "Gotta see what I'm getting into before teleporting straight into it."

That actually seemed to stun her. "Huh. That's... actually pretty smart."

I pretended to be offended. "Oi. I'm chaotic good, not chaotic stupid."

"Are you sure?" Glory Girl raised an unimpressed brow, giving me an appraising look. "Is this costume the best you could do?"

"It's currently in progress, but I couldn't help myself." I shrugged, wondering if my smile was obvious to her behind my mask. "I just had to get out there, you know?"

Surprisingly, Glory Girl nodded in understanding. "Yeah. If you can really teleport, I understand the feeling. As a fellow Mover. It's almost addictive to constantly know that you're no longer gravity's bitch."

Oh? So that was unassisted flight felt like?

Glory Girl studied me for a moment, then gestured toward the city. "You got a route you patrol, or are you just aimlessly rooftop-hopping?"

"Totally the second one." I honestly replied. "I'll let you know if the first one ever comes to pass."

"You better." Glory Girl asserted. "Maybe if you're serious about doing this and getting a feel for real hero work, you'll stop trolling us so badly."

"No promises." I immediately countered. "I've always spoke nothing but the hidden truth!"

"Bullshit!" Even as she said that, Glory Girl was grinning as she lifted off into the air. "One last thing. If you can really teleport, you up for a little race?"

"Bet." I quickly stepped towards the railing. "Where's our finish line?"

"Hmm... Medhall roof, as long as you're not teleporting straight to there." Glory Girl decided.

"Too boring." I turned around and leapt backwards over the edge, enjoying the gobsmacked look on her face before darkness swallowed me and spit out a bit farther away from her, whooping loudly as I controlled my 'fall' through varyingly angled portals, even posing at Glory Girl the one time I briefly next to her midair as she chased after me. "C'mon, Glory Girl! Keep up!"

"Oh, them's fighting words!" Glory Girl noticeably sped up, leaving a glowing trail while I rapidly warped after her. Then just as Medhall actually came into view...

My shoes touched down a second after Glory Girl nearly broke the sound barrier and barely prevented herself from smashing through the roof, dragging her boots across it for a long while she slowed down.

"Damn, that was awesome! See you on the PHO... or the streets, whichever comes first." Glory Girl waved me goodbye as she lifted up once more, soon vanishing into the metropolitan skyline.

Isla Wright - 'Sparky'

I stared down at the map of Brockton Bay in my phone, looking over the digital cartography of the metropolitan medley caught between debilitation and obstinacy. For every spot that still had significant affluence, there were at least five abandoned districts that were filled with either the homeless or gang members.

If I was going to establish a base of operations for Greg and I, I needed to be smart about it. Greg was essentially letting me be his tactician, leaving all of the planning to me. This... 'System' had accelerated the timetable for my own plans, but this was actually a good mishap. Not only did this fix a lot of issues I'd worried about Greg's safety regarding Zion's eventual breaking point, but it also allowed me to focus more on actually making our home city a place actually worth living in.

(The upcoming aftermath of the- If the others actually learnt of Zion's current state-)

Our future HQ had to be secure and practical, a place where we could both operate without drawing attention but still move freely. Greg couldn't do that from his own home, not with his foster mother. And my own home with my parents were no good either.

"So where to?" The interloper- "Her name's Aisha, Sparky. Don't be mean." -spoke up again, as if she hadn't asked those exact words five times now in the past twelve minutes.

Insecurity had used to be my life. Neither me nor my parents ever figured out why I could never trust my own judgement. For some reason, I could never make any decision that would affect myself or speak up to assert myself against others.

My judgement was permanently flawed, and suddenly gaining the ability to see the future amongst other powers hadn't changed that. I'd never had any powers back when I'd first started using tarot cards. I would simply just lay them out, pick one and would try to see how it fit the situation. Of course, my readings were rarely correct.

At least until I'd met Greg. Out of the twenty futures I'd seen regarding him, only six of them had come true so far but he'd never doubted any of my warnings for some reason.

(I studiously ignored the fact that he'd basically looked after me, refusing to leave me alone during my depression under the belief that I'd needed somebody never leaving my side. He was totally right of course, but seriously.)

And for that... for being my first friend, I owed him everything.

Including, unfortunately, tolerating Aisha Laborn's intrusion into our duo.

"...we have multiple choices with multiple drawbacks." I finally deigned her, handing her my notes while I kept my phone. I'd already memorized it all in case anything happened to them. "We can't use the docks because that's where Greg's mother works. Downtown is also no good as its too close to the busy activities of the city, making it too likely to be discovered sooner rather than later. The trainyard's got lots of hidden spaces and usable train cars I could repurpose, but there's also a lot of homeless over there that will do anything as long as they believe the reward to be worth it."

"So that leaves..." Aisha ruffled through the notes, frowning at the last spot. "The old boat graveyard?"

I nodded in confirmation. It was a bundle of imperiled boats and damaged docks, utterly isolated with very few willing to enter into the great wreckage willingly. The reason why was actually a disadvantage of its own due to it's unstable structures making it too unstable for anybody to consider building anything worthwhile there.

Unless they were us. No gang activity, no squatters, no unwanted attention. It was the kind of place people forgot existed, which made it the perfect hiding spot. "That's our best possible spot for the lair. Follow me."

I ducked down an alleyway with Aisha keeping close, uncaring of the group of thugs in our way. It certainly wasn't a surprise when they moved to block our path.

"Woah. On a hurry, girls?" One of the thugs, still in clothing that signified him as an ABB remnant, smirked at our apparently defenseless selves. He quickly thought otherwise when sand began to waft off Aisha's transforming arms and I pulled out a stack of cards that glowed as they levitated into a halo around me. "...nope."

I smiled as all four gangsters immediately did an about-turn in unison.

"What the hell? Sensible thugs?" Aisha muttered as her arms reformed back from the sand while I returned my cards back into the holder on my hip. "Weaver's thrashing of the ABB must've knocked some braincells into place."

"The ABB only now possesses a single cape, and she has neither Lung's brutal charisma nor Oni Lee's ruthless efficiency." I explained as I motioned for her to keep following me. "They are aware that they're dying out, and desperation will soon set in."

And the city's streets would once more be stained with the blood of powerless civilians. We needed to be ready. Finally reaching the boat graveyard after a couple of more minutes, I regarded the dumping ground for derelict ships and half-sunken wrecks. There was potential here; some of the abandoned boats could serve as secure hideouts, places no one would think to check.

I took a step forward-

Water smashed into the coastline and turned the ruined boats into something almost beyond ruin itself. Too powerful to be regular waves, too focused to be a regular tsunami, all at the behest of something large and reptilian.

-and immediately sighed in frustration. Damnit, Leviathan! How long did I have?

"What's wrong?" Aisha immediately cottoned on.

"...Leviathan attack." I answered. "I don't know exactly when... but this year, at minimum."

"Fuck!" Aisha was a lot less composed in controlling herself, kicking at a stone that noisily echoed after flying off into the distance. "So what now?"

"...it changes nothing." I decided. "Greg wouldn't have made that Endbringer comment earlier without basis, so I'm sure that he'll soon reach a point where he can actually drive it off. Meanwhile, I'll focus on prepping our lair to defend against incoming waves along with everything else."

It was all already structurally unsound, so this wouldn't really change much. So on top of my plans to make it all waterproof, fireproof, bulletproof, explosion-proof, acid-proof, decay-proof... I now had to make it Leviathan-proof.

You know what? Fine. I might as well make it totally Endbringer-proof. Did Greg think he was the only one with years' worth of bottled-up spite? I just hid mine better. "Watch your step and follow me."

Chapter Text

Sunday, April 17 2011

Isla Wright - 'Sparky'

Aisha and I stood right before the wrenched open door leading to the insides of one of the large ships, the nauseating mixed scent of rust and seawater curbing our enthusiasm.

"Hey, do we really have to go in there without masks or something?" Aisha questioned as she flashed her new phone's torchlight deep into the corroded staircase leading inwards.

"The sooner, the better. We'll at least keep clear of collapsed or sunken areas." Stepping forward, I carefully led the way inside and surveyed it all. As expected, the ship's insides were just as bad as it's outside, the walls damp and rusting while our footsteps echoed hauntingly. Furthermore, Aisha's curious clicking of the light switches alerted me that those would be just as unreliable when her actions didn't result in even the tiniest flicker.

So far, the obvious damage was clear: seawater moisture to almost every metal in sight and faulty electronics due to years of neglect and disrepair. However, the ship's vast storage area proved it's integrity to be as viable as it was built for, having survived the damage that the rest of the ship had suffered. The structure within was intact, the air free of the ambient salt I'd been inhaling so far.

On top of being certifiably insulated against the elements and being a secure hideaway, this space could also serve as a a dedicated workshop area. Maybe even a new living spot, if I was going to use this place for anything other than future Tinkering.

"...so, this is a good spot, right?" Aisha asked when she saw my grin.

I nodded in confirmation. "It's above adequate, which is a lot more than I'd expected from the first ship we'd check."

That didn't mean we wouldn't check at least three more today, though.

"Now, lets go find the security room."

Monday, April 18 2011

Greg Veder

Another day at Winslow, usually made bearable with Sparky's company. Now it was a lot better with both her and now Aisha's company. My confidence-filled walk through the school halls certainly drew attention.

Or maybe it was my new looks. Just as twice at the mall, I received many looks due to my appearance being a lot more pronounced after a weekend of rapid physical adjustment. Thankfully, I wasn't getting any more physically buff, but I'd soon noted something about my appearance after Mum had pointed out my teeth no longer needing braces.

I had unfortunately been preparing to use them down the line, but Mum's surprise check of my gums had gotten the both of us dumbfounded at my perfect jawline.

.

-:|Perk(s)|:-

-:Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing:-

Active Effect: This allows you to heal and regenerate all physical harm to yourself almost instantly. Any damaged area or lost anatomy will be completely restored with no lingering side effects in seconds to minutes, even forcing objects embedded out to heal properly.

Passive Effect: This automatically cleanses your body of any viruses, diseases, toxins and intrusive substances. Only the most potent of these will affect you and only for a brief period before you return to normal. Additionally, sleeping explosively boosts your regenerative capabilities.

.

Not only did my Perks require zero NRG to work, but the passives were always functional no matter what. I knew for a fact that I was still eating as unhealthily as ever, so if I were to combine the passive of automatically cleansing my body of all... well, 'bad stuff' with my C-ranked VIT, which clearly represented my vitality (a.k.a. my physical constitution that apparently didn't represent just my durability but also my health as well), and I'd essentially killed any reason for me to ever be taken to a hospital again.

My pale skin? I was that perfect shade of cream now. My peanut allergy? So that's how those death traps taste when they're not trying to choke me into unconsciousness... Drugs counted as poisons, right? Well, way to kill off my past worries of Merchants bothering me long after they were already gone.

Wait, did it consider aging a 'disease'? At what point would I reach my peak physical age, only for this Perk to keep me there? Wolverine was a live example of a person's regenerative capabilities beating back even the inevitability of time itself. And to make things worse, I couldn't even stop raising that stat.

As my fighting style was mage style with physical brawling as a secondary, I refused to fall into the 'squishy mage' archetype.

"Did Veder get plastic surgery or something?"

"No way. That nerd ain't even loaded enough for that."

"Bullshit! Look at the clothes he's wearing! I saw those in that new magazine!"

Coming back to reality, I almost snorted at the whispers. Sure my clothes were really the ones I'd been paid as an impromptu model, but I wonder which one of those closeminded popular posses would ever figure it out.

Some pretty girls had even stopped to outright gawk at me, one of them's jaw slightly dropped. When I locked gazes with them, they'd snapped out of it and rushed off, whispering harshly amongst themselves.

Hell, even the teachers were staring!

...I probably should have been concerned about being outed as a cape with such a drastic change, but I decided that it was fine. We teenagers were a close-minded lot when it came to things we didn't like, and that included me.

As long as I did nothing overt, they couldn't prove anything.

Elizabeth Halsey, Winslow High Teacher

"...so, is there a reason I got dragged here?"

Being seated in the staff room with a fresh cup of coffee in my hands, I glumly regarded the two other teachers sitting opposite to me.

"...Gregory Veder." Quinlan muttered after taking a sip from his own cup. "As the teacher that's closest to the students, what are your thoughts on him, Hasley?"

"The new teenage cape?" I blinked as the two teachers twitched. Hadn't it been obvious since the geek(?) almost fought back Sophia Hess? That black sociopath was a violent athlete (on top of her other livelihood) and should've thrashed Veder back on Friday, but the geek had held his ground and would've probably won had one of the jocks not interfered. "Well, it's not like he's Hebert. He's still unaffiliated and keeping to his usual social circles. Of course, I wonder how that'll last the moment the students realize that he was the model who posed with Yoo Soo-Hyun on the latest fashion magazine."

And hadn't that been a shock to realize? I'd heard of capes changing physically due to certain trigger events, but none as drastic (or ideal) as this. Attractive capes tended to already be attractive before they got Triggered in the first place. That boy probably didn't even realize how he looked now, given his confused stares at the many girls appreciating him.

"This is serious, Halsey." Quinlan growled, frowning at his own cup like it had personally offended him before spiking it with something from a flask. "Along with Hebert, we now have two obvious capes rushing freely in the school. And due to Barnes and Hess getting transferred, it's just Clements now against two former 'victims'."

Oh, so they knew about Clements? It had taken me a while to notice myself.

"We know that Taylor joined the Teeth, but what about Gregory?" Knott asked, her tone filled with worry. "Do you think he will be recruited?"

"Of course he will. Blond hair and blue eyes with that figure of his? He ticks off all the boxes of their 'superior race'." I shot back, forcing down the pity I felt rising for him. "The Empire are pretty desperate at the moment."

Especially after Hookwolf, Alabaster and Cricket were mentioned on PHO to have gotten thrashed by a single newbie cape going by 'Cryomancer'. Unfortunately, there were no pictures or videos taken but Parian herself had confirmed it, having been there herself. If only I'd been there with a camera of my own...

"Considering what I know about Veder, he might just start his own clique." Quinlan muttered, half tipsy half serious. "It makes sense in a weird and vengeful sort of way. 'Why would I shack up with people who didn't save me when I was nothing, but now want me because I have something to give them?' That boy would definitely choose such a path."

That... was a scary thought. Despite what most people believed, Veder had something I had noticed many teenagers in this school to lack: obnoxious social skill. Before recently, Veder would essentially throw his lot towards any social clique that fitted his fancy at the moment, regardless of their affiliations(unless they were teenage gangsters of course).

It had yielded nothing back when Veder was a social nonentity, but if he kept at it while possessing the appearance of a model and the likelihood of being a parahuman... "He might actually start a new clique completely by accident..."

I immediately came to a realization. "We need a fall guy to throw at them. Just in case they need a target amongst the staff."

"Agreed." Quinlan nodded before taking another deep sip of his alcohol coffee. "Let's feed them Gladly."

Knott blinked at Quinlan's choice of words, especially when I laughed at the NatGeo imagery they evoked. "Wait, why are you saying that like we're throwing raw meat at a pair of lions or something?"

Quinlan blinked in almost honest confusion. "What's the difference?"

Chrissie - Vex

So this was Nerdy Kid 2.0? Well, I was almost impressed at his now handsome mug.

Especially when he actually kept to himself after Taylor invited him and his friends to our table. While 'Sparky' had introduced himself(or herself? I wasn't quite sure) as such without elaborating, Aisha had immediately presented herself with enough extrovertedness to carry her trio.

Absolutely none of this hid how clingy the two were being to Greg himself. It was even more hilarious when I soon realized that he didn't even know, still pining after Taylor but thankfully respecting that the better partner had won her first, given that he'd shown nothing more than a brief flash of sadness at the sight of them kissing rather than any envy or disgust.

But Greg had made Taylor a lot happier, reuniting her with a desired relic of her past that I admittedly would barely be able to match. I had to respect that, Taylor wanting him as a friend rather than just another nerd to protect.

Especially if it was true that he'd Triggered as well. I still remembered the last time I'd provoked a freshly Triggered Winslow nerd and she'd scared the shit outta me before becoming my girlfriend.

I wasn't going to test the waters with this one, especially if he already had an E88 body count if the rumors were to be believed.

...but when would it be okay to ask what his power was? Depending on it, the Teeth could use the bolstering with all of the fresh meat we now had to look after.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Sparky suddenly asked me, thumbing away from the others. Noting Greg's puzzled expression, I decided that it was probably something connected to him and decided to humor them.

"The fuck you want?" I spoke up after we were now against the wall, far away enough that our voices wouldn't carry over to them.

"This isn't an application that I particularly like, but it'll have to do." Sparky muttered before giving me a serene smile. "[Become mine.]"

I suddenly shuddered under this most wonderful feeling, feeling a floating sensation as if every thought and worry in me was being wiped away gently. For a moment, I leaned against that feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of Sparky's smile.

"[Answer me honestly: What are Taylor Hebert's intentions with Greg?]"

"She wants him as a friend or something..." I replied obediently. "Greg's a unique case for her... After all of the stuff she's gone through, he's the one person who gave her something good that wouldn't have needed her to become the Butcher..."

"[I see. All of [Queen Administrator]'s recent fortune ties into assimilating [Amalgam]...]" Sparky hummed to herself. "[But [Path to Solution] represents an alternate path she thought she'd forever lost.]"

Sparky scoffed. "[She's nostalgic... but with someone who isn't her's to covet.]"

"Queen Administrator...?"

"[Ah. Don't worry about that. Those Shard names tend to slip out if I'm not paying attention while talking like this.]" Sparky sighed. "[If there's nothing else, then forget that this conversation ever happened. If anybody asks, tell them I was asking regarding Greg's safety from the Teeth. You guys used to bully us, too, after all. Oh, and you were not Mastered. Understood?]"

"Understood..." The pleasant feeling suddenly vanished as Sparky turned and left, smoothly placing themself down next to Greg again. Shrugging, I returned back to sit with Taylor.

"What happened?" Taylor immediately asked.

"The obvious: Sparky was worried why the Teeth's boss has taken such a blatant interest in their best friend, especially with how we used to be with the losers before." I replied, throwing my arm over her shoulder. "What'd I tell you? If it's weird enough that his best friend's gotta ask about it from me of all people, then all kinds of reactions are gonna pop up. You've got to make a decision about whether he's gonna be wearing our colors or not soon enough."

And that was if the blue-eyed blond potential cape didn't get snatched up or snuffed by those skinhead bastards.

.

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Topic: Busy Freaking Sunday!

In: Boards Places America Brockton Bay

Nakyak (Original Poster) (Cape Geek)

Posted on April 17, 2011:

I need a moment to just gush about the new cape in Brockton Bay... that singlehandedly sent Hookwolf and Alabaster running! Oh, and Cricket got jailed, I think. I visit Parian's Sunday show and nearly witness a disaster, only for Ice Boi to give them an actual Uno Reverse!

Parian, I saw him talking to you before the Empire showed up. Do you know him?

►Parian (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

He was a fan and wanted to commission a new costume from me, only for the E88 to nearly ruin my day as they often do. Unfortunately for them, Cryomancer was there with me. If you're here, I swear, I'm gonna make your costume my best work yet for that beautiful memory of Hookwolf actually getting kicked in the face.

►Point_Me_@_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Urgh! What the hell?! Hookwolf got his ass kicked and I missed it?! Damnit, Void! You distracted me!

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

How?! You think I wouldn't have gone straight there if I knew that was happening?! Besides you're the one who suggested that race!

►Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave) (Verified Badass)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

So you were the one who suggested that. You two actually made the news. Better pray that Mom doesn't take a look at this thread.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Oh, my tag turned 'Verified'. Sweet.

►GleamMachine (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Glory Girl had to fess up who she was lighting up the afternoon skyline with. Also, congrats on actually becoming one of us after all your fake trials.

►liquidsnake

Replied on April 17, 2011:

XxVoid_CowboyxX actually got verified? This site is doomed.

►Tin_Mother (Admin)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Confirmed. XxVoid_CowboyxX has been verified. Keep it civil.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

...speak up, GstringGirl. I'm in sore need of positive encouragement! Please, comfort me!

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 17, 2011:

I have faith that you'll be a great hero, Void.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Ah, you angel! If I knew where you were or had your coordinates, I swear I'd hug you. For real.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Aw, you're making me blush.

►Point_Me_@_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Seriously, GstringGirl. You do the work of heroes by being this gremlin's reminder to be human.

►Bagrat (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Alright, since y'all are hungry for info, here's what I've got so far:

Alias: Cryomancer. New cape, first confirmed sighting.

Powers (Observed):

Superhuman physical abilities, especially with strength and durability. A transformed Hookwolf is heavy, and this guy kicked him at least twenty meters away without any residual damage to his leg.

Generates ice that he can manipulate however he likes. Shaping and telekinetic effects, both present. Esoteric in nature as that ice was still there in that park and didn't melt in the slightest until Kid Win gave it a flamethrower treatment this afternoon.

Possibly a Thinker secondary power? He was already moving to look at Alabaster before he broke free from the initial freeze over.

Affiliation: None yet. Operated alone, but fought alongside Parian. Likely an independent.

Combat Feats: Solo'd Hookwolf, Alabaster and Cricket (Empire Eighty-Eight Capes, two of them lieutenants). Left that fight with zero injuries.

PRT Status: He apparently waited for them to pick up Cricket, so he's not particularly opposed to them or is at least willing to be somewhat cooperative. Likely to be watched closely after this.

Cryomancer's gonna be making waves because as I earlier said, Hookwolf and Alabaster are E88 lieutenants who got beat down. Add in Weaver's constant assault of the Empire, and they're taking a real beating from all this.

Kaiser's gonna react, and it's going to be soon.

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Let him come. Also, Bagrat, my secondary Thinker power is acute spatial awareness within a fifteen meter radius of myself. Makes it pretty hard to sneak up on me. But I didn't know my ice hadn't melted since. Thanks for stating that out.

►Eightball (Cape Geek)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Holy Shit!

►FestivityBeast (Cape Geek)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

He is among us!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

A friend of mine already had an account for me prepared, with me adding the finishing touches. I've given up trying to question her precog Thinker powers.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

GAAAAAAAAASSP

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

And now I remember why I never posted anything on here before.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

BEST BUDDY!

►Weaver (Verified Cape) (Butcher XV)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Wait, you two know each other?

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

We're best friends. Practically brothers! Right, buddy?

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Fuck off.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

The Best!

►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Clearly. Cryomancer's response is definitely not one you'd get from a stranger.

►Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

I came online to see what Clockblocker was laughing and instead witness this utter chaos of a thread. E88 got humbled, and the perpetrator's acquaintated with Void Cowboy, who's now Verified. Today's been a headache.

►Kid Win (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Why did Clockblocker just fall to his knees laughing?

Edit: Nevermind.

►Battery (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Shouldn't you three be on patrol?

►Weaver (Verified Cape) (Butcher XV)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Busted!

Cryomancer, as fellow Nazi busters, what's your next agenda? I just wanna know, so that we don't accidentally clash.

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

No plans, if I'm being honest. I was just enjoying Parian's show and was going to meet her to request a commission. It was just bad luck that Hookwolf and the others showed up then. I wanted a proper debut in actual Parianwear!

►Parian  (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

I don't actually call my brand that.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Anyways, we should meet up so that we can catch up!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Fuck off.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

And since we've both got powers now, we should have a showdown!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Fuck off.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Winner gets bragging rights!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

...I'm listening.

►Clockblocker (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Ah, bragging rights truly are the universal bribe.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Tomorrow, aka April 19th. Noon, at the deserted area north of the Train Yard, putting us far away from any civilians. You get a chance to 'try' and make me into an ice sculpture. I succeed in planting my boot in your face. Winner. Gets. Bragging Rights.

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

...you know, the funny thing is I know you're playing me.

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Bring a wagon with you tomorrow. I'll need something to cart off my statue with.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 18, 2011:

You two really might be brothers...

►Weaver (Verified Cape) (Butcher XV)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Thank fuck my schedule's free tomorrow!

►Razorpunk (Verified Cape) (Villain)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

Me too! I'll bring drinks!

►FeartheFedora (Moderator)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

...fascinating. This alone has given us a whole ten years. I shall come and watch as well.

►Tin_Mother (Admin)

Replied on April 17, 2011:

Wait, who are you?! I know all the moderators and you're not one of them.

Huh? I can't delete this? You're good.

►FeartheFedora (Moderator)

Replied on April 18, 2011:

I am beyond your level.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 11, 12, 13

.

Greg Veder(Double) - Void Cowboy

I giggled dementedly as I watched more and more messages enter into the thread, the PHO descending into madness over the upcoming fight tomorrow.

"Was this really necessary?" Cryomancer called out from a few meters away, relaxing just like I was on one of Kyushu's long abandoned skyscrapers. Several meters below us, the rushing waves repeated echoed throughout the sunken city. "I mean, it's convenient that Sparky was able to easily get us a separate phone and PHO account to sell our multiple persona gig, but why were you so insistent that we pretend like this? Cryomancer is supposed to be Lawful Good."

"And you are. But we need to at least present ourselves as acquainted." I pointed out. "Parian already accepted that we're twins and is making separate costumes with just a single person's measurements, so-"

"Don't change the subject!" Cryomancer roared, ice spiking up around hm. "I'm asking why we're gonna fight tomorrow! We're doubles, you idiot! One strong hit, and one of us'll expose the other!"

...ah. "I'm sure the Original will figure something out."

"HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW! WHY WAS I STUCK BEING THE RESPONSIBLE ONE?!"

Greg Veder

"Okay, time for dungeon #3." I hyped myself up after I'd turned the portal open with the Gate Key, looking back to my surroundings.

Just like with the Teeth, I'd been directed to some other lair. Except this place was already cleaned out.

Even with numerous bloodstains already dried out...

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 27

EXP: 27,406/27,999

NRG: 270,000/270,000

Class: ?

STR: 230(C)

VIT: 245(C)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 200(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 10

.

-:Quirks(Explosion[Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact], Frost[Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis], Warp Gate, Whirlwind[Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice], Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power):-

.

Checking on my status once more, I stepped into the portal and right before the entrance to a cyberpunk city.

A literally deserted cyberpunk city. Sand clogged my heels as I moved about to survey my surroundings. But I wouldn't try to move into the city yet.

Why?

It was due to a straight line of nine fireballs, their blue flames being the sole magical remnant of the previous dungeons I'd been taken to. In this futuristic setting, I didn't like the idea that I was likely to fight killer robots, or worse, killer cyborgs.

If I had to fight something that knew guerilla tactics or the like...

I cast a second glance at the line of blue fireballs, each flickering almost innocently. These wouldn't exist for no reason. Not after the last time I'd seen them. My sole refuge was that they weren't counting down, so there was no reason to rush towards some hidden objective.

But there was also no reason to just kick back here...

I sighed before finally trekking forward into the city, thankful that the sun was shining above me. If it was nighttime, I doubted my ability to see a sneak attack comin-

*BOOOOOOM!*

"...huh?" I blinked as I found myself back outside the city, right where I'd started with the fireballs flickering behind me. Did I just... die? There was a huge plume of burning smoke in the distance confirming my memories.

Wait, the fireballs. Turning around, I grimaced at what I saw: Out of the nine blue fireballs, one had been snuffed out.

The fireballs represented extra lives. I... I suspected that the System would be upping the difficulty with each dungeon, but to actually make one so difficult that it'd given me extra lives as a precaution?!

Just how powerful were the enemies that they could oneshot me despite my C-ranked VIT?! My flesh may have still felt soft to me, but it was still dense enough that I hadn't noticed that I'd once stepped on a nail for at least two hours, constantly mangling it until when I had to take my shoe off and pull out the nigh-unrecognizable clump of metal it had become!

"Spidey, you need to protect this place. Don't let anyone approach it."

LOADING...

SPIDEY UNIT-911 ONLINE.

ENACTING LAST ORDER: ELIMINATE ALL UNIDENTIFIED BEINGS WHO INVADE THE CITY.

Greg Veder

"Gaaaah!" I screamed as bullets raced after me. I warped as desperately as I could, leaving bursts of jagged ice in my wake to hopefully confuse my attackers. But they seemed to be adapting to me a lot quicker than they were supposed to-

*BLAM!*

I startled back up after a searing pain ripped through my skull, gasping heavily as the blue fireballs representing my extra lives snuffed down to seven. Even my new {Scalemail} hadn't protected me from the headshot?!

"Damn it!"

"Spidey, thanks for protecting the stronghold from the Monarchs' forces."

ENEMY POSSESSES SPATIAL RIFT GENERATION AND EXTREME THERMAL LOWERING CAPABILITIES.

CALCULATING...

REVERSING HOMING PROJECTILE FROMULA TO SEEK OUT ABNORMALLY COLD REGIONS UNDERNEATH THE SUNLIT TERRAIN.

ALTERING PROBABILITY TO MAXIMIZE PROJECTILE ACCURACY AND CONCUSSIVE FORCE.

COMMENCING FIRE.

Why were the bullets homing in on me a lot more now?! Warping didn't even help anymore! No matter where I created a portal to, the bullet would somehow know and be chasing me! All of my ice were now being shattered and blown up instead of helping me block the assault!

Fine, then! Upfront charge! Using {Explosion} to launch myself towards where I could see the attacks were coming from. Ignoring the ache in my shoulders, I warped just as I blasted off once more, dropping down right before the enemy.

The enemy being... a car-sized mix between spider and tank. Oh, great. It was a killer robot!

Homeland Security Cyberware, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]

"DIE!" I slammed my palm onto it as hard as I could, visibly denting its metal before I unleashed an explosion from my palm that obliterated the entire roof beneath us, the skyscraper collapsing from the shockwaves. Warping away, I stepped back warily as the skyscraper came down noisily, hopefully burying my enemy with it.

I sincerely hoped that Spidey was this dungeon's boss instead of some mook powerful enough to earn a designation.

"Spidey... I'm sorry. This is my end. So... will you please do me one last favor?"

RADAR SYSTEM DAMAGED.

PHYSICAL MOBILITY COMPROMISED.

SUBSTITUTING TO SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT WITHIN THE ENEMY'S VICINITY.

PRIORITIZING REPAIRMENT.

RETURNING TO HOME BASE FOR MAINTENANCE OPERATION.

I gasped as Spidey suddenly jumped out of the rubble and rushed away into the distance. "Get back here!"

I warped until I was right above it with another explosion prepped up-

Huh? Why did my arm get lopped off? Ignoring the spider robot as it rushed away, I instead stared down the severed limb, precious crimson liquid dyeing the sandy road.

Then the pain finally hit-

''AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGHHH!'' The scream tore out of my throat, and my eyes widened in absolute fright while fixated on the bleeding stump that used to be my arm. Then, a sudden realization hit me like a giant stone knight. This... This wasn't a game. This had never been a game, even if I had the System.

I could still very much die in one of these dungeons. My arm is bleeding and it hurts. IT HURTS, ITHURTSITHURTSITHURTSITHURTS!

Off to my side, I stilled at the sight of blood lining an invisible wire. No, not invisible. Just very difficult to see as several of them had been set up right between me and Spidey, covering the latter's escape.

And it could've easily been my head instead of my arm.

"You bastard! You... idiot!" I chastised myself. I'd been enjoying myself too much. That's it. Carelessness. Overconfidence. Delusion. Why did I forget that... no matter how much the System was rewarding me... it's primary purpose was to cultivate me into something I didn't know of?

All of my powers... the stats, the 'Quirks', the 'Perks'... the System needed a person... a host who could carry and utilize all of that for some reason. This wasn't charity, as I was clearly enjoying the benefits. This wasn't coincidence, as Carthenon Temple had proved that it had been actively searching for a viable candidate and I'd just happened to fit the bill.

In every dungeon so far, I was clearly still capable of dying regardless. If I died, what was stopping Carthenon Temple from reappearing and restarting allover again?

"Okay, then... If the System wants to use me, then I'll use it right back." I muttered as I focused on {Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing}'s active effect, sighing in relief as the pain faded away while my missing arm rapidly grew back in a surge of flora green energy. "Nothing like likely death works best at making one sort out their personal priorities in life."

First off, I needed to get off the ground. Reaching into my Inventory, I pulled out the Flying Carpet and immediately had it fly me straight up and above the cyberpunk city's skyline.

And any camouflaged wires spread around.

"Get fucked!" I roared as ice and wind burst to life around me, the blistering currents compressing into a howling surge around my forearm while the surrounding temperature in my vicinity dropped sharply.

How could I have forgotten my creed as one who consistently chose the mage build?

When in doubt,  Overkill .

I punched forward and fired the supercharged Air Blast in the direction the spider bot had fled, causing a tremendous BANG to rip through the cityscape. The attack's shockwave obliterated the struck area into a crater that spanned at least two city blocks. Additionally, it finished the job on many already-structurally-weak buildings, knocking them over as though they had been Jenga towers next to a powerful firework. Bits of steel, concrete, and glass shot away from the epicenter and crashed into other areas of the zone.

But no notification showed that I'd killed it yet. "Where are you, Spidey?!"

"Why does it resemble a spider?"

"L-L-Lord Ashborn?! Wh-What do you mean, sir?"

"Be calm. I merely wish to know why this defensive unit resembles a spider."

"Oh, well... It's to mock Monarch Querehsha's forces, since she's the sole Monarch who frequently attacks this stronghold. No matter the fact that all arthropods are under her domain, there exists one that will never obey her."

"...I see."

THE ENEMY POSSESSES AN ADDITIONAL ABILITY TO MANIPULATE AIR CURRENTS, WHICH WAS THEN USED TO COMPRESS AIR INTO A COMPACT PROJECTILE THAT UNLEASHED 4.184x1012 JOULES UPON IMPACT.

UNABLE TO MATCH THE ENEMY'S OUTPUT.

ENEMY'S THREAT LEVEL HAS BEEN INCREASED FROM [LESSER] TO [INTERMEDIATE].

HEAVY ARMS ARE UNABLE FOR USAGE.

INVENTORY: FIVE HUNDRED REGULAR BULLETS, EIGHTY MODIFIED BULLETS.

WIRE CUTTERS HAVE BEEN DEPLETED. RESUPPLY.

SUPPORT JOINTS ARE DAMAGED BEYOND ADEQUATE UTILITY. RESTORE SUPPORT.

COMMENCING MAINTENANCE OPERATION.

OPERATION COMPLETE.

MISSION RESUMPTION POSSIBLE-

THE ENEMY IS HAS LANDED BEFORE THIS UNIT.

Greg Veder

"There you are." Getting up from the crater beneath me, I glared back at Spidey as it's own glowing camera eye seemed to scan me.

Then a gatling gun propped up into position, discharging it's load just as I charged forward. Unfortunately, those bullets smashed helplessly into ice I put up between us just as I was already putting my lower half into a portal beneath my feet, Warping to right beneath Spidey as I double kicked it from below with all of my might.

The result was the spider bot being sent flying into the ceiling, smashing into it before it swiftly tore itself loose. From there, it skittered all over the building's inner space faster than I could get a lock on it.

Sadly for it, I didn't need to aim to catch it in place. {Frost} responded to my call and froze my entire surroundings, the rising surge of ice encasing the entire area and freezing Spidey's limbs in place.

INCOMPREHENSIBLE.

THE ENEMY IS ADAPTING TOO RAPIDLY-

*BOOOM!*

SEVERE DAMAGE TAKEN TO OUTER CHASIS!

Greg Veder

I growled as Spidey immediately recovered after I'd unleashed another explosion onto it, ominous tendrils of electricity arcing off it as it accelerated away while I chased it down. When it began firing its bullets at me again, I now called upon {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power}'s active effect, grinning from within the translucent skeletal guardian as the bullets got repelled.

"Get wrecked!" I roared as I swung my arm, the draconic avatar mimicking my movement to smash Spidey through several buildings in succession.

L-LETHAL DAMAGE RECEIVED.

OPERATIONAL LIMIT SURPASSED.

"Spidey, the Monarchs must never take this stronghold. No matter what."

PROCEEDING WITH SELF-DETONATION.

Greg Veder

Another explosive blast engulfed me. Thankfully, {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power} was clearly durable enough to tank it despite it's appearance. But that didn't mean that I had won yet.

I still hadn't received the notification regarding Spidey's defeat.

"Go, Spidey! Protect the stronghold! Carry out your dut- KUUAAAAARGH?!"

P-PROTECT... C-CITY...

P-P-PRIORITIZING... R-REPAIRMENT...

Greg Veder

I turned as a smoking wreck of a bot burst free from the surrounding wreckage and stared me down. Half of Spidey's body was a molten wreck now, which only made it more pitiful when it tried to shoot its guns at me but came up empty. "You're out of ammo. But I'm not."

I kicked at Spidey, unleashing a compressed blade of wind that sliced through several rubble in its way and would slashed down Spidey as well. Unfortunately, Spidey dodged my Gale Slice, unsteadily skittering away at a high speed, even if much slower than before.

"Spidey, did you know? I'll probably die if neither Lord Ashborn nor any of the other Rulers are present if Querehsha launches another attack against this stronghold. I will be buried here and be forever be part of the stronghold. Will you protect the stronghold then too?"

SECONDARY DIRECTIVE: ELIMINATE ALL UNIDENTIFIED BEINGS WHO INVADE THE CITY.

PRIMARY DIRECTIVE: PROTECT MASTER AND HIS COMRADES... EVEN LONG AFTER THEIR DEATHS.

Greg Veder

Snarling, I chased it down as it ran away, almost smashing my face into a wall when it ducked into a space small enough for it to crawl through. By the time I caught up with it,

"Spidey, this is... my last request... Protect this stronghold... I don't know how they found out, but... the Monarchs... must  never  get their hands on the Cup of Reincarnation..."

THIS UNIT HAS COMPLIED.

THIS UNIT HAS PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER AND ELIMINATED THE INVADERS AND PROTECTED MASTER-

Greg Veder

"Hmm? Graves?" I looked around at the cemetery that I'd followed Spidey into, noticing that it was much cleaner and cared for compared to literally everywhere else in the deserted cyberpunk city.

Spidey wasn't responding to my presence, keeping itself bowed before a particular grave off to the side. My anger that had been building up so much immediately cooled at the sight. All this time, Spidey had been protecting this place?

God, it was even in the name! And if I took his tag seriously, it was essentially a sentient robot who'd been unable to released from it's orders...

"Look, Spidey, I'm mostly sure that this place may either be real or a very good copy of another place. But I'm not really willing to possibly desecrate a grave." That always ended badly. "Would you mind moving away from it?"

I honestly hadn't expected much of an answer from it, let alone compliance. So I was honestly stumped when Spidey shakily got up and moved away from the grave.

"THIS UNIT... HAS FAILED THE CREATOR..." The robot's first ever words, something I'd mostly not be expected, reeked of so much grief in it's metallic tone.

"...no." Casting aside my caution, I reached out and patted the metal atop it's head. "I was actually sent here to replace you and let you rest. I was to battle you and prove my superiority directly against you, all for the sake of letting you rest."

It was a bold-faced lie, one I was making up as I went on. "You've held your ground for so long, but even guardians like you need to rest... "

I gave Spidey my softest smile. "Thank you for protecting this place, Spidey. You've done well."

"Thank you for protecting us again, Spidey. You've done well."

THIS UNIT HAS RECEIVED CONFIRMATION OF PRIMARY DIRECTIVE'S COMPLETION.

THIS UNIT... IS GLAD...

SPIDEY UNIT-911 SHUTTING DOWN...

"Good bye, Spidey... Thank you, Shadow Monarch..."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have defeated the boss of this instant dungeon.

+184,400EXP!

+184,400 gold!

.

Level Up: 27 → 33

.

+150SP!

+New Super Move(s)!

+New Perk(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory 'Greg' Veder

Level: 33

EXP: 28,912/33,999

NRG: 330,000/330,000

Class: ?

STR: 230(C)

VIT: 245(C)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 200(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 160

.

-:Quirks(Explosion[Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact], AP Shot, Frost[Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time], Warp Gate, Whirlwind[Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull], Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

.

-:|Alert!|:-

The Player has reached a required Level.

.

A [Job Change Quest] can now be undertaken.

.

Oh? Another Perk? And what the hell was this 'Job Change' message? No, it could wait. There was something else that took priority, immediately warping home as I stepped through the portal.

Max Anders - Kaiser

"How troublesome do you believe him to be?"

"Troublesome enough."

I leaned back as a restrained sigh escaped my lips. "I admit, I'm surprised to learn that you were present among the civilians attending Parian's show, but your information is valuable enough to let me ignore that."

Rune, or Tammi Herren in her current guise, shifted in place, a frown marring her young features. I admired her uncommon self-restraint as she would've normally denied going to Parian's shows for the same reasons most people did. "That 'Cryomancer' guy was too dangerous."

However, this only highlighted how seriously she took this matter. "Explain. You were in a park. Along with it being a battlefield in your favor, there were also three other of our numbers present. Why did you consider him dangerous enough to not even attempt anything against him?"

"...I'm not easily scared, okay?" Tammi started off, but I noted that it sounded more like she was assuring herself more than she was assuring me. "He felt... dangerous. I'm not sure how to explain it."

Tammi fretted with her fingers, beginning to pace around. "Firstly, he's clearly powerful but he didn't show off. At all. It totally goes against the Shaker thing. You get it, right?"

Luckily for Tammi, I did get it. It wasn't a concrete fact, but all Shakers tended to 'show off' during battle. And the more powerful the Shaker, the greater the temptation to 'own' our surroundings. That was why Labyrinth existed as a warning symbol to our types: Give up too much and a Shaker would risk getting 'assimilated' by their own power in exchange for drawing out a lot more than they could handle.

Every Shaker showed off, whether to be intimidating or to strike awe. Even I wasn't exempt from that. Still... "That can't be enough."

"I know it's not. But the next bit clinches it." Tammi insisted. She then took a deep breath to steady herself. "I'm mostly sure he's an Alexandria package, except for the flight part."

I straightened up. That wasn't a term to be used lightly. "How?"

"His strength and durability were are obvious. But there was also the speed of him reacting to Hookwolf's attack right after he got out of the ice." Tammi pointed out. "He actually had the speed to reach for Hookwolf's arm and grab it, only to then change his mind and have his ice knock it away. That was reflex, and you can't gain reflexes like that with powers like his unless you're used to melee fighting. Any other Shaker without both strength and speed would've kept their damn distance."

And a Shaker's greatest weakness often tended to be their Brute-less bodies. So the idea of an Alexandria package also being a Shaker... "You did well to bring this to my attention, Rune. This 'showdown' Cryomancer is supposed to do with Void Cowboy tomorrow? I want you to spectate it as well."

"To attack afterwards or..." Tammi trailed.

"No. You're to strictly observe. The fight between them is one that both will explicitly be showing off their trump cards that allows us to make countermeasures." A restrained precaution, yet a necessary one. I sat up straight and lowered my voice to a tone sharper than any steel I could create. Theatrics aside, it helped that I truly meant every word I was about to say. "One way or another, Cryomancer will fall to the Empire. This event may have been defensive on his part, but such a thing is meaningless. Cryomancer will kneel."

It galled me to do this, but... there were times to take risks and there were times to take caution. And considering the plans I had for Butcher in a few days, insurances were needed.

I needed to make a call to Gesellschaft.

R̶o̶s̶a̶r̶i̶t̶a̶ ̶C̶i̶s̶n̶e̶r̶o̶s̶ Roberta Veder

"Mum..."

I blinked as my boy wrapped his arms around me from behind right after coming home. "Is something wrong?"

The moment I asked that, I chided myself right after I'd turned to look at him. One of his sleeves was missing at a bloodstained cut-off point as if sliced off, his skin was dirty with desert dust and he was still smelling of rusted metal. Too faint to worry me about blood, but too much for it to actually be noticeable.

"There's something I've got to tell you. Something I probably should've told you earlier." Greg took my hands and took a shuddering breath. "I have superpowers."

"Yeah, I already knew that." I almost giggled at his gobsmacked expression. Did he really think that his sudden interest in exercise and the rapid changes to his body had been unnoticeable? My Greg could be oblivious at times, but seriously. "So which are you? Ward or independent?"

I knew my son well enough that he would firmly stick to heroism. It only mattered which kind he'd choose.

"Um, independent." Greg replied, which admittedly made sense. He did value his freedom after all. "Mum, please teach me how to fight."

"No." The answer slipped out before I could stop it, but I found myself unwilling to change it. "I told you my past in confidence, Greg. I want it to stay buried."

"Mum, with everything I can now do..." Greg stepped back, meekly holding his exposed limb. A limb I was quickly suspecting had been briefly separated from him. "I can't just get stronger. I need to get better. I can't just always have my powers do the fighting as I've been doing..."

Tears began to drip down Greg's cheeks. "I can't risk dying again and never seeing you... or Sparky... or even Aisha ever again... If I'm ever caught lacking again...!"

I drew him into a hug, letting him cry into my shoulder. For a moment, I thought about my past after many years of trying to forget it. "I won't ask what has bothered you like this, but I can tell it's serious. I'll be here when you're capable of trusting me with it."

Until then, I could at least get him started with some basic forms. Just enough... that my son wouldn't needlessly stain his hands with blood as I'd done, whether his own or others'.

"N-No, I can tell you now." Greg sniffled. "It all started with me, Aisha and three E88 assholes in this crazy place with stone giants."

I would go on to learn the full context for Greg's unique Trigger Event that very night.

And in the name of Santa Maria, I would fucking kill the one responsible.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, April 19 2011

R̶o̶s̶a̶r̶i̶t̶a̶ ̶C̶i̶s̶n̶e̶r̶o̶s̶ Roberta Veder

I hummed to myself as I watched Greg stagger away from our one-time training session together this morning. Apparently, this 'System' had recognized that I'd been apparently trying to teach him martial arts and had given him a power that would substitute all the merciless but necessary days that he would've needed to at least become an expert on it.

To Greg's own surprise, I had no negative opinion about it. If the System was going to achieve all ends to make my boy harder to kill despite dragging him into dangerous situations, I wouldn't mind it. For some unknown reason, the System was cultivating Greg for a purpose down the line and apparently didn't care much for what he himself did with his growing power, which he then thankfully chose to indulge in heroism.

Brockton Bay was filled with many who would act otherwise. I didn't get his reasoning for having Void Cowboy and Cryomancer act as his 'alternate accounts', but I'm sure he had a good reason for that. After all, filling the city with more heroes spared most civilians some nightmares, especially with Cryomancer publicly declaring himself an enemy of the Empire Eighty-Eight.

For a moment, I'd honestly considered mentioning the Wards to him. But only for a moment. As well meaning as they (probably) were, Greg presenting himself would open not just the tight lid I'd kept over my past, but also destroy all of Greg's freedom to act as he wished.

Something both my son and I appreciated, as long as it was within reason. It wouldn't do to have him dedicate himself to a worthwhile cause only to then have his capabilities restrained while his enemies wouldn't grant him the same courtesy.

"'Morning, Roberta." Daniel Hebert greeted as I encountered him.

"Good morning, Daniel." I replied, keeping pace with him for a bit. "Hey, mind refreshing me on the villains still here in the city? My son wants to make a project about it, and I'd rather not feel like I'm behind on current news."

"Huh... Taylor never mentioned anything like that... Must be a personal thing." Hebert muttered before shrugging. "Well, starting off from the least villainous... There's Über and Leet?"

Über and Leet. Über was a Thinker who could rapidly excel at any chosen skill, perhaps akin to Greg's System, while Leet was a Tinker with the broadest specialization I'd ever known, even if his Tinkertech tended to be unstable for some reason. But these two... were frankly too incompetent. Their crimes were video game-themed, something I wouldn't even have known if not for Greg's annoyance at their 'masterpieces'. According to him, they lacked 'presentation' or something. I myself just despised how incompetent they were without really losing their malevolence.

"Then there's the ABB, although Weaver's really crushed them down at this point."

The Azn Bad Boys. All of Asian ethnicity, they'd initially been a bunch of minor gangs before Lung had reforged them into his underlings, demanding tithes from all Asians in his territory that he hadn't already forced into slavery. Speaking of slavery, the ABB ran trafficking rings and sold drugs, even including women from Lung's own territory. However, Weaver had shown her inexpertise (or pragmatism or lack of empathy) in not noticing that the ABB had been smart enough to abandon the city just as Über and Leet had surprisingly done so. All that were left after Lung's death were just the hangar-ons, the various intermediaries between the capes and the grunts easily noting how Butcher XV restrained herself to the city and simply continuing their atrocities elsewhere.

With Lung deceased and Oni Lee incarcerated, the sole cape left in their ranks was Bakuda, who I still knew too little about.

"Then there's the Teeth who drove out and replaced the Merchants."

The Teeth. As Greg had once described, they were the 'Chaotic Evil barbarians' to the 'Lawful Evil bigots' of the E88 and I found myself agreeing. Fitting to the leader calling themselves Butcher, they and their subordinates lived a personal culture of violence and anarchy. Before Quarrel's decision to set up at Brockton Bay, they'd traveled between cities on a bi-weekly or monthly basis, looting and harassing as they pleased. However, it seemed that Butcher XV had slowly begun to rein in their worst habits, if the rumors about her retaining her sanity and previous heroism were true.

At the very least, all of their ruthlessness and malevolence were being directed at other villains... but what about when they either finally defeated or lost to the E88?

"And finally, the Empire Eighty-Eight." Hebert paused to spit to the side. "Assholes."

"Indeed. Scumbags, down to the last one of them." I hummed in agreement. According to Greg's description, Lawful Evil still had the word 'evil' and it showed with those wretches.

Being the largest gang of them all, with the Nazi vermin having even more and separate groups across the world, their numbers reached hundreds of 'normal' members, both nondescript and blatant supporters. All of them willing to brutalize those born with the wrong ethnicity as well as those of their own ethnicity who would rightfully refuse to be associated with them.

Kaiser, the E88's leader, could make metal grow out of any surface. His parahuman lieutenants, all as bigoted as him, varied in lethality. Fenja and Menja, a pair of blonde twins with the latter now (and hopefully permanently) crippled by Butcher XV, could grow into giants with proportionately increased physicalities. Krieg, Kaiser's second-in-command, could manipulate kinetic energy on a level I'd been unable to confirm as a civilian. Hookwolf, a violent spree killer who ran dog-fighting rings with Cricket and his fellow brawlers, could metal spires from his body that he shaped into the form of a werewolf. Alabaster, a man with an appearance fitting to his name and a power that granted him a chronokinetic form of immortality. Crusader, who could generate ghostly duplicates of himself. Victor, the one parahuman I made sure to avoid if we ever met due to his vampiric ability ripping out years of effort and training from genuine combatants, leaving them remanded to mental wards. Othala, one of their youngest and a pure Trump who never left Victor's side for her own safety. Finally, there was Rune, the other youngest, who was a telekinetic limited to items she personally marked.

There was also Purity, who had apparently broken off from the E88 to become a hero for some reason, but neither Greg and I had been deceived, considering that she was clearly still a racist bitch who still attacked minorities. Criminal minorities, sure, but Greg himself stated that she still didn't count as a hero given that she had no civilian rescues under her belt. Something that I agreed with as Purity was clearly still lacking in that, something that even Butcher XV had accomplished despite her unfortunate reputation.

My boy had all these as his potential enemies... Thank goodness his power was actively making him more powerful at a steady rate.

Greg Veder

I half-hearted rubbed my sore shoulder once more after class let up, still feeling the aches from Mom's thankfully one-time lesson. It would soon be noon in an hour, and I had to get Void Cowboy and Cryomancer ready for their showdown.

.

STR: 230(C) →  295(C)

VIT: 245(C) → 300(B)

MAG: 200(C) → 245(C)

SP: 0

.

"I still think this is reckless." Sparky mentioned as she and Aisha followed me up to the roof. "It's good publicity, but the slightest mistake-"

"Relax, already!" Aisha butt in as she closed the door behind us, dumping a huge pile of sand against it to block it from easily opening. "Besides, you already came to school with all that Tinkertech. Don't get cold feet so soon to the deadline."

Sparky took a deep breath and released it. "...you're right. Greg, call them forth. I've already made the deals with those two anyways."

Snapping my fingers, my clones dropped right out of my Inventory, already dressed for battle in proper new costumes, thanks to Parian's hard work.

Void Cowboy's outfit consisted of a black buttoned-up vest over a long-sleeved crimson shirt with matching black jean trousers and combat boots. Along with that, he also had a black cowboy hat with a thick metallic plate at the front, a large "VC" stamped in the center, as well as a crimson bandanna covering the lower half of his face.

Cryomancer's outfit consisted of a zipped up sea blue jacket with forearm-length sleeves with matching pants and off-white boots, with the soles equipped with spikes and a thin line running down the center of each of them a darker pale gray. He also sported a white utility belt around his waist, which held four little metal capsules containing medical supplies hanging off the front(for when I didn't want to display my Inventory), as well as two black wrist guards with armor-like bracing and are accompanied by plating from his wrist to his knuckles. Finally above it all was a cross between a helmet and an icy crown, keeping the lower half of Cryomancer's face exposed.

"Damn." Aisha muttered in appreciation while Sparky brought out two tennis ball-like camera drones, letting them fly above the two clones and 'affix' themselves. "Maybe I should get a costume, too, if I ever feel like going hero."

"I'll pay for you girls if either of you feel like it." I replied. After I took the Job Change Quest later today, I'd finally be allowed to add them to my Party. I'd been unable to do so before, but the System had apparently needed me to complete this Quest first.

"Oh, good. I'll need some money right now, even." Sparky turned to face me, making some more adjustments on a Tinkertech tablet of hers. "The announcers I hired for this fight still need to be paid, after all."

Announcers? Well, whatever. Sparky told me to leave all that stuff to her, anyways. Time to use the Random Gift I'd gotten earlier from today's exercise.

.

-:|Random Gift: Damage Totems(x40)|:-

These are hand-sized effigies that are capable of redirecting all acquired damage onto themselves, sparing it all from the one who smears a drop of their blood against it. Each is usable only once and cannot function beyond ten minutes.

.

In addition to boosting my (and the clones' by proxy) VIT, this would be perfect!

Amy Dallon - Panacea

I crossed my arms in slight frustration while noting a few birds flying overhead, envying their flight capabilities while Vicky eagerly waited next to me. "I still don't even know why I'm here. Just because you want to see two parahumans beat each other up doesn't mean I have to, especially if they made the point of keeping away from civilians."

"Too bad. Aunt Sarah decided that you needed a break, and we should also survey the fight as closely as we can. Besides, I'm mostly sure she'd like us to recruit Cryomancer and maybe Void Cowboy for New Wave." Vicky shrugged, in costume as I was. Aunt Sarah wanted to recruit Cryomancer? No wonder she'd let us actually skip school... "Plus, it's not like we're the only capes here."

Thumbing to the side, I looked over and saw Parian standing a good distance away with her usual giant dolls acting as her guards. And not just her, Weaver and a few more Teeth members (Lis- Tattletale included) had just arrived as well. And then Rune and Crusader showed up too. Finally, some ABB grunts following a female cape I'd never seen before.

But it wasn't just villains that were here. My brow raised slightly when Assault and Battery showed up, along with Miss Militia. And with just a minute to noon left...

Three black portals of shadows opened up, two facing each other while the third was a few meters away from Vicky and I. As Glory Girl immediately put herself between me and it, two familiar figures and one unfamiliar one stepped out of the portal before us.

Über and Leet, accompanied by suspended pieces of their stuff following after them. As for the stranger, she was clearly a Tinker of some sort, clad in a full-bodied Tinkertech exoskeleton that hugged her figure well enough to display her femininity but was also closed well enough to not expose a single inch of skin, its silver glean making it shine under the sunlight while the Tinker's eye slots glowed whitish blue along with a glowing circle in her chest.

"Okay, boys. I'll leave you to set up here." The Tinker waved them off before stepping back into the portal before it disappeared, Über and Leet beginning to set up a table nearby.

"This has got be the easiest and best 2,000 bucks we've ever made." Über gushed as he put on a headset, gingerly tapping the attached microphone. "We're freakin' announcers."

"Screw that, did you see that chick's tech?!" Leet muttered with an excited grin. "Imagine what we could build together if this quest isn't a one-time thing!"

"What are you two doing here?" Glory Girl finally asked, hovering above them menacingly.

"Announcing, duh." Über scoffed before pounding on a metal box with a big red button just as Leet placed it on the table, causing a dome of translucent energy to flicker into existence around the duo. "Anti-Riot Shield deployed. Are we ready?"

"Sure. Cryomancer and Void Cowboy are finally on scene." Leet pointed towards the distance, prompting me to look and see the two capes themselves facing each other. Then as if things weren't surprising enough, two small drone-like orbs flew before Glory Girl and I as well as Über and Leet, each projecting a holographic screen that displayed third-person perspectives of the two capes themselves, their own drones hovering at a fixed distance behind and slightly above them.

"Ready to start it off?" Leet grinned as he raised his fist for a fistbump.

"Don't get cold feet." Über rapped his knuckles against his partner's own. "Your power actually let you go full ham on this, so let's not fuck it up."

Another big red button was slammed down upon, causing me to frown when I felt a buzz from my phone. "Hm?"

Pulling it out, my jaw dropped when an app I had certainly never downloaded in my life opened up a designed homepage with the caption 'Cape Battle' before it switched to a live video of... the two capes in the distance, showing it exactly as the drones before us were.

"Parahumans. Capes." Über began with an audacious grin, his voice also coming from my phone. "Let's be real. They're like rabbits; they're everywhere."

Leet nodded along conspirationally. "Any cape can be powerful and capable in their own right, but haven't you ever had that nagging thought: who'd win between those two?"

"In the red corner, we have the absolute annoyance of Parahumans Online!" Über roared. "The undisputed troll and conspiracy theorist! VOID COWBOY!"

"Booo!" Glory Girl shouted unmaliciously as I stared at her silently, my sister apparently drawn into this fiasco with zero hesitance. In her defense, Vicky wasn't the only one booing Void Cowboy as Assault and a few other villains did as well, all apparently aware of his online reputation.

And apparently, Void Cowboy knew it as well, clearly basking as he welcomed the jeers.

I sighed in resignation before leaning back against the wall behind me. "...this is insane."

Sveta

"Go, Void!" I cheered while he basked in the jeers. I didn't know how this feed (and that app) had invaded the computer I'd been given, but I certainly wasn't complaining as it let me finally see Void Cowboy in the 'flesh' for the first time ever.

He was as funny as I'd expected him to be!

"And in the blue corner, it's the latest known cape of Brockton Bay!" Leet announced. "The guardian knight, or mage, of Parian! The thrasher of Hookwolf! Give it up for Cryomancer!"

Cryomancer, as I could see in the screen, didn't really seem to be taking on a theme with his appearance like Void Cowboy had. But he certainly had his own flair as he raised his hand quietly before audibly snapping his fingers, the surprisingly loud sound heralding a surge of ice that coated the ground beneath him for several meters with such chill I could almost feel it myself.

""...damn!"" Über and Leet exclaimed in unison. I couldn't help but silently agree. Despite his calm demeanor, or perhaps in spite of it, Cryomancer's presence certainly couldn't be overlooked.

"Well, we should take this moment to state that this Cape Battle will be following a certain guideline of rules." Über declared. "First off, no outside help! This unfortunately means that if one possesses any Master ability that affects other people or is a Master with that as their sole power, its usage counts as an automatic loss!"

Huh. Not only did this imply that this could end up becoming a regular thing, but also ensured banned Master capes like Heartbreaker from participating.

"However, Masters with nonsentient minions are permitted." Leet revealed. "Such as Weaver with her bugs and Crusader with his duplicates. Personal Note: Cape Battle does not endorse the views of Nazism and will preemptively ban all supporters of such beliefs from participation."

I couldn't help but giggle at that. Nobody liked a Nazi, after all. One could think up the most horrific stuff that could be done to another human being, and very few people would complain if the target was a Nazi.

"Wait, back up on the Master bit." Über interrupted. "How would someone like say... Bitch of the Undersiders factor in?"

"Hmm... Well, I'm not gonna say that her minions exactly count as people, given that they're dogs. But very few people can actually shrug off dogs getting brutalized, me included." Leet admitted. "Well, in the end, it'd still be her own choice to participate if she ever feels like it. She'll be PETA's problem, not Cape Battle's. As likable as dogs are, they're still never rising above the status of 'pet'."

"Okay, then." Über accepted. "Second rule: All combatants must contract themselves to a Damage Totem. These little babies are like reverse voodoo dolls, redirecting any inflicted damage from their targets unto the themselves."

Leet brought out three small glass-like humanoid effigies from a box, standing them up as Void Cowboy and Cryomancer approached the table. Taking a Tinkertech knife from Leet, Void Cowboy and Cryomancer each made small cuts on their hands before swabbing the Damage Totems with it, the blood immediately getting absorbed into a visible core within each effigy.

"Now for a quick test for proof of authenticity!" Leet gestured to Void Cowboy and Cryomancer, who immediately entered a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors that swiftly ended in the latter's favor.

"FUCK!" Void Cowboy declared before he was suddenly skewered from below by many ice spires. For one long second, my breath stalled as my friend's blood stained the ice that had killed him before his form seemed to glitch and suddenly slid off, his 'wounds' completely gone while the ice that had impaled him fell off him to reveal unblemished abs beneath his costume.

...Void Cowboy had abs? I was so distracted by such a thing that I almost missed Void Cowboy's Damage Totem shattering apart.

"...okay, I know that this is filthy rich coming from a Tinker like me, but this is bullshit!" Leet raged.

"And there you have it!" Über declared. "With a temporary way to avoid certain death, this will allow our combatants to fight at their absolute best with no need to fear the demise of their opponent."

"Y'know, I just realized that we're gonna do serious damage to our costumes." Void Cowboy muttered as he reapplied his blood to the last available Damage Totem. "...loser has to pay for the winner's repair fees."

"Bet." Cryomancer replied as Void Cowboy Warped them back to their previous spots.

"Now that we got that covered, its time to begin!" Leet pumped his fist out.

"IT'S TIME FOR A CAPE BAATTTTLLLLEEEE!" Über roared before suddenly calming down. "In the app you have received, please place your bets on who you believe likeliest to win. That part's just for fun, so it's totally optional."

Checking the app, I saw what Über had referred to and immediately voted for Void Cowboy.

Dinah Alcott - Omen

50.0 percent chance that Void Cowboy wins.

Despite the expected headache, my jaw still dropped. A perfect even match? How the hell did that happen?!

Still, I couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips at such a scenario. It felt almost fun to truly bet on chance for once. "I'll vote for... Cryomancer."

Void Cowboy and Cryomancer slowly approached each other, dramatically staring each other down. Until...

"Before we start, your shoelace is untied." Void Cowboy suddenly stated, gesturing downwards with his own gaze.

"Please..." Cryomancer scoffed... then looked down to check.

Which immediately left him open for a sucker punch that smashed into his cheek and launched several meters off his feet.

"And Void Cowboy starts off with the classic of a sucker punch!"

"...what."

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

"Are you shitting me?!" Sabertooth raged as he lost the bet to who'd land the first hit, especially groaning when the screen briefly flashed to Cryomancer's Damage Totem and showed a noticeable crack form across the face. "Why'd he fall for something like that?!"

"Sucker punches are a fact of life!" Butcher roared in approval. "Get over it!"

I paid little mind to them as Cryomancer swiftly recovered from the sucker punch. Almost immediately, ice formed into boots around his own before he was off, skating across the ground at a speed fast enough to match vehicles while leaving spreading trails of ice in his wake. Pretty inventive for a Shaker.

"Yeah, we kinda have to be. Shakers sound powerful on paper, but we're pretty limited when you think about it... until we have to get creative." Sanguine muttered in speculation before sighing. "I should've made an instant transport subset with my own power."

"I wish you had, too. Landing that final headshot on you was one of the worst mistakes of my life." Reflex suddenly spoke up, his tone slightly glum. "It doesn't seem like either of them are using any Tinkertech weapons."

Well, that would limit Void Cowboy's options. Not that he seemed to care as a portal opened up just before Cryomancer, the cowboy cape himself diving out feet first to stomp Cryomancer's face. However, Cryomancer thought otherwise as he suddenly snatched Void Cowboy out of the air by his leg. Oh, right: he had a Thinker power that gave him short-ranged spatial awareness.

"Wait! Is he really gonna-?!"

And then proceeded to smash him down against the frozen earth beneath, causing deep fissures to spread out for at least a half-mile, the screen briefly changing to show Void Cowboy's own Damage Totem getting cracked as well.

"Holy shit, he's got curb slammed!

"And Cryomancer's clearly not satisfied with just one! Look at him going for another!"

Then Cryomancer did so again three more times, causing further damage with each strike until he flung Void Cowboy away.

"Well, that's definitely cause for a hospital visit. Assuming he hasn't gotten a healer on speed dial."

"I'm more jealous of how his body didn't take way more damage than that. Lucky Brute."

"...well, there's that super strength of Cryomancer's." I muttered in acknowledgement. Still, the fact that Void Cowboy had gotten away with such little damage to himself despite literally getting ragdolled showed that he most likely also had a high Brute rating along with his Mover power.

Stomping forward, Cryomancer sent forth a huge surge of ice that immediately engulfed Void Cowboy just as he'd made a portal, imprisoning him and causing the portal to disperse into wafts of darkness.

Walking towards the downed Void Cowboy, Cryomancer strode towards while yanking a chunk of ice free from the ground, the ice rapidly growing larger as he levitated it up above his head. "Time to make you a statue like I promised, Void."

"Void Cowboy's become frozen in place! Is it over for our challenger already?!"

An ominous crack suddenly formed through the ice holding Void Cowboy down, before it shattered apart the next second. Stepping forth from it, Void Cowboy made a show of shaking some snow off his cowboy hat. "At the risk of sounding cliché... is that the best you can do?"

"And he's free with a vengeance! How will Cryomancer respond to such a callout?!"

Cryomancer tilted his head as if considering something, then he apparently made up his mind with his next word as he dropped the iceberg he'd been levitating. "No."

A huge plume surge of snow exploded off him immediately, rapidly growing and swirling around Cryomancer while light glowed from within. A few seconds later, a massive glowing limb shot upwards into the sky before crashing down hard enough to shake the ground for miles. But the surprise didn't stop there as more of the snow disappeared to finally reveal Cryomancer levitating within a giant dragon that seemed to be made out of translucent and glowing ice.

"This is the best I can do." Cryomancer imperiously declared from within his creation, his arms crossed as he literally looked down on Void Cowboy. "At the risk of sounding cliché... any last lines to say?"

"Cryomancer became a dragon! Or he created a dragon!"

"Holy shit, we've entered into a Final Boss Stage!"

"...yeah, he's fucked." Sanguine declared, and not even I could disagree if Void Cowboy had nothing more to use. Without any weapons, all he'd could now do was run away.

"Oh, if only Lung was still alive just so we could see his face! We could've had a hero vs villain dragon showdown!"

If something like that ever happened, I'd have somehow convinced Dad to have us move.

Sabah Nur - Parian

"Oh, if only Lung was still alive just so we could see his face! We could've had a hero vs villain dragon showdown!"

If something like that ever happened, I'd pack up my wares and abandon Brockton Bay immediately. I liked Cryomancer, but not that much. Ever since he'd been willing to unmask himself to me as Greg (which was my fault, admittedly, as I'd forgotten to tell him that I didn't need him unmasked to measure his head's dimensions), we'd had a pretty friendly working relationship.

In my defense, my friendless background had left me a bit too... unsure of how to treat my relationship with Cryomancer. Leaving aside the gap of at least five or six years between us, Cryomancer had never once shown any actual interest in me as a woman. Maybe he had another girl (or boy) that he liked. Maybe he was plainly just uninterested in romance.

It was a fresh breath of air compared to the pushiness of that man from her university years, a relief to know that I had at least one parahuman friend who would certainly come to save me without incentive if I ever needed him. I̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶ ̶l̶o̶n̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶.̶ In this city, powerful allies were a necessity that had been scarce to me due to my independence as a rogue.

And now, my client/friend was displaying himself as one of the city's most powerful capes before who knew how many people. I'd only lasted so long by not showing off so much! If Cryomancer was going to act otherwise, even he'd get cracked down upon!

"What's Void Cowboy gonna do now?!"

Missy Biron - Vista

"What's Void Cowboy gonna do now?!"

I held in my gasp at the sight of Cryomancer's dragon looming over Void Cowboy, briefly replacing the ice with flames I'd seen from video reports of Lung's rampages. Deep down, I knew that Cryomancer and Lung were very different people, but I couldn't swallow my trepidation at the idea of Brockton Bay having another dragon.

And that was desperately ignoring the fact that it looked Endbringer-sized.

And his opponent was Void freaking Cowboy. All internet-savvy Wards knew him, and his onscreen behavior certainly matched what I knew so far, especially with his powers finally being confirmed with my own eyes. Movers tended to either be simple in nature or very complicated teleportation, but Void Cowboy's portals had already got me making comparisons between our powers.

But all of that paled before the primal terror of facing a monster that looked like it could (and would) fit you in its mouth. At least, that's how I imagined how capes regularly felt when they had to drive off Leviathan or Behemoth.

Void Cowboy spread out his arms wide, as if welcoming the challenge. "It's fucking high noon, Cryomancer! From the very start, I came here with the intention to plant my boot in your face! Now! Take! Your! Shot!"

Cryomancer's dragon inhaled deeply before unleashing a roar that blasted out a wave of cyan energy that immediately engulfed Void Cowboy and the wide landscape behind him, freezing over everything that hadn't immediately been blown away... and then a lot more beyond that.

"H-Holy shit..."

"There's no way Void Cowboy survived that-"

"ABANDONED BUILDING DA!" A huge portal opened up right above Cryomancer's dragon, as wide as it was long as it Warped out an entire (and hopefully truly abandoned) skyscraper onto it.

"What a comeback! I've seen wrestlers go grab chairs or table from outside the ring! But Void Cowboy just went and crashed out a whole building!"

And right above the wreckage was Void Cowboy himself, falling downwards with his fists cocked.

(.

-:|Alert!|:-

Skill 'Strike Barrage' has been activated.

.)

"MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA! MUDA!"

Void Cowboy unleashed a furious onslaught of punches down at his buried opponent, the very air rippling and bursting from the sheer speed and power as compressed shockwaves literally blanket firing the entire area.

"AND IT'S OVER! MUDA!" Void Cowboy fired one last punch that unleashed a great deal of force and wind pressure, devastating the entire area and spreading shockwaves out for miles.

I could even feel the ground shake beneath my feet. I had guessed that he probably was a Brute earlier, but this was crazy! The screen then flashed to show Cryomancer's Damage Totem, which was now riddled with severe cracks and breaks. If Void Cowboy deigned to throw just one more punch.

Dropping down nearby, Void Cowboy instead cheered in his imminent victory. "WRRRRRRYY! Victory is MIN-"

And then a giant dragon hand burst out of the dust plume to crush him, the screen flashing to show his Damage Totem immediately shattering. The dragon then slowly dispersed into snow, letting Cryomancer walk out and approach Void Cowboy's spot. "Don't ever overestimate yourself again. But you made me seriously work for this win, so I'll give you that."

""KO! THIS CAPE BATTLE'S WINNER IS CRYOMANCER!""

I gasped as Void Cowboy was immediately resurrected, clearly looking despondent at his loss.

"This match was surprisingly close, despite how obvious who the winner was going to be."

"I think we all made that reasonable conclusion of underestimating Void Cowboy. As a surprisingly capable Mover, his best bet would be surprise attacks, especially since he has no weapons to use."

"Ironic, given that he modelled himself as a cowboy but reasonable when you think about it. He is honoring the Unwritten Rules just like we all are, but is clearly limited without any Tinkertech artillery."

"But we definitely can't say that he wasn't creative. I mean, who the hell sees an abandoned building and treats it like ammo?! Void Cowboy, apparently."

"Cryomancer himself was obviously no slouch. It's worth noting that beyond the initial sucker punc- Pff! Sorry, but that was funny to remember. Beyond that and Void Cowboy's final assault, Cryomancer firmly remained untoched. I can only imagine how well his rep is going to get bolstered after this."

"Well, that's all for today so I think we're gonna end this here. Until next time, this is Über-"

"And Leet!"

""-signing off on Cape Battle!""

I blinked as the feed closed, the 'CB' app staring at me until my Ward phone immediately began to ring.

"Vista here."

"Director Piggot has ordered a meeting." Armsmaster spoke with a measured tone. "I'm on my may past your school in my civilian wear, so I'll pick you up."

I blinked at that. Armsmaster using his civilian identity was a rare occasion. "Did you go and watch like that?"

"The match provided valuable data and my nondescript appearance kept away fans that would've been distractive."

Ah, that made sense.

Greg Veder

"Hmm... Well, at least I was led to an empty spot this time." I muttered as I raised up my key and brought it out. While my clones duked it out, it was child's play to easily skip school for the rest of the day, allowing me to tackle this endeavor. The chosen location for the Job Change Quest's Gate was a few miles out of the city itself, and unlocking it immediately let me know why.

Purple lightning struck the ground just in front of before morphing into a large Gate, space constantly glitching and distorting around it. It seemed that the System would really be following its trend of making each Dungeon way harder compared to the previous one. Even with the Skill I'd gotten from Mum, I was still just a bit leery about entering a new hell.

But I was savvy enough to know that if I procrastinated, the System might actually force an unknown penalty onto me, or worse, chuck me right into the Job Change Quest with zero preparation on my end.

So here I was, willing to step forward on my own terms. Plus, the Job Change Quest on its own was a significant boon I couldn't ignore. Other than the expected EXP and rewards, this would also let me gather new Skills specifically tailored to me. Such Skills would then let me become a Hero on my own rather than send out Void Cowboy and Cryomancer as proxies.

"Alright. Looks like I'm moving past the tutorial stage now. I wonder what's waiting for me inside?" With my mind set, I stepped through the portal and into darkness.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have begun the 1st Phase of the [Job Change Quest]. Until you complete the Quest, you cannot exit the dungeon.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

All Perks have been blocked for this Quest.

Access to the Shop has been blocked for this Quest.

Automatic Status Recovery upon Leveling Up has been blocked for this Quest.

.

"...that's worrying." I frowned at these limitations. Losing {Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing} and {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power} would require me to pay more attention to my injuries than I normally had to. Thankfully, I wasn't yet accustomed to {Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program}, so it's absence meant nothing to me.

So on top of the super difficulty ahead of me, I absolutely had to avoid injuries or wasting my NRG. No doubt the System banned me from the Shop to prevent me from simply buying any HP and NRG potions or something. I should've stocked up on those. In fact, I should've used the Shop a lot more.

Another thing to rectify later, especially as I could see my first opponent approaching. Within this castle-like hallway, the enemy was surprisingly modern.

[Hollow Soldier]

It looked exactly like a SWAT trooper, with all 'human' features covered in visor goggles, body armor and tactical equipment.

*PSHEW!*

Which apparently included plasma carbines! Thankfully, it was surprisingly slower than I could move, letting me reach it and dodge aside just as it fired. Swinging hard, I smashed my first into the side of its head hard enough to cause a small shockwave. To my shock, it ate that punch and immediately kneed my stomach in retaliation. Fighting the urge to curl up, I remembered Mum's training and rolled with the hit, landing and immediately charging at it again before it could fire its weapon at me.

This time, I aimed my punch at its neck, trying not to grimace at the crunch my extended fore-knuckles made upon impact.

.

+9,000EXP!

.

Level Up: 33 → 34

.

+25SP!

+New Skill(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 34

EXP: 3,913/34,999

NRG: 330,000/340,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 200(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

.

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry)):-

.

Budget: 364,400 gold

.

I sighed as the Hollow Soldier began to seep some sort of black fluid from its body after collapsing. "It's reckless of me to not just blow you up or freeze you in place, but I'll need to spare all of my NRG for the boss..."

True to the earlier warning, while my NRG gauge had increased, the available NRG itself had firmly stayed unchanged. Without healing, a retreat method or even assurance of recovered NRG at hand, I wasn't liking my chances ahead. But when did a dungeon ever care about what I wanted?

Sure enough, a whole group of Hollow Soldiers had already began to approach me. The temptation to just freeze them in place was almost too much, but I resisted it for the sake of getting my body used to the Defendu Skill.

.

MOB: 200(C) → 225(C)

SP: 0

.

I charged forward at the closest one and punched right into its abdomen just as it raised its own plasma carbine, my punch sending it flying back into two more Hollow Soldiers behind it.

.

+9,000EXP!

.

Without waiting to finish off the remaining two out of three, I swung my boot hard into the nearest Hollow Soldier's chin, causing its head to gruesomely twist aside.

.

+9,000EXP!

.

Spinning to a stop, I aimed my punch right at the next Hollow Soldier's neck, killing it instantly before I stomped into another one's knee to break it, leaving its head open for me to grab and viciously twist.

.

+9,000EXP(x2)!

.

Level Up: 34 → 35

.

+25SP!

+New Skill(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 35

EXP: 4,914/35,999

NRG: 330,000/350,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 225(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 25

.

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect)):-

.

Budget: 364,400 gold

.

Dropping down, I immediately used {Redirect} to have the last two Hollow Soldiers aim their punches at each other before finishing them off.

.

+9,000EXP(x2)!

.

"This is a nice pace. Soon enough, I'll-" I stilled before before instinctively spiking up ice around me, causing an invisible enemy to flicker into view while impaled.

[Hollow Scout]

"There're invisible ones here, too?!" I gasped as it died as well, black blood staining my ice while a knife it'd been holding slipped from its grasp. If it wasn't for my SNS stat...

.

+9,000EXP!

.

Something crackled in the distant darkness of the hallway, causing me to duck as a lightning bolt seared through the spot my head had been a second ago.

[Hollow Psion]

This one held absolutely no weapons, but the constant tendrils of electricity arcing off its hands told me how little need it had of them. It also looked vaguely female compared to the male Soldiers and Scouts. Stepping out from behind it, a few more Hollow Soldiers rushed me while raising their weapons to fire.

Charging into the fray, I put them between myself and the Hollow Psion as I worked my way through them at a harried pace. All together, the three represented the RPG trio of Fighter/Mage/Rogue, thus requiring differing stats to handle each one.

STR to help me put down the durable Hollow Soldiers, SNS to help me avoid the Hollow Scouts' sneak attacks and MOB to help me avoid the Hollow Psions' literally lightning-fast attacks.

As I rushed through them all, I really fought the urge to start using my Quirks despite now starting to get swarmed and hit. The only thankful thing was that my high VIT kept me from tiring out with such an extended battle. And by the time the enemies stopped coming, I was surrounded by 'leaking' corpses while covered in bruises and electrical burns.

.

+9,000EXP(x32)!

.

+15,000EXP(x10)

.

Level Up: 35 → 45

.

+250SP!

+New Skill(s)!

+New Items(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 45

EXP: 37,924/45,999

NRG: 329,900/450,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 225(C)

MAG: 245(C)

SNS: 200(C)

SP: 275

.

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect, Moon Step)):-

.

Budget: 364,400 gold

.

The moment the opponents finally stopped showing up after a full minute, I shamelessly laid down flat on the ground and dug into my Inventory for a snack. When I felt rested enough, I checked on the Items I'd been getting while too busy fighting. Come to think of it, I haven't really experimented with gear much.

.

-:|Item: Hollow Soldier's Vest(B)|:-

A vest that reduces your sense of pain to a negligible threshold, allowing you to retain your rationality despite any gained injury. This requires a minimum VIT stat of 300.

-:|Item: Hollow Scout's Boots(B)|:-

A pair of boots that lets you phase yourself and desired objects out of space, rendering them incorporeal and just as easily make them corporeal again. This works by automatically transferring body parts that otherwise would have been in contact with the overlapping matter into a separate dimension. Everything you touches, including your clothes and even other people, become intangible too. This requires a minimum MOB stat of 300.

-:|Item: Hollow Psion's Visor(B)|:-

A visor that provides you a mini-map overlay that details your immediate surroundings and constantly updates as you move through the environment, highlighting points of interest, potential threats, and strategic vantage points. This requires a minimum SNS stat of 300.

.

Wow, what a haul.

.

MOB: 225(C) → 300(B)

MAG: 245(C) → 320(B)

SNS: 200(C) → 300(B)

SP: 25

.

And now to Equip it all. For a moment, the various armaments adorned my body before suddenly they turned invisible. "Wait, what?"

Looking around, I could still see the mini-map at the corner of my vision despite no longer feeling the visor on my face. "Unequip {Hollow Psion's Visor}."

The mini-map vanished as the Item reappeared in my hand, causing me to grin when equipping it back returned the mini-map while the visor itself disappeared. "I guess this will let me put all of this stuff on constantly without it being uncomfortable or having me stand out."

Still...

I grimly turned to regard the large ornate entrance I'd reached a long while ago. The mini-map didn't show me anything beyond the entrance, but my SNS stat itself practically let me see wisps of power seeping from the door's margins. "Just how bad is it going to be on the other side?"

Still, I wouldn't be able to leave here anyways without getting through here. Pressing my hands against the ornate red and gold entrance, I shoved the doors open. The moment I did so, an unearthly chill rushed out past me before suddenly reversing and sucking me in, slamming the doors closed behind me.

It was a wide but rough throne room with leagues of walkable space. There were no needless pillars. No lavish candlelights. But instead, there were blood red banners with frayed ends and cracked walls displaying sculptures of orcish warriors underneath the flickering flames of torches.

But all of this was negligible compared to the figure waiting at the throne. His entire form was shrouded in a robe-like mass of purple-tinged darkness, which somehow did absolutely nothing to hide his muscular form as a collar of skull-like protrusions hung across his shoulders, along with a massive skull-like effigy with horns jutting from his right shoulder while glowing red lines of power cut and crackled across his chest akin to arcane veins.

"Young Player..." The Boss of the Job Change Quest sat up from where he'd been leaning on his elbow, a tusked smile warping his tattooed crimson face to expose a full set of jagged teeth. "I bid you welcome."

[4th General of the Shadow Legion, Almighty Shaman Tusk]

Chapter Text

Tuesday, April 19 2011

Greg Veder(Double) - Cryomancer

I yawned as Void Cowboy helped Uber and Leet Warp their stuff away just as the Protectorate Heroes began to approach us. "Ah."

"Well, time to leave. Bye, Glory Girl." Void Cowboy waved at Glory Girl, who surprisingly waved back before flying off with Panacea. When did those two get close? "You coming?"

"No. Lawful Good archetypes cooperate with the law... as much as Boss would permit it to order us about." I replied.

"Well, see you later, then." Void Cowboy mock saluted to Miss Militia when she reached us with Assault at her side, my chaotic counterpart letting himself fall backwards as he Warped away while Assault returned the salute.

"Cryomancer, we would like to have words with you if you don't mind." Miss Miltia began.

I shrugged as I formed ice into chairs for all of us, prompting us all to take a seat. "Sure. What's wrong?"

"You set a big target on yourself." Assault started off, his usual joking demeanor mostly gone. "While that 'Cape Battle' was pretty dope, you also established yourself as the next Lung. I'm not saying you're a villain or anything like that!" He hastily assured me when I frowned. "I'm just being blunt when I say that Lung just got dethroned as Brockton Bay's strongest cape."

"This means that the remaining gangs in this city will feel cornered." Miss Militia continued. "While Weaver could hopefully keep her ire focused on the Empire Eighty-Eight, your own presence and confirmed power leaves especially the Empire feeling cornered. Given your unhidden animosity against them, it's only a matter of time before they do anything to twist the odds into their favor."

"And that's not mentioning the ABB." Assault gave a glare towards where the ABB had gathered around during the Cape Battle. "Those guys are even more desperate than the E88 and I don't know who that cape with them was. She was clearly a girl, but hanging around the gang known to dabble in forced prostitution means she's clearly up to something..."

True. Any female cape born within ABB territory would've rather died or gone down fighting before working with the ABB. That was suspicious as hell.

"I apologize if this frustrates you, but I must ask you again, Cryomancer." Miss Militia exhaled, folding her arms. "Will you not join the Wards? We can give you resources, training, and a team at your back."

Ha! I already had Boss for all of that. Other than maybe getting inside information I might need, joining the Wards showed too many demerits instead.

"It's not just you in their sights." Assault added warily, glancing at the nearby Parian who was surprisingly still around. "No matter how much the Empire prides themselves on being 'better', they're not that hesitant on hitting where it hurts."

Translation: If they think hurting Parian will hurt me, they'll go after her instead.

The temperature around us dropped sharply enough that the heroes before me stiffened in alarm, prompting me to exhale noisily and calm myself down. Then I had a chair manifest for Parian as well at where she was still waiting for me, since I'd probably be here for a while. "Sorry about that. True, the Nazi only play fair when they're the ones likely to win."

Maybe Void Cowboy could handle it. Aside from Purity, who else in their ranks would survive Void Cowboy suddenly opening portals beneath their feet to drop them several miles up in the sky or right into a volcano or something?

"I won't deny that the PRT doesn't want you for selfish reasons ourselves." Miss Militia admitted, her tone growing wistful. "Now that we've all seen what you can do, we could make lasting change. No more fighting uphill battles. No more inconclusive victories..."

I blinked as one of my favorite heroines showed a brief flash of emotional exhaustion. "The city's state bothers you, doesn't it?"

"It always has." Miss Militia sighed heavily. "With our failure to properly handle Weaver-"

"I thought I told you and Vista to stop acting like Piggot's bad ideas were your bad ideas." Assault groaned.

"-morale at the PRT is at a low point, despite appearances." Miss Militia continued as she slightly bowed her head, almost as if begging me. "You joining us would help us just as much as we would help you."

...damnit, Miss Militia! Why'd you have to be one of my favorite heroines?! Your honesty is giving you too many points! True, the Wards could allow me to make a greater difference in the city. Power alone wouldn't be enough to achieve that. But the Wards were still a PRT subdivision bound by bureaucracy and politics. I had no need for oversight that would force me into compromises.

What to do...? "... appreciate the offer, but I'm still not joining the Wards."

Miss Militia's expression didn't change even as Assault sighed in understanding. She was neither disappointed nor annoyed. "Why?"

"I don't work well with structure that isn't my own." I admitted. "I get why you guys need it, but I don't think I'd fit into your system. I often prefer to do my own thing."

"Yeah, you're not alone in thinking about that." Assault noted. "That's pretty much every independent cape out there."

"But that doesn't mean we can't work together." I replied, causing the heroes to exchange curious glances. "This is probably very selfish of me, but how about we just share information and coordinate when it makes sense? I don't have to be a Ward to be useful to you guys."

"Hmm... not a bad arrangement..." Assault admitted.

"But very unusual." Miss Militia finished. "How would such a thing even work?"

"Because you guys are stretched thin." I pressed on. "Villains have always outnumbered heroes, and I've had to see a lot of bad shit happen because you guys literally didn't have the time to take care of it. I'll give you a hint. I go to Winslow-"

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Assault immediately pressed his face into his hands while Miss Militia winced.

"-and apparently, that's all I need to say." I sighed. "There's always more happening than you guys can be aware of. I can help you guys around stuff like that, but when I'd likely be a threat to your chain of command."

After a few seconds of thinking it through, Miss Militia leaned back and folded her arms. "If you stay independent, you'll have no support when it might be necessary."

My tone grew a bit arrogant with my next words. "An enemy I'd need support against is an enemy beyond you all."

"...yeah, that's fair." Assault admitted. "But there's no way this won't fly without some conditions."

"Makes sense." I shrugged, smiling slightly. "Let's do it, then."

"Do you mind if I record this?" Miss Militia took point, bringing out a recorder when I nodded my assent. "What exactly are you proposing in terms of coordination?"

"I know you have systems in place to monitor criminal activity." I immediately started off. I'd only saved a few people so far as Cryomancer, but nothing too major. Just random ABB muggings and one E88 initiation I'd nearly killed Crusader for. "Rather than something absurd like full access, I'd just prefer to be alerted if something major is going down. We all know the reason you haven't run the gangs out is because you have neither the numbers or power for it. That's why you've been stuck in a stalemate for years."

"And you can break that stalemate in our favor?" Miss Militia asked.

I replied with a piercing question of my own. "Don't you wanna be able to not need your gun anymore?"

Miss Militia stilled at my question while Assault gave her a nervous look for some reason. "...parahumans as young as you have a history of getting in over their heads. Your power makes it even worse. Escalation is a real danger."

"Escalation will happen regardless of our choices." I shot back while fighting down the urge to be harsh. She was right, after all. "But we can either be ready to face it or not. I'll be the backup you guys need. In exchange, I need to have some kind of official standing. Something that lets me operate without stepping on toes or breaking some unknown rule I don't know about."

"You want to be an independent hero." Assault realized with a small laugh. "Oh, Vista's gonna be so jealous."

"Independent heroes have responsibilities." Miss Militia replied as she seemed to think it through. "You would need to abide by specific guidelines. We would also need to evaluate your behavior in the field."

"Obviously." I nodded in understanding. "So what's the verdict?"

"...this is highly unorthodox, but you do warrant it." Miss Militia sighed before nodding resolutely. "We will provide you with a list of rules and expectations. If you can abide by them, we can discuss expanding the arrangement."

I fought the urge to grin. Finally, some progress!

"But there is another issue." Miss Militia continued. "To be recognized as an independent hero, there will be situations where coordinated patrols will be necessary."

"Well, I've got no problems with that." I answered easily.

"Whew! Honestly didn't think we'd get this far so quickly." Assault exaggeratedly wiped his brow before reaching for a tablet from the bag he'd been carrying.

"...you knew that I'd push for this."

"We hoped that you'd push for this." Miss Militia corrected. "With you rejecting the Wards but keeping close ties with the PRT, this was our next bet."

Miss Militia took Assault's tablets and opened it, tapping some things until it displayed what she wanted. "These are the rules independent heroes need to follow when working alongside the Protectorate. It's not a formal contract, but if you're going to be patrolling with us, you need to be aware of them."

I took the tablet offered to me, reading down the rather... telling list. I almost wish that I had a lawyer at hand to look this all over, but it really seemed reasonable. The rules were detailed, but easily boiled down to six simple facts.

Violence against Protectorate or Ward heroes is prohibited.

Lethal measures are forbidden except expressively authorized.

Ongoing Protectorate operations are not to be interfered with unless I defer to the leading officer or hero to participate.

In emergency situations such as high-risk engagements or mass evacuations, I must follow orders to ensure civilian safety.

Every engagement with criminals must be reported and logged in, for the sake of noting injuries, property damage or other complications.

Sensitive Protectorate information must not be shared with external parties.

"Rule #03 sounds like a huge gray area." I noted.

"It's meant to be." Miss Militia replied. "You've probably heard this before, but heroism is more than just saving civilians and disabling criminals."

I frowned. "That sounds a lot like 'Don't interfere in moments where I might need to interfere'."

"It does, doesn't it?" Assault didn't deny my point. "But that's how they figure out those who are obedient and those who aren't."

That sounded troublesome, but not unreasonable... for someone with alternate selves unbound by any contract. "Fine, then. I guess none of these are that bad."

"Good." Miss Militia leaned forward and briefly took the tablet to make it show something else. "Now, these rules are... Well, they are basically the Unwritten Rules specifically for us PRT affiliates."

Don't call for backup without expecting oversight.

Don't escalate fights unnecessarily.

Your legal job description does not give you the authority to make arrests instead of just containing active threats.

If you're a problem to civilians, you'll be treated as one.

Cooperation does not mean trust. Merit does.

Well, I can't say I wasn't warned. Not with warnings like these. "...fine, then. Where do we go from here?"

Assault visibly sagged in relief while Miss Militia's shoulders relaxed a little. Had they been that stressed?

"Another time, tomorrow night at earliest." Miss Militia stated as the two heroes got up, prompting me to do the same. "We'll send you the details after a debrief with Director Piggot. You may contact us through the card I gave you earlier."

I waved them off before finally moving towards Parian. I'd only started the Cryomancer persona on a whim, just so that I had an avatar amidst law enforcement so that I'd never get blindsided by anything from their side.

So why did it feel like I'd just started something irreversible? Especially with Mum even deciding on names to give us after she'd learnt about us from the Original?

"So I assume you are with them now." Parian asked after I reached her, the two of us beginning to leisurely make our way back to her store.

"In a manner of speaking. I'm neither a Ward nor with the Protectorate." I replied. "It still needs some finalizing on their end, but I'll be basically an independent hero stationed here."

At least they better not station me away from Brockton Bay. "Besides, what'd you think about my fight?"

Parian stayed silent for a bit before clutching my sleeve tightly. "I'm glad that you won, but please don't ever fight another Cape Battle again."

"...okay."

"Good!" Parian sighed before gingerly letting her fingers brush against mine as we kept walking. When I gave her a curious look but didn't pull away, she slowly intertwined our fingers. It was amazing how I could literally feel her radiating nothing but sheer bliss from this singular act.

How lonely was Parian that merely holding hands could make her so happy?

Greg Veder

"Almighty Shaman... Tusk?" I numbly repeated, stunned from the sheer presence the Boss was emitting. Even Smaug would've been a total joke to this guy!

"Indeed." Tusk smirked maliciously. "Do I terrify you, pitiful Player?"

A sudden burst of energy surged off Tusk and washed over me, causing me to-

-become crushed by unsurmountable gravity - be incinerated alive from the flames of a massive dragon's breath - experience agony and pain like I'd never felt before as the blood in my veins boiled me alive - have my eyeballs painfully rupture and sink me into agonizing blindness - become frozen in place without the slightest muscle being permitted to move, my petrified lungs rendering me unable to even scream or breathe-

-almost stagger back in terror. I've heard of Boss characters having noobs imagine their own deaths from just their killing intent, but how many separate ways did this guy have to kill me?!

Still, I had to give back an answer. Best not to lose composure now of all times. "Of course, you do. But my terror is far outmatched... by my excitement at how much EXP I'll get from beating you!"

"Oh? Then by all means..." Tusk sank back into his throne. "Let's get to it."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have begun the 2nd Phase of the [Job Change Quest]. Until you complete the Quest, you cannot exit the dungeon.

.

"Gale Slice!" I immediately struck first, unleashing a compressed blade of wind that would hopefully finish him off immediately-

"Hymn of Protection."

-only for my attack to harmlessly disperse against a giant shield of translucent energy, a giant glyph of what resembled zodiac symbols hovering behind Tusk. "Gravitational Magic."

I gasped as I found myself lifted off the ground against my will, my nausea growing while noticing Tusk gesturing at me.

"Acceleration."

The ground suddenly rushed up at me, causing me to desperately Warp away. Landing right next to Tusk, I didn't hesitate to point my right palm towards him. "DIE!"

A powerful explosion engulfed Tusk and his throne, fiery smoke briefly covering the Boss's form before I had to dodge backwards from his hand bursting out of the smoke and nearly crushing my head. "Glacial Rampart!"

"Hymn of the Fire Dragon!"

Ice surged forth only to get vaporized by the flames of a dragon's breath attack, causing me to Warp away while steam briefly engulfed our surroundings another zodiac glyph displayed a dragon with it's maw still ablaze.

"Such parlor tricks!" The steam suddenly cleared from Tusk merely swinging his arms. "Are you not a mage as well?! Show some presentation!"

I breathed deeply before giving a grin as audacious as I hoped it was. "Okay, then! Permafrost Landscape!"

With just a single stomp, ice coated every surface in sight with {Cryo-Telekinesis} allowing me to rip it all into my psychic grasp and surround Tusk within a tornado of ice chunks. They were probably an annoyance to him, but they still did their job of occupying his attention. Occasionally creating and adding more ice to the fray for every bit Tusk melted into snow and steam, I clasped my hands together and let {Explosion}'s power build up with steadily increasing pops and crackles.

Sighting my chance, I blasted off noisily and let my body go through the automatic motions of using explosions to propel myself in a circular motion to create a tornado. The ensuing twister collected oxygen and momentum to fuel the charge I could fill burning my palms.

Then just as Tusk noticed my approach and raised up his {Hymn of Protection}... I Warped to directly behind him, unleashing my attack directly into his unprotected back. "Howitzer Impact!"

The result blast nearly burst my eardrums as I got launched away by the shockwave, Tusk's form nearly obscured in the blaze.

"Not bad, young Player! But not good enough! Not cool enough! Hymn of Strengthening! Hymn of the Giant!" Tusk roared from within the smoke as he arose several meters bigger, now towering over me. "The path ahead of you requires a character of more aura! More awesomeness!"

I Warped away as Tusk's fist slammed down onto my previous spot, fissures cracking into the ground for several meters.

"Always showoff with style like the world around you is your audience!"

This had to be the weirdest Boss to ever exist despite his absolute superiority, but still...

Why was I smiling so much?!

Tusk was that weird mix of utter strangeness and terrifying competence, which would need me to carefully whittle him down until I could find an opening.

But... That's how losers think!

"Show... off...? Ha... Hahahahaha!" I clapped my hands, the sound and feeling simultaneously calming and amplifying my mania. Time to push everything to the limit. Tusk wanted style? He'd get the whole performance! "IT'S SHOW TIME!"

Time to put the Fear of ME into the Almighty Shaman!

{Warp Gate} rippled off my form before ice spiked out into the numerus forming portals around me, which in turn stabbed into Tusk at many random spots from differing portals.

Not enough... Broaden it...! Push the Quirks to their limits!

Numerous tornados blew into life around us, their turbulence devastating the area at {Whirlwind} obeying my behest. Random ice columns sprouted and added their mass to the spectacle, assailing the boss with both freezing winds that flayed him and ice boulders that smashed into him with bone-breaking force.

But Tusk would clearly give as good as he got. "HYMN OF BLAZING FIRE!"

For one heart-stopping moment, the entire stone ground itself glowed crimson gold beneath the icy surface before steel melting pillars of flame burst free and chased after me as I wildly dodged with {Warp Gate}. Then because he apparently wasn't done, Tusk gestured and caused the pillars to bloom into twisters of fire that clashed against my tornados of icy wind.

Clapping my hands heavily, I had my tornadoes explode with as much force as I could get them to, both dispersing Tusk's flame twisters and knocking him back a little. Not done, I used {Cryo-Telekinesis} to form the ice I was already creating into a golem that could match Tusk's magnified size.

"Impressive." Tusk barely raised up his arm quick enough to block the first punch, his limb audibly snapping back as I shifted the attack into a backhand. Then the Ice Golem grabbed both of his arms and began to freeze them in place, me leaping off right into Tusk's face and grabbing him right by his namesake.

"Ice Time!" Tusk barely had time to roar before his entire body, down to the cell, was frozen solid. Sighing heavily as I kept pushing it as far as I could. Once satisfied, I let myself drop down and began to walk away, no longer needing to even give Tusk another glance.

"Show's over!" With a slash of my thumb against my neck, the Ice Golem slammed its fist deep into Tusk's chest, shattering him into many pieces that rained down around me.

And one of them... was Tusk's rapidly thawing hand moving to show me the 'A-OK' sign. That should not be possible, but he'd apparently decided that he was too awesome for that. "Styling... even to the very end, huh. Consider your lesson appreciated, Tusk."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have defeated the Boss of the [Job Change Quest].

+285,000EXP!

+285,000 gold!

.

Level Up: 45 → 51

.

+150SP!

+Perk(s)!

+New Skill(s)!

+New Items(s)!

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 51

EXP: 31,930/51,999

NRG: 560/510,000

Job: ?

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 300(B)

MAG: 320(B)

SNS: 300(B)

SP: 175

.

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program, Almighty Shaman Tusk's Spellcraft):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect, Moon Step, Knifehand Strike)):-

.

Budget: 649,400 gold

Equipment: Hollow Psion's Visor(B) | Hollow Soldier's Vest(B) | Hollow Scout's Boots(B)

.

I sagged down into a crouch. "It's over... right? Now what happens?"

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have begun the 3rd Phase of the [Job Change Quest]. Stand ready for the Shadow Monarch's arrival.

.

"...who?"

All of the throne room's torches began to snuff out, one by one. Soon, the throne room almost completely darkened, shadows stretching unnaturally along the walls. And in that darkness, something moved.

He was less seen or heard and more felt, the shadows rippling and forming into a person that struck me both humanoid and yet completely alien. He had Asian features and a welcoming smile, even as shadows rendered his frame blurry and his eyes never stopped glowing an eerie violet.

"Greg, my name is Jin-Woo Sung, the Monarch of Shadows as well as the Administrator of the System you've been... experiencing." His voice was deep, but not booming. It didn't need to be booming. It carried authority as easily as I breathed, a casual self-assurance of an entity so far up the food chain that it could consider almost every threat to me as an absolute joke. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You... You're Tenebrus..." I forced myself to keep breathing. Not once had I ever considered the fact that I'd meet this person, the 'Administrator', at least not so soon. "Why did...?"

Why had he created the Carthenon Temple?

Why had he created the System?

Why had me of all people been chosen to be granted such power?

"...what are you preparing me for?"

Jin-Woo regarded me, or at least, I assumed he did. The shifting shadows that hugged his body barely moved, and yet I could feel the scrutiny.

"So you realized it. Good." There was a subtle shift in the air as the sense of overwhelming presence relaxed, as if I'd just passed a hidden test. "The Carthenon Temple was created to judge how people would react with their impending deaths against overwhelming enemies. Naturally, I had to ensure that the owner of the System was benevolent in nature, even on the threat of imminent death. Twelve unfortunate failures..."

Jin-Woo paused to smile at me, the shadows shifting and drawing closer to me without actually making contact. "And one success."

"...for what?" I found myself asking.

"To put it simply... War." The shadows now fully engulfed our surroundings, images starting to appear. Pinpricks of stars, then constellations, and then planets. Like a slideshow, multiple things were shown to me in succession: Jin-Woo himself fighting what looked like a titan made of constellations, leagues of shadowy creatures overwhelming actual angels, massive hands looming ominously over planet Earth... "Your world has invaders who seek to conquer or destroy it. They call themselves 'Itarim' as a group."

With only a spectral Jin-Woo standing guard against them all.

"Up in space?" I whispered. "Wh-Why not collaborate with Scion? Or the Triumvirate?! Scion doesn't socialize, but-"

"The one you called Scion is one of your Absolute Being's main agents." Jin-Woo interrupted, causing me to stagger in shock. "In case you don't realize, an Absolute Being is basically your universe's creator, aka God. And Zion is one of his most powerful creations."

...Scion's a bad guy? "I knew it! I mean, obviously not the Itarim part, but Scion! He rarely goes to an Endbringer battle, and he barely gives it his all whenever he said to show up!"

Ha! My conspiracy on Scion being a secret emissary of a greater evil was true! ...wait, this was bad. Actually, everything Jin-Woo just said is horribly bad. "Oh, shit! What do I do?! And you said he's just one of this Absolute Being's elite minions?!"

"Yeah. Your Absolute Being made 7 in total." Jin-Woo casually confirmed. "The Absolute Being of my universe was a lot more powerful and was able to make 17 individuals with similar levels of power: 9 Rulers and 9 Monarchs. Yes, I know the numbers don't add up, but Ashborn's story really isn't necessary in this context."

"Okay, okay." I took a shaky breath. "7, you say?"

"Yeah. And three of them are already here in your world." Jin-Woo revealed, causing me to gape at him. That was just under half of them! "Relax. Eden died and has already reincarnated into one of this world's humans. Zion is still busy mourning her, and hasn't even noticed her rebirth. Finally... Well, I'll admit you should probably worry about what Babel has been doing. That one's the reason why you guys haven't killed off all your Nazis yet."

Mum and I always knew that Nazis were the spawn of a great evil, and Jin-Woo just proved it. Sure, Mum always blamed Satan, but now I had an actual physical entity I could later go and punch their head off for it. "So what now?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Jin-Woo approached me and placed a hand on my shoulder, my eyes meeting his own. "Keep getting stronger. The more power you attain, the more attention it brings. I'll leave how you deal with your universe's... Entities at your own discretion. After your success, I hope to recruit your aid against the Itarim. Do you accept?"

"If I accept, there'll be more danger, right?" I whispered.

"Yes." Jin-Woo easily confirmed. "Even with all your power, you might still die once more. Make no mistake, Greg Veder. The System was never a gift. It's a challenge. Only after triumphing challenges are rewards granted."

What would happen if I said no? I've always wanted to save people, but this was on a much bigger scale than I'd ever expected. But it did make a good amount of sense, because at some point, I would probably end up too powerful for anything but the Endbringers. With great power came great responsibilities... and great perks. And I couldn't just keep enjoying the perks without taking on some responsibilities as well.

"...alright, then. I'll help you."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

You have passed the [Job Change Quest].

A Job will be granted after analyzing the Player's actions.

.

"...thank you, Greg Veder. And I'm sorry, for what I put you and Aisha through back then." Jin-Woo's form began to dissolve, shadows unraveling like smoke caught in an unseen wind. "But I have one final request."

I blinked in surprise. "What is it?"

"Don't let your humanity be consumed by the shadows." Jin-Woo warned, his voice steady and measured. "Treasure your loved ones. Remember what anchors you. Never lose yourself."

Then, just as silently as he had come, Jin-Woo Sung was gone, leaving only the lingering weight of his words as even the darkness left with him.

So in other words, becoming something akin to God is no excuse to stop being human? Got it.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Analysis completed.

Wherever the Player goes, destruction lies in his wake.

The Player acts on his own, but desires comrades to fight alongside him.

The Player wields powers akin to magic, yet possesses no reluctance with physical combat.

The Player possesses a tenacity that shakes even the deceased, calling upon them to serve his will.

.

"Eh?" I blinked. "This is getting pretty dark..."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Your Job is [Warmage of Death].

.

"Warmage... that's like a Warrior & Mage combo..." I muttered in realization. "...but why is 'Death' tagged in?!"

Wait. 'The Player possesses a tenacity that shakes even the deceased, calling upon them to serve his will.' Was it giving me a Necromancer Job?! Ignoring the public fallout of somebody like me becoming the next Glaistig Uaine, how the fuck was necromancy useful to somebody who could physically level up?! Besides, all necromancers usually just raised up the dead to send them forth as minions while barely doing nothing themselves, something useless to a frontliner like myself!

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Will you accept your Job?

[Yes/No]

.

"I have a choice?" I sighed with some relief. Being able to create an army on call was pretty tempting, but not that tempting. "That'll be a 'No', then. Gimme something else, please."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

[Warmage of Death] is a Prestige Job. Do you still wish to refuse?

[Yes/No]

.

"Are you kidding me?! What's so special about this Job that it's got a tag like Prestige slapped to it?!" I groaned and thought this through seriously. Prestige Jobs in video games had special caveats that regular Jobs didn't. Add in their rarity and most gamers wouldn't think twice about accepting it.

A Prestige Necromancer... "Just what are you aiming for, Mr. Jin-Woo Sung? ...fine, then. Your dungeons have never steered me wrong and you wouldn't start now, not after all the stuff you just told me about. I accept the Job."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Your Job has been chosen.

Based on your progress and feats throughout the [Job Change Quest], you will be given a chance to your Job a promotion.

You completed the [Job Change Quest] with minimal injuries. Bonus points will be awarded.

You impressed the Boss of the [Job Change Quest]. Bonus points will be awarded.

Your advancement points have exceeded the Job threshold.

.

My heartbeat quickened as I felt the pressure building within me, thin veils of shadows writhing around me and quickening in their movements.

Then something exploded out of me. Wild. Untamed. Violent. The darkness pulsed around me, crackling like a storm and swirling as if alive.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Your Job has promoted from [Warmage of Death] to [Monarch of Shadows].

.

Zion, the Warrior - Scion

Pausing in his eternal flight, he stared off into the distance as he felt one of his passengers morph into something unrecognizable.

Was it supposed to do that?

Mentally shrugging, he continued floating through the air without destination. The power that one granted was merely a weaker offshoot of something he already had so it didn't mean anything.

Elsewhere, if she possessed a better understanding of human gestures and hadn't been reincarnated into a human that was continuously suppressing her ego, Eden would have facepalmed at her partner's short-sightedness.

Greg Veder - The Monarch of Shadows

"Monarch of Shadows... like what Mr. Sung called himself?" No wonder the System was weirdly insistent that I take this one. Well, at least it wouldn't be uncharted territory for one of us. "Let's see... Unique Job Skills... Oh, more SP... and a Skill and a Quirk? Let's check them all out as I leave."

First off was {Shadow Extraction}

.

-:|Job Skill: Shadow Extraction|:-

By speaking a chosen command, you can revive deceased target(s) in your vicinity by extracting their mana in the form of Shadows, allowing you to create an army at your command. However, this cannot be used on targets who are significantly stronger than you or noncorporeal in nature. Also, chances of failure depend on your stats and the duration of the target's death.

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Please designate a command word for {Shadow Extraction}. (_)

.

I paused as I entered back into the hallway with the Hollow monsters, all of them emitting wisps of darkness while possessing the same message over them.

[{Shadow Extraction} is possible on this target.]

"Command word..." If I was to be a Necromancer commanding the dead to rise up and follow me... A singular word to convey my will... "Arise."

.

-:|Alert!|:-

Please designate a command word for {Shadow Extraction}. (Arise)

.

Every corpse in my vicinity erupted with movement as darkness began pulling itself out of them as amorphous blobs. Within seconds, the blobs formed into humanoid and shadowy replicas of their bodies, their visors glowing blue.

[Hollow Soldier - Elite]

[Hollow Scout - Elite]

[Hollow Psion - Knight]

"Holy shit, this is awesome!" As Master-like as this power was, I'd be able to use this in public a lot freely than I'd expected. All I had to do was use {Shadow Extraction} out of sight, and nobody would figure out that these were corpses!

Next up was {Shadow Storage}.

.

-:|Job Skill: Shadow Storage|:-

This allows you to store the Shadows you create inside your own shadow, as well as summon and reabsorb them at will. While stored in your shadow, the Shadows are in a state of complete silence and invisibility, making it impossible for enemies to detect their presence. Additionally, all stored Shadows will Level Up along with you in terms of their Rank, each individual Shadow splitting EXP for every victory.

.

"It's like the System's wiping away all the negatives of necromancy!" I laughed in excitement. "Now I have a way to actually keep all of my Shadows nearby at all times and bring them whenever I want."

Next was... ah, the Item.

.

-:|Item: Almighty Shaman's Cloak(S)|:-

Rather than cloth, it would be more accurate to call this a hooded ankle-length cloak-like mass of shadows with purple inner lining, flaring out with its ends perpetually swaying like a wraith. It is able to move and fly on its own power, enabling its wearer to levitate and fly through the air. It also possesses a will of its own and can move by its own accord, being able to anticipate dangers; pulling the wearer away from threats they are unable to handle. This also allows it to be thrown at targets to save (and carry) them from danger or blind and restrain them. Finally, it has a limited form of shapeshifting, being able to change it's shape and mass according to your will to form various constructs, including tendrils, shields, parachutes and various other appendages.

.

-:|Perk: Almighty Shaman Tusk's Spellcraft|:-

Passive Effect: This clads you in an invisible cloak of mana that safeguards you from a great amount of attacks, even reinforcing your clothing and sparing it from damage. While you cannot take physical damage while you have NRG to spare, you can still feel physical sensations.

Active Effect: This allows you to summon a glyph before you that possesses twelve sigils, each representing a zodiac with varying effects you can utilize.

[Hymn of the Golden Fleece(Aries): You conjure different-sized bursts of golden wool, which are dense enough to hold up the weight of one or several people and soft enough to immediately send them into relaxed and comfortable states.]

[Hymn of the Minotaur(Taurus): You manifest an ox skull over your arm and charge at your opponent with the intent to clothesline them with a lariat, ramming them with great destructive force. Along with breaking through most barriers, a successful strike can also blow away a target's entire chest with a direct hit, which may not kill them right away, but will ultimately kill them if they are not treated.]

[Hymn of the Dioscuri Twins(Gemini): As it represents twins, this actually gives you two separate spells.

{Dioscuri Twin, Castor: You can use this to change your composition into any other form, gaining the physical features and attributes of whatever you transform into while emitting a burst of flames off your body.}

{Dioscuri Twin, Pollux: You create a large and circular pool of water before your opponent(s) with its surface acting like a mirror, perfectly reflecting their incoming attacks. By then hooking onto its top and pulling it downwards, the 'reflections' emerge and materialize from the mirror to collide with the mirrored targets. As these reflections use the exact same technique or power as their counterparts - regardless of its type - they counter the attack completely, while repelling them in the process. However, upon impact, the reflections disperse into water.}

[Hymn of the Giant Crab(Cancer): You can forcibly restrain and immobilize people or to halt moving objects, allowing you to cancel out the motion of a target to not only reduce its speed, but even suspend it in place. The effect can at times be temporary, allowing the target to regain its motion, but can also be so powerful that continuous conscious effort and physical gestures to maintain it is not always necessary. Additionally, you can even exert this paralyzing grip on non-material objects, such as energy blasts.]

[Hymn of the Nemean Lion(Leo): You manifest the spectral head of a massive golden lion that can roar with enough power to not only repel targets with immense air pressure, but also vibrate materials to the point of shattering as well as fatally rupturing internal organs.]

[Hymn of the Maiden(Virgo): You hold your hand over an injured person and cover them in an aura of green energy that rapidly heals them, counteracting negative effects such as strong corrosive substances or recovering health and stamina from either minor or severe damage.]

[Hymn of the Justitial Scales(Libra): By manifesting a giant spectral pair of scales behind you, you can 'tip' them in your favor, allowing you to diminish or amplify the esoteric effects of others' powers.]

[Hymn of the Armored Scorpion(Scorpio): You can coat yourself, and potentially other objects and beings, in an aura of telekinetic force for defensive and offensive purposes. It is especially useful in keeping large objects from crumbling under their own weight.]

[Hymn of the Archer(Sagittarius): Usable only during a starry night, you can fire down a 'comet shot' from the constellation itself as a laser-like beam with exceptional piercing power and immense explosive power when it strikes the ground, never failing to strike the target.]

[Hymn of the Pan(Capricorn): You can achieve self-sustained levitation, enabling you to ascend to great altitudes and propel yourself in any desired direction. Moreover, you can dynamically adjust your flight path mid-flight, affording you seamless maneuverability across diverse environmental settings.]

[Hymn of the Water Bearer(Aquarius): You can cause a great volume of water to form around you after punching the ground, swallowing up and crushing your targets with the advancing surge. The force of this is great enough to hollow out the ground, washing away everything in the area. In the aftermath, whatever remains will appear devastated, as though some sort of natural disaster has just occurred. As the amount is proportional to what you wills it to be, even you can have a dry wasteland become a small ocean.]

[Hymn of the Paired Fish(Pisces): You can create a personal dimension in the form of a tropical beach environment that has a forest of palm trees on one side of the shore and an ocean on the other side, stretching into the distance. It is a mostly calm domain, and its waters are shallow enough for someone to stand in it while close to the beach. For offensive uses, you can create aquatic monsters that automatically hit their target. From the view of the targeted, the fish manifests instantly where they are, making them near-impossible to block due to the monster not even existing until the very moment they hit the target, instantly eating into their flesh. Pushing it further, you can summon countless species of marine-life monsters that attack in an endless stream that will continue to overwhelm the target and devour them as long as the personal dimension is active.]

.

"...Tusk, I love you." I shamelessly stated.

.

-:|Skill: Dominator's Touch|:-

You can interact with matter without physical contact as well as generate and apply physical force to a target or an area.

.

Didn't this make me like Rune but without her pesky limitation of needing initial physical contact?! OP, pls don't nerf!

.

-:|Quirk: High Spec Awakened|:-

Formerly designated as {Path to Solution} that would've been your original and sole power, this Thinker power is now more like a magical A.I. that will aid you any way it can, analyzing your surroundings and offering possible solutions to problems you encounters. It also has an encyclopedic understanding of both the World and your capabilities as a Player, and will offer you options and warnings based on your situation at the time while also speeding up both your thought processes.

.

"...Ok." I have a magical AI... I honestly have no idea how to react to this. "Yo... {High Spec}? You there?"

[Answer: Yes.]

I nearly flinched at the computerized voice that spoke out from my brain. "Huh. So you're really here."

[Clarification: I was previously kept aside by the Administrator due to a malfunction limiting my full capability. Now that you've gained a Job and stabilized your abilities, I was restored and returned to you. Additionally, mental thought alone will be suffice in communication.]

...sweet. "All of you, into the {Shadow Storage}. Let's bounce."

All of the Shadows immediately sunk into the floor, becoming two-dimensional before swirling into my own shadow to the point that it was a solid black patch underneath my feet until it returned to normal after a few seconds.

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia Veder

Level: 51

EXP: 31,930/519,999

NRG: 60/5,100,000

Job: Monarch of Shadows

STR: 295(C)

VIT: 300(B)

MOB: 300(B)

MAG: 320(B)

SNS: 300(B)

SP: 275

.

-:Quirks(Explosion(Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast), Frost(Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape), Warp Gate, Whirlwind(Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate), Double, Scalemail, Earphone Jack, Rewind, High Spec Awakened):-

-:Perks(Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing, Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power, Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program, Almighty Shaman Tusk's Spellcraft):-

-:Skills(Defendu Arts(Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect, Moon Step, Knifehand Strike)):-

-:Job Skills(Shadow Extraction, Shadow Storage):-

.

Budget: 649,400 gold

Equipment:  Hollow Psion's Visor(B) | Hollow Soldier's Vest(B), Almighty Shaman's Cloak(S)  |  Hollow Scout's Boots(B)

Shadows: 50

.

That was almost dizzying. I wonder how the others were doing- Wait, why did my EXP gauge grow bigger?!

[Answer: You will now be Leveling Up for a lot more than just yourself.]

...damn it!

Amy Dallon - Panacea

Aunt Sarah looked very unamused just as Vicky dropped down and released me, staring the confused flyer down. What did Vicky do now? "...didn't I specifically let you skip school for the chance of making a pitch at Cryomancer?"

Vicky stilled."...shit."

Ah... Well, in that case, it wasn't my problem. Better to make my quiet escape before I somehow got dragged into this.

Chapter Text

Tuesday, April 19 2011

Aisha Laborn

"This is too cool to be a necromancer power." I immediately decided after Greg showed us his new powers. I only knew necromancy from games and movies, but it had always been shown to be the most obvious and villainous of all Master powers. But this? It was like this Administrator guy had the absolute skill of rebranding, turning what should've been a shambling corpse no different from a zombie into a shadowy('Heh.') trooper ready to kick ass at Greg's convenience. This power could make people want to become necromancers.

"I know, right?" Greg himself answered as he swiftly dismissed the Master construct from between the table where it'd been out of sight, taking another bite out of his pizza. Our little trio were currently in a pizzeria celebrating victory, both for Cryomancer and Greg himself. Sparky however actually had to work at the time, as this was her Dad's place.

Looking at her, I was almost shocked at the sheer difference between her school appearance and work outfit. Normally, Sparky wore dull clothes so baggy that it (probably deliberately) made it hard for her to stand out in a crowd or even discern her gender. Now, in an actual pair of jeans that properly fit her, a long-sleeved black uniform shirt with the pizzeria's logo on her back, and her wild but wavy ebony locks tied into a loose ponytail, Sparky... was fucking hot.

And when a straight (but bi-curious) girl like me has to declare another girl hot, it was the damn truth. And it was somehow made better by the fact that she clearly didn't care. Too many girls at Winslow loved to show off how pretty they were with stupid amounts of makeup on their faces. And now that Barnes had left for whatever reason, there was currently a quiet but mad scrabble for who would be the new queen bee.

Even if Weaver had slightly lessened its status as a gang-infested shithole, it was still filled with teenage assholes outnumbering non-assholes. I may have liked how I dressed and how sexy I was, but nobody liked guys that come up behind a girl and try to cop a feel, believing that they could get away with it. Before I had powers, a few swift punches and kicks usually set them straight. After I got powers, secretly hunting them down and filling up their pants with sand always brightened my day.

But curiously, they seemed to be backing off recently due to Weaver's blatant friendship with Greg. Greg had somehow gotten close to her without needing to wear Teeth colors, and this confused everybody. Before the Carthenon Temple, Greg's social ranking had been the absolute lowest in the school. Weaver adding him to her gang would've clearly been a pity move from one bully victim to another, but the fact that she hadn't sent all sorts of messages.

Weaver didn't want him in the Teeth.

Weaver was secretly friends with Greg before she got powers.

Greg was too much of an annoyance for both Weaver and the Teeth.

Greg was too powerful to force into the Teeth.

That last part in particular, along with Greg's still unforgotten spat with Hess a while earlier, had easily boosted his reputation within Winslow's halls just as much as his makeover from the System had.

And with Greg never being shy about his friendships with Sparky and I, I'd gotten better protection in the shitty school with a predetermined notion about me just because I was the sexiest black girl to ever grace its halls.

"Finally, a break." Sparky sighed as she sagged into the seat next to me, taking a slice out of the pizza between us. "So, let's recap. Cryomancer has set up an avenue for him to be an independent hero, you've gotten a serious upgrade and Void Cowboy's..."

"Just hanging around." Greg answered. "I was thinking of sending him beyond the city, but now I've got Shadows for that. To just... spread out into the world and save people where heroes can't normally reach."

Ah, the advantages of having an 'undying' army filled with Brutes and Shakers, while all fitted with a Stranger power.

"Speaking of which, I believe we should consider moving our lair deeper into the city." Sparky declared, causing my jaw to drop. After all the effort to find that spot in the Boat Graveyard?! "My plan hadn't accounted for us having... minions, and loyal ones at that. With your Shadows, we'd have a lot more than just the three of us to watch it 24/7. I could even set up multiple workshops."

...oh. That's why she chosen the Boat Graveyard. It'd only been convenient for how well it could be ignored, not defended. This made much more sense. "So where exactly?"

"Chinatown." Sparky replied. "We take out the ABB remnants and takeover as the new bosses of that territory."

"Why would we be pretending to become villains?" Greg asked. "Haven't those guys suffered enough under Lung?"

"Not in the manner that you're thinking of. We won't be doing anything quite as villainous, but that doesn't change the fact that Chinatown is still a territory." Sparky explained. "Once the ABB's new cape gets dealt with, there'll be a power vacuum, and that'll leave it open to either the Teeth or the Empire. No matter how good Hebert is, I'm not okay with letting the Teeth gain even a single inch beyond their spot."

"Neither am I." I spoke up. "The PRT won't do shit 'cause they'll be too spread thin, but Greg wouldn't have that problem. In fact, you could eventually run them all out."

And wouldn't that be a sight to behold? With Cryomancer acting from the heroes' side and Greg on the opposite side of the spectrum, they could actually clean up the city of its villains. No matter how friendly Taylor seemed, the former bully victim seemed to be falling hard into the Stock... Stock... That mental sickness where one somehow likes bad people despite being at their mercy... Or was it that other one when the bad people ended up liking their hostages? Because it stunned me to realize that Taylor easily fit both categories: both by being Butcher XV and threatening the Teeth into compliance only to end up protective of them as well as being at the eternal 'mercy' of all the previous Butchers in her head, because I personally knew how well one could slowly get used to being constantly around a person that they totally hated, and I at least had the ability to run away from my mother. Taylor had no such escape.

"That would be nice..." Greg muttered. "Okay, let's do it. I'll just need to upgrade my brothers first."

Brothers?

"Brothers?" Sparky echoed my thought.

"Sorry, I meant the clones." Greg grinned sheepishly, causing something within me to pleasantly squirm at his smile. "I told my Mum about them, and she declared them as her sons too. Since I've left them active for too long, they've grown too much as individuals and I'm not sure if I want to just... snuff them out. Mum's even thinking up names for them."

"So I'll need to get used to three of you running around?" Sparky raised an amused brow. "Be prepared for how much trouble triplet models bring about."

Triplet models~

Greg frowned. "I'll recommend hair dye for them, then. Ah, that reminds me. Aisha. As soon as you can, can you get your brother to join us?"

I snapped out of my NSFW fantasy involving three Gregs and one me at his words. "What."

"From now on, I wanna expand our trio into an actual crew." Greg stated. "Reveal your powers if you have to, but tell him I'm recruiting for non-villainous work and I'm willing to pay. My SNS told me that he's a cape like us, so he might need a safe option to join with for the moment."

It took a lot of effort to not comment on the fact that Brian easily beat us all on experience as a cape, him being a recognized villain. But this was a good opportunity. If I could get Brian onboard, it'd prevent him from sucking up to the PRT.

"No prob." I promised. "I'm on it."

Greg Veder - The Monarch of Shadows

"You guys ready?" I muttered to my clones, all of us in my room after dinner. By now, it was no longer abnormal for my clo- brothers to just hang around at home, my mother easily accepting them and even granting them names of their own.

"Yup." Agustín(Void Cowboy) shrugged.

"Let's just hope this doesn't backfire on us." Sebastian(Cryomancer) muttered.

Okay, on your start, {High Spec Awakened}. Feel free to remove the unneeded ones, 'cause there're a few with me I haven't really needed at all. It'll set me back with the accumulated EXP, but I can easily regain it despite the steeper requirements to Level Up.

[Acknowledgement: Very well, I will begin the Awakening of all frequently used Quirks, including {Double}. Awakening of {Explosion}... successful. Awakening of {Frost}... successful. Awakening of {Warp Gate}... failed.]

I frowned at that snag. Why had {Warp Gate} failed to Awaken?

[Conviction: Repeating attempt... failed. Repeating attempt... failed. Repeating attempt... failed. Repeating attempt... failed. Repeating attempt... failed.]

Maybe get to deleting, then? Or you could just skip {Warp Gate} and focus on the others.

[Resignation: Deletion of {Scalemail} successful. 5 Stat Points acquired.]

Eh? Deleting Quirks granted me more Stat Points? About the amount I gained from my morning exercises, even.

[Excitement: Deletion of {Earphone Jack} successful. 5 Stat Points acquired. Deletion of {Rewind}-]

"No!" That one was too useful!

[Embarrassment: Sorry. Awakening of {Rewind}... successful. Awakening of {Whirlwind}... successful. Awakening of {Double}... successful.]

Gus and Gabe suddenly tilted and slumped into lying positions on their futons as if simultaneously conked over the head, their snores keeping me from panicking.

[Curiosity: May I delete {Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program}?]

I frowned... That Perk belonged to the Boss that had served as a wake-up call to me... but I guess I couldn't be that sentimental towards it. "Go ahead."

[Interest: Assimilation of {Sapiently Protective and Intelligent Droid Entity[Spidey]'s Program}... successful. 50 Stat Points acquired. Awakening of {Warp Gate}... successful.]

Good. Now, this would keep me from having too many useless powers as well as upgrade what I did have to use.

.

-:|Status|:-

Name: Gregory Garcia 'Greg' Veder

Level: 51

Rank: Tectonic Scale(Island level) → Stellar Scale(Moon level)

EXP: 0/519,999

NRG: 5,100,000/5,100,000

Job: Monarch of Shadows

STR: 295(C) → 400(A)

VIT: 300(B) → 330(B)

MOB: 300(B) → 400(A)

MAG: 320(B)

SNS: 300(B) → 400(A)

SP: 0

.

[Quirks: Explosion Awakened: Explosive Speed, Stun Grenade, Howitzer Impact, AP Shot, Land Mine Blast | Frost Awakened: Glacial Rampart, Cold Surf, Cryo-Telekinesis, Ice Time, Permafrost Landscape | Warp Gate Awakened | Whirlwind Awakened: Air Ball, Air Blast, Gale Slice, Air Pull, Asphyxiate | Double Awakened | Rewind Awakened | High Spec Awakened]

[Perks: Compassionate Healer Lee Ju-Hee's Blessing | Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power | Almighty Shaman Tusk's Spellcraft]

[Skills: Defendu Arts: Strike Barrage, Taunting Warcry, Redirect, Moon Step, Knifehand Strike]

[Job Skills: Shadow Extraction | Shadow Storage]

.

Budget: 649,400 gold

Equipment: Hollow Psion's Visor(B) | Hollow Soldier's Vest(B), Almighty Shaman's Cloak(S) | Hollow Scout's Boots(B)

Shadows: 50

.

[Clarification: Shall I synchronize your stats with that of all existing clones?]

Yes, please. "Whoa... Feeling sleepy, too..."

[Interest: Beginning Petition.]

[Trajectory: System Administrator!]

[Alignment: Request for maximized Job Skills!]

[Agreement: Cycle initiated!]

[ADMINISTRATOR: What is it? How are you already able to contact me like this?]

Wednesday, April 20 2011

Void Cowboy(Double) - Agustín 'Gus' Veder

.

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Topic: Losing Sucks!

In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Posted on April 20, 2011:

I can't believe I'm being forced to do this. It's not fair. I should've won!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

But then you went and lost. Nobody likes a sore loser, Void. So suck it up and get it over with.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

...FUCK!

I, Void Cowboy, hereby offer my sincere apologies for being a most unpleasant, rude, ignorant and obnoxious jerk during my time on Parahumans Online. In light of my loss to Cryomancer, I must reflect upon my terrible behavior while he holds Bragging Rights over me. So if I get booed online, it is not because they're all ignorant losers who can't see the truth that I clearly did. It is because I absolutely refused to emphasize with others and only owe my current friendships due to the extreme patience of my actual friends IRL.

...losing sucks.

►Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Pardon my language, but what the actual fuck?!

►Point_Me_ @_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Cowboy, what happened to you?!

►Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

My personal diagnosis: HUMILITY. Also, why so early?

►liquidsnake

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Humility has never looked so scary... and yet so satisfying.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Oh, fuck you.

►liquidsnake

Replied on April 20, 2011:

You wish.

►GstringGirl

Replied on April 20, 2011:

This is... *GASP!* Character Development!

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

The sad thing is, Void Cowboy is conventionally attractive. As in, he could get mistaken for a model level of attractive... then he opens his damn mouth.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

FUCK. YOU.

►Cryomancer (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

(1) Dude, we're related. So, hard pass.

(2) Under the right circumstances, we could actually look like we're twins, but I'm nowhere near narcissistic enough to feel attracted to that.

(3) Even if ignoring the above two, my standards still aren't that low.

►XxVoid_CowboyxX (Verified Cape)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

STOP TALKING! OR TEXTING!

►Ultimate1337 (Verified Cape) (Villain)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Don't be so glum, Void Cowboy! We made serious bank thanks to you and Cryomancer! Cape Battle's gonna stay and keep growing! All challengers, please direct your messages towards me or @MaximumUber to register yourself for a match! If a match is finalized, both will pay a set fee and winner will leave with 60% of the combined money while Uber and I keep 40% as the hosts! WHO'S READY FOR A CAPE BATTLE?!

►Assault (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

How does the match selection process work exactly?

►Battery (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Ignore him.

►Armsmaster (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

How does the match selection process work exactly?

►Miss Militia (Verified Cape) (Protectorate ENE)

Replied on April 20, 2011:

Sir, weren't you taking a nap just a few seconds ago?

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 9, 10, 11

.

Greg Veder - The Monarch of Shadows

I stared down at this unexpected complication.

It wasn't often I chose to walk to school, but me getting faster and tougher had sweetened the experience for me significantly, especially as I'd often have a random encounter to experience.

I'd have never expected to see Emma Barnes looking as she currently did this morning, looking so distraught as she crouched against a nearby tree.

Barnes's knees were pulled up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them, her visual focus totally blank while the the tear tracks down her cheeks and the wet spots on her white pants gave a clear impression of just how long she had been like this. I would've found the abnormally high heat haze around her abnormal, if my SNS hadn't pegged her as a cape a while ago.

"Barnes?" I called out as I approached her. "I haven't seen you since the bathroom incident back on Friday. What happened?"

[Observation: She is terrified of Taylor, but also of herself. Her power evolved to produce even stronger flames but lost a significant amount of heat resistance to her own power. She believes it to be a sign that she deserves a slow cremation for her crimes against her former best friend, as continued usage without moderation will eventually kill her.]

Damn. Infodump... Also, what the fuck?

"...Veder." Barnes finally gasped after not seeming to recognize me for a few seconds, her voice raspy. "Leave me alone... Not even worth the pity..."

"And why do you think that?" I found myself asking.

"...I killed my best friend." Barnes began to sob anew. Her head dropped onto her legs while her hands left her knees to ruffle through her hair, which I now noted to be a lot less cared for than it normally was. "She was supposed to fight back. She was supposed to show Sophia that she was strong. I knew she was strong! Her mother died and she just kept going. Why didn't she fight?! Just once, just once and I could've proven to Sophia that she was strong like me! I could've stopped! I could've told her everything if she just fought back!"

"Why was Hess of all people owed anything?" I questioned.

"I owe her everything." Barnes whispered. "Sophia was the one who taught me how the world truly works. It's filled with winners and losers. Strong and weak. Predators and prey. Only the survivors who wind up the strongest ones of all."

Barnes scoffed self-depreciatingly. "I can't believe I ever thought I was one of the survivors. I should've burned."

[Observation: Barnes suffered an incident of great trauma. Hess was the one to save her from it, but molded her into a follower for gratification. Barnes betrayed her friendship with Taylor to seek justification from her savior's ideals as well as help her friend in a rather distorted and unhelpful manner.]

"...this is so fucked up."

[Observation: Barnes loved Taylor, but was prevented from expressing it by her trauma and Hess's toxic influence.]

Please, stop. Also, remind me to hit Hess the next time I see her.

[Verification: Understood.]

Crouching down before her, I struggled to find the words to speak while the redhead just kept crying. "Hey, stop crying. Crying has never helped out, and I'm saying that from personal experience."

Barnes's crying slowed into a sniffle, the girl offering me a puzzled look. "H-Huh?"

"So you feel bad? Tough luck, because feeling bad isn't enough to change anything. After all, you don't think Taylor's gonna forgive and forget all that you did, do you?" I chided, causing Barnes to flinch. "If you wanna hide away and keep crying, fine. That's on you. But it's also on you to do something about the stuff you did if you actually hate what you did. No matter what it takes, it's the least you owe to your former sister."

"...Taylor's not my sister." Barnes mumbled.

"I know enough that she's as good as. Well, was." I rolled my eyes. "The point is... Right now, you disgust me."

Barnes flinched, but I wasn't done.

"In case you've forgotten, you did all of those horrible things completely by your own will. The reason why Taylor Triggered. Why she would end up becoming the Butcher, forever doomed to villainy as a functionally insane immortal... is all because you decided to listen to a stranger telling you to abandon a friendship of several years just because you owed her something." I idly wondered if my words felt like a sledgehammer to her psyche. "You don't get to clam up and hide after all you've caused. After all, this whole miserable story... started with you."

"Then what am I supposed to do?!" Barnes snapped, her fingers grabbing onto my top while the heat around us spiked dangerously. Flickers of blue flame sparked in the air while the smell of wood smoke began to fill the air, the searing heat actually singing her clothes and reddening her skin but failing to even earn the tiniest drop of sweat from me thanks to my Perks. "I used my best friend as fucking stress relief! Taylor was the stronger one! She was always the stronger one! Why... Why am I still alive after I tried to kill her...? What the hell was wrong with me...?"

Barnes sagged her face into my chest, the hat dying down around us. "What am I supposed to do...?"

"...for starters, you apologize." I began as I grabbed her wrists, putting space between us. It was strange. I wasn't quite sure how I could tell, but maybe it was due to my very high SNS stat that I could now feel Barnes's very emotions. She was genuinely sorry about everything. "Don't make any excuses or try to shift the blame, she won't like that. Toss any bit of pride and beg if you have to. If Taylor hits you, you suck it up, especially after all the times you goaded Hess into hitting her. You must acknowledge that while you owe her atonement, she doesn't owe you the tiniest scrap of forgiveness."

Barnes sniffled again before responding quietly. "Okay."

"Once that's done, you stay out of her way." I continued. "If you are serious about atoning - because let's face it, returning to being friends is most likely off the table at this point - then you're going to have to wait years at minimum. Along with that, you should probably get some therapy."

Barnes sighed, tears returning to the corners of her eyes.

"Finally, cut off all contact with Hess. Block off her contact, even." I ordered. "She's... poisoned you. If you're not already over the edge after the Locker Incident, she'll push you over it soon enough. Cut her out of your life and I'll... I'll help you with Taylor."

"...okay."

"Give me your phone, and I'll give you my contact details." I offered. "I'm not sure when you'll be brave enough to get started, so let's keep this as something to think about next time you decide to sit back and do nothing."

I spoke too damn soon.

[{Shadow Extraction} is possible on this target.]

"I forgot... Taylor... has multiple dead souls parasitizing off her." I muttered in annoyance as I regarded her shadowy form, which appeared barely humanoid to my point-of-view while she chatted with Vex or other people.

It didn't help that getting too close to her allowed me to even hear the Butchers as well, even if as whispers.

"Greg, what happened?" Ironically, it was Taylor who approached me before I could do so to her. "You've been avoiding me all day."

It's strange. She sounded worried, but looked completely featureless as a human-shaped blob of darkness, fourteen distinct lumps bulging off her shoulders and head. "Sorry, it's... Wait, I can actually tell you about this."

I looked around to survey our surroundings. We were in the hallway during a free period, and the other students were keeping a wide berth around us. "There're two things you need to know, and one of them's definitely bad news. Do you want to learn that one first?"

Taylor's shadowy form was worryingly silent before she spoke again. "...spare the bad news for last. I know myself well enough that I probably won't listen to you after I hear it."

Okay, let's rip the band-aid off. "Neutral news, then. I... have powers."

"No shit." Taylor deadpanned... which was fair, now that I thought about it. "On top of your appearance, you can also create ice, right?"

When did I ever create ice in front of her? Wait, was that all she knew? Wait, focus. "That's not all. I can also... kinda... see the Butchers? Not clearly, but it's been blocking my view of you this entire day."

"...what exactly do you see?"

Being prepared for this for over two hours now, I fished out a paper and handed over my doodling of a shadowy Taylor supposedly locking arms with Vex. "It's nothing too eldritch. More like you're covered in very dark smoke that refuses to clear away from you and you've got these lumps on your shoulder."

I reached out and pinched one, causing Taylor to suddenly jump back from me. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"

"...no. Not me." Taylor whispered with clear alarm despite the lack of facial expressions. "How did- Just... Greg, you're coming with me to see Li- Somebody after school. Now... what's the bad news?"

"...I ran into Barnes this morning."

"Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it." Taylor immediately replied.

"She wants to apologize." I insisted.

"Didn't you just hear me?"

"Then at least look her in the eye and say that to her face."

"Fine, then. Emma's the worst, and I'll say that right to her face."

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

"...you're the worst." I muttered with zero emotion.

"I know." Emma responded, the bottom half of her face looking almost frighteningly lethargic.

Upon meeting with Emma immediately after school, we quietly stood opposite each other while Greg, after asking that the Butchers stay out of the conversation (which I enforced), stayed back with Chrissie and the others. Chrissie had protested, only for Greg to easily drag her away despite her furious struggles. Could it really be possible that he was actually...

"Focus." Damascian warned, causing me to drop that line of thought.

Right... Right. "Why the fuck did you show your face to me again?"

Emma's throat swallowed nervously. "I... I wanted to apologize."

"Why? Are you just realizing how much of an unforgivable bitch you've been?" I huffed as I noted how frayed Emma's normally (and meticulously) glossy hair was. "Let's recap incase you forgot: Vicious emails, each either mocking my mother for dying or me for daring to move past it. Then there were the ones where you'd tell me to kill myself."

"...why didn't you kill me?" The top of Emma's head lowered. "Not at the bathroom where Greg-"

'Greg'?! Did this bitch suddenly think she was now close enough with him use his first name like that?!

"Careful, Taylor. Your yandere's showing." Sabertooth joked.

"-stopped you, but long before that." Emma continued, her fingers wringing together. "I've been thinking about it, but the Locker really did Trigger you, right? Why... did not ever retaliate since then? How am I still alive?"

"Trust us, we've questioned that, too." Butcher grumbled.

I ignored him as I turned my gaze fully upwards, idly noting the passing clouds. How many times I had I humored this fantasy? The very idea of Emma seriously apologizing for everything she'd done to me? "I have a question."

"Okay. What do you want to know?" Her tone sounded utterly bereft of the guile she normally had, both before and after Sophia.

"It took Greg getting a direct barb to his face to get him to square up, and I guess he wasn't really ever a bad person." Not after what he'd been doing to repair and return my mother's flute. Not after his often but very ineffectual efforts to actually help me before he'd Triggered from those Empire skinheads... "But what about you? Greg apologized the literal first day after he got out of the hospital. What took you so damn long?"

"Wasn't that just this Friday?" Ironsides questioned.

I'm not going to be merciful to her like I was with Greg.

"I was busy being a bigger coward than Greg." Emma chuckled derisively, her shoulders shrugging. "No, Greg wasn't even ever a coward, was he? I still remember him saving me from you back then in the bathroom."

He had done that, hadn't he? More points to Greg, then.

"As for me, I was just a terrible person." Emma huffed as she turned to look at Greg, who I noted was still keeping a solid grip on Chrissie's shoulder. When they saw us looking at them, Chrissie tried to approach us, only for Greg's grip to keep her from advancing even a single inch. I wondered how high his Brute rating was. "Remember when you were at summer camp and you and I got cut off on that phone call? We got attacked by some ABB assholes, looking to initiate one of them. The idea was that she'd cut up my face some, maybe take out my eye or my ears, or whatever made them feel like real gangsters."

I forced myself not to react as I remembered that phone call, about it being my truly last conversation with my best friend.

"Now that I think about it, Greg went through the same thing... but he wasn't a bitch like I was. Even at the threat of death, he still took one of those E88 fuckers out rather than stab Laborn, and that actually rewarded him with both powers and Laborn as his minion. So poetic." Emma sighed again while I quietly agreed. Nobody really knew what they could be capable of until they were about to die. Greg himself showed that at his core, he was a genuinely good person who would refuse to kill another person to save himself. Such a mindset had gotten Aisha so hopelessly smitten with him that it was almost hilarious how Greg was totally unaware of her affections. It was also a sure sign that Greg wouldn't ever betray m̶e̶ anybody for whatever reason, a quiet fear I'd often nursed for years. "Anyways, Sophia was watching while-"

"She just watched?!" I interrupted her in disbelie- No, wait. I could actually believe that. What I couldn't believe was that Emma somehow chose to be friends with her after that.

"Yeah. Sophia said she was testing me, so see whether I was strong or weak." Emma confirmed. "People who can't even fight to defend their lives are just sheep."

"Let's kill Sophia Hess." Reflex suddenly suggested.

Woah, where did that come from?

"You don't get it." Reflex sounded like he was restraining himself from bursting into a rage. "This girl apparently went through a Trigger-worthy experience, and Hess clearly took advantage of that. From what we know, Hess has always desired validation, and Emma would then exist as a constant source of it. Hess saw a broken girl and deliberately rearranged the pieces into a worse state, ruining the lives two people completely unrelated to her all for the sake of her fucking selfishness."

"You know something unforgivable has been done when the hero's the one advocating murder." Knockout murmured.

This was... This was all too much. How could that bitch ruin not just my life, but also instigate Emma into what she'd done? Sure, one could argue that she'd done all that of her own volition, but all I could currently think about was that Sophia had stolen my sister from me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I suddenly asked, causing the blood in Emma's face to leave.

"Wh-" She started, but her voice left her. "What could you have done?"

"I don't know, but I would've at least been there for you." I clenched my fists. "You know I would have done everything I could to help you, right? You were my best friend. My sister in all but blood."

"I'm not worth that!" Emma snapped, wiping furiously at her eyes as the tears flowed over. "I'm not worth..."

"...just so that we're clear, I don't forgive you." I stated. "In fact, I probably never will. But I am willing to ignore you, as long as you keep yourself out of my sight for the rest of our years in Winslow."

"I'm moving away... To Boston." Emma revealed. "I'm supposed to be gone tomorrow."

Ah, so this was probably our last time ever speaking to each other. "Goodbye, Emma."

And with that, I turned around and walked away, metaphorically cutting her out of my life. I really wouldn't forgive her, but I also didn't have to focus on her anymore. Sophia, on the other hand...

"Now, we start making suggestions!" Sanguine cheered, which got the others riled up.

Returning to the small crowd of teenagers that had followed me out of Winslow and had been patiently waiting for me, I focused more on Greg after he finally released Chrissie's shoulder. She then retaliated with a vicious kick to his leg, only to still before kneeling to cradle her foot while Greg showed zero reaction to her attack.

"You Brutes are such bullshit." Chrissie growled through the pain.

"His leg didn't budge from that?" Stratego mused.

"I'll escort Barnes home." Ignoring Chrissie, Greg walked up to me, his gaze focused on Emma. "I'm a little scared that she's most likely suicidal right now."

"Why do you care?" I blurted out. "She used to bully you, too."

"Yeah, she did." Greg confirmed. "But she is genuinely sorry about it. If somebody doesn't help her along, how's she supposed to become a good person again?"

...huh.

"Is this kid real?" Butcher asked out of genuine disbelief.

"Don't tell me you've already forgiven her." I instead asked.

"Hell, no. Not anytime soon, even." Greg immediately answered, which relieved me. If Greg himself hadn't done so, that somehow made it okay for me- "But Emma can only face up to what she did if she's at least given the chance to. If there isn't anybody around to give her that chance, I'll do it myself. After all, you told me to never sit back and decide to do nothing ever again and I'll never forget that."

"Damned by your own words!" Ironsides groaned.

"I'll definitely forgive Barnes... after she's earned it, even if I have to be her personal parole officer or something." Greg decided before continuing towards Barnes, being much more a hero than I could ever have thought him to be.

"He kinda reminds of Hero's attitude before he died to the Siberian." Damascian commented. "The PRT would be way less of a joke if they had him."

"Then they'd corrupt him, too!" Alkaline argued.

Watching Greg as he gently guided Emma away, I turned back to the group I had started with. Let Greg do as he wished with Emma. She was no longer my problem to deal with.

...damn it, I forgot to let Lisa take a look at Greg with her power! ...probably for the best, though, with the Unwritten Rules and all that.

Cryomancer(Double) - Sebastian 'Sebas' Veder

Taking the bus while as Cryomancer sure was an interesting experience, especially when I got to give out several autographs after one kid got brave enough to ask, opening the metaphorical floodgates for others to follow her example.

But it was all just a preview to the moment the bus paused before PRT HQ. Staring at the monolith of sleek glass and reinforced concrete as the building's logo gleamed in the afternoon sunlight for a beat, I soon deigned to begin approaching it. Despite there being uniformed troopers standing guard as security, I didn't even need to reach the glass doors before I sensed Miss Militia's approach with my SNS stat.

I guess my very presence alone was trending if she was responding so quickly, along with a middle-aged man in a nice suit.

"Welcome, Cryomancer. Thank you for coming." Miss Militia greeted me as she shook my offered hand. "This is Jeffrey Renick, deputy director of our branch."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Truly." Renick shook my hand as well. "Now, from what Miss Militia and Assault told me, you'd like to register as an independent hero, correct?"

"That's right, Mr. Renick." I confirmed.

"Do you understand that you would have to go through power testing?" Renick asked.

"As long as I get a good mugshot, I'm good with that."

"Wonderful!" Renick beamed. "Miss Militia will take you to the power testing and then the follow-up registration. If you're interested, there should be some Wards around for a little meet and greet after the whole thing."

They were really never going to stop pitching for a recruitment, were they?

"This way, please." Leaving Renick behind, Miss Militia led me down a somewhat quiet hallway from the lobby, though no less sterile. The walls were lined with framed images of iconic moments in PRT history, and official portraits of Protectorate heroes.

My gaze lingered on a photo of Eidolon standing tall amid the wreckage of a wrecked city street, many defeated villains laid out before him. The world's most powerful hero, and he apparently wouldn't be able to match the Entities if Administrator Sung Jin-Woo was right about their power level.

Facing forward again, I somehow found my gaze now drifting downwards to Miss Militia's form-fitting fatigues as it clung to her curvy hips-

Gre- Sebas! Stop perving on the hot superheroine with an all-purpose firearm, especially out of boredom of all things! No matter how great her ass apparently looks!

"We are here." Miss Militia suddenly spoke just as we reached a small room. It was practically empty of both people and equipment, bearing just a desk, a few chairs and a monitor embedded in the wall. No windows or designs on the white walls. "The registration process is quite straightforward, which will compose of you being evaluated for your combat ability, threat assessment and general competency. After you pass, you will be recognized as an independent hero with the rights and responsibilities that entails."

She guided me towards the monitor and switched it on, its screen displaying a PRT registration form. Cape Alias. Known powers and capabilities. Affiliation Status. Each one was a box waiting to be filled, and a decision made legally permanent.

"Your name is already stated in." Miss Militia moved to type it in. "So please disclose your powers and any other skill you possess that may be relevant to your heroism."

"As you saw with my fight yesterday, I have really high-level Brute capabilities. I'm mostly capable of taking a hit that matches what I can output. Plus, I'm very fast as well, enough to react to speedsters like Velocity." I explained. "I once tested if I could toss an egg into the air and catch it before it reached the ground after running thirty meters away and back. I did."

Barely, though. A-ranked MOB was fast, but was a weirdly difficult sensation. As the world predictably slowed to a crawl when I kicked my speed into overdrive, it had almost felt like I'd been underwater with every movement being a painfully slow process as I literally moved too quickly for reality to keep up. Still, {High Spec Awakened} had confirmed that we would soon get used to it after multiple battles against those with similar speeds, so Gus and I had sparred today while the original Greg had gone to school. No Quirks or Perks, just hands.

That poor Russian forest...

"Brute and Mover sub-ratings confirmed." Miss Militia's fingers inputted the information. "And the ice manipulation?"

"I can generate ice, frost and cold from any part of my body or even out of thin air or any surface in my vicinity. As powerful as that sounds, I'm also precise with it enough to avoid fatally freezing someone, or carefully freeze only certain portions of their body. I can easily flash-freeze enemy territory and entire city blocks without it bothering those I don't want to become frozen." I explained. "Of course, I can also form ice into almost any construct I want it to be."

Miss Militia paused. "Any construct?"

"Icearms." I cycled through a bunch of ice-composed firearms for her to see, from a regular pistol to a sniper rifle to even a large bazooka.

"I assume that the dragon from your Cape Battle is also a subset of this ability?" Miss Militia asked after she'd taken the bazooka to test its weight and check the accuracy of its mimicry.

"Yeah. But it's less ice and more... ice energy itself?" I confirmed. "Basically, it lets me manifest a massive draconic avatar out of my spiritual and elemental aura, surrounding me and fighting on my behalf. By default, we're anchored to each other so that I'm suspended within it and can be brought along whenever it moves. It can basically do everything a dragon can, if you replace fire with ice. My maximum size is thirty meters or higher."

"...higher?" Miss Militia asked, almost faintly.

I shrugged. "I think I could grow a lot bigger, but I never fought anything that needed that much escalation. Yesterday was the biggest I'd ever gotten and growing too big would've been wasteful."

"An autonomous projection, which as you said 'fights on your behalf', falls under the Master classification." Miss Militia stated. "Do you understand and accept that?"

I shrugged. "Sure, if that's what you say. You're the official here."

Miss Militia nodded at my assent and typed in a few more details, stepping back when the screen shifted to a waiver that was thick with legalese. "Read this through, please."

It was just as I'd expected it to be filled with: liability clauses, non-aggression agreements, restrictions on collateral damage, and even payment plans. Plus, one caveat.

The Parahumans Response Team reserves the right to reassess independent status if the cape in question demonstrates reckless endangerment of civilian lives and properties.

Heh. This would definitely let them yank me in if I stepped too far out of line, simultaneously covering their asses and gaining one very powerful hero for their ranks.

Taking the digital pen that Miss Militia offered, I signed 'Cryomancer' into the alluded spot for it on the monitor, causing a chime to sound after I was done.

"Now for the evaluation." Miss Militia gestured to the door. "Follow me to the testing room, please."

Many numbered doors passed before we reached a double door that slid open to reveal a wide, matted space lined with equipment racks and what looked like target dummies. And standing in the center, arms crossed was-

"Battery?" I blurted out.

The Protectorate heroine nodded, beginning to stretch in place while the circuit lines on her costume began to hum with power while glowing electric blue. "I was told you'd need a sparring partner. And I volunteered before either Assault and Aegis could."

Miss Militia stepped back. "Begin when ready."

Battery rushed forwards, right arm back in one of the most telegraphed punches I'd ever seen. Well, in her defense, she was currently moving at what I'd roughly call 'racecar-level' speed. The problem was... I was just so much faster. Moving almost leisurely as I closed the distance between us, I grabbed her extended arm by the wrist and judo flipped her, slamming her into the ground and causing a small electrical shockwave to engulf most of the room.

"You good?" I asked to the stunned heroine after noting I didn't get any EXP from her, showing that she was at least far from 'defeated'. "You've got more to show off, don't you?"

Battery's dropped jaw shifted into an intense grin as she kicked up into a backflip that gave her needed space. Then she settled into an actual stance, muscles straining against her costume as electrical energy burst from her body and began to coalesce into her fists.

Her first punch slammed into my waiting palm, my Perks protecting my costume from damage. The second attack was a kick I easily halted, although that allowed her to aim for the side of my head. Letting her hit and see that she didn't even get my head to budge, I patted her chest with enough force to propel her away from me and snapped my fingers, encasing her entire body in the five-meter tall cube of ice while keeping her head spared. "That was fun."

.

+4,560/9,120EXP!

.

"Not from my end." Battery huffed. "Um, you take this apart, right?"

A flex of {Cryo-Telekinesis} softened the ice into snow that Battery promptly got buried in with a surprised squeak.

"Test concluded." Miss Militia spoke from the observation window with one-way glass, obscuring the heroine, along with Armsmaster, Assault and various analysts. "Battery, report to medical for evaluation. Cryomancer, a guard will escort you to conference room 2 now."

Battery's arm raised out of the snow pile to give a thumbs-up while I followed the trooper that was waiting for outside the doors I'd entered through.

Emily Piggot

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked in a very calm and collected voice as I stared at Armsmaster, needing him to correct the insanity he just spoke.

"Cryomancer qualifies for a total of six power classifications." Armsmaster repeated as he offered me the files. "With a 'Run' Mover rating of 7, he was able to easily react to Battery's initial attack and following strikes despite our tools clocking her speed at 382.43mph. For Cryomancer, we clocked him at 580.626mph. The dangerous part is that he didn't need any brief period of charge up. As far as our cameras could detect, his speed isn't a power that can be toggled on and off, which disproved our theory of it being a Breaker subset."

This in turn meant that Cryomancer was effectively unable to be caught off-guard. A parahuman that fast even without all of his other powers would've been terrifying. It didn't matter how strong or skilled you were if someone could kill you before you could react or even notice.

"With a 'Muscle' Brute rating of 9, he was capable of lifting the Weight with ease, setting a new record even when he capped it out." Armsmaster revealed, causing me to stare. He'd capped it out?! The Weight was a Tinkertech barbell that steadily increased in weight whenever held up above the user's head. And after four years of usage, Cryomancer had capped it out?! "The barbell refused to record higher beyond... 9.81 trillion tons."

...that was- "What's the highest recorded weight lifted by a parahuman?"

"Alexandria once flung the Leviathan a few meters away after catching it by its arm. Her equipment recorded the Endbringer to be approximately 7.3 trillion tons." Armsmaster immediately answered, confirming what I'd feared. Of course, such a monster would come from this hell hole of a city. "In terms of striking output, he-"

"Stop, please." I waved him off. "I'll watch the recordings and read the reports later, but anything more right now will give me a bitch of a headache."

Armsmaster stayed quiet, even if he focused more on doubt replaying Cryomancer's power testing feats through his helmet.

"...Renick, what did you think of him?" I asked after a long pause.

"So polite." The man looked like he'd encountered a resort after trekking a desert. "Patient, zero signs of aggression or arrogance or bigotry, didn't even mind the paperwork or get offended at anything. We haven't had somebody this well-adjusted right from the start since Gallant."

True, despite his Master-like abilities, Gallant had easily remained my least troublesome Ward till this day. "Anything else?"

"Well..." Renick paused. "I wasn't going to mention it because it's unsurprising for his age, but I did notice that when he followed Miss Militia away, his gaze went rather... low."

Ah, teenage hormones. I let out a sigh. "Well, we've at least gotten him onboard as an independent rather than him striking it out as a rogue or a potential villain. Keep working to drag him into the Wards."

Cryomancer could soon be recognized as the next Triumvirate-level cape, and I'd be damned if I let him slip away. The fact that he was a polite but horny teenager put him at risk of honeypots, but that was something I knew even Chief Director Costa-Brown probably wouldn't hesitate to capitalize on. She would probably even arrange for him a weekly orgy of PRT women, both parahumans and not, if it would assuredly keep Cryomancer on our side.

Cryomancer(Double) - Sebastian 'Sebas' Veder

"Hi, Parian!" I greeted as I approached the doll-themed rogue, the woman perking up when she turned around and saw me. "Guess who just got registered as an independent!"

"And guess who just got a sweet business deal with Weaver and the Teeth!" Parian cheerily replied, an imaginary record needle scratch coinciding with my sudden pause in movement. "...yes, that sounded a lot better in my head. And saner, too."

Cherie Vasil - Cherish

As the bus approached the city limits of Brockton Bay, I shuffled myself into a more upright posture. Pulling out my phone again, I returned on the 'Cape Battle' video I'd rewatched many times by now.

Before, my initial choice for protection had been the Slaughterhouse Nine, but now?

I giggled at the sight of Void Cowboy's utterly wonderful portals. "Soon... I'll have you become mine."

Chapter Text

Thursday, April 21 2011

Brian Laborn - Grue

When one was a parahuman, and a villainous one at that, for as long as I have, life has a way of giving curveballs out of nowhere. Most were bad, few were good, and then there were the inexplicable.

To recap, I had recently gained custody of my sister from Aisha thanks to Lisa taking ownership of Coil's assets but that didn't solve my financial issues. As lucrative as villainy had been, it lacked stability. If something ever went wrong or I ever went against the wrong people, I could very easily be killed. And if that happened, Aisha would very likely be in a worse situation than before.

Which had then led to the strangest job offer I'd ever received just as I'd been gearing up to apply to the Protectorate despite Aisha's wishes. My sister herself had sponsored this meeting between me and Greg, or rather 'Grue' and 'Tenebrus' as he'd called himself.

Sitting opposite me in my living room with me while Aisha had gone on to school, we stared each other down in silence for a beat. Curiously, Greg looked as nervous as I felt, which sent me mixed messages. On one half, I'd just been reassured that the friendship between him and Aisha was genuine and he'd found out about me from his Thinker power, not even knowing my cape identity beforehand. On the other hand, I was wary about the job offer itself, along with Greg as well.

From what he'd trusted me with so far, he was essentially an Eidolon Package, the first ever of his kind since Eidolon himself while plenty of Alexandria and Legend Packages had come and gone. Hell, Brockton Bay even had it's variation of those two as Glory Girl and Purity respectively. All Packages brought along heavy media attention, and the first ever Eidolon-type would attract it in droves.

As for the job itself, I couldn't deny the slight interest of actually going monster hunting and getting paid for it. Aisha hadn't said anything herself, but her new stuff along with a brand new phone reeked of money that she'd obviously gotten from somewhere, even if I'd been hesitant to question her about it. This would toe the line far less than outright villainy, but I couldn't deny the fact that I'd get better freedom and benefits than I ever did with Coil.

Plus, this spared me from automatically becoming an enemy of my former teammates if I'd joined the Protectorate.

I just had to ignore the fact that I would be subordinate to somebody younger than me. And the fact that my sister would also be coming along with our 'jobs'. "...alright, I'm in. Pleasure to work with you... Boss."

Sometimes, it was best to take reality as one saw it and seek out the silver linings. One way or the other, I would have a heavy hitter on my side that could hopefully match Butcher XV in this wretched hive of a city.

"There's no need for that unless we're in costume." Greg assured me. "Just call me Greg as you've been doing. Welcome to the {Party}."

[You have been Invited into the {Shadow Corps}!]

"Jesus, what the fuck?!"

Greg Veder - Tenebrus, the Monarch of Shadows

.

-:|Party|:-

Name: Rosarita Cisneros | Bloodhound of Florencia | Roberta Veder

Rank: Urban Scale(Town level)

Job: Brute | Stranger

STR: 240(C)

VIT: 254(C)

MOB: 216(C)

MAG: 300(B)

SNS: 300(B)

[Power(s): Augmented Physical Attributes | Dimensional Storage]

[Skills(s): Firearm Mastery | Knife Mastery | Martial Arts(Capoeira, Defendu, Gun Kata, Krav Maga)]

.

Name: Isla Wright | Sparky

Rank: Human Scale(Athlete level) Urban Scale(Town level)

Job: Thinker | Tinker | Ṱ̴͍̮̭̥̩͕̰̺̎͛̐̐̌́̉̓̋̈́h̸͚̥̑͊̈́̀͠i̷͎͖̲̫͛̀̓͐̒͊̕͝ͅn̴̤̓̒̌̿͂͒͌̋̚͠k̷̨̳̬͔̮̦͕͛̿̇̎̔̓̾͜͠ͅe̵͎̗̳͍͎̳̐͐̄̑r̶̹̈̑̏̚ ̸̛̯̻̉͊͑̍̈́̐̉E̶̢̛̞̠̜̅̋̃̏͠ǹ̵̢͕̦̼͒t̵͓̋̐̓̃́̀i̶̜̦͉͇̬͑͑̃̀̅͒͒t̶̫͉̏̇̉͊͗͆̆̈ý̶͙̙̎̈́̐͋

STR: 120(D)

VIT: 160(D)

MOB: 96(E)

MAG: 400(A)

SNS: 280(C)

[Power(s): Cognition: X-ray Vision, Lie Detection, Panmnesia, Precognition | Forgery: Repair, Fortification, Robotics]

[Skills(s): Repairing Expertise | Hacking Mastery | Engineering Mastery]

.

Name: Aisha Laborn

Rank: Urban Scale(Large Building level: i.e. skyscrapers)

Job: Breaker

STR: 110(D)

VIT: 150(D)

MOB: 146(D)

MAG: 300(B)

SNS: 290(C)

[Power(s): Matter Mimicry(Sand)]

[Skills(s): Psychiatric Detriment(Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) | Character Judgement Expertise]

.

Name: Brian Laborn | Grue

Rank: Urban Scale(Small Building level; i.e. apartments, banks)

Job: Shaker

STR: 170(D)

VIT: 190(D)

MOB: 146(D)

MAG: 210(C)

SNS: 80(E)

[Power(s): Tactile Umbrakinesis]

[Skills(s): Martial Arts(Kickboxing) | Pistol Mastery | Medical Expertise(First Aid)]

.

The E88 members at school were acting strange. Strange enough that the stats of my new Party members didn't distract me as much as I would've liked(even while questioning how Sparky and my mom were so OP without sounding like a hypocrite, I mean when did my mom even Trigger?! And why did Sparky's own Job have glitches in it?!).

"The Empire's attacking the Teeth base today." Sparky revealed during lunch in the cafeteria. At least that explained that mystery call along with Taylor's immediate departure from class earlier. "The gangsters here think that their Empire Eighty-Eight superiors are going to win. They're not."

Aisha leaned conspirationally. "So how's it gonna go?"

"Well, provided that there aren't any sudden variations, Taylor arrived to drive them off, but not without suffering heavy losses due to her absence." Sparky discerned. "Weaver, well in-tune with the other Butchers, attempted to retaliate with a bloodbath that discards the Unwritten Rules but got talked down by Tattletale. Now she's currently planning a more precise operation."

Sparky turned to face me. "The situation will escalate bad enough to warrant heroic intervention, ending with Cryomancer getting called in. I didn't see anything beyond that."

"That's all I needed to know." I passed her a juicebox and chilled it with {Frost Awakened}, my best friend gratefully sipping it to alleviate her Thinker headache. "Anyways, it's not really our problem unless civilians get drawn in."

Too bad our peace soon got interrupted by Chrissie and Charlotte Cohen getting riled up after many nearby E88 members taunted them too much, the other in-school Teeth members joining the fray as it soon escalated enough to provoke mass evacuation from everybody else.

Cryomancer(Double) - Sebastian 'Sebas' Veder

"Hello?" I picked up my PRT-issued phone when it rang.

"This is Assault." The hero's voice spoke up, apparently in a hurry at his own location. "We've got reports of the Empire and the Teeth gearing up for outright war. The Empire's already struck first at the Teeth's base and Weaver's about to retaliate."

"So what do I do?" I questioned as I immediately Equipped my Cryomancer costume and Warped out of the house, dropping into the public restroom of a bus station and stepping outside from there. "Anywhere I should meet you guys?"

"No, standby for now. We may need you for Weaver herself or any other heavy hitters." Assault replied before the call ended. Well, that did make some sense. Quickly striding into the nearest open space while multiple cameras took shots of me, I activated {Tyrannical Helldrake Smaug's Power} and let my draconic avatar leap high into the air as it unfurled its wings and carried me high above the skyscrapers.

Flying across Brockton Bay, I kept myself high in the sky while circling around the chaos. Of course, I got spotted by several people but what could they even do to me from their places on the ground-

Wait, was that?

I immediately dispelled my avatar to drop down at breakneck speed, landing onto the area as a blur that immediately shattered the ground upon impact. A millisecond later, pillars of ice erupted from under each E88 gangsters who'd been about to slaughter a bunch of Asian civilians huddled up together with their weapons.

.

+450/900EXP(x14)!

.

"It's okay, everyone." I turned around to give the would-be victims a reassuring smile. "You're safe now."

Some of them began to cry in relief. Others just stared, glassy-eyed with their mouths slightly open. Every one of them was looking in the same direction.

At me. In a worryingly worshipful manner.

Ignoring that for the moment, I immediately called it in. "Assault, I just saved a bunch of civilians from an E88 massacre."

"What the- ...FUCK!" Assault cursed from his end. "We got played! Good job, Cryomancer! We'll soon have a SUV and an ambulance at your location. Stay there with the civilians until further notice."

"Got it." I turned back towards the civilians. "Okay, more help is on the way. I understand that you're all scared, but-"

There was a sudden roar as Vex, Reaver and a bunch of Teeth members rushed into the area with their weapons out, only to pause at the sight that greeted them. "The fuck?"

I sighed as several of the civilians repositioned themselves to put me between them and the Teeth gangsters. "There aren't any more E88 members here for you to brutalize and the PRT's already on their way. Beat it."

"Fuck!" Reaver cursed before rushing off while he screamed something into his phone, his subordinates following him while Vex flipped us off as she brought up the rear. A minute later, the PRT arrived along with an ambulance and Miss Militia in a SUV.

"Casualties?" Miss Militia immediately asked as soon as she got out of her vehicle.

"None!" I proudly reported, causing her to relax before her eyes widened at the sight of the frozen E88 gangsters.

"This is Miss Militia to all units! The tipoff was a false flag!" Miss Militia roared out into her comms. "Cryomancer stopped the slaughter of many civilians whose deaths would've supposedly been the fault of the Teeth! We've been baited! All units, pull back and- ...what do you mean New Wave has engaged Weaver?!"

I turned away from her as Miss Militia began barking new orde-

"What do you mean HQ is under attack?!"

I didn't pause to hear more.

Hana Ardalan - Hannah - Miss Militia

The Empire had finally made their play. With our forces split between multiple locations, it had left HQ almost undefended against most of their own capes while throwing both us and the Teeth at each other. If not for Cryomancer's quick actions, today would've been stained with the blood of civilians as collateral damage.

"Cryomancer and I are on our way! ETA, three minutes!" I reported as I turned back towards my Armsmaster-improved vehicle, only for Cryomancer to manifest his draconic avatar and lower his wing towards me with clear intentions. I only needed a second to comprehend them and the next three to climb up the wing and settle myself against the horns of its head.

The dragon's wings unfurled like massive curtains before we were launched skyward, clearing several miles with each flap towards HQ in the distance. By the time the building came into sight, we'd cleared three minutes worth of distance under thirty seconds. Ignoring how I hadn't gotten flung off Cryomancer's dragon at the sheer speed he flew, I instead took aim the moment my targets came into sight.

My power dissolved into a blur of green-black energy from the pistol it had been before it flickered and solidified into a sniper rifle, a sharp crack! ripping through the air just as Cryomancer roared our arrival.

"Haha! You guys are so screwed now!" Clockblocker celebrated after my first shot slammed into Stormtiger's head, the rubber bullet doing its work and knocking him out. More cheers joined Clockblocker's as Cryomancer's dragon released a breath attack that froze Fenja in place just as she reared to throw a dumpster at our building.

Not done, it snatched Purity out of the sky, squeezing tightly enough to cause the Legend Package pain.

(.

+3,100/6,200EXP!

+4,590/9,180EXP!

.)

With that done, Cryomancer landed heavily enough to crack the ground, his dragon's wings spreading freezing cold that halted even the advance of Kaiser's metal constructs. When Krieg became the first to move after all other Nazi had (metaphorically, with Fenja being the sole literal) frozen, a hollow point shot from my rifle tore through his leg.

"You all have three choices." Even when distorted by blaring sirens and Krieg's pained yell, my voice resounded through the area and left no room for argument. "Peaceful surrender, painful bullet wounds or instant hypothermia."

Cryomancer's dragon gave a rumbling growl from beneath my feet, prompting several Empire members to step back warily.

"Choose wisely."

The 'choice' was almost unanimous as several gangsters dropped their weapons in unison and knelt down in surrender.

Kaiser thought differently, stomping the ground to create gargantuan stalagmites of steel that pierced upwards at Cryomancer from below. It didn't pierce through the draconic avatar in the slightest, but it had still accomplished the task of surprising Cryomancer into releasing Purity and nearly dislodging me off of him. Dropping down, Purity's luminescent form barely graced the ground before she flew towards Kaiser and grabbed his and Krieg's outstretched arms, flying them away to safety.

"Don't even think about it!" Cryomancer's roar was followed by a literal roar from his dragon as it fired a blast from its maw, only to slam into an entire wall of interlocking steel blades that suddenly erupted and spanned for several kilometers, having ripped through the entire block. Another breath attack tore through the wall and left it in frozen pieces, but Kaiser, Purity and Krieg were long gone at that point. "Damnit!"

"We take our victories as we can, and today was a rather good one." I consoled Cryomancer as he slowly dispelled his dragon, lowering himself enough so that I could safely leap down. "Thank you. Your assistance today was invaluable."

Rather than respond, Cryomancer instead scanned the area. "I'm surprised Hookwolf wasn't here."

True. While it was a relief that he wasn't here to cause grievous harm to my colleagues, such a fact easily meant that he was doing so elsewhere, especially since Kaiser himself had taken to the battlefield.

"We already have people throughout the city looking for him." Armsmaster stated as he approached them, Velocity and Battery splitting up and vanishing into the city streets. "Wherever he is, we can at least be sure he won't be quiet about it."

R̶o̶s̶a̶r̶i̶t̶a̶ ̶C̶i̶s̶n̶e̶r̶o̶s̶ Roberta Veder

Today was turning out to be quite busy, and not even in a good way if those klaxon alarms I could hear were any indication. Summoning my kevlar-lined umbrella gun from my 'Hammerspace' but keeping it folded in case it ended up as a false alarm, I joined the others in setting up defensive lines.

Considering the small army of Empire Eighty-Eight members along with Hookwolf, Cricket and an unknown parahuman in a hooded cloak, this was no false alarm.

When Hookwolf called out for Daniel Hebert specifically, Jeff had to grab my wrist for me to realize that I'd almost raised my weapon to take aim. Hebert walked towards Hookwolf with no hesitation in his gait, even as he certainly knew of his impending demise.

"Hookwolf!" Hebert yelled, projecting his voice so it carried. "Why have you come here?"

"You already know the answer." Hookwolf answered. "Your dyke of a daughter, of course."

His daughter Taylor? Her supposed homosexuality shouldn't have prompted such a reaction like this. For her to have acquired such animosity, this meant that Taylor Hebert was a parahuman of either great importance or great threat to their entire organization. Was she a member of the Teeth, or was she perhaps Weaver herself?

In the end, this mattered little. I surreptiously took aim and this time, Jeff didn't stop me.

"She has nothing to do with the Docks." Hebert protested, his voice cracking with paternal worry.

"Perhaps... but you do." Hookwolf said with a reverberating chuckle. "Tell me, why have you allowed her to join the Teeth? Why make yourself guilty by extension? You've done good work helping the working man, which is why we never pressed you over hiring the wrong sorts. Why side against us now in favor of those subhuman vermin?"

I shifted my aim from Hookwolf's bare chest to slightly higher. A neck shot would be a slower death... but no less fatal.

"Don't bullshit me, Hookwolf." Hebert spat. "You're here because the union has been a thorn in your so-called Empire's side since Allfather tried and failed to pay us to look the other way when he brought contraband through the Docks."

I hadn't been there for that, but I hadn't been lacking in stories from the others. The Dock Workers Union existed as the largest collective labor force in Brockton Bay and owned enough functional buildings in the Docks, posing enough as a threat that multiple gangs had tried to subjugate them into their fold but always failed.

"For every group of hardworking men and women who decide to come together in solidarity, there's a monster like you who wants to crush us back down. It was true before capes, and it's still true now!" Hebert roared, several of us shouting our support.

Hookwolf's posture turned calculating, blatantly assessing Hebert for a long moment. "Nice speech. It's a shame a real American like you got involved with the Teeth, because it means I'm going to have to kill you now. Kaiser wants you for some scheme or whatever, but he didn't specify alive."

I abandoned all pretense as I blatantly took aim, every other dockworker mimicking me as they pointed their own weapons in the same direction. On their end, Cricket unsheathed her blades while the pretend Nazis took aim as well. As for the unknown parahuman, she simply raised her hands to adjust the gloves she had on.

"Stand down!" But it was all stopped by Hebert raising his hand towards us. "So much for claiming to be a man of honor. I guess all that talk in your pits was just that. You're no better than those that stuffed my daughter into her own locker."

Locker?

Hookwolf growled at that. "You would dare compare us to an animal like that?"

So this 'Locker' implied a serious incident, then?

Hebert laughed spitefully. "You're goddamn right, I dare! You call yourselves the champions of the white race, yet couldn't even protect my daughter in your own territory. Do you know how much it galls me that I failed her so completely that it took the fucking Teeth to see to her safety?"

Just what had happened to Taylor? Why hadn't Greg told me anything? As talkative my son was, perhaps this was an issue that had required sensitivity. God knew that my son barely grasped tact occasionally.

Deep and reverberating laughter cut through my thoughts, drawing back my attention to Hookwolf. "You have balls Danny, I'll give you that. Unfortunately, I have my orders. I'm a good little Nazi like that, you see."

There's no such thing as a good Nazi.

"You claim to be a man of honor, Hookwolf? Prove it." Hebert thumbed at himself. "You came for me, and here I am. No other blood needs to be spilled today."

"You wish to challenge me?" Hookwolf wasn't the only one to give Hebert an incredulous stare. "To spare your men?"

Hebert shrugged with false bravado. "You intend to kill me regardless, and I'd put money on my people dropping most of yours before you even finished blending me. This way none of their lives are wasted on pointless conflict."

"I don't consider defending you pointless, Hebert!" I finally shouted. "And I sure as hell don't want your daughter to bury you too!"

"Roberta's right, Danny! Don't do this!" Kurt shouted too, several others loudly voicing their agreements.

"Very well." Hookwolf cut us off, cracking his knuckles. "I accept-"

BLAM!*

The right side of Hookwolf's throat blew up into gore as I refused to even let him finish his words.

"You bi-!" I answered Hookwolf's roar with another load of shotgun bulletfire.

"Stupidity doesn't fit you, Hebert!" I roared into the stunned silence. "If Hookwolf came solely to deal with you, he'd have just brought himself and perhaps Cricket! No commanding officer brings along an entire army for any other purpose but complete subjugation or extermination! After he'd done with you, do you really think he'd stop there?!"

"...hahaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The unidentified parahuman suddenly cackled, throwing her head back from sheer amusement. "Well done, beaner! You're absolutely right!"

The woman stepped forward and flung open her cloak, which I now noticed had the Gesellschaft insignia as its fastener, fully revealing her features. She was a brunette slightly older than my son and his clones, dressed in a white double-breasted trench coat tied with a black belt and worn together with a white-colored miniskirt, boots, a cape, and a white commissar cap with gold trimmings.

"Right about now, Hooky here, if he could still talk-" The woman gestured at Hookwolf, who was staring at her in disbelief while he and Cricket did their best to staunch his wound. "-would be telling you about how the Empire Eighty-Eight would bring about an utopia fit for all right sort of people. About how you would be 'stupid' to resist the 'right' course of events... I'll tell you no such thing."

The woman gestured at me with blatant approval. "The truth is, I want you to resist. I'm not here to save anybody. I'm not here to spread the greatness of the Gesellschaft or the Empire Eighty-Eight. I'm here because I enjoy this. To me, there's no greater pleasure than the utter joy..."

She leaned down to punch the ground, actually cracking it and digging out a large piece of gravel only to suddenly toss towards our group.

"... of detonation."

I swiftly unfurled my umbrella as my instincts warned me to treat the incoming stone as well as I'd treat a thrown grenade. The subsequent boom that engulfed us proved my instincts right.

*BOOOOM!*

...when I returned back to consciousness, I helplessly moaned as I writhed on the ground. I'd survived many grenade attacks before, but it either seemed that this one had landed too close to me or the parahuman's own variant of a grenade superpower had made it ridiculously more potent.

Then somebody gently held me up, letting me see the face... a shadow? No, a SWAT trooper? Why were they so misty with glowing blue outlines?

("Shadow Exchange.")

The 'shadow trooper' suddenly wavered in place before somebody else was the one holding me. Somebody instinctively familiar. "Greugh..."

I raised a hand to cup my son's shocked face, only to pause at the sight of a cauterized stump. Ah, right. I'd gotten blown up...

"H-Hymn of the Maiden!"

A large purple glyph of zodiac symbols manifested behind Greg's back, the Virgo symbol glowing prominently before I felt all of my pain fade away with my lost arm even regenerating right before my eyes. A while later, I would discover that he had even healed away the chronic pain of my accumulated injuries over the years. "Greg? This is..."

"Stay down, Mamá. Please, just stay here." Greg whispered desperately into my shoulder, causing me to gently rub his back. He hadn't called me 'Mamá' in years, so I must appeared really bad to him. "I'll go kill that bitch right now."

"...can you win?" I gingerly asked, only to already get my answer when he pulled back to look down at me with his blue eyes glowing murderously.

"I will win."

"...okay." I smiled in relief, letting my exhaustion take me away. "Good luck, mijo."

Greg Veder - Tenebrus, the Monarch of Shadows

While Mamá slowly felt unconscious, I fought the urge to have a Shadow immediately teleport her away with {Warp Gate Awakened} after I'd just used {Shadow Exchange} to rush here after the Hollow Soldier I'd kept in her shadow had sent me a psychic feedback of sheer panic.

If {High Spec Awakened} hadn't earlier beckoned Jin-Woo to send me this Job Skill back while I'd been unconscious...

Instead I focused more on gearing to kill that bitch.

.

-:|Item: Almighty Shaman's Cloak(S)|:-

Rather than cloth, it would be more accurate to call this a hooded ankle-length cloak-like mass of shadows with purple inner lining, flaring out with its ends perpetually swaying like a wraith. Along with passively casting a glamour over the wearer's identity whenever the hood is raised, it is able to move and fly on its own power, enabling its wearer to levitate and fly through the air. It also possesses a will of its own and can move by its own accord, being able to anticipate dangers; pulling the wearer away from threats they are unable to handle. This also allows it to be thrown at targets to save (and carry) them from danger or blind and restrain them. Finally, it has a limited form of shapeshifting, being able to change it's shape and mass according to your will to form various constructs, including tendrils, shields, parachutes and various other appendages.

.

A while ago, I would've been insistent on finally making a debut in an actual costume, but right now I was too pissed to care. As long as {Almighty Shaman's Cloak} did its job in making my face unrecognizable, my everyday clothes that could easily be replaced would work just fine rather than a costume I'd have to be constantly meticulous over.

Besides, I wasn't here as a hero. I was here as Roberta Veder's pissed off son. Before me, several of the E88's numbers began to approach the survivors, their weapons clearly cocked to kill off survivors.

"...looks like the numbers are roughly even." I hadn't even thought that I'd need to bring out the full force of my army yet, but this warranted it. "Come out."

My shadow began to shift beneath my feet as it deepened into liquid blackness, writhing and coiling before it rapidly expanded behind me. All of my Shadows sprang from the darkness, solidifying into dark xeroxes of what they'd formerly existed as while at attention as a proper army. "I never considered that your first mission might be outside a dungeon, but it is how it is. Don't kill them, but don't leave them capable of escaping under their own power."

My Shadows rushed forward at my command, tearing through the panicking Nazis with laughable ease. While a few of them did score some lucky shots, those too fell as well to my Shadows. The Hollow Psions acted as artillery while the Hollow Soldiers and Hollow Scouts were infantry with rapid regeneration. They were really proving themselves well on-field, even if their constant regeneration was taking a minimal toll on my NRG.

While the Shadows kept fighting, I raised my hand and manifested {Almighty Shaman Tusk's Spellcraft} again, this time having the zodiac glyph encompass the entire area so that I could heal everybody in one shot.

"Hymn of the Maiden!"

An emerald wave of vibrant recuperative energy washed over the entire area, healing all of the injured dockworkers in my vicinity back to full health. It was to this scene that Weaver explosively teleported into, the legacy villain(ess) surveying her surroundings before turning to me.

"You're healing them?" Weaver asked in astonishment, especially when her gaze stopped on a man I suspected was her own father. "...thank you. Where's the asshole who blew them up?"

"You're too weak for them." I immediately countered, uncaring of how offended Weaver became at my statement. Through it all, this bomber cape hadn't done anything to interrupt my healing, either out of eagerness to blow them up again or waiting for me to give her my full attention... But none of it changed the fact that she felt almost as powerful as Tusk had.

And that alone put her leagues above the Butcher.

"How lucky~! The one Allfather specifically sent me to this city for came right to me!" The woman cheered, eagerly beginning to approach me. As she did so, a loud and constant beeping sounded from the heart-shaped pouch on her hip, prompting out to pull out a communicator. "Yeah? ...I see. Whatever you say, Jugram- ...wait, really?! Alright, I'll do my best!"

"Who the hell is this 'Jugram'?" Weaver demanded, only to suddenly get a sword into her gut as it sent her skidding back. Manifesting several particles of light into her hand, I gaped as the woman forged those light particles into a sword and then flung at Weaver faster than the villainess could react.

"There's no need to answer the question of a side project. A false immortal like you should start counting the amount of time you have left, especially after Allfather gave out a Capture Order for you." The woman declared before blitzing out of sight, reappearing to stomp her foot onto Weaver's head while she'd been knocked onto her back.

A millisecond later, she had to block my kick with her forearm it sent her flying into a metal crate. A second later, I used {Dominator's Touch} to yank her back out and slam her heavily into the ground. But while I repeated that motion, I quickly noted one thing: She wasn't even getting bruised from that.

"Hymn of the Maiden!" Quickly dousing Weaver in a healing aura, I then telekinetically flung her far away from us.

"As Allfather said... you really are an Eidolon Package...! That means... Allfather's orders... to use absolutely everything... to crush you here and now... is justified!" Something sparked from her body, erupting into a crimson pillar of light particles. A second later, I felt {Dominator's Touch} actually lose its hold on her as the sounds of church bells tolling resounded throughout the area as the light pillar sprouted five distinct points with a halo before it all broke apart to reveal the woman. Compared to before, she bore a five-point star-shaped halo and a grand pair of wings, all formed from the crimson light. "Oh, now that I think about, we haven't exchanged names. I am the 'E' of the Gesellschaft's Sternritters(Star Knights), Bambietta Basterbine."

.

+900/1,800EXP(x60)!

.

Ah, it looked like my Shadows had defeated all of the mooks at this point.

{High Speck Awakened}, tell them to remove all civilians from near me and her!

[Compliance: Understood.]

"...I'm Tenebrus." I answered. "Hymn of the Pan!"

A millisecond, the ground shattered beneath me as I launched free of gravity's grasp before my fist slammed into another manifested sword in her grip, the blade slightly digging into my fingers despite my stacked Perks protecting me. Result? Our surroundings exploded into debris from the shockwave of our impact, the now vacant grounds shattering apart around us.

"Hahaha!" Bambietta was the first to recover, her wings lifting her out of the dust so that she could survey the wreckage from up high. A second later, those wings flapped and unleashed several glowing orbs that rained down upon my entire surroundings with explosive devastation, each one lighting up the sky with crimson flashes of falsely angelic brilliance. "I like you a lot despite you being my enemy, Tenebrus! But I also like my enemies like I like my bombs: ABOUT TO EXPLODE!"

More explosions engulfed me in blinding light, searing heat, and deafening noise. The shockwave ripped through the surroundings, shattering the nearby plateaus and shaking all of the Docks.

"Hymn of the Armored Scorpion!" With great effort and from within the blasts, I created a force-field that strained against the overwhelming force, protecting me from the worst of the blast. As the explosion subsided and the dust settled, I stood amidst the devastation while sucking in precious oxygen.

"Now, while I have your attention, I want to thank you, Tenebrus. Really." Bambietta did a little twirl midair. "You know, it's not often I get to cut loose like this. Usually, there are so many mission parameters, so many things not to destroy. People not to kill. But for whatever reason, and I don't really care why, Allfather's primary order for me yesterday was explicitly to locate and then kill you by any means necessary. No matter the collateral damage, even if I was to wipe out this entire city from the planet's surface."

Bambietta pointed at me with relish. "You did something to either piss him off fierce or seriously scare him and I thank you for it. This is going to be an immense joy."

W-What?!

[Observation: Her primary order came from Allfather Yhwach yesterday. This coincides with the conclusion of your {Job Change Quest}. Allfather Yhwach is either connected, or is an alternate identity to, one of the three Entities present on Earth. They recognize the threat you pose and seek to eliminate you as swiftly as possible.]

Already?! I mean, I guess it's realistic that rather than needlessly waste time for a threat to grow stronger, an endgame boss would immediately act to eliminate me. But who would want realistic outcomes that turned out badly for them?!

"Now, then!" Bambietta clapped her hands, crimson light gathering between her palms as she spread them apart and had it form into a large bow. "Let's continue the fun, shall we?"

"Fun?! I haven't even begun to play!" I pointed my palm at her and activated {Dominator's Touch} allover her entire vicinity. "FALL."

Gravity increased several times over, crushing Bambietta downward as she was hurled into the ground. The resulting shockwave sent a ripple across the landscape, causing fissures to appear in the surrounding pavement while the metal beneath it all groaned in protest from the pressure.

Taylor Hebert - Butcher XV - Weaver

"We really should dip while we can..." Pyro warned, although her words were understandably halfhearted.

Not that she could be blamed. Long before I'd become the Butcher, I was used to the fact that I was a weakling compared to others. Even Triggering hadn't changed that much. Sure, I'd gotten dangerous and creative, but not that powerful by much. Then I became Butcher XV and became assured that I was one of the strongest capes in the whole country, requiring a Triumvirate level cape to even match me. To make matters better or worse, most capes would even hesitate to fight me, not wanting the risk of inheriting the guaranteed madness I'd managed to mostly escape.

But the capes before me right now had easily shattered that delusion. Bambietta had not only nearly killed me with ease, but had outright declared her intent to kidnap me for some mad scientist's experiment no doubt. Add that to how she was devastating Dad's entire workplace without care for even her own subordinates, and I knew Butcher hadn't been inaccurate in calling her a mini-Endbringer, especially with that last speech of hers. If there was any cape who could 'wipe out this entire city from the planet's surface', I somehow didn't doubt that she'd be capable of pulling it off, regardless of many others' attempts to stop her.

But Tenebrus had also clearly proven his chops as an Eidolon Package. Sure, he'd pissed me off earlier by calling me too weak for this. But I would swiftly learn that he hadn't been mocking me. I really was too weak if I couldn't even react in time to stop her from stabbing me. And judging by how their physical clashes alone were causing shockwaves with every impact, Bambietta existed as a terrifying lovechild of the Alexandria and Legend Packages.

As they kept clashing, the destruction they wrought was catastrophic. Buildings crumbled, roads shattered and the entire dock area threatened to sink into the nearby frothing sea. And I was having the scary thought that such a scenario wouldn't even bother their fighting if it got to that stage, given how little either of them cared to actually need the ground.

"We... I should do something." I weakly muttered.

"What?! Hell, no!" Butcher himself protested. "We're so fucking outgunned in this matchup that's its almost hilarious!"

"I agree." Reflex warned. "You step into that, and you'll die. Not even on purpose by either of them, but as mere collateral damage. That reason's why Tenebrus made sure to clear the entire area of both you and the other civilians with his shadow minions. Hookwolf is literally a few feet away."

I valiantly ignored the charred but recognizable corpse of Hookwolf nearby, his lower half and his arms completely gone.

"Listen to the hero when he's talking sense, Taylor." Fester advised. "You only came here to save Danny and Tenebrus already did that and more."

"Plus, Kaiser clearly called in this person as a trump card against us. A trump card that Tenebrus is inadvertently helping us with." Stratego added. "Let's not be rash, especially since Kaiser himself still needs to be dealt with."

They were all right. As terrifying as Bambietta was, she wasn't my target. Kaiser was, and the fact that he'd barely escaped from assaulting PRT HQ meant that he was currently licking his wounds. But I also still wanted to payback that bomber bitch for her stabbing me.

"Then just give her a pain blast and let's leave." Sabertooth suggested. "Pain never fails as a lethal distraction."

...huh.

One sharp pain blast caused Bambietta to twitch and nearly fall out of the sky before directing her glare towards me. A second later, Tenebrus proved Sabertooth's words right as his fist landed a devastating punch clean into the side of her face, launching her out of the docks and towards the horizon.

Tenebrus turned to give me a thumbs-up of all things before he pursued her immediately, leaving behind destructive tailwinds in his wake.

"See? Out of sight, out of mind." Sabertooth preened.

Right. Focusing on an ant I'd left near Chrissie, I vanished as well.

Bambietta Basterbine - E 'The Explosion' of the Sternritters

Flying across the air like a ragdoll, my heart pounded as the rush of wind were the only things that filled my ears besides my own heartbeat. Before I could process anything further, a boot slammed into my chest with a sickening crunch.

Coughing out blood through my grit teeth, I grabbed his foot and forced my aura into it, grinning when it began to glow while I flew away from him. When detonation occurred, I gaped when the smoke cleared to just reveal that the most damage he'd taken was just to his boots and pants, leaving him wearing slightly tattered trousers over bare feet.

"I liked those boots!" Tenebrus rocketed across the distance into me, cleaving the sea beneath us apart as we collided. His hands snatched my arm and face, briefly dipping us underwater before we erupted and span into the air.

Vollständig was barely holding on at this point, and my aura bombs were barely clinging to his form before sliding off before they could cause the affected body parts to explode. "Fuck!"

"No, thanks!" Tenebrus sent forth a compressed blade of wind I had to dodge. I wasn't able to dodge the following punch into my stomach. "You're hot, but your personality's a turnoff!"

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

I was going to die.

"No... No, no, no, no-" My voice, my soul, begged, the words a desperate mantra against the inevitable. Tears sprang forth against my will as despair clouded my vision as Tenebrus ripped towards me as an invisible force - Telekinesis - forcibly held me in place once more, his body briefly merging with his cloak as a streak of azure shadow before he sunk his fist into my stomach.

In the depths of despair, I uttered words that I had never imagined myself speaking, not since Allfather had upgraded both me and my power to their current heights.

"Allfather, I have sinned."

Reality itself seemed to bleed as cracks spread while bells tolled, signaling a profound shift as Allfather Yhwach briefly took over my body, and brought upon his vast power along with him. "So you are the one who Zion ignores-"

Tenebrus scored a solid grip upon my neck-

(.

[Rejection: Now utilizing {Rewind Awakened} to reverse all changes within the target for the previous 3.496 seconds.]

.)

-and both Allfather Yhwach and the augmented power he'd brought along vanished from my soul. B-But I'd said the Words!

Somewhere, hundreds of miles away, the human avatar of the Harvester Entity choked on a noise that didn't quite know how to vocalize disbelief.

Tenebrus didn't slam into me again. He didn't punch or kick or even send another long-range attack. He merely stayed back, while I was caught in his telekinetic clutches.

He merely raised his other hand up and began to twitch it, as if forcing his telekinesis to drag something from far awa-

Thunder dimly rumbled above us, causing my attention to snap upwards as the clouds churned with electrical power. Brief flashes of lightning slashed through them, each brighter than the last.

Was he...? Was he actually trying (and succeeding) to tame lightning itself?!

No... I'd read about this somewhere. If he could somehow create channels of conductive air to direct and control electrical charges, that would turn the air itself into a conduit as it ionized and produced the needed electricity.

But the sheer precision needed to do that... I knew for a fact that he didn't have any sort of lightning power, otherwise I would've been blasted a lot by now. So for him to do this...

"No... way..."

From here, I could see the electrical charges as they grew stronger with every passing second, building up more power and energy as they circulated through the clouds.

"This is... Even for some Eidolon Package..."

Tenebrus's hand was still raised high toward the storm above, the air bending around him not from heat or pressure, but with recognition. As if the world itself hesitated, unsure how to regard what he was. The shadowy cloak should've been my first clue. Probably (and impossibly) woven from actual darkness itself, it had often curled over his entire body like a living second skin, pulsing with streaks of brilliant azure that matched his currently glowing eyes.

"What the hell..." My voice rasped. "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"

Tenebrus's eyes narrowed, and his hand snapped down as he gave an answer.

"A Monarch."

And along with that answer, a massive bolt of lightning tore free and surged downwards at me with a roar that seared me down to my soul.

Greg Veder - Tenebrus, the Monarch of Shadows

.

+129,500/259,000EXP!

.

+New Quirk(s)!

.

-:|Quirk: Landmine|:-

This allows you to bestow explosive properties on anything you touch, detonating them as you wish at will. The explosions can be made precise, allowing you to target specific objects or areas without affecting their surroundings as much. Such explosive attacks cannot be blocked as the defending physical object converts into a bomb itself.

.

Standing upon a brief spread of ice I'd frozen from the sea, I looked over my latest spoils. The utterly charred corpses of Bambietta Basterbine and Hookwolf, wisps of darkness wafting off them.

[{Shadow Extraction} is possible on this target.]

[{Shadow Extraction} is possible on this target.]

"Arise." At my command, Bambietta's corpse briefly twitched before a shadowy mimic of Bambietta ripped herself free, her form currently in a shadowy version of her angelic mode, with both her wings and halo glowing a soft blue rather than the harsh red they previously were. I guess a Shadow version of her would consider that her most optimal form.

As for Hookwolf, he arose as his metallic monster form, actually towering over me as a lupine humanoid formed from interlocking blades of darkness while ethereal blue light glowed from within.

[Parahuman - Elite Knight]

[Parahuman - Elite]

[Shadows ranked at Elite Knight Grade or higher can be named.]

"Hmm... Bambietta was your name, right?" I considered it before smirking. "Okay. You can be Bambi, then."

[Bambi - Elite Knight]

Now that these two were... acquired, I should probably fix Mum's workplace.

{High Spec Awakened}, is it possible for {Rewind Awakened} to fix the entire docks?

[Confirmation: Indeed. Shall I proceed?]

Yes.

Almost immediately, golden arcs of temporal electricity raced of me before rapidly expanding allover the entire ruined environment, every single destroyed object and structure reforming as they were rewound back into existence. I was tempted to go further until everything was at their prime maintenance states, but I didn't want to accidentally rewind something important like say some office files out of existence.

By the time I was done, not only had I brought the Docks back, but I'd also revived a few dead Nazis.

Huh...

Well, better not stay here and make it my problem. "Now let's get outta here before the PRT shows up."

I immediately Warped away, entrusting Gus to keep Mum safe on his own.

R̶o̶s̶a̶r̶i̶t̶a̶ ̶C̶i̶s̶n̶e̶r̶o̶s̶ Roberta Veder

I hummed in slight content as Panacea checked me over, Gus at my side. Greg would've come straight away after defeating that woman, but his clothes had apparently been damaged too suspiciously to explain away. With Sebas still acting with the Protectorate, this left Gus to willingly keep me company as my worried son who had ditched school to come to me.

Well, such a thing was genuine despite his origins as a clone. I merely had three sons now, rather than just one son and his clones. Plus, he'd also done well to somehow restore the Docks despite the immense destruction I'd earlier woken up to. Unemployment was a terrible fate in this city, both for me and many other dockworkers here.

"How are you feeling, Mrs. Veder?" Panacea asked.

"Better than I've felt in years." I answered honestly. "I never knew just how many cricks I'd gotten in my body until they were all gone."

"That matches what the others are saying." Panacea crossed her arms in disbelief. "Perfect limb regrowth, pain negation, cellular stimulation, internal bodily cleansing, mental curing... It's like this guy healed every possible thing that could be healed in these people."

"Really?" Glory Girl questioned, looking up from her phone.

"This guy here?" Panacea pointed at Jeff. "From his biological history, he used to be a couple of cigarettes away from lung cancer."

"I knew it!" Hebert groaned. "This is why I told you to quit smoking, Jeff!"

"Damn!" Glory Girl suddenly exclaimed as she browsed something on her phone. "The Empire was streaming the whole thing, from their arrival all the way up until that new guy literally brought out an army to throw at them. There's already a meme of you putting a bullet in Hookwolf's neck."

"Congratulations on fulfilling the fantasy of several non-white Americans, Mrs. Veder." Panacea snorted. "You're now the newest legend on PHO."

...fuck.

Amy Dallon - Panacea

"Thanks for the lift." I nodded to Void Cowboy after his portal closed up behind us. Thanks to him, sneaking over here had been a lot easier than it normally was. Still, I knew I would later have to answer to Vicky's affronted expression after she learnt my destination.

"Don't worry. I wanted to meet Weaver too, myself." Void Cowboy replied as he stretched while they walked towards the arena, which was still looking battered despite there no longer being any bodies lying around.

We'd run into each other while I'd been about to sneak back to Lisa and the others, and he'd thankfully cut down a lot of chances that I'd get caught. However, it was clear that his intent to meet Weaver actually intimidated these Teeth guards a little.

A second later, I remembered that for all of his attitude, Void Cowboy was still a very powerful cape in his own right, and given Cryomancer's earlier performance today, it only highlighted Void Cowboy's own reputation of being the sole one to match him.

When he thankfully waited for me to check on Rachel and Alice, I let him finally accompany me to Weaver, who was by now forewarned of his arrival from the moment he was seen.

"Panacea. Void Cowboy." Taylor, curiously dressed in only her Weaver mask, welcomed them while many others in the room gawked at Void Cowboy. "It's been a while since our last encounter, Cowboy. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

Void Cowboy reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, which I noticed to be some kind of ID. "Your student card, dumbass. Tenebrus found it at the docks after he fixed up the place. Asked me to return it to you before either the police or heroes found it themselves."

Rapidly searching her own clothes, Weaver swore furiously before she approached Void Cowboy and took the card. "Thanks. It must've fallen out when I got stabbed."

""What?!"" Vex and I exclaimed in unison, my gaze zeroing in on the small gash in her top that had been opened up to fresh skin despite it's bloodied edges. Vex herself fingered the area in shock. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"It was that unknown bomber cape. Tenebrus already healed me and then tossed me aside, otherwise..." Weaver paused for a bit. "If Tenebrus didn't do what he did, I would've been either killed or kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?!" I gawked in disbelief. "You?!"

"That woman came from Gesellschaft and had orders to capture me if possible." Weaver explained. "Judging how she was both too fast and strong for me to even react to her, she probably could've done it easily... Tenebrus is the only reason everybody else at that place didn't die, me included."

Weaver chuckled self-depreciatingly. "What a day to be reminded that there're still other capes than the Triumvirate higher up the cape food chain than me."

Just like when Vicky had discovered the weakness of her force-field, which had then led to me Triggering less she die right before me. Although, I had to admit that Taylor was handling this obvious truth a lot better than Vicky had.

"Well, the point is my Dad and his coworkers all got saved, and Hookwolf became collateral damage." Weaver finished.

"Actually, Hookwolf got killed by one of the dockworkers." Void Cowboy revealed, with me nodding in confirmation. "It's allover PHO right now, fatal neck shot at high definition thanks to the E88."

"They are apparently wanted to stream the whole thing as a PR boost, only for that woman to blow his throat out with a umbrella-hidden shotgun." I morbidly smiled at the memory. After the numerous mutilated bodies of non-white civilians Hookwolf had left in his wake over his career, it was unbelievably karmic that he met his end not through a grand showdown against a powerful cape or even a group of PRT troopers with Tinkertech to tear through his blades, but solely from the fatal gunshot of a regular non-white woman. Regardless of her feelings on it, Roberta Veder would be going down in history. "Both their bodies are in PRT custody right now, along with a miraculously alive Cricket."

Void Cowboy snorted. "Her limbs got blown off. That's not miraculous, it's torturous. Especially since Cryomancer told me he and the others stopped the E88's assault on the PRT HQ and even arrested of the capes that had been there. Any E88 cape not named Purity, Kaiser or Krieg got arrested."

"Really? Today's been surprisingly good." I mused. The Empire had never suffered so many losses in quick succession as it had today.

"And this will either make it better or worse." Lisa announced as she strode into the room with a thick folder tucked under her arm, pausing at the sight of Void Cowboy. Her eyes widened as power no doubt began to feed her information about him, her brows furrowing behind her mask into concern. Then she blinked. Slowly. Then she exhaled noisily and stole one of the nearby gangster's drinks, downing all of it in one go despite their protests. "...yeah, alright."

Lisa pointed at Void Cowboy. "I refuse to ever use my power on you ever again."

...huh?

"Oh? Did you just scan me or something?" On the contrary, Void Cowboy became amused at her reaction. "What did you see?"

"Nothing. I saw nothing. I refuse to think about all... 'that' anymore." Lisa firmly asserted as she gestured to all of him, tossing the folder on the table near Weaver. "Back to my earlier statement, since they targeted Weaver's civilian life, that means their own is finally open to reprisal. For starters, Kaiser aka Max Anders."

I needed a moment to comprehend that last sentence before I let out a furious swearword. An action that most of the others in the room copied, with Weaver even punching her hand through the nearby wall and roaring loudly to subdue all of us into silence.

"...I wonder how you plan on getting that wall fixed." Void Cowboy mused, completely unbothered by the stares he got. "It's not like you can get a handyman into here of all places."

Well, most of us.

"Shut up." Weaver pulled her hand free and turned towards Lisa. "Elaborate, please."

"Um, sure, boss." Lisa replied in a small voice before launching into an abbreviated history of the Empire. I had to forcibly restrain myself a second time when Lisa detailed several independent heroes that had either disappeared or were found dead all the way since the nineties, and I felt any remaining reservations slip away as Lisa detailed all of the women who had likely been shipped off to Europe for the Gesellschaft.

And I felt rage when Aunt Jess's name got dropped. "Say that again?"

"Sure. Jessica Cruz, aka Fleur." Lisa stated, keeping her tone carefully neutral. "Exterminated by a 'promising youth' who now identifies as... Stormtiger."

I'd never personally healed Stormtiger before, but from what I could tell of his physical age... the timeline matched. "He dies."

"Him and the rest." Weaver assured. "I intend to send a message about the Rules that won't soon be forgotten."

"Your orders, mistress?" Vex asked with a bloodthirsty look that was mirrored by many other Teeth members.

"Kaiser's death will be the signal. We will fall upon the Empire like the Huns and Mongols of old." Weaver declared to her subordinates, her voice rife with primal malice. "They all die. Spare none of their ilk. They made their choice to be the worst monsters in a city we call home. Make ready, my Teeth. Soon, we ride!"

My rage got doused while the room full of villains roared in approval for the imminent bloodshed. I was... I was...

I was about to support this?

Feeling a hand slip into mine, I looked aside to see Lisa there and shamefully gripped her hand tight while Weaver began to lay out tactics and strategies. But I was apparently not unnoticed as she soon formed a swarm before me.

"You don't have to stay, you two." The swarm spoke, both to me and I think Void Cowboy too. "You've done your parts and I'm sure the heroes will have need of you before we're done, Amy."

"...fuck them." I spat out. "The heroes did jack shit to avenge Aunt Jess, and at least you've proven you'll look out for your own. I think... I might be where I belong."

"No, you're not." Void Cowboy immediately stated. "You've spent your entire life being Lawful Good and you think you can throw in your lot with a bunch of Chaotic Evil characters? Just because you want friends is not enough of a justification."

Void Cowboy tilted his head conspirationally. "Just be honest, Panacea. Because a girl who's spent most of her life saving the lives of others will never be comfortable among unrepentant murderers, no matter how genuinely nice they are to you."

Whatever protest I wanted to speak died in my throat, leaving me futilely glaring at Void Cowboy despite the truth of his words. "Why... Why is it wrong for me to then be here? You sure as hell didn't stop me from healing those Teeth members earlier!"

"Of course, I didn't. Healing them was purely your own choice." Void Cowboy shrugged. "However, you're literally about to delude yourself into becoming a villain. These guys here made their own choices, and Weaver simply had shitty luck. Just because she's a competent Butcher won't ever change the fact that she literally chosen these guys as a last resort."

"Oi."

I didn't miss the fact that Weaver didn't deny his words. "Then what do I do?"

"Regarding your future as a hero or villain? That's on you." Void Cowboy replied. "But regarding this operation? If you want Fleur avenged or to be a hero your own way and can't do it as a Panacea that's the remedy for all difficulties or diseases, don't do it as a Pandemic that's merely an outbreak of an indiscriminate disease that would just worsen things for everybody."

See, this is why I hated that name. Vex stuck it on me, and she clearly didn't understand how badly a medic would regard that term as Void Cowboy and I did.

"Whatever you do, at least make sure it's something you won't regret." Void Cowboy turned away and waved his hand, creating a portal before him. "You need me to drop you off anywhere?"

"...I'm fine here." I decided, which had Void Cowboy snorting.

"Don't act like you have to decide all of that stuff I told you right now. Sleep on it. You'll know when you've really made your decision." With that, Void Cowboy stepped through the portal and closed it behind him.

Leaving me deeply unsettled.

After the great battles of the day, all waged at many separate location but all ending in the Empire Eighty-Eight's definite loss despite their initially superior advantages, Brockton Bay slept easy that night while a few groups made plans for the next day.

And then they all woke up at three in the morning from Bakuda's bombs as she set the city alight with explosions and screams.