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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
"Cell phones." He hands her a device small enough to be held in a hand or kept in a pocket. Coil explains how to use one, the pre-set contacts, and some of its other functions aside from communication.
witchwatcher
"A portable telegraph switching station, and calculator, and so much else in the palm of my hand. Now I've seen it all. I'll call you in a couple of days when I feel charged enough to copy a precog." In the meantime, she walks downtown and has a nice big hot meal with some of her stack of cash along the way. Combat makes you hungry.
wormcan
The food here is strange. The sandwich is recognizably a sandwich, even if the term is unfamiliar, and most of the contents are normal. But in this world it's routine to make food out of ingredients from farther afield than most people have ever been, so the end result is not quite like anything back home.. Which doesn't mean it's not delicious.
witchwatcher
In particular she thinks that "mustard" is a very excellent ingredient and she puts it all over her food.
Then she finds a library, using the map thing on the phone with only moderate difficulty.
Then she finds a library, using the map thing on the phone with only moderate difficulty.
wormcan
The library is full of primarily books. They're organized by a bizarre number system, but explanations of what number corresponds to what subject matter are posted on the shelves. There are a few people browsing the books, and more using devices that look like scaled-up versions of the screen on her phone.
witchwatcher
She sticks to books for now. The number system is actually pretty familiar, though the exact mappings are different.
Recent history, just to get an idea of the sorts of things that happen in this bizarre world. And some popular science books, in the hope that some of them will explain how all the lights and cars and so on work.
Recent history, just to get an idea of the sorts of things that happen in this bizarre world. And some popular science books, in the hope that some of them will explain how all the lights and cars and so on work.
wormcan
The world has been strange in a lot of the same ways as it is now for a while. The strangest things aren't new: secondary financial markets, federalism, Coke. About thirty years ago, Scion appeared. Golden man, incredibly powerful, talks never and smiles less, has been heroing non-stop. After him other, lesser superheroes, then some villains, then the Endbringers. Most of the non-cape-related world has stagnated in the last twenty years since a major city started being attacked by an indestructible monster every three months.
Most of the popular science descriptions are written with the goal of encouraging the reader to have the feeling of an epiphany that they finally understand these everyday things, instead of the goal of actually explaining them. But she can get a decent idea eventually.
Most of the popular science descriptions are written with the goal of encouraging the reader to have the feeling of an epiphany that they finally understand these everyday things, instead of the goal of actually explaining them. But she can get a decent idea eventually.
witchwatcher
She reads up on the political and military systems. What is the Protectorate, really? And what's known about the Cape groups in this city, Brockton Bay?
She'll go try to figure out the computers if books won't suffice for this information.
She'll go try to figure out the computers if books won't suffice for this information.
wormcan
Militaries rarely operate inside national borders. The Protectorate is more limited to law enforcement functions. It's the officially sanctioned hero team, or alliance of hero teams might be more accurate. Each city's division operates independently and they rarely transfer heroes between teams outside of one city or another facing an emergency. The Protectorate's supporters credit it with ensuring that the Endbringers always have at least one powerful opponent, while its detractors accuse it of conscripting child soldiers into the Wards.
In this city, the Protectorate is one among a large number of teams. Capes tend to gravitate toward where other capes are, and Brockton Bay is in the top few for parahumans per capita. Local groups are the Protectorate, the Empire and the ABB, with a third gang called the Merchants being generally regarded as unimportant. New Wave is a hero group notable for not using secret identities, and there are any number of independent heroes and villains.
Coil's organization gets mentioned alongside the cape groups; despite employing no known parahumans it operates in the same sphere. He is universally considered a villain. Everything Gren has seen of his operation so far does revolve around unauthorized use of potentially lethal force, after all. It is, though, considered an atypical villain group. They have never been observed to claim territory or sell drugs or extort money or anything else the other three gangs do, and generally no one has any idea how they stay in business or what business it is.
In this city, the Protectorate is one among a large number of teams. Capes tend to gravitate toward where other capes are, and Brockton Bay is in the top few for parahumans per capita. Local groups are the Protectorate, the Empire and the ABB, with a third gang called the Merchants being generally regarded as unimportant. New Wave is a hero group notable for not using secret identities, and there are any number of independent heroes and villains.
Coil's organization gets mentioned alongside the cape groups; despite employing no known parahumans it operates in the same sphere. He is universally considered a villain. Everything Gren has seen of his operation so far does revolve around unauthorized use of potentially lethal force, after all. It is, though, considered an atypical villain group. They have never been observed to claim territory or sell drugs or extort money or anything else the other three gangs do, and generally no one has any idea how they stay in business or what business it is.
witchwatcher
Yeah, she really should have thought twice and done some more research before joining this group. "Paramilitary" sounds a lot closer to her original job than "law enforcement," and at least they don't seem to be actively evil, but the whole thing is turning out very... Grey.
She has a few days' leave to think about helping him further, at least. She goes back to that house, visiting a hardware store along the way, and cleans and oils her Steelwing, then goes to sleep after getting dinner from a fast food place.
She has a few days' leave to think about helping him further, at least. She goes back to that house, visiting a hardware store along the way, and cleans and oils her Steelwing, then goes to sleep after getting dinner from a fast food place.
wormcan
In the late morning, conveniently after she has woken up naturally and obtained food, her phone rings.
"Grendyne? This is Coil. Neuroi downtown. My men are trying to stall it, we need you there now. It's at the Medhall building, get there as soon as you can."
The phone conveniently tells her a direction, but the Neuroi should be easy to find.
"Grendyne? This is Coil. Neuroi downtown. My men are trying to stall it, we need you there now. It's at the Medhall building, get there as soon as you can."
The phone conveniently tells her a direction, but the Neuroi should be easy to find.
witchwatcher
"Neuori here?"
She doesn't ask any more questions. Phone goes in pocket, still on, and she barges into the garage and tears toward the city on her Steelwing, barely stopping to grab two pistols and a shotgun.
She doesn't ask any more questions. Phone goes in pocket, still on, and she barges into the garage and tears toward the city on her Steelwing, barely stopping to grab two pistols and a shotgun.
neuroihive
The Neuroi, meanwhile, is very very angry at being cooped up for so long.
It mostly ignores the bullets, grenades, and whatever else deployed against it, and starts burning its way through ceilings until it gets to a roof, getting bigger along the way. Much bigger than whoever captured it expected.
It mostly ignores the bullets, grenades, and whatever else deployed against it, and starts burning its way through ceilings until it gets to a roof, getting bigger along the way. Much bigger than whoever captured it expected.
wormcan
Some of Coil's minions are firing on it, but doing very little serious damage. By the time Gren arrives, they've moved from recognizable firearms to weapons launching unfamiliar explosives. Collateral damage increases proportionately, but gets lost in the mess from what the Neuroi is causing.
"Gren! We've been trying to slow this thing down. How do we kill it?"
"Gren! We've been trying to slow this thing down. How do we kill it?"
witchwatcher
She joins in the fire, even standard bullets are hurting it. "It's got a core somewhere, you need to shoot that! Hold on-" She pulls up Telescope's enhanced vision. "Behind the third red panel on the left!"
neuroihive
It's probably a good thing for the soldiers that Neuroi attacks are not particularly accurate.
But meanwhile, the Neuroi has apparently given up on going up and is trying to get out of the building by burning its way through walls. If this is any kind of public building, some people are definitely dead by now.
But meanwhile, the Neuroi has apparently given up on going up and is trying to get out of the building by burning its way through walls. If this is any kind of public building, some people are definitely dead by now.
wormcan
Targeting a particular panel is much simpler an answer than there could have been. They try to spread around it so the named point is always in someone's range, but mostly focus on aiming as precisely as possible.
neuroihive
Eventually, a red crystal appears behind one of the new explosion holes. It's covered by aggressive regeneration almost immediately, but sustained fire gets through and smashes it. The Neuroi's remaining black and red panels splinter and dissolve into a thousand white shards. The Neuroi is gone.
This building, however, is very much on fire, and probably in danger of collapsing.
This building, however, is very much on fire, and probably in danger of collapsing.
wormcan
This is unfortunate. They came prepared for a firefight, not a fire fight.
The building shakes, but soon stops swaying. Steel beams appeared out of nowhere, buttressing the structure.
"We need to get out of here. Especially since the building's not falling over; that's Kaiser's power at work."
Sirens blare, or possibly continue blaring. It recently became slightly less deafening in here. "Nearest exit is...second stair to the right and straight on to the door."
The building shakes, but soon stops swaying. Steel beams appeared out of nowhere, buttressing the structure.
"We need to get out of here. Especially since the building's not falling over; that's Kaiser's power at work."
Sirens blare, or possibly continue blaring. It recently became slightly less deafening in here. "Nearest exit is...second stair to the right and straight on to the door."
witchwatcher
She follows them as they run, along the way asking, "Kaiser's bad news? That's the guy who runs E88, right?"
wormcan
"Yes. If he sees us he probably won't try to stop us leaving—the Empire is one of the groups that plays by the unwritten rules, and we're both here to prevent a disaster—but that's a probably, and it's an unnecessary complication either way."
witchwatcher
"Right, leaving as quick as possible it is."
She follows them to a reasonably safe place. Soon, she mentions, "If a Neuroi showed up here I've got to brief the protectorate on them. Everybody needs to know how to deal with monsters. Can a cell phone call them, you think?"
She follows them to a reasonably safe place. Soon, she mentions, "If a Neuroi showed up here I've got to brief the protectorate on them. Everybody needs to know how to deal with monsters. Can a cell phone call them, you think?"
wormcan
The squad glance at each other. One nods, and another answers her question.
"Of course," and tells her the number.
"Of course," and tells her the number.
wormcan
She doesn't get very far. Before she can finish dialing, she receives a tranquilizer from behind.