Blade (UBW!Taylor Worm Quest)

[Xryuran]

I like that name. Even if it's not 'Heroic' per say neither is shadow stalker. It would be hilarious if the villains we're the ones in the bright happy colors.

 

[Drak4806]

Erebus

Click to shrink...

I like that name. Even if it's not 'Heroic' per say neither is shadow stalker. It would be hilarious if the villains we're the ones in the bright happy colors.

Click to shrink...

For those who know Warhammer 40,000 that name has interesting history associated with it.

 

[siflux]

For those who know Warhammer 40,000 that name has interesting history associated with it.

Click to shrink...

Huh. I did not know that. Just checked up on it, and that is not thematic (yet, though it might be! I have no idea where things will necessarily go). The intent was the Greek primordial divinity of shadow, born of Chaos itself. Nyx's brother. They also fathered some kids together.

,,.Classical mythology is WEIRD. (And awesome. Did you know that there's a Shinto myth about the time one of the goddesses did a striptease to lure the sun goddess out of a cave? I'm serious, check the link! Abrahamic lore is pretty tame compared to the polytheistic religions).

 

[CKirk]

Huh. I did not know that. Just checked up on it, and that is not thematic (yet, though it might be! I have no idea where things will necessarily go). The intent was the Greek primordial divinity of shadow, born of Chaos itself. Nyx's brother. They also fathered some kids together.

,,.Classical mythology is WEIRD. (And awesome. Did you know that there's a Shinto myth about the time one of the goddesses did a striptease to lure the sun goddess out of a cave? I'm serious, check the link! Abrahamic lore is pretty tame compared to the polytheistic religions).

Click to shrink...

90% (at least) of problems in Greek/Roman mythology coulda been stopped before they happened if Zeus/Jupiter could keep his pants on

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Huh. I did not know that. Just checked up on it, and that is not thematic (yet, though it might be! I have no idea where things will necessarily go). The intent was the Greek primordial divinity of shadow, born of Chaos itself. Nyx's brother. They also fathered some kids together.

,,.Classical mythology is WEIRD. (And awesome. Did you know that there's a Shinto myth about the time one of the goddesses did a striptease to lure the sun goddess out of a cave? I'm serious, check the link! Abrahamic lore is pretty tame compared to the polytheistic religions).

Click to shrink...

Fairly sure she got the title of Goddess of the Dawn for doing that in some iterations of the legend as well.

 

[Sol Mark-1]

I remember that the correct translation about the description of the Archangels is that when they mentioned they were covering their feet, they were really covering their genitals.

 

[siflux]

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■​

♦Topic: Enbringer Information Thread XXXIV
In: Boards ► Boards ► World ► News ► Main

Bagrat (Original Poster) (The Guy In The Know) (Veteran Member)
Posted on March 2, 2011:

Previous Endbringer attack was Simurgh at Canberra, Australia, on Febuary 24.

Next Endbringer attack is expected to be Leviathan in mid to late May or early June.

Expected locations for the next attack are the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Northeast coast of the United States of America, Columbia, or South Africa.

If you live in a coastal area, please review your escape route to your closest Endbringer shelter. Resources on surviving an attack and living in the aftermath can be found HERE.

(Showing Page 14 of 14)

► CompulsiveGambler478 (Temp-banned)
Replied on March 22, 2011:
Now taking bets. I'm offering 7:15 odds on Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and 8:14 on Capetown. Any takers?

► WhiteKnight (Moderator) (Protectorate Employee)
Replied on March 22, 2011:
CompulsiveGambler, Please don't take bets on upcoming disasters. It's really tasteless.

I will admit that those odds sound similar to what's being tossed around the office, though.

► SaucyAussie
Replied on March 22, 2011:
I'm just hoping Canberra won't get hit again. Just because nowhere's ever been hit twice doesn't mean there won't be a first time, and it's not like Sydney was that far away.

► NotACape41
Replied on March 22, 2011:
CompulsiveGambler, I'll take that action. A hundred against you on each.
I've heard that the Endbringers like to attack places with lots of capes. Any odds on Brockton Bay? That place has like, a bazillion or something, and it's one of the high-odds zones.
User has received a warning. Please refrain from spreading rumors without evidence. -TinMother

► CompulsiveGambler478 (Temp-banned)
Replied on March 22, 2011:
No go, NotACape. Eastern seaboard's my remaining 7 points on my odds, and that's one of the cities on my shortlist. I'm thinking there or DC, personally. It's amazing how long it's gone without getting hit, and it's a swamp. Bet the whole city would just slide out to sea.
I've heard that rumor about places with more capes being more likely to be hit, and I've got to agree with it, which is why Brockton Bay is on my shortlist too.

► CooBee
Replied on March 22, 2011:
You guys are the worst. I'm leaving this thread.
User has been warned. Please stay on topic, or at least leave the thread quietly. -TinMother
​

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 12, 13, 14

You'll be honest, this is making you a little uncomfortable. One of the last things you want to read online is people gambling whether your hometown will be destroyed by a giant monster. Although this is probably a decent time to think about what you'd do in the case of an Endbringer attack.

There's no question in your mind. If Brockton Bay is hit, you'd out yourself if necessary to do something to help. You can't exactly go toe to toe with any of them, since you don't have a brute rating, but there must be something.

Hmmm. Your power lets you duplicate objects you've examined. Endbringer attacks tend to bring out experimental tinkertech, in hopes that it might do something to slow down the beasts. Usually, they don't work very well, but if one did, you could mass-produce it.

If the attack comes somewhere else, you'd still like to help. If you've gotten involved with the Protectorate and the Wards by then, it'll be easy. Otherwise, you'll need to look for transportation. Fortunately, you have an estimated two months to work this stuff out, hopefully you'll already have some big stuff to throw against them. Better to think more on exactly what you'll do closer to then, when you'll actually know what tools you'll have.


You decide to jump straight to the math that's going to be on the GED. There's some guides online that recommend studying for the reading comprehension stuff first, but you like math better, and you're worried that you've fallen behind while you were out of school. The material is easier than you expected it to be, mostly being a comprehensive coverage of algebra. You actually covered most of this material near the end of middle school. If the other three segments of the test are this easy, you may not need to study much at all. Still, better safe than sorry. You print out some pages you found online and spend a few hours doing practice problems. (GED study bonus: +1. You might be able succeed on a lower roll than you had previously guessed).


Finally, it's time for the show. You've been waiting for this all day! You head over the arcade without issue. Daniel and Ted are both there, waiting for you. In the middle of the floor on top of a dolly cart is a suit of armor in orange and red, folded at the knees and the waist. A skintight blue jumpsuit is draped over the top of it.

"It's a little heavy," Daniel explains. "You'll need to wear the Zero Suit under it, or you'll risk destroying the lining of the Varia Suit and getting your skin pinched in the joints. Right arm has a blaster, but it's only set to stun. You can change in the bathroom and you'll get an explanation of how this will work afterwards.

You roll the armor into the bathroom and start changing. Even if you hadn't wanted to, you can't help but scan the two-layered armor as you put it on. The skintight layer is made of some kind of material that's like plastic, but it's just as flexible as the clothes you were wearing before. It's pretty comfortable -- you could get used to wearing this all the time, if only it weren't so obvious. Since it's like plastic, it's probably more durable than your cotton clothes, but that doesn't mean it'll necessarily do much to protect you. There's a pink emblem on the back, but you have no idea what it means. It is disturbingly skintight -- while comfortable, you would not want to wear this in public without something over it to hide your features.

The power armor is some kind of alloy. Titanium or tungsten, you think, but you'd need to check later. It's not like you've memorized atomic structures yet. You probably should.

The suit is proof against all kinds of hazards. There an oxygen tank under the armor hooked up to the helmet, and a thick layer of insulation plus some heaters and coolers in the suit. The limb servos are massive, for both the arms and the legs, easily carrying the suit's weight and yours. There's some kind of computer with an interface in the helmet, controlled by eye movements. You spend a few minutes trying to get it to work before you accidentally call up a set of schematics giving some more information about the suit.

Apparently, there's something wrong with the blaster, although that's probably the stun thing you were told about. Apparently, it can also shoot a few kinds of missiles, but that function is both offline and out of ammo. The suit's structural integrity is maintained by some kind of energy, currently at 99%. You're almost ready to head back to the main part of the arcade when some kind of pterodactyl/dragon hybrid bursts through the wall, grabs you in its claws, and screeches right in your face. "uuuuRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAghhhhh," it echoes through your body. Desperately, you shoot it as it pulls you into the air with it. Over and over you shoot your worthless stun blaster, until it finally gives up and drops you.

From five stories up.

Fortunately, the suit is designed to handle this kind of problem. It lands feet-first, shock absorbers in the legs preventing you from taking any damage and not even damaging the suit's integrity. It is down to about 20% from that attack, though. Not a good sign for its durability.

A new voice echoes in your helmet. Unmistakably, it's the supervillian Uber.

Dammit, you knew this was going to happen.

"Your challenge is this: find and defeat the evil Mother Brain, hidden here!" A map pops up in the helmet. Useful. Your destination is located in the nicest part of town. "But!" Uber continues, "But! In order to challenge Mother Brain, you must first defeat her four guards. Draygon, hiding deep in the bay. Phantoon, in the Boat Graveyard. Kraid, located here," Oh fuck, that's deep inside the Merchants' territory. Maybe you should just call this off. Dad would be worried if he knew where you were going. "Those three may be fought in any order. And finally, you must take your revenge upon Ridley, who has made his nest on a skyscraper downtown. Only then will the way to Mother Brain open up. Now, this may seem impossible to you, given how much damage you've already taken. But hidden throughout the city, we've scattered powerups for your suit. Extra energy, the ability to handle underwater movement, all kinds of things. Unfortunately, we were unable to hide weapon powerups to avoid drawing the Protectorate's wrath, so we've made the bosses weaker correspondingly. We apologize for the inconvenience. And in case you're thinking about abandoning this before it's all seen through, the nearest boss will occasionally track you down and attack you if you go too long without trying something. The game will end with either your victory, or the destruction of your power suit, revealing what you're wearing underneath. And remember, you're on camera until this is over. Now let the game… begin!"

Well, at least he recharged your suit. You're back to 99%, and there really isn't much of a choice between seeing this to the end or not. You should be able to use Projection to re-manifest the suit if it's destroyed, at least. What order to take on the enemies?

Gear obtained for future use via Projection: Varia Suit (Stun Only) [???]

Vote for one or more; the sections will go from most to least votes. No matter where you go, you'll keep an eye out for powerups. If plans aren't suggested, I'll write them myself. Both the bosses themselves and gang members (capes and otherwise) may be a threat.
[ ] Phantoon is in the ABB's territory, but they only have three parahumans in case they want to get in your way. Should be easiest to deal with that first.
[ ] Draygon is in the bay itself -- no parahumans there. If you're lucky, that water maneuverability powerup will be there, otherwise the battle will likely be a lot tougher.
[ ] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played the games.
[ ] Sequence break! Go straight after Ridley! You have some idea of what he can do now, and even if the suit can't handle it yet, and you can probably cheat your way to victory since nobody knows you're a parahuman. He's in E88 territory, but much as you hate Nazis, they usually open with diplomacy before trying to murder interlopers, and might be willing to let you go because this is all Uber's and Leet's fault.
[ ] Sequence break even more! You know where Mother Brain is supposed to be, and it's not even in gang territory -- it's in the region New Wave patrols. How hard could Mother Brain really be? In a pinch, you can probably cheat again to attain victory.
[ ] No. This is too much. Go home, and damn the people across the internet seeing you in a compromising position is cost enough for safety.
[ ] Other (Write In)

 

[CKirk]

[X] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[cthulhu fartagn]

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[abyssmal_kismet]

As someone who still plays through Super Metroid sometimes, I really want to sequence break, but...

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[Snake/Eater]

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[BBJimmy]

Taylor is new to the suit, so we should have her warm up with the easiest boss.

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[Jack of Olives]

[X] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played the games.

 

[Scottsman]

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

We should be thankful they didn't stick us in the Fusion version.

 

[Fishyface]

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[massdefect76]

[x] Kraid is in Merchants territory. Even if they decide to stop you, they kind of suck. Your armor should be able to take a few gunshots in a pinch, and you've heard something about Kraid being the easiest Metroid boss around school even if you haven't played.

 

[siflux]

Right, best to start with the easy stuff. The easy boss, in the weakest gang's turf. In case you run into any Merchants, you've got armor and a stunner now, so there's not much danger to you, and the issue with lethality is handily solved. You're honestly looking forward to taking the suit out for a spin when you aren't being chased around by tinkertech robots.

Given how much damage the other boss -- Ridley they called it -- did to the suit, you decide to start by searching for one of those extra energy powerups. For the time being, you don't plan on using your powers, at least unless you need to. Keeping one's powers a secret is incredibly useful. Make them think you've only got a knife, and then BAM, face full of minigun rounds, metaphorically speaking. Or literally, you guess, if you can find one to copy.

Following the map, you head into the basement of a crackhouse. Speaking of the map, for some reason the Merchants' territory is labeled as Brinstar, and you can't figure out how to relabel it properly. Anyway, crackhouse surprise cape drug bust. You stun everyone inside before they have a chance to attack you, then start wishing you had a cellphone so you could call the Protectorate. Or just the ordinary cops. Not that you'd know what number to call besides 9-1-1. You can only hope someone in a position of authority is watching the stream.

Where the map had a powerup marked out, you find a three-foot cylindrical plastic orange tube with grey metal endcaps and a big letter E on the side of it. You make to pick it up and look for somewhere to put it on the suit, but it disappears at your touch. The suit's integrity meter shoots up to 199%. Whoever designed this thing clearly has no idea how percentages work.

Oh, wait, there's no actual percent sign there. It's just arbitrary units measuring how much damage the armor can take, probably before it's completely worthless. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to degrade partially with damage, given the encounter with Ridley.

There's an odd-looking pile of rubble in the corner of the basement you're in, so you shoot that too and it falls away to reveal a hole in the floor. It's within your ability to jump back up, so you head down to the sub-basement to find a hunched-over statue shaped like a humanoid bird. At head-level, it holds something like a crescent moon around a ball with the letter C on it in its claw.

"How did they even manage to get this down here?" You mutter aloud.

"Acting is a skill," Uber responds. "That covers pretending to be a crack addict. Construction and metalworking being skills was most of the rest of it. That and the Chozo statue actually rolls up into a six-foot ball, so it wasn't as hard to get down there as it looks.

You manage to find two more of the energy tanks without much difficulty, intentionally skirting the area labeled as a boss chamber. No luck finding other special ones like the grey C -- charge beam, the ability to charge up a more powerful shot. It still only stuns, though. You're not sure what the advantage to it is. Maybe it does more damage to Uber and Leet's boss enemies?

You follow the map for another energy tank into the abandoned trainyard. It is there that you fear you may have made a terrible mistake. Holding court among the druggies, it's a greasy man with greasy powers. You've seen enough pictures to recognize Skidmark. He's sitting on top of what is, quite frankly, the coolest minivan you've ever seen. It has a dozen arms on each side, flamethrowers strapped to the bottom, and a classic VW Microbus for each wheel, including a spare lashed to the trunk. Random bits of metal are strapped all over the vehicle forming a kind of makeshift armor. Your suit's visor helpfully picks out some gang members with assault rifles in the 'wheel' vans, with most of them in the 'spare'.

Shit. Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. You don't have words enough to describe how potentially terrible this is. You don't need the powerup that was here that badly. Still, maybe you weren't seen yet. Maybe you can just sneak away…

"Boy!" Skidmark calls out. Maybe it's not you. "You, in the orange armor! Get over here!" Following their leader's… lead… all the gunmen in the minivanvan train their rifles on you.

This… is not good. And who ever thought that orange was a good color for stealth? It's like playing on hard mode.

What should you do about the Merchants issue?
[ ] Run. Run run run run escape.
[ ] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.
[ ] Other? Also, you should give more specific plans for above if you want them to work better.

Assuming everything works out with the Merchants and you take down Kraid, what part of the game should you handle next?
[ ] Phantoon/ABB/Boat Graveyard.
[ ] Draygon/Not in held territory/Underwater in the bay.
[ ] Sequence break for Ridley/E88/On top of a skyscraper downtown.
[ ] Sequence break for Mother Brain/Somewhere in the nice and safe part of town.
[ ] Ragequit for safety and go home.
[ ] Other (Write In)

 

[CKirk]

[X] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.

From the sound of it, there's nothing really protecting Skidmark, and we have a ranged weapon. This could end...poorly for him. Though I doubt our aim is the best.

 

[siflux]

From the sound of it, there's nothing really protecting Skidmark, and we have a ranged weapon. This could end...poorly for him. Though I doubt our aim is the best.

Click to shrink...

Do keep in mind that Skidmark's power is forcefields and that the power beam is currently stun only.

 

[Bloodshifter]

Do keep in mind that Skidmark's power is forcefields and that the power beam is currently stun only.

Click to shrink...

Mass redirection tags actually slaps them on the floor and pumps some juice into them to get them going. They are useless against beams or at least Photon Mom and Purity.

 

[ShadowAngelBeta]

Do keep in mind that Skidmark's power is forcefields and that the power beam is currently stun only.

Click to shrink...

Mass redirection tags actually slaps them on the floor and pumps some juice into them to get them going. They are useless against beams or at least Photon Mom and Purity.

Click to shrink...

Um, what Blood said. Skidmarks power isn't forcefields at all, its... area of effect mass redirection. Or adding on to what's there. He slaps down an area in front of his mooks pointing forwards and suddenly those bullets are going a lot faster. I'm unsure as to the energy passing through part, but I've never actually read Worm, so... *Shrug*

 

[siflux]

Superpowers are kind of bullshit, because mass is energy and vice versa. Then again, we already knew that superpowers were bullshit.

Skidmark isn't seen much in canon, nor are his powers. The wiki describes it as

the ability create a deflector field, a force field that pushes things through itself or pushes them away. He has shown that the effects can be layered up through multiple uses of his power.

This seemed like it ought to work on non-physical attacks.

Thanks for the correction. Skidmark is more vulnerable than he thinks to stun beam.

 

[redaeth]

The wiki is a terrible source for power descriptions. Go read the merchant party scene where he holds his fighting game.

He lays down fields on physical surfaces and they push people and things along them.

 

[CKirk]

Superpowers are kind of bullshit, because mass is energy and vice versa. Then again, we already knew that superpowers were bullshit.

Skidmark isn't seen much in canon, nor are his powers. The wiki describes it as

the ability create a deflector field, a force field that pushes things through itself or pushes them away. He has shown that the effects can be layered up through multiple uses of his power.

This seemed like it ought to work on non-physical attacks.

Thanks for the correction. Skidmark is more vulnerable than he thinks to stun beam.

Click to shrink...

As I understood it, given how it was described, he puts down boost pads, like you'd see in a racing game

 

[BBJimmy]

[X] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.

I'm curious how Taylor will react if/when she gets the Morph Ball upgrade.

 

[Disminded]

[X] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.

It's just Skidmark. I think we can take him.

 

[Angelus]

[X] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.
Run away and take out the followers until only skidmark is left to handle him alone at range.


Assuming that works
[X] Phantoon/ABB/Boat Graveyard.

 

[Minion #Q]

huh must have forgotten to vote
[X] The Varia Suit is good enough to handle this, right? Push on through! They've even got one of the powerups in the area, so you can just think of it like a boss battle. A boss battle that wasn't planned by Uber or Leet and might end up killing you.
[X] Draygon/Not in held territory/Underwater in the bay.

 

[siflux]

Time to face the facts. Fight or flight, this is a potentially deadly situation. But these are murderous, thieving, kidnapping, drug pushing, terrible excuses for human beings. You silently hope for Dad's sake that you survive this, but you're not willing to run.

You shoot at Skidmark, hopefully before he can react. Unfortunately, years of being shot at for a living have quickened his reflexes. He throws one of his fields in the way of the energy packet.

Which flies right through, hitting him in the arm and giving you enough opportunity to tag him with a few more shots, guaranteeing that he'll stay out of the fight.

The attack is enough to cause the rest of the Merchants to open fire on you. Fortunately, they're terrible shots. Your armor is bullet resistant, but each hit drains a little energy and Lieutenant-General Kalashnikov's masterpiece fires faster than you could otherwise handle. You duck behind the nearest building, and start jumping up its side to get out of where the bullets are being aimed. From the other side of the building, you can hear the roar of the minivanvan moving towards you.

"Looks like you've bitten off more than you can chew, Ms. Aran," Uber's voice sounds in your ear. "Don't worry, we'll Sorting Algorithm of Evil this if needed. Try to win on your own, though. Your original could handle this solo."

The sounds of destruction emanate from the trainyard-facing side of the building. Through the empty doorways and windows, you can see the minivanvan's hands are full of chunks of rebar-reinforced concrete and wood that once formed the other face of the building. You keep climbing.

From the top of the building, you have a chance to snipe a few of the Merchant gang members with assault rifles. Whoever is driving the minivanvan notices you, and the vehicle opens fire with its front four arms chucking rocks at you. Never have you been as thankful for the suit's impressive jumping capabilities as you are when you leap to the next building over, firing futilely at the vehicle as you dodge.

"You know, I just realized this isn't fair," Uber pipes up again. "Here, have some big, glowing weak points."

Your visor changes, showing the people inside the minivanvan in orange and red. Unfortunately, they still have windows in the way, and your Stun Beam is non-destructive except against some specific things that Uber and Leet set up. Shooting the windows does nothing. You'll need to break into the vehicle.

You dodge a few more boulders in passing as you run towards the minivanvan. As you pass near it, the flamethrowers turn on, doing no damage to you at all. Apparently, the giant shoulders double as heat sinks.

The suit allows you to jump first on top of one of the 'wheels', and then to the door. The door is locked, so you ram your armored fist through the window, groping around from the lock inside. One of the Merchants unloads a full 30-round magazine into you, correspondingly depleting 30 energy from the suit. While he desperately reloads but before he can think to call for help, you shove your blaster arm through the hole and stun him. You have the door open by the time anyone else can respond to the gunfire.

Without the thin (but to your arm cannon impervious) metal and plastic shell of the vehicle protecting them, the occupants of the vehicles drop fast. You take little additional damage before you stun the driver -- surprisingly, a woman, so it's probably Squealer herself.

That's a terrible name. What kind of self-respecting super would name herself 'Squealer'?

It is only because you had assumed the battle over that you are taken by surprise when one of the minivanvan's arms punches through itself, grabbing you and pulling you out. It squeezes, instantly taking 20 of the suit's energy with it.

You quickly recover your composure, remembering that the suit is not just armor and a blaster, but specifically power armor. One finger at a time, you pull the hand apart.

The visor indicates glowy threats inside the bottom four wheels, so you break into those, shooting half a dozen people in each of the wheel-cans, each at their own control console with a pair of joysticks. You figure that they're controlling the nearest six arms to each wheel as they stop moving when you clear the microbuses.

This time, you look around carefully before relaxing in victory. You see some kind of oversized goblinoid creature that is probably Mush trying to sneak up on you, who startles and runs when you stare him down. All ordinary non-stunned Merchants have long since fled, either when their leader was shot down at the start of the battle or when their flagship was systematically destroyed.

Finally, it's over. You take the opportunity to run Structural Analysis on a flamethrower, one of the assault rifles, and ammo for both. A sudden silence makes you realize that the suit had been quietly playing music over the radio the whole time.

Gear obtained for future use via Projection: AK-47 [Merchants]
Gear obtained for future use via Projection: 30-round AK-47 Magazine [Merchants]
Gear obtained for future use via Projection: Flamethrower [Squealer]
Gear obtained for future use via Projection: Napalm [Squealer]


After that ordeal, Kraid is almost a let-down. Shoot it in the face, charge beam down the throat, repeat until it explodes into a shower of suit energy restoration pickups. Halfway through it starts blocking shots not taken from high up, but the buildings surrounding it make that trivial. You can only imagine how much harder it would have been if you'd had to use those platform-missiles it was shooting out. Like Ridley but unlike you, Kraid was also capable of damaging your surroundings. The suit picks up Leet running from the area, but refuses to fire at him.

"The traditional reward for beating Kraid is the Varia Suit, which you already have," Uber notes. "The Varia Suit upgrade allows the suit to handle extreme heat and cold, as well as reducing the damage taken. This allows a measure of increased safety that we'll reflect by allowing you to pause occasionally. Tell us you need a break, and we'll see about pausing the stream so you can sleep unmolested. Do keep in mind that other supers may be watching the stream and may take advantage of this."

Well, that sucks. An upgrade that isn't.


You consider going straight for the water, but decide against it until you find the gravity suit upgrade. While you don't have much experience with video games, you've at least found that water levels are almost universally terrible, and you trust Uber and Leet to preserve that experience.

You head roughly towards the docks, searching for powerups along the way. You find two more energy tanks, bringing you up to 699 in total. And then, near the docks, you find another Chozo statue. In its hand is a clear cube, with a glowing sphere in the middle of it.

"Hey, Leet, I thought we weren't doing Morph Bomb," Uber notes.

You grab the powerup, and the statue starts shaking oddly, a thin layer of stone flaking off it.

"We aren't. Torizo?" He asks, a girly giggle leaking out.

"Torizo," Uber confirms, joining Leet's laughter with his own.

The statue stop shaking, revealing a twelve-foot tall metallic figure beneath it. Its wings stay folded around its torso, but you can still tell what it is. Oh fuck, it's Lung.

Oh fuck, it's Lung!

You turn and run. Uber and Leet are still laughing madly. "Can't run from a boss fight," Leet chokes out.

"Remember the skip? Should have run before hitting the powerup," Uber confirms.

"I don't understand what's going on, but I think Lung is about to kill me," you tell them. "Help--"

Anything further you were about to say is cut off when a fireball hits you in the stomach for 50 damage, knocking you flat on your face.

"No, no, it's a Torizo!" Uber repeats. "Weak spot is the torso, it's supposed to be glowing purple. Hold on, we'll throw that on your visor."

Your visor corrects itself, and you desperately shoot at the target. Lung-Torizo-whatever it is responds with a furious roar for each hit and a variety of fire- and claw- based attacks that you can only rarely manage to dodge. Curiously, it gives you space any time it comes close to backing you into a wall.

You're almost out of energy when it takes one final hit, screams one last time, and finally unwraps its wings to fly off.

You stand there panting for a minute. Well, that just happened. Did you just beat up Lung? Did you just make Lung really mad at you? Was that even actually Lung at all? "What was that?" You finally ask your backup.

"A Torizo is a miniboss enemy that pretends to be a Chozo statue. They still have powerups, though. We'll get you a chance to play through this later so you can understand that. That said, you probably just got an unlimited supply of bombs for the suit. I cannot stress this enough: please don't use them if you can avoid it. You do so, and the Protectorate probably comes down on both you and us like a brick. At the very least, try to stick to midair explosions away from buildings. And don't try to bomb jump," Uber does his best to explain.

"What's a bomb jump?" You inquire.

"Shit. Please don't try this. Morph Bombs provide enough thrust to launch you into the air. It's a good way to sequence break in some games."

"At least those aren't Power Bombs," Leet interjects.

"Yeah," Uber agrees. "This wasn't part of the plan, so we'll get you some health back before Phantoon."

"One more question," you continue. "Why are the called Morph Bombs?"

"They can only be used while in Morph Ball mode," Uber tells you.

"What's Morph Ball mode?"

The two break into laughter again. Uber recovers first. "You haven't realized you have that capability? Check the interface, see what it does."

You do so, finding it easily and turning on the mode change. You morph into a ball.

Well, that's aptly named, at least. And for a mode that basically forces you into a yoga pose for the duration, it's a lot less uncomfortable than you expected. You change back and look for the correct boat in the graveyard.


Once again, you feel less threatened by the boss than by the gang members you fought on the way. Phantoon tricks you a few times with the way he disappears, and you completely fail to figure out a way to deal with the waves of blue fire he throws around, but he simply doesn't hit you with enough damage each hit to be terrifying. There's probably a better way to beat him, but you did your best and are satisfied with any victory at all.

Once more, the boss explodes into a shower of health pickups on victory. Not much further into the ship behind him, you find an upgrade that turns your armor purple-black. It's labelled as the Gravity Suit, and the interface says it drastically improves underwater mobility.

As you head out of the ship, you notice Leet leaving the area again, dressed head to toe in black, including a black face mask. "Leet, what are you doing here," you ask him.

"Sshhhhh!" Uber scolds you. "It's bad form to point out the stagehands!"

"This isn't a play!" You complain.

"It totally is," Leet disagrees with you.

Where next?
[ ] Draygon/Not in held territory/Underwater in the bay.
[ ] Sequence break for Ridley/E88/On top of a skyscraper downtown.
[ ] Sequence break for Mother Brain/Somewhere in the nice and safe part of town.
[ ] Pause for safety and go home.
[ ] Other (Write In)

 

[CKirk]

[X]Argue with Leet that this isn't a play
[X] Draygon/Not in held territory/Underwater in the bay.