Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

[dasstan]

Oh my.

'elegant in its simplicity,' surely?

Click to shrink...

I thought about pointing that out, too. Then I didn't because it's not a simple relationship. Simple would be "I tell him what to do and he does it."

Instead, she makes suggestions, he follows them, then claims credit for the suggestions, but the people he claims credit to are aware that they're not really his suggestions and hold him in contempt for being lead around by the nose by his parahuman subordinate.

edit: And then to add a further level of complexity, the person he's reporting to is secretly the person he took suggestions from in the first place.

 

[cosoco]

edit: And then to add a further level of complexity, the person he's reporting to is secretly the person he took suggestions from in the first place.

Click to shrink...

Speaking of which, it really makes much more sense that RCB would be able to keep up her cover with the help of a changling. I never understood why nobody noticed that RCB's skin was as hard as steel in canon.

 

[dasstan]

Speaking of which, it really makes much more sense that RCB would be able to keep up her cover with the help of a changling. I never understood why nobody noticed that RCB's skin was as hard as steel in canon.

Click to shrink...

Probably the same reason that they didn't notice that she hasn't aged in twenty something years. Fiat. Or to give a somewhat plausible answer, superhumanly good makeup skills and the liberal use of props.

 

[Jurily]

Speaking of which, it really makes much more sense that RCB would be able to keep up her cover with the help of a changling. I never understood why nobody noticed that RCB's skin was as hard as steel in canon.

Click to shrink...

Or that the Chief Director of the PRT never seems to be available during Endbringer attacks.

 

[kenhikaru]

Or that the Chief Director of the PRT never seems to be available during Endbringer attacks.

Click to shrink...

She uses body doubles.

 

[tordg]

She uses body doubles.

Click to shrink...

Correct. Cauldron's resources are really something, aren't they?

money?,loyality?

Click to shrink...

That and blackmail and the occasional Master/Stranger power... In other words, the usual.

 

[Snake/Eater]

She uses body doubles.

Click to shrink...

what kind of person chooses to be a body double?money?,loyality?it takes a special kinda crazy to do something like that.

 

[jaelin910]

"I've been on Avalon so long that I was beginning to forget what what the sea air smelled like."

Click to shrink...

one of those would be plenty

I thought about pointing that out, too. Then I didn't because it's not a simple relationship. Simple would be "I tell him what to do and he does it."

Instead, she makes suggestions, he follows them, then claims credit for the suggestions, but the people he claims credit to are aware that they're not really his suggestions and hold him in contempt for being lead around by the nose by his parahuman subordinate.

edit: And then to add a further level of complexity, the person he's reporting to is secretly the person he took suggestions from in the first place.

Click to shrink...

then perhaps 'delightful in its complexity' or some such?

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 344- Lisa


"Well, to make a long story slightly longer, meet Gemini," I gestured at the twins in their deliberately contrasted to match suits.


"Greetings," Alexandria acknowledged the pair with a polite nod. Knows more about the twins' background than I do. I was already aware of Cauldron's little experiment with the pair. Their hope to create a power that interacted with itself to get something unlimited. I looked at Alexandria, sending the message with a slight tilt of the head that the plan failed. Our own team, myself included, had given up on the idea of breaking the power side of the Taboo. Any Passenger that damaged should be nonfunctional to begin with.


"Hello, beautiful," the one on the left spoke up. His brother was the one who winked at her. Alexandria simply raised an eyebrow at them and looked suitably unimpressed by their antics, as one would expect. Alteration of stance, concern over Gemini's reliability considering their behavior.


"And that's Gemini," I responded apologetically as I started to walk to the testing area set out for us. My body language designed to assure her that they wouldn't be a problem, they just had the usual 'parahumans aren't all there in the head' quirk. Rebecca followed alongside me as I spoke. The twins took it in stride, as they always did when the girls shot them down. If the girls shot them down. I tried not to think about their success rate. "They have the power to copy a Thinker power that's in their line of sight and use it themselves. If they copy two different powers they can share a blended variant of both powers. There's a few minor limitations, like only having one power each at a time. Plus an additional Thinker/Trump rating simply for being able to identify other Thinkers on sight."


Rebecca hesitated slightly. "Interesting," she stated in a measured tone. "You wish to see if they gain permanent benefits from temporarily accessing my perfect memory and accelerated learning potential." Concern over security risks of power, concern that they'd already tapped into our powers and read our conversation that we were having earlier, somewhat abashed by the possible implications they could have picked out from our behavior. To me it was equivalent to watching her blush.


I shifted my body language, a light sway to the hips. A tease to let her know I was onto her, and thought it cute. Also had the effect of letting her quickly realize I wasn't concerned at all. Not just because I didn't care if anyone figured it out, but because I knew they wouldn't have the ability to do so.


They got inferior copies of the powers, especially when using blended powers. They were running me and Accord at the moment, we were one of those useful hybrid powers, giving them an incredible ability to intuit complex mathematics and social dynamics issues. We had them designing our future economic and political models. They didn't have the ability to read our conversation with that blend.


She relaxed as I conveyed the lack of risk, and simply accepted my teasing with her usual bemused aloofness.


"Essentially, yes," I confirmed her assumptions, spoken and otherwise. "We also have another Thinker whose power is to temporarily possess skills. Or, perhaps more accurately, techniques. He can perform complex tasks successfully, without actually knowing what he's doing. Like... rebuilding a car engine perfectly, without knowing why you need to set the spark plugs correctly. Or even what a spark plug is. It's already proven valuable coupled with our skill installation technology."


I shifted slightly, admitting that I was curious to what the Alexandria/Minerva hybrid might achieve. Rebecca hesitated again, this time less fear and more... envy? Jealousy? I tapped the active side of my power for a second. Sees our communication and interaction as personal, even intimate. Is experiencing natural jealous tendencies at the idea that it might not be as private as she had imagined. In addition to a level of paranoia about security risks.


I wasn't worried about the security. The twins were trustworthy as we could hope. After all, we pointed Dinah, myself, and Cauldron's Thinkers at all of the Mass Trigger experimental subjects. Every one was motivated by a sense of responsibility or moral calling, not personal ambitions. Part of why we'd selected that psych profile was the off chance that their personalities would carry into the Trigger Visions, maybe influence Glaistig Uaine on some emotional level. It also meant a hundred and fifty hero inclined capes got some of the most powerful vials remaining, alongside our formula booster.


The idea that she would be jealous, that caught me off guard. I hesitated enough that a non-Thinker probably would have noticed. "Umm, yes, I'm surprised you knew about Dragon's arrangements."


"I suspected something when you described his power," she caught the cue immediately. "The supervillains caught by you and remanded directly to Dragon's custody. I was not aware that they were in Avalon's care." Flustered, embarrassed by her reaction and the lack of control to hide it. Welcome to the club.


"They're not, strictly speaking," I responded. I shifted to communicate an apology for my insensitivity, and assurance that I'd be the only one who caught it. In retrospect, I should have known she'd be upset by the idea. "They are officially under Protectorate jurisdiction. Who assigned them to Dragon's custody as part of a work program with the other member of the duo. Avalon has no authority in their detainment, or for that matter anything to do with their legal status."


"And the reason you have him here today is because of the blanket status of highest non-emergency priority assigned to all likely power interactions," Alexandria concluded. "Which extends to Avalon's treaties with the United States and Canada." Deliberate mention of priority status of power interactions, acceptance of my apology. Further apologizing for her overreaction, acknowledging that if it does have a chance of being valuable, then it should be tried, no matter our personal feelings on the issue.


"Japan as well, now," I confirmed. "But we have a more immediate concern to focus on." I took a somewhat submissive posture, letting her know I was deferring to her feelings on this, and we wouldn't have them blend our powers. Now that she made me realize how uniquely us our interaction was, I didn't want to give it up, either. The idea was a simple idle curiosity, and Gemini's best tactical value right now was in taking Accord's power, which I reluctantly had to admit was better than mine for most situations, and making it more versatile.


We spent the next minute or so walking in silence. I nudged about two inches closer to Rebecca along the course of the walk, as close an act of overt comfort as we could allow ourselves under the circumstances. She followed suit, and I was glad that she forgave me for my earlier insensitivity so easily. Is this what Taylor and Amelia feel like from their link? No wonder Taylor would choose death over giving it up. Rebecca hesitated, she must have noticed my thoughts drifting that direction.


I exhaled slowly, assuring her I was calm and it was nothing to do with her. A simple gesture of my hand and positioning of fingers indicated that I was thinking about a friend. It wouldn't satisfy her completely, but she would accept that not all the secrets I knew were mine to tell. Then, if she thought I was the sort that would reveal my friends' secrets, she probably wouldn't trust me with so many of her own.


We reached the testing facility, which was just their recreational computer room, with a section blocked off with cheap dividers. Each of the machines in our section was running a different simulation or complex test on them, plus papers published by some of the most brilliant non-parahuman intellects that Bet had access to. Many of those papers actually came from Aleph, which was another portion of the experiment. How Uber's power worked was mostly unknown. There was a low, but nonzero, chance it was something like telepathy, accessing knowledge from other peoples' heads. If so, it might not work across dimensions.


"Sweet!" Uber exclaimed, heading over to one of the computers in the normal area. "I haven't been able to get online in months. Do I need a password or anything?"


Rebecca glanced at me, and I nodded. A communication that we intended to be read. "No, guest access doesn't require passwords. Keep in mind your every keystroke will be monitored while you're using our facilities."


"Also keep in mind you're still a prisoner," I added, though mainly for the show of it.


"How does this procedure work?" Alexandria asked, stepping away from that subject. "Anything I need to be aware of?"


"You'll feel a moment of disorientation," I informed her, putting a soothing edge into my voice. Not to reassure her so much as request she keep silent on just how disorienting it really is. There was no way Gemini could copy powers without the target noticing something happened. "And then the process is done as far as you're concerned. I recommend either finding some reading material, or observing the tests. Perhaps advise them on the particulars of your abilities. Despite them having your power, they won't have your experience using it."


"I understand," she agreed. Relaxed, feet spread slightly. Putting concentration into keeping her stability when the powers are duplicated. "I'm ready."


"Me, too," Uber responded from his seat.


Gemini's power has tells on their end as well, a subtle change in postures and attitudes as they lose or gain the stream of knowledge and the confidence that said information brings. My power and Accord's had a trait in common, in that our eyes constantly shifted toward new details, drawing clues from our environment for use by our intellect. That and Thinker headaches. I had to envy the twins and Rebecca for the fact that their powers didn't come with such side effects.


Their personalities were far more timid without access to dual Thinker abilities to give them answers to every situation. Would that be what I'd be like, without my powers giving me an artificial advantage over normal people? Rebecca shifted her posture slightly. Higher incline of jaw, focus of eyes upward for a moment, telling me to be proud. Negating the idea that I should feel self conscious about having such a power. I mirrored her, letting her know I took the advice to heart.


A moment later, she almost faltered, as her Thinker power actually was stripped from her for a period of around two seconds. It was the offensive aspect of Gemini's ability. The pair of them could drain, drop, and then drain from a person constantly, leaving them in a perpetual state of confusion and functional sensory deprivation. Zach called it stun-locking, which I assumed was a video game term. In a way, it made them very powerful, able to shut down some truly top tier parahumans like Victoria or Lily if they needed to.


Rebecca recovered quickly, for her first experience, then she glanced at me. "That's all?" She asked, deliberately underselling the significance of their power. Her glance had a second meaning as well, one of caution.


"That's all," I nodded in agreement. "You won't experience a thing when they switch to something else." She was right, now that they had her power we couldn't risk communicating so openly, not until we learned just how the twins harnessed her power and its interaction with Uber's. It wasn't a matter of secrecy, simply one of privacy.


Our bond was ours alone, and we didn't want others looking in on it.


======================


A/N- D'aww. D'aww on a freakin' stick. Also, this chapter is now a three parter. I may break it up with a peak at someone else's day. Hmm. Beth hasn't had a chapter in a while. Nor has Sveta. I can probably do their raid on the Elite's compound... yeah, that'll be fun...

 

[TanaNari]

what kind of person chooses to be a body double?

Click to shrink...

What kind of person chooses to pretend to be someone else for a few hours a week and get paid a crapload of money for it? Umm... a lot of people, very often. Many politicians and celebrities hire body doubles so they don't have to attend a given event. It's especially common for musicians. Saddam Hussein had at least a dozen of them at any given time, for fear of assassination attempts.

then perhaps 'delightful in its complexity' or some such?

Click to shrink...

I went with the wordplay on purpose. I'm keeping it.

 

[CptTagon]

Good God, you two.

Gemini's power has tells on their end as well, a subtle change in postures and attitudes as they lose or gain the stream of knowledge and the confidence that said information brings. My power and Accord's had a trait in common, in that our eyes constantly shifted toward new details, drawing clues from our environment for use by our intellect. Aside from Thinker headaches, it was the only thing our powers had in common. I had to envy the twins and Rebecca for the fact that their powers didn't come with such side effects.
Their personalities were far more timid without access to duel Thinker abilities to give them answers to every situation. Would that be what I'd be like, without my powers giving me an artificial advantage over normal people? Rebecca shifted her posture slightly. Higher incline of jaw, focus of eyes upward for a moment, telling me to be proud. Negating the idea that I should feel self conscious about having such a power. I mirrored her, letting her know I took the advice to heart.

Click to shrink...

Gemini's power has tells on their end as well, a subtle change in postures and attitudes as they lose or gain the stream of knowledge and the confidence that said information brings. My power and Accord's had a trait in common, in that our eyes constantly shifted toward new details, drawing clues from our environment for use by our intellect. Aside from Thinker headaches, it was the only thing our powers had in common. I had to envy the twins and Rebecca for the fact that their powers didn't come with such side effects.

Their personalities were far more timid without access to duel Thinker abilities to give them answers to every situation. Would that be what I'd be like, without my powers giving me an artificial advantage over normal people? Rebecca shifted her posture slightly. Higher incline of jaw, focus of eyes upward for a moment, telling me to be proud. Negating the idea that I should feel self conscious about having such a power. I mirrored her, letting her know I took the advice to heart

 

[Coruscant Knave]

Sqeeee best ship continues. Sveta and Beth update is welcome.

Rebecca recovered quickly, for her first experience, then she glanced at me. "That's all?"

Click to shrink...

Oh, so they have that kind of relationship.

 

[Slayer Anderson]

Now that Lisa understands what it was she was trying to get Taylor and Amelia to do by 'breaking up,' I wonder if she'll actually do the unthinkable...

...might Lisa actually apologize?!

 

[dasstan]

She was right, now that they had her power we couldn't risk communicating so openly, not until we learned just how the twins harnessed her power and its interaction with Uber's. It wasn't a matter of secrecy, simply one of privacy.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, the analytical thing that Rebecca does isn't a direct result of her power. She went and trained herself in cold reading and all the other fancy body language skills.

If they were doing Minerva-Alexandria, I could understand being super guarded about it, because the Alexandria bits would notice things, and the Minerva bits would explain what they noticed. Less of a concern with Uber because his ability takes a bit to ramp up to Grandmaster levels.

 

[TanaNari]

Does his ability take time to ramp up? I could use a cite.

 

[dasstan]

Does his ability take time to ramp up? I could use a cite.

Click to shrink...

Not ramp up. I misremembered.

Über's power made him talented. It didn't matter if it was playing the harmonica, parkour stunts or Muay Thai, he could pull it off like he'd been working on it for hours a day for most of his life. If he really focused on it, the way I understood it, he could be top notch.

Click to shrink...

So, generalized good, but with focus he becomes awesome.

 

[Jurily]

Is this what Taylor and Amelia feel like from their link? No wonder Taylor would choose death over giving it up.

Click to shrink...

This would've been so much more powerful if clones didn't have POV. "What do you mean Taylor chapter? She's dead."

 

[jaelin910]

Their personalities were far more timid without access to duel Thinker abilities

Click to shrink...

I know Lisa likes to test her wits against people but I'm pretty sure that should be 'dual'

as to Uber, just keep in mind that apparently we fans regularly over-estimate his ability.

 

[tilkau]

I thought about pointing that out, too. Then I didn't because it's not a simple relationship. Simple would be "I tell him what to do and he does it."

Instead, she makes suggestions, he follows them, then claims credit for the suggestions, but the people he claims credit to are aware that they're not really his suggestions and hold him in contempt for being lead around by the nose by his parahuman subordinate.

edit: And then to add a further level of complexity, the person he's reporting to is secretly the person he took suggestions from in the first place.

Click to shrink...

I was going to suggest you could split the difference -- go for "elegant in its complicity". Then I realized that that actually applies.

 

[Ack]

So darn sweet.

Typos:

(Previous)

Even if I hadn't been debriefed ahead of time

Click to shrink...

Briefed. 'debriefed' happens afterward, where you tell others what happened to you. Briefing is giving you information beforehand,

(Current)

A simple gesture of my hand and positioning of fingers indicated that I was thinkin about a friend.

Click to shrink...

Thinking.

A moment later, she almost faultered,

Click to shrink...

faltered

 

[Peanuckle]

Our bond was ours alone, and we didn't want others looking in on it.

Click to shrink...

Tried finding an appropriate d'aww picture, couldn't.

Too much d'aww.

That said, I think an apology or at least an "I understand now" would be good.

 

[Masked Menace]

"Meet Gemini," I responded apologetically as I started to walk to the testing area set out for us. My body language designed to assure her that they wouldn't

Click to shrink...

This is theecndtime Lisa says "meet Gemini" it feels a bit clunky having her repeat the introduction so soon like that I think it would be better if she said it in a different way the second time. Alternatively you could tweak the first instance so that she's introducing Gemini to Alexandria and the second is her continuing on the inverse.

 

[GiftofLove]

Our bond was ours alone, and we didn't want others looking in on it.

Click to shrink...

And now Taylor and Lisa become superfriends again.

Yay brainjacking! Solves all problems!

 

[dasstan]

And now Taylor and Lisa become superfriends again.

Yay brainjacking! Solves all problems!

Click to shrink...

If your problem isn't solvable by Mindrape, apply more Mindrape.

 

[pepperjack]

more Mindrape

Click to shrink...

Please. "Gentle persuasion."

 

[cosoco]

"Essentially, yes," I confirmed her assumptions, spoken and otherwise. "We also have another Thinker whose power is to temporarily possess skills. Or, perhaps more accurately, techniques. He can perform complex tasks successfully, without actually knowing what he's doing. Like... rebuilding a car engine perfectly, without knowing why you need to set the spark plugs correctly. Or even what a spark plug is. It's already proven valuable coupled with our skill installation technology."


I shifted slightly, admitting that I was curious to what the Alexandria/Minerva hybrid might achieve. Rebecca hesitated again, this time less fear and more... envy? Jealousy? I tapped the active side of my power for a second. Sees our communication and interaction as personal, even intimate. Is experiencing natural jealous tendencies at the idea that it might not be as private as she had imagined. In addition to a level of paranoia about security risks.


I wasn't worried about the security. The twins were trustworthy as we could hope. After all, we pointed Dinah, myself, and Cauldron's Thinkers at all of the Mass Trigger experimental subjects. Every one was motivated by a sense of responsibility or moral calling, not personal ambitions. Part of why we'd selected that psych profile was the off chance that their personalities would carry into the Trigger Visions, maybe influence Glaistig Uaine on some emotional level. It also meant a hundred and fifty hero inclined capes got some of the most powerful vials remaining, alongside our formula booster.


The idea that she would be jealous, that caught me off guard. I hesitated enough that a non-Thinker probably would have noticed. "Umm, yes, I'm surprised you knew about Dragon's arrangements."

Click to shrink...

This part of the conversation sounds odd to people listening:
Lisa: ...with our skill installation technology
Lisa: *hesitation*
Lisa: Umm, yes, I'm surprised you knew about Dragon's...

Was something left out accidentally?

 

[TanaNari]

Was something left out accidentally?

Click to shrink...

Well. You left out the first part of the statement- so did you do that accidentally?

Because to an observer (who had the wherewithal to study and understand the conversation) it should look like

*Minerva describes parahuman*
*Minerva hesitates*
*Minerva acknowledges that the parahuman is a captive villain, and is at least a little surprised Alexandria knew that*

Of course, for people who don't understand the context(s)... no, it wouldn't make a lot of sense... although if they're fairly intelligent, they can probably make a solid educated guess easily enough.

 

[B.B. Rain]

Started rereading the story. I'm in the middle of chapter 106, they're talking about Vista's first armor, and I've just noticed they have Kid Win involved.

Whatever happened to him? Did he just temporarily join Pantheon after leaving the Wards, before moving elsewhere, or die during the Simurgh fight in New Delhi, or something else?

 

[TanaNari]

Amelia, Ch 345- Beth


It feels so weird, not taking pills with meals. To the point where I'd bought a thing of multivitamins just so I could follow my routine. Having a newfound expertise in general medicine may have influenced my decision at least a little. I glanced over at Sabah, who was still working on finishing her late lunch, then went back to scrolling through my emails. These days, the pair of us practically lived in her workshop, or out doing whatever public spectacle was needed.


"So, looks like one of the local schools has a job for me. One of those combination fundraisers for local after school programs, and PR things Crystal loves so much," I informed her idly. "Pay's kinda crap, but it looks fun and they're not asking for any of the intelligent summons." I forwarded it over to Crystal's email, letting her know I was interested. I also deleted four less savory while contemplating if I could get away with quitting the team, burning down a porn company, and then signing back up as a reformed villain. Edgy is in these days, right?


"I think I got that one, too," Sabah responded. "They probably mailed all of us."


"Have to admire their persistence, I guess," I smiled. Our phones buzzed simultaneously. I pulled mine out. Secret mission w/ambs, prep 5 mins.


"The fuck?" Sabah cursed.


"Maybe it's an emergency," I suggested, already getting up. My costume was one of the generic designs, focused mainly on movement and stealth options. Made it easy for me to get into. And GL almost never didn't use his. Sabah and Dubs were the last to get into costume.


"Minerva, what's the emergency?" Sabah demanded the moment she got her suit online.


"Nothing," Minerva answered casually. "Just throwing you guys a curveball. Citrine's going to be there in a couple minutes with a mission outside of town, you'll know her by the yellow costume. Your job is to follow her instructions during the mission. Don't worry, she has all the details."


All the details? "You mean you could have warned us, but didn't," Sabah accused, sounding about as happy as I felt.


"Pretty much," Minerva answered. "Don't worry, you'll be perfectly fine. Just remember to stay alert and try not to embarrass yourselves." Her com clicked off immediately, as Sabah tried to object again.


"I think I speak for all of us when I say 'what a bitch'," GL said after a couple seconds. There were no objections.


Citrine was, indeed, wearing a yellow costume. Alongside a woman in a dark blue green outfit, and men in a black, purple, and green costumes. All were clearly our biosuits, given some cosmetic alterations for theme purposes. I was sure they meant something to whomever customized them, but all I could think of was how ugly the color schemes were together.


"What's this about?" Genius Loci asked them before anyone else had a chance to speak up. Sabah may have had seniority, but GL was our functional second in command. "Minerva didn't tell us a thing about a mission today."


"Accord's going to find that annoying," the woman stated unhappily. "We're engaged in a raid against one of the Elite's illegal holdings."


"That's practically a declaration of war against one of the most powerful parahuman organizations on the West Coast," GL stated.


"My job's only a matter of carrying out my orders," Citrine shrugged. "Not speculating on long term consequences. Our respective employers believe it's worth the effort, and they believe we have the necessary skills to carry out the task. Or would you prefer we carry out the mission without you?"


"They're stirring up the hornet's nest on purpose," I added. I thought back at all the shit the Elite had put people in this area through. They were the main source of organized crime in the region, and we couldn't even prove it beyond nuisance crimes. "What's the target?"


"A drug lab hidden in the mountains outside of the city," Citrine answered. "Our goal is to capture the Tinker that operates it."


"I'm in," I agreed immediately. It felt amazing to not be terrified of every possible consequence for once in my life. "If it gets more drugs off the street, well, we can always ask for reinforcements later if we need them. Who knows, maybe we can talk Victoria into moving back?"


There was a quiet moment, then GL spoke up. "Point made. Fill us in during the trip. You guys have do have shunt drives, right?"


....


The labs in question were remarkably easy to find, mainly because we couldn't see them through our dimensional viewing tech. An empty black void in the VR simulation our equipment used to show us what was happening on Bet.


"They must have some kind of Tinker tech that keeps our equipment from working," GL stated. "How'd they pull that off? How'd they even know to try?"


"No way for us to be certain," Citrine answered. "I still intend to carry out the mission."


"We're pretty blatant about using our shunt tech," I suggested. "Ever since it was first shown off in New Delhi. Maybe it's just meant to keep people from teleporting into their base, and they didn't realize we could use it to see across as well?"


"Or they made an educated guess from other Endbringer battles," Citrine responded. "It doesn't take much to recognize that Khepri is fully capable of using her powers from her side of the dimensional barrier. A method to block her powers is likely high priority for a number of organizations. We also can't be certain our armor will protect us from whatever chemicals that Synth may have prepared to stop intruders. Tinkers have a habit of keeping a few nasty surprises secret in order to protect their bases. Anima's power is ideal for the initial attack."


"I'll need to shunt across before I start summoning," I stated. I also wasn't too happy with that idea in the first place. My summons dying made things very unpleasant for me. I didn't feel their pain, or anything so straightforward, but trying to replenish the power lost when a summon died instead of being reabsorbed was slow and painful. I didn't say anything, however. It was far better than my friends dying.


"I can take guard duty," Sabah added, stepping next to me. That was our usual method, either Sabah or GL would protect me while I did my thing. "My power and armor don't work well in tight spaces, it's best to let me operate outdoors.


"Indoors is my specialty," GL spoke up. "I'll go in and establish control of the base."


"Genius Loci, you should hold back," Citrine instructed. "We have no means of knowing what tech is inside the base, and they've had months to observe you. They might have a way to block your powers, and since you have no corporeal body that might prove fatal."


"This not having a body thing sucks," he sighed.


"Othello, we'll want to test if your power can cross through whatever dimensional barricade they have," Citrine continued. "You're under similar warnings to GL, we don't know if their dimensional tech will work on your projection or not, or what happens if that gets destroyed. Don't use your secondary power, in any case."


"Yes, ma'am," he agreed.


"Ligeia, Dubstep," she continued. "The pair of you are our demolitions team for this conflict. Should it prove impossible to capture the base safely, the pair of you are responsible for destroying it. It's not the optimal solution, especially as we want to capture the Tinker alive."


They nodded. Dubs was too shy to say anything. Unfortunately, his personality was influenced by his power, and that meant his issues couldn't be fixed like mine. As much as I hated my power, at least it didn't take away my ability to have a normal life like Dubs and GL had to suffer.


"Meanwhile, I'll attempt to identify and shut down whatever effect they're using to block dimensional viewing," Citrine continued. "Jacklight, I want you to wait on Avalon and observe. Should I succeed, your goal is to damage their base with power surges and other minor sabotage. Keep track of Synth, everything else is a secondary concern to his capture."


He nodded, not objecting in the slightest. Judging by how easily they made that plan, I had to imagine they'd used the tactic before. I wasn't sure what his power did, but it worked across dimensions. Or his suit had tinker tech that allowed it to do so.


We shunted over after taking our place on the other side of a nearby ridge, outside the blackout range. We peeked at the building, which was incredibly well camouflaged into the surrounding terrain. If not for us knowing exactly where to find it, and the Tinker scanning tech built into our costumes, we may never have noticed it at all.


I focused and drew on the full extent of my power at once. What I needed was numbers and maneuverability, and that meant the pixie summons. I did a count once, and my maximum numbers totaled over twenty thousand of the things, if that's all I wanted to summon. Each member about seven inches tall, they immediately took to dancing in a beautiful swirling cloud of light and laughter, spreading out and and swirling around all of us, trying to draw us into their dance.


"Attention, my subjects," I died a little inside, but the swarms of pixies calmed and gave me their undivided attention. "In that building are criminals peddling drugs." In a way, I could almost consider myself fortunate that the summons even understood the concept of narcotics. In another, it was a problem in its own right, as wherever my power got the idea of drugs from, my summons viewed them in an extremely negative light. Probably thanks to what few fantasy stories that mentioned them always portraying them in the worst possible way.


"You are to attack and subdue them," I continued my orders. "Remember, subdue them. I do not want them killed. We... we must interrogate them and learn where they acquired their foul wares." I am living proof it's impossible to die of humiliation. "Now go forth and carry out my bidding."


The tiny battle cries echoed across the glowing crowd like I'd given them a rousing pre-battle speech. And then they raced down the hill toward the base, looking more like a glowing rainbow colored fog cloud than an army.


Sabah took that moment to fire her weapon into the wall of the facility. It shattered a moment later, as she used her telekinetic control to rip the supports out of the ground. We rarely displayed Sabah's full power for a reason. Preferring to imply she was weaker, without this level of destructive ability. And stronger, able to hurt people instead of merely nonliving objects.


My power, on the other hand? Very much able to hurt living things. A few men I was assuming were guards rushed out of the building, in time to be swarmed by my army. I grimaced as the staccato of automatic weapons fire was quickly replaced by flashes of light and screams. Ordering them not to kill was a necessity. Each individual pixie wasn't that powerful, their attacks no more dangerous than being jabbed by a thumbtack or burned by a match for a second or two. But they fought in swarms, and could strip a man's flesh from his bones if I let them.


There is also a reason we rarely displayed my full power.


=================


A/N- Death by pixies. It might even be more horrible than death by bug swarm. Really depends on your opinion of being burned alive. Slowly.

 

[SwiftRosenthal]

Typos:

All the details? "You mean you could have warned up, but didn't," Sabah accused, sounding about as happy as I felt.

Click to shrink...

'warned us'?

"Indoors is my specialty," GL spoke up. "I'll go in and

Click to shrink...

...and what?