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Yesterday, this was an ordinary twenty-first century city. Today it's a war zone, tomorrow it'll be walled off and abandoned.
A few collapsed buildings, shattered streets, and assorted craters. The place is mostly empty, with scattered groups of mostly humanoid monsters roaming and trying to escape the guarded fence around the city. The most instantly noticeable change is an ongoing wordless singing in the back of the mind of anyone present. By itself it's just a sound. An unpleasant sound, and almost but not quite predictable as if someone were trying to attack the listener's sanity without saying anything, but possible to ignore. But along with it, any time a listener closes their eyes they get flashes of memories. Not their worst memories, but whatever negative ones can stick with them unforgettably. It builds up associations between the feelings in those images and almost anything else. Sometimes there's a recognizable common thread and other times there isn't.
An angel fights off teams of opponents. She's fifteen feet tall, extremely winged, with more wings than is strictly necessary for an angel. Even some of her wings have wings. All of them are asymmetric and varyingly sized. A spherical halo of weaponry surrounds her, firing at her more distant enemies from across the battlefield. Her opponents cycle in and out: a golden man, a man surrounded by a bubble, a woman in a dark costume, all flying. Others make certain to stay away after taking their turn, on rare occasions spending too long hearing the angel's music. Those ones voluntarily self-destruct.
A small group of ordinary humans takes refuge in a house as far from the battle as they can reach. The song is quieter here, and, they hope, less potent. Some of them run away from and back to the house, occasionally calling for help. They haven't found any.
whole_new_can
ertia
"Yeah, don't. And if I find that you've been doing anything nasty to any other worlds I will consider you my personal responsibility, and I will soon enough be able to travel between worlds on my own to find you in that eventuality. Got it?"
ertia
Kithabel hands her a doodad. And a bead. She can figure it out.
And then she looks up Accord and the Elite.
And then she looks up Accord and the Elite.
whole_new_can
Accord is the lead contender for taking over Boston. Since the Teeth left, it's been mostly just him and some lesser factions. He's known for complicated plans that inexplicably work and an extreme insistence that nothing ever be in any sense out of place. No one has a complete list of his crimes because of course they don't.
The Elite are the country's largest villain group, and second-largest parahuman organization after the Protectorate. They're mostly West Coast, but expand quickly and are speculated to have reached New York. Their reputation took a hit recently when it came out that it's normal practice to assist local organized crime and eventually take over those functions themselves while also gathering influence at higher levels.
Both factions do have interests that would be served by making things better in the sorts of ways Kithabel tends to do, so it's not as if they've been tricking her into committing crimes. But everything this cape said fits well enough to be plausible, if not enough to immediately snap into place.
"Thanks for this," Tattletale says. "Now they're going to have to invent new maps to put the Undersiders on."
The Elite are the country's largest villain group, and second-largest parahuman organization after the Protectorate. They're mostly West Coast, but expand quickly and are speculated to have reached New York. Their reputation took a hit recently when it came out that it's normal practice to assist local organized crime and eventually take over those functions themselves while also gathering influence at higher levels.
Both factions do have interests that would be served by making things better in the sorts of ways Kithabel tends to do, so it's not as if they've been tricking her into committing crimes. But everything this cape said fits well enough to be plausible, if not enough to immediately snap into place.
"Thanks for this," Tattletale says. "Now they're going to have to invent new maps to put the Undersiders on."
ertia
...Kithabel does not go back and put them all to sleep. She just sighs at Tattletale.
Kithabel instead notifies the Protectorate that her PAs seem to be in unsavory employ and she would like to go back to taking tasks from official sources until she can replace them. The PAs weren't tricking her into doing anything too unpleasant and they were perfectly nice to work with, so instead of actually chasing them down she just notifies them that they're fired as soon as she has a task list from the Protectorate to switch to.
Kithabel instead notifies the Protectorate that her PAs seem to be in unsavory employ and she would like to go back to taking tasks from official sources until she can replace them. The PAs weren't tricking her into doing anything too unpleasant and they were perfectly nice to work with, so instead of actually chasing them down she just notifies them that they're fired as soon as she has a task list from the Protectorate to switch to.
wormcan
The lead one's a bit disappointed—Accord gave her superpowers for this—but Kithabel finding out eventually was a given.
The PRT has a list ready to go very quickly; they don't exactly disapprove of not having to wait in line.
The PRT has a list ready to go very quickly; they don't exactly disapprove of not having to wait in line.
ertia
Yeah, this works fine. Also it means Kithabel's handling her own money now, and she has a lot stored up. She doesn't really need it... for... anything... so she finds some charities and gives most of it away.
wormcan
The headlines the next day announce that Kithabel is a better person than Scion. Apparently flying around heroing is just expected when one has superpowers but only moral people give away money.
While flying around heroing, she can tell that the current list is designed to advantage the PRT, in terms of what gets built and what gets duplicated, but that's probably to be expected. At least this time her list is compiled by an organization that almost definitely isn't corrupt and secretly working for supervillains.
While flying around heroing, she can tell that the current list is designed to advantage the PRT, in terms of what gets built and what gets duplicated, but that's probably to be expected. At least this time her list is compiled by an organization that almost definitely isn't corrupt and secretly working for supervillains.
ertia
She will continue to take occasional independent suggestions from the Internet, but figuring out all her own stuff to do just isn't viable.
wormcan
Suggestions from the Internet come in over time, some good and some bad. One of the more common ones is to find and remove otherwise-unstoppable threats. They're not all at the level of the Endbringers.
ertia
With the available intel on the Blasphemies, for instance, Kithabel is pretty sure she can take 'em. She loads up on standard precautions and travels to Europe.
wormcan
The officially labeled good guys do keep surveillance of most of these kinds of enemies. The Blasphemies are in England at the moment, it's hard to tell if they're just moving around Europe or are planning something. Probably the former; they don't assassinate heads of state all that often.
The Suits rarely fight the Blasphemies directly. It tends not to go well, and bystander casualties tend to be high. They're willing to send in some people if she wants the help, and will definitely be on the sidelines minimizing damage in either case.
The Suits rarely fight the Blasphemies directly. It tends not to go well, and bystander casualties tend to be high. They're willing to send in some people if she wants the help, and will definitely be on the sidelines minimizing damage in either case.
ertia
She could use some support if they have anything in the way of high-level sensory powers that can keep an eye on the whole fight and give her direction as things proceed.
wormcan
They do. The highest-level one of these can designate a target and know a wide variety of information about it, in the case of a person including everything they're seeing at the time. Kithabel can have a relayed copy of everything her opponents observe, plus extra surveillance from other powers.
ertia
How convenient! Kithabel grants her helpers beads. She confirms that she is allowed to kill the Blasphmies if that seems expedient. And then she zeroes in to where they are and attempts to end the fight before it begins, because anticlimaxes would be really great today.
wormcan
That would depend on one's point of view.
The Three Blasphemies, despite their labels as Maiden, Matron, and Crone, all look like young women. White skin, whiter hair, white robes, white masks with red lips fixed in different expressions.
They've never been observed to sleep, and don't start when Kithabel tells them to. When Maiden alerts the others to Kithabel's presence, Crone instantaneously assembles a construct out of stored pieces of concrete, wood, and leftover civilians. The thing lumbers in Kithabel's direction, more to test her capabilities than as an actual attack.
The Three Blasphemies, despite their labels as Maiden, Matron, and Crone, all look like young women. White skin, whiter hair, white robes, white masks with red lips fixed in different expressions.
They've never been observed to sleep, and don't start when Kithabel tells them to. When Maiden alerts the others to Kithabel's presence, Crone instantaneously assembles a construct out of stored pieces of concrete, wood, and leftover civilians. The thing lumbers in Kithabel's direction, more to test her capabilities than as an actual attack.
ertia
It ceases to exist. She went straight to curse-level sleep attack with these three, so she doesn't try again with that; she just goes ahead and starts trying to kill them. It'll be a first, but she did read up on them enough not to feel particularly bad about it.
wormcan
No one knows if the Blasphemies are technically alive, but they're certainly vulnerable to her causing as much damage as she can. They collapse into pieces, all three of them, but are reassembled as quickly as they fall apart. They don't seem bothered by the process.
Matron and Crone get displays marking where Kithabel is and where the Suits are. It's in a spectrum not normally visible, but the Suits' spy is watching everything Crone sees and gets this too. The relayed version more importantly shows the locations of the Blasphemies and their creations.
One of which appears below her, and another in the air behind her. They leap or lunge, depending, and Matron fires a blast of her other power. It feels like it's sapping the energy from Kithabel's bones, and she knows what the next part is.
Matron and Crone get displays marking where Kithabel is and where the Suits are. It's in a spectrum not normally visible, but the Suits' spy is watching everything Crone sees and gets this too. The relayed version more importantly shows the locations of the Blasphemies and their creations.
One of which appears below her, and another in the air behind her. They leap or lunge, depending, and Matron fires a blast of her other power. It feels like it's sapping the energy from Kithabel's bones, and she knows what the next part is.
ertia
Well, Kithabel refuses to explode. And she doesn't hold with this 'weak bones' nonsense either. Fuck that. And now she's seen it done and she would like that to just stop cold without affecting her next time. And if 'damage' won't cut it what if she just deletes the Blasphemies, too, like their construct?
wormcan
Two of them disappear, leaving only the scowling Crone. And then the other two reappear from thin air. Right. They're supposedly able to do that, as long as one of them is alive.
The two more recent constructs finish their lunge and leap respectively, and pass harmlessly through her intangibility. As well as each other, suspiciously enough.
The world seems to blink, and the Blasphemies to switch places with three of her allies. Even the view-from-Crone that she's getting switches perspective. Those three Suits are suddenly confused, while their compatriots start trying to hold back the enemies.
The two more recent constructs finish their lunge and leap respectively, and pass harmlessly through her intangibility. As well as each other, suspiciously enough.
The world seems to blink, and the Blasphemies to switch places with three of her allies. Even the view-from-Crone that she's getting switches perspective. Those three Suits are suddenly confused, while their compatriots start trying to hold back the enemies.
ertia
...Wait, what?
If the Suits are confused maybe Kithabel needs to lean harder on magic for feedback. If she had ever heard of D&D despite her unconventional background, she might call it 'true seeing'. What the fuck is going on here?
If the Suits are confused maybe Kithabel needs to lean harder on magic for feedback. If she had ever heard of D&D despite her unconventional background, she might call it 'true seeing'. What the fuck is going on here?
wormcan
Maiden. Control over light allows for some very effective illusions, currently including one of those two constructs and the six capes. She even altered what she and her teammates were seeing, apparently having sensed the spies one way or another.
The Suits were prepared enough not to attack with anything lethal, but are still in the process of subduing two of their number who appear to everyone but Kithabel to be fighting back devastatingly.
Meanwhile, more masses of dead flesh and bone and whatever else is in Crone's pocket dimension start appearing. Matron sends some at Kithabel and others at the Suits.
The Suits were prepared enough not to attack with anything lethal, but are still in the process of subduing two of their number who appear to everyone but Kithabel to be fighting back devastatingly.
Meanwhile, more masses of dead flesh and bone and whatever else is in Crone's pocket dimension start appearing. Matron sends some at Kithabel and others at the Suits.
ertia
Kithabel extends the true seeing effect as best she can. That pocket dimension: is annoying. Crone should stop being able to access it and the stuff she has out at the moment will BURN.
wormcan
The stuff lights on fire, as demanded. It also stops being on fire, before completing the directive. They keep charging.
Whether Crone did stop being able to take things out of storage isn't immediately obvious. Shortly, neither is anything else, as a full-spectrum bright light appears just in front of Kithabel's retinas. Kithabel may also feel Matron's blast hit her, but that fails to take hold.
Whether Crone did stop being able to take things out of storage isn't immediately obvious. Shortly, neither is anything else, as a full-spectrum bright light appears just in front of Kithabel's retinas. Kithabel may also feel Matron's blast hit her, but that fails to take hold.