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Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Discussion in 'Creative Writing' started by TanaNari, Jan 10, 2015.

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  1. Inverness

    Inverness The Foxiest Wife

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    Since Eden is dead the Simurgh is now the fattest bitch in the galaxy.
    Leviathan is plenty strong enough to jump from the Moon to Earth even without using his water.

    With his water I'm sure he could make like a rocket ship.
    If Leviathan is fighting like Skitter then he isn't in the city at all and will just keep spamming tidal waves at the city until it is destroyed.
    They don't respond to gravity "as normal mass would" because their mass exists in thousands of dimensions at once.

    Catastrophic damage to an Endbringer requires core damage. Everything else is just a facade. Based on what we know of canon Endbringer durability, the Sun would not be able to reach it even if Leviathan was placed at the center.

    What would actually be damaged is the Sun as its mass drains into thousands of realities through Leviathan until it collapses or is disrupted somehow.
    That's how he sees normally though. He can only see water, so he knows where people and their attacks are by how they disturb the heavy rain he pours over the area. That isn't anything new.

    What he might have done when holding back before is pretend that he can only see in one direction or isn't as sensitive to water as he actually is.
    That's hilarious, since I thought the diversity of powers Leviathan had in Weaver Nine was bullshit.

    The problem here, and the reason why I think your objection is nonsense, is that Wildbow's WoG is only confirmation of canon. Lisa listed exactly how durable Endbringer layers were and how they increased exponentially for each layer. Nobody bothered to understand exactly how ridiculously fucking strong that made them until recently.

    Leviathan damaging the Sun is also perfectly sensible. What the hell do you think would happen when you put a portal to another reality into a super-high pressure environment like the core of a star? The Sun will begin squirting through that portal like nobody's business. Leviathan has thousands of portals.

    So yes, I think your objection is a tad ridiculous. Leviathan thought things through to their logical conclusion when he designed the Endbringers. Both what it means to have an exponential durability, and what it means to be a product of beings who piece dimensions as easily as breathing. And yet you fling shit at him as if he is somehow in the wrong when its his audience that didn't think these things through?

    The only problem here is that you don't like the scale the Entities operate on. That's fine. You don't have to like it. But, you don't get to fling shit at Wildbow or pretend there is something wrong over your personal opinion.

    ---

    Edit: Just read the chapter, I'm pleased. Though I thought Leviathan was going to escape. He he was actually fighting like Skitter he would have stayed at the bottom of the ocean. I think you misunderstood Wildbow in that aspect at least.
    Powers are modeled after what shards perceive through their hosts. This is more evident with Endbringers and their themes.
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2015
  2. TanaNari

    TanaNari Verified Dick

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    Underwater is a terrain.

    I know that. But Vicky doesn't. Also fairly irrelevant, now. :p



    Also. Next chapter's going to be another of those where i have to write two chapters and sort them out things, I think.
     
  3. Snake/Eater

    Snake/Eater Myth Maker of the North

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    We are now settled on Deathstar,but nobody has put any thought on project End-hole(where pantheon opens a portal where a giant star were earth should be became a blackhole and pushes a Endbringer into it) and no one has really put an effort to explain Why not Vicky's new sword is a weaponized miniature wormhole.
     
  4. Dreadis

    Dreadis No idea whats going on

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  5. Daunmi

    Daunmi Shun the sun, night so nice

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    I'm not sure how debating how to jury rig abilities into self propelling rockets/space travel is ever irrelevant, but fine.
     
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  6. GiftofLove

    GiftofLove A Gift From The Heart

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    Water veil. Levi makes his own water. He's always a rocket. He just likes the scenery.
     
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  7. sephlington

    sephlington Making the rounds.

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    Is that canon, or fanon? I'm pretty sure this is how his senses are described in Weaver 9, but I don't recall any definites on Endbringer senses in canon outside of the Simurgh.
     
  8. Snake/Eater

    Snake/Eater Myth Maker of the North

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    Fun fact: there is water on the moon,but you have to filter it out of the regolith of the moon....which would to lead my next question.WHY would anyone think putting a hydrokinetic like Levi on the moon is a sound idea.he could water propel mountain sized rock missiles at the earth.

    I guess Missy was joking...or insane.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
  9. tordg

    tordg (Unverified Idiot)

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    In Interlude 28 Simurgh communicates with her siblings in ways precisely calibrated to their powers, and notes that other methods would not work. It also explicitly says that Levi senses water.
     
  10. Mastigos2

    Mastigos2 Versed in the lewd.

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    This actually breaks my SOD a bit. They didn't put nightvision into their bioarmor? Not even a tapetum lucidum a flashlight, much less Tinkertech light amplifiers?
     
  11. Daunmi

    Daunmi Shun the sun, night so nice

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    I'd argue that 'hurricane grade downpour' + 'vs endbringer' would be bad enough without anything else.
     
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  12. Threadmarks: Amelia, Ch 297- Lily
    TanaNari

    TanaNari Verified Dick

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    Amelia, Ch 297- Lily


    I took a deep breath. "You're sure about this?" I asked Lisa. She was fretting about my costume, making sure everything looked right. This was an old model of my costume, the one used, and damaged beyond repair, in New Delhi. Then refitted, with less nanoweave and more attention to emphasizing my feminine features and other cosmetics. A sort of dress armor. Although I had to admit it handled better than my combat gear, at the cost of having almost no actual features. It couldn't shunt, I couldn't channel my power for full body invulnerability, and the wings didn't have the ability to generate ammo.


    "Don't worry, you'll do fine," Lisa insisted.


    "It's a live interview," I reminded her. "If I fuck up, it's out there forever."


    "Five second delay," she corrected. "Only to protect names if you slip up. Don't worry, Vickery hand picked this girl for your interviewer. Says she's a natural for this sort of thing, and I've looked at some of her work. She is, if anything, too soft for this. She is the perfect balance of pretty and approachable, and the only hard questions are the ones you've been prepared for. If you gave me a couple weeks I might have found better, but we need this to happen today, if possible. Just remember the right balance of humility and confidence, and it'll be perfect. You're an Endslayer three times over, you can handle a television appearance."


    ....


    "It's great to finally meet you," my interviewer smiled. Lisa was right about the interviewer being approachably pretty. A little taller than me if I weren't in costume, some kind of mixed race that gave her a very light tan and chocolate brown hair and eyes. Very cute, not beautiful. The interview room itself was nothing unusual, a table and chairs done up what would be a cozy kitchen table look, if not for the cameras and crew pointed at us. I don't know who came up with this layout, but these days it was hard to imagine any other kind.


    "Pleasure to be here, Miss Vaught," I responded. My armor's retrofit kept my mouth exposed, so they could see my smile, and the sleeker design made my body language easier to read. All at the cost of basically every feature the armor normally came with. "Sorry we couldn't do this sooner."


    "Please, call me Erin," she said, smiling as she shook my hand. "I imagine things have been hectic for you, lately."


    "Not as bad as it's been for a lot of others," I answered. The fact was it wasn't that bad at all for me, really. With another Endbringer destroyed, Pantheon was mostly in the 'planning' stage, and that wasn't my strength. Elle was still having trouble with her awareness, causing a delay for that as well. "Let's not forget that Leviathan caused tens of thousands of deaths, and billions of dollars in damages."


    "Of course," she nodded with an appropriate solemnity. "I was told your organization has been involved with a number of charities for aiding the victims of Endbringer attacks?"


    "Yes, of course," I answered. "As you can imagine, Pantheon feels pretty strongly about this. We've been there, ourselves. Losing homes, loved ones, precious mementos of our families, even our city to those monsters. Even in that, we were luckier than most, we had somewhere to go and the resources to support ourselves. Millions of others don't have that. It wasn't just homes and memories for them, it was their livelihoods and their hopes for the future. A lot of that can never be restored, but new futures can be created from the ashes. That's what these charities represent, hope for the future."


    Sure, that was rehearsed, but I believed every word of it.


    Erin turned toward the camera. "I would like to remind our viewers that if you wish to donate time or resources, you can log on to FEMA dot gov, or Channel twelve news dot com for further information about charities in your region. Food, clothing, and of course money will all be greatly appreciated," She turned back toward me. "I know I'll be visiting when I get home tonight." Lisa was right, she is soft.


    "Thank you, Erin," I smiled broadly.


    "This isn't the only humanitarian work you've done," she continued. "You've earned something of a reputation as an advocate of the GLBT cause in eastern Europe. Including quite a bit of controversy."


    "My parents tell me I was a strong willed child," I chuckled. "I don't think I ever grew out of it. When I see something I know is wrong, I can't help but want to step in and fix the problem."


    "Even in countries where you can be arrested for expressing pro-gay sentiments," she added.


    "Especially then," I emphasized. I tapped the gay pride sticker on the shoulder of my costume. My real armor had the icon built right into it, but again with the lack of time. "As everyone already knows, my power is one of those needed to open the dimensional gateways. They might hate me for what I am, but they still need me, an openly gay woman, to save them. And, yes, I want them to be aware of that fact."


    "Which brings us back to the deaths of Leviathan, the Simurgh, and Wendigo," she spoke. "You've been instrumental in the destruction of three Endbringers, most recently the destruction of Leviathan last week."


    "Like I said," I smiled. "I can't not step in to help when I see an opportunity."


    "And you're good at it," she agreed. "In fact, we have never before seen video footage of the death of Leviathan to show here today."


    She turned her head toward the screen behind us, as the scene started to show itself. Taken from Victoria's viewpoint, it showed the water being forced back. The footage was both blurry and obviously digital enhanced. We couldn't even see Leviathan until the forcefields started going up, illuminating the area in some kind of alien light. I didn't pay much attention to the scene, being far more concerned with my own memories.


    ....


    Leviathan was pinned by the shields. Not too different than the end of the Wendigo fight. In one small way, I almost felt bad about this. In many, many more ways I felt awesome about it. I dived through the silver spheroid, and into the heart of Leviathan. Lisa's estimates of this Endbringer's physiology was that the tail contained his core, so I struck that first, using my larger pair of wings to melt the majority of it in the first swipe, and the rest of it with the second. The lower, smaller, pair of wings simple cut through the body segments.


    In the few seconds I remained inside, I watched the Endbringer go still. No movement, no regeneration. It was dead. With careful effort, I carved a large chunk out of the corpse and pulled it out, then took off, breaking through the forcefields yet again. I disintegrated the chunk in full view of the Triumvirate, and more important Victoria and her suit's camera.


    The 'heart' of Leviathan destroyed for all to see.


    We weren't stupid enough to showboat like that with the real core, of course. Lisa made it clear that the Endbringers were programmed weapons, with a series of restrictions in place to keep them from trying too hard.


    The harder we hit, the harder they fought back as restrictions were slowly lifted so that they could use more and more of their full power, and after a point we wouldn't be able to get close enough to finish the job. The first legitimately mortal wound against Leviathan needed to be the killing blow, or the loss of California would have been the least of our problems.


    That was a closely guarded secret, known only to a very select few, that we'd never seen an Endbringer actually put real effort into a fight.


    ....


    "That's quite the scene," Erin stated after the clip ended. Less than two minutes, I realized. It felt a lot longer when it was happening. "I don't know if I would have been that brave. You really are a hero."


    "It's easy to be brave when you know you can't be touched," I answered, remembering the bits of rehearsal and how I wanted to express my thoughts. "The truth is, I was lucky. It's no secret that what powers one gets are a matter of chance. I won a lottery that gave me a power capable of actually hurting the Endbringers, and because of that I am the one killing them. That, literally, could have happened to anyone."


    "I'm afraid I don't know a lot about how powers work," Erin admitted.


    "More than that, this was a team effort, all of them were," I added, eager to not talk about the nature of powers overmuch. Nothing happy came from that path. "Gaea, Khepri and Minerva to build the team. Yum Kaax, Tir, Hecate, Dragon and other Tinkers to build this armor." I gave the command that let my wings flex out, and then go back to resting position. I can't name Riley, she'll just have to accept 'others'. "To harness and amplify my powers enough to actually get the job done."


    Erin scooted back a little, her eyes wide as she finally recognized just how deadly the armor I wore could be. She overcame it quickly enough, but the minor amount of intimidation would only be a good thing. At least, according to Lisa.


    "The other Endslayers, too," I added. "Clotho and Lachesis, and again the Tinkers that built the weapons we used against Simurgh. Shaman and Rosary, for paralyzing Wendigo long enough to finish the job. Sveta and Alexandria for fighting Leviathan to a standstill in the ocean until Eidolon could clear the path I needed. Plus Khepri and Gaea, and again their Tinker tech weapons." I feel like I'm accepting an Oscar or something. Ugh.


    "And," I continued. "All those heroes that have been fighting these monsters for almost the last twenty years. Compared to all the work done by all of them? Like I said, I just got lucky enough to have the right power and be in the right place to make use of it."


    "Anyone ever tell you that you're a really passionate speaker?" Erin joked.


    I smiled, if a little sadly. Sabah used to say that was her favorite thing about me. "It's been mentioned before," I replied. "But, all the luck aside, I'm glad to get the power I did. Maybe I won't be part of the next Endslayer team, but it feels right that I was this time. That I got to be the one to kill Leviathan."


    "Why's that?" Erin asked. She had her guesses, of course. She knew at least some of what was coming today.


    I reached up to my neck and undid the clasps. The Tinkers didn't have time, or interest for that matter, to automate this for what was essentially a one time use only suit. A quick push and the mask folded upward. By the time I go to bed, everyone on a hundred and twenty three worlds will know my face.


    "I have my reasons."


    ================


    A/N- Lily's fun. Also, I need to start a database for very minor characters. You have no idea how long I took to dig Erin's name out of the archives.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
  13. Jack of Olives

    Jack of Olives Knows just enough to be dangerous.

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    *sniff* That was beauftiful. :)
     
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  14. CptTagon

    CptTagon Prolific Writer

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    ammo.
    rehearsed
    pro-gay
     
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  15. jaelin910

    jaelin910 habitual lurker

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    'I'm' or 'I am'

    'too much attention to'?
     
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  16. Daunmi

    Daunmi Shun the sun, night so nice

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    Maybe she's just really professional?
     
  17. Ack

    Ack (Verified Ratbag) (Unverified Great Old One)

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    Let me be the first to ship Lily and Erin.

    What? She's single now, and we don't know that Erin isn't gay, or at least curious, and seriously, Lily is hot and a seriously major celeb, right now.
     
  18. Snake/Eater

    Snake/Eater Myth Maker of the North

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    She's coming out of the cape closet...and retiring?whatever is happening this moment shows she's a different a lily compared to canon.but she's still a follower at heart.but now she has the right people behind her to show her.. how to lead.
    i don't know if she has accepted Riley has changed,this line be interpreted as either sarcastic or genuine.
    Lily is the OVERkill Archer(being Archer is suffering)WARRIOR PRINCESS

    "Rise Above" is composed by Veigar Margeirsson he rearranged "Requiem for a Tower" for the lord of the rings trailer "the two towers"
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
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  19. dasstan

    dasstan :)

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    What? No. She's showing everyone that she's of Japanese stock, hence the whole "but it feels right that I was this time. That I got to be the one to kill Leviathan."

    He gave one of Japan's islands a water grave, and one of Japan's daughters paid him the same regard.
    Or that line can be interpreted as "Maybe I shouldn't mention the fact that we kept Bonesaw alive on interdimensional TV", perhaps?
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
  20. TanaNari

    TanaNari Verified Dick

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    Ah ish good writer! Huzzah!

    *Rolls 3 10 sided dice to determine Erin's orientation*.

    What are the numbers on odds of being gay/bi/other valid lineups...

    *research* Around 6.5% or so, give or take.

    Guess what I rolled!

    Hint: there's a 1 in 1000 chance it was exactly 065

    To be fair, if there was ever a time you could say "by the way, we have a pet Bonesaw" and get away with it, it's when you can immediately follow with "we wouldn't have been able to murder Endbringers without her help".
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
  21. Daunmi

    Daunmi Shun the sun, night so nice

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    "We wouldn't have been able to murder THREE Endbringers without her help."

    I was kind of thinking this myself, but I realized it wouldn't happen because capes aren't allowed to have meaningful relationships with kind, caring people.

    Shut up Legend, we never met your husband.
     
  22. GiftofLove

    GiftofLove A Gift From The Heart

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    Inb4 no one cares about Lily because of Taylor & Amelia's wedding.

    "People suck, Crystal," Lily sighed. "I reveal my identity on inter-dimensional TV and all anyone cares about is if Taylor or Amelia will be wearing the dress."

    "Tell me about it," Crystal said. "It's all I hear about nowadays. There's about five reporters waiting outside my base everyday to ask me the same questions. It's getting old fast."

    "...I think it's both of them, by the way. Getting to wear the dress is the best part. You can wear a tux and be a cliche anytime. A girl only gets to wear a wedding dress a handful of times in her life." Crystal continued after a moment.
     
  23. Daunmi

    Daunmi Shun the sun, night so nice

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    I have an idea... When in doubt, mash everything together and hope it works!

    I'm actually kind of hoping we don't have a wedding chapter anyway. I honestly can't see myself reading it.
     
  24. cosoco

    cosoco Not too sore, are you?

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    .gov is only used for United States government agencies. (And a few other things, like Puerto Rico agencies.) The TLD .av is available, though, so they could use gov.av

    /pedantry
    Three cheers for deicide!
     
  25. Coruscant Knave

    Coruscant Knave 'Twas love that did this to you.

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    Of all the random things to remember and to forget, I instantly recalled Vickery talking about this girl in the way-back chapters.
    Oh, she even had a name.

    A very nice unmasking.
     
  26. Volkogluk

    Volkogluk Getting out there.

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    * Narrows eyes *

    Don't tell me you hide a leaf under your hat, and a tail and some fluffy paws under that cloak.
    /suspicios
     
  27. TanaNari

    TanaNari Verified Dick

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    Eh, that's going to be another year at the bare minimum. Lily has her chance to enjoy the sun.

    Aww. *Sadness*. Surely a WAFF chapter would be appreciated. Besides, it could include the honeymoon.

    Today I learned something. Yay.

    Well, yeah. But the paws are part of the cloak.
     
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  28. evildice

    evildice (emotionally stable clown posse)

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    That's true, but normal people don't know that, and Avalon's leadership are basically normal people (in the sense of being non-internerds). So I could see something like:

    Taylor: "... almost done, two more items. First, apparently we need to ask your permission for a .gov domain, and we want Avalon.gov."

    Official: "But the .gov domain is only for the government."

    Taylor: "We are a government. We're Avalon."

    Official: "Uh, uh... you know what, sure."

    Lisa smirk-snorts in the background.

    Taylor: "Great, final item is ..."
     
  29. GiftofLove

    GiftofLove A Gift From The Heart

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    I really, really doubt that it would have gotten through all of their public speaking staff. Especially with Dragon of all people being involved in Pantheon.
     
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  30. Threadmarks: Amelia, Ch 298- Eric
    TanaNari

    TanaNari Verified Dick

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    Amelia, Ch 298- Eric


    "Hey," I smiled at Lily from my spot atop the teleport pad to for the capital of Avalon. Which really needs a name one of these days. "Did you hear, they're calling you he 'Avenger of Kyushu, now."


    "I heard," she replied, sounding a lot less enthused than I would have expected for someone who just accomplished what she accomplished.


    "I didn't expect you back so soon," I changed the subject. "One day for an interview and then back to Europe? What gives?"


    "We're on an ugly deadline," she answered grimly. "Have to get as many portals finished as possible, because we can expect seven more Endbringers, maybe more. At least three more of which, I can't kill."


    "Seven?" I asked. I couldn't wrap my mind around that. "More? Not just eight, but eight more."


    "Lisa's guestimate, at least," Lily responded. "A total of Eleven. Tohu, Bohu, Khonsu, Barghest, another unknown that will probably in response to Behemoth's death. Six more for the deaths of Wendigo and Leviathan. And Lisa's guessing there might be one more to round out the numbers based on the rule of three that they follow. In other words, we should be expecting one a month until we can find another way to kill them."


    "Do you think they can?" I asked. "I mean, they're designed so you can't kill them anymore, what's left?" Eleven Endbringers?


    "Shaman and Rosary are still an option," she responded. "It worked once, and the Tinkers are toying with other methods. Something to do with a super nanothorn weapon. You know how Tinkers get when they're in the zone."


    I really didn't, but the way so many others commented on it, I took it for granted anyway.


    "Emma cobbled together something, and that's given Lisa ideas about time manipulation as an Endbringer killing tool," she continued. "Not sure I like that idea, honestly. We know they adapt new tricks based on the weapons used to kill them. Khonsu came from Behemoth's death, shielding and time manipulation, along with Bohu's terrain alterations, like what the Chinese weapon did. Barghest and Wendigo are probably from killing the Simurgh. One a space warper that's too fast to hit reliably, the other was decentralized. No weak spot to attack."


    "Until one was found," I added, trying to sound hopeful. "The new Endbringers are weaker than the old ones in a lot of ways. We can use that. The new ones aren't nearly as deadly as the original three were."


    "We haven't used a weapon on them that literally cuts through time itself," she countered. "I can't imagine an Endbringer with that power, but I'm envisioning Black Kaze, only a thousand times worse, killing everyone who showed up to the battle two days before the Endbringer warning system even registers an alert. Fuck, Tohu's already the Endbringer copy of Eidolon, why not Legend next?"


    Holy shit that's horrifying. "You're not usually one to get upset like this. You were the one telling me we'd deal with the consequences as they came, before. It's one of my favorite things about you. You should be happy right now. You're an international hero. I watched your interview live on the television." In fucking Lebanon. "I've been asking around, you may have single handedly won the gay rights movement in that country. To the point that it's causing waves in neighboring countries. Everything you wanted and more."


    "I know," she responded. "Believe me, I'm so glad for that. But we're approaching the point where we'll have to abandon Bet entirely. We can't even beat the Endbringers without exploiting flaws in their program. How are we going to fight Scion? What good is anything I do with that hanging over my head?"


    "You're a hero, Lily," I put a hand on her shoulder. "In every meaning of the word. At least let yourself celebrate that, you deserve to feel good about that for a day or two, then worry about the future. Maybe some time with Sabah, I kn-." She tensed and I stopped speaking. Oh fuck.


    "We broke up," she told me, confirming my fear.


    "When?" I asked, hesitantly. I ignored the pang of desire I felt toward her. I had a crush on Lily, on Atropos really, before I'd ever met her. Now that I knew her, she was very different than the fantasy I'd built. Not someone I could see myself with, if I was honest. Not that I expected her to be interested in me, either. But she was a great friend, supportive and passionate about all of her causes, both social and personal.


    "A little less than two weeks ago," she answered. Now that I thought about it, that made sense. She'd been spending a lot of time talking with Lisa up before the Endbringer attack. I didn't think much of it, the pair of them had a lot to be concerned about, especially in the week or so before an expected attack.


    "I bet if I tried, I could find someone to break her legs for breaking your heart," I offered jokingly.


    "No," she responded, her voice commanding. "I was the one to break up with her. Neither of us were happy, but I ended it. I don't want you acting like she's the bad guy in this, please?"


    "Okay," I agreed, trying to wrap my head around the idea that Lily would break up with anyone. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked. I could see why she wouldn't bring it up around the others. Faultline was a mercenary in every sense of the word, going where the money led here. She cared about her people, but not much beyond that. She wasn't a fan of the other not-so-former villains on Faultline's team, either. They were in this for the money, she was in it for helping humanity as a whole. That wasn't a great recipe for friendships.


    "I didn't want to talk about it," she sighed, looking out over the blue green expanse blocked by similarly colored buildings. "It felt like... if I didn't say it, then it wasn't real, y'know? Sounds childish when you say it out loud."


    "I've heard worse superstitions," I responded. It was true, too. "Do you want to talk about it, now?"


    "Not really," she answered. "Sabah has her freedom and I wish her luck in her career. She certainly cares about it more than she ever did me." Wow, that was bitter. "I have my fifteen minutes of fame, the adoration of millions, and the people who don't love me fear me. Which is weird as fuck to think about, by the way."


    "I'll pretend I know the feeling," I answered.


    "Point is," she continued. "Things may not be perfect, but it's better this way. Just... don't make trouble on my account, please."


    "Okay," I deferred to her judgment on this one. And here I thought the pair of them were the cutest couple in ever. "Well, on the plus side, you are officially the most eligible bachelorette in the multiverse. Once word gets out, you'll have your pick of the litter. Or skip the picking part and take the whole litter. Start your own harem, see if anyone argues with you."


    She chuckled a little. Good, that's a start.


    "I don't think I'm ready to start dating again," she replied. "Besides, I don't even know anyone. Unless you're suggesting I try to steal Amelia away from Taylor. I climbed inside an Endbringer and it didn't scare me as much as that idea."


    I cringed at that thought. "Not even Zach is suicidally insane enough to get between those two," I only half joked. Seriously, that would be the worst idea in the world. "What about that cute reporter girl? She seemed interested in you."


    "Of course she was interested in me," Lily replied. "That's her job."


    "I don't know, she did seem pretty star struck," I teased. "Besides, there's a time honored tradition of superheroes dating reporters. Maybe that's why she became a reporter, and you'd be fulfilling her childhood fantasies."


    "Zach's not dead, you don't need to channel his ghost," Lily admonished.


    "No, see, if I were Zach I'd be speculating on what she was doing while fantasizing," I pointed out. "But in all seriousness, if you want to talk I'm here for you. All you have to do is ask."


    "I wouldn't want to make your girlfriend jealous," Lily responded


    "She won't be," I responded. I slipped my arm around her and pulled her into a one armed hug. It was true, Emily wasn't the type to get jealous, at least not in this kind of situation. She was actually far more possessive of Elle than she was of me. "Believe it or not, she actually likes you a lot."


    "Really?" Lily asked. "She always seemed a little cold to me."


    "She's kinda timid," I answered. Plus you go out of your way to not be friends with anyone on Faultline's crew. "And you're pretty intimidating when you want to be. Remember how we first met and you threatened to, and I quote, surgically remove my bones without leaving a scratch on my skin?"


    "Well, you didn't make a great first impression," she responded.


    "Yeah, sorry about that," I muttered. "I could have handled that situation better."


    "Don't worry, you make up for it in the long run," she responded. "I guess I can try to be a little friendlier to Emily."


    "I appreciate it," I gave a squeeze of support.


    "Think if I start up that harem, she'd like to join?"


    I was stunned.


    "What?" Lily exclaimed. "She's a babe and you know it."


    ================


    A/N- Lily has trouble deciding which coping mechanism she wants to use.
     
    Last edited: Mar 15, 2015
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