Blizz

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Jack, always the stalwart hero. :>

@Estylwen

The fact that I can’t tell if this is sarcasm or not is funny to me

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Turns out that Luna would’ve had a better chance of getting along with Jack if she didn’t try and yoink members of the coven for the mafia

Greyson had the right idea by doing not that lmao

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Luna, Kenshiro, Edict

The House on the Hill

---

“Ah. Why don't we just be honest here, Jackie, and say what's really on your mind? You just don't like me, do you?”

”Of course not. But you should know better than-“

“What, you thought I'd forget your little stint with Layla?”

Jack could’ve disemboweled her right then and there. What did she know about the Void Heart? About what it did to his friend? But unsurprisingly, Luna persisted, pushing Layla into a verbal corner.

”Leave her be, we have more important things to worry about.” God, how did Luna even get invited to this meeting?

“You know she deals with worse than the Void Heart now, yes? I've dealt with them directly, so you can't call me out on my bullshit. Little Voidy was a soul-sucker. But the new breed you unleashed?”

“Humans. Raw, half-alive, screaming. That's what they eat. With pleasure. That's what you did to her. What you released onto the world.”

”The Void Heart killed people. If you did care enough to do something about it, you would know that, but you only mentioned it because your plan is too good that be true.” Adora was exactly right, the fucking mafia wasn’t just going to play nice with them.

And then Kenshiro finally caught up with him, coming in advocating for the nuclear option of an all out attack. It made sense, they did have very little choice right now. But Jack didn’t think they were that desperate. Adora began poking more holes in Luna’s plan, asking for proof. Jack would’ve mentioned that any proof a mafia child like her would present could be fabricated, but Leon and Greyson walked through just before he could.

"Woah, woah! Fiiiirst off, my client pleads the fifth, whatever the hell we missed. But, if it's what I think it is, I have proof, taken directly from a head privy to the information firsthand. And I'm happy to disclose anything, so long as you guys are gonna give me a fair shot at explaining."

”You invited her here?” Jack, as it turned out, was far more willing to take the word of a mafia child who didn’t spy on them and try to recruit the rest of them as kids. ”…Alright, what do you have?”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Nora Foster

Interactions: The Sycamore Tree Coven

The All-Verse

---

”I can make things for Apparitions, yeah,” Nora said, answering the scruffy looking girl. ”Generally speaking, it’s less a matter of what I can put together and more a matter of how long I have to do it. Some things take longer, depending on specifics like the size or raw power of something. If I really wanted to, I could make a whole car out of scrap that split open wormholes. Granted, it could take a whole year, but that’s the kind of thing I’m capable of.”

Nora didn’t have a clue who this Kari person was. She just smiled and nodded at the people who acknowledged her. ”Should I… Actually be standing here for this? Sounds personal.” To her credit, Nora didn’t seem phased by the mention of a serial killer.

“I have a plan on how to aqquire them. Blake’s looking for someone to decode them. I can have my associates reach out, offer to decode them, and bam, the notes will be ours to decipher.”

”Yes, because they would hand such a thing over to us willingly.”

”Wh-“ Nora spun around and pointed a hand at the guy who just scared the shit out of her. It was Jack, leaning against a wall, arms crossed with a look pointed at Luna. The hand Nora pointed at him quickly went from a hand of flesh to a gun barrel of brass.

”How- How long have you been standing there?” She asked, composing herself.

”Long enough.”

”…Do you do that often?”

Jack waved her off and changed the subject. ”I knew Kari well enough that I would not trust her notes with a group of criminals like your “associates.” And if this Blake Schmidt is clever enough to employ 8th Street to do his work for him, then he may be resourceful enough to know that we are searching for them right now.” So how, exactly, do you intend to withhold the fact that you are connected to us when you offer your services to him?” He asked.

”Several of us have not made a very concerted effort to be subtle about their actions, since the day we reunited. It would not be difficult for anyone to identify which of us are former coven members, or still maintain ties to us. If you offer to translate those notes, what will you do if he suspects you will hand them to us? Kari’s grasp of the paranormal was one that many people coveted, people die in conflicts over it. The chances of that plan succeeding are low at best.”

Nora whispered to Sabrina, ”…He talks a lot, doesn’t he?”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

yes

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

yes

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

Terraformer's handshake was returned by Wiseman. He had heard much about the kid from his earlier days as a hero, mostly from Oracle. His powers were supposedly something to behold, and there was a good person behind the bandana mask. "I've heard good things about you. It is always good to meet another tinkering her-"

The introduction was cut short by Powers finally deciding to grace the lot of them with his presence. He didn't look very happy at the group that had shown up today, as if every hero in Castleburg would even be available during a parade. In his hands, Powers held a spider-like drone with a camera that shattered as he tossed it to the floor with all the grace of a potato sack. That was certainly more interesting than whatever Wiseman had taken into account, and immediately knocked off over a dozen possibilities as to who this drone could belong to.

"I want you all to remain low-profile, keep an eye on the area, and make sure nothing suspicious gets inside. If you need to fight something, take it as far away from here as possible. Wiseman, try and figure out who built that thing and why it's here. I tried not to damage any of the important components too much."

Wiseman reached to his belt and withdrew the Indra Blade, and kicked the machine upwards with his foot to catch it in his free hand. He tapped a fist against his visor and then felt around for a seam. He found one between the legs and swiftly pried a panel of metal and chromafoil away. The Lasereye Visor revealed its internals in clear detail, and told Wiseman exactly how this thing worked. It wasn't anything fancy, certainly not on the level of anything he could have built...

"Overcompensating power supply, nonexistent intellectual capabilities," Wiseman raised his electrified knife and thrusted it into a seam between two more panels, eliciting a twitch of its legs and a puff of black smoke. "Live transmission feed, likely accompanied by a microphone- Now definitely disabled. I know this work."

Wiseman sat the drone back down, with the Indra Blade still stuck between the panels, in front of Terraformer. Just in case the other tech-minded hero felt like taking a crack at it. He brought up his Lexicon computer and pulled up a small mote of blue light,, expanding into a holographic screen and and moving it out in front of him. Five individual ICOSA files were on display for the other heroes around him to see as he then relayed his findings to everyone that was on their way to follow Powers' orders. Villains, all of them.

"Heroes, this is Wiseman. This drone that Powers found is the work of Professor Jon Gholem, a current member of the Fiendish Five. Just in case any of you haven't kept up to date, or haven't had the chance to dig through ICOSA databases yet," He began, mostly for Oracle and Terraformer's sake. "Gholem himself is not a superhuman by any definition, but his robotic creations put him on the level of one. The Fiendish Five are mercenaries, they take payment from a buyer and waste no time in doing their "job" or escaping once it is completed. The remaining four of them are as follows. Lady Blade, a master assassin with an unknown superpower- Do not get within CQC range of her under any circumstances. Doc Holiday, a glorified mascot with an equally deadly talent for ranged weapons, and a superhuman ability to measure distance and angles flawlessly. Of the heroes present, Blast and Bastion have the highest chance of surviving a ranged battle against him. But the rest of us should avoid that as much as possible, as he has killed at least twenty heroes to date."

He continued his rapid fire exposition while pulling up another holographic screen. This one had layouts of the building they were all in, maps the group could use to their advantage. "Albino, a violent ambush villain who teleports into unobserved blindspots. Stay in groups, and ensure you don't focus too much on one area. Keep walls to your backs as best you can. Lastly, Jellyfish. A Leftover-adjacent villain whose powers are not fully understood. ICOSA suspects he sticks to water, but there is no evidence he can't act on land. Stay at a distance, and stay far away from bodies of water."

"The fact that they have sent drones to scout means someone has undoubtedly paid them to ruin this parade for some purpose."

With that out of the way, he quickly sent a copy of the information he just read off to the others' smartwatches. They probably wouldn't be able to read it extensively, but it was there if they needed it. "This is my recommendation for countering them. Director, if this drone was following you for two hours, it is safe to assume that the Five know your schedule, and expect you to be on stage. Your powers and the crowd should protect you against Holiday, Lady Blade and Albino. Gholem's drones are not likely to harm you, but he may have sent other models to pack weapons that can harm the civilians. Terraformer, Oracle, under no circumstances should you be alone. At least one of you should stay with me or Bastion once he arrives. Bastion, if you haven't turned your watch off, you and Blast are in the best positions to respond to Doc Holiday, should he appear. Terraformer's abilities will likely be foiled by explosive bullets, or bullets that ricochet, which he is very much prone to using, so I suggest he walls off Lady Blades escape, if and only if he is not directly engaged by any of the Five. Alternatively, it would be beneficial for him to create walls that can be used to slow down Albino in a low-population area."

"As for Albino, he is most easily countered by Oracle and Ardent, but keep in mind that if these drones have been following the Director, they have likely been following us as well. No matter what we do, we should assume that the Five will not act individually. Doc Holiday can and surely will shoot Ardent out of the sky to make space for Albino to attack on the ground. They are more than capable of that coordination, and will no doubt attempt to exploit this to force an advantage." He pressed a button on his Lexicon, signalling Angel-5 to make its way over. "And lastly, we should act as if we are being watched at all times by these drones. I can find none of them in this room with us using my visor right now, but it would not be impossible for Gholem to swarm the parade with them. Be discreet when you are able."

Wiseman had a pretty good idea of where he'd be in the next few minutes. "Ask your questions now, they could strike at any moment."

---

Most of these humans, surprisingly, didn't freak out that much at Mire's presence. The one calling herself Emily Duff managed to hide the nervousness pretty well, but Mire could just tell that they still freaked these people out... They would've lectured the ratty guy to hell and back about the difference between fungus and fruit if it weren't for the conversation being changed quickly. All these humans gathering around didn't seem to be particularly thrilled about being here either, which was kind of funny to Mire, and made them wonder what the point of having so much fanfare for these heroes if their lives were clearly boring enough that they didn't look forward to it.

The conversation turned through a lot of words that meant next to nothing to Mire. "Rupa," "Colleagues," and "scavenger hunt." Though that last one made more sense as Duff pulled out some weirdly shaped object.

"I've placed a bunch of little pyramids all around the island, and all of them have little fun facts written in them! "Most of them are more interesting than that. But there's a bunch scattered across the island, which makes for a great bonding activity! You guys can pair up however you want and try and collect as many as you can. Ooh, and here's the fun part, whoever gets the most collects this prize, which I picked special!"

"This is what I was hunted and kidnapped for? Looking for... "Fortune cookies?" They snarled, not having to facial muscles to express why this little game irritated them. "Is this one of those human jokes I hear so much about? Just so you can give us those little formless sprigs? I'm made of things such as that. They aren't pets. Did humans forget the difference between those and dogs?" Their mildew-ridden body shuddered in annoyance, clumps of otherworldly spores fell to the ground like snow from a car.

"Is this what you do? Play games all day? I thought you helped people."

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

The parade was going well so far, the people were enjoying themselves, and Austin didn’t even need to step out of his lab to tell. Every news outlet from across the state of New York was talking about Castleburg and HERO’s big day. People had come from out of town, schedules vacations and drove hundreds of miles for this day.

But unlike all of them, Austin was more content to sit back and observe. In his lab, a maze of esoteric machines and dangerous weapons, he sat in a leather chair with his one eye glued to an array of screens, arranged in a honeycomb pattern. One of the screens showed the collective footage of a dozen security cameras overlooking the orientation for the newest heroes. Another broadcast a live news coverage of the parade itself. A screen for real time data on an experiment he was running in the back of his lab, a screen for schedules of active heroes… Screens, screens, and more screens. To anyone other than Austin, it would’ve just been a useless cacophony of sensory overload. But this was simple to him, all the information being thrown at him felt like watching paint dry as he took everything in.

Austin was never one for parades or the spotlight that came with being a hero. People looked up to heroes that defeated evil and served as beacons of hope, and Austin defeated evil with weapons and showing no more than the legally bare minimum about of mercy they were to be given. That just wasn’t his scene.

Austin was hoping today would just be a relatively lazy day, but then his Lexicon- which was way cooler than those smartwatches- sent him a message.

"Attention, heroes. I need a group of you to assist me at the Johnstone Convention Center. If you are available, please come and meet behind the stage. You will be rewarded for your time."

That, unfortunately, included him.

He tapped a button on the wrist computer’s interface, opening up a channel. ”Wiseman here, give me ten minutes. On my way.”

He switched the screen setup off, and got ready.

---

Eight and a half minutes later, Wiseman walked up to the Johnstone Convention Center, in his full armor and strapped with all of his weapons. A red and white suit of combat armor, and a helmet fitted with a complicated visor. On his back was a rifle that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie, and there was an equally high-tech looking knife holstered at his belt. Wiseman had a feeling he knew exactly why Powers was dragging heroes out here, there were two realistic possibilities.

Either a villain was attempting to make use of crowded area to sow uncontrollable chaos by attacking the center of the parade, or the Director was just looking for an excuse to put the rest of them in the same position as him. If the second happened, Wiseman would probably just walk off the stage and go about his business.

So when he found others present, Blast, Amune, Ardent and Terra… He considered leaving before even approaching them.

Oh well. He walked up to them regardless, hearing bits of their conversation. ”The most likely reason for calling us here is that Director Powers wants to show us off to the public. He doesn’t like giving speeches, and he has a sense of humor,” Wiseman commented, explaining his guess as to why Powers wasn’t even here at the moment.

”He might not show up at all.”

Mire did not want to be here. Only a week after getting free from that lifeless box, and they were shipped across the land to this city of metal and concrete. And they could stand all this noise. They had been escorted to island called “Savior,” by those creepy humans in the suits, and told to look for the assistant director. Mire felt like they were a grain of sand in a desert, without the millions of eyes and ears they had in the woods… They couldn’t even hear where to go, so they had to use their “eyes” to properly get around.

This “hero orientation” thing was grating to them, they never wanted to be this close to humans or be a “hero” at all. It pissed them off, being in this city what stank of trash and wasted nutrients, almost as much as being held against their will like a prisoner of war. But according to the humans, they were simply too interesting to be left alone, so now they were a slave.

More trudged along the grass of the Savior Island in the closest thing to quiet they had gotten in a while. The humans had encouraged them to not mind the looks of abject horror at other humans who grew pale in the face when Mire walked by, even when they started dialing numbers in their phones and shouted, ”Call the heroes! There’s a monster on the loose!” Unfortunately, some innocent bystanders who were simply enjoying their day had gotten a snarl, a loud warning to leave Mire alone and a profound scare for their troubles… If telling people to fuck off and leave them alone was all it took to be a “hero,” then maybe they’d be fine.

Eventually, the fungal horror caught a glimpse of several humans having a conversation. One of them looked to be vaguely dressed like the suited humans that Mire had been brought to this island by, so they hobbled closer, appearing only a few feet behind Emily Duff and speaking in a disgusting voice. Like a person trying not to choke on hot candle wax, filtered through a broken ham radio.

”Are you the human I was made to talk to?” They asked, in brazen disregard for all of the other humans present.

SPIRITUM

---

In the aftermath of yesterday's incident, Morden had elected to stay in the vehicle the entire time. While he certainly didn't expect their prisoner of war to be able to operate the tattered truck, he also didn't trust Vangar royalty as far as he could throw them. And Morden could throw them pretty damn far if he wanted. So he watched Colette like a hawk until he was sure, without question, she had fallen asleep. Then, he traded watch shifts among his fellow WARDENs, and eventually got some sleep himself, waking up slightly later than the others.

By the time he had reached the group, he was wide awake and giving the princess a stoic glare. She was capable of using magic, the kind of magic with combat applications. However weak or potent it was, that was enough of a reason to treat her as if she were always armed. Morden leaned over Gerard's shoulder and tuned into the conversation with Veld. He caught the man's instructions, and then gave Gerard a look at his comment about the road trip.

"No," that is the opposite of what this means, Gerard," He said. "It means we are doing what we are meant to do, following orders. When we are done, then perhaps we'll be able to continue. We are WARDENs for a reason."

And then, over the telekinetic spell, he added, And do not forget she's armed.

Morden turned back to the screen, addressing Veld. He kept his voice quiet, in case someone was spying on them right now. "In case the others have not informed you yet, the "Palatine" was armed with mechanical soldiers. Not the same ones that Vangar uses on a regular basis, but ones that are fully capable of replacing power armored soldiers entirely. Among the wreckage of that airship, many of them were still intact, with only superficial damage. They were armed with built-in weapons. Grenade launchers, gunblades... That was not a level of force one brought for diplomacy, Vangar royalty notwithstanding."

Nothing on the overly serious WARDEN's face, or in his grim tone of voice implied he was thrilled about this. "I personally engaged one, standard infantry would not stand a chance against them. They may have intended to spring a Trojan Horse upon arriving at their destination."

"I'm sure you will put that information to better use than us, sir."

Recollections: The Compendium

ELYSIUM.
| The Beacon in the Night | “When we think of the darkness, we imagine horror lurking in the shadows, and fear that which we cannot understand. But there is safety in the dark, in the act of walking with the unknowable things of this world. For once you step into that darkness, all that is known will not dare to harm you. With this weapon, I will show all of you the way to sanctuary.” ORIGINS & CREATIONS: | Crafted by Goro Hatanaka and Jack Hawthorne, it was made to fight back against the darkness of the Stygian Snake, and parallel the creature's absolute dominion over the shadows with the coven's own umbramancer. | TYPE: | Umbramantic Scythe | LOCATION: | Returned to the Hatanaka Sanctuary, after Jack gave it to Goro before his journey into the Void. | NOTABLE OWNERS: | Jack Hawthorne: The person for which it was originally created, who used it during the battle against the Stygian Snake to make the most of his magic. Goro Hatanaka: The original creator, who it was returned to after Jack no longer needed it. | ABSTRACTION-GRANTING: | No | .............................................................................	During the old days of the Sycamore Tree Coven, Goro Hatanaka created many artifacts with the help of Adepts such as Drake Blackmore and Stormy Carson. Jack Hawthorne had grown well accustomed to weaponizing his shadowy Lux in the form of a scythe, which could cut through Apparitions like they were corporeal. And though it had its uses, Goro realized he could do far, far better if he worked together with another intelligent Adept. And so, the two did research into the disciplines of Umbramancy and purple Lux, and devised a way to channel Jack's particular Abstraction into a weapon made from the oldest oakwood found at the foot of Mount Fuji, and a blade of dark steel that became a vessel for the shadows. As the newly crafted artifact rested in his hands, he felt his Lux grow stronger. The shadows moved more quickly, and he found his ability to keep them persistent was much, much stronger. And thus, the Elysium scythe became a staple of Jack's antics during their shared childhood. The weapon is enchanted to multiply the power of any red Lux that involves control over darkness, to a point that one can overpower and distort darkness created by beings of immense power, like the Stygian Snake. Limitations and flaws that come with one's unique form of shadow magic, such as Jack's tendency to go blind after prolonged use, are mitigated by Elysium to ensure no harm is brought down on the wielder. Elysium also embodies Jack's affinity for magical navigation. It reflects this by granting the ability to remove larges swathes of space to distort the distance between two points. Like cutting away from a tree, space affected by Elysium is simply removed for approximately six seconds unless consciously kept separated by the user, before snapping back into reality. This allows its wielder to quickly navigate vast expanses in record time, and temporarily sever defenseless paranormal beings from reality itself by banishing them along with the affected space. Those who have an emotional field will simply be tossed out of the affected area as if pushed by a strong telekinetic force, which can be quite unpleasant if used right. Jack returned Elysium to Goro Hatanaka before he left the All-Verse behind in the aftermath of the Sycamore's victory. When Goro returned to Japan, he left Elysium in the Hatanaka Sanctuary, should it be needed again.