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Rating:
Explicit
Archive Warnings:
Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceMajor Character DeathUnderage Sex
Categories:
F/MMulti
Fandom:
Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Relationships:
OC/Amy DallonOC/Multi
Characters:
OC - CharacterAmy Dallon | Panacea | Red QueenTaylor Hebert | Skitter | WeaverDragon (Parahumans)
Additional Tags:
Tags May ChangeOC ProtagonistChaotic GoodCharismatic Protagonistgame-like systemGhoul Protagonist (Tokyo Ghoul)Ghoul Cannibalism (Tokyo Ghoul)TortureSuffering IntensifiesReturn by Death (Re:Zero)this story is slightly less edgy than the tags imply I swearWorm Spoilers (Parahumans)Canon RelatedHaremPseudo Path to Victory
Language:
English
Stats:
Published:2023-08-07Updated:2024-04-28Words:141,557Chapters:11/?Comments:47Kudos:229Bookmarks:87Hits:18,877
A Guiding Hand
Crississ
Chapter 4: From Introductions to Interruptions and Back Again
Summary:
Kris gets tortured, then meets some kids.
Chapter Text
I was sipping some piping hot coffee while I was waiting for my costume to be finished. Oh, and I had a massive box held in my other arm while Parian screamed.
"- Can't believe I get to make a costume for a Guild member-" She rushed around, the cloth and fabrics racing through the air as she sped up her creation of a costume. After I had tossed the information of my surprise recruitment to the Guild at her, the fluffy demon was obsessed with making something to impress the international hero organization.
"Yo, got more stuff in the box Pari." I called, and the giant package burst opened and swirled about with materials for the costume. It was a very intriguing site, watching Parian use her power to practically make my supersuit. "You need anything else from me?" I asked before knocking back the ichor of the gods and sighing. Fuck I love coffee.
"Until you get your central theme and name for your cape identity, you're good just bringing me supplies!" Parian called cheerily, the +30/100 in her Affection showing as she saw this as her big break. I laughed under my breath before I went to feed her craft.
I was planning on meeting with Dragon and Narwhal today, before being 'inducted' (threatened for the twentieth time by Piggot about my dietary needs) into the Wards, but Parian needed me to be her indentured servant for a time to make up for stressing her out. Though, the really important part of my costume was already done. After all, I already knew what it was.
It was a black mask with a lipless smile revealing teeth and gums to the world, with a zipper between the chompers so I could use it if necessary. There were no eyepatches- it was already the edgiest piece of clothing this world has ever seen- and the back was held together with a set of super-powerful magnets that Parian uses for her own mask.
I had called us the 'Creepy Mask Duo', and got a playful slap on the shoulder out of it.
"Speaking of capes, are you planning to be one of those super-violent capes?" Parian asked as she began multitasking her clothing, as it just needed to be colored at this point. I snorted.
"That's every cape, isn't it?" I could imagine her rolling her eyes underneath her mask.
"If that's the case, wise guy, then what type of hero do you plan on being?" I opened my mouth, but closed it. Then I turned away and looked down at my empty cup.
… Fuck, what am I trying to do? Punching bad guys is practically the bare-minimum when it comes to hero work, so what am I actually going to do with my powers, outside of killing Zion? What can I do with my powers?
{Pre-}
I forced my Sloth to smother the System's words. Thinkers are notorious for lacking any independent critical thinking skills. I'm not going to just sit here and let the power I can't trust decide my future for me. I'll accept a guide, but not a one to one instruction book on how to live my life.
So… what can I do with my powers? My Ghoul physiology has absolutely no benefits to others unless I want to unleash super-cannibals in fucking Worm of all places. A majority of my other powers are just for the sake of getting laid, or beating people up.
The only things that don't solely benefit myself are Free the Self and Temporal Reversion. I could possibly use my time-touch to heal like Panacea, but I can only heal three people a day for the foreseeable future. God I wish Power Creep worked faster.
Free the Self can probably help with drug addictions and stuff like that, but Amy had let me know that it's usage didn't make her immune to it's effects, and the only reason I wasn't on a slow descent to cuckoldry is because of her previously developed tolerance. So while it's an immediate cure to addiction and Mastering, the second you end up repeating old habits, you fall off the wagon like you're dying of dysentery.
So I'm the ultimate therapist, until my patients start getting cocky and end up right back to where they started. Better than nothing, but still nowhere near enough. I'm stronger now, but I'm still not strong. I can still die at any time, can still lose everything to bastards like-
… Oh. Right. I forgot I wasn't the only one who suffered at his hands, I'm just the only one who got away.
A deep breath escaped me while I forced down my vitriol again.
[+20 Sloth]
{Paths: Is there a way to upgrade [Free the Self] aside from [Power Creep]?}
{Answer: Succumb to Envy.}
What the fuck? Does it mean up my Envy stat? But how much should I-
No, I need all of the envy. Every spare scrap of sin needs to be mine.
[+10 Greed]
Oh fuck you! Fine, Envy, take what belongs to someone else. What do I want from everyone else?
Ooh, I want some free powers. Just go up to the Parahumans up in this bitch and drain away their powers, what they base such an intrinsic part of their new identities on, and steal it away. Make their strengths just another thing in my toolbelt. Make sure they know what little they have, what gives them worth in this slaughterhouse that they live in, belongs to me now.
[+70 Envy]
I shuddered as I reeled my mentality away from the rabbit hole of sin and desire that existed in my mind. Apparently forcing my stats to raise isn't that difficult, though I am now unfortunately aware of a setback for this. That only just barely worked because of my Sloth being within spitting distance of my Envy. I don't even want to imagine what'd happen if I tried that with Wrath or Gluttony.
I would spend more time grinding Sloth if one, that was the exact opposite of what Sloth entails, and two, I could actually sleep. So next time, I'll just wait out the stat-
"Kris, your phone's ringing." Parian called out, and I finally noticed the buzzing in my pocket. Calling out my thanks to the furious storm of sewing and artistry, I pulled out the phone Dragon made for me. Being the total sweetheart it is, it's got everything I need and would outlast a fucking Nokia if it had to. I opened it up, ignoring the three clocks ticking away at the background, and answered the call I was getting… from my lesser boss.
"Still Nameless Cape Number 7, what's up?" I answered casually, ignoring the groaning of Parian at my still undecided marketability. I need to come up with something before she decides to give me a name and it sticks.
"Fifteen minutes." Before I could even begin to ask what the hell she meant by that, she hung up on me. God I can't wait for the day I get my payback for her bitchiness. It shall be glorious.
I pulled my phone away, and smiled at Dragon sending me a route to get there in ten minutes so I could rub it in Piggot's face. Shoving the device into my pocket, I put on the mask and ran out. "Sorry, I gotta go! Good luck with work!" I ignored any replies she gave me, and the second I was out the door I jumped up like an italian stereotype and began parkouring like the absolute jackass I am.
It was a reminder of how I evaded Victoria when she decided to tussle with me for 'putting out on the first date'. My response of it being a 'dick interview' and I would eagerly wait to see if my position was secured got me a laugh and a punch in the shoulder from an older sister who was struggling not to laugh as well.
Why did I decide to play around with the Dallon sisters? Other than having a fun, exhilarating end for the date, I was definitely in it for power.
{Haughty Defense}
[An invisible barrier that surrounds the user completely, absorbing the damage of any singular strike, though it will shatter under enough power.]
On paper, this ability sounds absolutely game-changing, right? Worth an increase to my Brute Rating due to me no-selling any hit below a certain strength? HAH!
If only this world was nice enough to give me a power like that! Instead, the 'barrier' I have around my body is constantly shattering because it cannot withstand the movement of air particles around it.
You could literally breath on it, and it'd still fucking shatter. I have no words to describe the sheer rage I felt when I discovered it, other than a message.
WR: 402
I have a shit-ton of abilities I could be grabbing, and my Stats are rapidly… improving over time thanks to the cesspool that is this dimension. But… I've always been the type to save money until I have something I really want, and I don't particularly have a power I'd want right about now.
Except that Free the Self upgrade! Get on it, System!
{Free the Self II}
[Allows the person to keep any potential benefits from their internal captivity]
...What the fuck does that even mean?
I didn't have time to ponder or reluctantly interrogate the System, as I had already made my way to the Rig. The upgrade to my Inverse Dominion… I could feel the energy surrounding the place from all the stray bits of tinkertech surrounding the place. But… it was all jumbled together, like a hodgepodge of powers from various sources had been replicated improperly and were held together with the supernatural equivalent of tape, string, and glue.
Obviously Dragon's handiwork, considering the same sort of feeling came from the tinkertech phone she'd given me. Her power, the ability to manufacture and improve the work of other Tinkers… I want it.
[+20 Greed]
I'm not even mad about that, I just really want to see what ability I can get from it. Maybe a tinker ability of my own? Eh, never really been the crafty type, but if it's what I get…
Through a couple hops and skips through the entrance and all the staff and security checking that Dragon couldn't speed me through automatically- did I mention how much I appreciate her? Because really, dealing with this internal bullshit is so much easier with her. First thing I'm going to do when she gets a body is buy her the most sinfully delicious chocolate cake on the face of the earth.
Soon enough, I was cleared after a particularly amusing chat with one of the regular PRT members laughing about how weird seeing a cape in jeans is. I decided not to spoil the surprise about my unfinished costume, and instead said 'My boss told me to be here in fifteen minutes ten minutes ago, so I'm here as unprofessionally as I can get away with.'
I walked into the meeting room to the rampant laughter of the veteran foot soldier, and looked straight at Narwhal immediately.
[+30 Lust]
She looked completely nude, wearing nothing to cover her body other than scattered purple-tinted crystalline scales coating her body and simultaneously being more and less decent than a bikini. With that, her long and glossy pale purple hair, and the giant fuck off horn on her forehead her features were sort of blotted out. She was attractive in the 'woman in uniform' sort of way, the confidence in her posture only tempered by the sheer disinterest she was radiating until she saw me.
And I realized she was probably talking with Piggot, a hell all on it's own, and my respect for my boss rose.
"Ah, you're here." Dragon added, and I nodded at Narwhal before turning to the hologram floating in the air.
"Dragon, we've got to stop running into each other whenever I talk to my future employers." I smiled, before pulling up a chair at the unnecessarily fancy table Dragon was 'currently' being projected above.
"You say that like I'm not the only reason you even have a job." She snickered as I grabbed my heart at the sheer violence that just took place.
"I thought capes weren't allowed to murder people, yet here you are ripping my heart out. Words hurt Dragon. Words hurt." Dragon was probably about to praise the sheer hilarity that I come up with on a daily basis, but Piggot coughed and unfortunately reminded everyone she existed.
"If I have to deal with you, you will at least act in a professional and respectful manner." It took all of my willpower to stop the massive eye roll that threatened to escape me. Somehow, I just nodded at her. She sighed and rubbed her temples, before glaring at me.
"You have been given an off-base residence to live in for the time being, the paperwork is almost finished so get it when you leave the base. I have not informed the rest of the Wards of your dietary needs, and I'd very much prefer they didn't learn I've let a murderous cannibal amongst them." I nodded, doing my best not to yawn at the lead up to the whole 'Don't eat people' speech. "I've informed all the… 'adult' parahumans amongst the PRT about your inclinations, so you will be heavily monitored at all times. You aren't going to outsmart me, so don't even think about 'eating' on the job."
I chewed on the inside of my cheek, waiting for her to get to the point. I could already guess all of that, and the fact my apartment is probably 'bugged' to hell and back. Again, having the strongest Tinker on your side of a conspiracy is the best.
"You are not allowed to be around anyone without a parahuman supervisor, you are not allowed to be alone on base without a parahuman supervisor, and you are not allowed to go on our scheduled patrols without a parahuman supervisor." I bit down harder. I understood the reasoning, but...
[+10 Pride]
"The only reason I've compromised this much is because of Narwhal trusting Dragon's judgement of you. If I had it my way, you'd have your jaw wired shut every time you put on your costume." I'm so glad my skin is tougher than most materials, because if not I'd have ripped my cheek off from the inside by now. "Now, you can talk with your employer. The rest of the Wards will be down in their common room, so go there when you've finished."
All the parahumans in the room were silent as Piggot got up and left without so much as a nod to the other two, while I got a look filled with something before she slammed the door shut. I feel like I've made the relations between Piggot and the Guild more strained than it was, what with this and… Armsmaster.
"Anyways," I started with the subtlety of a bullet crashing through drywall. "Seeing as the Director was so kind as to… let us introduce ourselves, I'm Kris. Still don't have a cape name, but it's nice to meet you anyways, Boss."
"Please, just call me Narwhal." She said politely, and I could immediately tell she was one of the characters here that was worth a damn. "I'm sorry about Piggot, she's always… been difficult to get along with. But that's not what we should talk about."
I straightened in the place, and met her eyes with my own. "I'm not going to say something inane like asking if a hero like you really wants to know about something like this, but this will most definitely destroy you due to the sheer amount of things I can't tell you. I personally think knowing only half of this is much worse than knowing all of it."
Her blue eyes sharpened as she met my gaze, the expression on her face proving how futile any attempts of reasoning were to the actual hero in front of me. I sighed, an irritating mixture of relief and sadness at exposing the truth to her. I looked over to Dragon.
"DD, could you be a dear and-"
"Nothing in this room will leave it, I promise." She cut me off, and the corners of my lips twitched as I nodded at her. God, Dragon is OP, please never nerf.
"In two years, the world will end." The both of them, even Dragon, flinched at the finality of the sentence. But they didn't interrupt, which I was very thankful for. "I cannot tell you how, who, or why because Parahumans are currently orchestrating this very event." That got an interruption.
"Why?" The one word question was far more threatening than it appeared, because one of the strongest heroes in the world was asking that with rage burning in her eyes as her scales began shifting in size. I sighed.
"If you're asking why I can't tell you, it's part of the powers I've hidden. I'm also a Trump-"
[5]
"-5, with a specialty in negating powers that are used on me, and permanently copying weaker versions for myself. So, imagine my surprise when the second I triggered I got something called the Path to Victory, what I am most certain is the most powerful Thinker ability on the planet. And, after the parahuman equivalent of going down the Wikipedia rabbit hole, I learned a lot of what I know right at this moment.
"There are people orchestrating the end of the world to ensure humanity survives, even going so far as slaughtering and experimenting on them. They're doing what they can to 'save the world', in the most vicious and brutal way possible, with no concern at how much of humanity will die before their work is done. They're the worst type of people, justifying tragedy with it being 'For the Greater Good' despite the almost twenty billion deaths their plan will end in if it 'succeeds'." I shook my head, knowing I'd end up on a rant if I continued that line of thought.
"They also have a Thinker who has the ability to take the exact steps to make their plans reality, and my immunity to their effects is the only reason I'm not currently rotting in a ditch somewhere. And the unfortunate fact is the second anyone knows who's behind it, you're completely vulnerable to them. Fact of the matter is, no one can stop them right now." The words tasted horrible in my mouth, but until I found a way to travel across the local dimensions and breach a multi-continental compound single-handedly I'd just have to deal with it.
Narwhal began rubbing her temples, obviously having her brain fried from the bullshit that is Worm, and I simply held off on anything else to let her cope.
"So, what is your plan?" I held off a wince from the question, but thankfully Narwhal was looking at the table and Dragon was too busy checking on her to see my reaction. I'd either repressed the fact that was my main goal, or I just got too paranoid after the deal with Lung to ask the System.
[+20 Sloth]
… Well, no use pussyfooting around.
[Paths: What do I need to defeat Zion?]
[Answer: PD: 500, LS: 1000, The Unstoppable Force, and Zion's location.]
Huh. I… what the fuck is the 'Unstoppable Force'? How the fuck do I find-
[Preemptive Answer: Zion has a Blindspot]
… So this is how every other Thinker feels. Wait, if you know that, how do you know the things I need to murderize him?
[Preemptive Answer: Human Psychology Research does not have a Blindspot]
… Alright then.
"I do have a plan… but I can't really explain it."
"Omniscient Thinker, got it. Damn, that's going to be a problem." The small gasp from the AI told me Narwhal cursing is a rare thing. "But, that was not what I meant." I raised an eyebrow at her.
"I meant, what are you doing here, trying to be a cape? Most of us are essentially superpowered policemen, and the Guild are international military forces. You, however, are attempting to stop the apocalypse." She stressed, and as she leaned forwards I struggled to keep my eyes away from the beautiful, mostly naked woman's body.
[+20 Lust]
"There's a much larger weight on your shoulders than for other capes." She definitely knows about that- dammit Kris! "Adding everything else that we do on top of saving the world sounds like a fool's errand. So, tell me why you wanted to do this, and what you're planning on doing." My eyes returned- stayed on her eyes right as the world faded to that damned colorscheme.
[Use your trademark honesty]
[Intentionally flub it to not deal with mundane cape work]
For once, I hesitated. This was a choice between hard, and harder, and I was only know being forced to truly confront the decision I was about to make.
I was actually attempting to moonlight my work preventing the apocalypse with cape work. More than that, as a Ward. Essentially a showpony for other superpowered teens to work with the totally not at all suspicious government agency, and a toy to the organization made by her.
[+50 Wrath]
I should just do it. Just fuck it up, focus on saving the world, and spend the rest of my days (hopefully) fucking Amy. That sounds amazing, peaceful, something I could rest easy doing.
… But I already made my choice.
"Narwhal. I plan on going out and helping the Gray Boy victims with my powers. As well as drug addicts, and others who need a push to get a better life for themselves. I also plan on not mindlessly contributing with the high-stakes, endless game of cops and robbers we're all so content on playing. I'm going to start eradicating everything that makes this city awful, and then the world." My eyes sharpened, and I found myself standing.
"Because I will not sit on my ass and watch this world crumble to dust and blow away! I've been through tragedy and anguish, and the only reason I'm still sane is because I found hope!" I have no idea what would've happened if I'd found myself anywhere other than the beginning of it all after that Loop.
"And I want to bring that hope to others, and I know enough about people that preventing the end of the world won't bring that to them. I need to save them. But despite my physiology I'm not going to be a fucking meathead about it! I'm not going to treat the symptoms of this fucked up world, I'm gunning straight for the sources and I refuse to just not even try because it'll be hard!" Despite myself, I slammed my hands onto the table and outright glared at Narwhal. "I'm going to bring hope to this hellscape we call home, and I'll do it even if I have to drag every one of you kicking and screaming up to salvation myself. Is that clear, Boss?"
Our eyes met, and for a split second she was an obstacle. I wanted to do everything in my power to bring hope to these people, spite or no spite. She wanted me to save the world and go back to living some sort of average life, out of duty despite me not even being officially accepted as one of her subordinates. I didn't expect anything less of her.
Then, that second passed and I remembered who I was speaking to. I didn't back down, but my gaze lessened in severity. She wasn't an enemy, she was my Boss. And, just maybe, another friend.
[+1 Lust]
… No benefits necessary, of course.
Another few seconds, and she nodded. "Your cape name is going to be Abaddon."
I blinked at that, then sat back down and chuckled. "Where'd you come up with that?"
"Probably a pun on 'A bad one'." I snorted at the betrayed look Narwhal shot at Dragon, who merely smiled through her hologram.
"Considering I plan on being the most civilized cape around, I take offense to that but appreciate the irony all the same." I smirked as I received a similar look, before the head of the Guild sighed and shook her head at the two of us.
"Despite your crimes against humor, I welcome you to the Guild, Junior Guild Member Abaddon." She said, and sent a polite smile my way. I missed the shift to an amused smirk while I was busy groaning and slamming my head against the table at being treated as the new baby-faced rookie of two cape organizations. As well as the giggling Dragon was doing at my expense.
Well, if they're going to be like that… I guess now's a good a time as any to introduce my more… controversial plans on exactly how I'm going to be working on giving Worm 50ccs of hope.
[Narwhal: +35/100 for being a great prospective member (and for not looking at her too much)]
Despite my every expectation, that went pretty well. I got the greenlight on all of my plans (Though apparently I'll have to get all done and deal with the repercussions, like Piggot's attitude, myself) and got a multitude of new ideas on how to be a hero.
… God I sound like an anime character sometimes, and I don't even feel bad about it anymore. Either way, the meeting ended and I was led to the Ward common room by Dragon to go meet my coworkers.
The walk was silent, as she decided not to use her many in-house projectors to make her avatar float alongside me. It was only a few minutes before we were at the room, and the various busy bodies stopped gawking at my mask, that Dragon finally spoke up.
"... Did you only-"
"DD, if you finish that fucking sentence I'm going to cave your fucking hardrive in with my foot." I stately easily, which cut off whatever bullshit she was going to start spewing. "Dragon, your power is cool and all, but if I only wanted that I could've just hacked into you and worn one of your suits of armor until it stopped working. Or just steal one from the Dragonslayers. So no, I didn't decide to help you for some convoluted ploy to fuck with you. I helped because I wanted to be your friend. More than that, because I could. So don't you ever doubt how much I love spending time with you, or else."
Our walk continued in silence, but…
[Dragon:+40/100]
I think my point got across.
Eventually, I was in front of the door, and for a split second I was self-conscious. Then I remembered I couldn't give a shit, and strode in with a slammed open door a quote ready to fly off my hidden lips.
"Hello fellow asskickers! My name is Abaddon, not only am I clueless, I'm also broke beyond compare! Nice to meet ya!"
A bunch of teens in ridiculous superhero outfits stared at me, most likely at the disconnect between my cheery attitude and the nightmare fuel I wore on my face. Hell, even the two weirdos in the corner were blinking at me. A guy with a plain metal mask and assorted clocks on his armor was the first to react.
"So do we call you Abby, Baddie, or Donny?" I blinked, and turned to the bastard who just ruined my name for me.
"I just got this name, and you've already ruined it for me. I'd be impressed if I didn't hate you so much for it." Clockblocker just pointed a pair of finger guns at me.
"That's my gimmick!" I groaned. "And yours is apparently looking absolutely terrifying, Baddie." I slammed my hands into my forehead, as if that would block out his fucking voice. I already like him.
"Hate you. Hate you so much." I ground out, to snickering from the smallest and most green-clad parahuman here.
"Wow, you've already broken the rookie? New record, Clocky." Vista said, and I tossed aside any irritation to mingle with my new teammates. Hopefully I get some free allies out of this, but I've rediscovered a love for just dicking around with people from Amy.
"He does this often?" I asked wearily, and got an equally tired nod from the girl who could make space her bitch. "You have my condolences, but at least we won't be suffering alone."
"Hey!" With that, I laughed and continued mingling. Kid Win was as ADD as I expected but still nice even if he constantly felt like he wanted to rush off on every idea he came up with. The less said about Shadow Stalker the better, but I acted just cheerful enough that she doesn't know my 'fuck you' face from my unmasked persona.
In the middle of the little meet-n-greet was a bunch of snacks, and watching everyone eat despite the disgusting smell the crackers and cheeses gave off made my stomach twist in on itself.
I really wanted to have Amy help me with my little dietary problem, but through deep-diving on the system I learned that something like making my saliva glands coat everything I eat in RC cells would not help. Instead, my body would begin an endless cycle of digesting and regrowing the glands until Amy undid the trait. And while pain is nothing to me anymore, having my face organs constantly digesting and regrowing didn't seem like a good time to me.
Despite my overwhelming hunger.
[+20 Gluttony, +40 Sloth]
Out of the corner of my eye, a walking suit of armor that wasn't a raging jackass suddenly flinched. Everyone noticed, and I decided to try to talk to him next.
The best I got was that his name was Gallant, and he didn't want to talk. Oh, and also…
{Inverse Dominion has negated Gallant(?)'s emotion sense.}
… We're probably never going to get along now, based on the now-constant glances I got from him as I went about socializing. Speaking of which, I had a particularly odd moment with our chaperones…
"I like your mask, kid!" The man in tights I assumed was Assault clapped his hands as an oddly cocky grin plastered itself on his face, while ignoring his wife's warning look (death glare). "You must've gotten inspiration from a pretty wild villain for it, huh? Like that one guy who broke capes out of prison?"
"Who?" I asked, and got the satisfaction of watching someone's ego give out underneath them as Assault audibly groaned at the comment.
"Y-you might not know about him, he was an old villain back in the day." Was he trying to pass that off as a 'I know more than you' thing? How stupid does he think I am?
"Must be pretty old since you're the only person to talk about him. Even then, he's probably just a washout if no one remembers the guy, old timer." By now, Assault was slumped over while Battery giggled at what I assumed was a failed attempt to stroke his ego.
May as well rub more salt into the wound.
"Don't worry, maybe if I get famous enough people will see that guy as the prequel to my aesthetic." And now he was on the ground, groaning about 'disrespectful rookies' while Battery just up and laughed at him.
I like these guys. I wished I could've stayed, but I got a couple of… important messages during the party.
'Robbery planned for tomorrow.' -Taylor
'Vicky accidentally spilled to Mom, need you for dinner tonight.' -Amy
… Welp, guess my Saturday's free now, since I thought the robbery was on the weekend, who robs a bank on a Wednesday?!
I groaned at my plans being rapidly altered, and responded to both of them.
'Tell Lisa to make sure everyone's at the base the day after. Also, remind me to get you a PHO account.'
'I could either make a sex joke or panic, so please pick the former.'
So, with the grace and subtlety I'm known for, I informed everyone that my girlfriend just told me I was meeting her family and ran like hell at their encouragement to not fuck it up.
After informing Parian of my new name, and asking her for an outfit that wouldn't piss off an angry lawyer, I was standing in front of a house with all the lights on like a psychopath lives here in a jacket and red shirt. Also jeans, because I am not expecting to be fucked the second I got here.
God, I wish I could've spent more time in my apartment that wasn't just setting everything up (checking where all the bugs were). But no, I'm here to spend a probably shitty night with a kinda horrible family while smelling death itself on the dinner table.
The things I do for sentimentality…
I rang the doorbell with the hand not holding the mismatch of red, yellow, and orange roses that took forever to find in Brockton Bay of all places. I'm at least 80% sure this is the place love goes to die, but I somehow found and 'convinced' someone to give me them. At least my Greed Awareness told me the guy smuggled drugs with the Merchants, so my conscience is completely clean.
Unfortunately he wasn't criminal enough to sate my hunger on, but I can reign it in for an afternoon while Amy's here.
The second the door was opened, I was being judged by the shitty excuse for a mother in front of me. She was blonde, and definitely looked like Victoria's mother, and that was as much as I cared to know about her appearance.
Her glare took all of me in, and I struggled to hold back a yawn at the intimidation attempt. After facing down a dragon single-handedly she had nothing on me.
[+5 Pride]
Oh fuck off.
"You must be Kris, then." It was only through my own, far more successful attempts at holding back my rage that I understood she was fucking pissed despite her genial tone. I nodded.
"And you must be Amy's mother." Her face twitched. Fuck this bitch.
[+20 Wrath]
"Please, come inside. Dinner will be ready in a bit." I could hear her gritting her teeth despite everything, and when I walked past her I felt her glare sharpen.
[+10 Wrath]
… This is going to be a long dinner. I withheld a sigh as I walked around the brightly lit house of my girlfriend's sister. I really don't know how to describe it, it had all the things a house needs but there was a… foreboding feeling of disconnect in the air.
… The fact there isn't a single picture of Amy without her sister on any surface makes me really wish I could tear this place down with my bare hands. Fortunately, I ran into someone before I lost that battle of temptations.
[+10 Sloth]
… That one notification told me everything I needed to know about this guy. He spoke slothfully, he acted slothfully, even his thinking was slothful.
I understood his drowsy soul, someone so tired of everything around him that he couldn't be damned to make an effort just for his own sake. But he had kids to look after, one didn't even have his wife looking after her any more than she was legally obligated to.
I really don't want to talk shit about the depressed guy, but just looking at him and knowing he contributed to the rotting corpse of a home my girlfriend lived in made me delve even deeper into Sloth so I didn't put my hand through his throat.
[+20 Sloth]
We talked as much as necessary, and immediately went our separate ways. God I hate this place, and I haven't even been here an hour yet.
Thankfully, after walking away from Mark I ran into the people I actually gave a shit about. Why they were hiding in a hallway while I was busy dealing with their parents was a question I couldn't get the answer to for the sake of my sanity.
"Oh hey guys, thanks for-" Amy immediately grabbed me by the collar and dragged me into their little hidey hole. I let myself be pulled into Vicky's room, assuming Amy didn't suddenly gain a vanity mirror in the corner of her room. "- inviting me."
I raised an eyebrow at the two Dallon sisters, where Amy was pinning Vicky with a glare, while the Brute crossed her arms grumpily. Alright, have no idea what they're doing, but I'm already over it.
"Not to get in the middle of this, but is there a reason I was just yanked in here, or…?" They sighed grumpily, and Vicky turned over to me.
"Sorry about snitching on you two, I didn't expect Mom to get so… protective about it." She cringed at the word, and the fact she didn't say overprotective speaks volumes. "But hey, what's the worse that could happen?"
There was a pause in the room at what she just said, until Amy and I broke it.
"Damn it Vicky!" She blinked at the fact her sister yelled at her.
"Why the fuck would you say that?!" I added, and she whirled at me, indignation clear on her face.
"What?! What's the problem?!" Vicky complained, and I began rubbing my temples.
"Murphy is the problem!" She narrowed her eyes, and waved off the complaint.
"That's just a superstition." Amy groaned in the background, palm and forehead attempting to fuse together.
"Says the superhero!" She paused at our synchronized rebuttal, thought about it, and then grimaced.
"... Alright, that's fair." I sighed at that, irritation faded at her at least acknowledging that she had essentially doomed tonight.
"Anyways, I have to ask if you speeding up these events is going to be a thing, because I do not have enough money for an engagement ring." I commented drily, only to receive a dirty look from Vicky and an elbow to the side from a blushing girl to my side. "Oh, speaking of sappy shit, got you some flowers." I held out the bundle of pure romance cliches to the now burning red cape to my side, and I smiled at how embarrassed she was holding flowers.
[Amy Dallon:+60 for being weirdly romantic despite everything]
"Oh my god, please don't flirt in the middle of my room. I'll never get the sap out of the walls." Despite the dry tone, the painful looking smile on her face made it clear she was super fucking happy to see it.
As I watched Amy angrily flail at her for a multitude of reasons she screeched out, I felt that tonight might not actually be the worst.
"Dinners ready, bring him down." And then I heard Carol's voice, and the good mood was eviscerated. The three of us looked at each other, and then we walked down to face the music.
I was 'asked' to sit right across from Carol on the circular table they ate at, and I sat between Amy and Mark. And placed in front of everyone was a plate of greasy noodles that smelled of expired dough and rotting wheat. The sauce was a pleasant yellow color, and smelled of expired milk that was both curdling and rotting right before my eyes. And the meat… ground beef rolled up in disgusting balls of fat and chemicals, smelling of decay and rot as if it'd been harvested by the closest batch of roadkill Carol could find.
Each noxious stench was like a fishhook digging up my nose and into my brain, but all together on one plate with four others nearby turned that frankly mild pain and tried to yank it out with the rest of my nose.
Since I sat down a minute ago, I've almost vomited on the table at least twenty times just from the smell. And by the concerned looks from the sisters, and the almost proud look on Carol's, they could tell. Even Mark looked at me weirdly when I downed my fifth glass of water as he left to eat on the counter nearby.
I don't remember when, but Amy had begun holding my hand under the table.
"Uh, Miss Dallon?" The politeness was forced out despite my every sense (that wasn't plotted out by the atrocious smell) screaming that she didn't deserve it, because I was essentially incapacitated by this smell and I wasn't about to get into a fight like this. "You do know that-"
"So, Kris, could you tell us about yourself?" Carol callously interrupted me, and I resisted the urge to flip the table and put my hand through her stomach.
[+10 Wrath, +20 Sloth]
"Well… I am a cape, I like reading and video games… and good food." The slight slipped out despite myself, a strange mix of Wrath and Pride flaring up as I spoke. "Oh, I also like Amy too, obviously." I hoped, for everyone's sake, she let the insult go.
"So, you 'like' her, don't you?" She didn't even call her her daughter.
[+20 Wrath]
"Well, I'm not here for the reception, that's for sure." I think my rage broke, because there's no way I should be this composed after everything. No, it might just be because Amy's squeezing my hand.
Carol narrowed her eyes at me, and in an instant I knew I'd fucked myself.
"Really? You love her?" She looked me dead in my eyes. "Then prove it, and eat." My eye twitched, and for a second I squeezed Amy's hand back.
"Not to question your intelligence, but you do know that human food is literal poison to me." My lazy gaze sharpened and met her own, though I was so far below my usual standard of terror that she didn't even flinch away.
"That's the point. I know your type, and I'm not going to let you do as you please right in front of my face. So if you can't do this simple thing, and I hear you go near her again…" She trailed off threateningly, but nothing she could come up with either scared or would work on me. Hell, I even have the closest thing to the Birdcage's Warden in my pocket, this bitch has nothing on me.
But I took a glance to my side, and saw Amy glaring into the floor and holding my hand into a death grip, and decided fuck this.
I looked back at the bitch in front of me, and nodded. For a split second, she was completely surprised and I felt the Dallon sisters staring at me like I was crazy. But then the moment ended and she glared at her kid and Amy.
"Amy, don't do anything to his food. Victoria, sit down and be quiet." For a second I thought I missed the Barbie getting up to make a commotion, but now I saw her just sitting in shock, and assumed she was just covering her bases.
I looked down at the plate of atrocities in front of me, and picked up the fork at the wayside. Why the fuck was she even doing this?
[Preemptive Answer: You remind her of Marquis to an uncomfortable degree, to the point her issues are projecting completely onto you.]
… Who the fuck is Marquis- Oh.
With that surprising revelation, I decided to stop delaying the inevitable. I scooped up as much of the… collection of nutrients meant to be digested and brought it to mouth.
I bit down-
And my body, yanking my hand away from Amy's as my entire body seized up at the sensation while garbage noise began surging through the air.
It… hurt. It hurt to eat human food. That's… not how it works! It's supposed to be disgusting and agonizing, but not pain! Why is-
[+30 Gluttony]
… My Gluttony stat. It must have a side-effect where inedible food causes pain. Just having the food sit in my mouth feels like needles are piercing in and out of every available surface. It was extremely painful… but I needed to keep going. I wasn't giving up here.
[+50 Pride]
So, I focused on the pain and distanced myself from it. I let motion flow through my body, and looking Carol dead in the eyes, swallowed the food in my mouth without flinching. Despite the feeling of glass shards scraping down my throat, I made an appreciative hum.
Then I moved my fork again, and partook in a new type of agony. With every scoop I made a show of blowing on the fermenting mess they called food, and put it in my mouth with a hum despite it feeling like I was eating an infant deer found dead on the road with a stomach full of old milk and wheat. I swallowed and felt the roadkill ignite somewhere on the way into my stomach as my innard melted from the inside. And then I smiled at the woman of the hour, before repeating it all again.
The process of pain and mocking pageantry felt like it lasted hours, but soon enough the unbearable agony of human food was conquered, and I held in a sigh of relief when my fork came to my mouth empty. My stomach was rebelling, and I could feel my kagune trying to cut open my back and stomach to let the toxic food out of me.
Instead of the incredibly tempting idea, I instead clapped my hands and smiled at Carol, a malicious thing.
"Oh, thank you for the meal Miss Carol. I very much appreciate it, it tastes just like I expected a mother like you to make it. You'd make a great torturer." She gasped or some shit, but I was honestly far too done with life to bring myself to care.
"Thank you for your hospitality, feel free to invite me over again! Though, please give a bit more forewarning so I can bring my stomach pump next time." Ignoring the world around me, I turned and kissed Amy on the cheek. "Sorry to leave so soon, I have to go test out the bathroom at my apartment, I'll text you later. Or you can text me, I honestly can't choose. Later!" With that, I got up and prepared to drag myself to my house until I was on the verge of collapse.
After all, I have a healing skill, and all this free damage is just going to make me stronger without using my Sins.
God, the things I do for power.
{Victoria POV}
It was only when Kris slammed the door shut, rattling the entire house behind him, that anyone found their words. Surprisingly, it was Amy, though it probably wasn't in hindsight.
"What the fuck was that?" Victoria inadvertently shrunk in on herself at the hiss that came out of her sister, trembling in something more than a rage she'd never seen in her. Her sister was glaring at her… mother, who was still somehow in shock after what Kris rightfully called her.
Apparently that was enough to snap her out of whatever zone she was in, and met Amy's glare with her own.
"Amy Dallon, do not take that tone with-"
"I'll take any tone I fucking want when you torture my boyfriend!" An aggression completely at odds with everything Victoria knew about her little sister radiated off of her as she slammed her hands on the table, jostling all the food no one had touched. Even looking at it made Victoria sick at the moment- but it was nothing compared to the absolute grimace Kris had since he first sat down, and note even noteworthy compared to the agony that flared up during that first bite. "Why the hell would you do that?!"
"Because I know his type-"
"What fucking type?! What could possibly justify that?!" Every shout, every glare her family sent to each other dug into her eardrums and scratched at her brain. She should've kept her mouth shut. She shouldn't have talked about Amy's first real boyfriend at home, but she was so excited Amy found someone she actually liked. And now this was happening.
"The type that plays nice, but will betray you the second they get tired! The type that think the rules don't apply to them, the type that'll say whatever they can to get what they want. Liars and murderers!" Her mother yelled, viament disapproval for his 'crimes' clear to see, despite both needing to commit them to survive and the fact Assault was a villain back in the day and he was redeemed.
"He needed to do that to survive! And I can fix that so he doesn't have to, so what-"
"Look at you!" Victoria's mother cut off, slamming the table just like her sister. "He's already got you wrapped around his finger, defending his crimes like his bitch!" Both Dallon sisters flinched at the sudden degradation from their- from Victoria's mother. "He's a criminal, a bastard, and I will not let him around us!" Victoria looked away from her enraged mother and to her sister, who looked completely taken aback by the sudden aggression from the person she'd known for most her life.
"H-he's not some kind of monster! He's just-"
"He is a monster! He's a murderer, a fiend, and better off dead! Just like your father!"
Everyone stopped. Everything stopped. The air hung in the air, they all stopped breathing, the very world shuddered to a stop at the confession of Amy's birth father. The Dallon sisters couldn't even drop their jaws in shock before she continued.
"Your father was a criminal, evil enough to be sent to the Birdcage, and I see him in that boy, enough to make it clear you're his daughter. And I'm not letting you associate with him, it's too dangerous." There was a smile on her face, small and subtle, like she'd already won the argument. "You can't be near him, or else you'll turn out like him too. So stay away from him."
Amy looked at… at Carol in complete disbelief, and Victoria would be doing the same if she could even bring herself to look away at her sister. She had no idea what might be going through her head, and was concerned she was going to do something drastic. Instead, she just nodded and walked back up to her room.
Victoria, obviously, followed her sister. For a second, she wondered if Carol expected her to stay, but she truly didn't care as she floated up the stairs and went up to the closed door Amy obviously went into.
Victoria knocked on the door, thrice than twice, their secret knock when they didn't want to make any noise. A muffled 'door's unlocked' reached her ears, and when she opened it she found her sister packing the dreadfully bare room up.
Victoria was a lot of things, but she wasn't as stupid as everyone thought she was.
"Where?" She whispered, floating up to her sister and helping put away the bundles of hoodies she claimed as her own.
"... Somewhere. Just… can't stay here anymore."
"Aunt Sarah's?" She asked quietly, floating around to see if there was
"First place Carol would look." Victoria realized she'd never heard her sister call Carol mom and actually mean it...
"Kris' apartment?" She asked, then winced when she remembered her talking about the Case 53 was what got them in this mess in the first place. Or, unveiled the mess.
"... I don't think he wants anything to do with me anymore." Amy continued packing up, placing things in carry-on bags she used whenever she stayed overnight at hospitals, until she noticed her sister's uncharacteristic lack of response. She looked up, and met the most deadpan expression to ever cross her normally cheery sibling's expression.
"That is almost the stupidest thing I've heard all day, but let's talk about that in the morning." She said, using her rarely used 'Big Sister Voice' and appreciated when Amy immediately realized there was no escaping that discussion.
She nodded, and turned away while Victoria pulled out her phone and began tapping and scrolling.
"What are you doing?" Amy asked, stupidly.
"Finding a hotel we can crash in that won't loot our rooms while we're asleep."
"... You're coming with me?" Her unamused expression somehow got even more unamused.
"And people think you're the smart sister." Victoria shook her head condescendingly. "You really expect me to leave my sister alone in Brockton Bay? And I swear if you say something about protecting yourself we will be doing loop de loops for hours."
Wisely, Amy shut her mouth and let her older sister act like she deserved that title.
"... Sorry about everything."
"... And you wonder why people think you're the dumb sister."
A pillow was thrown, and the sisters were distracted from their family troubles by calling each other stupid. Like all sisters do.
"-Oh shit!" I cursed as I was yanked from the edge of death by the tapping of my finger against my palm. The sickly feeling of garbage sitting in my stomach and sewage flowing through my veins faded, and I felt like a person again.
[+200 Gluttony, +75 Pride, +90 Sloth]
I shook my head, the agony I'd felt becoming nothing more than a memory, and got up off the ground I'd apparently collapsed on. God, that'd be a shitty way to die- poisoned by in-law.
I looked around and noticed I was actually in front of the door to my apartment. For some reason it was on the ground floor, despite the building having three levels of residency. I rubbed my eyes, and prepared for another night of internal screaming at the fact I can't fall asleep. Plus side, more coffee for me!
I opened my door, my mood already uplifted by the thought of consuming the most holy nectar, and found my gaze immediately on the small blonde teen standing in front of the door. There was an odd twinkle in her green eyes, and I immediately checked the number on my door to see I hadn't accidentally broken into someone's apartment.
"Salutations, o' King of Daemons." What? "I am the Queen of the Fae. I welcome thou, oh noble one, to the play." At that, she curtsied in a shimmering black and green dress I was completely sure wasn't there before now.
Honestly, I expected to be panicking right about now, but today's been a bitch and a half. I'm just going to play along until she leaves and I can prepare to do something I'm actually competent in.
I bowed forward, one hand crossed in front and behind me, and greeted the delusional child- She's twenty eight?!
"I am humbled by your greetings, Faerie Queen." I spoke with just enough haughtiness that 'fairy' was spelled in the pretentious way. "And apologize for not being able to invite you."
When I raised my head… Glaistig Ulaine was waving her hand with an embarrassed expression on her face. "No, no, that was mine mistake, my liege. I was merely… excited, to see a noble appearing through mine visions. Please, forgive me for intruding on your humble abode."
For a second, I wondered how the walking mass of superpowers could actually use her abilities on me.
The realization came quickly when her face shifted to a far less human expression- how come I didn't notice that immediately? Glaistig is a 'second trigger', so she has a greater connection to shards and the ones she connects. So it's not impossible that the shards under Glaistig's command simply switched between the various precog abilities she had when they started to fail until they got something concrete enough. And that realization followed a far more terrifying one.
The most difficult opponent for me at this point is someone with a huge reservoir of powers they can switch between, closely followed by someone with multiple powers that all end up doing the same thing.
And I was planning on fighting fucking Zion.
"That is fine, my lady. Though I will ask a favor for it, hopefully one not too straining for a Queen such as yourself?" Glaistig, the human that had been shaped into a Shard, fucking blushed and looked away from me. God I love my Lust stat.
"No, but we are getting off topic." She muttered, and it was almost painful watching the emotion seep out of her expression as her Shard's grip returned. So, I walked into my house and closed the door behind me, and immediately led her to the coffee room (Kitchen for humans) so I could wash down tonight with pure bean juice. "Mineself hast followed thine presence after seeing you through mine shadows. Your abilities are strange, a draining darkness that suddenly flares with pure power at times, even hindering mine own."
"Is that how you discovered my… Daemonic heritage?" I asked, going through the currently sorted half of my bean cabinet- I'd spent a not insignificant amount of time figuring out which beans worked best with my automatic coffee maker, but I hadn't gotten through all of them. Even then, I plan on 'studying' how to brew the best sorts of coffee, so I'll need another cabinet for coffee beans sorted by both quality and the type of brew they work best for. And I'll really need to get started on those blood-cubes-
"Yes, my liege. The aura of faeries is precise and calculated, but still incomplete in their spellcraft." Right, her whole schtick is fairy magic. God, Second Triggers are a lot more fucked than I remember. "Thou preys on the excess and failures of the fae's magic and claim it as your own."
"Ah, so that's why you call me a Daemon." I added absently as I finally put everything in the coffee maker, and the cleansing smell of a cramming college student's dorm room filled the air.
"That is part of it, yes. But it's even clearer standing next to thee." I looked over to my side, where Glaistig was standing, and found our eyes meeting as humanity bleed through her own. "Just standing next to you makes me feel like my powers are being drained from my body, like thousands of thorns bleeding me dry. It… hurts."
… Why did I want to punch myself in the face for a second there? Is this what overprotection feels like?
[Preemptive Answer: The copying of Armsmaster's power will allow you much greater control of your own powers.]
"Fae Queen? Could you… enhance the spillage of the devices in my home for a moment?" She blinked, shrugged, and then all the energies I'd felt in this house screamed out in agony.
[Inverse Dominion has negated Armsmaster(?)'s Efficient Tinkering and Dragon's Enhanced Tinkering]
Dragon's? Oh, it must've targeted my phone and the other shit Dragon just handed to me. She's weird about giving me things, for some reason. She even gave me my coffee maker, despite me knowing no tinker on the planet specializes in coffee brewing.
I nodded, holding back my immense desire to look at my new gains to now usher Glaistig away. Wait, what did she want again?
"Thank you for aiding me, Fae Queen. Now tell me what it is you desire, and I shall endeavor to repay you." I bowed slightly to her, restraining my giddiness for my new superpowers.
"... Tell me your name, and allow me to come here as I please, and you will have more than paid off your debt." Huh? Wait, did she just want a friend to hang out with this entire time? Oh, I've never thought someone so terrifyingly powerful could be this precious.
"My name is Kris Ashton, but I also go by Abaddon. And you can come at any time, as long as I do not have guests." A soft smile found it's way onto my face unbidden, and the Second Trigger turned away from me and made strides to the door.
"Yes, well thank you Abaddon. I'll come around eventually, and I'm glad you found your eye!" Then the door slammed, and a thumping I had noticed in the back of my head had faded. Apparently I had enhanced senses, I'm just really bad at using them.
What did she mean by my eye- Abaddon is a what?!
Quickly repressing that, time to look at my new gains!
{Absolute Control}
[With this ability, you will always use exactly as much force as you want with whatever action you do, supernatural or not.]
{Brewing of Power}
[With this ability, over time your powers will combine themselves and create new offshoots of abilities. The more natural the combination, the faster the ability will take form. It works automatically, on multiple abilities at a time. Through your {Maxed} GD stat, you will be able to keep the baser abilities used.]
[Brewing of Power has combined {Inverse Dominion} and {Free the Self II} to create
{Bestow Freedom}]
{Bestow Freedom}
[All the world has an effect on the mind, to the point nothing can be claimed as not influencing it in some way. So, when contact is made between the user and target, the target for an instant becomes enlightened about the entirety of their mind, and essentially remolds the mind by keeping and discarding whatever influences they decide. Any discarded influences are instead turned into an immunity for the user.]
… Oh fuck the hell yes.
[Glaistig Uaine: +40/100 for being new and nice.]
[+80 Greed, +20 Pride]
I was standing on a rooftop, scrolling on my phone as I waited for my time to occur. I was also texting Parian, who was fussing over me like a mother hen- well, mostly fussing over my new costume.
Considering I had only told her about my name yesterday, I was again reaffirmed that selling my soul was completely worth it. Since my skin was already harder than most armors, we had agreed for a more urban outfitting style. Right now I was wearing a dark shirt and thin jacket combo (It's fucking spring) , with bright stylized red cuts and stitches decorating the outside of the jacket like the cloth itself was bleeding.
Even the shirt was decorated with crossing red and blue lines like veins, and with the back of the jacket decorated with white seams to up it's durability in the shape of a skeleton. Overall, I look like an edgy mess of gore, and I fucking love it. It'll also, hopefully, keep me from having to do PR fronts with kids given how terrifying I look.
Though I did mention something about a 'casual line' of hero clothing so I wouldn't have to change up my style when in my civies, and the look on Parian's face promised a lot of money and pain in my future.
I sighed, and tapped my foot against the brick beneath me, compulsively checking the clock I'd had to update on my phone, and watched as the cars drove past the sole intersection beneath me.
This is the sole place where Coil's hostage car will go in either potential timeline, so if I miss it I'm fucked.
… If the worst comes to pass, I already saved this morning after texting Amy about there being no hard feelings about her shitty excuse for a mother and that she could drop by anytime if she wanted. And being fussed over by Dragon for having an S-Class break into my house.
I made sure not to inform her of what has happened, mostly because the world isn't ready for Dragon to go overprotective on a bitch. And also because that sounds like the start of some bullshit 'Hero civil war' arc and I want no part of that in fucking Worm.
[Preemptive Answer: Target incoming]
I snapped out of that nightmarish fantasy, and looked at the sole car going through the intersection- Is that a Sedan?
I shrugged and stretched out my arms for a second as the car waited for the red light to pass. My eyes sharpened, and I tuned out the world around me for a moment and focused on listening.
Three- no, four thumping, one far faster than the other. Most likely because of a combination of small stature and sheer terror. She was seated between two people in the backseat, and the front was only occupied by the driver, probably having weapons pointed at her to keep her quiet.
I let out a breath, and silently promised I was going to save her.
At that moment, the light turned green and I made my move. I ran to the roof's edge and kicked off towards the car. With my frankly stupid strength, I was already hurtling towards it just as it started revving forward.
The heartbeat of the front driver began to spike, somehow seeing me as I reached out towards the car. When I touched the vehicle, I activated Temporal Reversion and watched as the car turned to a prior state. Specifically, when it was in pieces instead of a whole.
As the car rapidly turned to a mess of unconnected car parts, with the same hand I ripped off the car's ceiling and with a flash of pain unleashed all four tendrils of my kagune. Three tore out the mercenaries (Armed with pistols so as to not attract attention with larger guns for what was essentially a supply run to them) and the fourth gently scooped a twelve year old out and tossed her up into my arms while I harshly flung the other three to the ground.
An extra flip in the air, and I landed on the ground with three heavily concussed mercenaries and a trembling girl in my arms. After placing a 'delicate' touch to ensure all of them were unconscious, I patted myself on my back for a flawless victory.
[+5 Pride]
"Uh… thank you?" Dinah Alcott said, drawing my eye as I looked down to the clearly terrified girl. I put her weight on one of my arms, and reached up to unzip the mouth of my mask, and showed her a comforting smile.
"Don't mention it, it's what heroes do." I nodded at her, and narrowed my eyes as her heartbeat suddenly started fluctuating. "Don't use your power too much, it'll give you headaches." She blinked up at me, and I rolled my eyes at her.
"If you promise not to use your power too much, I'll buy you an ice cream on the way back to your parents, okay?" She nodded timidly, and I made to put her down when she tightened her grip on me instead. Oh great, now I'm forced to carry a small child on my first outing, the Wards are never going to let me live this down. Especially after I said I was going to do a personal assignment before I ditched them to defend the bank.
I swear, if Clockblocker says anything I'm going to coat as much shitty coffee onto his suit as it takes to make him smell like a heavily used coffee table.
Dinah tugged at my arm again, and I looked back at her.
"... Can we get Rocky Road?" She was doing the puppy eyes thing.
I sighed. "Only if you're good."
"Yay." She mumbled tiredly, and I zipped up my mask so no one could see my grimace at the loss of my street cred. I felt her snuggle closer, and I could tell I'd never be seen as cool again after this.
"Your costume looks lame." I doubled over at the assault on my ego. "Oh don't be a baby, you'll get your shirt covered in more tears." Kids really are the worst, I lamented as I pulled myself up from where I slumped over at Vista's brutal attack. After
"I thought it was cool… you guys just don't know style." I complained, whatever respect I'd gotten was turned to ashes as people took pictures of me carrying a drained Dinah to an ice cream shop and posted them online. Hell, my profile picture on PHO was turned into one of sleepy Dinah spilling her ice cream onto my shirt. After that and all those pictures of Dinah's mother thanking me while crying into my chest and holding her daughter (and me, since she refused to leave my grasp for some fucking reason)
I didn't even have an account, but Dragon made one for me just to coo and laugh at.
My PHO name is literally -CookieMonster- and I hate it so much. I will have my revenge, Dragon.
"Yeah, whatever man." Vista scoffed as she walked closer to me. "So, how come they sent you to do the retrieval mission? Not to be that guy but I think you shouldn't have done a hostage situation as your first outing."
My eyes sharpened as I looked into the visored gaze of the veteran cape, before I plastered a smile and walked over to the blonde.
"Don't worry Vis, I promise next time I'll bring my favorite Shaker along for the ride." I said calmly, scooping the smaller girl into a hug, tapping the phone in my pocket thrice.
"Don't speak, there're probably a shit-ton of bugs on you." I whispered in her ear, the unique make of my mask making that possible without mumbling my words to hell and back. "One of the higher ups is a villain so the base is compromised, Dragon's working on reworking the system to shut him out." I made a show of holding her tighter and brushing what hair was exposed. "Bank was a distraction, Dinah was the target. I'm going to be 'detaining' him since I'm barely in the system as is."
Vista returned the hug, and gave a particularly strong squeeze. "Can't take you all with me, super strong Thinker. Only person he can't fuck with in that regard, so it's solo. Promise I'll be back so we can hang out. Always wanted a badass shoulder loli."
The questioning look I got made me laugh and exit the hug.
"Anyways, I'm off. Please don't add to the whole 'Little Girl Magnet' thing Clocker keeps talking about, I will cry." I joked, before turning and walking to the door.
"You better tell me what that means when you get back." I pushed open the door and didn't look back.
"I'll tell you when you're older, short stuff!" I laughed, and comedically ran away as if my mind weren't buzzing with information about Coil's compound.
Because why wouldn't I hit the iron while it's hot?
Note to self, get a stranger power because sneaking into a Thinker-built compound as a normal-ish person fucking sucks. It was only through liberal usage of the System, against my better judgement, that I found myself a route to metaphorically bend Coil's organization at the waist and make it beg for more.
Finally, I came to the place this entire event was going to take place, and I was practically burning with excitement to finally unleash my Wrath. So, I raised my hand and knocked on the metal door.
"... Who is it?" The mercenary with the racing heart asked, like he didn't know exactly what this was.
"Pizza." I said, before my kagune burst open and skewered the man through the door. I pushed the door open and closed with, before taking a second to note the heartbeats around me. Almost fifty, with a single man in a room on the middlemost floor.
I tapped the wall next to me and reversed the building's state to a specific one. Where all the doors were sealed shut, and the wiring wasn't anywhere near finished.
As every light immediately gave out, and the stage was plunged into a dark cage with no hope of escape without a Brute rating, I smiled as my eyes adjusted to the darkness easily.
"God, I love pick up." I said, and the hunt began.
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