Theo Anders and the Black Exaltation[Worm/Exalted][Hiatus]

Max will call for you. It might not be tonight, it might not be tomorrow, but the two of you will talk about what's going to happen.

Now, you need to find out what you can do beyond figuring out what people want to do. And looking 'amazing.'

But before you leave the bathroom, you pull off your shirt and lay it over you arm, grab the baby wipes (for the very rare times Aster is over) and begin cleaning up the blood that hasn't flaked off. There isn't a whole lot, especially when you consider the state you were in, but the equipment down in the locked gym is very nice.

You duck into your room, tossing the used wipes into your trashcan. The following is five minutes of quiet expletives as you try to find excersize clothes that fit. Eventually you end up in a pair of basketball shorts with the ties abused in order to pull it snug against your much narrower hips, and a wife-beater tank top you managed to find stuffed into the back of one of your drawers that had previously been way too tight to wear. One of your cousins from the far side of the Herren Clan sent it to you. With a rather mocking note.

It fits you like a glove. You can count your abs. That asshole can suck the shit out of a turtle's cloaca.

How in Oblivion are you going to explain this?

Slouching. You were always slouching before. Bad posture, lack of confidence. You decided you were a man now, so no more slouching. That'll do. Maybe.

You open your door to find Nessa with her hand raised in preperation to knock.

"Yes?"

"Theo? Holy crap! You clean up good!" she gives you a good once over, and looks back at you with a smirk and a glint in her eye, "You almost die and get the sweetest power ever. I didn't believe Ophelia when she told me!"

You nod in acknowledgement of her statements. You did die, sorta, and you don't know if it is the sweetest power ever yet.

"I'm headed down to the gym to see if I got anything out of it, besides being suddenly fit and a minor thinker power."

Nessa cocks an eyebrow.

"Do you know the code to get in?"

"Yes, my mother's birthday."

Nessa nods and gives a sad smile.

"Good, don't get too much into it, you'll want a spotter for some of the equipment, and we're almost done cleaning up. We'll be down in a few, okay?"

With that handled you head down a flight of stairs and avoid the bulk of the entertainment room, heading to the hidden door behind the popcorn machine. A quick jiggle of the right foam pyramid reveals a keypad, and a moment later you're walking into a large gym designed for parahuman usage.

Jessica and Nessa got the most use out of it, due to their scaling-with-size brute powers. Followed by your father, when he was feeling particularly creative. Barring them, mostly this gym was used by visits Empire or Gesellschaft parahumans. It was reinforced; had up to brute 5 rated weight systems; a free running treadmill for traditional movers; an automated, if short, obstacle course, for non-traditional non-teleporting movers and combat thinkers; a large boxing ring for sparring; and an area with some dummies standing. There was also the Anders Family collection of blades, that you drift over to so you can putz around a little with before the girls appear.

Grandfather had been fond of collecting European style blades, but those were kept on display in various parts of the Anders holdings. No, these were a collection of swords and spears that were meant to be used. Training swords and spears included. A couple of shields lay close by for Nessa and Jessica.

Ever since you were little, you wanted to use a sword. Though instead of a longsword, you decided to see how strong you really are, and pick up a Zweihaender.

A few practice swings and you're pretty sure that you could do acrobatics with it.

So you do.

Your forehead cracks open and a smidgen of blood begins to dribble out as you duel with a false opponent. You dodge, deflect, and feint imaginary blows, even flipping over one. To land a brutal decapitation strike and defeat your opponent, you twist, roll over their counter strike, step up and plant a foot on the near-by weapons rack, and flip-twist over their shoulders. The blade whistles through the air, an upside top of whirling steel death, and you could play imaginary soccer with their imaginary head.

Your breaths come in short, quick gasps and you're drenched in sweat. You might be stronger and faster, but you're not really any more fit. You look over to the water-bottle fridge in the back corner, and wipe your sweat and blood covered brow. You catch them out of the corner of your eye and whirl on them, right before the clapping begins. Your cousins all have awestruck faces.

"Tell me you got all of that!"

And Ophelia has her smart phone out and is finishing, presumably, saving the video that she took of you.

"I missed a few practice swings, but I got that awesome bit at the end!"

The sword clangs to the ground as you dash forward, you have to see it.

"Can I see?"

Jessica and Nessa flinch, but Ophelia shrieks in surprise, her phone going up into the air. You manage to snag it and begin watching the video. In your mind's eye you can still see your opponent, but its looks like-

"I look like I'm in a kung-fu flick. One of the badly dubbed wire ones."

"It looks cool, but do you think you could do it with a live opponent? Or you scared to try?" comes to your ear playfully from Jessica's mouth scant inches from your ear. You were a little too focused on your awesome video to pay attention to the three women clustered around you, without touching.

That has to stop. Note to yourself: Achtung! Pass auf!

What if they had been enemies after the end of a fight. You know you can pay attention.

"Sure, if Ophelia will heal you when you get hurt?"

Jessica rolls her eyes and snorts in amusement at your barb.

The one-eyed nurse smiles and nods, then she drags Nessa over to a better spot. She's going to film this too. When you turn back to Jessica, she's picked up a longsword and shield. Her positioning is such that you'd have to walk across her front, and risk getting struck, or taking the long way around to get to your blade.

You reach a hand out as you walk to a spot about ten paces in front of her, and the sword flies to your hand. You smirk outwardly at the surprise on her face, but inside you are just as surprised. The blood begins to flow down your face at this point, your mark fully open.

You hear the door to the gym open this time.

"I think," comes your father's voice as he walks into the room, followed by curious-looking Aaron, "I would like to watch this."

Before you... almost died? started being undead? -were Exalted- you would have broken into a nervous sweat and probably mucked this all up. You're fairly sure you could best your more experienced cousin, but would that be the best choice?

[] Impress your Father and not only win, but win by a fair margin.

[] Win or lose, this is about learning what kind of skills you might have. Fight hard, just not hard enough to permanently hurt Jess. You'll probably win anyways.

[] Throw the fight, lose. You might get dick punched if Jess ever finds out though. And given what she just saw... Maybe you should start wearing a cup, or make it the best damn acting anyone has ever seen (it won't be, its gotta be convincing though)

[] Write in

Edit: XP gain 3xp

 

Dauntless is Brockton Bay's hometown hero, and as such is frequently listed in most Brocktonite's top three capes.

The Wards (In general) in Brockton Bay are something of a PR anomaly. They are incredibly popular. Though he'd never voice it out loud, Glenn Chambers, head of PRT/Protectorate PR suspects this is because the Wards in BB actually act like a junior Protectorate. Brockton Bay's situation is one where needs dictate.

Armsmaster is a nationally recognized and nationally ranked, the only Tinker short of Dragon or Hero to reach such a level, hero, though his local popularity usually has him somewhere in a Brocktonite's top five, he is infrequently the number one favourite.

Like most civllains, a Brocktonite's number one cape is frequently a member of the Triumverate.

Miss Militia and Assault&Battery (Many people think of them as a single unit despite knowing that they're two seperate capes.) rank higher than Armsmaster locally in popularity. Velocity is fairly popular, but most people don't consider him particualrly noteworthy.

But its Dauntless and Armsmaster that fight for 'makes us feel safest and makes us look up to the heroes' in the slowly rotting city of Brockton Bay.

But back to Dauntless and the Wards.

If you were to ask any of the BB homegrown independents (Not New Wave, they're kinda high on their own smug and will list other members of New Wave with occasionally a Protecorate cape thrown in. Strangely its only Crystal/Laserdream who lists Panacea in her top five capes (#1) Victoria lists herself and makes no mention of her adopted sister.) who'd they like to work along, its almost always Dauntless or the Wards. Ask the homegrown villains and they'd like to be arrested by (if they HAD to get arrested) by Dauntless or the Wards if only to bring a Brocktonite some hype.

Hookwolf has a fuckton of respect for little Vista, and will punish any mook who badmouths her, and will defend her to his peers. She was only twelve and some change and she had the great big brass ones to fight Hookwolf to save a PRT agent. Not only did Hookwolf have to rely on his years of experience to get close to her, little squirt managed to survive with a minor belly wound. He waits for the day she can cut loose a bit. Little Vista is pegged to be a Valkyja, Hooky is sure.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, almost every villain in BB dislikes or outright hate Shadow Stalker. Some have been or had their direct underlings get shot by her crossbows, other hear the rumors. The rumors that float around about her... Well, if she got caught, it'd make BB look bad, and that's bad. Brockton Bay already sucks enough as it is, don't need that kind of bullshit to add to it.

Not a lot of people actually like Triumph. He comes across as one of those rich douches, 'he's alright' they'll say, 'but I'd rather talk about -'

Clockblocker is a huge hit amongst his age group, male and female. His joking attitude gives him 'the funny guy' favourability.

Aegis and Gallant are both well liked, but neither really sticks out. They're remembered, but in the PR events, they're the most bland and comic book heroic types.

Kid Win is ranked number 3, behind Vista and Clockblocker in terms of popularity. He's a tinker, and tinkers always mean big things, especially when the Ward has a chance to learn under one of the best tinekrs in the world, it should mean one day a Brocktonite Tinker will be one of the best Tinkers in the World. That he flies around on a skateboard and occasionally shoots his laser pistols at PR events (Very heavily frowned on, except Armsmaster has charts and shuts up any nay sayers) is a big reason. It -is- really fucking cool.