Aid Dragon]
[Continue your path]
I didn't even need to explain my thought process.
"'Sup DD?" I answered, continuing to walk towards what once was my destination, saving wordlessly.
"Hey Alby, you mind doing me a favor?" She asked hesitantly, and I almost snorted at that. As if I'd say no after everything she's done. I agreed, and I could hear her perk up. "Great! I need you to break into the courthouse and bullshit them for a while so I can actually get my own case together. Defend the blonde girl tied up like she has a Brute rating. Thanks, love you!" I blinked as she followed that last part with a surprisingly forceful hangup, then pondered where the fuck the Courthouse was.
[Look left.]
I did so and stared dully at the courthouse I had ignored in my ruminations. Along with the echoing of a man's voice inside, and the various heartbeats alongside one that was frantic enough I feared her heart my burst.
"God, I'm gonna look like such an attention whore after this," I complained beneath my breath, before rushing into the courthouse and pushing down every door to get to my surprise goal.
Until finally, I reached the main part of the operation- easily noticed due to the mass of metal restraining the feather-haired blonde and the mass of people now staring at me in shock and confusion.
"Objection!" The vaguely familiar word flew past my lips, and I found myself marching down as I stared down everyone, including the wide-eyed girl they were all attempting to just send to the worst prison on the face of the earth just to wash their hands of the Master.
Though, soon enough, the grown-ass man in the wig regained his composure and started looking severely at me. As if I were a child throwing a tantrum the second I wasn't in the public eye, which I was not going to think about right now.
"... And what exactly are you, an untrained child, objecting to in my court?" I was vaguely surprised why they hadn't called security on me, but then I realized this wasn't Brockton and they probably didn't have people trained in fighting parahumans on staff. So, someone's probably calling the local PRT branch.
… I can feel my paycheck slipping farther and farther from my grasp…
[+5 Greed]
Ignoring that, I shook my head and met the judge's eyes. "This court, this jury, the case in its entirety! I'm objecting to everything that is occurring at this very moment because this has to be the most backward court case in Boston's history!" I noticed the slight increase in heart rate from the judge and hid a smile at Pride Awareness' effectiveness.
"And what, pray tell, gives you the expertise to make such ridiculous claims boy?" I continued walking to the center of the courthouse floor and stood tall.
"Besides the complete and utter contempt you're showing Canary based on the giant metallic object that's been forced onto her?" I spat out venomously, before allowing my kagune to reveal itself to the shock of the judge. "Because, Your Honor, none of you are either capable or qualified to judge her."
Another twitch of the heart let me know my taunts were working- who knew the knowledge of someone's pride could be so damn useful?
"And why am I and my court 'unqualified' to do our jobs and send- sentence Paige Mcabee to her punishment for her crimes?" He spoke warningly as if that speck of Wrath he had was even worth mentioning, never mind actually acknowledging.
"Simple. All of you, raise your hands if you have a degree in Parahuman Studies." I said calmly to everyone in the entire room, and even though five people attempted to raise their hands I could tell by their heartbeat they were lying. Which is a pretty neat power, even though it takes a lot of focus to notice the single out-of-tune beat in the middle of a fucking drum solo. Anyway, with a simple monstrous glare, four liars were silently disciplined and the only person with certified qualifications had everyone's undivided attention.
"... So, the prosecutor is the only person in this room qualified to have a professional stance in this entire courtroom?" I asked dryly, sending another glare to the lying defendant near his so-called client, making him sweat even more, the delicious scent of his fear doing nothing but awakening my hidden ravenous hunger-
[+10 Gluttony]
I shook my head, remembering the breakfast I'd had with Amy (and her magic fingers) while I asked her to hang out with everyone in Parian's shop while I was gone.
Since, well, she has no real friends and there's no room for social parasites in this relationship.
I looked away from the defendant and instead towards the wide-eyed, chained-up appearance of Canary. Honestly speaking, Bitch would probably pop a rage-boner just from the giant muzzle, human or not.
Well, at least it isn't a reverse beartrap… Why the fuck do I know what that is?
Ignoring that weird bit of knowledge in my skull, I did my best to give her a reassuring wink from my inhuman eye. Which probably didn't work, but it was the thought that counted.
"Parahuman lawyers are a rarity, so you cannot expect me to have specialists lying in wait for every single court case that parahumans end up involved in." The judge critiqued, while the other 'professionals' were much less mouthy considering they were in 'parahuman distance' and didn't want any of my attention. I rolled my eyes and continued my argument.
"No, but let's not make this personal, Oh Wig-Wearer. Defendant-" I grit my teeth slightly at the newfound wave of fear that had my stomach awakening in all the right- wrong ways. "Tell me, why is Canary currently bound and gagged like a rabid dog?"
"A-ah, she's a vocal Master, so she won't be able to control anyone this way?" I clicked my tongue, and he straightened his back in fear.
"... If you're thinking like this, this means she's been gagged like this since she was imprisoned out of paranoia? Despite the fact you clearly don't know how her power works?!" My voice rose despite itself, and every person in the room flinched at my tone before I caught myself and sighed.
"Canary, or Bad Canary if you have a stick up your ass, is an auditory-vocal Master. If you listen to her sing, you end up following her commands to the letter when she speaks to you for a bit of time afterward. But by itself, neither her voice nor her music will let her Master you. So to recap, you've all kept a famous woman gagged for hours at best, weeks at worst because you couldn't be damned to read her file. So, either you all are criminally incompetent, secret superfans of her music that listened to it on the way here, or you've been taking a sick pleasure at seeing a beautiful woman tied up for your amusement."
At that, all three of the adult men sputtered at the accusation of a lifetime, and the prosecutor grew enough balls to say something to me. "Excuse me, that is an egregious accusation and I will not sit here and be insulted by a child riding his five minutes of fame to hell and back!"
"Speaking of hell and back, tell me the reason you have for putting Canary, a primary Master parahuman with no Brute-rating or muscles to speak of, in massive and extremely uncomfortable chains that seem more suited for a Brute 4 than a Master." I spoke harshly, recalling what 'training' (elaborate threats on how easily contained I am with the right tools) I received from Piggot, I could recognize a PRT made Brute-Cage by sight. The three assholes flinched, and I continued with a threatening air in my voice.
"So, is it protocol? Choosing paranoia over humane treatment of 'criminals', powers or not? Or is it just a sex thing?" For the second time, the smile beneath my mask was far more terrifying, but before I could actually start having fun tearing these assholes apart with mere words, my phone dinged and suddenly the hologram I know and love appeared in the room.
"Hello! Sorry for Abaddon, he's a bit defensive of parahumans being demonized. I've thankfully made arrangements for this court case to be delayed for a more appropriate time, with a more qualified defendant!" She said happily, only to be met with outrage.
"What?! How dare you! You parahumans, coming into my courthouse, telling me how to do my job after your people came and ruined the entire session! Now you tell me I need to sit down and twiddle my thumbs just to-"
"Three days, seven hours, 13 minutes, and 28 seconds ago the Judge, Prosecutor, and Defendant made a deal with Canary's company to speed her into the Birdcage so her music becomes infamous and much more well known. Well known enough for a… what did her manager call it? A 'musical drug den' with a black market all to its own? As well as ten percent of all proceeds going to three supposedly offshore accounts?" The hologram spoke of all this without ever looking more than her usual, adorable self, but her malice was clear to see.
"But please, tell me again how we ruined this trial?" And that malice was now practically a spotlight considering all the normies flinched at that.
… Honestly speaking, I found Angry Dragon- why am I thinking about blowjobs?- to be very dangerous for my libido, as she doesn't have a hole for me to rail her yet!
[+5 Lust, +5 Greed]
… Yeah, that's fair.
Sitting in front of the courthouse while Dragon gets through bending the judicial system over her knee, I started stretching to get everything back in order.
Alright, that was a weird detour, but I can probably pass the favor along and get Dragon to help me with Accord so it's no issue. Now I'll just take a minute to get out of lawyer mode, despite the most I did being making everyone too distracted and angry to call security. I think.
"Abaddon?" A voice I didn't recognize came from the sidewalk, and I just took one look at the girl and cursed under my breath. They definitely called someone.
"Yo." I raised a hand in greeting to the purple-clad cape- that was holding a crossbow and had a hood and quiver. "Sorry about the whole court-crashing thing, Dragon asked for a favor and I couldn't really say no."
"Oh, don't worry about it, she sent messages explaining the situation before we had even finished reading the message. Though, I should probably take you back to the Boston PRT branch so your Director can yell at you."
"... As tempting as that sounds, I've kinda got a thing I came here to do, so could we rain-check it, cape whose name I don't know?" I asked slowly, holding myself back from imagining all the ways I can pulp a bitch's skull.
"It's Flechette, and I was kinda asked to do this singular thing and I don't want to mess with branch relations just because you asked nicely." She said easily, and I sighed before staring dully at the visor hiding her eyes.
"Piggot." At that, she flinched and hissed between her teeth. God, how bad are our relations that even foreign Wards know how much of a bitch Piggot is?
"... Well, it's not like I can force you to follow me to the base, but I'm ninety percent sure that'll just be worse with a delay." She said as she began walking in the direction I had been planning to go, so I shrugged and followed her.
"I'm a high-speed regenerator that makes crippling, fatal wounds look like paper cuts," I stated, and Flechette winced again. "There's literally nothing I would be willing to do that would make her hate me more." At that, I somehow ended up with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, which was appreciated.
"I'll tell 'em I just missed you." Never mind, I appreciate that far more.
"You're the best, Chetty." I held back a snicker at the obvious distaste for the nickname and turned to leave, before pausing. "... Do you get the whole 'edgelord' schtick too?"
"Oh my god, it isn't just me!" She breathed out in relief, and I continued to hold back laughter at the dork with the crossbow behind me. "Oh shut it, you look way worse, even though it's completely tactical!" I snorted and turned back around.
"Well up yours too, Chetty." With that, I did my civic duty of making a dramatic exit via a superpowered leap to the air. Backward and away from the clearly awed Flechette and the random civilians- oh my god I'm gonna look like such an attention whore.
Once more lamenting my stillborn reputation, I traveled the city of Boston with style and grace. By that, I mean I did parkour until my excessive momentum bled off and stealth could resume!
… I basically just went back to walking after gravity got tired of me playing keep-away. But, without any interruptions (aside from a notification about Paige's gratitude) and the 'strongest' Thinker power in this universe, it was downright trivial to find my favorite mob boss- no, that's Lisa.
… My favorite psycho- right, Glaistig, fuck. Damn, I'm apparently terrible at maintaining my gaggle of girls who'd turn me to gore if I have so many favorites for everything.
… Favorite Warlord- Taylor, fuck.
As I continued to discover I already had a girl for every superhero fetish, I seemingly wandered about aimlessly into the business district of Boston, which was understandably huge with the masses of manmade mountains of glass and steel surrounding me on every side.
It would be more impressive if I couldn't tear it all apart with my bare fucking hands like it was all made of cardboard and wet paper.
In any case, I eventually made my way to a specifically unremarkable building, save its apparent complete symmetricity compared to its neighbors. I rang the buzzer at its front and smiled behind the mask at the camera as I saved.
"Hello! I'm Abaddon if you didn't know, and I'd like to make a formal appointment with your real boss. At about right the fuck now o'clock if you please." My Wrath has become almost second-nature to use at this point, and oh so useful if the silence from the girl who was currently pissing herself was any example.
I can't way to learn to use the rest.
[+5 Greed]
"... And if I were to ask you to leave, Mister Big Damn Hero?" Oh, I liked her. She was bold. Stupid, but bold. "I don't believe you'd be willing to go far enough to kill our men if refused."
Accord(?)'s Exponential Strategizing has been negated!
Just like her boss. "Oh, you're right. I wouldn't kill them." My hidden smile twisted, and my eye twisted into a hellish inversion of itself, red eyes gleaming in front of abyssal, cracked black. "No matter how much they begged."
Silence hung in the air, a tension that I could oh so easily turn into a death grip. And they knew it, which is why the door easily opened and a polite woman who stank of sweat led me to a hidden elevator.
With a press of a button and the shutting of a door, I was on my way to accomplishing half my goals of the day. With a stranger by my side.
{Secretary POV}
Nikki had been with Accord as long as anyone has, far longer than most as his unofficial 'Right Hand' despite her usual appearance as eye candy at best. She liked to think she understood both her leader and the cape game by now.
It was simple- letting the kids and idiots play their game of high-stakes cops and robbers was practically the name of the game for any 'supervillain' who wanted to make a change in this childish fantasy that was now their nightmare. The kids would fight for the approval and acceptance of their higher-ups, hero or villain. The idiots would let their game get personal despite the lack of actual stakes or risks for anyone who broke the rules they made.
The kids would look at the idiots in the way only a traumatized child would look at any role model they could find. The idiots would look at each other the way only two exes seeing each other at their highest points could. While in the background, the real heroes, the people actively trying to change the world, would do something.
Not like the PRT, who turned away so many who could've done something to make this world better. Not with how many capes they had, after all, how could all of them be only useful for 'fighting' criminals? No matter how terrifying the Endbringers were, only a fool would think them the only threat to society, to humanity itself.
No, its greatest threat would always be itself, as she was experiencing now that she stood to a schoolboy that was, to put it bluntly, testing every bit of her bladder control every second she stood next to him in this cramped elevator.
Abaddon, the newest celebrity of Brockton fucking Bay. Better known as his civilian guise, Kris Ashton. Recorded as a Brute 4.5, Breaker 1, and Master 2, specifically characterized with a combination of a monstrous pain tolerance bordering on immunity with an unprecedented regeneration ability. Supposedly requires human flesh to fully operate his powers and is reported to be an unrepentant glory hound with a penchant for over-the-top speeches packed with enough charisma to scare Piggot into slapping a Master rating on the kid.
His information was easy to recall, considering it was the last thing they received from their moles and that she had to sort through fucking essays worth of bias from Piggot. Seriously, her 'addition' read like a particularly well-written diary from a moody teen ready to hatefuck her asshole crush/bully.
No, she was not speaking from experience.
In any case, what information they could get made him out to be a particularly fucked up, hyper-violent Case 53. Nothing special in the long run, until he eventually went villain through Piggot finally pissing off the wrong cape and getting murdered. Or her 'putting his filthy parahuman mouth' to good use.
She shuddered at the thought, drawing the demonic eye of Abaddon.
Again, the strength of her bladder was tested, and she immediately distracted herself by analyzing the situation. Damn Accord and his long, intimidating elevator rides.
Nothing in their files matches up with a boy able to somehow discover the location of a villain he's never heard of before, except Armsmaster's early additions of adding a rating in all categories after he got cucked by Abaddon and Dragon.
Nikki swore up and down the Brockton Bay parahuman files read like a particularly fucked up high school drama and that Abaddon just broke up the 'power couple' just by working at Dragon's part-time job. Which just shows how much 'power' the two tinkers actually had.
-Nevermind that! The important part is, there's absolutely nothing to imply that Abaddon is the type to infiltrate 'criminal' organizations on a whim!
… Unless he was the one whose behind Coil's radio silence. After he saved the child he wanted kidnapped.
… Alright, Nikki was becoming much less sure of her boss' taste in friends at this point. Among other things.
Suddenly a ding rang out, and the secretary's legs almost gave out when the door finally opened and she was no longer rubbing arms with the extremely horrifying cannibal. He walked out without a care, as if he were just going about a chore instead of infiltrating and threatening a dangerous group of criminals singlehandedly.
She took in grateful breathes in the spot she was rooted in, nowhere near ready to deal with him for any period of time, let alone with her borderline-psychotically bipolar boss as the hard place to the rock.
But then he stopped walking away and spared her a glance. "Not to be insensitive, but you're going to need to be here for this, so…" She didn't even realize he'd moved until after his hand had moved from her shoulder, and she was suddenly far too composed for what's happening to her.
Nikki tried her best to hide her immediate suspicion but was seen through easily. "That's better. Keep that look in your eye, and there'll be something beyond fear for you at the end of the day." He chuckled and extended the same hand to her.
…The fact she was even considering taking it made it clear that Piggot wasn't completely talking out of her ass.
Soon enough she followed behind him, leading him through the empty hallways, considering Accord's tendency to murder anything that wasn't completely in place. Including furniture.
By the end, a single door was all that stood between the 'hero' and Accord. He took a breath, put his hand on the knob, and yanked it open while stepping to the side. It would seem foolish, if not for the gunshot that tore through the spot any normal person would be after opening a door.
Nikki forced down any shaking as Kris calmly strode in despite the murder attempt, and followed while cursing the Ward for not even warning her of the threat.
"I appreciate the gang-lord traditional greeting, Accord." He spoke dryly to the masked man holding a smoking gun as if it were just a prop. "Really, it reminds me of Coil. He did that exact same thing when I visited him."
An ungodly crack rang out, and the cape's head snapped backward along with the pistol's bucking. Accord was heaving, a sign he was in one of his all-to-familiar rages again, and Nikki was distinctly aware her meticulous appearance had been most likely disheveled due to the events of today.
That was the only reason she was relieved when the Case 53 rolled his neck and peeled the bullet off his forehead. He rolled the flattened piece of lead between fingers, but with a sudden flick of his hand, the gun in Accord's was sent flying off somewhere.
"Don't be cranky just because I put your best friend exactly where he deserves to be." He scolded, like a parent to a child, which only coaxed more rage from the Thinker.
"You're the reason Coil is gone?!" He yelled, fury plain to see, causing Kris to raise an eyebrow before nodding with a sarcastic look in his eye somehow. "You motherfucker!" At that, Accord jumped out of his seat and made to fight Kris with his bare hands in his rage.
The non-combative Thinker who's never been in a fistfight in his life where he didn't have the advantage, went to go hand-to-hand with the Brute who beat Lung on his first outing.
Needless to say, the enraged man sobered very quickly when the Ward lifted him up by his throat with the ease of a child lifting up a doll. His eyes shifted back to that of a demon's, gazing into Accord's eyes with nothing but twisted amusement to be shown.
"I was actually planning on letting you talk because that was the least I could do." He started calmly, even as Accord's rage exploded at the sight of the mismatched eyes he had. That was cut off as his hand squeezed and the cracks of the Thinker's neck rang out in the room. "I mean, it wouldn't have changed what I was going to do, but it's the spirit of it. And with that opportunity, you've done everything Coil did, besides pissing yourself. So, now I'll talk and you'll shut the fuck up and listen."
Nikki reeled away, the absolute animosity in his words making every instinct she never knew she had scream to huddle and hope he didn't notice her.
Accord was thankfully too frightened to piss off the superhuman cannibal and hung in his grasp like a particularly limp stray. "Accord, at first I thought you were another person to save- with a power built to make lazy people overlook your ideas despite everything, I assumed you were just a guy who tried his best and couldn't stop no matter what. I respected the dedication, however morally bankrupt it is." Nikki prepared herself for the other shoe to drop.
"And then I realized that you were the one that helped organize a child's kidnapping and drugging as a favor." The secretary's blood ran cold. "And I realized I'd fallen into old, idolizing habits. You aren't some nobleman sacrificing their own humanity for what he thought was right. Nothing like that exists in Earth Bet, and if it did it wouldn't be anywhere near Brockton."
He pulled the man closer and spoke so calmly Nikki almost couldn't hear what damning words escaped his lips. "You're a bastard who'll do anything to prove the people who doubted you were wrong. You tried to save the world with your power, and when no one listened you decided to go out and save it yourself, just to prove you could. It didn't matter how many people died, or who could've been saved. You just wanted the world to praise you, admit that you were right, and just maybe lick the dirt off your boots on command."
Tellingly, Accord did nothing against the claims, not even shake or move in refusal. No, it was the truth, no matter how aware of it anyone was.
"So!" Accord was flung out from his hand as if he'd just realized something disgusting had found its way onto it. Kris then clapped cheerily, an over-exaggeration that just made him all the more frightening. "Instead of whatever I would've come up with if you weren't the kind of garbage that trades lives for shits and giggles, you and your organization are on probation. Keep your nose clean, give me your information from time to time, and we can pretend today never happened!"
Nikki blinked. "R-really?"
"Oh fucking hell no!" He responded with just as much cheer as he turned to the man groaning in agony on the floor. "Congratulations, you and your organization have been forcefully inducted into the Guild. We offer memberships that come with discounts in stores on most continents, a free pass on taxes, and caskets sized for every member who thinks they can escape me. And many more, but let my adorable senior tell you all about it." And with a snap of his fingers, a projection came to life in the middle of the room.
"Hello!" Spoke the strongest Tinker in the world. "I'm Dragon if you didn't know. We at the Guild are grateful to take you in as our prisoner, Accord. But, before that let me tell you all about our work benefits!"
With that, Nikki was in a weird position where she couldn't be sure who in the room she feared more, but the cannibal turning his attention back to her was probably a good place to start.
"Anyways, since Dragon is basically bullying your boss into turning himself in, we should make it clear what'll happen to his organization." He rolled the wrist that had held the villain by his neck. "Since you're the closest thing to a right-hand he actually had, you're the new boss 'round these parts. What are you going to do with it?"
Nikki froze. His organization was now hers? Well, it wasn't as if anyone would contest his claims considering how he had Dragon on fucking speed dial for some god-forsaken reason! But, she was the boss now. The boss of the biggest criminal organization in Boston-
One that helps kidnap and drug schoolgirls, and has probably done much more horrific things that he wasn't going to tell her. She bit her lip, realizing that the 'heroism' of Accord and his organization was just a lie to bring the more 'noble' criminals under his thumb. That was the only reason she ever lasted as long in that line of work, where your actions to save lives may take just as many.
If all of that was a lie, they were as bad as any gang. Worse even, because they were naive enough to think they were in the right.
… It was becoming obvious what she was going to do.
"Make his lie our truth." He smiled beneath his mask, the expression only clear by his eyes that were no longer mismatched gates to hell.
"Kinda cheesy, but I don't think I get to say that. So, how do you feel about being in the pocket of a hero?" He asked, a tantalizing offer emanating from just his voice, to make all the time she'd wasted mean something.
… He definitely earned that Master rating.
{Kris POV}
Letting the lingering Wrath escape from me, I followed the directions to the Travellers that Dragon oh so lovingly procured for me from that jackass Accord. I was honestly ashamed that I really considered making a deal with him, knowing what he actually was behind all the proclamations of heroism- the kind of sick bastard who trades innocent lives on a fucking whim.
[+5 Wrath]
I sighed again, trying to force my rage down with composure. I had already handed him to Dragon so she could reverse-engineer something based on his powers. And an AI capable of stupidly complex plans is practically the standard for all of science fiction.
My mood returned to neutrality, I continued sifting through the abandoned warehouses that Accord had said he'd lent the gaggle of bargain bin villains in preparation for the meeting they'd requested.
The fact Accord actually took meetings was hilarious, but I still had shit to do today. I attempted to sniff them out, but everything smelt far from humanoid, which wasn't surprising given all the grease and oil.
I also couldn't exactly pin down their location- their heartbeats combined with the echoing warehouses and alleyways made it annoying to try and pin it down.
"... This is definitely a trap." The only way to make this less of an obvious… what's the word- boss battle, would be if it were night. But it's not even close to sunset, and I have night vision, so this is the best they're gonna get when it comes to jumping me.
But, just to be polite, Imma spring this trap like a motherfucker.
"Yo, Travellers! I know you're there, I just want to have a chat with you. Make some friends, save some lives, typical hero shit you know?" My words flowed easily as I kept an eye out for the rest of the baby villains. From what I know, their stealth capabilities are limited to Trickster's weight-based and Perdition's rewind ability, if four seconds ago wouldn't have gotten them caught. Which is canceled out with Sundancer's literal pocket-star.
With Ballistic's stupid range, Sundancer's inadvertent spotlight, and Noelle's issues there was no way for them to easily escape their base when I spot them. So either they try to kill me…
Actually, that's probably the only option Trickster will try. Fuck me, why does no one actually use the rules?
Suddenly, I heard a heartbeat begin to skyrocket far to close for comfort. I turned around and found some jackass standing on top of a roof with a rock in his outstretched hands.
Then the bit of rock was sent hurtling towards my head, and I swung my fist, sending the broken shards flying-
[Perdition(?)'s Reversal has been negated!]
-does no one actually, what? Oh, fuck me.
With that warning in mind, I made the intelligent decision to turn around and glare at the now-rearmed bastard and attempt to find the other one. After all, while the lot of them were extremely powerful, most of them had particularly shitty range.
Combine that with the skill to differentiate between echoing heartbeats when a clear example was right in front of me, trying to maim me at the very least?
I found the broken stone shards on the ground, kicked up a couple into the air, and flicked the sharpened shrapnel at both Ballistic and the little bitch hiding down in the alleyway with the force of a pistol shot. He attempted to dodge, but no one expects the ricochet.
With a wimpy scream, the already invalidated opponent was completely written off, and when Ballistic looked over to his friend in concern, I made my move. With my absurd strength, combined with my ability to control that strength so no one gets injured from the shockwave, I leaped off the ground and at Ballistic, who hadn't reloaded yet.
Frozen at the shock of a hero hurtling at him at an absolutely terrifying speed, it was no issue whatsoever to hit the fucker with a lariat and shift the move into a chokehold. "Alright, let's try this again. Travelers, I'm here to have a talk, not try and force you all into prison. Because, y'know, that's what heroes do!"
No response came immediately, and I shrugged while tightening my hold on Ballistic, making sure nothing easily detachable was in his reach while he slowly began to lose consciousness. I tapped my foot idly on the steel roof, waiting patiently while monitoring the echoes of the strike using my new Audiokinesis to expand my understanding of how to track echoing heartbeats.
It was only through the conscious monitoring of that noise that I immediately noticed when something else was suddenly on the roof I was on because I didn't smell anything, and I could barely hear a heartbeat. I whirled around to try and attack whatever was there, and immediately took note of the horrific-looking thing that was now there.
It was a hybrid of a cyclops and a spider, with one massive green eye in the center, and a giant pale man's torso with the biggest, meatiest arms I'd ever seen shooting off in an arachnid set of eight limbs. Each arm looked like it was injected with every steroid in the world, especially the ones not meant for human usage, and had an odd cushioning pad on the palms which was most likely the reason it could sneak up on me.
But I'd be remiss to ignore the giant spider ass that was currently being pointed in my direction. "That's fucking horrifying," I idly commented, internally berating myself for forgetting about the fucking shapeshifter before immediately jumping as far away as I could from it, which was to the warehouse behind me.
A weird gurgling sound came from the creature, and I then realized it didn't have a mouth just as a weirdly green string was shot out at me. I dodged, obviously, but then the string turned mid-air and followed me until I jumped away.
Alright, that's going to be annoying.
[Preemptive Answer: Killing the construct won't hurt or otherwise traumatize Genesis(?), but it may put a bit of a shock into her system when she wakes up.]
Fuck her system.
Squeezing Ballistic's neck with my forearm, I dropped his wheezing yet still conscious body onto the warehouse and leaped off the roof and back to the one Genesis was still on. It's- her eye was still on Ballistic, but then flickered back up to where I was before she arched the construct's 'waist' and aimed the spider ass at me again.
Green string was fired at me again, but with my fucking stupid balance it wasn't an issue to dodge the close-range shot mid-air. And while I may not know how her construct works, by the widening of her sole-eye, I think she won't be able to hit me before I get in range.
Surely enough, a flip in the air later and I was now on the construct's back, its eye-rolling back to look at me as I grinned behind my mask. The construct didn't have too many easily available vital areas that I could see, so I was going to have to go full nightmare fuel in return.
"But I'm worse," I spoke, eyes locking as my right one shifted into its cracked unholy black. And before she got the chance to lament her lack of mouth to scream, my kagune tore itself out of my back and barraged the torso with flurries of thrusts and was only mildly disappointed the assault barely lasted five seconds before it just popped out of existence.
[Genesis(?)'s Sleeping Construct has been negated]
Oh… I probably can't use that then. Well, that's a bit disappointing.
With an unenthused sigh, I looked over to Ballistic, who was still wheezing on the roof. A hop later, he was now being carried over my shoulder while I scanned the rest of the warehouses, somehow still intact despite the fights I'd just gone through.
"Alright, third time's the charm. Converse or combat, I don't care which." I spoke easily, and finally, someone walked out. He was blonde, particularly pale, and seemed like me raising my voice would give him a panic attack, but who gives a shit I'll take it.
"I-I-I'll take you to the rest." Thankfully he got all his stuttering out with the first word, and without delay, I jumped down and followed him, Ballistic still on my shoulder. We didn't talk as we walked, though Oliver kept glancing back at me, and I watched as his eyes began to darken and his build became lither.
[Oliver's Self-Perfection has been negated!]
I didn't hesitate to let him continue copying my figure for himself, since Trickster is obviously leading me into another trap that completely depends on Oliver shifting enough to have a similar build to me. I mean, 'trickster' is literally his name, I don't know why I expected an easy surrender from him.
At least I'll be able to blitz the lot of them if they try anything beyond the good old switcheroo. Which is why I was completely caught off-guard when the single warehouse that was apparently the source of all the heartbeats held an attractive girl holding a star threateningly towards the long-haired, smarmy-looking guy that was probably Trickster.
In the background, there was also a guy nursing an arm with a suspiciously rock-shaped stab wound in his arm, and a girl sitting in a wheelchair with a wary look in her eyes that was shared between both me and Trickster.
Wow, haven't been here five minutes and I've already gotten everyone against Trickster. I love it when a plan comes together.
"So, is there anywhere I should put Ballsy here, or…?" With that, everyone either snorted or glared at my words. Genesis, who was surprisingly the former, pointed at a ruffled bed to her right. Probably where she woke up from me beating up her construct.
With that, I made the obvious decision not to throw the half-conscious hostage like a basketball, despite how tempting the idea was. Instead, I walked like a civilized cannibal, thank you very much.
"Cool. Anyway, I'm Abaddon, Junior Guildmember and aspiring hero-"
"We saw the video, so how the fuck do you know about Noelle?" Genesis asked me, trying to be intimidating despite me being able to bench her entire team at once if I didn't care about their safety let alone their lives.
"Accord knew a guy that was going around kidnapping and drugging elementary schoolers to enhance his army so he could take over Brockton and then the world. He was… 'captured' and Dragon used her bullshit techno knowhow to trace him back to Mister Psycho OCD. We interrogated him for any more fucked shit he was involved in, and low and behold we found you guys." I explained easily as I put Ballistic onto the bed, ignoring the mix of hate and terror he looked at me with.
"And why the fuck should we believe you'd be able to help?" I turned and looked at the sassy, auburn-haired 'villain' and raised an eyebrow.
"Were you born unable to walk or was it because of a disease or accident?" I asked tactlessly, listening to the thumping heartbeat of Trickster which could either mean this is an actual betrayal on their part or this is another trick and he is currently shitting bricks since I'm falling for it. Then I remember he's being held up by a star, which is most likely preventing him from seeing jackshit, and let the thought go as Genesis finished sputtering indignantly.
"Fuck you!" She replied intelligently, and for a split second, I thought I heard a snicker.
"It happened after." The walking solar flare added helpfully.
"Marissa!" Genesis added, probably offended at her friend spilling her secrets to a stranger, which was fair.
"The boys tried to kill him, it's the least I could do." Marissa defended herself, letting the star hanging in the air, making me remember that I should probably be melting from this. Guess she has a non-lethal mode that basically just the ultimate flashlight. Neat
"Thanks, Sunny." I turned back and 'accidentally' caught an eyeful of solar energy.
[Marissa's Star Generation has been negated!]
Immediately turning off the negation field so my singular Trump card doesn't get exposed, I walked over to Genesis. She eyed me suspiciously for a second, before I flicked her in her freckled forehead with Reversion, making her flinch away.
"Ow!" She complained, and I rolled my eyes before unceremoniously tapping my knuckles to her knee.
"Hey!" She immediately complained as her knee raised up to her hands, cupped over it protectively as scared I go for seconds. "What do you think you're-" She paused, and slowly looked over to her currently raised up knee and the leg attached to it.
"Showing I can heal people," I commented blithely and turned to the downright shocked members of the peanut gallery. "That is one of the powers I keep hidden- an ability to heal people I touch. I can't use it as often as Panacea, but I specialize in reverting things to a prior state. I promise, I'll heal Noelle, but you need to trust me for this."
I looked at the Travellers, and not a single one of them wasn't willing to risk everything on me, not even Trickster. I guess healing a lifelong ailment instantly is pretty fucking convincing.
After sending a message to Dragon about if the worse comes to pass, and saving just in case, they took me down a hidden hatch at the bottom of the warehouse and towards where they held Noelle.
It wasn't a long walk, but with their boss blindfolded and being dragged about by Marissa, with Ballistic and Perdition seemingly in the doghouse with him, it was a very awkward walk.
So, I distracted myself the only way I knew how- talking to the sassy freckled girl.
"Why don't you use your healing on more people? Why Noelle?" She 'interrogated' me while I carried her and her wheelchair along the way. I sighed.
"When I said I can only use my powers so often, I meant I can only use it three times at once, and I plan on using it on people who need the most physical… 'realignments'. And for Noelle… a lot of people's powers are cruel to the person, rubbing in the salt of their mental wounds. She's got a raw deal, and I couldn't just sit back and let her suffer when I could do something. Also, if she ever lost control the destruction would only be comparable to Endbringers."
She gulped at the damning image of what her friend was capable of, and the silence was much less awkward now. Unfortunately.
"...We're here." Marissa suddenly added from the front, and then I saw it. The massive cage I assumed Accord either made for her or just had lying around for storage, had bars numerous and thick enough that only a particular thin toddler could hope of shimmying out of. And by the mass of various animal parts growing out of what I could barely recognize as a woman, Noelle definitely wasn't breaking out of that.
[+50 Gluttony]
Damn, just by walking in I can feel my stomach begging me to feast on the walking meatbags right around me. I ignored it, of course.
"Meat?" Her voice escaped from various throats that were constantly shifting and twisting into caricatures of animals. My stomach twinged just hearing the hunger in her voice.
"NO-" Perdition spoke out before Ballistic elbowed him and he instead bit down on his cry of pain.
"Actually, we got you a friend! He's going to be able to help you!" Marissa immediately passed it off to me at the first chance she got. Not that I blamed her, seeing a bunch of assorted animal parts twitching out of your friend is probably horrifying.
So, I walked up in front of the lot of them and waved. "Hey Noey, I'm Abaddon. I'm going to be your hero for this evening." I smiled, trying to be as charming as possible so she didn't lose herself.
"Meat?" I blinked as I noted that she was steadily growing bigger, for some fucking reason.
[Preemptive Answer: Due to being completely foreign biologically to Echidna's Shard, despite prior scans, its fractured programming is forcing its host's brain to view Kris as the most appealing thing in every possible way]
… So this is what it's like on the other side- wait, every way?
[Yes, every way]
And then I noticed the unmistakable smell of a barnyard in spring and looked upon the horrific visage of Echidna, and the various sets of animal genitalia appearing out of the bottom.
"I will never unsee this." I stated dully as everyone else was frozen in pure panic, right before the equivalent of every animal on the planet began rushing to the entrance of the cage, every penis and vagina red and throbbing, with every set of eyes locked onto me.
"MEAT!" She cried out as the cage immediately crumbled beneath her full-bodied tackle.
[Recommendation: Run]
I did as the System commanded, unleashed my tendrils and fucking sprinted back out the tunnel we came from, the mating cries of every animal on earth following me far too close for my tastes.
When we were eventually, thankfully, out of the tunnel and back into the open air while Noelle was digging herself back out these jackasses had something to say.
"I thought you were going to heal her!" Trickster spoke for the first time of the night, and I immediately snapped at his high-pitched whining.
"My healing is a Striker power, and I am not getting close to the giant horse dick that wants to fuck me in an enclosed space." I put down the Travellers, or whatever these fuckers were going to call themselves before taking a breath to try and calm down. "Alright, you guys are going to go and report this to the remnants of Accord's gang, see if they can start their new rep by helping evacuate a city in the middle of an S-Rank attack. I'm going to finish my job."
With that, I turned over to what was soon to be Echidna's Crater, only to end up smacked upside my head. I looked over to Genesis, who was now standing with her hand still raised up.
"Are you crazy?! You're going to… deal with Noelle alone?!" She screeched, hiding concern within her rage at my apparent stupidity. I looked at her like she was crazy.
"Yeah? She's holding out for a hero, and everyone else won't make it in time to stop her. And even then, no one else will be able to save her. What the hell else do you think I would do?" I looked at the lot of them, most wanted to get the hell away from here like a reasonable person with functioning survival instincts. Though the two women were far less willing to let logic get in their way.
So, I sacrificed tact in response.
"Listen, even if killing her was the only option, none of us have the firepower to put her out of her misery." They flinched at the thought process, thankfully not noticing my eyes flickering to Marissa. "And even if that were the only option, I don't think any of you have the guts to kill her, or you would've done it already. So just fucking run and let me do my fucking job!"
My words were tainted by my irritation at the entire situation, mostly because despite the fact Marissa could most definitely murder Noelle I wasn't about to risk any of them in a fight against a clone of me. Because even in the most unlikely scenario, I refuse to risk anyone to a less moral ghoul.
Also, I can barely trust myself to defend Noelle from whatever clones that pop up out of her, and they're all instinctively trained to protect her.
"... Don't die on us, Abaddon." Was that the first time a villain's ever called me by name? Probably not, but I snorted anyway as the other men yoinked up Genesis and followed after the running Marissa.
"Don't you know?" I called back cheerfully before my kagune spread out in preparation for my newest bout of madness. "Tentacles are super effective against schoolgirls." And with that and an intensified shaking of the ground, Noelle came bursting out from beneath the warehouse she had been caged in and causing the nearby structures to cave in and create a depression surrounding where Echidna stood.
I rolled my joints as Echidna began raging out from the effort of digging herself out of concrete, considering my plan.
It was simple, stupid, reckless, and fit my 'attention whore' tendencies to a tee. I manipulated the liquid muscle that flowed out of my back into the ground and tensed before moving a bit backward until the rest of my kagune were braced so I could properly aim myself.
And, as was tradition for fighting a giant kaiju monster far beyond my capabilities, I made my war cry.
"Suprise bitch!" With that, Echidna turned towards me, just as I used every bit of strength I could force out to fling myself at her as fast as I could. As I hurtled through the air, the thought of asking Ballistic for help on this before sending him away came to mind, but too late for that.
Now, Echidna was a damn strong parahuman, given she's a fucking S-Rank threat. She's a stupid good tactician for being the captain of a video game club, deceptively clever, and will absolutely abuse every single inch that you give her.
The downside that is only prevalent if you have the ability to actually defeat her is that she loses all tactical know-how the more… rabid she ends up over time while using her power. Or… if her Shard sees you as a particularly interesting shiny and forces her brain to overload on chemicals to make her attempt to add you to its database the old-fashioned way.
That, and the only real physical abilities she has are the stupid regeneration and massive mass to throw around like a kaiju. Other than that, she has the physical skill and reflexes of an anorexic high school gamer girl- meaning enough that almost every other character could be her ass in an actually even fight. Combine that with having the combined higher intelligence of a smoked beehive, and it was no wonder that the living projectile wasn't deflected or caught.
The best I could give her was that her every limb immediately went to cover her face and that she attempted to move out of the way, which was oddly adorable to think about- ah, pheromones, fuck this.
The tendrils trailing behind lashed out to one of the covered limbs to hit her with a double-tap of Temporal Reversion and Bestow Freedom. And from where I touched, the monster the likes of which could only be compared to an Endbringer was twisted into the form of a beautiful (and nude) girl falling to the ground.
I gently pulled her towards me, as I quickly fell to the edge of the crater. With an impromptu decision to wrap her in the dark and red tendril like a barrier, we crashed into the ground, where I was forced to be the landing mat.
I unwrapped the unconscious parahuman, a girl with straight brown hair, and calmly wrapped the girl in the jacket I wore for my costume- not like I really needed it on a spring afternoon, especially with the new opponents still waiting for me.
[Noelle's Cloning has been negated!]
In hindsight, hitting the living cloning device with a literal fuckton of the singular thing that differentiates ghouls and everything else was the worse possible decision I could've made. Despite my faults, there were three naked versions of myself standing from where they were dropped out of Echidna's body.
I could smell them. This scent is unlike any I've ever experienced before, yet the most familiar scent I've ever smelt. Like the clinging scent of cinnamon that you can never recognize until you find a different source. This was the scent of my kind, my people, myself.
I'd never known I smelt so delicious.
[+75 Gluttony]
My repressed hunger was suddenly interrupted by the indescribable sensation of growing a sixth tendril, the new addition to my predatory organ ripping itself out of my back in an annoying fashion.
Especially considering I just spilled blood in front of the… I'll be generous and say half-baked cannibalistic clones that find me just as delicious as I do them, probably more since they've never smelt anything to compare me to.
I was not surprised when they began rushing towards me, drool trailing out of the familiar mouths and their right eyes shifting into their kakugan. What surprised me was the appearance of their kagunes. One came out of his shoulder and swirled around his forearm until it ended in a sharp, black blade with a throbbing red center. Another had a black tail come out of his tailbone, sharp red spines adorning it, but the one I truly gave a damn about was the one in the back of the charge.
Black and red wings sprouted out from his upper back, shifting and sputtering like a living flame, the mists of excess blood and RC Cells wafting off like smoke from every edge. It was the most beautiful murder organ I've ever seen.
"I want that!"
[+50 Greed, +50 Envy]
I then remembered that they were trying to kill and eat me, and I immediately came up with another plan. I kicked up one of the numerous shattered bits of concrete and sent it hurtling into the tailed clone of myself.
The bit of stone, which would've completely shattered on my skin, instead punched all the way through his stomach and out his back leaving a hole straight through him.
As if possessed, my clones immediately abandoned their assault on me to attack their sibling, who stumbled and was immediately set on the ground where they began digging their teeth into his shoulders.
Scrambling, Tail tried to fight back despite the gaping wound, wildly clawing and screaming at the two stronger versions of myself. They ignored him, descending down on him and tearing off whatever bits of flesh they could get without getting clawed or swiped at.
For a few seconds, all I could watch as the versions of me that were just pure instinct tried their best to devour each other. It was like watching hyenas devouring one of their own at the first sight of weakness. Their cries mixed unendingly in my mind, and I could only numbly appreciate the fact that Noelle was unconscious as I gently put her down and walked over to my clones.
With a punch each, the two 'predators' were put to the ground and off Tail, who almost immediately turned and tried to put his teeth around Blade's throat. It was convenient since it only took a single stomp to the back of Tail's head to kill both of them. But before the two of them, I turned over to Wings who was trying to scoot away on his stomach. Like I was the monster here.
I laughed dryly before I did what I needed to. I dug my teeth into his upper back, right where I knew his kagune was and swallowed the organ whole right before I let my Gluttony eclipse everything else.
It was odd, eating. My brain just automatically skimmed over the act, like I had finished eating in the span of a blink. Did I do that when I could eat human food? I can't even remember anymore.
In the end, in the crater of Boston, Echidna was unmade and three clones were killed before they could get the chance to be more than made animals.
… And all I could feel was disappointment. In myself, or my clones… Hell, maybe both.
Either way, I knew I was already tired of Boston, and I would kill Piggot myself if she even mentioned what happened here.
I was apparently so clearly done with today that when I ignored the paparazzi that I eventually ran into after walking away from the crater and dropping off Noelle with the rest of the Travellers, none of the PRT said anything. I waved at Fletchette, threatened Nikki's gang about what I'd do if anything happened to the Travellers, and was thankfully greeted by a Mouse Protector who knew when to shut her mouth.
In an instant, I was back in the PRT, where besides a couple of comforting pats on my back and shoulders from Assault, Batter, and Miss Militia, I was left to walk freely back to my house. Barely capable of discretion, I somehow managed to sneak off and civie up on the way to my house.
Honestly, I was completely mentally worn out for the day and wanted more than anything to just cuddle up with Amy, Vicky's sibling protectiveness be damned.
And, for those next few hours that was exactly what I did. Snuggled up with Amy on our (my) couch, and watched the tv I didn't remember ever getting.
It was perfect, and I was slowly becoming capable of high brain function again. At least, enough to not curse out loud when Amy told me something absolutely horrible, the worst thing she could've possibly told me.
"Vicky invited us for a double date tonight." I withheld a groan because I just realized Amy technically put out before the first date and I was obligated to take her out on another date. And also because Vicky lives here, and once I'm recovered enough (probably tomorrow) she'll start badgering me about doing shit.
God, this is the worst possible timeline.
"Sure, but you're sleeping in my bed tonight." I made her promise, and she rolled her eyes with a blush on her freckled face.
"You drive a hard bargain." She snarked, and we both chuckled for a second before she gave me an even more concerned look than the one she gave me when I first came back. "We can do it later if you're still tired, really. Vicky and Dean… Dean will definitely understand." I rolled my eyes in returned and nudged her arm with my elbow.
I blame my exhaustion for the next thing that came out of my mouth.
"Hey, it's fine, what's the worst that could happen?" Then I remembered the last time that sentence was said before a dinner we shared and straightened up as Amy gave me an irritated glare. I raised my hands defensively in response, which only made her glare harder.
We stayed like this for a while, until a snicker escaped Amy, and soon enough we were both a laughing mess, arms wrapped around each other as we eased off our laughter. Which is where I saved, because I knew Earth Bet a bit better by now and knew I was going to pay for this later.
Until then, I had a double date to prepare for.
Actions