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Grendyne groans and starts pulling on her boots when the alarm goes off. Again. She quick-marches to the broom hangar, sits on her machine and is handed a plethora of loaded weapons by attentive corporals.
"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."
"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."
"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."
The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.
...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.
[note: halfway through this thread I created a unique account for Grendyne. Do not be alarmed by the change in account. -Rockeye]
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characterquarry
wormcan
There aren't, they cleared the area before calling in the artillery. If medical or parahuman healing would help, there's likely some of that available. Though this might not make the top of their priority list.
witchwatcher
Mana burn has never been any kind of pleasant, and it's suspected that it contributes to Witches losing their mana early, so it's probably doing terrible things to her body.
But once it starts to subside, Cranial's implant has shut itself down too, and she can feel proud that the Nine are now either One or None.
She radios in her perspective on the fight, then teleports home to Terra and has a couple of days off. After that, Cranial receives a message saying that her implant helped against the Nine and ten thousand dollars as a your-stuff-worked-in-live-fire-conditions bonus.
Toy Soldier, how about that spacesuit?
But once it starts to subside, Cranial's implant has shut itself down too, and she can feel proud that the Nine are now either One or None.
She radios in her perspective on the fight, then teleports home to Terra and has a couple of days off. After that, Cranial receives a message saying that her implant helped against the Nine and ten thousand dollars as a your-stuff-worked-in-live-fire-
Toy Soldier, how about that spacesuit?
wormcan
Toy Soldier can definitely make her a space suit. Surviving in vacuum, radiation, sudden temperature changes...those are all easy enough. Cheaper than the brain implants unless she wants it to also be a weapon in its own right, and should be done in a couple weeks.
wormcan
Then in short(er) order she'll have a space suit.
They make the transaction in costume, of course. For Toy Soldier this means a three-story powersuit; presumably the cape themself is in there somewhere.
They make the transaction in costume, of course. For Toy Soldier this means a three-story powersuit; presumably the cape themself is in there somewhere.
witchwatcher
Copycat is not the least bit intimidated. She helped against the Nine. Not that she's getting too proud of herself, but she probably made the difference between victory and defeat. She hovers at head height to hand over the briefcase of cash.
wormcan
"PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU," the giant squeaks.
The space suit is pretty much exactly as advertised: a space suit. It gets handed when the money does.
The space suit is pretty much exactly as advertised: a space suit. It gets handed when the money does.
witchwatcher
She solicits instructions on how to use it.
Then she teleports to the moon - it's a stretch, but she has more than enough mana lately - and jumps around for a while and takes a video and publishes it on the internet and bags a few samples of interesting-seeming rocks and dust in case scientists might want them and teleports back to Earth Bet and resumes heroing.
(Mars and various other celestial bodies are apparently a bit too far, she tells inquiring parties.)
Then she teleports to the moon - it's a stretch, but she has more than enough mana lately - and jumps around for a while and takes a video and publishes it on the internet and bags a few samples of interesting-seeming rocks and dust in case scientists might want them and teleports back to Earth Bet and resumes heroing.
(Mars and various other celestial bodies are apparently a bit too far, she tells inquiring parties.)
witchwatcher
...You know what, she helped against one S-class threat. Are there any more that could use some Copysiberianing, and that she might have a good shot against?
wormcan
Some. Her PRT contact warns her that while she could kill Nilbog easily enough, this is a terrible idea. She's not the only one who could kill Nilbog, and Protectorate precogs reliably predict that trying it ends badly. The man behind Ellisburg is smart enough to set up deadman switches.
For other threats on that level she'd have to go further afield. The Three Blasphemies can probably be destroyed, but they'd have a good chance at surviving and it's unsafe to have them alive around you.
Copycat should stay very far away from Sleeper.
Ash Beast? He's on a lower scale because he's slow enough to just evacuate when necessary, but is dangerous enough that it's sometimes necessary. He's also, as far as anyone knows, just an innocent person with a really unfortunate power.
For other threats on that level she'd have to go further afield. The Three Blasphemies can probably be destroyed, but they'd have a good chance at surviving and it's unsafe to have them alive around you.
Copycat should stay very far away from Sleeper.
Ash Beast? He's on a lower scale because he's slow enough to just evacuate when necessary, but is dangerous enough that it's sometimes necessary. He's also, as far as anyone knows, just an innocent person with a really unfortunate power.
witchwatcher
She'd rather not try to take on the Blasphemies without a clear strategy.
Back to rouging it up, then. She doesn't really need all the money she's earning from healing hundreds of people per hour, messing with inconvenient geography or geology, and everything else. And she's not going to run out of magic anymore, so she buys a few ostentatiously golden and gemstoned things, and the rest goes to various charities she judges most worthy, weighted towards peacekeeping and refugee aid types of programs.
And time passes.
Back to rouging it up, then. She doesn't really need all the money she's earning from healing hundreds of people per hour, messing with inconvenient geography or geology, and everything else. And she's not going to run out of magic anymore, so she buys a few ostentatiously golden and gemstoned things, and the rest goes to various charities she judges most worthy, weighted towards peacekeeping and refugee aid types of programs.
And time passes.
wormcan
Over the next three months, Earth Bet continues preparing for war. They know they're facing an Endbringer fight without Eidolon, and they know all the lesser capes will have to step up to compensate.
Over the next month, they notice an unmistakable lack of Endbringer fight. Late is one thing; the Endbringers were never exactly predictable. But it hasn't been this long between attacks since when there were only two of them. Optimists start to hope that the war might have stopped. But the Simurgh is still flying around copying tinkers at unpredictable intervals, constantly upgrading whatever it is she's doing, so optimists are few and far between.
Over the next month, they notice an unmistakable lack of Endbringer fight. Late is one thing; the Endbringers were never exactly predictable. But it hasn't been this long between attacks since when there were only two of them. Optimists start to hope that the war might have stopped. But the Simurgh is still flying around copying tinkers at unpredictable intervals, constantly upgrading whatever it is she's doing, so optimists are few and far between.
neuroihive
During all this the Neuroi have been making their own preparations. They were going to use Scion to find his planet.
Some of the pieces of Scion (and not-Scion-but-similar) are in dimensions that won't immediately attract his attention. The Neuroi carefully figure out which are which, then warp there and begin to study and copy them.
They finish consuming the Centauri system, and organizing a flotilla of drones just barely smart enough to come out of FTL not completely disoriented and deploy their superweapons. Then they open a door to Contessa. "We are ready."
Some of the pieces of Scion (and not-Scion-but-similar) are in dimensions that won't immediately attract his attention. The Neuroi carefully figure out which are which, then warp there and begin to study and copy them.
They finish consuming the Centauri system, and organizing a flotilla of drones just barely smart enough to come out of FTL not completely disoriented and deploy their superweapons. Then they open a door to Contessa. "We are ready."
whole_new_can
"Good. We'll—"
The ground shakes around them, and walls between worlds fall. Contessa and the Neuroi find themselves in one of Cauldron's more secret locations, in by the area they mine for the powers they sell. A gray-skinned humanoid hangs slack-jawed and dead, surrounded by similarly gray limbs and faces.
The ground shakes around them, and walls between worlds fall. Contessa and the Neuroi find themselves in one of Cauldron's more secret locations, in by the area they mine for the powers they sell. A gray-skinned humanoid hangs slack-jawed and dead, surrounded by similarly gray limbs and faces.
wormcan
Another crash between dimensions, and the entire scene appears in front of Scion. What he sees is the body of his counterpart, both its real body and the partially completed avatar that was to be shown to the world) along with the woman who killed her. He sees the human and her allies conspiring to kill him.
He doesn't have feelings, in the human sense. He does have a role, and he is familiar with the narratives the host species uses. One of the roles of the Warrior is revenge.
Under other circumstances an unplanned meeting with a different species might be interesting. Instead, he raises a hand to blast the nearest Neuroi from existence.
He doesn't have feelings, in the human sense. He does have a role, and he is familiar with the narratives the host species uses. One of the roles of the Warrior is revenge.
Under other circumstances an unplanned meeting with a different species might be interesting. Instead, he raises a hand to blast the nearest Neuroi from existence.
neuroihive
...This Neuroi is a drone, not the intelligence behind them. It reverts to its default behavior: Shoot at the threat.
It interprets everything nonhuman as a threat. Not that it has much time to do anything with that decision.
Moments later, the Neuroi open hundreds of doors there, and in addition to more Neuroi, exotic attacks of all kinds - many derived from shards, some not - pour through.
And the flotilla of black hole bomb carriers begins charging for FTL insertion.
It interprets everything nonhuman as a threat. Not that it has much time to do anything with that decision.
Moments later, the Neuroi open hundreds of doors there, and in addition to more Neuroi, exotic attacks of all kinds - many derived from shards, some not - pour through.
And the flotilla of black hole bomb carriers begins charging for FTL insertion.
wormcan
Scion ignores most of the barrage, and moves on to the next nearest Neuroi. The blasts don't trouble him; this body can be reconstructed almost trivially even if completely destroyed. One or two attacks do attract his notice: they would break through his avatar into the world beyond where he keeps his real body. Those ones he blocks with the right choice of power; it's no more and no less than this that his precognition is set up to avoid.
This isn't a fight, exactly. That requires two sides. He's just eradicating one after the other, with some focus on importance but mostly just proximity, because he associates Neuroi with what happened to his counterpart.
This isn't a fight, exactly. That requires two sides. He's just eradicating one after the other, with some focus on importance but mostly just proximity, because he associates Neuroi with what happened to his counterpart.
neuroihive
The Neuroi have plenty of cannon fodder to keep him busy. They try to aim the fight into space, the humans aren't useful if they're dead.
About three minutes into the not-fight, more than ten million Neuroi arrive at the end of their one-way trip to where Scion keeps his real body, synchronized to the nanosecond. Inside the planet, on its surface, above it. No part of the planet is more than fifty miles away from a copy of the weapon that turned one side of the moon into a cloud of glowing meteorites.
That planet ceases to exist.
About three minutes into the not-fight, more than ten million Neuroi arrive at the end of their one-way trip to where Scion keeps his real body, synchronized to the nanosecond. Inside the planet, on its surface, above it. No part of the planet is more than fifty miles away from a copy of the weapon that turned one side of the moon into a cloud of glowing meteorites.
That planet ceases to exist.
wormcan
And the human-shaped tendril of Zion that extended into Earth Bet falls to the ground dead as soon as the next bit of cannon fodder lands a shot.
neuroihive
The Neuroi announce to the humans (in general, all over the world) that they have killed Scion, not particularly caring whether they know he was a massive existential threat.
Then they disappear again. There has been far too much activity recently, it's high time to take a good long rest and analyze recent events and get used to all the new weapons liberated from various shards.
Maybe one of these powers will let them reproduce again, somehow.
Then they disappear again. There has been far too much activity recently, it's high time to take a good long rest and analyze recent events and get used to all the new weapons liberated from various shards.
Maybe one of these powers will let them reproduce again, somehow.
whole_new_can
They still have enemies. But the Simurgh is patient. The next time the Neuroi surface, they may just find themselves facing a united humanity and parahumanity as well as the Endbringers.
Unless of course she decides on a better idea.
Unless of course she decides on a better idea.
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