Blizz

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Jack is going to go defcon on the wolfpack

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Stormy put up a fuck ton of barriers for this exact reason

He’s the bulletproof one here lmao

X-Men: GenetiX

It was almost funny how Ryder knew what Vibranium was and the so-called smart guy around here didn’t. Umbra had a whole section of their database dedicated to its uses, namely the ones that involved blocking out telepaths. And like anyone or anything else at Umbra, Ryder read those secrets like a book. She wasn’t in the mood to lecture them about it, though. And frankly, Ryder didn’t give a damn if they learned anything about it or not.

As they went up a floor, Ryder pushed her mind out passively, taking in a relative point of “where” in her abstract map of this place. This was where the bulk of the cameras the swept her power across seemed to be. ”You ever been hacked by someone before? This place is about as secure a cardboard box,” She jabbed. From the moment they brought Ryder in, she had a grasp on all of the electronic security measure the mansion was using.

They stopped, and Ryder concluded that she might as well eat something. Back at Umbra, food was nothing to hope for. She was fed three times a day, in calculated portions. The bare minimum to account for her power testing, and her sustainment as a person that required food and water. And she was… Hungry. Though she didn’t want to feel like she was placating to him. ”Sure.” She walked further down the hall at the same pace, ahead of Xavier. Ryder already knew where it all was.

As well as everything inside, as well. By the time Xavier caught up with her, pieces of bread and sliced meat floated out from behind doors on the far side. Paranoid tendencies aside, she simply felt like not walking further. It was the blandest sandwich on the planet, but it was better than the slop Umbra gave her. ”Whats the deal with this place being empty? It’s bigger than just three or four people.”

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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Jack Hawthorne

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Location: The Twilight Pass
Skills:
Spells:
Outfit

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Six of them had come through. A multiple of three, but the majority of their numbers. Now, those on the other side only had two to work with. Jack didn't see Annika come through the portal, so it was just her and Carolina, should they reunite. Unless, of course, Annika came through at the last minute. But even with only six, they had more than enough to sort this out.

"Yes, they're like hydras. You cannot simply decapitate them like a lesser demon. Moreover, death itself has a way of emboldening them. When I banished them here, they were only three, and I thought this business with Limbo would be over in time. I miscalculated, obviously. The land we're in is unreceptive to outsiders. It poisons anything with a soul, except for an astronomically small sliver of individuals that it takes a liking to." Jack was one of them, and he had never met another like himself in all his years.

Runa's idea was the most sound. The Green Eyed Ones were tricky to fight here, Jack could rip the void-like sky apart, and let it rain down on them like meteors. But the sky of the Everdark was not like the sky of Earth. It was nothingness made manifest, pure energy. That energy was the very thing that plagued them now, if Jack's theory was correct. Ordinarily, the first signs of that affliction could take anywhere from an hour to a few days to appear. For that reason, none of you are in any immediate danger. Those creatures down there, however, are vessels for countless souls, and have no doubt fallen victim to exposure over and over again. I believe that to be the reason they'd multiplied this much, in so little time."

Runa, Prudence and Max were the most destructive magicians. Jack turned to them. "Given the way they've multiplied due to the energy here, it would be risky if I use my more destructive magic. But I can isolate them, drop them through portals and turn the darkness into barricades while the three of you destroy them more easily. I'll prevent them from overwhelming us. Or, I get us all inside from here. There is a beast that lives with me. A formless animal named Nochalla, who would join us if we asked. Knowing her, she's likely fast asleep during all of this right now."

Those were the options he laid before them both: Have Jack run riot control, or get them indoors. The longer they stood around doing nothing, the more likely they were to be spotted.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Man, it would be quite the coincidence. Only the phone is in her purse somewhere on the ground in the parking lot......... D:

@Estylwen

Jack: Wyd

Ali: GETTING FUCKING SHOT AT

Jack: bet hold up *starts gloomy stepping all the wolfpack members away one by one*

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: All the fuckers

Veni Whatever the Fuck

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Well...

Shit.

This wasn't going so well.

On the bright side, there was still a wall of shields separating one part of the parking lot from the other, and there was this weird feeling of power flowing through Stormy, that he didn't know he had. It was Bianca's Abstraction, but he didn't have time to think about that. More people were getting shot at, Linqian came out of fucking nowhere, someone became a giant scorpion, and Alizee got buried. The Void Heart was going on a tantrum right now, and worst of all, more people were getting shot at. More of them, fucking more of them. There were so many things go on right now that Stormy couldn't react to at the same time. He was in the middle of everyone else suddenly, with two of his shields that he kept for personal use. And the heat was... Fluctuating. Wait, no, there it was again. It was snowing, and it was heating up outside... What the hell? And of course there was fucking lightning. There had to be lightning.

Did Linqian really have to do that? Complaining about a lack of shields? Regardless, all of the shields present at the moment vanished and were replaced around a few people. Notably the ones who were currently suffering from gunshot wounds: Linqian, Britney, that familiar girl who he didn't recognize as an old coven member just yet, and the Greenwood members who were currently being taken care of. These shields had purple, chain-like patterns rippling across their surfaces, and floated in pairs of six around the intended targets, like asteroids, just out of arm's reach of them. If someone needed to get up and move, they could simply shove the shields away, but Stormy didn't want anyone being an easy target for that teleporter right now, so he kept them from doing anything funny. And this strange swell of energy he felt was making it much easier to make these shields. Whoever was doing this, he'd have to thank them after. Pushing his luck with this boost, Stormy threw up a dozen more of those purple Lux shields, ensuring all of them were either near a friendly target, or directly in front of them, to give them some cover.

"GET BEHIND SOMETHING!" Just like in the good old days of the coven, he was walling off everything across the battlefield.

Their little battlefield was a mess now, and it was incredibly obvious that there was a magical war going on right now. If someone inside didn't notice, it would've been a miracle... The shields could keep people keep people protected from the gunshot for as long as was needed, and maybe longer depending on the magic Bianca transferred to him. So with that in mind, he decided to do something stupid: Drawing attention to himself.

Stormy raised his foot up, and stomped it into the dirt. A green trail of light shot towards the giant scorpion monster that someone had turned into, which became a solid circle of light at its feet. It was the Consecration spell, which burned and weakened Aberrations who came into contact with the energy. It was like Kyrptonite, and Valjean was standing right on it... The only problem was that it was very, very obvious who was casting the spell. And Stormy didn't want to risk making another shield for his own use, so he quickly dove behind one from the random spread he threw out. This put him near Bianca and anyone near them both (because object permanence is hard in this chaotic event so his writer is using Bianca as a reference point.) Between the strain this was starting to put on his magic, and the boost he didn't know the duration of, Stormy wasn't sure just how effective the Consecrated ground would be, but it was something.

"We can't do this forever... If we don't take out the shooters now, we're going to lose someone," He said out loud, before turning to Bianca. "Stay near these, and the teleporter can't use his Abstraction on you. It's like a black hole for magic."

...Did they know each other?

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Man wouldn't this be a funny time for Jack to text Alizee since she gave him her number

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Drake, Sloane, Kali and Luca

DQ

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So it wasn’t Victoria. Good. He left it at that, since Jack trusted Drake’s judgement. At least, he did until Drake suggested that they were all the killers themselves. And he noticed how uncomfortable the idea made Sloane felt. It was palpable. ”That’s a dangerous thought process. If we start doubting each other, we’ll be too paranoid to save ourselves.” The unfortunate reality was that they all had a valid reason to doubt the innocence of the person next to them. But at what point did caution become hysteria? The best way to prevent that was to stop it before it started. Though, Jack was knowledgeable enough that he didn’t consider ruling that out entirely. But they wouldn’t survive if they banked ok that idea being true. Greyson could weasel his way into their Emotional Fields easily. In a world where he wanted to do more sinister harm, they would have bigger problems right now.

And then Sloane had to fuck it all up, by asking Drake a question that couldn’t be anymore tone deaf. Jack would’ve sympathized with that question if Sloane expressed any amount of grief over Jade’s murder- If it was obvious she was hurt by it, because then it would be justified. But Jack didn’t suspect she felt anything for Jade. If she did, then Sloane did a good job at masking her emotions. And she did it a hell of a lot better than Drake, who had every vindication to pull that weapon of his out. Jack didn’t move an inch, not because he was afraid of Drake- Drake scared him about as much as a wet cat did- But because he was contemplating just how in hell he’d respond to this.

Drake was pissed, and of course he was. Sloane just hit a nerve that no one should’ve hit, even after admitting she believed Drake was innocent. There was a federal agent sitting right next to them all. They were outside, and that sword was made of lightning. Calmly, Jack reached down and pocketed the sunglasses he dropped, before Drake stomped them by accident.

”Why don’t you make a second lightning weapon so even more people notice us, Blackmore?” There was no concern for being caught in his voice, but Jack was trying to make a point- They were in fucking public. In the dim light of the DQ patio, shadows clung to Drake’s shoulder in case he actually made a move. Unlike him, Jack was a bit more subtle in his use of magic. ”Sloane… Do you find it amusing to ask stupid questions? This is exactly how we die out: By burning bridges. What if Father Wolf wants us isolated and unwilling to see each other, knowing we’re easier to murder in private? Saying things like that does not help any of us.”

Parahumans: Earth Drega

Bridgewater, 7:30 AM
June 19, 2021

Evie was already up half an hour ago.

147, 148, 149, 150. She dropped to the floor her bedroom, letting go of the pullup bar and grabbing a water bottle from her minifridge. The song Evie started on her phone ended about 20 seconds ago, and she could hear her aunt downstairs. Evie changed into something vaguely presentable, and went downstairs. As nice as it was of the old lady to let her stay, she had already planned on staying at HQ. Sure, the Protectorate were a bunch of shady crooks, but she was less likely to get attacked in her sleep there. Evie's aunt was pushing 60, and an easy target, it wouldn't be fair to her. The house was quiet, so she habitually made her way down just as quietly, almost sneaking up on Erin when she reached the living room. It smelled like candles.

"You can stay for a while, can't you?" She asked, happy to see that Evie didn't sneak out last night. Erin was shorter than Evie, had graying hair down to her shoulders, and a face full of freckles. She was doing good for her age, despite Evie's personal concerns.

"Nah. I gotta go soon. Supposed to be there in an hour," She responded, already putting on her shoes.

"It isn't... That far, is it? Aren't you really fast?" Erin was just as new to the cape thing as Evie's real parents were. Only she actually made an effort to learn. Everyone was shocked to learn that Evie was the vigilante known as Shattercrash, who made the PRT look like a joke for a whole year before Confessor. A media headline or two compared her to the likes of Trinity for how competent she was compared to the everyday heroes, before the PRT shut the press up and tried to recruit her. They weren't successful back then, and it took an S-class threat for the possibility to even open itself up.

"Something like that, but they're the feds. They gotta do their protocols and sh- And all. Paperwork, metal detectors, security. It's like going through TSA just to find the front desk." And she just didn't want to be in this house right now. Erin was nice, but Evie didn't handle kindness well.

"Oh... I don't understand all that hero stuff very well. I just read some of the news articles where they used to talk about you," She said, innocently. Only Evie wished she didn't bring it up.

"I'm sure you'll do good, Evie. I do know you're pretty great at what you do, from what I read... they picked a good hero for it. You and me really should talk about it some more, sometime. Whenever you're free."

"Yeah. Sometime." This felt weird. Unsettling.

"And if you feel like it..." Erin hesitated, "Maybe you can tell me about that Karnstein girl. She seemed like a nice kid."

Evie paused for a minute, looking down at the floor. Her dad never understood things like this, and her mom just never cared. She couldn't go near either of them without beating the shit out of them back to back anymore. The cape life was her escape. Did Erin understand that somehow?

"You know what? They won't kick me out if I'm a few minutes late. She would've liked you. We met back when I first got my powers..."

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Grandmaster was stoic as ever, as he studied the children and their responses to being here. No one could see it through his mask, but his expression was one of deep contemplation. Munnin's feeling of being look right through couldn't be further from the truth. Grandmaster was dissecting every word their body language spoke. The changer was, unsurprisingly, quite nervous. Thus far, Wattson was the only one presenting any modicum of formality other than him. Though for entirely different reasons. Neither of them were the highest priority, threat-wise, but they could both be pushed to a sufficient point.

Richter was a problem, in ways Grandmaster wasn't equipped for. His background made him difficult to work with out of the mask, and and he'd no doubt be a source of friction among them. He put on a brave face, but Grandmaster knew it was an act. He said what he had to say. In a way, Grandmaster respected this, since Richter was the face of justice now. Luckily, the issues with Richter were ones that the PRT could deal with on their own, when he was between missions and patrols. It was Keystone, however, that presented a much bigger issue. Where the others at least tried to be polite, the first words out of the boy's mouth directed at him were... Pessimistic at best. If he went into this expecting it to fail, then he would simply fail at his own expense.

"There are exactly nine of you. Have some faith, Keystone. You will find that your teammates aren't as inept as you think," He retorted, with a calm demeanor. If he was irked by Keystone's blunt attitude, it didn't show. He wasn't wrong, either. At minimum, two of the new Wards had prior experience as capes. Though, they presented their own problems. Seeing Tandem walk in, he noted her distinct lack of interaction with the ground at first. Fair enough, he thought.

The remaining stragglers started trickling in, one of which was Ethos. She was one of the ones Grandmaster had taken special precautions for. Master Stranger protocols, as well as Striker protocols, were to be used at low intensity until she caused an active threat. Ethos had been notified, prior to today, that she was given the benefit of the doubt for any ill-intended actions that she may have taken before joining the team, and that her powers were to be used as little as possible unless given permission. During such cases, Ethos would be free to use her powers at her discretion, within the limits of the law. This meant that as long as she built up a trustworthy reputation, Ethos would have no trouble using her powers. But regardless, she needed to earn that reputation.

Decree, on the other hand, was a night and day difference from her. Grandmaster didn't need to say anything to her, as she already caught her accidental power use. Moment like that needed to be avoided, but Decree's record for actively policing herself without PRT intervention put her a few steps before Ethos. Her lack of experience put her on par with most of them. Grandmaster felt optimistic about her role in things. The elephant in the room, of course, would be Wattson. Axiom had told him about her disdain for master capes. While her paranoid tendencies were a problem for the PRT's psychologists, he had a plan to keep her satisfied, at the very least.

The last person to walk in was Hornet. Grandmaster respected how quickly she bounced back from her trigger event. His own happened under somewhat similar circumstances a lifetime ago, and it wasn't something to take lightly. He didn't expect many problems from her beyond her stubborn attitude. But that would no doubt help her in the field, if she could adapt.

"You'll adjust to arriving on time soon enough. Although, there is one of you who I would've expected more of..." Looking at a clock on the wall was about the most animated the man seemed to be during this meeting so far.

And then, a pause.

Axiom broke the silence. "She flaked on us, didn't she? I should've known she would." She didn't sound very pleased. Disappointed, even.

"After what we found? No. Where would she go?"

"I hope not. Anyway, since we're waiting... Axiom reached into a deep pocket of her suit, and pulled out a rectangular device. She placed it on a table between the couches, and a bunch of glowing blue orbs manifested around it. When the energy vanished, small containers no larger than someone's cellphone were left behind. It was tinkertech, evidently.

"There's one of these for each of you, they're special earpieces that block out the effects of master influence." Axiom omitted the fact that they only protected from most forms of master influence. Among those were the ones from Ethos and Decree. "They are very easy to conceal, and you'll all be expected to keep these on you 24/7. They'll scan your brain randomly for any influence, and sound off a frequency that people can't pick up on. You'll know when it clears any effects."

"The cases they come in are built to automatically maintain them, so there's no danger of them being bro-"

BANG!

The door was kicked open, and there stood a cape in full pink and violet combat gear, and a mechanized helmet in one hand. She had an unpleasant, brash look on her face, purple hair and spiked piercings on both ears. If someone looked close enough, they could see a faint scar across the bridge of her nose.

Nightstalker damn near jumped out of his skin, and Grandmaster greeted her. "I see you've decided to grace us with your presence, Shattercrash."

"Bite me, old man," Shattercrash responded, making Keystone's attitude seem mild. "I'm here now. Name's Shattercrash if anyone didn't get the memo." She strolled over, fell onto a couch and kicked her feet up onto the table. All of them had likely heard of her before, if they knew anything about the cape scene in Bridgewater until now.

"What'd I miss?"

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

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Interactions: Sully, Alizee, and the Greenwood Coven

Flowers and Canvases

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With Alizee pulling away and backing up enough, the Void Heart manifested enough that she was fine again. Stormy was definitely hit in the stomach, but he was sturdier than that, so it wasn't so bad. For a brief moment, Stormy turned his attention to the child for a moment, something didn't seem right about him. Why was he still here, after seeing what he did? And why was he trading words with these fucking guys? Stormy turned back to the Wolfpack, while one of them shouted about a guy named "Joe Skinner." He would've said something if he didn't notice the air getting warmer. This wasn't something that just happened on its own, and sand didn't just start appearing, either. Stormy could tell, quickly enough, that something suspicious was going on. Something paranormal. If he pulled a shield out now, it would set someone off. But he only had so long before his Phantombane aura started to dwindle. Meanwhile, Alizee was fucking walking over to them, at the demand of their loud-mouthed member. That was a problem, and Stormy didn't like the look of the one with the axe, in multiple senses of the term "dislike," given his stupid fucking Brosatru look that he as going on. He was the only one that had anything visible indicative of a channeler. But it was still possible everyone among them was also an Adept and armed. Stormy wore his channeler under his sleeves, after all.

This went to shit way faster than any of them likely expected. Even worse, while the air got warmer, one of Wolfpack's members started ordering the strange child around. He had a lot more backbone than Stormy would've expected from a child. Maybe he was paranormal like them. He resisted, only for a bullet to rip through the air, causing him to slump down onto the ground.

That was the moment when Stormy decided to put a stop to all of this.

He brought his arm up, and swung it forwards in Maggie's direction with enough force to knock someone off their feet. Green light burst forth, hardening into a glowing shield that went flying at her center mass, with extreme prejudice and an intent to put her out of fighting shape as quickly as possible. If they wanted to draw guns on children then they were going to deal with real threats from adults. Many people in the world of magic believed that guns were the definitive weapon to defeat all of magic. Fireballs? Gun. Teleporting? Gun. Zombies? Shoot the Lux user. This was, of course, the reason Stormy felt vindicated in being the one who stood up to the Wolfpack first: Guns did not mean a damn thing to him, because he was Stormy fucking Carson.

"Someone help that kid, now." With his shield sent after Maggie like a derailed train, Stormy walked up between everyone, standing in the proverbial No Man's Land dividing the Wolfpack from the Sycamore and Greenwood members. If any of the Wolfpack members got much closer, they'd feel his Phantombane aura start to repel their Apparitions. He brought his glowing hands up, and a pair of red Lux-proof shields exploded into existence across his arms. But he didn't stop there, as copies of the shields appeared on his left and right, in two rows of five, daring anyone to pass. The parking lot was bathed in the soft green light of the very spells that saved many lives a decade ago.

He raised his voice loud enough that everyone in the parking lot could hear it. Every Wolfpack member, every "friendly" paranormal individual, and, ideally, the members of Greenwood that Alizee had wronged. "Whatever grievances you have with any of these people, legitimate or otherwise, you are grown adults! Does it make you feel powerful, pointing your gun at a child? If any of you raise another gun, or use magic again starting right now, I will break you all! Turn around, and leave! You are not taking anyone of us with you." That last part was said entirely for Alizee's sake. Stormy wasn't happy with her, but she was one of them. Her problems were their problems, and he refused to throw her under the bus. Stormy fully intended to put stick his own neck out for everyone who wasn't a Wolfpack member right now. If someone followed his example, then maybe this reunion wouldn't be so difficult after all.

Interactions: Drake, Sloane, Kali and Luca

Flowers and Canvases

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"If we knew it was our Father Wolf, it wouldn't be a mystery," Jack commented as he picked up the card Sloane dealt him. He held it between the fingers of his shadowy hand, and pressed it into his palm, where it seemed to disappear completely against the "skin." He still had it on his person, though. "I agree that he'd have to be familiar with us. These wolf carvings appear anywhere on earth before a victim's death. So either our killer is someone capable of macro-scale movement, like me," He emphasized that fact so no one could say he didn't own up to it later, "Or this is the work of numerous individuals. Both are equally likely, and the second option could imply anything from a criminal network to a particularly unique abstraction. The only common link are the wolf carvings... Do we have any of them with us that we can study? There could be forensic information that would give us some direction."

Jack couldn't blame Sloane in the slightest for not trusting them. Everyone was a suspect in a murder case. Moreover, Jack was the one unhinged enough to play with the fabric of existence. For all they knew, the killer could've secretly discovered the secrets of his Voidwalking, and was using that to pick them off. From someone else's perspective, it could've been Jack himself doing that. Jack wasn't so sure he could reasonably trust any of them either. At least not yet.

"Unfortunately, we shouldn't trust each other so much at the moment. But I would like to at least ask all of you for a chance to earn one another's trust. Auri meeting went poorly, because we can't trust her to be an effectively leader. If we don't trust each other, then we'll only stay divided. We could be stronger and safer together, once we've found a way to rule ourselves out."

And then Sloane said it plainly: Father Wolf was in the Coven. Jack wasn't surprised at that conclusion. It made sense, how else would anyone explain the dead members?

"How much can we narrow it down, knowing that? Who else among us could appear anywhere on earth at a moment's notice? I've experienced time at a slower pace than everyone else, having been outside Shimmer for most of the decade. I should be able to remember them all... Victoria could produce portals that led to anywhere. I remember working closely with her to track down the Snake through other worlds." He looked over at Drake, her brother. "Can you rule out the possibility that it'd be her?"