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Tree branch: check. Assorted lightweight seed-bearing fruits and nuts: check. Other seeds: check. Water bottle, for when she has to veer away from the river: check.
Better not linger in her starting place too much longer. Yellow's faster than her and may have already come home to a wreck. Thorn might have a habit of checking up on the place, even, just in case. She's invisible, inaudible, unsmellable - that won't help if he sends someone thorough. Or comes in person.
She sets out.
She's been flying for about thirty minutes after her shopping trip when she falls through a tear and squeaks inaudibly and lands in the middle of -
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imeanforever
"You're the squishy one, not me. Somebody's got to wipe the floor with them. I'm no good to anyone cooped up in a tree."
wormcan
"It's the Slaughterhouse Nine. We're all squishy. You can leave the floor-wiping to someone who doesn't have a team of serial killers aiming for them."
imeanforever
"Promise isn't hiding in her tree."
"I have a thing to test versus the Endbringers, or I might be. And I am immortal. You want to know what Jack's idea of a test is? It's 'murder this child or I'll kill somewhat more people next time I'm killing people'. I don't imagine the others are more fun."
"I have a thing to test versus the Endbringers, or I might be. And I am immortal. You want to know what Jack's idea of a test is? It's 'murder this child or I'll kill somewhat more people next time I'm killing people'. I don't imagine the others are more fun."
wormcan
"If you stay, you're looking at being specifically targeted. Other capes can fight approximately as well and will be in less danger."
imeanforever
"She's targeted too!"
"I need to launch the Endbringer into space. After that, or if that doesn't work, I can go hang out in Fairyland for a while."
"I need to launch the Endbringer into space. After that, or if that doesn't work, I can go hang out in Fairyland for a while."
wormcan
"And they have demonstrated the ability to track individuals easily, which leads to our other problem. We have almost no information on where the Nine are, tying our hands even if we had an infallible plan. After the meeting with the local villains we'll at least know more nominees, which will give some additional, if general, information. Or with luck something more solid."
imeanforever
"If we can broadcast me loud enough, and their order-circumventing mechanisms are not continuous or -" begins Promise.
"...into space?" asks Aura.
"Into a black hole, specifically."
"Is that safe?"
"Well, the ends that lead to the black hole from Fairyland didn't suck me and Aegis through them or anything, so if I wasn't sure before I am now. As long as nobody but Leviathan goes into the gates. Anyway. If the order circumvention isn't continuous I could have Mannequin and Burnscar fighting the others, which might be easier to find than all of them just waiting."
"...into space?" asks Aura.
"Into a black hole, specifically."
"Is that safe?"
"Well, the ends that lead to the black hole from Fairyland didn't suck me and Aegis through them or anything, so if I wasn't sure before I am now. As long as nobody but Leviathan goes into the gates. Anyway. If the order circumvention isn't continuous I could have Mannequin and Burnscar fighting the others, which might be easier to find than all of them just waiting."
wormcan
"That can't be relied on, but It's better than not doing it. We'll keep using more normal methods, and hopefully can turn up their location before they try any serious attack."
Director Piggot nods. "Aegis, you'll need to accompany Promise on one of her errands to Fairyland. Miss Militia, Armsmaster, you have your assignments. I'll find a cape to pair with Velocity, and break the last-minute news about Jack Slash showing up against the Endbringer."
Director Piggot nods. "Aegis, you'll need to accompany Promise on one of her errands to Fairyland. Miss Militia, Armsmaster, you have your assignments. I'll find a cape to pair with Velocity, and break the last-minute news about Jack Slash showing up against the Endbringer."
wormcan
Aegis goes with her. By the time she returns to pick up any nominees who want to disappear from the face of the Earth, the PRT people have settled back down into dealing with the emergency. Miss Militia is negotiating with potential allies, Armsmaster is tracking down the enemy, and even the Wards who wanted to volunteer are strategizing.
imeanforever
Promise makes sure they all know that she is going to be opening gates to black holes and that no one should go into them. She can outline the gates in fairylights after opening them if that will help.
Glory Girl is very grumpy about the prospect of hiding in a tree for several days but her mother made her pack food and homework and books anyway and she isn't actively flying away. When Promise shows up to bring them home with her, she looks at her sister.
Glory Girl is very grumpy about the prospect of hiding in a tree for several days but her mother made her pack food and homework and books anyway and she isn't actively flying away. When Promise shows up to bring them home with her, she looks at her sister.
imeanforever
"I could totally kick their asses," Glory Girl says.
"The problem is you can't simultaneously do that and look after everybody they'll put in harm's way to watch you jump," Promise says. "You can fly carrying Panacea, so we can use the gate in this building to get to my tree. This way."
"The problem is you can't simultaneously do that and look after everybody they'll put in harm's way to watch you jump," Promise says. "You can fly carrying Panacea, so we can use the gate in this building to get to my tree. This way."
wormcan
When they reach the tree, Panacea feels its bark. "This is...a lot more like you than most humans are. I still half expected we'd be at least the same kind of thing."
imeanforever
"I started in a tree just like this one. Far away." Promise opens a door in the bark, lets them in, covers her bookshelf with a layer of wood to prevent unauthorized snooping, makes a spare bed and arranges some extra pillows on it. "I'm not going to lock up the food, but do at least think before dipping into it." She isn't looking right at either of them. "Vassalization by food doesn't strictly make anything worse, but it means that there's no hope that I'll ever forget your name - I mean, I might, but you'd still be my vassal. Also, some of the food - not the berries that looks like this," she reaches into her cupboard and picks up a haw, "and not the candied dewdrops," she holds up one of those, "but everything else I have, has a low but genuine risk of having a claim on it from a fairy who is not me. I could blot that out if I were hand-feeding you but I'm not going to do that when I could just bring you mortal groceries, so if you do decide to raid my kitchen, berries and dewdrops first, and probably just don't raid the kitchen. The water is safe though." She raises the ceiling to accommodate their heights more comfortably, gets rid of the fairylights overhead and replaces them with lights in more easily covered places so they'll be able to sleep in the dark. "And don't go outside. I freely admit that nine times of ten you'd be fine, but the tenth time one of my neighbors will be flying by and will have some unknown kind magic and some unknown skill at sorcery and will probably think you look like very shiny toys. They can't get in my tree. Do not go outside. I'm going upstairs to put in a gate to ground level three miles outside of a small town in Australia which I can't name for you because apparently it has a person's name in it. It'll settle within a few days, just walk straight towards the footboard of the bed if you want to go there and don't otherwise. Questions?"
wormcan
Panacea shakes her head.
"We'll stay away from the food. Um, good luck with everything?"
"We'll stay away from the food. Um, good luck with everything?"
imeanforever
"Thanks."
Promise goes up and makes a gate to just outside of the unnamed town of Alice Springs, and then goes down again, remembers to put in a ladder set into the wall so that Panacea can go up and down, and departs, leaving seamless wood behind her.
Back to Brockton Bay she goes.
Promise goes up and makes a gate to just outside of the unnamed town of Alice Springs, and then goes down again, remembers to put in a ladder set into the wall so that Panacea can go up and down, and departs, leaving seamless wood behind her.
Back to Brockton Bay she goes.
wormcan
Shortly after, Miss Militia returns, presumably from meeting the local villains. They've agreed to a truce, of sorts, minimal crime until the Nine are gone in exchange for the heroes not moving against the gangs, but they will not be directly reinforcing each other. No one has accepted the offer of Promise hiding them. Two villain groups were ejected early on for refusing to suspend their own plans. It's presumed that some of the unaccounted-for nominees are from the Travelers and Undersiders.
The only other confirmed nominee is Hookwolf, a leader of what's left of the Empire Eighty-Eight. Miss Militia and the Director offer Promise Hookwolf's name, since he was on the same list as Krieg and Kaiser.
The only other confirmed nominee is Hookwolf, a leader of what's left of the Empire Eighty-Eight. Miss Militia and the Director offer Promise Hookwolf's name, since he was on the same list as Krieg and Kaiser.
wormcan
"In case he joins the Nine, partly because of his...current employment, and also because nominees for the Nine often end up fighting one another. It would be a truce violation to arrest him now, but you and the other targets would be safer if you read it."