Charm Learning Shard (Worm/Exalted) (COMPLETED)

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

You realize Marcus Aurelius spent his life slaughtering "Germanic savages", right? He would have thought 80% of that crowd were screaming barbarian berserkers biologically incapable of higher thought or philosophy. If anything, he'd be protecting Parian's part of the docks, because they at least came from civilized parts of the world like Persia or Egypt (although not as great or civilized as mighty Roma, of course), and not the shrieking pelt-wearing tribesmen of the cold north.

Click to shrink...

Sure, but if Theo called himself Hadrian his name wouldn't be a play on his power.

 

[bridielux]

This remains one of my favorite Worm fan fictions. It is just so unique and entertaining. I also hope that Bonesaw vivisects Taylor. Keep writing!

 

[GiantAnteater]

You realize Marcus Aurelius spent his life slaughtering "Germanic savages", right? He would have thought 80% of that crowd were screaming barbarian berserkers biologically incapable of higher thought or philosophy. If anything, he'd be protecting Parian's part of the docks, because they at least came from civilized parts of the world like Persia or Egypt (although not as great or civilized as mighty Roma, of course), and not the wild shrieking tribes of the cold north. To the Romans, the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic ancestors of the majority of the Bay's """white""" population were basically the Wildlings from Game of Thrones.

And Taylor, who's French? Somehow, the Romans hated the Franks even more than they hated the Germanic tribes. Forget rhetoric, he would be surprised Taylor was capable of putting on clothes that weren't the bloody skins of freshly slaughtered animals. Although the bestiality would be right in line with his expectations.

Click to shrink...

Simplifying and lumping together different cultures while burying inconvenient details is a common tactic for any ideology that appeals to a baser human nature. Fascism tends to be somewhat more blatant about it.
Really, few groups ever educate their members about the darker parts of their history - the failures, the schisms, the sacrifices. And yes, it is bad in general and bad for future prospects of humanity.

 

[Lis91]

I want Taylor shotgun-marrying Theo to give her daughter a legit name, being an awesome Nazi empress, and making sure Hel Anders inherits the throne as soon as possible. Very Roman.

 

[Prognostic Hannya]

Fascism tends to be somewhat more blatant about it.

Click to shrink...

Chetly Bjørn Deutschlandsson McWhite, grand wizard of the KKK: "Hail, my white brother! Tell us of the glorious of our ancestors' past civilization! We shall use it as a model to build our agricultural utopia, full of simple, God-fearing straight men and women raising pure white children away from the Jews' sexual perversions and degeneracy, the way the Lord Christ int-"

Emperor Septimius Severus, one of the greatest Emperors in Roman history (born in al-Khums, Libya): "Someone please stop the wildlife from bleating, it's making my headache worse. I have a hangover from my wild night of torturing members of that 'Jesus' guy's weird Jewish cult to death and then fucking other men in the ass, which is actually the most masculine thing you can do (unlike having sex with women which is fucking gay)."

 

[bridielux]

fucking other men in the ass, which is actually the most masculine thing you can do (unlike having sex with women which is fucking gay)."

Click to shrink...

Lol, get outta here you queers, fucking women. Pffft.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

There's a lot more people present than at the last rally you attended. Not very surprising, because a lot of people found themselves homeless and unemployed in the wake of Leviathan. Which means that they don't really have anything better to do than stand around and listen to some guy talk, and the promise of free food is a lot more enticing than it would have been a week ago.

Click to shrink...

The Merchants were big after Leviathan in part because they were able to steal and provide supplies. If the Empire is functional enough to do that, it makes me wonder if the Merchants will miss that opportunity.

It seems the message of white solidarity has indeed been taken to heart, because you see a lot of people giving up their spots in line to children, the elderly, or just people who look really hungry but aren't pushy about it. And the next time someone tries to cut ahead without permission, volunteers from the audience converge on him before the official thugs can even react. Is... is this what being proud of your people feels like?

Click to shrink...

What what WHAT!? Your people? Have I been reading this wrong all along, or is Taylor going schizo?

You force your thoughtful frown into a reassuring smile as you serve the crying woman with the newborn baby an extra-large portion. Did you prevent the civil war for the purpose of installing your puppet on the throne, or to do what you're doing now - helping these people? Are you still infiltrating, or have you joined?

Click to shrink...

A classic Taylor conundrum! Turns out going undercover comes with a risk of going native, who knew?

"God bless you," an old lady says as you hand her the food. You rather doubt he exists will. Even if Taylor happens to be sincere in her desire to help, it's not as if you're about to give up being other, more goal-focused people.

Click to shrink...

Sounds schizo to me!

Rune has removed her mask and is staring at you in horror. You explained your condition to the inner circle - the emperor and the three lieutenants - but apparently the news hadn't made it down the ranks to her until now. She takes half a step forward, then stops. Her hands rise uncertainly, and fall again. You hold up a hand of your own to ward her off, to save her from her agony of indecision.

"I don't need a hug if you don't," you say, wiping at your cheeks with your other hand.

"Yes you fucking do," Rune says, and hugs you.

Click to shrink...

Aww, at least her departure from the ranks of the SuperNazis was on good terms.

Now to dodge Danny when he figures out that he can re-insert himself into his daughter's life by joining a club. Assuming he didn't die to Leviathan, "0% chance to see my parents again" could have been inclusive.

 

[Eyemore]

Lol, get outta here you queers, fucking women. Pffft.

Click to shrink...

Tell me, is there anything more masculine than making another man submit to your dick? The answer is that no, no there's not. Which is why femboys are the superior choice - a male that can be dominated, while keeping the appeal of femininity.

 

[FalseFriend]

Sure, but if Theo called himself Hadrian his name wouldn't be a play on his power.

Click to shrink...

Could have gone with Aurelian and played up the restitutor orbis angle.

 

[MaeHartchenko]

What I wanna know is why Aisha hasn't given Taylor a note saying 'Shoot Krieg in the back' during all this.

 

[Lis91]

What I wanna know is why Aisha hasn't given Taylor a note saying 'Shoot Krieg in the back' during all this.

Click to shrink...

Leftover loyalty? I'm sure she's building up to it. Aisha's inevitable betrayal will no doubt be both horrendous and hilarious.

 

[goricnac]

Ok can someone please explain to me why the supplies would be provided to areas controlled by the Merchants but not the mainly residential areas controlled by the Empire?

Like I get that nuts is trying to twist the world to make it so the Empire are the good guys, and the areas with only white people are the civilized areas where no riots happen and everyone gives their place in line to the old and young cause they are the "civilized ones" but holy shit at least say that the supplies are only being provided to areas the PRT control. Somehow making it so the government is directly supplying the Merchants over the Empire and then having the local government talk about how the people in the Empire territory are the backbone that will rebuild America is so on the nose its practically a zit.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Ok can someone please explain to me why the supplies would be provided to areas controlled by the Merchants but not the mainly residential areas controlled by the Empire?

Like I get that nuts is trying to twist the world to make it so the Empire are the good guys, and the areas with only white people are the civilized areas where no riots happen and everyone gives their place in line to the old and young cause they are the "civilized ones" but holy shit at least say that the supplies are only being provided to areas the PRT control. Somehow making it so the government is directly supplying the Merchants over the Empire and then having the local government talk about how the people in the Empire territory are the backbone that will rebuild America is so on the nose its practically a zit.

Click to shrink...

Because CHAZ doesn't get disaster relief, it is the disaster.

Also, highly theoretically, the Empire could be a valid a competitor with Coil in the Cauldron experiment. In such a case it would be advantageous that they be thrown to the wolves, so the functionality of their model is tested. They talk a lot of shit about building civilization; can they actually do it? Cauldron would like to know.

Edit: I can't believe I didn't say this first, but the most likely reason is that Coil is fucking the Empire.

 

[Zxzx24]

So can I tell everyone that said snuts was going somewhere with this and it wasnt just a neo nazi walk fest to "eat shit?"

Because after Kaiser's noble self sacrifice the empire is now going to save Brockton bay from dissolving.

They have basically gone from being a heroic organization of nazis to a straight up noble bright organization in worm.

 

[raisins]

Ok can someone please explain to me why the supplies would be provided to areas controlled by the Merchants but not the mainly residential areas controlled by the Empire?

Like I get that nuts is trying to twist the world to make it so the Empire are the good guys, and the areas with only white people are the civilized areas where no riots happen and everyone gives their place in line to the old and young cause they are the "civilized ones" but holy shit at least say that the supplies are only being provided to areas the PRT control. Somehow making it so the government is directly supplying the Merchants over the Empire and then having the local government talk about how the people in the Empire territory are the backbone that will rebuild America is so on the nose its practically a zit.

Click to shrink...

I imagine some inconsistent rhetorical labelling, further shaded with nazi bias and exaggeration. Taylor's own and in her sources. Any aid station vaguely in merchant territory measured against the lack of aid delivered directly to the Empire camp. Which does have civilians, but is publicly and notoriously organized by a criminal organization.

The empire steals and controls aid because they "need to because of injustice" to prioritize their interests, which is totally different from the merchants stealing and controlling aid, for reasons.

 

[space turtle]

Because CHAZ doesn't get disaster relief, it is the disaster.

Click to shrink...

The Captain's Hill Autonomous Zone does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?

Probably a similar disposition towards vigilante killings

I can definitely see the local, regional, and national government doing everything they can to shut this whole thing down. Diverting shipments away from "dangerous right wing radicals" to "protect the volunteer and agency personnel" seems 100% legit.

If only it wouldn't lead to a violent insurrection that has some suspicious new triggers leading the charge of.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

The Captain's Hill Autonomous Zone does have a certain ring to it, doesn't it?

Click to shrink...

I wish I had thought of that, and dearly hope it's a thing.

 

[Zax Zaubererglück]

And Taylor, who's French? Somehow, the Romans hated the Franks even more than they hated the Germanic tribes.

Click to shrink...

Exageration, also these were Gauls. The Franks came much later than Marcus Aurelius (differet phase for Rome).
Also, if one takes your view at face value, then her point still stands 'unfit to lick the dirt from his sandals'.

There were also procedures to become a 'proper' roman, even if your ancestry was barbaric. That happened through service to the empire, e.g. fighting in the legions (legal realities varied) or marriage into a proper family.

 

[Prognostic Hannya]

Exageration, also these were Gauls

Click to shrink...

They very much weren't. He made his bones in the Macromannic Wars against the savage, beastly Germanic tribesmen. Also, given that the Franks were Gauls (and thus the other half of the genetic mutt that is the average American WASP), I don't really see what your point is.

Also, if one takes your view at face value, then her point still stands 'unfit to lick the dirt from his sandals'.

Click to shrink...

Oh no I agree, he was far too intelligent and historically literate to be a white nationalist. For all the terrible atrocities that came with the office of Emperor, he was a man of unique dignity and honesty, and his writings still serve as profound philosophical works almost two millennia later.

There were also procedures to become a 'proper' roman, even if your ancestry was barbaric

Click to shrink...

That means they had a more enlightened view on immigration than Taylor does lol.
And before you go "oh that's why the Roman empire fell", see my earlier point about white nationalists being historically illiterate.

~~

To be clear, I'm not saying "Rome good so Nazis bad".

Like any good Marxist, I know a materialist analysis of history makes questions of "goodness" and "badness" makes comparing various contemporary ancient societies an extremely thorny prospect. Civilizations are determined beyond all other things by the material circumstances of their societies, specifically with regard to production and trade.

There's a reason slavery was so ubiquitous in the ancient world, despite the vastly different cultures of all societies in history: people don't decide to start taking slaves because someone thought up the philosophy of "some people are naturally slaves" and managed to convince everyone else, people come up with the philosophy "some people are naturally slaves" once it becomes economically profitable to enslave your enemies and put them to work on plantations or in mines.

I just think the white nationalist fetish for this particular imperial slavocracy is especially ironic, given that said imperial slavocracy would have thought about their glorious Odin-worshipping Germanic ancestors in the exact same way they think about black people: subhuman thuggish brutes only good for violence and manual labor.

 

[Daniel Snuts]

Tell me, is there anything more masculine than making another man submit to your dick? The answer is that no, no there's not. Which is why femboys are the superior choice - a male that can be dominated, while keeping the appeal of femininity.

Click to shrink...

"I mean... yeah, I'd probably suck her girl-dick if she reciprocated."

"Gay."

"What, no. I'm not gay. C'mon man, we just established it was a girl dick."

"Sucking a dick is still pretty gay, bro."

"I'm leaving," Missy announces.

"No wait," I call after her. "We need your female perspective to settle the argument: Would you suck a girl-dick?"

"No, because I'm not gay."

Click to shrink...

Spoiler: Mechanics corner

In the Worm cosmology, traps are so gay that liking them makes you gay regardless of whether you're a man or a woman.

In the Exalted cosmology, traps are also gay. It's just that no one cares, because everyone in the Exalted cosmology is gay by default.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

Speaking of gay, I recall Glory Girl being convinced that Taylor was secretly gay for her. After Leviathan, they are both single and grieving.

Cucking Panacea would be so, so perfect.

 

[Deroddfox]

Speaking of gay, I recall Glory Girl being convinced that Taylor was secretly gay for her. After Leviathan, they are both single and grieving.

Cucking Panacea would be so, so perfect.

Click to shrink...

As funny as that would be... I don't see it happening what with Taylor being an outed E88 member. I also don't see her making an entire new persona just for a crack at GG and tweaking Amy's nose without some prompting.

 

[Whitesnake Pelinal]

As funny as that would be... I don't see it happening what with Taylor being an outed E88 member. I also don't see her making an entire new persona just for a crack at GG and tweaking Amy's nose without some prompting.

Click to shrink...

Making a new persona to learn Glory Girl's power would be consistent with Taylor's past plans. It'd also be a lot less unforgivable if Panacea never learned that the girl her sister had a fling with was Taylor. But also a lot less funny.

That reminds me of a missed opportunity during the Endbringer fight: scouting for predatory lesbians with a soul price of something like Wants to convert a villain by teaching her about love. With so many Protectorate Heroes there it should have been easy.

 

[Daniel Snuts]

Spoiler: Armsmaster-o-vision

Director Piggot turns off the recording. "Simple question," she says. "Is this bullshit?"

When neither of us speak up, she continues. "Certain experiments have been conducted. None by the US government-" Lie. "-but the data exists. A coronal lobotomy will leave a cape alive, but either powerless or unable to control their powers. It's not impossible that something similar could happen naturally as a result of injury. Her reported condition after the fight could indicate brain damage."

We both turn to face the other person in the room.

"I don't do brains," Panacea says reflexively.

"Is there anything you can tell us about her condition?" The director asks.

Spoiler: Panacea-o-vision

There was no brain damage. She still had her Brute powers at the very least. I have no idea what she's playing at, trying to... retire(?) like this. But if I rat her out here, she'll definitely...

"Doctor-patient confidentiality," Panacea says firmly, squaring her shoulders and doing her best to look defiant.

"There are ways around that," I note.

"We're not asking you to violate confidentiality," the director disagrees, playing the good cop. "But if there was anything you could tell us... it would be in your patient's best interest if we could confirm that this isn't some sort of trick." She pronounces the word 'patient' with distaste.

When Panacea remains silent, she turns to me. "You indicated that you had personal experience of a cape losing their powers?"

"Yes, but at the time I didn't know why you were asking. Hexagon's case was nothing like Low Key's."

"Who?" Panacea asks.

"Before your time. Minor villain in Boston, a Case 53 whose arms and legs had turned into pairs of superhumanly strong tentacles. Called herself 'Octagon'. She was never very successful, though, and was down to 'Hexagon' by the time of her death."

"I see," the Director says. "That is technically a loss of power, yet completely useless for our purposes."

"Perhaps there's a better comparison," I suggest. "Moord Nag, the African warlord. Her power takes the shape of a 'familiar spirit'. It grows larger and stronger by consuming human flesh, while injuries make it smaller and weaker. Both changes appear to be permanent. Were it to sustain enough damage, it could possibly 'die'. Her familiar cannot be summoned and dismissed the way Low Key's can, but..."

"Clockblocker did write a report insisting that the wolf gained powers over time," the director says. "He claims that there's no way it could fly at the time of their first encounter, because no cape would voluntarily choose engage him in hand-to-hand combat."

"She won," I note.

"Indeed. But if she truly is like Moord Nag - if her pet has been eating people - we need to know about it."

"Well, I was able to obtain a urine sample from the wolf-"

Both women are startled by my pronouncement. "How?" "When?"

"The details are not important," I say quickly. "Late March. I sent it for analysis, of course. As I'm sure you're aware, canines communicate a lot of information to each other through scent markers in their urine. It turns out that many of those things can also be communicated to molecular biologists."

I call up the report on my visor HUD, and start reading out loud. "'Composition is similar to that of a wolf or dog, though it does not perfectly match any known subspecies. But if the similarities hold, the sample comes from a young but sexually mature-" Panacea giggles at that, before clapping her hands over her mouth. What is she, five? "-sexually mature male, in a subordinate position in the pack. Its diet consists almost entirely of mutton and pork, including bone marrow but not including offal. However, there are also faint traces consistent with the consumption of human flesh.'"

The director stiffens at that last part, as does Panacea. "It should be noted," I say, "that the sample was obtained soon after the encounter Clockblocker mentions in his report - where the wolf also bit off Shadow Stalker's hand. Moord Nag's familiar consumes corpses by the dozen, it would certainly show more than 'faint traces' if Low Key followed that example."

"I will still have people go through the missing person reports," the director says firmly. "Though I don't know how credible the report is. Treating a master projection like a real animal..."

"Real enough," Panacea mutters under her breath, low enough that I might not have heard it without the audio pickups in my helmet.

"Elaborate."

"Oh, I, uh... After the fight she was covered in blood. It wasn't hers. I've never healed a wolf, but it was pretty similar to dog blood. Besides, the protein markers indicating diet should be reliable regardless of species-" She pauses, frowning. "No, if you create an entire animal from scratch you could have it display whatever markers you wanted? But there's no reason..."

"The power likely stores a template to reconstruct the beast from," I say. "Like a Breaker returning to their original form."

"An animal that eats, excretes and bleeds," the director muses. "If it bleeds, it can be killed? But could she not then simply recall the most recent template?"

"Perhaps..." Panacea says. "No, never mind, it's stupid."

"If you have a theory, please do share it," director Piggot says.

"Well, I was just thinking... What if the wolf was a Case 53? It would... explain some things."

The room is silent as we ponder this idea.

"There are records of similarly severe transformations," the director allows.

"A power along the lines of Pretender's?" I muse. "Allowing him to inhabit the body of another, and thus masquerade as a Master projection when he leaves?"

"Lacking hands and incapable of speech, he recruited miss Hebert as his... service animal?" the director says.

Panacea snorts at the description. "Something like that. I mean, it's just a theory."

"Nevertheless, it represents another scenario where she is telling the truth, and really has 'lost her powers,'" I say.

"Though it does beg the question," the director says "Why would anyone join the E88, when they're not even a member of the human race? As a Case 53 he would have no memory of his original ethnicity."

"Money?" Panacea suggests.

I shrug. "How does this affect our policy?"

"For now, we do nothing. Quite aside from the protection she's receiving from the E88, it's too public. If her loss of power is real - no, as long as it's perceived to be real - going after her could have catastrophic effects on the Endbringer participation rate among villains.

"But we observe, and investigate. If we find evidence that they did prey on humans, she goes to jail. And if she ever summons so much as a puppy, she dies."

"She what!?" Panacea exclaims.

"I will put a kill order through the system and keep it on my desk, ready to be signed at a moment's notice. If she truly was crippled I will let her retire in peace, her crimes pardoned and forgotten under he auspices of the Endbringer Truce. But the Truce is a sword that cuts both ways, miss Dallon. To undermine it for your own gain is to declare yourself the enemy of all humanity as surely as any S-class threat."

---

There aren't exactly any cafes open in Brockton Bay right now, so you arranged your meeting with Lisa at 'a place that isn't underwater'. You did, however, bring an extra coffee ration from the imperial stores.

Lisa looks you over when you arrive, and you watch her power supplying her with everything worth knowing about you. Fenrir isn't with you. Fenrir is gone. She's bright enough not to try to say anything to cheer you up, despite knowing exactly what's going on.

"Aren't you going to ask me how I'm doing?" you demand.

"Taylor, no."

"Because I'd tell you that I'll live."

"Taylor, don't."

"Leviathan, on the other hand..."

She sighs. "Shouldn't you finish your blood feud against Pancakes before taking on an Endbringer?"

"I'm doing you a courtesy - asking for your help now, while refusing is easy. Once I kill Pancakes..."

She grimaces at the reminder of her soul price. "That thing doesn't come with an expiration date, huh?"

"You could always become someone whose fondest wish is not the death of another human being," you say with a shrug. "Purity managed to change hers."

"You already- what was- no, not important." You're not sure whether she's talking to you or her power. "It's not as if I have kids to endanger. What do you want from me?"

"You saw him. It. Whatever. And we stole the PRT database, they must have hours of Endbringer footage in there. What's their weakness?"

"You think they haven't already put every Thinker in Watchdog on that? It's not that easy."

"What, are you saying you're not better than those scrubs?" You've looked at the profiles of the Watchdog Thinkers. It's almost sad, how shitty they are - or maybe you're just incredibly spoiled by the company you keep. For all that she's slumming it as two-bit thug, Lisa is easily one of the top ten Thinkers in the world. Maybe top five.

Lisa snorts at your blatant manipulation, but doesn't resist it. "Fine, fine, I'll look at the footage. But not the Simurgh stuff! Not exposing my brain to that, thank you very much."

---

You retire to one of your less flooded backup lairs, each bringing a laptop full of stolen PRT data. You amuse yourself by looking at the Endbringer evaluations from the aforementioned Watchdog Thinkers while Lisa's brain does the heavy lifting.

Hunch: "Very not good."

Appraiser: "Puce shading into sable."

Eleventh Hour: "Eleven."

Eye Spy: "Cloudy with a chance of premeditation."

As you said, sad.

"They're indestructible," Lisa says, looking up from her own computer. "Like, shrug off a hundred nukes indestructible. The wounds, the bleeding we manage to inflict on them, that's all superficial. Doesn't impair them at all. Each layer you peel off just reveals another layer beneath, twice as tough as the last one."

"...what about a thousand nukes?" you ask.

"Nope."

"A million nukes?"

She has to stop and consult her power for that one. "...maybe. Probably not. Please don't try to set off a million nukes."

"Bad for the environment," you agree. "Physical durability is their strength, we knew that already. What's their weakness?"

She makes a disgusted sound in response, but goes back to her homework. Lacking anything better to do, you start paging through the Simurgh stuff. It's not as if it's going to contain any infohazards she couldn't already have installed in your brain, if she wanted to. Nothing leaps out at you as relevant, until you come across a photo titled 'graffiti on interior wall of Madison containment zone':

DRUNK WITH FIRE WE ENTER YOUR SANCTUARY
YOUR SPELL BINDS THAT WHICH WAS DIVIDED
ALL MEN BECOME BROTHERS BENEATH THE SHADOW OF YOUR WINGS​

It's your turn to make a disgusted noise, something like "Blergh."

"Hm?" Lisa asks.

"Simurgh just told me her True Name," you say sourly.

"I don't want to know!"

---

"Someone made them."

"What?"

"They aren't people. They aren't aliens. They look mostly humanoid but twisted and monstrous because someone made them that way. Psychological warfare. I mean, look at those eyes." She brings up a closeup of Leviathan's face. Four eyes, three small ones on the left and one slightly bigger on the right. "Nothing has eyes like that. They're just there to look creepy. They don't even work.

"Hell, his entire head is a decoy. The only important stuff is right... there." She zooms out the image and points at a spot somewhat below where the heart would be on a human. "Heart-brain-eyes-everything organ, located right in the indestructible-est part. No one has even come close to damaging that."

"Who?" You ask the important question. "Why?" You ask the other important question.

"Based on their attack patterns? Either a mastermind bent on global domination who lives in what used to be the Republic of Chad, or my power is giving me garbage due to insufficient information. My money is on the latter."

"...if we can't really hurt them, why do they ever retreat?" you ask, circling back to another fairly important question. "Why not just keep rampaging forever?"

"A plot by the Chad mastermind? Don't know. Need more data."

---

"I found a weakness," Lisa announces. "Here." She turns the screen towards you, and you scoot over to watch. It's a video clip of Leviathan attacking a city. It looks... familiar?

"Is that Brockton Bay?" you ask.

"Yeah. Check this out." She starts the video playing, stopping it a few seconds later. As far as you could tell, nothing happened. "Look closer. There." She points at the screen and advances the video frame by frame. There's a narrow projectile of some kind, pitch black and almost invisible in the rain, flying towards Leviathan. An arrow? It hits Leviathan and vanishes. The Endbringer doesn't react, and a few frames later it reappears behind him.

"Phased through?" you ask.

"No. Look there." Lisa zooms in to show you three pixels on Leviathan's shoulder, that are a slightly darker shade of green than the surrounding pixels. "It left a hole. Completely ignored his physical durability."

You squint at the pixels. "If you say so. Who did that?"

"Flechette, a Ward. Currently stationed in New York. If you want to fight Endbringers, you need to get her power."

Huh, you recognize that name. She was the one who could destroy orichalcum, wasn't she? As well as other 'indestructible' materials - including, apparently, Endbringer flesh. You call up her profile on your own computer. Road trip time?

"Hang on," Lisa says. "Says here she's being transferred." Did she just casually hack the PRT again? "To... Brockton Bay!? What are odds?"

"Roughly Simurgh percent?" you suggest.

"I really wish you hadn't said that."

 

[Omnomimous]

she dies

Click to shrink...

Wonder how this is gonna turn out when Taylor gives birth to her (presumably) wolf-eared/tailed baby.

 

[zharshoul]

Calling it for an eventual curveball in this fic, the Simurgh is Taylor's mother somehow and is master minding a plot to make sure that the future timeline she comes from with Aryan furries comes to pass.

Its crazy enough to be true, or just crazy.


———
and yeah timeline wise I don't think her kid is gonna make an appearance in this fic except maybe at the very end

 

[Cosmic Dream]

Wonder how this is gonna turn out when Taylor gives birth to her (presumably) wolf-eared/tailed baby.

Click to shrink...

That should support their idea of Fenrir as a Case 53 though, shouldn't it?

"Low Key was the only one who knew that beneath the beastly visage laid a human heart, cruelly deformed by their power ..."

 

[Dakkah]

Hmm, with Parian dead I think Taylor will be the one to seduce Flechette to the Darkside. (Or have someone she owns do so for her).

Wonder how this is gonna turn out when Taylor gives birth to her (presumably) wolf-eared/tailed baby.

Click to shrink...

Don't think that it will matter at that time, Exalted take like 15 months to give birth, that's a very long time for someone that gains powers as fast as Taylor. So at that time she will either have earned a kill order of her own. (or she will be either too valuable or working with/for Cauldron.)

 

[bridielux]

I hope to see a wolf baby! Also, when the S9 getting here! And hooray for kill orders!

I really hope life keeps shitting on tay. 's the best.

 

[GAMB42]

I'm gonna be honest here and say the Armsmaster POV was mostly wastefull. It simply confirms that Taylor will be left alone, as expected, while other things happen in the background. Regarding the pre arranged Kill Order... how is it gonna matter at all ? Given how fast she gets powers, actual stranger powers and her ability to literally shift to other dimensions the only way it would be relevant is if Panacea gets involved. Taylor simply has too many aces to be bothered by local PRT (frankly it would require active Cauldron involvment given how bad the standard thinker power is from that chat with Lisa). If this was a way to rack up the tension it failed in my opinion.

Now to see the next honeypot scheme Taylor is gonna hatch to get on Flechette's sight and power. A new ID maybe ? Either way I'm amused Taylor's age and lack of guardian was not addressed or used to determine how the PRT is gonna operate regarding her. Also Lisa's poor impulse control continues to land her in bad situations.