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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
wormcan
There are. Getting to them isn't necessarily trivial, especially since the entrance to the women's side is a hole in a wall guarded from both sides.
As she approaches the exit from this block, a long-haired man flanked by two taller parahumans asks, "Would whoever is leaving the notes please show yourself?"
As she approaches the exit from this block, a long-haired man flanked by two taller parahumans asks, "Would whoever is leaving the notes please show yourself?"
wormcan
The two on either side look surprised.
"Easier to talk to each other. I'd like to ask about these further details, and if it seems likely to work I can spread the word to the other cell blocks. More organized than your current method."
"Easier to talk to each other. I'd like to ask about these further details, and if it seems likely to work I can spread the word to the other cell blocks. More organized than your current method."
imeanforever
I don't think the administrator of the prison has noticed me yet, and I may have some trouble when she does.
wormcan
"If you don't think you can deal with Dragon, coming here at all was reckless. In such a case, getting the others to come to you as quickly as possible is even more important."
imeanforever
Click. ...She probably should have gotten that name first, in retrospect. It's just that she really did like Sarkany apart from the whole "operating the Birdcage" thing.
I don't think she can hurt me, but she could make the project inconvenient. Is there some reason you can't spread the word for me without looking at me?
I don't think she can hurt me, but she could make the project inconvenient. Is there some reason you can't spread the word for me without looking at me?
wormcan
"Not at all. For that I only need to know the deal being offered in enough detail to know whether to take it seriously." He addresses the space where the words are appearing, for lack of a better direction.
imeanforever
I have a colony on an alternate uninhabited Earth. It is currently pretty sparsely infrastructured, so you will have to drink river water and if there are more of you than I'm expecting you might get rained on, but these are temporary problems I'm hoping to fix over time with more detailed information about inhabitant preferences. I have an extremely thorough Master power and I will not let you hurt each other or conduct acts of supervillainy, but I don't mind releasing you back into Earth Bet if you can be made safe that way and prefer to take your chances there. I've heard you have TV here, you may have heard of me, I'm Promise.
wormcan
"I haven't, sorry to say. Marquis, pleased to meet you.
If you're willing to risk your power against every other power that exists, there are plenty here who would take advantage of the offer. Spruce, tell the other cell block leaders they're welcome to W with as many people as want to come, as long as anyone who causes trouble gets sent to the back of the line at my order or Promise's. Cinderhands, the leaderless ones.
Promise, before they go would you mind demonstrating that you do in fact have a way out?"
The taller of the two lieutenants volunteers, "I've eaten a berry, if you need someone who has."
If you're willing to risk your power against every other power that exists, there are plenty here who would take advantage of the offer. Spruce, tell the other cell block leaders they're welcome to W with as many people as want to come, as long as anyone who causes trouble gets sent to the back of the line at my order or Promise's. Cinderhands, the leaderless ones.
Promise, before they go would you mind demonstrating that you do in fact have a way out?"
The taller of the two lieutenants volunteers, "I've eaten a berry, if you need someone who has."
imeanforever
I'm a little concerned that if I turn visible or say anything, Dragon (they probably don't know her as "Sarkany" at all) will notice me right away, and I do have to do so for certain parts of my Master power to operate. I have a way in, as you can tell, and I didn't intend on imprisoning myself; will that do for now? Or I can disappear an object.
wormcan
"It'll do. If you could send this out of the prison?" A rod of bone rises from the floor.
imeanforever
Promise takes it without assuming it into her invisibility, inspects it, reshapes it into a sphere to confirm that it's uniform inside and not some hastily prepared annoying Tinker device or something, and makes a gate to the lava flows. She tosses the bone through and then closes the gate. Then moves to another location in the room.
wormcan
Marquis nods. "It is gone, and not just invisible." Exeunt lieutenants. The people of cell block W have begun congregating around the entrance to the room, not because they know what's happening but just because this seems to be the room where it happens.
"The Birdcage's population will not be able to fit in any one place. Since my people are assembling, perhaps it would be a good idea to begin with them?" Marquis addresses the space where Promise isn't.
"The Birdcage's population will not be able to fit in any one place. Since my people are assembling, perhaps it would be a good idea to begin with them?" Marquis addresses the space where Promise isn't.
imeanforever
This may also be particularly noticeable. I'm a little surprised she hasn't spotted me yet, actually, but since she hasn't what I'd ideally like to do is assemble several groups, set up my requirements for evacuation with each one, make gates for each one, and have everyone leave simultaneously.
wormcan
"I doubt we'll have the time. If you don't want to let people leave as soon as they're prepared, might I suggest at least letting them leave early in the event that we're interrupted?
Whimper, choose a group. For the first wave, if we don't end up all leaving together."
Whimper, choose a group. For the first wave, if we don't end up all leaving together."
imeanforever
The Crystal Reach is moderately popular as a tourist destination, but that's popular by fairy standards, she's in a cave, and it's very big. This is probably pretty safe. All right. The gates will lead to a location with nothing smarter than moss for miles around. If anyone does go farther than that, anyone they meet will have most of my same powers including the Master part if not more powers than me, and being captured by a randomly chosen person there would be by my estimation much worse than just staying in the Birdcage. If anyone goes through the gate without having eaten a berry, many of my escalation options are lethal, and I won't take anyone to the final destination without confirming that they have done that. Thank you for your organizational help, assuming it's not some kind of unpleasant gambit.
And then she outlines a new gate to the Crystal Reach in fairy lights.
And then she outlines a new gate to the Crystal Reach in fairy lights.
wormcan
No one rushes through it, presumably because they understood the instructions. Or maybe the bone "X" across the gate had something to do with it.
While the first group arrives from outside Marquis' block, he opens the gate to see a balding and non-supervillanous-looking man. "Galvanate, welcome to W. You've brought your–"
While the cell block leaders are occupied, what looks like blue lightning arcs from out of view and strikes a wall. Alarms blare.
While the first group arrives from outside Marquis' block, he opens the gate to see a balding and non-supervillanous-looking man. "Galvanate, welcome to W. You've brought your–"
While the cell block leaders are occupied, what looks like blue lightning arcs from out of view and strikes a wall. Alarms blare.
imeanforever
Ah shit.
Promise abandons her inaudibility.
"RESPOND TO MY LIGHTS AS ORDERS," Promise yells to all her vassals except the Siberian, and that's as far as she gets before the room is flooded with containment foam.
Promise can ignore the containment foam like it's not there thanks to the Siberian - well, except it makes it impossible to see. She can clear it away, too, but only in the time it takes to physically traverse the space. She makes tunnels to all the people whose locations she remembers, and then starts trying to find her way out of the foam.
Promise abandons her inaudibility.
"RESPOND TO MY LIGHTS AS ORDERS," Promise yells to all her vassals except the Siberian, and that's as far as she gets before the room is flooded with containment foam.
Promise can ignore the containment foam like it's not there thanks to the Siberian - well, except it makes it impossible to see. She can clear it away, too, but only in the time it takes to physically traverse the space. She makes tunnels to all the people whose locations she remembers, and then starts trying to find her way out of the foam.
wormcan
No one is exactly surprised by this development. Dragon was likely to find out any time anyway. Those who can interfere with containment foam do, and some of Galvanate's people turn on each other trying to retaliate against whoever raised the alarm.
imeanforever
Once Promise is out of the foam for a moment and can expect her voice to carry, she tries, "STOP," on Dragon.
Of course this does not help. Deafness is a really obvious defense.
Now she has to figure out how Dragon is seeing things.
She tunnels through another torrent of containment foam to go back to the helpful organizer-guy. ...Sarkany had some kind of unexplained issue with talking to Promise early on; she may be able to listen without quite correctly hearing. But there's all this opaque containment foam. So, in fairylights: Do you know where her cameras are?
Of course this does not help. Deafness is a really obvious defense.
Now she has to figure out how Dragon is seeing things.
She tunnels through another torrent of containment foam to go back to the helpful organizer-guy. ...Sarkany had some kind of unexplained issue with talking to Promise early on; she may be able to listen without quite correctly hearing. But there's all this opaque containment foam. So, in fairylights: Do you know where her cameras are?
imeanforever
Promise inspects that area. Is there something camera-looking there?
wormcan
A small dome protruding from the ceiling that presumably contains a camera, if that counts.
imeanforever
That counts.
Promise gets real close to it.
She makes sure she has the environment nailed so she doesn't fumble her fairylights.
She considers the odds that Dragon could be construed as actively doing something all the time to keep the Birdcage inhabitants from, say, dying of explosive decompression; and therefore chooses the order:
Take no new action.
Trailed from her hand in lights, very fast; there's a tradeoff in length and reaction time, but not that much of one.
Promise gets real close to it.
She makes sure she has the environment nailed so she doesn't fumble her fairylights.
She considers the odds that Dragon could be construed as actively doing something all the time to keep the Birdcage inhabitants from, say, dying of explosive decompression; and therefore chooses the order:
Take no new action.
Trailed from her hand in lights, very fast; there's a tradeoff in length and reaction time, but not that much of one.
wormcan
The inmates notice that no new streams of anything interfering with them, and the lack of escalating options replacing it. Those that can work their way out of the existing foam do, and then start freeing the others. Marquis is already standing atop the flood of foam, looking not only untrapped but clean, and pointing the way to buried prisoners. His people first, then Galvanate's in order of who's farthest from where the lightning came from.