Charm Learning Shard (Worm/Exalted) (COMPLETED)

You never thought going to back to Hookwolf's dojo would feel nostalgic. It's only been what, three weeks? Three weeks and a previous life. Back then, Poltergeist didn't exist, and Taylor Hebert did.

Theo looks quite apprehensive at the venue you've chosen for your 'date'. "I don't-"

"Are you saying you don't need to get in shape?" you interrupt him before he can even start whining.

"...no."

You hustle him over to Hookwolf, who gives you a respectful nod before looking Theo up and down.

"This is Kaiser's kid?" he asks, sounding entirely unimpressed.

"Yeah. He needs to become less of a useless lump."

"Hm. He can't possibly be a worse student that you were," Hookwolf says philosophically. He has no idea how right he is. You didn't expect him to handle the training personally though - that treatment is usually reserved for capes. But you suppose it would be a strange empire that had no hereditary privileges.

Your purpose here is twofold. One: Skills can be blamed on prodigy, and charisma on growing the fuck up. But if the fat little boy suddenly becomes swole for no good reason, eyebrows would go up. Which is not to say that you're not going to be cheating like crazy on his behalf. His physical fitness and martial prowess is going to go up at an entirely unrealistic rate, but it's not as if he's going to be submitting to regular medical examinations. His gains will be superficially plausible.

Two: It's not enough that he becomes a worthy heir. He must be seen to become a worthy heir. He must be seen making an effort in that direction. And you must be seen browbeating him into doing so, or the soul price won't trigger.

It's a shame that you can't take advantage of the same power-based training regimen yourself. If you gave yourself this kind of boost you'd overdraw your potential for growth to the point that you'd never be able to learn anything useful for the rest of your life. So in Theo's case, there are no side effects.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaah!" A girly scream splits the air of the dojo. Turns out you were wrong on one point: Just because your cheats guarantee that Theo will learn, doesn't mean he's not a terrible student until they take effect. And Hookwolf just treated him the way he treats all terrible students.

You walk over to where Theo is lying on the ground, clutching his arm and crying. You poke him with a foot. "Get up, you pussy. You're making me look bad."

"P-pussy? He broke my arm!"

You sigh, roll your eyes, and hold out your right arm to Hookwolf. He breaks it. "Ngh. See? You're a pussy. Now get up." You poke him again. "Get up or I'll make it to Othala first."

You and Hookwolf watch as he scrambles to his feet and cringes off healer-wards.

"He could be just as bad as me?" you suggest.

"Heard you were an item," Hookwolf says.

"I guess."

"What do you even see in that guy?"

You shrug your left shoulder. "Guess you were right about me."

"How's that?"

"Turns out I love pussy after all."

Hookwolf laughs, and slaps you on the back - jarring your broken arm.

"Gah!"

"Sorry."

"Can I leave him with you? I've got a patrol to get to."

---

You don't like the atmosphere at the bar. Not the tension from the recent pressure everyone's been under. The other thing. Last week, Low Key was a bro. Thanks to Theo's little outburst, she's now also a slut. It's not like anyone quite says that to your face, but... But you don't like the atmosphere. Just because you recognize that you deserve the undercurrent of disapproval doesn't mean you like it.

At least it's not unanimous. There are those who reserve judgement pending your future actions ("Shotgun marriages are very traditional," Big Brain comments apropos nothing), and there's a strong correlation between pretending nothing happened and having been present when you charged out ahead of the mortals and got shot for your trouble.

Alex even deliberately steers the conversation towards 'known pedophiles in positions of power' shortly after you show up, directing all available outrage in the room towards degenerates far worse than you. All outrage, including yours! If they're known pedophiles, why - oh right, positions of power. A normally headline-hungry media suddenly becomes strangely reticent, and those who speak up have a tendency to get sued into the ground and/or die in completely unrelated accidents.

Hanging out with the rank and file has been shockingly good for your civics education in that way. Not always useful things - it's not like you bothered to memorize the name of MLK's speechwriter, even if you'd now ace a multiple-choice quiz on his ethnicity. But they regularly bring up government and (nominally) non-government organizations that you had no idea even existed - always in the context of the evils done by members of a certain tribe, but knowledge is knowledge. Good thing those people like three-letter acronyms, because they might have run out combinations by now if they'd stuck with two.

It's enough to make you hope that they're right, that jews are obscenely powerful and uniquely evil. Because if they're able to obtain these results by cherry-picking, the corruption is unimaginably worse. Regardless, you clearly need a government-to-prison pipeline! ("They had a special luxury prison built for the ones that get caught," Sven mentions) Or if that's how the game is played, you understand that Madagascar is lovely this time of year, and far too sparsely populated.

When you first heard such things, you were shocked and outraged. Corruption, in your government? America is supposed to be better than that! Oh, how naive you were. Thinking that the heroes were an exception among government agencies, rather than par for the course.

After a month you started rolling your eyes and mouthing 'of course' along with everyone else.

These days you have a growing conviction that the system is broken, reform is impossible, and the only way forward is to burn Washington to the ground and start over.

Well, of course reform is impossible, when you think about it. Every single corrupt official - and every unofficial power broker - has a strong incentive to ensure that he cannot be reformed out of a job. Even were they not conspiring together, the sheer magnitude of their separate efforts would still ensure that no democratic process could ever displace them.

Now that you've proven your mettle against the local heroes - now that your growing power is an undeniable fact - that thought is a lot more uncomfortable than it once was. Unlike anyone else in the room, it's possible that you could burn Washington to the ground, given another year or two. Which means that the question becomes whether you should.

---

Your patrol keeps being all trash, no heroes. At one point you spot Aegis - now back in one piece - but he makes no moves to test the border. Instead, he turns around and flies away the moment he spots you in turn. You give his retreating back a cheery wave, and Alabaster chuckles behind you. That part of your escape is more or less common knowledge.

Towards the end of the shift you spot something else. Vista is shadowing you again? How nostalgic. She's keeping her distance, so while her warping of space to cross between the rooftops stands out to sorcerer's sight like a beacon, you're too far away to see whether she's in costume or not.

The two of you have had peaceful interactions in the past, and it clearly didn't end her career. But given recent events you doubt that the heroes will be quite so forgiving going forward. On the other hand, also given recent events, it is extremely unlikely that they would send a Ward alone against you. Maybe she is here to talk. And Aegis was attempting to shadow her again? Nostalgic indeed.

A whispered consultation with Fenrir reveals that he doesn't sense any other capes nearby either. You finish your patrol as if nothing was happening. But after dropping off Alabaster, you guide Fenrir towards a nearby rooftop, one with an AC unit large enough for him to hide behind.

When Vista walks past it a little later, his jaws close around her torso. She flinches back (in vain), but does not cry out. Her movement does cause her to drop the cardboard box that she was carrying. You can make out a faint glow of tinker-tech coming from inside. It's... not a bomb, you're pretty sure, but you back up a bit regardless.

Fenrir doesn't bite down, but he exerts enough pressure to make sure she isn't going anywhere.

"I'm here to talk," Vista says. Her voice is calm and she does not struggle. That she willingly walked into your painfully obvious ambush lends credence to her words. She is also wearing civvies and a domino rather than her costume, like back in the old days.

You can't help but admire her poise, stuck in the wolf's jaws like that. Who knew that the biggest brass balls in the city belonged to a twelve year old girl? Given that the last time you interacted with a Ward... well, Aegis is fine. You very deliberately did no permanent damage. But the optics were bad, as they say.

"Then talk, hero," you say, using something slightly sharper than your usual 'friend' voice. "How was your day? Kidnapped any babies lately?"

"I had nothing to do with that!"

"It's funny, isn't?" you continue as if she hadn't spoken. "A hero gets outed, and villains join in the effort to track down the culprit. A villain gets outed, and the heroes kidnap her children. It's almost as if-"

"-as if there is no such thing as honor or justice, only power and fear," Vista echoes the thesis you put forth during one of your past conversations, her voice bitter.

"And you lot have the government monopoly on violence - well, not so much on a tactical level, which is why Aster is back with her family. But the strategic-level threat ensures that there will be no comeuppance, no matter how well deserved." You gesture to Fenrir to let her go. He remains standing next to her, though, too close for her to use her power to gain distance.

Vista does not respond to your words immediately, her mouth set in a thin line. To her credit, her soul price has changed since last you saw her. She no longer considers the respect of her peers desirable.

Vista wants Gallant-sempai to notice her.

You can't resist rolling your eyes at that. Because that fucked-up love triangle really needed another leg. Panacea wants to turn Glory Girl into an incestuous lesbian. Glory Girl wants to turn Gallant into a good boyfriend. And now Vista wants to turn Gallant into a pedophile. You let out a long, tired sigh.

"Are, are you alright?" Vista asks.

Oh, it's pity that brought her here? Did she catch your performance at the Rig? "How could I not be alright, with such wonderful heroes protecting us?" Not being sure how much she knows, you leave your answer open to interpretation.

Vista licks her lips. "They told me, um, they told me you were..."

So they know. Not surprising really, you no doubt left DNA evidence at the scene. "I'm fine," you say. "It was dealt with." You avoid phrasing it as 'I dealt with it', since 'it' involves three murders and you are technically conversing with an officer of the law.

"But-"

"We are not having this conversation, hero."

Vista hesitates briefly, but agrees to change the subject: "I brought your school books," she says. She indicates the cardboard box. "I went around to all your classes and wrote down your assignments for the week, too. I knew you wouldn't come to school-"

"Because you guys were breaking the unwritten rules within minutes of the news dropping and trying to arrest me in class?" you interrupt. Vista doesn't try to deny it. "Imagine that."

"Yeah... Look, I'm trying to help-"

You pull off your mask, and gesture to your face. Everyone already knows what you look like anyway.

"Do I look retarded?" you demand.

"What? No? Wh-"

"Because why else would you expect me to accept a box full of tracking devices?"

"There's no tracking devices in there!"

"Would you bet a thousand dollars on that?"

"Yes!"

"You're on." You walk up to her and carefully flip open the lid of the box, revealing what's inside. You have to fight to keep your face under control at what you see (should have put your mask back on). That's a lot of effort to go to to catch one little villain. Armsmaster must have taken your escape personally.

"See?" Vista demands, lacking sorcerer's sight. "Just books. I packed them myself."

"Riiight..." You draw your (regular, non-orichalcum) knife and gingerly grab the topmost book. (Vista takes a step backwards when you go for the knife, then steps forward again when Fenrir's nose nudges her in the back)

You carefully slit the spine of the book open, then make a show of examining it carefully. There's nothing there, you knew that already. You put it back and pick up another, repeat the process.

Vista has her arms crossed and is tapping her foot impatiently by the time you finally eviscerate the bugged book.

"Packed it yourself, did you?" you ask, holding it up to her. There's a slim antenna running the length of the spine, terminating in a small chip. "And you never left your luggage unattended where some nefarious Tinker could get at it, right?"

Vista's face falls with what you judge is genuine surprise. She seems to be debating what to say for a few moments, before something distressing occurs to her.

"I don't have a thousand dollars."

"I guess you'll have to owe me." You put the book back in the box. Rather than sheathe your knife again, you drop it on the ground. "If it makes you feel any better, he probably went behind your back out of concern over your acting ability."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

You shrug, careful to keep your hands away from your body. "It's not a 'Santa Claus is real' situation. They know you're not an innocent kid to be kept in the dark now. You didn't resign when you found out about the kidnapping, after all."

Vista shifts uncomfortably. "I thought about it. But I still want to make a difference."

"Fight the good fight?" you scoff. "I would want to fight against people who act like that. And what do you know, I do."

"Are you trying to recruit me?"

You shrug again. "There are worse career moves. I mean, the Protectorate knows who you are, but that doesn't make you any worse off than the rest of us, now."

"The Empire is collapsing!"

"Is that what they're telling you? Oh, I admit things have been a bit hectic lately. Blood in the water, a lot of stupid opportunists gunning for us even after you guys gave up." You nod towards her. "But what's really happening? Outing us made it so that the only career we can ever pursue is that of full-time Empire cape, and you think that makes the Empire weaker?

"Hell, by going after Aster you geniuses not only brought Purity's faction firmly back into the fold, you even managed to give up the moral high ground to the only ethnicity people are allowed to hate. Our public support has never been higher. Once we weather the current storm, we'll be stronger than ever. Better sign up quickly, while you can still negotiate favorable terms."

"I'm not becoming a nazi," Vista says firmly.

"Suit yourself." In the end, you don't really care where she ends up - you already have her power. It's just that Vista seems to be a genuinely good person. She doesn't belong in the Wards. You don't know where she does, though.

Vista seems to be having similar thoughts. "I was thinking about New Wave," she says.

You suck your breath in between your teeth, shaking your head ruefully. "You probably shouldn't ask Brandish about New Wave's policy on kidnapping children. Bad for your health."

"No." You're not sure whether she's accusing you of lying, or lamenting the state of the world. Judging by her expression, she isn't sure either.

"You didn't hear that from me," you tell her. "I know zero dangerous secrets."

Vista doesn't say anything else. She mechanically bends down and picks up the box of books, then walks away. Fenrir moves aside and lets her go.

"See you around, hero."

Once she's gone, you carefully peel off your right glove and get out your BITN phone.

"What's up, boss?" Aisha answers.

"I need some cotton."

"You fucking with me, cracker?"

"What? Oh. No, I genuinely need some cotton. Or something similar. Enough to stuff a teddy bear, give or take. Oh, and some string, and a pair of rubber gloves. Leave it outside the old lair."

"...yeah, I got nuffin'. Can I stick around and watch what the hell is going on?"

"No, it's too dangerous." The last thing you need is something tying Imp to Low Key. "Don't buy the stuff from anywhere near either of the new lairs," you add.

"Heh. Buy, she says."

"Don't shoplift it from anywhere near there, either. And tell G that the old lair is definitely compromised, and never go back there."

Spoiler: Armsmaster-o-vision

Vista drops a cardboard box in front of me. Emphasis on drops. She holds it out in front of her and lets it fall to the floor.

"Reporting mission failure," she says. Her voice is tight with anger, but controlled.

"You had a mission?" As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wonder why I bothered. The cat is clearly out of the bag.

"It was news to me as well, sir," Vista bites out. "But Low Key is a lot smarter than me. She figured it out right away."

I go down on one knee and open the box. The books have had their spines cut open. Low Key really is canny. But I'm not going to lose a second time.

"She did this?" I ask, holding up a damaged book. Vista nods, still scowling. "As long as she handled the books, that's fine. There'll be enough tracking nanites on her hands to find her easily."

"Tracking what?"

"Nanites. Machines too small to see with the naked eye. Close your eyes. You'll have gotten some on you from handling the box." I spray us both - and the box itself - down with nanite disabler. "There. Now the highest concentration in the city should be on Low Key's hands."

"She was wearing gloves," Vista says. I frown at her defiant tone. Is she taking the villain's side in this?

"I accounted for her costume, of course. They will stick to leather just as readily as flesh. If nothing else, we will find out where she keeps her costume. However it is highly likely that, in the process of removing it, she will have transferred a sufficient amount of nanites to her skin."

Spoiler: PH-O-vision

♦Topic: Why I left the Wards, in pictures
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay

Vista (Original Poster) (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Posted on May 11, 2011:



(Showing Page 1 of 17)

► rrqn
Replied on May 11, 2011:
wut?

► long_distance_chef
Replied on May 11, 2011:
Even without context, I can appreciate the swagger.

► PrinnyDood
Replied on May 11, 2011:
Easily one of the top 5 resignation letters I've ever seen.

► Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied on May 11, 2011:
That's technically a classified document, you should probably take it down.

► Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)
Replied on May 11, 2011:
@Reave

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