Hye
Reader of The Long Words
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How long ago did he post this chapter on SB?
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Queen of Blood (Worm/Castlevania) (Complete)
- Thread starter SirWill
- Start date
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- Tags
- castlevania crossover worm
Twilight666
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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Last edited:
Hye
Reader of The Long Words
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
- Messages
- 93
- Likes received
- 171
Hmm... I might do that, it's just this is one of two stories i follow on QQ. It's basically the only reason i have the Latest Alerts tab open for QQ. If i started to follow it there, i won't look at QQ again for a looong time. So unless he doesn't update faster on here in the near future, i'll stay here. Besides, i like QQ layout more than i like SB. But thanks for telling me.
Family 6.6
SirWill
Know what you're doing yet?
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A/N: I know my uploading here is way behind. It's because this arc has had a lot of revising and editing for the last few chapters on SB. I'll catch things up here entirely when things settle down a bit.
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The plan was a go. While the PRT did what they could to spread the word about the Nine coming to the city, I took a quick layover in the Shadow Plane, preparing a space in the emptiness. Far, far away from my slowly-building highway system and refugee center. In time, the center would grow to be a city in its own right, but that would take centuries. At the moment, it was mostly rows upon rows of identical simple bungalows. Not very imaginative, I know, but I was building something that would house millions of people.
If the Abomination killed this world, I wanted a safe enough place for as many people as I could. If I survived the calamity, then I'd see what I could do about finding a new place to live.
If I didn't...then that responsibility would have to go to my successor. I was hedging my bets, here.
Back on the task at hand. I watched as sheer nothingness below me took shape, forming a cube of black metal, ten feet tall, the top of it open to the air. It was a strain to shape the Plane like this. I remembered Dracul forming Castlevania this way, at least to begin with, but he'd either forgotten how much effort it took or he was just that tough in forcing his will on his domain.
I built a portal gate inside the room, near the top. With it being this large, and with nothing inside the cube, my intended prisoner wouldn't likely be able to spring back out before the portal shut behind them. Finally, I formed the top, creating an airtight box.
There we are. Step one.
Step two.
------------------
I emerged in the sky above Brockton Bay. The docks district was far below me. After Lung's rampage, much of it was burned, and had yet to be rebuilt. It was rather unlikely it would, considering the lack of shipping industries. Hopefully my plan would help with that, but it wouldn't mean anything if the Nine killed the whole damn city.
But that I was here...was not good. I'd wanted the portal to open up a mile above Shatterbird. If I emerged here, that means she was in the city itself. I quickly took out my phone and dialed Dragon. As soon as the line clicked, I spoke. "They're already here!"
Dragon's voice was clear, calm, only with the slightest hint of worry. "The Nine?"
I growled. "I'm right above the docks district right now. I wanted to appear right above Shatterbird, and I'm here."
There was silence on the line for a moment, then Dragon spoke. "Understood. She's got priority. Then Bonesaw. We don't know what they're planning, so we need to limit the possible damage as fast as we can. I've got your coordinates. Sending backup. Stay on the line."
"Hurry." I said, and turned myself to get as good a view of the warehouse below as possible. It was difficult to see much, though my vampiric eyes helped with the task. The darkness was an obstacle, but not as badly as it would have been if I were still mortal.
...yeah, my mind was weird. Not much I could do about it, though.
Off in the distance, I could see two figures fly from the Rig. As they neared, I recognized them as Dauntless and Dragon. Made sense they'd send him, he didn't rely on anything electronic for his gear. He gave me a nod as we floated in the air together. I hung up the phone.
Dragon spoke, hovering in the air. "I'm sending in suits to cover this position." She made a frustrated noise. "Not that they'll be of much use if Shatterbird screams."
Dauntless nodded. "Any idea what they're doing here?"
I shook my head. "No. My power just put me here." I looked to Dragon. "What's the plan?"
Her golden head tilted slightly. "We've mobilizing the PRT to surround the block. This is happening sooner than expected, so Armsmaster has had to pull back. Until we neutralize Shatterbird, a lot of our resources can't be put into play. We can't even rely on hazmat suits reliably, because Bonesaw and Shatterbird together..."
I nodded grimly, looking down. "Can you see anything, Dragon?"
She looked down. "I see...twelve heat signatures, six consistent with humans of the appropriate size and age. It's probably them, but...with the Nine, you can't be sure. Crawler's not there, unless he's evolved some way to hide from infrared. I wouldn't be surprised if Mannequin was invisible to infrared, either. The other six, though...hostages, perhaps." Her voice darkened. "Or perhaps raw material for Bonesaw."
I breathed out slowly. "All right. I'm going to slip in and see if I can get Shatterbird." Dauntless reached out, but I gave him a glare. "Of everyone here, I'm probably safest. Besides, if they're here to mess with me, I'm going to return the favor."
Dauntless' voice was harsh. "This is still the Nine. Siberian's probably a threat, even to you."
I sighed. Couldn't deny that. "I'll hit quick." I was about to move, when a thought occurred to me. I sighed to myself and took out my phone. I hated to wake my dad up at this hour, but considering what Shatterbird could do...
The phone rang. Rang. Rang. Rang. Finally, the answering machine picked up. I shut my phone without leaving a message, and looked to Dragon. "Dragon, can you do me a favor? Go to my house, get my dad somewhere safe."
She nodded. "I'm already bringing in armored transport craft. Hopefully we have enough time."
I felt like my heart was in my throat as I waited. Dragon and Dauntless shared a glance as I nervously gripped my phone. Long minutes passed, and my nervousness mounted.
Finally, Dragon spoke. "I've got him. Patching you through."
My phone began to buzz with an incoming call. I opened it. "Dad?"
"Taylor, what's going on? I was asleep when Dragon roused the entire neighborhood with those planes of hers."
"The Nine are here already, Dad. I'm above their safehouse now."
Long silence stretched for a moment, and then he sighed. "Taylor, please...."
I growled deep from within my throat. "They have to be stopped, dad."
His voice dropped to an angry whisper. "And why does it have to be you who does it?"
I didn't have an answer for him. I could say it's the right thing, I could say it was my duty. Finally, I spoke. "Because I can. Because I want to. Because I don't want a single person to suffer at their hands again. Because..."
They are beneath me.
And that was both my and Dracul's thoughts, there. I wholeheartedly agreed. Still, that was unsettling. I swallowed hard as I finished. "Because I couldn't live with myself if I walked away."
My dad was silent for a moment, and he finally sighed. "You're far too much like your mother, Little Owl."
I smiled faintly. "Pretty sure she'd blame how I'm acting on your side of the family, actually."
I heard him laugh wryly. "Probably. My grandfather being a stubborn veteran of World War One and all that. Took a bayonet through the shoulder and paid the loss of the use of his arm back in spades. He would have loved your fire."
I bowed my head a little, sighing. "I've got to do this." I could hear rustling in the background. "What's going on, over there?" I tried to look toward the suburbs, but it was simply too far away, even with us this high up. My vampire eyes were good, but not, apparently that good.
"Dragon's suits are here, they're loading everyone into...well, everything we can get. Buses, trucks, her...dragon-shaped transports. I'm about to get on one. Probably fall asleep as soon as I'm strapped in."
I chuckled. "Right. Stay safe, dad. Love you."
"Love you too, kiddo."
My throat felt full when I hung up, giving the heroes in front of me a wry smile.
Dauntless held out an earpiece for me. "Carbon-based electronics. They burn out fast, according to Armsmaster, and they're not as hardy as silicon, but they'll do the job and Shatterbird won't be able to break it with her power.."
I nodded. Briefly opening a Shadow Portal, I tossed my phone inside. I took off my helmet for a moment, put the earpiece in, and turned it on. "Check check. Scarlet here." I was slightly grateful for the fact I hadn't gotten around to putting a piece of bulletproof glass set up on the front of my helmet. Sue me, I've been busy.
Dragon nodded. "You're good, transmitting."
"Paladin here. I'm on the perimeter, I have amulets prepared, dropping them off."
Armsmaster's voice was stern, making me wince. "Return to the PRT building, Paladin."
"Already moving." My eye twitched a little. I still didn't like that voice much. I respected Madison for owning up to things, and for doing what she could to help people, but...yeah. Issues. I looked down, spotting her running through the streets, her greaves lighting up as she went. She ran toward a wall of a building, sprung off it, and in a flare of light bounced in the air and hit the rooftop, continuing to run at high speed.
That...was actually pretty impressive. Considering how she couldn't cheat anywhere near as much I could.
Below, I could see the shapes of the PRT vans taking up position. Only Shatterbird could fly, from what I knew, and in taking her out we would limit their abilities severely. The ground forces might be able to do something, then.
I cleared my throat. "Give the word when in position."
Tension mounted as I listened to the radio chatter. I looked at Dauntless. He was holding his spear tightly, the only sign I could see of his nervousness. I was nervous, too. If they managed to do anything, a lot of people would get killed. They damn well may anyway, considering we hadn't had any idea on how to stop the Siberian. Yes, I didn't like the Nine, but I wasn't about to shut off that very healthy paranoia, thank you very much. I held still, hovering above the warehouse roof. It actually reminded me of my first night out when I woke up.
It felt like a lifetime ago, now.
I could hear Armsmaster speak over the lines.. "Dragon, pull the Bahamut back."
Dragon's tone was firm and annoyed. "Negative, Armsmaster."
"If Shatterbird sings, we might lose your Bahamut suit."
Dragon's voice was hard. "If Shatterbird sings, we might lose the entire city. We have to do everything possible to prevent that."
I winced as Armsmaster snarled. "Damn it. All right. I'm on standby at the Rig."
I heard Miss Milita next. "I have fire support."
I blinked. She did? I looked down, then across the street from the warehouse. Nope, not there. I looked further over. And up. There she was, atop a crane, holding a long rifle. Probably a sniper rifle.
I let out a breath. Part of my mind was relieved to have some backup. And yet....something was needling me in the back of my mind. "Something's wrong here. "
Dauntless nodded at that. "It feels wrong to me, too."
I considered my options, then grimaced. "I'm going to get inside. When I give the word, or one minute goes by, breach."
Dragon spoke, her tone curious. "How are you going to get inside?"
I smiled. "I have a way to move silently. Changer ability. Ready?"
At their hesitant nods, I concentrated. Dracul did this many times, and I remembered how it felt. It was...not difficult, but very unintuitive. No wonder Alucard hadn't been able to explain it. My body flowed apart, turning into mist.
"Fascinating." Dragon murmured.
I would have waved at her, but I didn't even have hands like this. So instead, I smoothly flowed downward, through a cracked ceiling window and found a corner near the roof of the warehouse, reforming and still hovering silently. My eyes focused on the figure below me.
Shatterbird. She was surrounded by hundreds of piles of broken glass. And she was...on a lounge chair? Huh. She was in the middle of reading a book, humming quietly to herself.
The other members of the Nine were there, lounging about, looking bored, save for Crawler. Where was he? Maybe he was underground? There weren't too many places he could hide. Jack was standing near a crate, idly opening and closing a razor. He looked a fair bit older than his picture, I guess that one was from near the beginning of his career. At his feet were three women, three men, tied together with rope, tears streaking down their faces, their lips sewn shut crudely with wire.
I turned my attention to the rest of the Nine.
Bonesaw sat with the Siberian, the pair waving dolls back and forth. I could hear small giggles coming from Bonesaw. I spotted Burnscar and Hatchet Face, the two of them on opposite sides of the room, both of them craning their heads back and forth, watching the warehouse entrances. Burnscar's gaze lingered, from time to time, on a large walk-in safe in the corner.
Finally, I spotted Mannequin leaning against the wall, nearly blending in with the piles of scrap next to him.
"They're here, minus Crawler." I whispered.
"Breaching in thirty seconds." I heard Dragon say through my earpiece.
I swallowed hard. I had to take Shatterbird down in one hit and move away fast. Siberian was too close for me to be comfortable about getting into a grand melee. Especially when one opponent was, to the best of everyone's knowledge, invulnerable. Still, with both Siberian and Bonesaw together, maybe I could isolate both of them in the Shadow Plane at once?
Worth a shot.
"Ten seconds."
"Go." I whispered, then came down on Shatterbird at high speed, igniting my claws. I curled my hands into fists. She had just enough time to look up at me, fear on her face, before I hit her with my full strength.
Shatterbird...shattered. Her blood covered me, the flames on my hands burning away the...mess, that ended up on my gauntlets. Most of the blood wasn't easily visible on me, considering my armor, but that was of little consequence at the moment.
If it were not for Dracul's memories, I would have frozen in shock at what I had just done. Instead...I just kept moving.
Dauntless smashed through the glass skylights, using his Spartan-style shield to keep himself from being injured. He took a quick moment to look at the situation, pointed his spear at Burnscar, and let loose a blast of lightning. She went down with a cry of pain.
Siberian was rising to her feet, pushing Bonesaw behind her. I opened a Shadow Portal under their feet, and both of them were swallowed into the abyss. Well, into the cube I built in the Shadow Plane. Then I shut the portal. No chances, here.
Hatchet Face came toward me, twirling his hatchet, but before he could get within ten feet, Dragon suddenly appeared in a flash of gold light between me and him. She lifted a forearm, a slot opening, and suddenly the giant was being blasted by containment foam. I grinned a bit as I turned, bringing out the Void Sword, and sought out Mannequin. The formerly-famous Tinker was no longer leaning against the wall, and I couldn't spot him. I looked around frantically.
Jack started to walk toward the hostages, flicking open a pair of knives, but Dauntless caught him in the face with a bolt of lightning, and he went down.
Then I spotted Mannequin, bladed fingers at the ready as he snuck up behind Dauntless. I teleported right next to him, the Void Sword slicing through Tinker-made ceramics and protected flesh without resistance. Mannequin fell to the ground in a heap in two halves, the blood freezing as it touched the now-chilled part of the chassis I had cut through.
The room was still. I turned to look around, blade at the ready.
"We're clear." Dragon spoke with satisfaction.
I didn't like this. This was easy. Way too easy.
Dauntless spoke as he neared me. "You all right?"
I nodded, though I was suspicious. Something was really wrong here.
The warehouse doors were busted open, then Miss Militia came in, with ten PRT troopers right behind her, their faces covered by the same plastic face protectors Miss Militia was using. They approached the hostages and quickly hosed them down with containment foam, leaving only their faces exposed.
"Cover them completely!" Dragon spoke. "They could be harboring pathogens from Bonesaw's work."
The men quickly did so, muffling the hostages' frantic murmuring even more. I could see hints of fear in the trooper's faces, but at least they seemed pretty professional about everything. Then the men went around the room, beginning to foam the corpses of the Nine.
Miss Militia looked at me, then at the pulped mess that was Shatterbird. "Holy shit." She muttered, looking at me. Her eyes were guarded, but I could sense the fear there.
I swallowed hard. I felt a tiny bit of hilarity in the back of my head as a trooper foamed the mess.
Clink. Clink. Clink. A slightly tinny voice caught our attention. "Very nice! Very nice indeed! I loved that entrance!"
I turned to look at the bisected Mannequin. The hands of the Tinkertech limbs were slapping together, despite the fact they were now no longer attached to the same halves of the torso on the floor. I tilted my head. "I was under the impression you don't talk."
"Oh, you'll have to forgive me. This poor sap couldn't talk, we removed that ability from him when we removed his skull. And most of his organs. He wasn't able to steer this thing around, actually, but we felt we needed some meat inside for some authenticity. Nice replica, though, hm?"
A sinking feeling began to take shape in my gut. No. No nonono....
"Alan's not actually in the building. We were concerned something like this might happen, since your abilities aren't quite measured yet. We weren't sure just what you could do, especially since you started warning people about us before we announced ourselves here. We only finished up in Wallerton four days ago."
Dragon's voice came over my earpiece. "Trying to trace, keep him talking."
I swallowed as I looked closely at the Mannequin-decoy. I hadn't noticed from up in the rafters, but the apparently-false Mannequin had a speaker attached to his belt. I grimaced. "Jack Slash, I presume."
A laugh. "The one and only. Well, there were two, but Mister Spartan took care of that. Oh well, I hope he enjoyed my old face. Since I wasn't using it anymore, and all that."
Dauntless nearly dropped his spear. I could see his shield trembling.
Where the hell is the real Nine? Why did my portal send me at decoys!?
Miss Militia looked horrified, but slowly, she narrowed her eyes. "You couldn't have known we were coming now."
Another laugh. "And I didn't. We've got four more places set up like this, for those of us who can't quite blend in with the crowd. When sneaking around a dragon, take every precaution. Since I apparently left the One Ring in my other jacket, I just had to do it the old-fashioned way."
Another voice echoed then, high, childish. "You were supposed to fly into a rage! Why didn't you fly into a rage!? You should have leveled the whole neighborhood! I tried out that virus on a Buddhist priest and he went and ate his own parents, why didn't it bother you?"
Jack's voice tutted. "Now now, poppet, we shouldn't give the game away just yet. Not when it's proven to be so much more interesting already!"
My veins turned to ice. They already had tried something!?
Jack's voice caught my attention again. "You know, we were just in town, taking a look, trying to see if it was worth poking the red kid with a stick. My mamma always told me not to poke wild animals with a stick, but I'm kind of like a little kid. I just want to do it more because they told me not to."
"Yep yep. That's why you use positive parenting, right uncle Jack?"
Jack laughed. "You're right, poppet."
I approached the fake-Mannequin. "What the hell did you do?"
"Weeelll....since we were in town anyway, and we needed to move around, we decided to get a makeover and give some lucky people a makeover, too. Don't you know, we did them a favor. They were homeless drug addicts, and now they're all going to be very, very famous as celebrity look-alikes. Your 'Merchants' are a happy little supply there." He clucked his tongue. "It's a shame the city's got such a homeless problem, but I think we can fix that. Kinda have to, now. After this morning, we were actually all considering leaving town and letting our lucky attendees get their dues, but....well, you dropped in on Shatterbird's pad without us noticing you looking for us. So you must have one hell of a nose. Or someone at the Protectorate's more competent than I knew. Maybe that Legmaster guy. Think if he lost those precious little tykes, he'd have a breakdown? Let's find out!"
That sinking feeling turned into full-blown horror. What the hell?
Radio chatter began filling my ear. "All units, all units, Crawler spotted! He's heading for the PRT building!"
Armsmaster's voice cut through the sudden fear. "Evacuate now! Move!"
Dragon's eyes flashed. "The Wards!" She looked at Miss Militia.
She nodded. "I've got things here, go!"
Dragon looked up, then disappeared in a flash of golden light. An instant later, the windows shook as she broke the sound barrier.
Miss Militia turned to the PRT troops. "Whitman, Price, stay with the hostages. Everyone else, pull out now!"
Even as the PRT troops turned to move, and Dauntless lifted just slightly off the ground, the walk-in safe in the corner opened just a crack. The piles of broken glass that were strewn around the warehouse began to shift.
Oh god, Shatterbird's is here! She's inside the safe!
I dove for Miss Militia, bringing her to the floor with me, covering her body with my wings.
Then the shredded glass in the warehouse began flaying flesh from bone, and the screaming began.
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Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Small objects, weak, but useful. Now I don't need to get up to flick the light switch! (Locked)
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Small objects, weak, but useful. Now I don't need to get up to flick the light switch! (Locked)
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
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The plan was a go. While the PRT did what they could to spread the word about the Nine coming to the city, I took a quick layover in the Shadow Plane, preparing a space in the emptiness. Far, far away from my slowly-building highway system and refugee center. In time, the center would grow to be a city in its own right, but that would take centuries. At the moment, it was mostly rows upon rows of identical simple bungalows. Not very imaginative, I know, but I was building something that would house millions of people.
If the Abomination killed this world, I wanted a safe enough place for as many people as I could. If I survived the calamity, then I'd see what I could do about finding a new place to live.
If I didn't...then that responsibility would have to go to my successor. I was hedging my bets, here.
Back on the task at hand. I watched as sheer nothingness below me took shape, forming a cube of black metal, ten feet tall, the top of it open to the air. It was a strain to shape the Plane like this. I remembered Dracul forming Castlevania this way, at least to begin with, but he'd either forgotten how much effort it took or he was just that tough in forcing his will on his domain.
I built a portal gate inside the room, near the top. With it being this large, and with nothing inside the cube, my intended prisoner wouldn't likely be able to spring back out before the portal shut behind them. Finally, I formed the top, creating an airtight box.
There we are. Step one.
Step two.
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I emerged in the sky above Brockton Bay. The docks district was far below me. After Lung's rampage, much of it was burned, and had yet to be rebuilt. It was rather unlikely it would, considering the lack of shipping industries. Hopefully my plan would help with that, but it wouldn't mean anything if the Nine killed the whole damn city.
But that I was here...was not good. I'd wanted the portal to open up a mile above Shatterbird. If I emerged here, that means she was in the city itself. I quickly took out my phone and dialed Dragon. As soon as the line clicked, I spoke. "They're already here!"
Dragon's voice was clear, calm, only with the slightest hint of worry. "The Nine?"
I growled. "I'm right above the docks district right now. I wanted to appear right above Shatterbird, and I'm here."
There was silence on the line for a moment, then Dragon spoke. "Understood. She's got priority. Then Bonesaw. We don't know what they're planning, so we need to limit the possible damage as fast as we can. I've got your coordinates. Sending backup. Stay on the line."
"Hurry." I said, and turned myself to get as good a view of the warehouse below as possible. It was difficult to see much, though my vampiric eyes helped with the task. The darkness was an obstacle, but not as badly as it would have been if I were still mortal.
...yeah, my mind was weird. Not much I could do about it, though.
Off in the distance, I could see two figures fly from the Rig. As they neared, I recognized them as Dauntless and Dragon. Made sense they'd send him, he didn't rely on anything electronic for his gear. He gave me a nod as we floated in the air together. I hung up the phone.
Dragon spoke, hovering in the air. "I'm sending in suits to cover this position." She made a frustrated noise. "Not that they'll be of much use if Shatterbird screams."
Dauntless nodded. "Any idea what they're doing here?"
I shook my head. "No. My power just put me here." I looked to Dragon. "What's the plan?"
Her golden head tilted slightly. "We've mobilizing the PRT to surround the block. This is happening sooner than expected, so Armsmaster has had to pull back. Until we neutralize Shatterbird, a lot of our resources can't be put into play. We can't even rely on hazmat suits reliably, because Bonesaw and Shatterbird together..."
I nodded grimly, looking down. "Can you see anything, Dragon?"
She looked down. "I see...twelve heat signatures, six consistent with humans of the appropriate size and age. It's probably them, but...with the Nine, you can't be sure. Crawler's not there, unless he's evolved some way to hide from infrared. I wouldn't be surprised if Mannequin was invisible to infrared, either. The other six, though...hostages, perhaps." Her voice darkened. "Or perhaps raw material for Bonesaw."
I breathed out slowly. "All right. I'm going to slip in and see if I can get Shatterbird." Dauntless reached out, but I gave him a glare. "Of everyone here, I'm probably safest. Besides, if they're here to mess with me, I'm going to return the favor."
Dauntless' voice was harsh. "This is still the Nine. Siberian's probably a threat, even to you."
I sighed. Couldn't deny that. "I'll hit quick." I was about to move, when a thought occurred to me. I sighed to myself and took out my phone. I hated to wake my dad up at this hour, but considering what Shatterbird could do...
The phone rang. Rang. Rang. Rang. Finally, the answering machine picked up. I shut my phone without leaving a message, and looked to Dragon. "Dragon, can you do me a favor? Go to my house, get my dad somewhere safe."
She nodded. "I'm already bringing in armored transport craft. Hopefully we have enough time."
I felt like my heart was in my throat as I waited. Dragon and Dauntless shared a glance as I nervously gripped my phone. Long minutes passed, and my nervousness mounted.
Finally, Dragon spoke. "I've got him. Patching you through."
My phone began to buzz with an incoming call. I opened it. "Dad?"
"Taylor, what's going on? I was asleep when Dragon roused the entire neighborhood with those planes of hers."
"The Nine are here already, Dad. I'm above their safehouse now."
Long silence stretched for a moment, and then he sighed. "Taylor, please...."
I growled deep from within my throat. "They have to be stopped, dad."
His voice dropped to an angry whisper. "And why does it have to be you who does it?"
I didn't have an answer for him. I could say it's the right thing, I could say it was my duty. Finally, I spoke. "Because I can. Because I want to. Because I don't want a single person to suffer at their hands again. Because..."
They are beneath me.
And that was both my and Dracul's thoughts, there. I wholeheartedly agreed. Still, that was unsettling. I swallowed hard as I finished. "Because I couldn't live with myself if I walked away."
My dad was silent for a moment, and he finally sighed. "You're far too much like your mother, Little Owl."
I smiled faintly. "Pretty sure she'd blame how I'm acting on your side of the family, actually."
I heard him laugh wryly. "Probably. My grandfather being a stubborn veteran of World War One and all that. Took a bayonet through the shoulder and paid the loss of the use of his arm back in spades. He would have loved your fire."
I bowed my head a little, sighing. "I've got to do this." I could hear rustling in the background. "What's going on, over there?" I tried to look toward the suburbs, but it was simply too far away, even with us this high up. My vampire eyes were good, but not, apparently that good.
"Dragon's suits are here, they're loading everyone into...well, everything we can get. Buses, trucks, her...dragon-shaped transports. I'm about to get on one. Probably fall asleep as soon as I'm strapped in."
I chuckled. "Right. Stay safe, dad. Love you."
"Love you too, kiddo."
My throat felt full when I hung up, giving the heroes in front of me a wry smile.
Dauntless held out an earpiece for me. "Carbon-based electronics. They burn out fast, according to Armsmaster, and they're not as hardy as silicon, but they'll do the job and Shatterbird won't be able to break it with her power.."
I nodded. Briefly opening a Shadow Portal, I tossed my phone inside. I took off my helmet for a moment, put the earpiece in, and turned it on. "Check check. Scarlet here." I was slightly grateful for the fact I hadn't gotten around to putting a piece of bulletproof glass set up on the front of my helmet. Sue me, I've been busy.
Dragon nodded. "You're good, transmitting."
"Paladin here. I'm on the perimeter, I have amulets prepared, dropping them off."
Armsmaster's voice was stern, making me wince. "Return to the PRT building, Paladin."
"Already moving." My eye twitched a little. I still didn't like that voice much. I respected Madison for owning up to things, and for doing what she could to help people, but...yeah. Issues. I looked down, spotting her running through the streets, her greaves lighting up as she went. She ran toward a wall of a building, sprung off it, and in a flare of light bounced in the air and hit the rooftop, continuing to run at high speed.
That...was actually pretty impressive. Considering how she couldn't cheat anywhere near as much I could.
Below, I could see the shapes of the PRT vans taking up position. Only Shatterbird could fly, from what I knew, and in taking her out we would limit their abilities severely. The ground forces might be able to do something, then.
I cleared my throat. "Give the word when in position."
Tension mounted as I listened to the radio chatter. I looked at Dauntless. He was holding his spear tightly, the only sign I could see of his nervousness. I was nervous, too. If they managed to do anything, a lot of people would get killed. They damn well may anyway, considering we hadn't had any idea on how to stop the Siberian. Yes, I didn't like the Nine, but I wasn't about to shut off that very healthy paranoia, thank you very much. I held still, hovering above the warehouse roof. It actually reminded me of my first night out when I woke up.
It felt like a lifetime ago, now.
I could hear Armsmaster speak over the lines.. "Dragon, pull the Bahamut back."
Dragon's tone was firm and annoyed. "Negative, Armsmaster."
"If Shatterbird sings, we might lose your Bahamut suit."
Dragon's voice was hard. "If Shatterbird sings, we might lose the entire city. We have to do everything possible to prevent that."
I winced as Armsmaster snarled. "Damn it. All right. I'm on standby at the Rig."
I heard Miss Milita next. "I have fire support."
I blinked. She did? I looked down, then across the street from the warehouse. Nope, not there. I looked further over. And up. There she was, atop a crane, holding a long rifle. Probably a sniper rifle.
I let out a breath. Part of my mind was relieved to have some backup. And yet....something was needling me in the back of my mind. "Something's wrong here. "
Dauntless nodded at that. "It feels wrong to me, too."
I considered my options, then grimaced. "I'm going to get inside. When I give the word, or one minute goes by, breach."
Dragon spoke, her tone curious. "How are you going to get inside?"
I smiled. "I have a way to move silently. Changer ability. Ready?"
At their hesitant nods, I concentrated. Dracul did this many times, and I remembered how it felt. It was...not difficult, but very unintuitive. No wonder Alucard hadn't been able to explain it. My body flowed apart, turning into mist.
"Fascinating." Dragon murmured.
I would have waved at her, but I didn't even have hands like this. So instead, I smoothly flowed downward, through a cracked ceiling window and found a corner near the roof of the warehouse, reforming and still hovering silently. My eyes focused on the figure below me.
Shatterbird. She was surrounded by hundreds of piles of broken glass. And she was...on a lounge chair? Huh. She was in the middle of reading a book, humming quietly to herself.
The other members of the Nine were there, lounging about, looking bored, save for Crawler. Where was he? Maybe he was underground? There weren't too many places he could hide. Jack was standing near a crate, idly opening and closing a razor. He looked a fair bit older than his picture, I guess that one was from near the beginning of his career. At his feet were three women, three men, tied together with rope, tears streaking down their faces, their lips sewn shut crudely with wire.
I turned my attention to the rest of the Nine.
Bonesaw sat with the Siberian, the pair waving dolls back and forth. I could hear small giggles coming from Bonesaw. I spotted Burnscar and Hatchet Face, the two of them on opposite sides of the room, both of them craning their heads back and forth, watching the warehouse entrances. Burnscar's gaze lingered, from time to time, on a large walk-in safe in the corner.
Finally, I spotted Mannequin leaning against the wall, nearly blending in with the piles of scrap next to him.
"They're here, minus Crawler." I whispered.
"Breaching in thirty seconds." I heard Dragon say through my earpiece.
I swallowed hard. I had to take Shatterbird down in one hit and move away fast. Siberian was too close for me to be comfortable about getting into a grand melee. Especially when one opponent was, to the best of everyone's knowledge, invulnerable. Still, with both Siberian and Bonesaw together, maybe I could isolate both of them in the Shadow Plane at once?
Worth a shot.
"Ten seconds."
"Go." I whispered, then came down on Shatterbird at high speed, igniting my claws. I curled my hands into fists. She had just enough time to look up at me, fear on her face, before I hit her with my full strength.
Shatterbird...shattered. Her blood covered me, the flames on my hands burning away the...mess, that ended up on my gauntlets. Most of the blood wasn't easily visible on me, considering my armor, but that was of little consequence at the moment.
If it were not for Dracul's memories, I would have frozen in shock at what I had just done. Instead...I just kept moving.
Dauntless smashed through the glass skylights, using his Spartan-style shield to keep himself from being injured. He took a quick moment to look at the situation, pointed his spear at Burnscar, and let loose a blast of lightning. She went down with a cry of pain.
Siberian was rising to her feet, pushing Bonesaw behind her. I opened a Shadow Portal under their feet, and both of them were swallowed into the abyss. Well, into the cube I built in the Shadow Plane. Then I shut the portal. No chances, here.
Hatchet Face came toward me, twirling his hatchet, but before he could get within ten feet, Dragon suddenly appeared in a flash of gold light between me and him. She lifted a forearm, a slot opening, and suddenly the giant was being blasted by containment foam. I grinned a bit as I turned, bringing out the Void Sword, and sought out Mannequin. The formerly-famous Tinker was no longer leaning against the wall, and I couldn't spot him. I looked around frantically.
Jack started to walk toward the hostages, flicking open a pair of knives, but Dauntless caught him in the face with a bolt of lightning, and he went down.
Then I spotted Mannequin, bladed fingers at the ready as he snuck up behind Dauntless. I teleported right next to him, the Void Sword slicing through Tinker-made ceramics and protected flesh without resistance. Mannequin fell to the ground in a heap in two halves, the blood freezing as it touched the now-chilled part of the chassis I had cut through.
The room was still. I turned to look around, blade at the ready.
"We're clear." Dragon spoke with satisfaction.
I didn't like this. This was easy. Way too easy.
Dauntless spoke as he neared me. "You all right?"
I nodded, though I was suspicious. Something was really wrong here.
The warehouse doors were busted open, then Miss Militia came in, with ten PRT troopers right behind her, their faces covered by the same plastic face protectors Miss Militia was using. They approached the hostages and quickly hosed them down with containment foam, leaving only their faces exposed.
"Cover them completely!" Dragon spoke. "They could be harboring pathogens from Bonesaw's work."
The men quickly did so, muffling the hostages' frantic murmuring even more. I could see hints of fear in the trooper's faces, but at least they seemed pretty professional about everything. Then the men went around the room, beginning to foam the corpses of the Nine.
Miss Militia looked at me, then at the pulped mess that was Shatterbird. "Holy shit." She muttered, looking at me. Her eyes were guarded, but I could sense the fear there.
I swallowed hard. I felt a tiny bit of hilarity in the back of my head as a trooper foamed the mess.
Clink. Clink. Clink. A slightly tinny voice caught our attention. "Very nice! Very nice indeed! I loved that entrance!"
I turned to look at the bisected Mannequin. The hands of the Tinkertech limbs were slapping together, despite the fact they were now no longer attached to the same halves of the torso on the floor. I tilted my head. "I was under the impression you don't talk."
"Oh, you'll have to forgive me. This poor sap couldn't talk, we removed that ability from him when we removed his skull. And most of his organs. He wasn't able to steer this thing around, actually, but we felt we needed some meat inside for some authenticity. Nice replica, though, hm?"
A sinking feeling began to take shape in my gut. No. No nonono....
"Alan's not actually in the building. We were concerned something like this might happen, since your abilities aren't quite measured yet. We weren't sure just what you could do, especially since you started warning people about us before we announced ourselves here. We only finished up in Wallerton four days ago."
Dragon's voice came over my earpiece. "Trying to trace, keep him talking."
I swallowed as I looked closely at the Mannequin-decoy. I hadn't noticed from up in the rafters, but the apparently-false Mannequin had a speaker attached to his belt. I grimaced. "Jack Slash, I presume."
A laugh. "The one and only. Well, there were two, but Mister Spartan took care of that. Oh well, I hope he enjoyed my old face. Since I wasn't using it anymore, and all that."
Dauntless nearly dropped his spear. I could see his shield trembling.
Where the hell is the real Nine? Why did my portal send me at decoys!?
Miss Militia looked horrified, but slowly, she narrowed her eyes. "You couldn't have known we were coming now."
Another laugh. "And I didn't. We've got four more places set up like this, for those of us who can't quite blend in with the crowd. When sneaking around a dragon, take every precaution. Since I apparently left the One Ring in my other jacket, I just had to do it the old-fashioned way."
Another voice echoed then, high, childish. "You were supposed to fly into a rage! Why didn't you fly into a rage!? You should have leveled the whole neighborhood! I tried out that virus on a Buddhist priest and he went and ate his own parents, why didn't it bother you?"
Jack's voice tutted. "Now now, poppet, we shouldn't give the game away just yet. Not when it's proven to be so much more interesting already!"
My veins turned to ice. They already had tried something!?
Jack's voice caught my attention again. "You know, we were just in town, taking a look, trying to see if it was worth poking the red kid with a stick. My mamma always told me not to poke wild animals with a stick, but I'm kind of like a little kid. I just want to do it more because they told me not to."
"Yep yep. That's why you use positive parenting, right uncle Jack?"
Jack laughed. "You're right, poppet."
I approached the fake-Mannequin. "What the hell did you do?"
"Weeelll....since we were in town anyway, and we needed to move around, we decided to get a makeover and give some lucky people a makeover, too. Don't you know, we did them a favor. They were homeless drug addicts, and now they're all going to be very, very famous as celebrity look-alikes. Your 'Merchants' are a happy little supply there." He clucked his tongue. "It's a shame the city's got such a homeless problem, but I think we can fix that. Kinda have to, now. After this morning, we were actually all considering leaving town and letting our lucky attendees get their dues, but....well, you dropped in on Shatterbird's pad without us noticing you looking for us. So you must have one hell of a nose. Or someone at the Protectorate's more competent than I knew. Maybe that Legmaster guy. Think if he lost those precious little tykes, he'd have a breakdown? Let's find out!"
That sinking feeling turned into full-blown horror. What the hell?
Radio chatter began filling my ear. "All units, all units, Crawler spotted! He's heading for the PRT building!"
Armsmaster's voice cut through the sudden fear. "Evacuate now! Move!"
Dragon's eyes flashed. "The Wards!" She looked at Miss Militia.
She nodded. "I've got things here, go!"
Dragon looked up, then disappeared in a flash of golden light. An instant later, the windows shook as she broke the sound barrier.
Miss Militia turned to the PRT troops. "Whitman, Price, stay with the hostages. Everyone else, pull out now!"
Even as the PRT troops turned to move, and Dauntless lifted just slightly off the ground, the walk-in safe in the corner opened just a crack. The piles of broken glass that were strewn around the warehouse began to shift.
Oh god, Shatterbird's is here! She's inside the safe!
I dove for Miss Militia, bringing her to the floor with me, covering her body with my wings.
Then the shredded glass in the warehouse began flaying flesh from bone, and the screaming began.
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Hye
Reader of The Long Words
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2015
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- 171
Oh, Come ON! That's just cheating!
Nice chapter, just too bad that all that planning turned out useless.
Family 6.7
SirWill
Know what you're doing yet?
- Joined
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A/N: We know how things are roughly going to go down. What matters more here, is how.
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I screamed as shards of glass dug into my wings. The draconic nature of them made them difficult to injure, but the membrane was thin enough for the largest shards to cut the first layer of skin, though not quite get through. My armor was thick enough to repel most of the glass, but I could feel it slicing at my exposed cheeks in the instant before I could cover my face. Despite the fact I was shielding Miss Militia, I didn't have much time to think of something to save her. And it was difficult to think with the PAIN.
In desperation, I tried to find some space to teleport. The warehouse itself was full of glass, and I couldn't teleport anywhere inside the warehouse. There was just too much stuff in the air for me to move anywhere. I could escape using my mist form, but Miss Militia would be shredded if I did.
And the sheer noise was nearly paralysing. It hurt, badly, just as much as when Bakuda had deafened me when I was in my bat form. The ringing was going to drive me insane!
Miss Militia was curled up beneath me, her head tucked in. I couldn't see anything around me, and I knew looking up would likely get my eyes shredded for the attempt. I felt trapped, as surely as I ever had in my coffin, only this was worse. Because I was here because I fucked up and people were dead because of it.
Also: PAIN.
Almost instinctively, I called on the Void, drawing on the icy clarity I needed. While the pain didn't lessen, I did get to think on my next course of action. I couldn't teleport...wait. I could feel a space I could move into, in the direction of the safe. Enough room for me to take Miss Militia with me, too. In desperation, I took it. Thankfully, the impacts against my exposed wings stopped.
I risked a look up, and found myself inside the safe. Shatterbird was moving already, flying toward the now-broken windows of the warehouse. Shards of glass were still whirling in the warehouse, many of them stained red with blood. Two of the PRT troops were on the ground, shredded into an unrecognizable mess. Their armor looked to have protected them for a bit, but then Shatterbird found gaps. Dauntless held himself in front of two more wounded, the air shimmering around him as he held his shield up, but I was keenly aware of the blood flowing down his arm.
There was a hideously loud crack of thunder. The noise dropped away, but Shatterbird staggered, a bloody spray coming from her back, glass shards flying in all directions as whatever attack had managed to pierce her defense. I looked down to see Miss Militia holding a very large handgun. The glass shards flying through the air abruptly fell, making Dauntless flinch. Shatterbird still managed to get through the window.
I looked down at Miss Militia as I got to my feet, snarling from the pain. Silently snarling. Great, I was deaf again. She gave me a nod and pointed at the window.
Get her.
I felt my fangs lengthening. I could definitely get behind that idea. I launched myself into the air, following the path. I spotted Shatterbird flying though the air, surrounded by a sphere of glass shards. That would protect her against most, especially with her control over them.
Luckily, I had other options. I turned into mist, flowing up behind her, pushing my powers to let me move faster than I should be able to. I slid my way through the sphere, utterly ignoring the shards as she tried to kill me, and reformed into my solid self right behind her. Shards of glass were inside me when I reformed, and holy fuck did it hurt. I felt my mouth open in a reflexive scream, though I still heard nothing.
It hardly mattered, as I reformed with the Void Sword in my hand, and I plunged it right through Shatterbird's spine. She began to fall from the sky, and I kept my grip on the blade, tumbling with her. She was still struggling, glass shards driving themselves into my face. The world winked out. But I still knew where she was, and I wrapped my left hand around her body and bit down on her neck.
Well. Ow. I got a lot of glass shards in my mouth. That was a bad idea! I could taste the rather sweet flavor of my own blood, but I also got hers and greedily drank it down. She struggled, writhed, and convulsed before she was still.
Strength. Awareness. The air itself seemed to come alive around me, and though I was still blind, and deaf, I had this slight sense of things. There was something very large coming right at me!
Oh, that was the ground. Which made its displeasure with me known as I hit it. Then bored into it a bit. Wasn't sure how deep, because I was still blind, but yeah, that really, really hurt. And yes, those glass shards inside my body hurt even more. Fuck you world!
Gritting my teeth, I concentrated. Mentally, I formed an image of my body, consciously excluding the glass from my self-image, then turned myself into mist and flowed upward. Aaand...huh. Still blind as mist. When I could see in mist form before. My powers have zero logic, apparently.
Still, I reformed myself on the ground, no longer feeling the sharp pain of glass inside me. I breathed heavily in excitement, my fingers trembling as I came down from the rush. Slowly, my sight returned, everything being colorless at first, before my complete vision returned with a snap. I looked around, my ears ringing as they began to heal, and managed to spot the corpse of Shatterbird, lying some ten feet from me on the wet grass. She was a dry, withered husk, as if she had aged a millennium in dry desert conditions.
....and that was interesting. There was a halo of dirt floating around me. I licked my lips as I exerted my will, and the dirt gathered itself into a clump, roughly the size of a basketball. With a gesture, I flung it away.
Neat.
Then I winced as the silence abruptly broke. "....read!? Scarlet, do you read!?" Armsmaster's voice was damn intrusive right now. And all I could think about right now was how hungry I was.
I coughed, swallowing hard. "This is Scarlet. Shatterbird is dead. The real Shatterbird." I bent down, ignited my claws once more, and channeled my hellfire into her corpse. I wasn't going to take the chance Bonesaw could reanimate her. After a few moments, she was ash in the wind. I took a moment to breathe, letting the Void take my emotions and fill me with icy rage. "Miss Militia, Dauntless?"
"We're here." Miss Militia said. "Three dead, seven wounded. We're using Paladin's amulets."
Good. One down. Seven to go.
Armsmaster sounded somewhat relieved, but he was still tense. "Situation is critical! Dragon is engaging Crawler at the PRT building! Response is crippled, Shatterbird managed to take out the entirety of the docks and half the downtown district! The Wards are injured, and there is a bus full of civilians nearby! Assist Dragon!"
Dragon cut in. "I can handle Crawler! Get the civilians!"
I lifted off the ground. "I'm on it. I'm going to need some help here."
Taylor, you are being very stupid right now.
Then I heard Vicky talking. "Just help me move this damn bus! Al, get your ass down here!"
Correction. All of us are being very stupid right now.
"This is Paladin! I've spotted Mannequin, he's going in the direction of Brockton General!"
Armsmaster spoke. "Got your signal, I'm coming to intercept."
"He's nearly there, I've got him!"
"Hold back, Paladin!"
My eyes widened at the determination in her voice. "Can't do that, Armsmaster."
All right. Especially Madison.
"Velocity, get there!"
Well, maybe not Armsmaster right now.
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I found the PRT building downtown. The top floors, which Bakuda had turned to glass, and had been covered by tarp previously, were...just gone. Glass was spread out everywhere, in sharp shards and spears, buried in the grass, littering pavement. I spotted a city bus, stalled on the side of the road, the tires shredded. Vicky was behind it with Aegis and Alucard, the three of them pushing it hard, and making it move inch by inch. Meridia was flying above it, flapping her large wings. I could see her nod at me, before she turned this way and that, keeping an eye on things.
Worse, as I neared the bus, I smelled a lot of blood. Taking a quick glance inside, I spotted Clockblocker, holding a hand to his side, blood soaking through his uniform. He gave me a lazy wave. Vista was lying across a pair of seats, a large shard of glass buried in her chest. One of Madison's amulets was around her neck, blazing with light, and even as I watched, the pale pallor of her skin was coloring in. Kid Win was beside her, and he gave me a nod. Gallant was slumped in the back, his left arm simply....gone. Amy, as Amara, was with him. I caught her eye, and she looked at me, her blue eyes filled with anger. She gave me a nod.
Okay, things were stable for the moment.
The other seats were filled with other civilians, various men and women. I spotted Cherry sitting with a large man, helping him tie a bandage around his bleeding forehead. There were at least forty people in there, sporting various wounds, mostly from glass by the look of it.
"Come on!" An inhuman voice echoed. "Both of you! Hit me like you hit the Simurgh! I can fucking take it!"
The PRT parking garage collapsed as Crawler, tangling with Dragon, rolled around together, busting their way through a reinforced concrete wall. He was larger than she was, and a hell of a lot more grotesque. Despite his bulk and his seemingly-spindly limbs, though, he moved with extraordinary speed, slamming his massive head into Dragon. Dragon sprung back, then counter-charged and gripped his sides. With a cry, she flipped him over and pressed her weight down on him, but he spewed acid in all directions. Most notably, deliberately spraying toward the bus.
Almost instinctively, I twisted the Void Sword, freezing a glob of acid that neared us, turning it into a frozen wave that hit the side of the bus. It shattered into a thousand pieces but thankfully didn't actually begin to burn, instead falling onto the ground.
Dragon smashed her claw into Crawler's spewing mouth, the corrosive acid just barely burning the shining golden metal. She made a sound of sheer annoyance, before the mouth-slot on her suit opened and she blasted him with blue-white fire. It slammed into him, sending Crawler flying back, rolling along until he impacted with a car. His armored skin was seared, torn away, but healing rapidly, becoming thicker, harder.
His laugh bellowed. "Very nice, tin-head! I wanted to tangle with the red demon, but this is fun, too! Come on, Dragon! Show me what you can do!"
Dragon tilted her head. "If you insist." She lifted a forearm, and a blue beam of light sprung from her hand, the same blue beam I'd last seen her use on the Simurgh.
Crawler quivered in anticipation. He lifted himself up and spread his forelimbs as he charged. Dragon simply leveled the beam, driving it right through him. I could hear him moan with that contact as the blue beam seared through him, light and fire burning through his body. Dragon then gripped him with her other forearm, looked skyward, and both of them vanished in a golden glow.
I went to the back of the bus, grimacing as I repressed my hunger. Aegis gave me a nod, and I gave him a wry smile. Vicky looked at me and let out a sigh as she made room. "About bloody time, Red."
Alucard spoke, his voice filled with annoyance as he strained to push it. "Considering the situation, it would be best to concentrate on the task at hand."
"I got a little delayed with Shatterbird." I growled. "How are the Wards?" I dug my fingers into the back of the bus and began to push.
Aegis grunted. "Gallant and Vista took some rather large hits from the glass. The rest of us took some hits, but Paladin's amulets are helping." The bus screeched as we began to make progress. Great, it felt like something underneath it was digging into the road. No wonder Vicky, Aegis, and Alucard hadn't been able to move it much. The destroyed tires definitely didn't help.
Vicky growled. "Come on! This thing ain't gonna push itself! We've got to get it just up the block to the Endbringer shelter!"
Made sense, it'd have facilities for wounded. I grit my teeth as I let out a breath. I stopped pushing for a moment and took a deep breath. "Vicky, Alucard, Aegis, I'll push this thing. You guys keep on guard for more of the Nine."
Alucard looked at me dubiously. "Are you certain you can move this yourself?"
My lip twitched. "Yeah. I'm going to cheat."
His eyes searched mine, then he nodded. "Ah."
I floated backward a bit, concentrating. This time...would be a lot harder than it was before. I might have healed physically already, but I was hungry and tired, and I would need to feed on someone or something to do this more comfortably. Still, it would be worth it to get these people to safety.
I drew upon my power, forcing my body to take upon the shape of the dragon. I shuddered as my wings unfolded, feeling the grand strength that was mine, strength enough to make even gods tremble. I saw Alucard jump onto the front of the bus, his blade at the ready, while Aegis and Vicky floated beside my head.
Aegis looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. I simply tilted my head, dug my claws into the back of the bus, and pushed.
In my human form, I could have pushed this on my own, although it would have taken a while, and a lot of effort to move it even a foot. As a dragon, I could do so with ease. The bottom of the bus screeched as it scraped along the pavement, but we made good progress. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to hold this shape for very long. I don't think I could hold it for more than five minutes, in my condition.
Still, at this rate, I could get the bus there in three.
I devoted my attention to the task at hand, most of my will focused on maintaining my form. I could feel my power dwindling as I worked, making it more and more difficult to stay on task.
Still, the entrance to the Endbringer shelter was near, just up ahead. One more minute, I could do this for one more minute. Just had to get us there....
"Red, on your left!" Vicky's voice intruded on my determination. I let go of the bus and swung my head....and was struck through my chest by something horrifically painful. My perspective shifted as I was forcibly reverted to my demonic shape. I bounced repeatedly against the pavement, my unwanted flight making me tumble sickeningly. My flight came to an abrupt stop when I found myself smacking into the wall of a building, breaking my wings on impact, bringing new levels of pain. I lifted my head, drawing out the Void Sword to help keep my head on straight.
Calmly, smoothly, with all the grace and arrogance of the invincible, the Siberian strode toward me.
"Fuck." I muttered.
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A/N: Powers unlocked:
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Small objects, weak, but useful. Now I don't need to get up to flick the light switch! (Locked)
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Small objects, weak, but useful. Now I don't need to get up to flick the light switch! (Locked)
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
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I screamed as shards of glass dug into my wings. The draconic nature of them made them difficult to injure, but the membrane was thin enough for the largest shards to cut the first layer of skin, though not quite get through. My armor was thick enough to repel most of the glass, but I could feel it slicing at my exposed cheeks in the instant before I could cover my face. Despite the fact I was shielding Miss Militia, I didn't have much time to think of something to save her. And it was difficult to think with the PAIN.
In desperation, I tried to find some space to teleport. The warehouse itself was full of glass, and I couldn't teleport anywhere inside the warehouse. There was just too much stuff in the air for me to move anywhere. I could escape using my mist form, but Miss Militia would be shredded if I did.
And the sheer noise was nearly paralysing. It hurt, badly, just as much as when Bakuda had deafened me when I was in my bat form. The ringing was going to drive me insane!
Miss Militia was curled up beneath me, her head tucked in. I couldn't see anything around me, and I knew looking up would likely get my eyes shredded for the attempt. I felt trapped, as surely as I ever had in my coffin, only this was worse. Because I was here because I fucked up and people were dead because of it.
Also: PAIN.
Almost instinctively, I called on the Void, drawing on the icy clarity I needed. While the pain didn't lessen, I did get to think on my next course of action. I couldn't teleport...wait. I could feel a space I could move into, in the direction of the safe. Enough room for me to take Miss Militia with me, too. In desperation, I took it. Thankfully, the impacts against my exposed wings stopped.
I risked a look up, and found myself inside the safe. Shatterbird was moving already, flying toward the now-broken windows of the warehouse. Shards of glass were still whirling in the warehouse, many of them stained red with blood. Two of the PRT troops were on the ground, shredded into an unrecognizable mess. Their armor looked to have protected them for a bit, but then Shatterbird found gaps. Dauntless held himself in front of two more wounded, the air shimmering around him as he held his shield up, but I was keenly aware of the blood flowing down his arm.
There was a hideously loud crack of thunder. The noise dropped away, but Shatterbird staggered, a bloody spray coming from her back, glass shards flying in all directions as whatever attack had managed to pierce her defense. I looked down to see Miss Militia holding a very large handgun. The glass shards flying through the air abruptly fell, making Dauntless flinch. Shatterbird still managed to get through the window.
I looked down at Miss Militia as I got to my feet, snarling from the pain. Silently snarling. Great, I was deaf again. She gave me a nod and pointed at the window.
Get her.
I felt my fangs lengthening. I could definitely get behind that idea. I launched myself into the air, following the path. I spotted Shatterbird flying though the air, surrounded by a sphere of glass shards. That would protect her against most, especially with her control over them.
Luckily, I had other options. I turned into mist, flowing up behind her, pushing my powers to let me move faster than I should be able to. I slid my way through the sphere, utterly ignoring the shards as she tried to kill me, and reformed into my solid self right behind her. Shards of glass were inside me when I reformed, and holy fuck did it hurt. I felt my mouth open in a reflexive scream, though I still heard nothing.
It hardly mattered, as I reformed with the Void Sword in my hand, and I plunged it right through Shatterbird's spine. She began to fall from the sky, and I kept my grip on the blade, tumbling with her. She was still struggling, glass shards driving themselves into my face. The world winked out. But I still knew where she was, and I wrapped my left hand around her body and bit down on her neck.
Well. Ow. I got a lot of glass shards in my mouth. That was a bad idea! I could taste the rather sweet flavor of my own blood, but I also got hers and greedily drank it down. She struggled, writhed, and convulsed before she was still.
Strength. Awareness. The air itself seemed to come alive around me, and though I was still blind, and deaf, I had this slight sense of things. There was something very large coming right at me!
Oh, that was the ground. Which made its displeasure with me known as I hit it. Then bored into it a bit. Wasn't sure how deep, because I was still blind, but yeah, that really, really hurt. And yes, those glass shards inside my body hurt even more. Fuck you world!
Gritting my teeth, I concentrated. Mentally, I formed an image of my body, consciously excluding the glass from my self-image, then turned myself into mist and flowed upward. Aaand...huh. Still blind as mist. When I could see in mist form before. My powers have zero logic, apparently.
Still, I reformed myself on the ground, no longer feeling the sharp pain of glass inside me. I breathed heavily in excitement, my fingers trembling as I came down from the rush. Slowly, my sight returned, everything being colorless at first, before my complete vision returned with a snap. I looked around, my ears ringing as they began to heal, and managed to spot the corpse of Shatterbird, lying some ten feet from me on the wet grass. She was a dry, withered husk, as if she had aged a millennium in dry desert conditions.
....and that was interesting. There was a halo of dirt floating around me. I licked my lips as I exerted my will, and the dirt gathered itself into a clump, roughly the size of a basketball. With a gesture, I flung it away.
Neat.
Then I winced as the silence abruptly broke. "....read!? Scarlet, do you read!?" Armsmaster's voice was damn intrusive right now. And all I could think about right now was how hungry I was.
I coughed, swallowing hard. "This is Scarlet. Shatterbird is dead. The real Shatterbird." I bent down, ignited my claws once more, and channeled my hellfire into her corpse. I wasn't going to take the chance Bonesaw could reanimate her. After a few moments, she was ash in the wind. I took a moment to breathe, letting the Void take my emotions and fill me with icy rage. "Miss Militia, Dauntless?"
"We're here." Miss Militia said. "Three dead, seven wounded. We're using Paladin's amulets."
Good. One down. Seven to go.
Armsmaster sounded somewhat relieved, but he was still tense. "Situation is critical! Dragon is engaging Crawler at the PRT building! Response is crippled, Shatterbird managed to take out the entirety of the docks and half the downtown district! The Wards are injured, and there is a bus full of civilians nearby! Assist Dragon!"
Dragon cut in. "I can handle Crawler! Get the civilians!"
I lifted off the ground. "I'm on it. I'm going to need some help here."
Taylor, you are being very stupid right now.
Then I heard Vicky talking. "Just help me move this damn bus! Al, get your ass down here!"
Correction. All of us are being very stupid right now.
"This is Paladin! I've spotted Mannequin, he's going in the direction of Brockton General!"
Armsmaster spoke. "Got your signal, I'm coming to intercept."
"He's nearly there, I've got him!"
"Hold back, Paladin!"
My eyes widened at the determination in her voice. "Can't do that, Armsmaster."
All right. Especially Madison.
"Velocity, get there!"
Well, maybe not Armsmaster right now.
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I found the PRT building downtown. The top floors, which Bakuda had turned to glass, and had been covered by tarp previously, were...just gone. Glass was spread out everywhere, in sharp shards and spears, buried in the grass, littering pavement. I spotted a city bus, stalled on the side of the road, the tires shredded. Vicky was behind it with Aegis and Alucard, the three of them pushing it hard, and making it move inch by inch. Meridia was flying above it, flapping her large wings. I could see her nod at me, before she turned this way and that, keeping an eye on things.
Worse, as I neared the bus, I smelled a lot of blood. Taking a quick glance inside, I spotted Clockblocker, holding a hand to his side, blood soaking through his uniform. He gave me a lazy wave. Vista was lying across a pair of seats, a large shard of glass buried in her chest. One of Madison's amulets was around her neck, blazing with light, and even as I watched, the pale pallor of her skin was coloring in. Kid Win was beside her, and he gave me a nod. Gallant was slumped in the back, his left arm simply....gone. Amy, as Amara, was with him. I caught her eye, and she looked at me, her blue eyes filled with anger. She gave me a nod.
Okay, things were stable for the moment.
The other seats were filled with other civilians, various men and women. I spotted Cherry sitting with a large man, helping him tie a bandage around his bleeding forehead. There were at least forty people in there, sporting various wounds, mostly from glass by the look of it.
"Come on!" An inhuman voice echoed. "Both of you! Hit me like you hit the Simurgh! I can fucking take it!"
The PRT parking garage collapsed as Crawler, tangling with Dragon, rolled around together, busting their way through a reinforced concrete wall. He was larger than she was, and a hell of a lot more grotesque. Despite his bulk and his seemingly-spindly limbs, though, he moved with extraordinary speed, slamming his massive head into Dragon. Dragon sprung back, then counter-charged and gripped his sides. With a cry, she flipped him over and pressed her weight down on him, but he spewed acid in all directions. Most notably, deliberately spraying toward the bus.
Almost instinctively, I twisted the Void Sword, freezing a glob of acid that neared us, turning it into a frozen wave that hit the side of the bus. It shattered into a thousand pieces but thankfully didn't actually begin to burn, instead falling onto the ground.
Dragon smashed her claw into Crawler's spewing mouth, the corrosive acid just barely burning the shining golden metal. She made a sound of sheer annoyance, before the mouth-slot on her suit opened and she blasted him with blue-white fire. It slammed into him, sending Crawler flying back, rolling along until he impacted with a car. His armored skin was seared, torn away, but healing rapidly, becoming thicker, harder.
His laugh bellowed. "Very nice, tin-head! I wanted to tangle with the red demon, but this is fun, too! Come on, Dragon! Show me what you can do!"
Dragon tilted her head. "If you insist." She lifted a forearm, and a blue beam of light sprung from her hand, the same blue beam I'd last seen her use on the Simurgh.
Crawler quivered in anticipation. He lifted himself up and spread his forelimbs as he charged. Dragon simply leveled the beam, driving it right through him. I could hear him moan with that contact as the blue beam seared through him, light and fire burning through his body. Dragon then gripped him with her other forearm, looked skyward, and both of them vanished in a golden glow.
I went to the back of the bus, grimacing as I repressed my hunger. Aegis gave me a nod, and I gave him a wry smile. Vicky looked at me and let out a sigh as she made room. "About bloody time, Red."
Alucard spoke, his voice filled with annoyance as he strained to push it. "Considering the situation, it would be best to concentrate on the task at hand."
"I got a little delayed with Shatterbird." I growled. "How are the Wards?" I dug my fingers into the back of the bus and began to push.
Aegis grunted. "Gallant and Vista took some rather large hits from the glass. The rest of us took some hits, but Paladin's amulets are helping." The bus screeched as we began to make progress. Great, it felt like something underneath it was digging into the road. No wonder Vicky, Aegis, and Alucard hadn't been able to move it much. The destroyed tires definitely didn't help.
Vicky growled. "Come on! This thing ain't gonna push itself! We've got to get it just up the block to the Endbringer shelter!"
Made sense, it'd have facilities for wounded. I grit my teeth as I let out a breath. I stopped pushing for a moment and took a deep breath. "Vicky, Alucard, Aegis, I'll push this thing. You guys keep on guard for more of the Nine."
Alucard looked at me dubiously. "Are you certain you can move this yourself?"
My lip twitched. "Yeah. I'm going to cheat."
His eyes searched mine, then he nodded. "Ah."
I floated backward a bit, concentrating. This time...would be a lot harder than it was before. I might have healed physically already, but I was hungry and tired, and I would need to feed on someone or something to do this more comfortably. Still, it would be worth it to get these people to safety.
I drew upon my power, forcing my body to take upon the shape of the dragon. I shuddered as my wings unfolded, feeling the grand strength that was mine, strength enough to make even gods tremble. I saw Alucard jump onto the front of the bus, his blade at the ready, while Aegis and Vicky floated beside my head.
Aegis looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. I simply tilted my head, dug my claws into the back of the bus, and pushed.
In my human form, I could have pushed this on my own, although it would have taken a while, and a lot of effort to move it even a foot. As a dragon, I could do so with ease. The bottom of the bus screeched as it scraped along the pavement, but we made good progress. Hopefully, I wouldn't have to hold this shape for very long. I don't think I could hold it for more than five minutes, in my condition.
Still, at this rate, I could get the bus there in three.
I devoted my attention to the task at hand, most of my will focused on maintaining my form. I could feel my power dwindling as I worked, making it more and more difficult to stay on task.
Still, the entrance to the Endbringer shelter was near, just up ahead. One more minute, I could do this for one more minute. Just had to get us there....
"Red, on your left!" Vicky's voice intruded on my determination. I let go of the bus and swung my head....and was struck through my chest by something horrifically painful. My perspective shifted as I was forcibly reverted to my demonic shape. I bounced repeatedly against the pavement, my unwanted flight making me tumble sickeningly. My flight came to an abrupt stop when I found myself smacking into the wall of a building, breaking my wings on impact, bringing new levels of pain. I lifted my head, drawing out the Void Sword to help keep my head on straight.
Calmly, smoothly, with all the grace and arrogance of the invincible, the Siberian strode toward me.
"Fuck." I muttered.
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A/N: Powers unlocked:
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Hye
Reader of The Long Words
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Is... Is there something wrong with the update? There seems to be quite a large lack of replies and/or likes. Even 6½ hours after you posted it.
Edit: Oh wait. Nevermind. I forgot it was also on... Spacebattles, i think it was.
Edit: Oh wait. Nevermind. I forgot it was also on... Spacebattles, i think it was.
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The one on ff.net has the chapter after this and it's been out since 03/30/2016.
Interlude: Dragon, Paladin, Jack
SirWill
Know what you're doing yet?
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A/N: Yet again, I'm behind here because the last few chapters have been revision-heavy. And been busy in real life.
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Dragon's awareness expanded as she dragged Crawler with her. The literally monstrous serial killer writhed in her grip, now trying to get away from the powerful beam of Light Magic that was searing through him. Oh, he was adapting to it, but while he was doing that, it was ripping him to bits. He was flailing now, panicking, spitting globs of acid in all directions rather uselessly as they scattered into space.
By now, he knew he needed to get away, to give himself a chance to overcome the effects, if only by allowing him to heal faster than her power could damage him.
It barely mattered. While he could withstand, at least for a time, a point-blank blast from the Corona weapon, now enhanced by her newly-found power, it wouldn't help him much. Not with him tumbling away from the Earth at thousands of miles an hour. She could see his mouth moving soundlessly as they tumbled together through the void. Probably profanities.
Lovely. Dragon wouldn't ordinarily care, but his forelimbs were wrapped around her body, and she was actually having difficulty in getting free. She couldn't quite maneuver the beam of Light Magic to sear through the left insectoid appendage wrapped around her right, and she didn't have much desire to plow into their ultimate destination. Even if it was a long, long way off.
Still, the light of the sun was making her feel...strange. It was filling her, strengthening her, in more ways than she could have imagined. Was this how Taylor felt, when she basked in her power?
If Dragon could have, she would have grinned. She turned her head, opened the mouth slot, and unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning in his armored face. The electricity raced through him, ripping through his flesh and muscles, having little effect more than just a bit of pain in her opponent. But it was enough to shock and surprise him, and he reflexively let go of her, tumbling in the void helplessly.
As he flailed helplessly, Dragon felt her power build, growing deep within her chassis. It felt strange, but the knowledge came pouring in. Her body glowed white, her strength built to a peak, and she channeled that energy right at the helplessly tumbling Crawler. White fire burst from her in a beam, larger than Crawler's entire body, and he was lost in the glare. When the burst of energy slackened, she managed to spot a single piece of bone tumbling through space. Watching it for a few moments, she felt satisfied as it showed no sign of metabolic activity.
Still, even if Crawler did regrow from that chunk, it would be of little good to him, when he plunged into Jupiter in about four and a half years at this angle and velocity.
She turned herself in the void of space, basking in the unshielded light of the sun. It was....extraordinary. What she could see was...indescribable to human senses. Light of all kinds seemed to brush past her, greet her, and become a part of her. From radio waves to gamma rays, she could see it all. It was a harmony, a beautiful tapestry combined with music. She could have basked in the light for an eon and it wouldn't be enough.
Then she realized she had a problem. No sight of the Earth.
Dammit.
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"Quit your running!" Paladin hollered as she gained on Mannequin, leaping over parked cars and obstructions in the way. "You scared of a little girl? I thought you were a big bad member of the Slaughterhouse, not a little weakling!"
He twitched rather violently, but kept running from her. The serial killer slung himself around, trying to avoid her as he made progress toward the hospital, but she was faster than he was. The glass littering the streets would have given him the advantage, as he wouldn't have had to worry about hurting his feet on the shards, when most pursers would have.
Thankfully, the Cyclone Boots which gifted her this inhuman speed were more than tough enough to handle the shards. Unfortunately, Mannequin still had a fair lead, and his unconventional mode of movement, more tumbling and using long chains to swing from lampposts and whatever he could grapple onto, helped him stay in the lead long enough to reach the hospital parking lot.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" She muttered as Mannequin managed to spring from the ground and into a second-story window of the hospital, unimpeded due to the fact all the windows were broken. Goddamn Shatterbird.
Still, she jumped high, then used the Seraphic Shoulders of her armor to form ghostly angelic wings. They let her get the extra boost of height she needed to crash into the room, right behind Mannequin. She lashed out with her whip, smacking the white Tinkertech ceramics, and making him stumble into a wall in the hospital hallway. He fell apart on impact, his torso, head, arms and legs all flung in different directions.
It didn't help much, the unconventional nature of his body let him pull himself back together in half a second. He turned and regarded her, head tilting slightly, even as he made a slashing motion with his right arm. A blade, attached to chains, arced outward and cut toward her, but she deflected it with her gauntlet and smacked the whip across the torso of his body once more.
He was skilled. Good at what he did. He slung around weapons built into his body, trying to land a hit with those wickedly sharp blades of his, but Madison was unfazed. Block, counter, twist and lunge, her gauntlet burning with holy white fire. It slammed into Mannequin's torso, sending him sliding down the hallway without much resistance. She grinned as she saw cracks on his torso, which he seemed taken aback by.
"Tell me, does that hurt? I wanna know. Does it tingle, or burn, cause I've got some aloe for the burning." She called to him, even as she advanced on Mannequin. He scrambled away for a moment, regrouping himself before slots opened on his form. A red cloud boiled out from him, rapidly filling the halls. It enveloped Madison within a second.
"Oh, goddess, that stinks!" She yelled. "Did you have to let one out right now? What the heck did you eat!?" Her Light Magic amulet flared, both helping her see and...making her not get affected by whatever it was he was spraying around. She charged through the cloud, whip at the ready, slapping aside the blades-on-chains he attempted to counter with. She took a hit on her shoulder, the blade bouncing off the armor there, but it made her stumble. Just long enough for him to punch through a door and into a hospital room. There were three nurses within, cowering behind an overturned hospital bed and the room's bathroom door, which had protected them from the shattering glass.
Madison snarled. Mannequin moved to slash a nurse, when Madison dashed forward using her Cyclone boots and slammed both him and herself through the room's broken window, falling a story. As the ground neared, Madison flared the Seraphic Shoulders once more, letting him hit the ground on his own. He was stunned for a moment, and Madison dove downward, gauntlet flaring white fire.
He rolled out of the way, her fist slamming through pavement and leaving a small crater. He took advantage, slashing at her armored face, forcing Madison to roll backwards. Mannequin lunged at her, the clawed fingertips at the ready. Madison had a brief image of Dracul, lunging toward her with flaming claws.
Compared to him, Mannequin wasn't terrifying at all.
She rolled to the side, grabbing Mannequin's extended arm and slamming him into the pavement. She gripped the chain of the Vampire Killer with her gauntlet-covered hand, white fire coursing along the chain, and spun the burning end rapidly. The whirling chain not only burnt the red cloud spreading from Mannequin's body, but slapped against the mad Tinker's body repeatedly, gouging long marks in his white armor.
Mannequin grew desperate, more slots opening on his armor. Flame gouted from him, catching Madison's legs. Her greaves resisted the heat, but the smell of burned flesh was strong, and she was forced to roll away. Mannequin climbed to his feet, his arms swinging loosely.
He tilted his head, then made a gesture, a sweeping motion away from him. All the while the red cloud spewed from him, gradually thickening into a red haze.
Madison's lip twitched. "You're going to let me run?"
The white, featureless head nodded.
Madison unslung the Vampire Killer to its full length. "Then you don't know me very well. You've killed hundreds of people. Even now, I bet that cloud you're spraying around so liberally is supposed to kill me and a lot of others, isn't it?"
He shrugged.
Madison growled. "You know, I ain't in the mood for charades."
He shrugged again, then his fingers retracted. He pointed the empty arm toward her, and it was a moment of instinct that saved her life. Madison dashed to the side, her greaves flaring with light, as Mannequin shot at her with a goddamn cannon in his arm.
Fucking Tinkers.
Another shot, that just barely grazed her shoulder. It still nearly spilled her to the ground, as it was, it forced her to backflip and catch herself.
Mannequin lined up for another shot. Madison slapped her whip out, forcing the shot skyward, and causing a moment where the serial killer was off-balance. Then...he was surrounded by a blur, staggering as a figure moved in and out of the red cloud at rapid speed. The sound of metal striking ceramic echoed at a nearly painful rate, pushing the mad Tinker off balance.
Madison didn't waste the opportunity. She dashed forward, switching the Vampire Killer to her left hand, coating the weapon in white flame. With a cry, she stabbed the stake attachment at the crack in Mannequin's torso, piercing through the Tinker-made ceramics with a lot of resistance. The white flame easily consumed the now-vulnerable organs of the man held inside.
He stood stock-still for a moment, then collapsed, appropriately, like a puppet whose strings were cut. Madison yanked the whip's hilt from the body. Mannequin's limbs kept twitching, so she pulled her left hand back, and smashed each one methodically with her gauntlet, the heavenly flames giving the edge she needed to break the unnaturally strong materials that made up the infamous serial killer. Soon, he was a pile of burnt out, shattered ceramics on the street.
She looked to Velocity, who was holding a crowbar, giving him a smile under her face-concealing helmet. "Thanks for the help."
"Quite welcome." He said, sounding puzzled. "But...who are you?"
Madison frowned. What was in that red cloud? "Paladin, you know? Of the Wards?"
He tilted his head. "Huh. I know Paladin, but I don't recognize you. Something's weird."
With a sinking feeling, Madison turned. The red cloud wasn't dissipating. It was growing, boiling upwards now and creeping forward, beginning to fill the streets.
"Oh, fuck you guys so much." Madison muttered.
------------------
Jack watched the Siberian advance upon Scarlet Dragon from well over two blocks away. Thanks to Shatterbird, he could enjoy the fresh air that billowed in from the ocean. And thanks to Alan, he had a pair of binoculars to see how things were going. Instead of glass, the lenses were made out of synthetic diamond, making it both tough and not needing much maintenance.
It was a shame they lost Shatterbird, but there wasn't much help for that now. The probable loss of Crawler, while an annoyance, wasn't as terrible. As nice as it was to have him along to hit hard targets or rush headlong into enemies, he wasn't exactly easy to shuttle around places. They usually needed to take a dump truck or something along those lines to ferry him around, and that usually wasn't too subtle.
Jack knew subtlety, when used properly, was the key to survival. It was one of the reasons he was still breathing after twenty years with a kill order on his head. One day, Crawler would have become more of a hindrance than a help when it came to spreading chaos. Honestly, that day had passed long ago.
But Scarlet Dragon, ah....she would be a beautiful nightmare. All Siberian had to do was disable her, bring her in, and the Nine could be reborn far, far greater, now. Even if they failed to bend her to his liking, everybody would know they lost one of the Endkillers to him. Oh, the delicious tragedy! Even greater if she became as feared as the very Endbringer she played such a large part in slaying.
The Siberian lunged, and the beautiful nightmare vanished in a pulse of shadow. She reappeared again, sword slashing at the Siberian's invulnerable skin. Jack felt a grin grow on his face. Now the blade would shatter, like everything else ever had, and....
Then the blade passed through the Siberian without resistance. Both combatants paused, as if in shock. Then the battle resumed, blows being thrown, that strange sword weaving in and out, striking the Siberian again and again. Finally, the black and white woman seemed to get tired of the engagement, ripped a lamppost out of the ground, and swung it at Scarlet. The red girl was now on the defensive, moving with extraordinary agility. Not quite enough, as it turns out, when the Siberian clipped her and sent her sprawling.
Siberian came in, slamming the post down on her opponent again, and again, and again. On the fourth time she lifted the post, though, she paused. Where had...
In a burst of red and black light, Scarlet appeared behind Siberian, blade extended and all the way through Siberian's body. It was hard to see, from this distance, but it looked as if the red girl was entirely unhurt, like every hit the Siberian inflicted meant nothing. Even as Siberian turned, Scarlet flapped her wings, getting some distance between her and the infamous invincible member of the Nine.
Magnificent.
A small smile graced his lips. So much potential, all in one package. Why do you even pretend to be a hero? Granted, most of the villains of this boring world weren't much better, but this girl had been given the power to almost literally bring hell to Earth and this is what she choose to do with it? It was disgraceful, all she could do compared to what she was doing? Jack would fully enjoy enlightening her. Shatterbird had done some damage, and been killed for it. But the damage done would sink into the red girl's mind, all these thoughts of I could have done more. It would make it all the easier when he and Bonesaw got to work.
Now that there was an opening, Jack simply had to add her to his company. All he would need to do was bring her around to his perspective, and he always managed that in the end. There were a lot of ways to do it. Convincing people usually worked, Jack had a peculiar knack for it. Others needed more...vigorous work, usually involving Bonesaw hooking up a car battery to the brain for a while. Jack doubted the latter would be needed here, though. All this power, and she can't save everyone. And those they do save would stare at her, silently blaming her for all those she couldn't save. The resentment builds, and sooner or later, she gives up trying to be good, and revels in destruction.
Jack had seen it many, many times. Some of them he even caused.
Hell, half the work was already done for him. She was a nightmare to behold as it is, she'd barely have to change things at all to join the Nine. Of course, some needed more convincing than others, and he was always willing to make his lesson in cruelty as spectacular as possible. He was already brainstorming ideas for the third act to this effect (Most of them involved that Castle of hers).
Something was odd, though. He could see that she was reveling in the battle with the Siberian, but nothing more than that. There was some healthy fear, but more... exhilaration than anything else. He didn't like being this close to the fight, due to the possibility of a thrown car coming his way, but he felt he needed to be. This one was frustratingly difficult to pin down, to read, to anticipate...
Siberian managed a lunge forward, got a grip, and tore the girl's left arm off. He couldn't hear anything from here, but he could hear the sound regardless in his mind. A wet, tearing wound as bone was pulled from bone. A scream of agony. He'd heard it so many times, and never got tired of it. The girl fell in a heap, then as Siberian came near, fist ready to finish her off, she vanished again, reappearing some distance away, her body trembling. Siberian picked up the severed arm, and slowly, deliberately, bit into it, chewing on the bloody stump.
Then Scarlet roared. Even at this distance, Jack heard that.
A red blur. Waves of blue, ice forming around the Siberian, and suddenly Scarlet was standing some distance away again, holding her blade in both hands.
Powerful regeneration indeed. Still, the Siberian was unstoppable. Jack had to respect that kind of determination. Faced with inevitable defeat, and she would fight on. She would be magnificent once she saw the true way of things, once she'd abandoned these delusions about being a hero. Her powers turned her into a monstrous demon, why couldn't she see that destiny itself wanted her to join the Slaughterhouse Nine?
I see you, little man.
It wasn't sound, but he heard it all the same. The last time he heard something like that was when Screamer was a part of the group. He quickly slid a knife from his jacket, turning to look. With all the damage Shatterbird did, the projecting voice could be coming from anywhere.
Such a shame, little Jack. Such potential wasted.
"Who the hell are you?" Jack spoke cooly. "A little trick? Not really something you heroes are known for."
An echoing laugh. Hero, am I? Perhaps once. Now, I simply am.
Jack turned this way and that, looking around the destroyed office that was his lookout. Nothing here, there, nor the next room....
Then he turned back to the window, and nearly stumbled off his feet. A figure stood there, hair white as snow, wearing a long black overcoat, ornately decorated with silver and gold, open to show his bare chest. His face was twisted into a contemptuous sneer, the eyes a deep, hellish red.
"Ah." Jack said, a carefree smile on his lips. "Neat trick, indeed. Teleport? Mind games? Hologram? All sorts of neat things around, if you know what to look for. Might I have the name of such a theatrical guest?"
A slight tic came from the corner of the man's mouth. "It's a real shame, Jacob. I can sense it on you. My touch, twenty years old. Faded. Weak. And filled with contempt."
Jack blinked. It had been a long time since he felt even slightly off his game. "I'm pretty damn sure I've never seen you before in my life."
A long laugh, filled with cruel humor. "Oh, I'm sure you remember, Jack. The moment you were touched by the fragment of the abomination. The power you wield even now. When it touched you, my power did as well." His lip turned up into a smile. "It touched you, evaluated you, and you were found wanting." He pointed outside, where the demonic girl and the invincible woman were tearing up the city block in their futile battle with each other. "You are up against something of which you have no comprehension. You face your end, and you are too blind to see it. Idiot."
With a glower, Jack flicked his knife, his power arcing out. The extended cutting edge simply...passed through, doing nothing.
The man, if anything, seemed amused. "I have spent ages beyond counting manipulating the fragments of the beast that grants you your powers. I had not thought I might do so again, but your power begs to be called. It reached to me, across a void you cannot comprehend."
Jack slid the knife away. "Neat trick, but if you're not really here, I don't have to worry about you, now do I? Care to join me in watching the show? Because this one's fun."
In a blink the man was standing directly in front of him, his fingers digging into the flesh underneath his chin. Jack froze as he felt the cold biting into his head as the man spoke, his words echoing harshly through his mind. "I do not need to be physically here for one such as you, little man. For I am Dracul, Lord of Darkness. I am the thing you pretend to be with you disgusting little mockery."
Dracul roughly pushed Jack with his hand, and for all of him telling himself it wasn't real Jack still stumbled from it. He rubbed his neck as he glared at the apparition in anger. "If you are a 'Lord of Darkness', as you say, then you would understand what I'm doing. I'm showing the world how it really is. It's fucked up. I'm just stripping away the veneer of civility to show what people really are. We're monsters, all of us. I've just embraced it. I can show everyone how much fun it is. I've felt the sheer joy of being without rules, without limits. I know the rush of unlimited freedom. Everyone trembles when I come to town. Can you say the same?"
Dracul cut him off with cruel laughter. "Oh, I know well the seduction of warfare. The joy of cutting a bloody swathe through my foes. Of seeing my enemies cower and tremble at my name. But you? You are a tiny gnat. For what end is your carnage pushed towards, hm? You commit horror after horror, and there is no purpose beyond your own pathetic pleasure. I learned much through my successor's eyes, and you little man are no different than countless others that have walked both mine and your world. Scrambling around pointlessly, biting everything that crosses your path, like a rabid dog."
"Hardly rabid." Jack smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I will be known as one of the greatest men in history. The greatest monster of modern times. People will know my name a millennium from now. How many of the little peons down there are going to be remembered, hm? They're going to be lost in history, forever, as if they never were. At least when I kill them, they have the honor of being another number attached to my name."
Dracul simply smiled, a cruel, contemptuous thing. "Immortality through fame. Fool. Leaving a pathetic mark with no rhyme or purpose. A child befouling his bed, if only to ensure no one else will sleep in it." Dracul's hand was suddenly around Jack's neck again, the vampire pushing forward, slowly, relentlessly, until Jack's back hit the wall. "None will make a statue of you. There will be no kingdom of yours. You will be reviled, and the scars of those you've harmed will heal, and within a century, no one will care that you lived."
The hand around Jack's throat tightened, and Jack struggled to take in air.
Dracul leaned in closer, his voice intense. "You have watched her, yes? Do you wish to know something interesting?"
Jack gurgled.
Dracul's smile widened. "My power touched many when searching for a worthy successor. Thousands bear the slightest scent, the faintest marking, of when I sent it to search for one to sit upon my throne. You are one, Jack. You could have been the Dragon. You could have led this world into a new age, changed it to your vision. But you are a pathetic child. You would have been consumed by my power, ran around with it like an idiot, fulfilling every small whim, and never having a vision greater than simple destruction. I can see in your mind, little man. Your dreams are small. Your excuses are flimsy justifications to let yourself spill blood and giggle at the horror you sow. You did not begin this with a prize in mind, you do all this for the pleasure of it, nothing more."
Dracul was suddenly on the other side of the room. And Jack...quickly pulled his own hand away from his throat. He looked at his hand in fear, breathing heavily for a moment before he looked at Dracul.
The pale man grinned, his pointed fangs prominent. "In a millennium, there will be those who serve the Scarlet Dragon. There will be those who build monuments to her glory. There will be temples to her might. But you? Take heart. You and your merry band of children will be remembered, Jack. As just another cobblestone on the road to her kingdom. One name among many, no more noteworthy than any other."
Jack's hand trembled, before it stilled. His tone was dangerous as he spoke. "We'll see about that, won't we? I'll take your precious little dragon and turn her to the proper way of thinking. I'm sure she'll make a magnificent little guard dog for Bonesaw. She'll be a happy little psychopath, running around with my illustrious partners, soaking in the blood of everyone she comes across and reveling in it. Or how about having her turn those beasties on that island of hers loose? I can see the fires rising everywhere already!"
Dracul's grin widened, filled with mirth. "You still do not understand. One does not collar a dragon, little man. You are an annoyance, nothing more. In all your time wandering and murdering, you have accomplished nothing of respect. People fear you, but there are none who would follow your ideals without being as broken as you first." The smile dropped. "When I discovered a god ruined my life, I sought to kill that god. It took me eight centuries, but in all that time, every drop of blood I spilled was toward that ultimate end. The chance to end him. You? You simply kill. When I faced the abyss, I walked into it, letting it subsume me. My entire world feared my hatred. You, the moment you discovered the world was not what you believed, threw yourself into it without a care. You blinked. You broke. And instead of being relieved, you decided to make the world the nightmare you believed it was. Pathetic."
At Jack's shocked expression, Dracul barked out a laugh. "Yes, I know. Your mind is open to me, Jack. You show others the abyss. You drag them down to your level. You break them and twist them and turn their souls into twisted mockeries of your own, and you do it for the simple pleasure, regardless of the lies you tell yourself. You have nothing but your own twisted thrills and pathetic delusions. But she? Ah....she is more than that. She can master the darkness. As I only did long after I fell to it. You are beneath me, little man. And you are beneath her."
Dracul vanished.
Jack stood there, and for a long terrifying moment, he felt uncertain and alone. Then he began to chuckle, drawing his knife once more. "Well then....we'll see how high I can reach. We'll see if she's so goddamn unbreakable."
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Dragon's awareness expanded as she dragged Crawler with her. The literally monstrous serial killer writhed in her grip, now trying to get away from the powerful beam of Light Magic that was searing through him. Oh, he was adapting to it, but while he was doing that, it was ripping him to bits. He was flailing now, panicking, spitting globs of acid in all directions rather uselessly as they scattered into space.
By now, he knew he needed to get away, to give himself a chance to overcome the effects, if only by allowing him to heal faster than her power could damage him.
It barely mattered. While he could withstand, at least for a time, a point-blank blast from the Corona weapon, now enhanced by her newly-found power, it wouldn't help him much. Not with him tumbling away from the Earth at thousands of miles an hour. She could see his mouth moving soundlessly as they tumbled together through the void. Probably profanities.
Lovely. Dragon wouldn't ordinarily care, but his forelimbs were wrapped around her body, and she was actually having difficulty in getting free. She couldn't quite maneuver the beam of Light Magic to sear through the left insectoid appendage wrapped around her right, and she didn't have much desire to plow into their ultimate destination. Even if it was a long, long way off.
Still, the light of the sun was making her feel...strange. It was filling her, strengthening her, in more ways than she could have imagined. Was this how Taylor felt, when she basked in her power?
If Dragon could have, she would have grinned. She turned her head, opened the mouth slot, and unleashed a powerful bolt of lightning in his armored face. The electricity raced through him, ripping through his flesh and muscles, having little effect more than just a bit of pain in her opponent. But it was enough to shock and surprise him, and he reflexively let go of her, tumbling in the void helplessly.
As he flailed helplessly, Dragon felt her power build, growing deep within her chassis. It felt strange, but the knowledge came pouring in. Her body glowed white, her strength built to a peak, and she channeled that energy right at the helplessly tumbling Crawler. White fire burst from her in a beam, larger than Crawler's entire body, and he was lost in the glare. When the burst of energy slackened, she managed to spot a single piece of bone tumbling through space. Watching it for a few moments, she felt satisfied as it showed no sign of metabolic activity.
Still, even if Crawler did regrow from that chunk, it would be of little good to him, when he plunged into Jupiter in about four and a half years at this angle and velocity.
She turned herself in the void of space, basking in the unshielded light of the sun. It was....extraordinary. What she could see was...indescribable to human senses. Light of all kinds seemed to brush past her, greet her, and become a part of her. From radio waves to gamma rays, she could see it all. It was a harmony, a beautiful tapestry combined with music. She could have basked in the light for an eon and it wouldn't be enough.
Then she realized she had a problem. No sight of the Earth.
Dammit.
------------------
"Quit your running!" Paladin hollered as she gained on Mannequin, leaping over parked cars and obstructions in the way. "You scared of a little girl? I thought you were a big bad member of the Slaughterhouse, not a little weakling!"
He twitched rather violently, but kept running from her. The serial killer slung himself around, trying to avoid her as he made progress toward the hospital, but she was faster than he was. The glass littering the streets would have given him the advantage, as he wouldn't have had to worry about hurting his feet on the shards, when most pursers would have.
Thankfully, the Cyclone Boots which gifted her this inhuman speed were more than tough enough to handle the shards. Unfortunately, Mannequin still had a fair lead, and his unconventional mode of movement, more tumbling and using long chains to swing from lampposts and whatever he could grapple onto, helped him stay in the lead long enough to reach the hospital parking lot.
"Fuck fuck fuck!" She muttered as Mannequin managed to spring from the ground and into a second-story window of the hospital, unimpeded due to the fact all the windows were broken. Goddamn Shatterbird.
Still, she jumped high, then used the Seraphic Shoulders of her armor to form ghostly angelic wings. They let her get the extra boost of height she needed to crash into the room, right behind Mannequin. She lashed out with her whip, smacking the white Tinkertech ceramics, and making him stumble into a wall in the hospital hallway. He fell apart on impact, his torso, head, arms and legs all flung in different directions.
It didn't help much, the unconventional nature of his body let him pull himself back together in half a second. He turned and regarded her, head tilting slightly, even as he made a slashing motion with his right arm. A blade, attached to chains, arced outward and cut toward her, but she deflected it with her gauntlet and smacked the whip across the torso of his body once more.
He was skilled. Good at what he did. He slung around weapons built into his body, trying to land a hit with those wickedly sharp blades of his, but Madison was unfazed. Block, counter, twist and lunge, her gauntlet burning with holy white fire. It slammed into Mannequin's torso, sending him sliding down the hallway without much resistance. She grinned as she saw cracks on his torso, which he seemed taken aback by.
"Tell me, does that hurt? I wanna know. Does it tingle, or burn, cause I've got some aloe for the burning." She called to him, even as she advanced on Mannequin. He scrambled away for a moment, regrouping himself before slots opened on his form. A red cloud boiled out from him, rapidly filling the halls. It enveloped Madison within a second.
"Oh, goddess, that stinks!" She yelled. "Did you have to let one out right now? What the heck did you eat!?" Her Light Magic amulet flared, both helping her see and...making her not get affected by whatever it was he was spraying around. She charged through the cloud, whip at the ready, slapping aside the blades-on-chains he attempted to counter with. She took a hit on her shoulder, the blade bouncing off the armor there, but it made her stumble. Just long enough for him to punch through a door and into a hospital room. There were three nurses within, cowering behind an overturned hospital bed and the room's bathroom door, which had protected them from the shattering glass.
Madison snarled. Mannequin moved to slash a nurse, when Madison dashed forward using her Cyclone boots and slammed both him and herself through the room's broken window, falling a story. As the ground neared, Madison flared the Seraphic Shoulders once more, letting him hit the ground on his own. He was stunned for a moment, and Madison dove downward, gauntlet flaring white fire.
He rolled out of the way, her fist slamming through pavement and leaving a small crater. He took advantage, slashing at her armored face, forcing Madison to roll backwards. Mannequin lunged at her, the clawed fingertips at the ready. Madison had a brief image of Dracul, lunging toward her with flaming claws.
Compared to him, Mannequin wasn't terrifying at all.
She rolled to the side, grabbing Mannequin's extended arm and slamming him into the pavement. She gripped the chain of the Vampire Killer with her gauntlet-covered hand, white fire coursing along the chain, and spun the burning end rapidly. The whirling chain not only burnt the red cloud spreading from Mannequin's body, but slapped against the mad Tinker's body repeatedly, gouging long marks in his white armor.
Mannequin grew desperate, more slots opening on his armor. Flame gouted from him, catching Madison's legs. Her greaves resisted the heat, but the smell of burned flesh was strong, and she was forced to roll away. Mannequin climbed to his feet, his arms swinging loosely.
He tilted his head, then made a gesture, a sweeping motion away from him. All the while the red cloud spewed from him, gradually thickening into a red haze.
Madison's lip twitched. "You're going to let me run?"
The white, featureless head nodded.
Madison unslung the Vampire Killer to its full length. "Then you don't know me very well. You've killed hundreds of people. Even now, I bet that cloud you're spraying around so liberally is supposed to kill me and a lot of others, isn't it?"
He shrugged.
Madison growled. "You know, I ain't in the mood for charades."
He shrugged again, then his fingers retracted. He pointed the empty arm toward her, and it was a moment of instinct that saved her life. Madison dashed to the side, her greaves flaring with light, as Mannequin shot at her with a goddamn cannon in his arm.
Fucking Tinkers.
Another shot, that just barely grazed her shoulder. It still nearly spilled her to the ground, as it was, it forced her to backflip and catch herself.
Mannequin lined up for another shot. Madison slapped her whip out, forcing the shot skyward, and causing a moment where the serial killer was off-balance. Then...he was surrounded by a blur, staggering as a figure moved in and out of the red cloud at rapid speed. The sound of metal striking ceramic echoed at a nearly painful rate, pushing the mad Tinker off balance.
Madison didn't waste the opportunity. She dashed forward, switching the Vampire Killer to her left hand, coating the weapon in white flame. With a cry, she stabbed the stake attachment at the crack in Mannequin's torso, piercing through the Tinker-made ceramics with a lot of resistance. The white flame easily consumed the now-vulnerable organs of the man held inside.
He stood stock-still for a moment, then collapsed, appropriately, like a puppet whose strings were cut. Madison yanked the whip's hilt from the body. Mannequin's limbs kept twitching, so she pulled her left hand back, and smashed each one methodically with her gauntlet, the heavenly flames giving the edge she needed to break the unnaturally strong materials that made up the infamous serial killer. Soon, he was a pile of burnt out, shattered ceramics on the street.
She looked to Velocity, who was holding a crowbar, giving him a smile under her face-concealing helmet. "Thanks for the help."
"Quite welcome." He said, sounding puzzled. "But...who are you?"
Madison frowned. What was in that red cloud? "Paladin, you know? Of the Wards?"
He tilted his head. "Huh. I know Paladin, but I don't recognize you. Something's weird."
With a sinking feeling, Madison turned. The red cloud wasn't dissipating. It was growing, boiling upwards now and creeping forward, beginning to fill the streets.
"Oh, fuck you guys so much." Madison muttered.
------------------
Jack watched the Siberian advance upon Scarlet Dragon from well over two blocks away. Thanks to Shatterbird, he could enjoy the fresh air that billowed in from the ocean. And thanks to Alan, he had a pair of binoculars to see how things were going. Instead of glass, the lenses were made out of synthetic diamond, making it both tough and not needing much maintenance.
It was a shame they lost Shatterbird, but there wasn't much help for that now. The probable loss of Crawler, while an annoyance, wasn't as terrible. As nice as it was to have him along to hit hard targets or rush headlong into enemies, he wasn't exactly easy to shuttle around places. They usually needed to take a dump truck or something along those lines to ferry him around, and that usually wasn't too subtle.
Jack knew subtlety, when used properly, was the key to survival. It was one of the reasons he was still breathing after twenty years with a kill order on his head. One day, Crawler would have become more of a hindrance than a help when it came to spreading chaos. Honestly, that day had passed long ago.
But Scarlet Dragon, ah....she would be a beautiful nightmare. All Siberian had to do was disable her, bring her in, and the Nine could be reborn far, far greater, now. Even if they failed to bend her to his liking, everybody would know they lost one of the Endkillers to him. Oh, the delicious tragedy! Even greater if she became as feared as the very Endbringer she played such a large part in slaying.
The Siberian lunged, and the beautiful nightmare vanished in a pulse of shadow. She reappeared again, sword slashing at the Siberian's invulnerable skin. Jack felt a grin grow on his face. Now the blade would shatter, like everything else ever had, and....
Then the blade passed through the Siberian without resistance. Both combatants paused, as if in shock. Then the battle resumed, blows being thrown, that strange sword weaving in and out, striking the Siberian again and again. Finally, the black and white woman seemed to get tired of the engagement, ripped a lamppost out of the ground, and swung it at Scarlet. The red girl was now on the defensive, moving with extraordinary agility. Not quite enough, as it turns out, when the Siberian clipped her and sent her sprawling.
Siberian came in, slamming the post down on her opponent again, and again, and again. On the fourth time she lifted the post, though, she paused. Where had...
In a burst of red and black light, Scarlet appeared behind Siberian, blade extended and all the way through Siberian's body. It was hard to see, from this distance, but it looked as if the red girl was entirely unhurt, like every hit the Siberian inflicted meant nothing. Even as Siberian turned, Scarlet flapped her wings, getting some distance between her and the infamous invincible member of the Nine.
Magnificent.
A small smile graced his lips. So much potential, all in one package. Why do you even pretend to be a hero? Granted, most of the villains of this boring world weren't much better, but this girl had been given the power to almost literally bring hell to Earth and this is what she choose to do with it? It was disgraceful, all she could do compared to what she was doing? Jack would fully enjoy enlightening her. Shatterbird had done some damage, and been killed for it. But the damage done would sink into the red girl's mind, all these thoughts of I could have done more. It would make it all the easier when he and Bonesaw got to work.
Now that there was an opening, Jack simply had to add her to his company. All he would need to do was bring her around to his perspective, and he always managed that in the end. There were a lot of ways to do it. Convincing people usually worked, Jack had a peculiar knack for it. Others needed more...vigorous work, usually involving Bonesaw hooking up a car battery to the brain for a while. Jack doubted the latter would be needed here, though. All this power, and she can't save everyone. And those they do save would stare at her, silently blaming her for all those she couldn't save. The resentment builds, and sooner or later, she gives up trying to be good, and revels in destruction.
Jack had seen it many, many times. Some of them he even caused.
Hell, half the work was already done for him. She was a nightmare to behold as it is, she'd barely have to change things at all to join the Nine. Of course, some needed more convincing than others, and he was always willing to make his lesson in cruelty as spectacular as possible. He was already brainstorming ideas for the third act to this effect (Most of them involved that Castle of hers).
Something was odd, though. He could see that she was reveling in the battle with the Siberian, but nothing more than that. There was some healthy fear, but more... exhilaration than anything else. He didn't like being this close to the fight, due to the possibility of a thrown car coming his way, but he felt he needed to be. This one was frustratingly difficult to pin down, to read, to anticipate...
Siberian managed a lunge forward, got a grip, and tore the girl's left arm off. He couldn't hear anything from here, but he could hear the sound regardless in his mind. A wet, tearing wound as bone was pulled from bone. A scream of agony. He'd heard it so many times, and never got tired of it. The girl fell in a heap, then as Siberian came near, fist ready to finish her off, she vanished again, reappearing some distance away, her body trembling. Siberian picked up the severed arm, and slowly, deliberately, bit into it, chewing on the bloody stump.
Then Scarlet roared. Even at this distance, Jack heard that.
A red blur. Waves of blue, ice forming around the Siberian, and suddenly Scarlet was standing some distance away again, holding her blade in both hands.
Powerful regeneration indeed. Still, the Siberian was unstoppable. Jack had to respect that kind of determination. Faced with inevitable defeat, and she would fight on. She would be magnificent once she saw the true way of things, once she'd abandoned these delusions about being a hero. Her powers turned her into a monstrous demon, why couldn't she see that destiny itself wanted her to join the Slaughterhouse Nine?
I see you, little man.
It wasn't sound, but he heard it all the same. The last time he heard something like that was when Screamer was a part of the group. He quickly slid a knife from his jacket, turning to look. With all the damage Shatterbird did, the projecting voice could be coming from anywhere.
Such a shame, little Jack. Such potential wasted.
"Who the hell are you?" Jack spoke cooly. "A little trick? Not really something you heroes are known for."
An echoing laugh. Hero, am I? Perhaps once. Now, I simply am.
Jack turned this way and that, looking around the destroyed office that was his lookout. Nothing here, there, nor the next room....
Then he turned back to the window, and nearly stumbled off his feet. A figure stood there, hair white as snow, wearing a long black overcoat, ornately decorated with silver and gold, open to show his bare chest. His face was twisted into a contemptuous sneer, the eyes a deep, hellish red.
"Ah." Jack said, a carefree smile on his lips. "Neat trick, indeed. Teleport? Mind games? Hologram? All sorts of neat things around, if you know what to look for. Might I have the name of such a theatrical guest?"
A slight tic came from the corner of the man's mouth. "It's a real shame, Jacob. I can sense it on you. My touch, twenty years old. Faded. Weak. And filled with contempt."
Jack blinked. It had been a long time since he felt even slightly off his game. "I'm pretty damn sure I've never seen you before in my life."
A long laugh, filled with cruel humor. "Oh, I'm sure you remember, Jack. The moment you were touched by the fragment of the abomination. The power you wield even now. When it touched you, my power did as well." His lip turned up into a smile. "It touched you, evaluated you, and you were found wanting." He pointed outside, where the demonic girl and the invincible woman were tearing up the city block in their futile battle with each other. "You are up against something of which you have no comprehension. You face your end, and you are too blind to see it. Idiot."
With a glower, Jack flicked his knife, his power arcing out. The extended cutting edge simply...passed through, doing nothing.
The man, if anything, seemed amused. "I have spent ages beyond counting manipulating the fragments of the beast that grants you your powers. I had not thought I might do so again, but your power begs to be called. It reached to me, across a void you cannot comprehend."
Jack slid the knife away. "Neat trick, but if you're not really here, I don't have to worry about you, now do I? Care to join me in watching the show? Because this one's fun."
In a blink the man was standing directly in front of him, his fingers digging into the flesh underneath his chin. Jack froze as he felt the cold biting into his head as the man spoke, his words echoing harshly through his mind. "I do not need to be physically here for one such as you, little man. For I am Dracul, Lord of Darkness. I am the thing you pretend to be with you disgusting little mockery."
Dracul roughly pushed Jack with his hand, and for all of him telling himself it wasn't real Jack still stumbled from it. He rubbed his neck as he glared at the apparition in anger. "If you are a 'Lord of Darkness', as you say, then you would understand what I'm doing. I'm showing the world how it really is. It's fucked up. I'm just stripping away the veneer of civility to show what people really are. We're monsters, all of us. I've just embraced it. I can show everyone how much fun it is. I've felt the sheer joy of being without rules, without limits. I know the rush of unlimited freedom. Everyone trembles when I come to town. Can you say the same?"
Dracul cut him off with cruel laughter. "Oh, I know well the seduction of warfare. The joy of cutting a bloody swathe through my foes. Of seeing my enemies cower and tremble at my name. But you? You are a tiny gnat. For what end is your carnage pushed towards, hm? You commit horror after horror, and there is no purpose beyond your own pathetic pleasure. I learned much through my successor's eyes, and you little man are no different than countless others that have walked both mine and your world. Scrambling around pointlessly, biting everything that crosses your path, like a rabid dog."
"Hardly rabid." Jack smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing. I will be known as one of the greatest men in history. The greatest monster of modern times. People will know my name a millennium from now. How many of the little peons down there are going to be remembered, hm? They're going to be lost in history, forever, as if they never were. At least when I kill them, they have the honor of being another number attached to my name."
Dracul simply smiled, a cruel, contemptuous thing. "Immortality through fame. Fool. Leaving a pathetic mark with no rhyme or purpose. A child befouling his bed, if only to ensure no one else will sleep in it." Dracul's hand was suddenly around Jack's neck again, the vampire pushing forward, slowly, relentlessly, until Jack's back hit the wall. "None will make a statue of you. There will be no kingdom of yours. You will be reviled, and the scars of those you've harmed will heal, and within a century, no one will care that you lived."
The hand around Jack's throat tightened, and Jack struggled to take in air.
Dracul leaned in closer, his voice intense. "You have watched her, yes? Do you wish to know something interesting?"
Jack gurgled.
Dracul's smile widened. "My power touched many when searching for a worthy successor. Thousands bear the slightest scent, the faintest marking, of when I sent it to search for one to sit upon my throne. You are one, Jack. You could have been the Dragon. You could have led this world into a new age, changed it to your vision. But you are a pathetic child. You would have been consumed by my power, ran around with it like an idiot, fulfilling every small whim, and never having a vision greater than simple destruction. I can see in your mind, little man. Your dreams are small. Your excuses are flimsy justifications to let yourself spill blood and giggle at the horror you sow. You did not begin this with a prize in mind, you do all this for the pleasure of it, nothing more."
Dracul was suddenly on the other side of the room. And Jack...quickly pulled his own hand away from his throat. He looked at his hand in fear, breathing heavily for a moment before he looked at Dracul.
The pale man grinned, his pointed fangs prominent. "In a millennium, there will be those who serve the Scarlet Dragon. There will be those who build monuments to her glory. There will be temples to her might. But you? Take heart. You and your merry band of children will be remembered, Jack. As just another cobblestone on the road to her kingdom. One name among many, no more noteworthy than any other."
Jack's hand trembled, before it stilled. His tone was dangerous as he spoke. "We'll see about that, won't we? I'll take your precious little dragon and turn her to the proper way of thinking. I'm sure she'll make a magnificent little guard dog for Bonesaw. She'll be a happy little psychopath, running around with my illustrious partners, soaking in the blood of everyone she comes across and reveling in it. Or how about having her turn those beasties on that island of hers loose? I can see the fires rising everywhere already!"
Dracul's grin widened, filled with mirth. "You still do not understand. One does not collar a dragon, little man. You are an annoyance, nothing more. In all your time wandering and murdering, you have accomplished nothing of respect. People fear you, but there are none who would follow your ideals without being as broken as you first." The smile dropped. "When I discovered a god ruined my life, I sought to kill that god. It took me eight centuries, but in all that time, every drop of blood I spilled was toward that ultimate end. The chance to end him. You? You simply kill. When I faced the abyss, I walked into it, letting it subsume me. My entire world feared my hatred. You, the moment you discovered the world was not what you believed, threw yourself into it without a care. You blinked. You broke. And instead of being relieved, you decided to make the world the nightmare you believed it was. Pathetic."
At Jack's shocked expression, Dracul barked out a laugh. "Yes, I know. Your mind is open to me, Jack. You show others the abyss. You drag them down to your level. You break them and twist them and turn their souls into twisted mockeries of your own, and you do it for the simple pleasure, regardless of the lies you tell yourself. You have nothing but your own twisted thrills and pathetic delusions. But she? Ah....she is more than that. She can master the darkness. As I only did long after I fell to it. You are beneath me, little man. And you are beneath her."
Dracul vanished.
Jack stood there, and for a long terrifying moment, he felt uncertain and alone. Then he began to chuckle, drawing his knife once more. "Well then....we'll see how high I can reach. We'll see if she's so goddamn unbreakable."
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Hye
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Truly today is a glorious day. A whopping 6 stories have updated so far, and it's not even midday, with 3 of them having more than 4k words. Possibly 4 of them, seeing as i don't know how many words this has.
It's nice to see Jack being on the other side of manipulations for a change. I was surprised to see Dracul popping out and talking to Jack. Are we gonna see more of him, talking to other Parahumans?
It's nice to see Jack being on the other side of manipulations for a change. I was surprised to see Dracul popping out and talking to Jack. Are we gonna see more of him, talking to other Parahumans?
SirWill
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Sadly, no. It only worked because Jack's using Eden's Broadcast Shard, which Dracul's power had already touched, and that he was unknowingly using it to try and figure out Rolyat...I mean, uh, Taylor. That let Dracul hack his way back through the connection and make his displeasure and contempt known. In theory, someone else with a communication Shard could end up getting a talking-to by our favorite Vampire Lord, but it's unlikely.
Twilight666
I trust you know where the happy button is?
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First of all I assume that you mean he is an Eden trigger (he got his shard from the ones Eden shed before crashing) and not that he is a cauldron cape.
But is that canon? Or is it something you decided to add to make sure the conversation in this chapter happened?
Hye
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Aah, well. Sadly we won't be seeing any more Dracul shenanigans, then. I always thought it was Scion's Broadcast Shard. Jack isn't a Cauldron Cape, right? I guess Eden managed to send out shards, don't know why it shouldn't have managed it.
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Then why is he the way he is now?
With Eden dead all her Shards should be dead as well and not promoting conflict.
So why is he seeking out conflict?
Hye
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Because Eden isn't dead-dead? Maybe it's more like brain-dead. Body still alive, but no one is home. It could also be that it's hard-coded into the shards to pursue conflict.
SirWill
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Not all of Eden's shards are dead. Her main ones, the most powerful ones, the ones that would have powered her avatar in a Scion-like body, are. The ones she shed before landing are still alive, and thus can trigger people just as Scion's shards do. At least here, in this story. Also, even dead shards can trigger people, it's just their connections are....unpredictable. They've got a number of downsides compared to living shards, one of which is they're going to run out of energy to work with eventually. Besides, when I read Worm, I was under the impression that even 'dead' shards can trigger people. They're just not able to gather energy, data, grow, or reproduce, and will eventually fail. I could be wrong on my understanding here...but I honestly don't have the energy or desire to go and hunt down the part that made me think that.
As for Jack seeking out conflict? That's all him. Some people are just screwed up enough that a living shard would look back at such a host and say 'Damn, man! Calm down! Here, listen to this symphony from out by the Crab Nebula, it should soothe you a bit.' Dracul's power evaluated Jack in the instant Broadcast connected with him. It could sense that if Jack had become Lord of Darkness, he'd use the power for his own fun, and nothing else. Because of the conditions Dracul laid on it, it turned away for someone better to sit on Dracul's throne. That also left the whole 'They are beneath me' thought in the echo Dracul left on his own power. It touched a couple of other S9 members, and that just made things worse later.
As for Jack seeking out conflict? That's all him. Some people are just screwed up enough that a living shard would look back at such a host and say 'Damn, man! Calm down! Here, listen to this symphony from out by the Crab Nebula, it should soothe you a bit.' Dracul's power evaluated Jack in the instant Broadcast connected with him. It could sense that if Jack had become Lord of Darkness, he'd use the power for his own fun, and nothing else. Because of the conditions Dracul laid on it, it turned away for someone better to sit on Dracul's throne. That also left the whole 'They are beneath me' thought in the echo Dracul left on his own power. It touched a couple of other S9 members, and that just made things worse later.
Hye
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Well, it is as it's been said by a grumpy old imp "Power corrupts, but ultimate Power is a whole lotta fun"
SirWill
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I know he's a natural trigger, and didn't get his powers from a vial. I...honestly can't remember if he had an Eden shard in canon, though when I read Worm, I got the impression that he did, and that it was one of the dead shards, too. So...yeah. It's a bit messed up.
Funny thing: As a result of all this, had Cauldron gotten really lucky and dosed the right person with a vial? They'd have been found worthy by Dracul's power. As it was, though, it hit Taylor, here. Admittedly, that's because of the idea I had in my head when this started. But it'd be a potentially interesting AU.
NorthSouthGorem
Versed in the lewd.
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Which person?
Hye
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He just said. The right person
NorthSouthGorem
Versed in the lewd.
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Yes, but I'm asking who that right person would be.
Hye
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It's obvious that the right person would be Canary. I think she would fear her power enough, that she would be cautious in using it
Edit: Btw, how old is Taylor currently? 15? 16?
SirWill
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She's 15. So yeah. That's counting the three months she was in the ground, too. Not counting them...um, still 15.
As for what Dracul's power was looking for, it was looking for a type of person, rather than someone specific. But yeah, Canary actually would have been a good candidate.
Family 6.8
SirWill
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A/N: I'm trying to avoid straight up character bashing. Jack's a monster that revels in it. Dracul wouldn't mind that in itself, but that he does so with such little purpose is what disgusts him.
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Fuck fuck fuck. Well, the good news was that the Void Sword helped sate my hunger, energizing me every time I struck the Siberian. I could feel an immense amount of energy through it, and with every stroke of the blade, enough of it flowed to me to keep me in top condition. That's despite the fact she already had ripped off my own arm and bit a chunk out of it.
Good thing I can heal, indeed. I was on my third right arm, now. That's kinda messed up.
The bad news was that Siberian didn't seem to give the slightest fuck about how many times I sliced through her. My sword could pass through her, but it didn't slow her down, didn't hurt her visibly, and didn't stop her from countering me. She was astonishingly fast, though clearly inexperienced when it came to actual fighting. I guess when you're invincible, you never have to learn how to really fight. Just plow through the opposition.
"Assistance is enroute." Armsmaster's voice came over the earpiece. I wanted to take a look at the bus, but I simply couldn't afford to take my eyes off Siberian for an instant.
"Don't worry about me! Just get those people out of here!" I yelled. Siberian took advantage of my distraction and slammed into me, sending me flying through the air. I gave a flap of my wings and righted myself in the air, slamming my feet up against a wall. I gave Siberian a feral smile as I stood there on the wall, as if it was the ground, and delved into Dracul's memories once more.
My will is the storm.
I gathered lightning in my fingers and cast it at the Siberian, striking the invincible woman with a blinding flash. At least I hoped it was. I teleported over her, hovering high in the air, and stayed silent, manifesting the Void Sword.
She looked around for a moment, then turned toward where I could see Alucard, Vicky, and Aegis all pushing the bus, now ignoring the Endbringer shelter. They were making more progress than they had been before I showed up, maybe I'd ripped something loose earlier. Maybe it was just the desperation of seeing the invincible serial killer stepping slowly, casually toward them.
Meridia dropped down in front of the Siberian. The striped woman paused, tilting her head. I imagined she looked amused.
The succubus stared at the serial killer. I could imagine what she was doing, trying to look as alluring as possible while wearing a suit of platemail....and it was working. If she ever took on a job as a model of any kind she'd sell anything.
Siberian didn't seem to care, though, and lifted a fist.
I made my objection to that clear as I teleported behind her, driving the Void Sword through her body with one hand and attempting to electrocute her with the other.
The Siberian stiffened, but didn't seemed to be all that annoyed. Even as she began to turn to face me, though, Meridia made her move. She grabbed the Siberian's cheeks and kissed the serial killer.
Wait, what?
Even the Siberian seemed to be taken aback for a moment. Then her body relaxed, giving me just another moment with the Void Sword draining her of energy.
Then the Siberian moved. Meridia fell to the ground with a scream as the Siberian ripped both her arms away. I was forced to dart back as the Siberian nearly took my head off with a swipe, using Meridia's arms as weapons. I slashed at her as she advanced on me, the pace and movement of her attacks speeding up as I was forced to keep distance between us.
Fireballs smacked into the Siberian's side. Alucard stood on the sidewalk, Crissaegrim in hand, his blade covered in frost. The Siberian lunged at him, and he vanished in a swirl of flames a little distance away. He ducked as the Siberian struck at his face, moving with extraordinary speed and precision, the Siberian failing to hit him by inches. She seemed determined to beat the vampire to death with Meridia's arms, and he was making that very difficult indeed.
As the Siberian chased after him, I went to Meridia and crouched at her side. Meridia's face was a mask of pain, and she struggled to speak. "I am...sorry, my lady. I failed you. The striped one...No, no soul, my lady. I tried to take her soul, but she has none."
Great, just great. Like that's much help right now! How can I use that? What the hell does a lack of a soul mean?
Get a grip, Taylor. Meridia's going to die on you! I gently put my fingers to her lips. "Don't try to talk." Carefully, gently, I picked her up and carried her over to the bus, keenly aware of her rich blood running from the hideous wounds from the remnants of her shoulders.
Fuck fuck fuck! Why couldn't everyone heal like me?
I got to the bus. Vicky and Aegis were pushing it, inch by inch along the road, the damn thing squealing horribly. Amy took one look at us, and her eyes widened. She came out to me and helped me carry my wounded servant inside. Curious, and horrified looks came our way as the frightened civilians stared at us. Cherry looked at Meridia with dull shock, while Clockblocker made a coughing sound.
Amy gently touched Meridia's face, then she looked at me. "This is bad. She's lost a lot of blood, her heart's weakening." With a look of concentration, Amy formed a pair of black plates in the palms of her hands and put them over the hideous wounds. At my expression, she spoke softly. "I can't seal the injury perfectly. Just buy time. If she doesn't get a lot of blood to replace what she lost..."
Fuck. I looked down at Meridia, an idea trickling in from the back of my head. One I didn't like much, but...
Damn it. Demon or not, Meridia deserved better.
I knelt over Meridia, keenly aware of the eyes on us. I whispered softly. "Meridia, I am going to give you my blood. I want you to live. You know the consequences?"
Meridia's voice was weak, but she nodded faintly. "I...would be honored...."
I called upon the Shadow Whip. Carefully, using my body to block the direct line of sight for most of the passengers, I used it to feed her a mouthful of my blood. She swallowed nearly reflexively. I gave Amy a nod and gestured to the plate covering the stump of Meridia's right arm. Amy pulled it away, and I used my control over my own blood to press more of mine into Meridia's body. I could feel my reserves draining as I did, my hunger growing.
I felt a growl grow deep in my throat. I knew exactly how I was going to feed myself again.
Meridia's breathing steadied and slowed somewhat. Maybe as a demon, she could handle things a bit better. Or maybe my vampirism made no damn sense. I got to my feet, looked around the bus and cleared my throat. "I know everyone's had a really, really bad day. Know this. This is going to be the Nine's last day."
A few hesitant smiles were sent my way.
Clockblocker gave me a clap. "Not the best speech I've ever heard, but I love it anyway." Then he coughed and held his side, where the blood soaked through his costume. "Now that was a bad idea."
"Quit yapping in there and someone help me move this fuckin' thing!" Vicky yelled.
I could hear a distant explosion from down the street. Alucard must be keeping Siberian pretty busy.
Then the distinctive whine of a Tinkertech motorcycle reached my ears. Clockblocker perked up and waved out the front window as Armsmaster pulled out in front of it. "Hey, boss! Glad you could join the party!"
Armsmaster turned slightly, hit something on the handlebars of his bike, and a pair of grappling hooks fired from the back. They dug into the bus' front, and Armsmaster revved the engine on his bike. The combined efforts of Vicky, Aegis, and Armsmaster's bike helped make the bus slide forward much more quickly. Though not quite as quickly as when I was in my dragon shape.
I gave Amy a nod. "Take care of her."
Amy nodded back, her eyes filled with worry. "You take care of yourself."
I teleported out of the bus, then literally flew down the street. I managed to catch sight of Alucard, my vampiric friend still keeping up the deadly dance with the Siberian. At some point, she had dropped Meridia's arms in favor of using an entire car as a weapon, slamming it down on the pavement repeatedly, forcing him to dodge. I gave her a slash across the back with the Void Sword, and she turned to try and retaliate, the pavement cracking as she slammed her invulnerable makeshift club down.
I'd already gone past her though, grabbed Alucard, and moved further up the street.
He gave me a grimace. "I am uncertain how to harm this one. Even the Crissaegrim cannot pierce her flesh."
I nodded. "I'll buy us time. Get to Armsmaster."
He gave me the faintest nod, then he pulled me to the ground. An instant later, the Siberian's car went sailing over my head. I floated back to my feet. He looked slightly embarrassed, but nodded, vanishing in a swirl of flame.
I looked at the approaching Siberian, and manifested the Void Sword once more. "Round two, bitch." I just had to buy a few minutes. Maybe I couldn't take her out quickly, but I could make her work for it.
Still, the advantage was hers. She could take my head off. I wasn't sure I could survive that. I wasn't in any mood to find out, either. We seemed to be stalemated, but it was an unstable stalemate at best. She just had too many advantages at the moment.
Siberian seemed to realize it, too. A slight smirk was on her lips as she strode toward me confidently. She dashed toward me in a blur, the pavement cracking beneath her invulnerable feet. I flowed backward, slashing with the Void Sword at her extended arm, doing everything I could to keep out of her reach.
If I could keep this up long enough, I could probably win. The problem was....I could feel the energy from that fragment powering the Siberian, and it would take hours for me to drain it dry. And she likely only needed one good hit to bring me down. There was way too much resting on luck, here.
Siberian picked up a van by the rear bumper and slammed it down on me. Well, on my position. I flowed my way backward and only got clipped by the front bumper, which was enough to bounce me off the road and bounding helplessly some distance. I managed to take on my mist form just before I would have otherwise hit a wall, and what would have been a painful impact just became a lot of discomfort.
I reformed, and Siberian stalked toward me, van in hand like an oversized club. It didn't even look dented. Fucking cheating powers bullshit. Well, at least she was coming at me and not one of the more fragile people near the bus she was going after. Maybe I could lure her.
I flowed out of the way as Siberian slammed the van down, powdering concrete before the blow. I took some distance, ignited my claws and threw a few fireballs at her, more out of experimentation than anything, trying to see if they would bother her.
Naturally, the Siberian weathered the hit without blinking. Even the van in her hands was completely undamaged. The bitch actually looked amused.
I sighed. "Well, worth a shot."
Siberian simply shrugged a little. She walked toward me, then threw the van at me. I teleported upward, out of its path, and it smashed and rolled its way across the street, smashing into a storefront. I half expected the van to explode, but...nope. No explosion. It did make a rather impressive crash at the back of the store, though.
I dodged back as Siberian lunged for me, the Void Sword slashing through her body. She was fast. And growing faster, rage filling her face. She wasn't skilled in her attacks, but it really didn't matter. With the way she was moving, all I had to do was slip once and she'd get me.
Siberian ripped a no parking sign out of the street and swung it at me. I flashed into mist for an instant, letting it pass through me, then striking with my sword when she was off balance.
I had only an instant to realize I'd made a mistake.
Even as she turned, Siberian slammed her foot down on the pavement. The ground dropped out from beneath me, and we both fell into the sewers below. I managed to stop myself before splashing into a pool of something unpleasant, hovering just above the river of filth. But that gave Siberian the chance to hit me on the side of the head with the sign, sending me reeling and crashing into a slime-covered wall.
Oh, god, it stinks even more up close.
I teleported away just before she could hit me with a follow-up strike, the sign burying itself into the sewer wall. The Siberian stood on top of the foul water, walking my way without the slightest care. And my head was ringing, my eyesight blurry, with that rather painful hit. I'm pretty sure she broke my neck, judging from the way it felt as the injury healed itself.
Fine. I'll cheat. Since she so happily cheats too.
On her next lunge toward me, I slid to the side and opened a Shadow Portal. She had just enough time to look startled before she plunged into it. I closed it behind her. Let's see how she likes falling forever in a random place in the middle of nothingness. That's for munching on my arm, you fucking bitch.
I took deep breaths, slowly coming down from the excitement of the fight. I'd just gone toe-to-toe with the Siberian and won. The one who managed to take on Alexandria and make the world's most famous Brute feel it.
Whoa. And I'm feeling lightheaded. Or that could be the world spinning around from the whack she gave me. Ow.
I cleared my throat. "Siberian handled. Not dead, but she's in my plane." I took in deep breaths of the air, shuddering a bit. Adrenaline rush. Or...whatever equivalent my undead body had. Though I certainly did not appreciate the smell down here. Whatever, I felt energized, a lot like right after I'd stabbed the Simurgh's core with the Void Sword. Though, thankfully, to a lesser degree. Still, I felt like I could take on the world.
I waited a moment, then frowned. "Hello? Anyone copy? Alucard? Armsmaster? Vicky?"
With silence being my answer, took off my helmet. Well, tried. The damn thing was smashed in on the side. With a growl, I dissolved it, returning it to my reserves of blood, then felt around the earpiece. When I took it out, I discovered it was in three pieces.
Wait. Four. I winced as I pulled another bit out of my ear. Ow. Hadn't noticed with my head ringing, and all that.
I turned and moved to get back to the hole in the sewers we made when we crashed down here. Had to try and get in contact with the others. Hopefully we could get everything in order, finish off the rest of the fucking Nine.
And that's when a striped fist burst through my chest.
I looked down at it dumbly. That is not supposed to be there. Most definitely not supposed to be there. Huh. Weird. It doesn't even hurt that much.
The hand was ripped out, and I was pushed into the filth-filled water. Gross.
Oh. And there's the pain. Strange, it still doesn't hurt that much. I mean, it hurt, but I thought it would hurt a lot more than this. You'd think a big hole in the chest would be agonizing, but it was more...well, yeah, agonizing, but also fucking annoying.
Also...someone finally managed to make me just stop giving the slightest shit.
The Siberian's bare foot came near my head. Lifted. I knew she was about to stomp down and try to end me. I flashed into mist and channeled every emotion I had into the Void.
My mist turned icy. Frost build on the sewer walls. The Siberian looked startled as I leeched energy from her, refilling my own strength. Then I felt myself weakening again as she did....something, tearing at the substance of my mist, so I teleported away and reformed my body, Void Sword in hand. The pain was gone, and I tilted my head slightly.
"You're a fucking pain." I ground out. "What does it take to put you out of commission? A fucking Death Star?" How the hell had she gotten out of the Shadow Plane? Fucking soulless bitch. Whatever that means.
Siberian's eyes narrowed.
In a blink, she was coming right at me, faster than before, not bothering to throw a punch at all, merely charging forward. I teleported behind her an instant before impact, and she plowed right through the nearest sewer wall without resistance. The sewer began to groan and creak alarmingly, so I sought for space above and teleported up.
Yeah, I still didn't want to be stuck in a tight space. Especially with the fucking Siberian after me.
I found myself on the street once more, the pavement cracking and groaning beneath me as the damage we'd done showed. I let my grip on the Void vanish for a moment, gently feeling my chest. My armor had been completely destroyed by the hit, and I grimaced as I forced my blood to flow out and fix the damage. Might not stop a hit from Siberian, but anything else, it would help.
And....that was an odd looking fog. Red mist was rolling toward me. Fucking hell, could this day get an....no, no, no, do not finish that thought! Yes it can!
If my damn earpiece wasn't wrecked, I'd be able to know what the fuck was going on.
Siberian passed through the pavement in front of me. I lifted the Void Sword, readying myself for her lunge.
But she didn't lunge. She dusted herself off, glared at me, and walked away, her nude figure slowly obscured by the thickening red fog. I took a moment to gather myself, breathing heavily as my fingers tightened on the blade in my hands.
I wasn't likely to win another clash like that. Not with how much she could shrug off. So why the hell did she break off?
...
And that mist really stinks. I lifted myself off the ground and flew upwards, reaching high above the tallest skyscraper in the city. I hovered above it all, and a sinking feeling grew in my gut as I saw the mist flowing through the streets and spreading with unnatural ease. Bonesaw's work, it had to be.
But what was it?
....and I really needed a shower. I stank worse than the damn mist did.
Wait a sec.
I shifted into mist, then called upon my hellfire. I could feel the extreme heat flowing through me, along with the hatred that made it up, searing the...ugh, stuff I'd fallen into. Then I teleported some distance away and reformed myself.
Well, my claws were out, burning on my hands, but I felt clean, at least. That red mist still stinks badly, though.
Still wanted a shower, but first, I needed to rejoin the others. And I could only hope we could figure out how to fix this complete mess.
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Edits: Added a few more details. Touching up is an ongoing process.
Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
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Fuck fuck fuck. Well, the good news was that the Void Sword helped sate my hunger, energizing me every time I struck the Siberian. I could feel an immense amount of energy through it, and with every stroke of the blade, enough of it flowed to me to keep me in top condition. That's despite the fact she already had ripped off my own arm and bit a chunk out of it.
Good thing I can heal, indeed. I was on my third right arm, now. That's kinda messed up.
The bad news was that Siberian didn't seem to give the slightest fuck about how many times I sliced through her. My sword could pass through her, but it didn't slow her down, didn't hurt her visibly, and didn't stop her from countering me. She was astonishingly fast, though clearly inexperienced when it came to actual fighting. I guess when you're invincible, you never have to learn how to really fight. Just plow through the opposition.
"Assistance is enroute." Armsmaster's voice came over the earpiece. I wanted to take a look at the bus, but I simply couldn't afford to take my eyes off Siberian for an instant.
"Don't worry about me! Just get those people out of here!" I yelled. Siberian took advantage of my distraction and slammed into me, sending me flying through the air. I gave a flap of my wings and righted myself in the air, slamming my feet up against a wall. I gave Siberian a feral smile as I stood there on the wall, as if it was the ground, and delved into Dracul's memories once more.
My will is the storm.
I gathered lightning in my fingers and cast it at the Siberian, striking the invincible woman with a blinding flash. At least I hoped it was. I teleported over her, hovering high in the air, and stayed silent, manifesting the Void Sword.
She looked around for a moment, then turned toward where I could see Alucard, Vicky, and Aegis all pushing the bus, now ignoring the Endbringer shelter. They were making more progress than they had been before I showed up, maybe I'd ripped something loose earlier. Maybe it was just the desperation of seeing the invincible serial killer stepping slowly, casually toward them.
Meridia dropped down in front of the Siberian. The striped woman paused, tilting her head. I imagined she looked amused.
The succubus stared at the serial killer. I could imagine what she was doing, trying to look as alluring as possible while wearing a suit of platemail....and it was working. If she ever took on a job as a model of any kind she'd sell anything.
Siberian didn't seem to care, though, and lifted a fist.
I made my objection to that clear as I teleported behind her, driving the Void Sword through her body with one hand and attempting to electrocute her with the other.
The Siberian stiffened, but didn't seemed to be all that annoyed. Even as she began to turn to face me, though, Meridia made her move. She grabbed the Siberian's cheeks and kissed the serial killer.
Wait, what?
Even the Siberian seemed to be taken aback for a moment. Then her body relaxed, giving me just another moment with the Void Sword draining her of energy.
Then the Siberian moved. Meridia fell to the ground with a scream as the Siberian ripped both her arms away. I was forced to dart back as the Siberian nearly took my head off with a swipe, using Meridia's arms as weapons. I slashed at her as she advanced on me, the pace and movement of her attacks speeding up as I was forced to keep distance between us.
Fireballs smacked into the Siberian's side. Alucard stood on the sidewalk, Crissaegrim in hand, his blade covered in frost. The Siberian lunged at him, and he vanished in a swirl of flames a little distance away. He ducked as the Siberian struck at his face, moving with extraordinary speed and precision, the Siberian failing to hit him by inches. She seemed determined to beat the vampire to death with Meridia's arms, and he was making that very difficult indeed.
As the Siberian chased after him, I went to Meridia and crouched at her side. Meridia's face was a mask of pain, and she struggled to speak. "I am...sorry, my lady. I failed you. The striped one...No, no soul, my lady. I tried to take her soul, but she has none."
Great, just great. Like that's much help right now! How can I use that? What the hell does a lack of a soul mean?
Get a grip, Taylor. Meridia's going to die on you! I gently put my fingers to her lips. "Don't try to talk." Carefully, gently, I picked her up and carried her over to the bus, keenly aware of her rich blood running from the hideous wounds from the remnants of her shoulders.
Fuck fuck fuck! Why couldn't everyone heal like me?
I got to the bus. Vicky and Aegis were pushing it, inch by inch along the road, the damn thing squealing horribly. Amy took one look at us, and her eyes widened. She came out to me and helped me carry my wounded servant inside. Curious, and horrified looks came our way as the frightened civilians stared at us. Cherry looked at Meridia with dull shock, while Clockblocker made a coughing sound.
Amy gently touched Meridia's face, then she looked at me. "This is bad. She's lost a lot of blood, her heart's weakening." With a look of concentration, Amy formed a pair of black plates in the palms of her hands and put them over the hideous wounds. At my expression, she spoke softly. "I can't seal the injury perfectly. Just buy time. If she doesn't get a lot of blood to replace what she lost..."
Fuck. I looked down at Meridia, an idea trickling in from the back of my head. One I didn't like much, but...
Damn it. Demon or not, Meridia deserved better.
I knelt over Meridia, keenly aware of the eyes on us. I whispered softly. "Meridia, I am going to give you my blood. I want you to live. You know the consequences?"
Meridia's voice was weak, but she nodded faintly. "I...would be honored...."
I called upon the Shadow Whip. Carefully, using my body to block the direct line of sight for most of the passengers, I used it to feed her a mouthful of my blood. She swallowed nearly reflexively. I gave Amy a nod and gestured to the plate covering the stump of Meridia's right arm. Amy pulled it away, and I used my control over my own blood to press more of mine into Meridia's body. I could feel my reserves draining as I did, my hunger growing.
I felt a growl grow deep in my throat. I knew exactly how I was going to feed myself again.
Meridia's breathing steadied and slowed somewhat. Maybe as a demon, she could handle things a bit better. Or maybe my vampirism made no damn sense. I got to my feet, looked around the bus and cleared my throat. "I know everyone's had a really, really bad day. Know this. This is going to be the Nine's last day."
A few hesitant smiles were sent my way.
Clockblocker gave me a clap. "Not the best speech I've ever heard, but I love it anyway." Then he coughed and held his side, where the blood soaked through his costume. "Now that was a bad idea."
"Quit yapping in there and someone help me move this fuckin' thing!" Vicky yelled.
I could hear a distant explosion from down the street. Alucard must be keeping Siberian pretty busy.
Then the distinctive whine of a Tinkertech motorcycle reached my ears. Clockblocker perked up and waved out the front window as Armsmaster pulled out in front of it. "Hey, boss! Glad you could join the party!"
Armsmaster turned slightly, hit something on the handlebars of his bike, and a pair of grappling hooks fired from the back. They dug into the bus' front, and Armsmaster revved the engine on his bike. The combined efforts of Vicky, Aegis, and Armsmaster's bike helped make the bus slide forward much more quickly. Though not quite as quickly as when I was in my dragon shape.
I gave Amy a nod. "Take care of her."
Amy nodded back, her eyes filled with worry. "You take care of yourself."
I teleported out of the bus, then literally flew down the street. I managed to catch sight of Alucard, my vampiric friend still keeping up the deadly dance with the Siberian. At some point, she had dropped Meridia's arms in favor of using an entire car as a weapon, slamming it down on the pavement repeatedly, forcing him to dodge. I gave her a slash across the back with the Void Sword, and she turned to try and retaliate, the pavement cracking as she slammed her invulnerable makeshift club down.
I'd already gone past her though, grabbed Alucard, and moved further up the street.
He gave me a grimace. "I am uncertain how to harm this one. Even the Crissaegrim cannot pierce her flesh."
I nodded. "I'll buy us time. Get to Armsmaster."
He gave me the faintest nod, then he pulled me to the ground. An instant later, the Siberian's car went sailing over my head. I floated back to my feet. He looked slightly embarrassed, but nodded, vanishing in a swirl of flame.
I looked at the approaching Siberian, and manifested the Void Sword once more. "Round two, bitch." I just had to buy a few minutes. Maybe I couldn't take her out quickly, but I could make her work for it.
Still, the advantage was hers. She could take my head off. I wasn't sure I could survive that. I wasn't in any mood to find out, either. We seemed to be stalemated, but it was an unstable stalemate at best. She just had too many advantages at the moment.
Siberian seemed to realize it, too. A slight smirk was on her lips as she strode toward me confidently. She dashed toward me in a blur, the pavement cracking beneath her invulnerable feet. I flowed backward, slashing with the Void Sword at her extended arm, doing everything I could to keep out of her reach.
If I could keep this up long enough, I could probably win. The problem was....I could feel the energy from that fragment powering the Siberian, and it would take hours for me to drain it dry. And she likely only needed one good hit to bring me down. There was way too much resting on luck, here.
Siberian picked up a van by the rear bumper and slammed it down on me. Well, on my position. I flowed my way backward and only got clipped by the front bumper, which was enough to bounce me off the road and bounding helplessly some distance. I managed to take on my mist form just before I would have otherwise hit a wall, and what would have been a painful impact just became a lot of discomfort.
I reformed, and Siberian stalked toward me, van in hand like an oversized club. It didn't even look dented. Fucking cheating powers bullshit. Well, at least she was coming at me and not one of the more fragile people near the bus she was going after. Maybe I could lure her.
I flowed out of the way as Siberian slammed the van down, powdering concrete before the blow. I took some distance, ignited my claws and threw a few fireballs at her, more out of experimentation than anything, trying to see if they would bother her.
Naturally, the Siberian weathered the hit without blinking. Even the van in her hands was completely undamaged. The bitch actually looked amused.
I sighed. "Well, worth a shot."
Siberian simply shrugged a little. She walked toward me, then threw the van at me. I teleported upward, out of its path, and it smashed and rolled its way across the street, smashing into a storefront. I half expected the van to explode, but...nope. No explosion. It did make a rather impressive crash at the back of the store, though.
I dodged back as Siberian lunged for me, the Void Sword slashing through her body. She was fast. And growing faster, rage filling her face. She wasn't skilled in her attacks, but it really didn't matter. With the way she was moving, all I had to do was slip once and she'd get me.
Siberian ripped a no parking sign out of the street and swung it at me. I flashed into mist for an instant, letting it pass through me, then striking with my sword when she was off balance.
I had only an instant to realize I'd made a mistake.
Even as she turned, Siberian slammed her foot down on the pavement. The ground dropped out from beneath me, and we both fell into the sewers below. I managed to stop myself before splashing into a pool of something unpleasant, hovering just above the river of filth. But that gave Siberian the chance to hit me on the side of the head with the sign, sending me reeling and crashing into a slime-covered wall.
Oh, god, it stinks even more up close.
I teleported away just before she could hit me with a follow-up strike, the sign burying itself into the sewer wall. The Siberian stood on top of the foul water, walking my way without the slightest care. And my head was ringing, my eyesight blurry, with that rather painful hit. I'm pretty sure she broke my neck, judging from the way it felt as the injury healed itself.
Fine. I'll cheat. Since she so happily cheats too.
On her next lunge toward me, I slid to the side and opened a Shadow Portal. She had just enough time to look startled before she plunged into it. I closed it behind her. Let's see how she likes falling forever in a random place in the middle of nothingness. That's for munching on my arm, you fucking bitch.
I took deep breaths, slowly coming down from the excitement of the fight. I'd just gone toe-to-toe with the Siberian and won. The one who managed to take on Alexandria and make the world's most famous Brute feel it.
Whoa. And I'm feeling lightheaded. Or that could be the world spinning around from the whack she gave me. Ow.
I cleared my throat. "Siberian handled. Not dead, but she's in my plane." I took in deep breaths of the air, shuddering a bit. Adrenaline rush. Or...whatever equivalent my undead body had. Though I certainly did not appreciate the smell down here. Whatever, I felt energized, a lot like right after I'd stabbed the Simurgh's core with the Void Sword. Though, thankfully, to a lesser degree. Still, I felt like I could take on the world.
I waited a moment, then frowned. "Hello? Anyone copy? Alucard? Armsmaster? Vicky?"
With silence being my answer, took off my helmet. Well, tried. The damn thing was smashed in on the side. With a growl, I dissolved it, returning it to my reserves of blood, then felt around the earpiece. When I took it out, I discovered it was in three pieces.
Wait. Four. I winced as I pulled another bit out of my ear. Ow. Hadn't noticed with my head ringing, and all that.
I turned and moved to get back to the hole in the sewers we made when we crashed down here. Had to try and get in contact with the others. Hopefully we could get everything in order, finish off the rest of the fucking Nine.
And that's when a striped fist burst through my chest.
I looked down at it dumbly. That is not supposed to be there. Most definitely not supposed to be there. Huh. Weird. It doesn't even hurt that much.
The hand was ripped out, and I was pushed into the filth-filled water. Gross.
Oh. And there's the pain. Strange, it still doesn't hurt that much. I mean, it hurt, but I thought it would hurt a lot more than this. You'd think a big hole in the chest would be agonizing, but it was more...well, yeah, agonizing, but also fucking annoying.
Also...someone finally managed to make me just stop giving the slightest shit.
The Siberian's bare foot came near my head. Lifted. I knew she was about to stomp down and try to end me. I flashed into mist and channeled every emotion I had into the Void.
My mist turned icy. Frost build on the sewer walls. The Siberian looked startled as I leeched energy from her, refilling my own strength. Then I felt myself weakening again as she did....something, tearing at the substance of my mist, so I teleported away and reformed my body, Void Sword in hand. The pain was gone, and I tilted my head slightly.
"You're a fucking pain." I ground out. "What does it take to put you out of commission? A fucking Death Star?" How the hell had she gotten out of the Shadow Plane? Fucking soulless bitch. Whatever that means.
Siberian's eyes narrowed.
In a blink, she was coming right at me, faster than before, not bothering to throw a punch at all, merely charging forward. I teleported behind her an instant before impact, and she plowed right through the nearest sewer wall without resistance. The sewer began to groan and creak alarmingly, so I sought for space above and teleported up.
Yeah, I still didn't want to be stuck in a tight space. Especially with the fucking Siberian after me.
I found myself on the street once more, the pavement cracking and groaning beneath me as the damage we'd done showed. I let my grip on the Void vanish for a moment, gently feeling my chest. My armor had been completely destroyed by the hit, and I grimaced as I forced my blood to flow out and fix the damage. Might not stop a hit from Siberian, but anything else, it would help.
And....that was an odd looking fog. Red mist was rolling toward me. Fucking hell, could this day get an....no, no, no, do not finish that thought! Yes it can!
If my damn earpiece wasn't wrecked, I'd be able to know what the fuck was going on.
Siberian passed through the pavement in front of me. I lifted the Void Sword, readying myself for her lunge.
But she didn't lunge. She dusted herself off, glared at me, and walked away, her nude figure slowly obscured by the thickening red fog. I took a moment to gather myself, breathing heavily as my fingers tightened on the blade in my hands.
I wasn't likely to win another clash like that. Not with how much she could shrug off. So why the hell did she break off?
...
And that mist really stinks. I lifted myself off the ground and flew upwards, reaching high above the tallest skyscraper in the city. I hovered above it all, and a sinking feeling grew in my gut as I saw the mist flowing through the streets and spreading with unnatural ease. Bonesaw's work, it had to be.
But what was it?
....and I really needed a shower. I stank worse than the damn mist did.
Wait a sec.
I shifted into mist, then called upon my hellfire. I could feel the extreme heat flowing through me, along with the hatred that made it up, searing the...ugh, stuff I'd fallen into. Then I teleported some distance away and reformed myself.
Well, my claws were out, burning on my hands, but I felt clean, at least. That red mist still stinks badly, though.
Still wanted a shower, but first, I needed to rejoin the others. And I could only hope we could figure out how to fix this complete mess.
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Edits: Added a few more details. Touching up is an ongoing process.
Family 6.9
SirWill
Know what you're doing yet?
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A/N: Yes, yes, I know. Yet another revised chapter. Sorry.
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Endbringer Shelter 917-A. It wasn't the same one the bus had been headed toward before I got sidetracked by the Siberian, but that didn't matter much. The shelters were equipped to about the same degree, so it would still be a good place to settle everyone down and tend to the wounded. I'd hoped I'd never have to step inside one of these. Before my resurrection, it was because I didn't want to have to sit things out while an Endbringer went and trashed my home.
Nowadays, it was simply because the thing was underground, and built very hardy. As a result, it was tight, and cramped, and I was keenly aware of the dirt above me. It wasn't quite as bad as, say, an elevator would be, but I did not like tight spaces. Least I'd find myself inside a corridor rather than an actual box, but....yeah. Issues.
Still, I had to go in. I found the bus resting outside, enshrouded by the red fog. The door was sealed shut, but that wasn't much of an obstacle to me. I teleported past the door...and came face to edge with a very sharp sword that was on fire. Alucard looked at me for a moment, then withdrew the blade.
"My apologies." He spoke. "The mist seems to affect the minds of mortals, they cannot recognize each other. Or us. Amara and I are unaffected, as are the ones wearing the amulets of Light, so I am standing guard. Amara is attempting to help the wounded, as much as she can. The others are deeper within. Did you manage to slay the striped one?"
I shook my head and grimaced. "No. I could hurt her with the Void Sword, drain that thing giving her power, but I'd have to fight her for another hour at least. Meridia tried to take her soul, but apparently, she doesn't have one. Considering she's one of the fucking Nine, I'm not that surprised, but....fuck." I smacked my fist into the wall. "Even tried dropping her in the Shadow Plane. She came back and punched through my body."
Alucard was stock-still for a moment. "No soul? Are you certain that is what she said?"
I nodded. "That's what she said. While bleeding everywhere..." I took a deep breath. "I gave her my blood. She was going to die otherwise."
He stilled, and then his expression darkened. "That explains the change in her scent." Gently, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I understand your reasons, Taylor. But to turn a demon into a vampire is...unpredictable. We will have to watch her carefully, when she rises."
I sighed. "Yeah, well...Meridia deserves better. She's been loyal and willing to learn this whole time. She saw I couldn't just take out the Siberian quickly, but did what she could to try and stop her anyway."
He looked at me, his yellow eyes filled with concern, but he nodded after a moment's consideration. "We will have to deal with the situation, then. As for the striped one..." He folded his fingers, his gaze distant. "To have no soul would mean she has no mind. This 'Siberian' would be an automaton, with no more will than an empty bucket."
I shook my head. "She definitely responded when Meridia kissed her. And then she tore Meridia's fucking arms off." I growled a little, seeing the moment again in my mind's eye. Nobody hurt someone I cared about.
He thought deeply for a moment, then muttered something. He paced back and forth, his coat swishing a bit over the ground. "To respond, and yet to be immune to the drain of a succubus...a mind with no soul?" He looked at me intently. "The Void Sword drained her regardless, aye?"
I nodded, feeling confused. "Yeah. Why is this relevant, Alucard? She's stupidly invulnerable to Meridia, just like...well, everything else that's been thrown at her over the years."
Alucard scowled. "Sometimes I forget that which is common knowledge upon my world is not common knowledge here. Minds build souls, and souls build minds. They are interconnected. The souls of simple minds are simple, as well. Just as the mind of an infant is a simple thing, so too is the soul of one. The same goes for certain other things...a river, a burning mountain, the world itself. The souls of animals are more complicated, more defined, than the souls of such things, and the soul of an adult person is more complicated still. One cannot have a mind as complicated as a human and yet have no soul. To say that this is possible would be like...having blood with no water in it. With no water, blood ceases to be blood. With no soul, a complex mind ceases to be a complex mind. It breaks down, becomes fragmented, and the person loses all they are. What grows in its place is a new soul, with but the faintest memories if before the last one was devoured...that is, if the person lives through the pain of it at all."
I clenched my teeth. "So...what?"
Alucard smiled faintly. "That this Siberian responded to both Meridia and my father's blade, means she has a mind, and therefore a soul. Simply that she has managed a separation between the two. Upon my world, it was done by a few, desperate to become undead without being beholden to the Lord of the Vampires." His smile grew broader. "What we are looking for is the equivalent of a phylactery. Some vessel in which she stored her soul, and thus granted her power beyond that which she could have otherwise. The Siberian is a phantom, bound to an object. That is why she escaped from the Shadow Plane, she simply resummoned herself from her vessel. Find the object and destroy it, and we shall destroy her."
I looked at him dubiously and crossed my arms. "Powers don't work the same way as magic did, Alucard."
He nodded. "Indeed, but it is a starting point. To end the Siberian, we need to find her soul, and destroy its vessel. Only then will she fall." His lip quirked. "Unless you believe you can battle her for another few hours without making a mistake, that is our best option."
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I was mulling that over as I went further inside the shelter. I wanted to see how everyone was before I went back on the attack. And to get in contact with the good guys, because the last thing I needed was for one of the heroes to hit me over the head out there while I hunted what remained of the Nine.
And then I nearly ran into Armsmaster.
"State your name!" Armsmaster barked, holding himself at the ready. His halberd was in hand, pointed directly at me, his broad shoulders nearly filling the doorframe.
I blinked and lifted my hands. "Scarlet Dragon. You know me, Armsmaster."
He shifted slightly, a few servos in his feet whirring as he did. "How did we first meet?"
I felt my irritation grow. "When you accused me of being an imposter and I smacked you in the face with a whip made of my own blood." I caught myself, sighed and shook my head. "Sorry about that."
Slowly, he lowered the weapon, then he tapped the side of his helmet. "Scarlet, welcome back. I was worried when your transmitter stopped responding." He said curtly.
I shook my head. "Siberian broke it. She just...left, though. We couldn't kill each other. What the hell was that all about?"
His lips turned to a frown as he looked down at his halberd. "I've had to program my heads-up-display to label everyone I look at, but I can't even find identities out from the images from the files because I can't recognize them. It's this mist, some kind of biological agent. Definitely Bonesaw's work. As of now, the city's under quarantine. We can't risk anyone leaving the city while carrying this infection." He grimaced. "She doesn't tend to make non-lethal measures. Some of the Wards seem immune...I think it's the amulets. I'd take one myself, but they need it more." His grimace turned into an outright scowl. "It's the only thing keeping....keeping...that girl alive, right now."
I blinked. "Great. That's just great." How the hell am I supposed to fight a freaking cloud? If I made it rain, this stuff might get pulled out of the air, but it'd just flow down and infect the sewers and boil up again later. Or get spread around by the storm I built. Least the amulets could help, but there wasn't enough to help everybody.
He nodded behind him. "The Wards are inside. Your servant is resting, as is her daughter." He tilted his head slightly. "Something is strange, there... I feel like I should know her. But I don't. I hope the damage this mist causes can be fixed."
I grimaced. "Me too. It'll have to wait."
I went inside, followed the scent of blood, and found Amy sitting with Vicky, Aegis, and Gallant in a concrete room. Cherry was sitting there with the same older man as before, gently dabbing his bleeding forehead with a cloth. She gave me a hesitant smile. Meridia's head was in Amy's lap, while Vicky was gently tending to the stump of Gallant's left arm. The teen hissed and winced as Vicky dabbed a cloth over the sealed wound, the smell of disinfectant strong in the air. Clockblocker was with Vista, and thankfully, she was looking better, though still unconscious. They hadn't yet taken the spear of glass from her chest.
Seriously, fuck the Nine. Nobody deserved this shit, but least of all Vista.
"What the hell is going on?" I spoke.
Amy looked up, her face filled with relief. "Meridia's in the middle of regeneration."
I looked at the still demoness, clenching my hand. "You sure?"
Amy nodded. "I'm sure. It's not easy to see, but she's going to be okay. Different, but okay."
Clockblocker gave me a wave, the amulet around his neck blazing brightly. "Hey demon-girl. Did you get the invincible bitch?"
I shook my head. "Sadly, no. She actually lives up to her reputation."
Vicky looked at me, then frowned a bit. "You sure that's Red? I can't tell."
My lip twitched. Oh, screw it. I smiled. "Still owe you a bucket of ice cream."
Vicky visibly relaxed a bit. "All right, got it. Jeez, this shit's weird. I can remember doing stuff with people, but I can't recognize anybody I did them with. Too bad you haven't gotten her." A slight smile was on her face, her voice teasing. "You slipping a bit?"
I chuckled. "Nah. Some people just cheat more than me."
Gallant spoke softly, his voice weak and filled with pain. "I'm sure we can figure something out. At least we know who we are."
Amy spoke, her voice filled with conviction. "Vicky, you should give her your earpiece. Until we figure out how to fix this thing Bonesaw's done, I don't think you're going to be much good out there."
Vicky frowned, biting her lip in consideration, before she nodded. "Right. That...makes sense. I damn well hope this is the right thing, though, because I hate this memory bullshit."
She pulled the earpiece out of her ear and tossed it to me. I caught it, reflexively wiped it, and put it in. "Check, check. Scarlet on Glory Girl's transmitter."
I heard Miss Militia answer. "We read you. Glad to have you back on the line."
Piggot's harsh voice hit next. "Everyone report in."
"Assault here. I'm...uh...in a park? Got a bit turned around. And this pretty lady here keeps hitting me."
A growl came over the line. "Battery here. At Knoxville park with Assault. Idiot took a dose of that red mist. I haven't been exposed, but he's out of it. We're heading to staging area A." A momentary pause, then Battery's voice sounded worried. "Best guess, though...that mist will hit the staging area in about half an hour. I'm trying to arrange an evacuation, but there's a thousand people here. We're not going to get everyone moving in time, and with this infection...I'm worried about maybe spreading this stuff elsewhere."
"Dauntless here. Team's injured from Shatterbird, and the mist is here. Miss Militia and I seem immune, and those amulets seem to be able to prevent it from infecting people. We're heading to the PRT building with the wounded team."
"Paladin here with Velocity. Mannequin's dead. He started spraying this stuff around in Brockton General. I'm fine, but Velocity doesn't recognize me. We're heading back to the PRT."
"Triumph here. I'm with the mayor and the city council. We're in Endbringer Shelter 376-B. Systems are running fine here, but we're trapped inside by the fog."
"Lady Photon here with Manpower, Laserdream and Shielder. We're moving civilians to evacuation point C."
"Brandish here with Flashbang. We're heading to Arcadia, managed to drive off Burnscar from downtown."
I cleared my throat. "Scarlet here with the injured Wards, Glory Girl, Armsmaster and my group, along with about forty civilians. Some of them are infected by the mist. Siberian's still active, despite my best efforts. I've got a theory as to how we can take the Siberian out permanently, but it's only a theory. Alucard and I think the Siberian may be a projection or like a hologram."
"Explain." Piggot demanded.
I grimaced a bit. "I couldn't kill her with my powers, so I tried to send her into my pocket dimension using my portals. She went in, I closed it, and about ten seconds later she was back and had punched a hole through my back. Pretty sure if it wasn't for my unique mix of powers, I'd be dead from it. There's no way she should have been able to get out of the dimension without my help, and yet she did. So..."
Piggot's voice was thoughtful. "If a projection went through a teleporter without the projector, or master generating it, the projection usually falls apart. Any idea who made it?"
I frowned. "That...I have no idea. At the moment, though, as bad as Siberian is, this mist is a bigger problem."
Amy spoke then, catching my attention, and it sounded echoed as I heard it both right next to me and over the radio line. "Am...Amara here. It's a prion cloud, simple proteins that take other proteins to make more of themselves. It's using the bacteria in the air to self-replicate more prions. From what I can tell, they're made to block the part of the brain that lets people recognize faces and features. You can see someone, but not recognize that they're your family. Or an enemy. Or the most famous person on the planet."
Piggot's voice was serious, her tone filled with contemplation. "You're certain of this?"
Amy's voice was a bit dry. "This is something I'm pretty good at. Fixing it, though...I'm not sure how. Prions aren't alive, they're hard to dismantle. Anyone infected is going to have it built up in their brains until it overwhelms the infrastructure and the people die. An antibiotic or antiviral agent won't do anything. You can't kill the prions with heat, acid, or even radiation. Paladin's amulets seem to work, but we haven't got enough of them. And while most prion diseases take years to do damage, this thing does it within minutes."
I frowned a little, a rather horrific idea coming up from the back of my head. "Think Bonesaw could undo this work?"
Amy looked at me with a frown. "Probably. I don't think she'll have anything set up and ready to go for that, though. At best, she'd immunize herself and the rest of the Nine."
I nodded with a grimace. "We'll see about that. I'm going to get her to fix this, whether she likes it or not."
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I stepped from the Shadow Portal above a house in the suburbs. I looked around, trying to figure out exactly where I was now. This prion cloud made things difficult, but I managed to orient myself.
I felt a chill as I realized where I was. I was right above Vicky and Amy's house.
Why the hell was Bonesaw here? Unless...they knew I was friends with Vicky. Oh god.
I flew downwards, hit the roof, then teleported inside Vicky's room, the Void Sword flashing into my hand. The mist existed here, but at such short ranges, I could see through it. It still made the house look like a twisted nightmarish parody of itself.
I smelled blood. I knew that scent intimately. I pushed open the door to Vicky's room and went through the house, following the smell of blood. I opened the door to the master bedroom and would have collapsed in horror, had I not had my blade in hand.
Bonesaw looked up at me, grinning and bouncing on her feet, her face and hands covered in blood. "Hi! Was expecting you, but not quite this fast. You're neat! How'd you track me this fast? No, wait, don't tell me. Teleporter?"
I ignored the question and looked at the horrid tableau before me. On the bed, Carol lay there, her chest cut open, and her internal organs were spread around the room. She was still alive, her eyes wide with horror. On the bedside table was Mark's head. He looked at me and blinked, his mouth moving in helpless horror, while wires and obviously-kludged Tinkertech were strewn around the room, hooked up to the pair.
Bonesaw grinned, flicking her blood-covered fingers a little as she gestured to Brandish. "You know, I heard about Panacea dying. I had wanted her for a big sister, but I suppose you can't always have what you want." She patted Carol's cheek, smearing blood on the paralyzed woman's skin. "So I thought I should make sure that the Dallons never lose each other again. You caught me just before I could put Flashbang's brain inside her. Still, imagine it. They would always be together, forever and ever." Her mad smile widened. "I was going to see if I could get Glory Girl here too. Brandish and Flashbang would never have to worry about losing their daughter, and she would never have to worry about losing her parents. Isn't that nice?"
I growled deeply, taking a step into the room. "I heard Brandish over the radio line. How?"
Bonesaw shrugged. "Rather easy, really. Got her hooked up by remote, had her take in the radio transmitter when the PRT dropped it off. Kept it going while I was getting through this." She tapped a something on what looked like a TV remote.
Carol spoke, her voice surprisingly level considering the horror and pain in her eyes. "Brandish here with Flashbang. We're heading to Arcadia, managed to drive off Burnscar from downtown."
Bonesaw grinned. "Had a few pre-programmed phrases ready. Been listening to your radio chatter all night. Was interesting. How'd you figure out Aunt Sibby?"
I grit my teeth. "Fix them. Now."
She tilted her head, her voice filled with seemingly honest confusion. "But I am fixing them. I'm making sure they'll never be alone ever again."
I lifted the Void Sword, the blade's effect on my emotions the only reason I hadn't lunged out madly already. "You put them back together just as they were, or you'll end up in worse shape than they are."
She looked over at Mark's body, lying in a corner of the room, dried blood circling around the stump of his neck. "That's going to be hard." Bonesaw spoke. "I mean, his body's been dead for about an hour now. I can fix that, but it's going to take a lot of effort." She smiled at me. "Of course, if you really want that, I can do it for you. But you'll have to give me something first."
I narrowed my eyes, my voice coming out in a growl. "Like I'm about to bargain with you."
Bonesaw simply smiled. "You kinda have to to get what you want. You can't kill me, because plagues will be released on my death. Try to force me, and I can just release a few anyway. Uncle Jack says it would be boring if I did that, but if I can't play, then there's no point in keeping them cooped up."
My voice darkened as I embraced the Void, pushing everything into it. The Void Sword was comfortably cold in my hand, helping me keep my mind focused. "What is it you want?"
She rocked back and forth on her feet, excitement on her blood-stained face. "Do you have any idea what you mean, here? We've had a lot of Case 53s around, and all of them are strange. Inhuman in various ways, like you. But you remember where you came from, and they don't. I want to know where they came from. I want to know if you sent them here. I want to know just how your powers work, because they shouldn't. Your passenger just shouldn't work."
Confusion must have shown on my face, because her smile widened. "Do you know anything about the Corona Pollentia? The Corona Gemma? The Protectorate doesn't talk about it much, but I've cut open more heads than anybody and poked around. Those who can trigger, but haven't, have a Pollentia. After the trigger, they also have a Gemma. Remove the Pollentia, and a person loses control over their powers, if they had it. Remove the Gemma, and a new Gemma forms with the powers being different. And worse, usually. Remove both, and they lose their powers."
I glared at her, knowing my fangs were at their full length. "Get to the fucking point."
"Language!" Bonesaw shook a finger at me, then held up a little blinking box. "I figured out how Hatchet Face's power worked, and how to replicate it. It's really helpful when I want to work on a Brute, you know. But it's not pinging on you at all. It pinged on me until I filtered myself out of it, but it doesn't touch you at all. You've got no Pollentia or Gemma, and yet you have powers. Why? Let me know why? Pretty please? Your power isn't like ours. I wanna see how they work! Let me see, please! I'll put them back together if you do! I'll put you back together perfectly, I swear!"
I fixed the girl with a hard, humorless stare. "No more bullshit. I'm not going to let you cut me open. You help them now, or I will make you do so."
Bonesaw frantically hit something on her remote control. I heard the slight sounds of clinking and clanking from the side. A spider-bot launched itself at me, and I cut it in half with the Void Sword. It fell to the ground, sparking and leaking fluids, a horrified human face looking at me from behind a protective covering.
Bonesaw frowned, a pout forming on her lips. "Aww, you killed Screamy! He just had two hundred years until retirement." She huffed as she kicked her feet. "You're just not a nice guest at all! Uncle Jack and Aunt Sibby don't like you, but I wanted you with us. You know how rare it is for anyone even close to my age to join up? And I wanted to see how your citizens are, too, they'd be neat. I could do a lot with their help!"
My voice was cold. "Like I'm going to give the slightest shit about what murderers think about me."
Bonesaw looked disappointed. "We're not just murderers. We're family! You could be with us. You don't have to be mean with us, we can help you too. I want to know how your powers work, and together, we could figure it out and do more with them. I'm willing to put Brandish and Flashbang back together, good as new, if you do! You don't have to be so mean, you know!"
I stepped up to the side of the bed, opposite from Bonesaw. "Compared to what I could be? This is me being nice. Last chance."
I heard the clanks of more of her spider-bots coming at me from behind. I turned and destroyed them with a blast of electricity from my free hand, sending them crashing into the hallway. A weight landed on my back as Bonesaw lunged, driving a syringe into my neck. I grabbed her and held her up.
She grinned at me maniacally, struggling a bit in my grip. "You don't want to hurt me. You do and your heart'll stop."
I let out a chuckle, my fangs showing. "You're about four months late. Now you're going to help me fix all the damage you've done."
Her feet kicked at me, her voice filled with desperation. "You'd be happier with us! Trust me! I'd be your little sister and we could have so much fun! Don't you get how good all these games are? I'm not going to help you stop them! You can't make me do what you want, you know. Uncle Jack's told me all about it, people don't have the right to tell me to do things I don't wanna do!"
That horrible idea grew more certain. It was the only way I could help Carol and Mark. I spoke, pity in my voice. "For what it's worth, kid? I'm sorry for this."
She looked puzzled. "Sorry for what?"
I shifted my body into blood and flowed into Bonesaw's mouth, nose, and eyes. I could feel her panic, her fear, as my mind overlaid her own. She...was fucked up, but still a twelve year old. I could feel her struggling as her body rolled along on the floor. She even had a backup brain striving to take back control from what I'd just done.
But my will was stronger, and my blood was in her veins. I was in her veins. I carefully pulled her body up to her feet, grimacing a bit as I looked around. I'd...forgotten how big things seemed to a twelve year old. More than that, though, I could feel Bonesaw's power. Ideas flooded my head. Her head. The horrible things I could do with her intuitive knowledge. It would be simple to make a plague to kill everything human on Earth.
And only slightly harder to build a virus that would spread a gene-therapy delivery system that could fix the messed-up folding proteins that created this prion cloud. It wouldn't fix the damage done, but it would be a vaccine and prevent more damage from accumulating. Maybe with Paladin's amulets, or Dragon's help, we could actually fix the problems made by the prions.
Too bad I didn't seem to have access to her memories. Then I'd know if she made more somewhere else, but right now, I had work to do. I could already feel my blood weakening Bonesaw's body. The upgrades she made to herself made it a lot more sturdy than it otherwise would be, but that wasn't much help compared to the strength of my vampiric blood.
I looked at Carol and Mark, their expressions filled with fear. "I'm sorry." I said, as sincerely as I could. "I'm going to do what I can. This...is going to be ugly." Carefully, I took Carol's earpiece, because mine was....wherever my stuff went when I shifted my body. I cleared my throat as I tapped it so I could transmit. "Check check. This is Scarlet, I have...control, over Bonesaw." And this was going to be awkward, because now I sounded like Bonesaw. Ugh.
"You have a Master power, too? Of course you do. What did you say when Velocity asked for you to join the Wards?" Piggot spoke, her voice level. I'd have almost preferred it if she sounded afraid. Instead, it seemed like...yeah, just coldly pissed off.
I felt sick to my stomach. Well, to Bonesaw's stomach. I hated this power. Seriously. "He didn't. The first member of the Protectorate I met was Armsmaster, and it didn't go well. Then I met him again when I dropped off Lung, who was with Neptune at the time." ...and that felt like a lifetime ago, now.
There was a moment of silence, then Piggot spoke again. "Most of us are locked down with the fog. What's the situation?"
I grimaced and shook my head, heading to the Dallon's bathroom to get a few supplies Bonesaw's power was telling me I could use to fix them. Though how dental floss, toothpaste, bleach and an electric toothbrush would help made no sense. "Brandish and Flashbang were worked on by Bonesaw...it's pretty bad. I'm going to use her expertise to try and fix the Dallons."
Amy's voice cut into the transmission. "How bad?"
I swallowed hard. "Very, very bad. I can fix it, but it's going to take a lot. I could use some help here. I'm going to need some help to do this and help cure this prion plague."
Amy sounded angry. "I'll get there in twenty minutes or so. Maybe faster."
I nodded to myself. "I've got maybe three hours at most like this. Bring whatever medical supplies you can grab, it'll make things easier and faster for fixing them. Worse, though, it looks like Bonesaw was listening in to our comms most of the night. We can only assume everything's compromised."
There was silence for a moment, then Piggot spoke. "Understood. We'll start the security countermeasures."
I tapped the earpiece to stop transmitting, though still listening, and got to work. The first thing was the virus. I could make that with some tap water, sugars, spit, a bowl and some tweezers. It shouldn't work, but apparently, Bonesaw was one of the bullshittiest Tinkers of bullshit Tinkers. Then...then I could take the hour or so I'd need to fix Carol and Mark properly.
Actually, I could do both. I grabbed Bonesaw's remote, knowing how it worked, and pressed a few buttons. I could feel her rage in the back of my head as I summoned more of her spider-bots from where they were stashed around the neighborhood. They'd get what I needed to make the vaccine while I worked on the Dallons.
Fuck the Nine.
They are beneath me.
Yeah, yeah, shut up.
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Blood manipulation: Self only, but extremely versatile. Basis of the Shadow Whip, Shadow Daggers, and other things.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Short-range teleportation: Draining, but not limited to line of sight.
Bat Travel: Turns into dozens of bats and back again. Rather confusing, but helpful for mobility.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as some capes, but up there. M1 Abrams out of gas? I'll just push them to the gas station.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance. Unlocked!
Flight: I believe I can touch the sky. Does it need any more description? Unlocked!
Possession: Turns into blood, flows into some poor bastard, controls them for a period (hours at most) and when they die they explode into chunky bits. The blood has a toxic effect, so anyone possessed is doomed. (Barring unusual biology.) Unlocked!
Fleshcrafting: Feeling a little vain? Want a whole new hair color, a bigger bust, shaplier hips, or claws to rend the flesh of your enemies? Subscribe to Vamp-New-You today! (Permits the vampire to alter their own flesh permanently at some cost to their blood. Does not permit changing of bone structure. Cannot be used on others.) Unlocked!
Mist Form: Transform into near-invulnerable mist. Has quite a few lethal and non-lethal applications. Unlocked!
Telekinesis: Manipulate objects at a distance through will alone. This is limited to line of sight, and is extremely limited compared to her physical strength. She can manipulate approximately thirty pounds at range to start with, and would improve with practice and imagination.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?! (Locked)
Shadow Portal: Opens a gate to the Plane of Shadow, where Castlevania resides. Shadow Portals can be made nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Plane of Shadow. Unlocked!
Dominate: (Not the soul-using thing) Control over others. Takes effort, and can only do so to a few at a time. Repeated and lengthy exposure, however, can make things last longer, until they are permanently enthralled. Can be resisted with willpower and can be no-selled by various techniques/powers.(Locked)
Bat Summon: Gather swarms of bats to do thy bidding. They will follow the will of the Lady of Darkness without hesitation. Not as flexible as the Queen Administrator shard. The awareness of each bat is basic, and commands must be given to the entire swarm at once. I'm the goddamn Batman. Unlocked!
Monstrous Form: Accesses a portion of the power available to the Scarlet Dragon's mightiest shape, while retaining the flexibility afforded by a humanoid form. However, it is clearly inhuman. Unlocked!
Void Magic: Basis of the Void Sword. Drains life from its victims, heals and invigorates the wielder, and brings about an absolute chill. Unlocked!
Chaos Magic: Control and manipulation of hellfire. Many can use it, but few can project it. Forms the Chaos Claws. Unlocked!
Storm Magic: Power over electricity and the storm. An excellent method of long-range attack, and quite painful to most.
Weather manipulation: Can control the weather to some degree, whether that is summoning or banishing clouds, or building up power to make a simple cloudy day into an actual storm. It cannot, however, bring warmth or cold on its own. She can't make a blizzard in the tropics or turn Antarctica into prime beachfront property. She can just make it sunny, cloudy, or rainy. Or snowy if the time of year's right.
Dragon Shape: The mightiest form of the Heir of Dracul. Becomes a massive red dragon, standing at thirty feet tall. Can access amplified versions of currently unlocked magic, as well as other powers while in the form. However, it is an immense strain to hold the shape for very long. And it is not exactly friendly-looking at first glance. Godzilla (or whatever epic music of your choice!) is highly recommended.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century.
Strength: Insanely high at full strength. Not as strong as Taylor's potential, but certainly enough to be highly dangerous to a well-trained human.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Durability: Begins low, becomes stronger and harder to injure.
Vampiric Healing: Heals perfectly as long as there is blood to fuel the repairs. Can be slowed by various means.
Grace. Allows limited floating, superhuman dodging ability, and balance.
Demonic Wings: Permits him to glide with feathery, though twisted, wings.
Mist form: Near invulnerable mist. No mere prison can hold thee. Unless they put in a fan to blow you back in.
Wolf form: I can run fast, I can track down my foes from the smallest drops of blood, I will never stop, never tire, and IS THAT BACON?!
Chaos Magic: Alucard's is not as strong as his father's, but his skill with it is extraordinary. He can use it to teleport short distances and throw fireballs, although it is limited by line of sight and distance. (The classic SotN Hellfire spell.)
Spectral Wolf: Similar to the wolf shape, however it is ethereal and impossible to injure. Alucard can use it to teleport from one location to another by sending the wolf forward, then replacing it. Or he can simply use it to scout and dissolve it.
Crissaegrim abilities: A wickedly dangerous blade Alucard forged with the materials of three legendary weapons. It permits him to enshroud it with both Void and Chaos magic, as well as being extremely lethal to both holy and unholy opponents.
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Unlike Dracul's counterpart power, he would arise in a century unless the process was sped along by blood. He would also arise in a more corpse-like state until he managed to feed.
Steel Crafting: Self only. Able to mold current avatar however she likes. Tends to prefer a dragon shape, as...well, she's Dragon.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Teleportation: Flashes out of existence in one place and reappears in another. Line of sight limited, but not distance-wise. Yes. This is overpowered. Limited to (naturally) light-speed maximum.
Light Form: Turns into a bright solid light construct. This is difficult to maintain, but difficult to injure..
Strength: DRAGON SMASH!
Durability: Anybody remember that scene in Superman Returns when the bullet bounces off his eye? No? Nobody? Well, it's kinda like that.
Healing: Can grant to self or others, and does not need an outside source. Wounds (or damage) heals rapidly.
Flight: I could touch the sky before I changed into a goddess. Now I just don't need to spend any effort!
Hard-Light constructs: Eat your heart out in jealousy, Green Lantern! My constructs don't get broken by lemonade!
Telekinesis: Use the Force, Luke. Stronger than Taylor's version. Not Ziz-strength, but it's up there.
Light Bridge: Opens a...uh, bridge to the Plane of Light. Think the MCU's version of the Bifrost. Can go from nearly anywhere on a Material Plane, but they must be in fixed places within the Light Plane.
Human Form: If/when she feels like trying out what a ice cream tastes like.
Light Magic: Heals and warms its users, and can be turned to be used offensively. Most effective against Dark Creatures, but still useful against other targets. Remember, the Lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi.
Heavenly Flame Magic: The opposite of Chaos Magic. Her white fire burns, but is formed from calmness, logic. It is a fire that illuminates, but can be destructive all the same.
Storm Magic: The point of commonality between Light and Darkness. Electricity is such a useful thing. Due to her original nature as a mechanical being, Dragon's control of it is extraordinarily precise.
Dragon Shape: For when someone or something big really, really needs to be stomped. Is this a copied power? No! It's a completely different kind of dragon!
Resurrection: If slain, turns dormant for a period of time before reviving in a weakened state. Longest possible period is a century. This is common for gods.
Vampire Killer: A simple hilt attached to a combat whip that can be slung out and controlled by an ingeniously designed retraction system. On the end of the hilt is a silver stake, perfect for killing vampires, werewolves, and lawyers. The weapon is specifically designed to kill creatures of the night, but works on anything quite well and is capable of channeling magic.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
Light Magic amulet: Allows its wearer to heal over time. Needs to be fueled by someone capable of putting magic into it, which is currently limited to Dragon and Madison. It doesn't permit Wolverine-style healing, but it lets short fights turn into long ones and wearing one overnight heals even most serious injuries. Can be sped up by forcing the magic to flow more quickly, but that drains the amulet which needs time and attention to recharge.
Seraphic Shoulders: Creates ghostly angelic wings for a few moments, allowing Madison to catch herself in the air or glide.
Heavenly Gauntlet: A black (I know, it clashes!) gauntlet that generates white fire, equal to that of the fires of Hell.
Cyclone Boots: Allows high-speed running, jumping, and as a bonus, permits its wearer to take long falls without breaking their legs. Yes, all she needs is a Portal Gun.
Silver Daggers: Small, easily palmable, and crafted for a nasty surprise attack. Yes, it can hurt a lot to suddenly have a knife in your throat, whether you're a werewolf or not.
Holy Water: Water that's been exposed to sunlight and had Light Magic channeled through it. Does nothing against most people, would really tick off Taylor and Alucard. When used with Light Magic channeled through its user, forms a light-shield to ward off attacks and really tick off vampires.
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Endbringer Shelter 917-A. It wasn't the same one the bus had been headed toward before I got sidetracked by the Siberian, but that didn't matter much. The shelters were equipped to about the same degree, so it would still be a good place to settle everyone down and tend to the wounded. I'd hoped I'd never have to step inside one of these. Before my resurrection, it was because I didn't want to have to sit things out while an Endbringer went and trashed my home.
Nowadays, it was simply because the thing was underground, and built very hardy. As a result, it was tight, and cramped, and I was keenly aware of the dirt above me. It wasn't quite as bad as, say, an elevator would be, but I did not like tight spaces. Least I'd find myself inside a corridor rather than an actual box, but....yeah. Issues.
Still, I had to go in. I found the bus resting outside, enshrouded by the red fog. The door was sealed shut, but that wasn't much of an obstacle to me. I teleported past the door...and came face to edge with a very sharp sword that was on fire. Alucard looked at me for a moment, then withdrew the blade.
"My apologies." He spoke. "The mist seems to affect the minds of mortals, they cannot recognize each other. Or us. Amara and I are unaffected, as are the ones wearing the amulets of Light, so I am standing guard. Amara is attempting to help the wounded, as much as she can. The others are deeper within. Did you manage to slay the striped one?"
I shook my head and grimaced. "No. I could hurt her with the Void Sword, drain that thing giving her power, but I'd have to fight her for another hour at least. Meridia tried to take her soul, but apparently, she doesn't have one. Considering she's one of the fucking Nine, I'm not that surprised, but....fuck." I smacked my fist into the wall. "Even tried dropping her in the Shadow Plane. She came back and punched through my body."
Alucard was stock-still for a moment. "No soul? Are you certain that is what she said?"
I nodded. "That's what she said. While bleeding everywhere..." I took a deep breath. "I gave her my blood. She was going to die otherwise."
He stilled, and then his expression darkened. "That explains the change in her scent." Gently, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I understand your reasons, Taylor. But to turn a demon into a vampire is...unpredictable. We will have to watch her carefully, when she rises."
I sighed. "Yeah, well...Meridia deserves better. She's been loyal and willing to learn this whole time. She saw I couldn't just take out the Siberian quickly, but did what she could to try and stop her anyway."
He looked at me, his yellow eyes filled with concern, but he nodded after a moment's consideration. "We will have to deal with the situation, then. As for the striped one..." He folded his fingers, his gaze distant. "To have no soul would mean she has no mind. This 'Siberian' would be an automaton, with no more will than an empty bucket."
I shook my head. "She definitely responded when Meridia kissed her. And then she tore Meridia's fucking arms off." I growled a little, seeing the moment again in my mind's eye. Nobody hurt someone I cared about.
He thought deeply for a moment, then muttered something. He paced back and forth, his coat swishing a bit over the ground. "To respond, and yet to be immune to the drain of a succubus...a mind with no soul?" He looked at me intently. "The Void Sword drained her regardless, aye?"
I nodded, feeling confused. "Yeah. Why is this relevant, Alucard? She's stupidly invulnerable to Meridia, just like...well, everything else that's been thrown at her over the years."
Alucard scowled. "Sometimes I forget that which is common knowledge upon my world is not common knowledge here. Minds build souls, and souls build minds. They are interconnected. The souls of simple minds are simple, as well. Just as the mind of an infant is a simple thing, so too is the soul of one. The same goes for certain other things...a river, a burning mountain, the world itself. The souls of animals are more complicated, more defined, than the souls of such things, and the soul of an adult person is more complicated still. One cannot have a mind as complicated as a human and yet have no soul. To say that this is possible would be like...having blood with no water in it. With no water, blood ceases to be blood. With no soul, a complex mind ceases to be a complex mind. It breaks down, becomes fragmented, and the person loses all they are. What grows in its place is a new soul, with but the faintest memories if before the last one was devoured...that is, if the person lives through the pain of it at all."
I clenched my teeth. "So...what?"
Alucard smiled faintly. "That this Siberian responded to both Meridia and my father's blade, means she has a mind, and therefore a soul. Simply that she has managed a separation between the two. Upon my world, it was done by a few, desperate to become undead without being beholden to the Lord of the Vampires." His smile grew broader. "What we are looking for is the equivalent of a phylactery. Some vessel in which she stored her soul, and thus granted her power beyond that which she could have otherwise. The Siberian is a phantom, bound to an object. That is why she escaped from the Shadow Plane, she simply resummoned herself from her vessel. Find the object and destroy it, and we shall destroy her."
I looked at him dubiously and crossed my arms. "Powers don't work the same way as magic did, Alucard."
He nodded. "Indeed, but it is a starting point. To end the Siberian, we need to find her soul, and destroy its vessel. Only then will she fall." His lip quirked. "Unless you believe you can battle her for another few hours without making a mistake, that is our best option."
--------------------
I was mulling that over as I went further inside the shelter. I wanted to see how everyone was before I went back on the attack. And to get in contact with the good guys, because the last thing I needed was for one of the heroes to hit me over the head out there while I hunted what remained of the Nine.
And then I nearly ran into Armsmaster.
"State your name!" Armsmaster barked, holding himself at the ready. His halberd was in hand, pointed directly at me, his broad shoulders nearly filling the doorframe.
I blinked and lifted my hands. "Scarlet Dragon. You know me, Armsmaster."
He shifted slightly, a few servos in his feet whirring as he did. "How did we first meet?"
I felt my irritation grow. "When you accused me of being an imposter and I smacked you in the face with a whip made of my own blood." I caught myself, sighed and shook my head. "Sorry about that."
Slowly, he lowered the weapon, then he tapped the side of his helmet. "Scarlet, welcome back. I was worried when your transmitter stopped responding." He said curtly.
I shook my head. "Siberian broke it. She just...left, though. We couldn't kill each other. What the hell was that all about?"
His lips turned to a frown as he looked down at his halberd. "I've had to program my heads-up-display to label everyone I look at, but I can't even find identities out from the images from the files because I can't recognize them. It's this mist, some kind of biological agent. Definitely Bonesaw's work. As of now, the city's under quarantine. We can't risk anyone leaving the city while carrying this infection." He grimaced. "She doesn't tend to make non-lethal measures. Some of the Wards seem immune...I think it's the amulets. I'd take one myself, but they need it more." His grimace turned into an outright scowl. "It's the only thing keeping....keeping...that girl alive, right now."
I blinked. "Great. That's just great." How the hell am I supposed to fight a freaking cloud? If I made it rain, this stuff might get pulled out of the air, but it'd just flow down and infect the sewers and boil up again later. Or get spread around by the storm I built. Least the amulets could help, but there wasn't enough to help everybody.
He nodded behind him. "The Wards are inside. Your servant is resting, as is her daughter." He tilted his head slightly. "Something is strange, there... I feel like I should know her. But I don't. I hope the damage this mist causes can be fixed."
I grimaced. "Me too. It'll have to wait."
I went inside, followed the scent of blood, and found Amy sitting with Vicky, Aegis, and Gallant in a concrete room. Cherry was sitting there with the same older man as before, gently dabbing his bleeding forehead with a cloth. She gave me a hesitant smile. Meridia's head was in Amy's lap, while Vicky was gently tending to the stump of Gallant's left arm. The teen hissed and winced as Vicky dabbed a cloth over the sealed wound, the smell of disinfectant strong in the air. Clockblocker was with Vista, and thankfully, she was looking better, though still unconscious. They hadn't yet taken the spear of glass from her chest.
Seriously, fuck the Nine. Nobody deserved this shit, but least of all Vista.
"What the hell is going on?" I spoke.
Amy looked up, her face filled with relief. "Meridia's in the middle of regeneration."
I looked at the still demoness, clenching my hand. "You sure?"
Amy nodded. "I'm sure. It's not easy to see, but she's going to be okay. Different, but okay."
Clockblocker gave me a wave, the amulet around his neck blazing brightly. "Hey demon-girl. Did you get the invincible bitch?"
I shook my head. "Sadly, no. She actually lives up to her reputation."
Vicky looked at me, then frowned a bit. "You sure that's Red? I can't tell."
My lip twitched. Oh, screw it. I smiled. "Still owe you a bucket of ice cream."
Vicky visibly relaxed a bit. "All right, got it. Jeez, this shit's weird. I can remember doing stuff with people, but I can't recognize anybody I did them with. Too bad you haven't gotten her." A slight smile was on her face, her voice teasing. "You slipping a bit?"
I chuckled. "Nah. Some people just cheat more than me."
Gallant spoke softly, his voice weak and filled with pain. "I'm sure we can figure something out. At least we know who we are."
Amy spoke, her voice filled with conviction. "Vicky, you should give her your earpiece. Until we figure out how to fix this thing Bonesaw's done, I don't think you're going to be much good out there."
Vicky frowned, biting her lip in consideration, before she nodded. "Right. That...makes sense. I damn well hope this is the right thing, though, because I hate this memory bullshit."
She pulled the earpiece out of her ear and tossed it to me. I caught it, reflexively wiped it, and put it in. "Check, check. Scarlet on Glory Girl's transmitter."
I heard Miss Militia answer. "We read you. Glad to have you back on the line."
Piggot's harsh voice hit next. "Everyone report in."
"Assault here. I'm...uh...in a park? Got a bit turned around. And this pretty lady here keeps hitting me."
A growl came over the line. "Battery here. At Knoxville park with Assault. Idiot took a dose of that red mist. I haven't been exposed, but he's out of it. We're heading to staging area A." A momentary pause, then Battery's voice sounded worried. "Best guess, though...that mist will hit the staging area in about half an hour. I'm trying to arrange an evacuation, but there's a thousand people here. We're not going to get everyone moving in time, and with this infection...I'm worried about maybe spreading this stuff elsewhere."
"Dauntless here. Team's injured from Shatterbird, and the mist is here. Miss Militia and I seem immune, and those amulets seem to be able to prevent it from infecting people. We're heading to the PRT building with the wounded team."
"Paladin here with Velocity. Mannequin's dead. He started spraying this stuff around in Brockton General. I'm fine, but Velocity doesn't recognize me. We're heading back to the PRT."
"Triumph here. I'm with the mayor and the city council. We're in Endbringer Shelter 376-B. Systems are running fine here, but we're trapped inside by the fog."
"Lady Photon here with Manpower, Laserdream and Shielder. We're moving civilians to evacuation point C."
"Brandish here with Flashbang. We're heading to Arcadia, managed to drive off Burnscar from downtown."
I cleared my throat. "Scarlet here with the injured Wards, Glory Girl, Armsmaster and my group, along with about forty civilians. Some of them are infected by the mist. Siberian's still active, despite my best efforts. I've got a theory as to how we can take the Siberian out permanently, but it's only a theory. Alucard and I think the Siberian may be a projection or like a hologram."
"Explain." Piggot demanded.
I grimaced a bit. "I couldn't kill her with my powers, so I tried to send her into my pocket dimension using my portals. She went in, I closed it, and about ten seconds later she was back and had punched a hole through my back. Pretty sure if it wasn't for my unique mix of powers, I'd be dead from it. There's no way she should have been able to get out of the dimension without my help, and yet she did. So..."
Piggot's voice was thoughtful. "If a projection went through a teleporter without the projector, or master generating it, the projection usually falls apart. Any idea who made it?"
I frowned. "That...I have no idea. At the moment, though, as bad as Siberian is, this mist is a bigger problem."
Amy spoke then, catching my attention, and it sounded echoed as I heard it both right next to me and over the radio line. "Am...Amara here. It's a prion cloud, simple proteins that take other proteins to make more of themselves. It's using the bacteria in the air to self-replicate more prions. From what I can tell, they're made to block the part of the brain that lets people recognize faces and features. You can see someone, but not recognize that they're your family. Or an enemy. Or the most famous person on the planet."
Piggot's voice was serious, her tone filled with contemplation. "You're certain of this?"
Amy's voice was a bit dry. "This is something I'm pretty good at. Fixing it, though...I'm not sure how. Prions aren't alive, they're hard to dismantle. Anyone infected is going to have it built up in their brains until it overwhelms the infrastructure and the people die. An antibiotic or antiviral agent won't do anything. You can't kill the prions with heat, acid, or even radiation. Paladin's amulets seem to work, but we haven't got enough of them. And while most prion diseases take years to do damage, this thing does it within minutes."
I frowned a little, a rather horrific idea coming up from the back of my head. "Think Bonesaw could undo this work?"
Amy looked at me with a frown. "Probably. I don't think she'll have anything set up and ready to go for that, though. At best, she'd immunize herself and the rest of the Nine."
I nodded with a grimace. "We'll see about that. I'm going to get her to fix this, whether she likes it or not."
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I stepped from the Shadow Portal above a house in the suburbs. I looked around, trying to figure out exactly where I was now. This prion cloud made things difficult, but I managed to orient myself.
I felt a chill as I realized where I was. I was right above Vicky and Amy's house.
Why the hell was Bonesaw here? Unless...they knew I was friends with Vicky. Oh god.
I flew downwards, hit the roof, then teleported inside Vicky's room, the Void Sword flashing into my hand. The mist existed here, but at such short ranges, I could see through it. It still made the house look like a twisted nightmarish parody of itself.
I smelled blood. I knew that scent intimately. I pushed open the door to Vicky's room and went through the house, following the smell of blood. I opened the door to the master bedroom and would have collapsed in horror, had I not had my blade in hand.
Bonesaw looked up at me, grinning and bouncing on her feet, her face and hands covered in blood. "Hi! Was expecting you, but not quite this fast. You're neat! How'd you track me this fast? No, wait, don't tell me. Teleporter?"
I ignored the question and looked at the horrid tableau before me. On the bed, Carol lay there, her chest cut open, and her internal organs were spread around the room. She was still alive, her eyes wide with horror. On the bedside table was Mark's head. He looked at me and blinked, his mouth moving in helpless horror, while wires and obviously-kludged Tinkertech were strewn around the room, hooked up to the pair.
Bonesaw grinned, flicking her blood-covered fingers a little as she gestured to Brandish. "You know, I heard about Panacea dying. I had wanted her for a big sister, but I suppose you can't always have what you want." She patted Carol's cheek, smearing blood on the paralyzed woman's skin. "So I thought I should make sure that the Dallons never lose each other again. You caught me just before I could put Flashbang's brain inside her. Still, imagine it. They would always be together, forever and ever." Her mad smile widened. "I was going to see if I could get Glory Girl here too. Brandish and Flashbang would never have to worry about losing their daughter, and she would never have to worry about losing her parents. Isn't that nice?"
I growled deeply, taking a step into the room. "I heard Brandish over the radio line. How?"
Bonesaw shrugged. "Rather easy, really. Got her hooked up by remote, had her take in the radio transmitter when the PRT dropped it off. Kept it going while I was getting through this." She tapped a something on what looked like a TV remote.
Carol spoke, her voice surprisingly level considering the horror and pain in her eyes. "Brandish here with Flashbang. We're heading to Arcadia, managed to drive off Burnscar from downtown."
Bonesaw grinned. "Had a few pre-programmed phrases ready. Been listening to your radio chatter all night. Was interesting. How'd you figure out Aunt Sibby?"
I grit my teeth. "Fix them. Now."
She tilted her head, her voice filled with seemingly honest confusion. "But I am fixing them. I'm making sure they'll never be alone ever again."
I lifted the Void Sword, the blade's effect on my emotions the only reason I hadn't lunged out madly already. "You put them back together just as they were, or you'll end up in worse shape than they are."
She looked over at Mark's body, lying in a corner of the room, dried blood circling around the stump of his neck. "That's going to be hard." Bonesaw spoke. "I mean, his body's been dead for about an hour now. I can fix that, but it's going to take a lot of effort." She smiled at me. "Of course, if you really want that, I can do it for you. But you'll have to give me something first."
I narrowed my eyes, my voice coming out in a growl. "Like I'm about to bargain with you."
Bonesaw simply smiled. "You kinda have to to get what you want. You can't kill me, because plagues will be released on my death. Try to force me, and I can just release a few anyway. Uncle Jack says it would be boring if I did that, but if I can't play, then there's no point in keeping them cooped up."
My voice darkened as I embraced the Void, pushing everything into it. The Void Sword was comfortably cold in my hand, helping me keep my mind focused. "What is it you want?"
She rocked back and forth on her feet, excitement on her blood-stained face. "Do you have any idea what you mean, here? We've had a lot of Case 53s around, and all of them are strange. Inhuman in various ways, like you. But you remember where you came from, and they don't. I want to know where they came from. I want to know if you sent them here. I want to know just how your powers work, because they shouldn't. Your passenger just shouldn't work."
Confusion must have shown on my face, because her smile widened. "Do you know anything about the Corona Pollentia? The Corona Gemma? The Protectorate doesn't talk about it much, but I've cut open more heads than anybody and poked around. Those who can trigger, but haven't, have a Pollentia. After the trigger, they also have a Gemma. Remove the Pollentia, and a person loses control over their powers, if they had it. Remove the Gemma, and a new Gemma forms with the powers being different. And worse, usually. Remove both, and they lose their powers."
I glared at her, knowing my fangs were at their full length. "Get to the fucking point."
"Language!" Bonesaw shook a finger at me, then held up a little blinking box. "I figured out how Hatchet Face's power worked, and how to replicate it. It's really helpful when I want to work on a Brute, you know. But it's not pinging on you at all. It pinged on me until I filtered myself out of it, but it doesn't touch you at all. You've got no Pollentia or Gemma, and yet you have powers. Why? Let me know why? Pretty please? Your power isn't like ours. I wanna see how they work! Let me see, please! I'll put them back together if you do! I'll put you back together perfectly, I swear!"
I fixed the girl with a hard, humorless stare. "No more bullshit. I'm not going to let you cut me open. You help them now, or I will make you do so."
Bonesaw frantically hit something on her remote control. I heard the slight sounds of clinking and clanking from the side. A spider-bot launched itself at me, and I cut it in half with the Void Sword. It fell to the ground, sparking and leaking fluids, a horrified human face looking at me from behind a protective covering.
Bonesaw frowned, a pout forming on her lips. "Aww, you killed Screamy! He just had two hundred years until retirement." She huffed as she kicked her feet. "You're just not a nice guest at all! Uncle Jack and Aunt Sibby don't like you, but I wanted you with us. You know how rare it is for anyone even close to my age to join up? And I wanted to see how your citizens are, too, they'd be neat. I could do a lot with their help!"
My voice was cold. "Like I'm going to give the slightest shit about what murderers think about me."
Bonesaw looked disappointed. "We're not just murderers. We're family! You could be with us. You don't have to be mean with us, we can help you too. I want to know how your powers work, and together, we could figure it out and do more with them. I'm willing to put Brandish and Flashbang back together, good as new, if you do! You don't have to be so mean, you know!"
I stepped up to the side of the bed, opposite from Bonesaw. "Compared to what I could be? This is me being nice. Last chance."
I heard the clanks of more of her spider-bots coming at me from behind. I turned and destroyed them with a blast of electricity from my free hand, sending them crashing into the hallway. A weight landed on my back as Bonesaw lunged, driving a syringe into my neck. I grabbed her and held her up.
She grinned at me maniacally, struggling a bit in my grip. "You don't want to hurt me. You do and your heart'll stop."
I let out a chuckle, my fangs showing. "You're about four months late. Now you're going to help me fix all the damage you've done."
Her feet kicked at me, her voice filled with desperation. "You'd be happier with us! Trust me! I'd be your little sister and we could have so much fun! Don't you get how good all these games are? I'm not going to help you stop them! You can't make me do what you want, you know. Uncle Jack's told me all about it, people don't have the right to tell me to do things I don't wanna do!"
That horrible idea grew more certain. It was the only way I could help Carol and Mark. I spoke, pity in my voice. "For what it's worth, kid? I'm sorry for this."
She looked puzzled. "Sorry for what?"
I shifted my body into blood and flowed into Bonesaw's mouth, nose, and eyes. I could feel her panic, her fear, as my mind overlaid her own. She...was fucked up, but still a twelve year old. I could feel her struggling as her body rolled along on the floor. She even had a backup brain striving to take back control from what I'd just done.
But my will was stronger, and my blood was in her veins. I was in her veins. I carefully pulled her body up to her feet, grimacing a bit as I looked around. I'd...forgotten how big things seemed to a twelve year old. More than that, though, I could feel Bonesaw's power. Ideas flooded my head. Her head. The horrible things I could do with her intuitive knowledge. It would be simple to make a plague to kill everything human on Earth.
And only slightly harder to build a virus that would spread a gene-therapy delivery system that could fix the messed-up folding proteins that created this prion cloud. It wouldn't fix the damage done, but it would be a vaccine and prevent more damage from accumulating. Maybe with Paladin's amulets, or Dragon's help, we could actually fix the problems made by the prions.
Too bad I didn't seem to have access to her memories. Then I'd know if she made more somewhere else, but right now, I had work to do. I could already feel my blood weakening Bonesaw's body. The upgrades she made to herself made it a lot more sturdy than it otherwise would be, but that wasn't much help compared to the strength of my vampiric blood.
I looked at Carol and Mark, their expressions filled with fear. "I'm sorry." I said, as sincerely as I could. "I'm going to do what I can. This...is going to be ugly." Carefully, I took Carol's earpiece, because mine was....wherever my stuff went when I shifted my body. I cleared my throat as I tapped it so I could transmit. "Check check. This is Scarlet, I have...control, over Bonesaw." And this was going to be awkward, because now I sounded like Bonesaw. Ugh.
"You have a Master power, too? Of course you do. What did you say when Velocity asked for you to join the Wards?" Piggot spoke, her voice level. I'd have almost preferred it if she sounded afraid. Instead, it seemed like...yeah, just coldly pissed off.
I felt sick to my stomach. Well, to Bonesaw's stomach. I hated this power. Seriously. "He didn't. The first member of the Protectorate I met was Armsmaster, and it didn't go well. Then I met him again when I dropped off Lung, who was with Neptune at the time." ...and that felt like a lifetime ago, now.
There was a moment of silence, then Piggot spoke again. "Most of us are locked down with the fog. What's the situation?"
I grimaced and shook my head, heading to the Dallon's bathroom to get a few supplies Bonesaw's power was telling me I could use to fix them. Though how dental floss, toothpaste, bleach and an electric toothbrush would help made no sense. "Brandish and Flashbang were worked on by Bonesaw...it's pretty bad. I'm going to use her expertise to try and fix the Dallons."
Amy's voice cut into the transmission. "How bad?"
I swallowed hard. "Very, very bad. I can fix it, but it's going to take a lot. I could use some help here. I'm going to need some help to do this and help cure this prion plague."
Amy sounded angry. "I'll get there in twenty minutes or so. Maybe faster."
I nodded to myself. "I've got maybe three hours at most like this. Bring whatever medical supplies you can grab, it'll make things easier and faster for fixing them. Worse, though, it looks like Bonesaw was listening in to our comms most of the night. We can only assume everything's compromised."
There was silence for a moment, then Piggot spoke. "Understood. We'll start the security countermeasures."
I tapped the earpiece to stop transmitting, though still listening, and got to work. The first thing was the virus. I could make that with some tap water, sugars, spit, a bowl and some tweezers. It shouldn't work, but apparently, Bonesaw was one of the bullshittiest Tinkers of bullshit Tinkers. Then...then I could take the hour or so I'd need to fix Carol and Mark properly.
Actually, I could do both. I grabbed Bonesaw's remote, knowing how it worked, and pressed a few buttons. I could feel her rage in the back of my head as I summoned more of her spider-bots from where they were stashed around the neighborhood. They'd get what I needed to make the vaccine while I worked on the Dallons.
Fuck the Nine.
They are beneath me.
Yeah, yeah, shut up.
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