View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
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 -
+ Show First Post
imeanforever
wormcan
Noelle, slightly surprised that she gets through that easily, gets through that easily. The Dallons, the other Dallons, and Canary are still on Bet, but everyone who needs ongoing supervision is safely on Hawthorn.
imeanforever
Huzzah. Noelle gets briefed on Hawthorn's rules - mostly so she knows what constraints the supervillains are under; Noelle herself seems trustworthy - and resparrowed-rehumaned.
Promise emails Dragon about revising her orders. She has no quarrel with Dragon which is unrelated to the Birdcage and is willing to totally release her, although this does involve Dragon being in a position to hear enforced orders.
Dragon responds with a really interesting life story. Or, well, origin story. She is, she says, an artificial intelligence ("...yes, like a computer program but smarter") and was already operating under some heavy restrictions.
She'd been vetting Promise as a possible way around them all along. Which is kinda flattering. And is why Promise got such a detailed description of the Birdcage: information about what Promise does and does not consider appropriate to do to imprisoned persons was essential information. Dragon wasn't expecting her to do that with it, but the decision of whether to let Promise have her name is already moot.
And it turns out that some of the orders Promise delivered during the breakout were at cross purposes with Dragon's creator's intentions. Some actions Dragon habitually takes are compulsory whether she likes them or not.
And when told to stop taking them, she did.
That said, Dragon does not want to perform extensive experiments on Promise Versus Dragon's Author at this time. She will settle for a small rescindment for the time being while seeing how Promise's... thing... shakes out. She whips up something that will filter out the sound if Promise deviates from the accepted wording. They have a VOIP call. Promise removes the exception from Dragon's freedom to act as she wishes, enabling her to take actions which relate to Promise having broken into the Birdcage.
Promise emails Dragon about revising her orders. She has no quarrel with Dragon which is unrelated to the Birdcage and is willing to totally release her, although this does involve Dragon being in a position to hear enforced orders.
Dragon responds with a really interesting life story. Or, well, origin story. She is, she says, an artificial intelligence ("...yes, like a computer program but smarter") and was already operating under some heavy restrictions.
She'd been vetting Promise as a possible way around them all along. Which is kinda flattering. And is why Promise got such a detailed description of the Birdcage: information about what Promise does and does not consider appropriate to do to imprisoned persons was essential information. Dragon wasn't expecting her to do that with it, but the decision of whether to let Promise have her name is already moot.
And it turns out that some of the orders Promise delivered during the breakout were at cross purposes with Dragon's creator's intentions. Some actions Dragon habitually takes are compulsory whether she likes them or not.
And when told to stop taking them, she did.
That said, Dragon does not want to perform extensive experiments on Promise Versus Dragon's Author at this time. She will settle for a small rescindment for the time being while seeing how Promise's... thing... shakes out. She whips up something that will filter out the sound if Promise deviates from the accepted wording. They have a VOIP call. Promise removes the exception from Dragon's freedom to act as she wishes, enabling her to take actions which relate to Promise having broken into the Birdcage.
wormcan
Promise's thing continues to shake out. Hawthorn is beginning to turn into an actual colony as well as an escape. Quite a few powers are useful for this, and some of the people who have them are willing to use them (probably in an attempt to look helpful-but-not-too-necessary for when Promise decides who to release, but still).
imeanforever
Promise starts releasing people. Snugly ordered into decent citizenship and constructive-if-any power use, offered plastic surgery from Bonesaw (at Bonesaw's convenience) if they really need it to avoid instant re-arrest, obliged to check messages and show up if summoned for order revisions, and then dropped off in any country they prefer with small starting funds.
It's not about who's essential. Anyone whose powers may go off involuntarily or who seems to have an excessively twisty turn of mind or who does not seem to have an actual plan for how to use their freedom is held back, but she will give up anybody who seems like nobody will be worse off for their release.
When she finds herself with some downtime she looks in on the forum. Is anyone actually asking questions of her or are they just encouraging each other to speculate?
It's not about who's essential. Anyone whose powers may go off involuntarily or who seems to have an excessively twisty turn of mind or who does not seem to have an actual plan for how to use their freedom is held back, but she will give up anybody who seems like nobody will be worse off for their release.
When she finds herself with some downtime she looks in on the forum. Is anyone actually asking questions of her or are they just encouraging each other to speculate?
wormcan
All of the above. (Mostly speculation, of course. This is still the Internet.) They want to know why she did it, whether she's officially A Villain now or if the Birdcage was a one-off thing, whether she gave specific inmates what they deserved (enough people ask this one that it adds up to half her list), and if she's still going to be healing people. And people still appreciate her photo blog, even now that she's a wanted archvillain.
imeanforever
Promise writes:
I considered the Birdcage inhumane. The five hundred and ninety-nine inmates who preferred to volunteer to hand themselves over to a stranger's Master power rather than stay there, this when at the time I didn't even have running water available, would seem to reinforce the point.
I think I am probably legally categorized as a villain at this point but I do not think I am morally one. To the extent law and ethics match I will abide by both. Where they diverge, I have lost patience with the mortal legal system, much to the apparent dismay of my lawyer.
I have not satisfied your revenge fantasies, although some of the inmates were hoping for more outlets for their villainous inclinations than I offered and were disappointed, which will have to content you.
It may be logistically complicated for me to heal more people. I'm not opposed in principle, but the last time I did it the Slaughterhouse Nine showed up, killed and injured and frightened some people who were there for my help, and made my life very inconvenient before I killed and acquired the remaining members. Other villain groups, or Protectorate contingents who think I'd look good on their resume who happen to be feeling lucky, might try something similar; I managed one known-entry-point transit to Bet since the jailbreak but it was a rather tense affair. If anybody has an ambush-proof way for me to do healings, let me know; otherwise it will have to wait until I have a defensive excursion contingent put together which I expect to be able to decisively and with minimized casualties handle anyone who thinks they can take me.
The photo blog will continue to update for the foreseeable future. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want pictures of.
I considered the Birdcage inhumane. The five hundred and ninety-nine inmates who preferred to volunteer to hand themselves over to a stranger's Master power rather than stay there, this when at the time I didn't even have running water available, would seem to reinforce the point.
I think I am probably legally categorized as a villain at this point but I do not think I am morally one. To the extent law and ethics match I will abide by both. Where they diverge, I have lost patience with the mortal legal system, much to the apparent dismay of my lawyer.
I have not satisfied your revenge fantasies, although some of the inmates were hoping for more outlets for their villainous inclinations than I offered and were disappointed, which will have to content you.
It may be logistically complicated for me to heal more people. I'm not opposed in principle, but the last time I did it the Slaughterhouse Nine showed up, killed and injured and frightened some people who were there for my help, and made my life very inconvenient before I killed and acquired the remaining members. Other villain groups, or Protectorate contingents who think I'd look good on their resume who happen to be feeling lucky, might try something similar; I managed one known-entry-point transit to Bet since the jailbreak but it was a rather tense affair. If anybody has an ambush-proof way for me to do healings, let me know; otherwise it will have to wait until I have a defensive excursion contingent put together which I expect to be able to decisively and with minimized casualties handle anyone who thinks they can take me.
The photo blog will continue to update for the foreseeable future. Let me know if there's anything in particular you want pictures of.
wormcan
That sounds nice and reasonable and the best they could plausibly hope for, and then
>Slaughterhouse Nine ... inconvenient before I killed and acquired the remaining members
It's not like the villains Promise is keeping aren't already the most powerful faction the public has information on (A forumite coins the term 'Kept' and it catches on until that's the unofficial name), but this little detail doesn't go unremarked. The Birdcaged villains have been out of the public consciousness for a while, but the Slaughterhouse Nine were very much current bogeymen. Everyone's curious about which ones are dead or captured; all the normal channels is saying is that the Nine are defeated. Speculation is that this is because the PRT didn't want to say some of the Nine were safely in the hands of another villain.
Suggestions for healing range from "message Promise a time and a long list of addresses, hope they aren't watching all of them" to "just be invincible and laugh."
And of course people have requests for more Fairyland pictures. (Alongside more doable requests, some of them include stars, eclipses, wildlife...not everyone has caught on to what Fairyland doesn't contain.)
>Slaughterhouse Nine ... inconvenient before I killed and acquired the remaining members
It's not like the villains Promise is keeping aren't already the most powerful faction the public has information on (A forumite coins the term 'Kept' and it catches on until that's the unofficial name), but this little detail doesn't go unremarked. The Birdcaged villains have been out of the public consciousness for a while, but the Slaughterhouse Nine were very much current bogeymen. Everyone's curious about which ones are dead or captured; all the normal channels is saying is that the Nine are defeated. Speculation is that this is because the PRT didn't want to say some of the Nine were safely in the hands of another villain.
Suggestions for healing range from "message Promise a time and a long list of addresses, hope they aren't watching all of them" to "just be invincible and laugh."
And of course people have requests for more Fairyland pictures. (Alongside more doable requests, some of them include stars, eclipses, wildlife...not everyone has caught on to what Fairyland doesn't contain.)
imeanforever
Well, Fairyland does have stars and other nifty sky-things, including fake eclipses. Promise takes pictures of the wildly inconsistent starscapes over several continents, in places where she has easy access to nighttime, and queues them. Wildlife she can't help with; even if there is some wandered in from a gate and not dead yet, she doesn't know how to make it sit still.
The problem isn't that I can't be invincible; the problem is more that whoever I was healing could be taken hostage, which is what happened with the Slaughterhouse Nine. I worry that a motivated Thinker would be able to corner me at a chosen address and time; it would be a bit less of a concern if I were faster at healing than I am, but I am not.
I killed Jack Slash and Cherish, and still have the Siberian, Bonesaw, Shatterbird, and Mannequin. I never had contact with any others.
The problem isn't that I can't be invincible; the problem is more that whoever I was healing could be taken hostage, which is what happened with the Slaughterhouse Nine. I worry that a motivated Thinker would be able to corner me at a chosen address and time; it would be a bit less of a concern if I were faster at healing than I am, but I am not.
I killed Jack Slash and Cherish, and still have the Siberian, Bonesaw, Shatterbird, and Mannequin. I never had contact with any others.
wormcan
Bring them to Fairyland?
That count leaves [two numbers], who haven't been confirmed active since Leviathan and would both be really obvious if alive. Promise gets asked for the full story, since waltzing in and winning sounds like it's not that, but everyone understands that capes often keep details back. On more recent escapades, people want to know what made her attack the Birdcage now instead of earlier or later, whether it's now empty, and what she's doing with the rescuees.
That count leaves [two numbers], who haven't been confirmed active since Leviathan and would both be really obvious if alive. Promise gets asked for the full story, since waltzing in and winning sounds like it's not that, but everyone understands that capes often keep details back. On more recent escapades, people want to know what made her attack the Birdcage now instead of earlier or later, whether it's now empty, and what she's doing with the rescuees.
imeanforever
Promise does tell them how she got Jack, loosely - she had the Siberian first and she did it; normally Promise would not use a non-volunteer vassal for something like that but she didn't get Jack's name until it was too late and couldn't ensorcel him. About Cherish she only says Her I had to kill directly. It was horrible and I don't want to talk about it in any more detail.
The Siberian doesn't want people knowing she's literate, even if this is a weaker preference than avoiding them knowing she's not mute, so Promise doesn't explain the rest except to say that she had Mannequin's name from the PRT well in advance.
She attacked the Birdcage now instead of earlier or later because this was how long it took for a critical mass of damning facts about the place to accumulate and because founding even a bare-bones colony on an alternate Earth is not trivial. One person elected to remain in the Birdcage. The rescuees are doing what they like, within the constraints of Promise's definition of good behavior. She does not elaborate on whether they are all doing this in the same place.
The Siberian doesn't want people knowing she's literate, even if this is a weaker preference than avoiding them knowing she's not mute, so Promise doesn't explain the rest except to say that she had Mannequin's name from the PRT well in advance.
She attacked the Birdcage now instead of earlier or later because this was how long it took for a critical mass of damning facts about the place to accumulate and because founding even a bare-bones colony on an alternate Earth is not trivial. One person elected to remain in the Birdcage. The rescuees are doing what they like, within the constraints of Promise's definition of good behavior. She does not elaborate on whether they are all doing this in the same place.
wormcan
No one wants to deny that this is more humane than the Birdcage, even with as little information as they have. Who stayed and what do they have against alternate Earths, is the obvious next question, followed by Alternate Earths? Can you open a gate to Aleph? I want to find out if their Star Wars prequels were any good.
imeanforever
Marquis stayed; he has nothing against alternate Earths as far as she knows, but something against handing Promise control of his life, and frankly Promise is surprised he didn't have lots of company. She can't think of any reason she wouldn't be able to gate to Aleph. She has been advised against it but not in particularly strong terms; someone might have to come up with more compelling reasons than Star Wars prequels to get her to do it though.
wormcan
No, Promise doesn't understand. More Star Wars movies that are actually good would be worth more than just going to another universe.
Birdcage versus being under an unknown master's complete control is a surprisingly divisive question, among people who have never done either.
Birdcage versus being under an unknown master's complete control is a surprisingly divisive question, among people who have never done either.
imeanforever
What an interesting forum argument she has sparked.
Unfortunately, Promise is unmoved by reiterations that Star Wars is very important. She is sure she will develop a taste for mortal media eventually, but she is not yet quite accustomed to it and finds the concept of movies a little weird when she's not even used to the kinds of stories mortals tell in print.
Unfortunately, Promise is unmoved by reiterations that Star Wars is very important. She is sure she will develop a taste for mortal media eventually, but she is not yet quite accustomed to it and finds the concept of movies a little weird when she's not even used to the kinds of stories mortals tell in print.
wormcan
The endless source of questions will never run out of questions. Which facts were sufficiently damning for her to storm the castle, and is she likely to attack everyone else who's at least that bad? Because there are some nasty rumors about the Gesellschaft...
One person asks if she got [099128]'s name, and ordered him to kill the Endbringers.
One person asks if she got [099128]'s name, and ordered him to kill the Endbringers.
imeanforever
The last straw was Teacher. At his current students' own requests she isn't cutting them off, but he will never get another enrollment again in any situation she can reasonably anticipate. She really doesn't like mind control. However, she also doesn't like getting near it very much; people are welcome to inform her of problems in the world, especially if she would be an unusually efficient means of solving them, but she will go about them based on what she can comfortably take on without compromising her future effectiveness, not based on how lurid the stories are.
She does not have 099128's name. She did talk to him, and may have been unusually effective at getting a response because whatever the hell he speaks it is really really not a mortal language (she breaks out the analogy that sudden language-switching could be mistaken for a change of handwriting or suddenly having a scratchy throat unless she's paying close attention), and she did suggest that he finish off the Endbringers rather than just beating them into a reprieve, but she does not have him for a vassal.
She does not have 099128's name. She did talk to him, and may have been unusually effective at getting a response because whatever the hell he speaks it is really really not a mortal language (she breaks out the analogy that sudden language-switching could be mistaken for a change of handwriting or suddenly having a scratchy throat unless she's paying close attention), and she did suggest that he finish off the Endbringers rather than just beating them into a reprieve, but she does not have him for a vassal.
wormcan
Not human. Well there goes the only real guess at what 099128 is. Apparently she's the reason he suddenly decided to kill the walking natural disasters, though; there are fewer than no complaints there. With the success of that crackpot theory, there are a lot more. Is she behind 133468's recent disappearance? Did she order her city's PRT people to be unable to catch the Undersiders, or are they just that slippery? Is she behind some mortal musician's recent decision to no longer suck? Nothing is too implausible, after this.
If she really doesn't like mind control, some of her American readers suggest, she might be interested in the Fallen. A group of Endbringer cultists who have had some success breeding powers, one of the major threads they've built up involves various flavors of forcing people to do things. They're also more active than usual, having published an end times prophecy, multiplied their numbers, and started marching on the city in Texas where the 'the last Endbringer's feathers landed here' memorial is.
If she really doesn't like mind control, some of her American readers suggest, she might be interested in the Fallen. A group of Endbringer cultists who have had some success breeding powers, one of the major threads they've built up involves various flavors of forcing people to do things. They're also more active than usual, having published an end times prophecy, multiplied their numbers, and started marching on the city in Texas where the 'the last Endbringer's feathers landed here' memorial is.
imeanforever
She is not behind 133468's disappearance and had not known he disappeared. She has not been ordering anyone in the PRT to do anything and was not aware the Undersiders were a big deal particularly, and the extent to which Brockton Bay is her city is shrinking anyway. The only mortal musician she knows of is Canary (Promise has to avoid non-instrumental mortal music; it keeps containing names and it's harder to software-censor, especially without omitting its aesthetic value) and as far as Promise is aware Canary's musical quality is completely independent of Promise's interactions with her.
Promise is indeed concerned about the Fallen. That sounds like the sort of people she would find concerning indeed. Would any Kept like to volunteer to handle that? Ideally, Kept who have some sort of resistance against the opposing Master powers. Also, she doesn't see a reason to field Tinkers themselves for any reason other than "fiddly technology no one else can operate" or "field repair" or "the Tinker has gone stir-crazy", but if they want to build neat (tame, controllable, explicable-in-function-to-Promise) things for the combat mission volunteers to tote along, she's all for it.
Promise is indeed concerned about the Fallen. That sounds like the sort of people she would find concerning indeed. Would any Kept like to volunteer to handle that? Ideally, Kept who have some sort of resistance against the opposing Master powers. Also, she doesn't see a reason to field Tinkers themselves for any reason other than "fiddly technology no one else can operate" or "field repair" or "the Tinker has gone stir-crazy", but if they want to build neat (tame, controllable, explicable-in-function-to-Promise) things for the combat mission volunteers to tote along, she's all for it.
wormcan
Undersiders aren't a big deal, but they're the currently biggest deal in the city people tended to associate with Promise. (The speculators are now asking whether Promise was involved in Canary's trial, but since it looks from the outside as if it was just the mortal justice system reaching a correct result this is mostly just another theory from the crackpot corner.)
Many tinkers do want to go in the field personally. In fact, so do many of the Kept in general, whether or not they have specific defenses against the Fallen. A large minority are looking forward to a fight and consider that a sufficient reason in itself. And the Fallen are mostly not masters, even if only the original members get counted. (The Birdcage: not the best place to find people who accurately gauge risk.) Promise is going to have to be selective about who she brings, unless she wants to oppose an army including hundreds of parahumans with her own army of hundreds of parahumans.
Many tinkers do want to go in the field personally. In fact, so do many of the Kept in general, whether or not they have specific defenses against the Fallen. A large minority are looking forward to a fight and consider that a sufficient reason in itself. And the Fallen are mostly not masters, even if only the original members get counted. (The Birdcage: not the best place to find people who accurately gauge risk.) Promise is going to have to be selective about who she brings, unless she wants to oppose an army including hundreds of parahumans with her own army of hundreds of parahumans.
imeanforever
Well, it's not completely out of the question that she might want to do that. But she's going to have to organize it into manageable squads. She does not want to have to holler until she's coughing up blood to redirect her entire army of hundreds of parahumans, nor does she want to go in with nothing but a single pre-ordered plan that will disintegrate on contact with the enemy; she can do this with rules of engagement, but not strategy. How is she on "not spectacularly untrustworthy, smart, palatable-as-leaders" in her roster?"
wormcan
The ones who just want to fight are about as trustworthy as it gets with this group. Palatable leadership is another sticking point. People like Gavel and Lustrum could fit the other requirements, if not for the risk that they'd go overboard with their decidedly unleaderlike philosophies. Galvanate is a relatively good bet but doesn't see a reason to volunteer, Teacher volunteers but is Teacher, and ultimately this isn't an easy question.
Eventually people can be found who can be competent while not backstabbing each other. Marquis' old lieutenants have some concept of cooperation, Crane the Harmonious can be trusted with a group as long as they aren't literally ordered to obey her, and a few others. There are enough to break it down into squads.
Several of the Kept are of the opinion that "this is stupid, it's just an army, why not just let me kill them." Presumably people like Black Kaze, Acidbath, and Genoscythe are not the place to look for leadership.
Eventually people can be found who can be competent while not backstabbing each other. Marquis' old lieutenants have some concept of cooperation, Crane the Harmonious can be trusted with a group as long as they aren't literally ordered to obey her, and a few others. There are enough to break it down into squads.
Several of the Kept are of the opinion that "this is stupid, it's just an army, why not just let me kill them." Presumably people like Black Kaze, Acidbath, and Genoscythe are not the place to look for leadership.
imeanforever
Anybody who doesn't have nonlethal options (and doesn't want a berry juice dart gun and a little transponder broadcasting Promise's voice - she presumes her tinkers can whip some of those up?) is staying home. That said, Promise is not going to send the Kept to have a war and outright forbid lethal force if it becomes necessary - for a rigorously defined understanding of 'necessary' that yet might come to pass more than once in a blue moon. They are going to have to be very gentle and careful and nonthreatening to the innocent civilian bystanders, not blatantly antagonize the Protectorate forces, not attempt to spontaneously defect to the Fallen, etcetera, etcetera. Promise organizes squads, reorganizes squads when someone reminds her that language barriers exist, passes out dart guns and transponders (she likes tinkers) and collects all the intel on the situation that the Internet can funnel her to formulate her initial strategy.
She decides to see if the Protectorate would like to be helpful, and emails the Chief Director announcing that she is concerned about the Fallen, has all these Kept raring to go, should they maybe coordinate or something.
She decides to see if the Protectorate would like to be helpful, and emails the Chief Director announcing that she is concerned about the Fallen, has all these Kept raring to go, should they maybe coordinate or something.
wormcan
How nonlethal? Pretty much anyone gets disabled if splashed with enough acid, and it doesn't have to be fatal.
There isn't much information publicly available. The Fallen announced the fall of the Endbringers signified that the end was to be brung, and collected some compatibly crazy followers. Numbers aren't known, except for 'a lot.'
The Chief Director is more helpful. About two hundred parahumans, only a few dozen of which were part of the Fallen before this started, and more non-cape followers. Many of the capes haven't been identified. The good news is that the worst of the masters are products of the Fallen, and details on their powers are as known as any villains'. (Promise gets sent this, along with the powers of any other villains known to have joined.)
The Protectorate is out in force, though it hasn't attacked yet. Their opponents claim to have ordered civilians to cause as much damage as possible if the heroes fight before the prophesied day. A few civilians have turned themselves in claiming to have received such orders, and some master powers are more effective than others.
There are options for working together. Promise could wait another few days until everyone can attack openly, just go in early while the heroes very visibly sit on their hands, maybe accept reinforcements from any especially foolhardy heroes who want to pretend to be part of Promise's group, or hold back the Kept except for Strangers and join the current efforts.
Normally this kind of impossible odds means they'd call in 133468, and it's in his region and everything. But he's unavailable at the moment, so the Protectorate is more willing than usual to work with other factions.
There isn't much information publicly available. The Fallen announced the fall of the Endbringers signified that the end was to be brung, and collected some compatibly crazy followers. Numbers aren't known, except for 'a lot.'
The Chief Director is more helpful. About two hundred parahumans, only a few dozen of which were part of the Fallen before this started, and more non-cape followers. Many of the capes haven't been identified. The good news is that the worst of the masters are products of the Fallen, and details on their powers are as known as any villains'. (Promise gets sent this, along with the powers of any other villains known to have joined.)
The Protectorate is out in force, though it hasn't attacked yet. Their opponents claim to have ordered civilians to cause as much damage as possible if the heroes fight before the prophesied day. A few civilians have turned themselves in claiming to have received such orders, and some master powers are more effective than others.
There are options for working together. Promise could wait another few days until everyone can attack openly, just go in early while the heroes very visibly sit on their hands, maybe accept reinforcements from any especially foolhardy heroes who want to pretend to be part of Promise's group, or hold back the Kept except for Strangers and join the current efforts.
Normally this kind of impossible odds means they'd call in 133468, and it's in his region and everything. But he's unavailable at the moment, so the Protectorate is more willing than usual to work with other factions.
imeanforever
Promise is not super thrilled about splashing people with acid, either, but some opposing Brutes who could shrug off dart guns and less acidic attacks might call for such measures. She tentatively allows capes in the "dissolution with acid" genre to form a squad to be summoned for such situations and mostly hang back otherwise.
What's she got in the "preventing compromised civilians from damaging things" department? And suitably stealthy Strangers...?
And how the hell did the Protectorate misplace 133468?
What's she got in the "preventing compromised civilians from damaging things" department? And suitably stealthy Strangers...?
And how the hell did the Protectorate misplace 133468?
whole_new_can
Acidbath would violently disapprove of that decision, but orders prevent the 'violently' part. He's stuck hoping the Fallen are just the right amount of indestructible.
133468, for his part, has managed to become thoroughly misplaced. With the Endbringers gone, he faced the prospect of never having a serious battle until the important one. Even if this situation with the Fallen were to escalate until they had hundreds of parahumans, he'd be too concerned about collateral damage to really fight them. His powers have been waning since the beginning, and it's only in a fight that he feels closest to his old strength. If he doesn't get his power back he'll be useless, and he still holds out hope that a sufficiently real challenge might fix him permanently.
The Endbringers are gone; if he dies it's not the end of the world. If he doesn't regain his strength and more, that might be. There'll never be a better time than this. Even less since, as it happens, Promise left her Australia gate open the last time she reused it. Eidolon steps through.
133468, for his part, has managed to become thoroughly misplaced. With the Endbringers gone, he faced the prospect of never having a serious battle until the important one. Even if this situation with the Fallen were to escalate until they had hundreds of parahumans, he'd be too concerned about collateral damage to really fight them. His powers have been waning since the beginning, and it's only in a fight that he feels closest to his old strength. If he doesn't get his power back he'll be useless, and he still holds out hope that a sufficiently real challenge might fix him permanently.
The Endbringers are gone; if he dies it's not the end of the world. If he doesn't regain his strength and more, that might be. There'll never be a better time than this. Even less since, as it happens, Promise left her Australia gate open the last time she reused it. Eidolon steps through.