Blizz

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

wat

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

@Estylwen

Didn’t know how to conveniently answer your characters but Nora can 100% build the things they requested. Wouldn’t be too difficult.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

The House on the Hill

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Everyone seemed to have a decent plan in mind. Ghosting people in a coordinated way to hide from the Elite and 8th Street served as a way to protect their more vulnerable members and buy them some time. Adora and Luca could talk to the members of 8th Street that could actually be reasoned with. And that would make things easier with the plan that Jack had in mind. He didn’t need to jump on Ken’s ass, either, since the others already did. Good. This seemed promising.

”I don’t agree with using Britney and Lila as “bait,” personally,” he said. ”It is a logical thought. 8th Street is after them. But there is always that risk that they catch their bait. And 8th Street already knows we will protect them. We were lucky they retreated last time.” Even if Jack was able to teleport them out, there was always the risk that someone got to them before he did.

He would’ve kept talking, as he always does, but the door flew open.

Drake Blackmore walked in at last. He was tempted to scare the shit out of the Blackmore Family again to check on the man. To Jack’s bewilderment, he was still in half-decent spirits despite losing Jade. That bugged him, and he wasn’t sure how to really articulate why in a way that wouldn’t agitate Drake. Britney, Aryin and Linqian walked in next, along with… Lynette? She was still alive? Interesting…

”I’d hope you would not lose something so powerful, Britney,” Jack commented. There would be hell to pay if the Noble Vow was lost. Jack would snap his fingers and return it to his hand with a Blackout Shift mark that he made sure to keep on the hilt. And then he’s smack somebody over the head with it. With prejudice.

”All you missed was a tangible plan coming together. Greyson verified something that Luna brought to our attention,” he looked at Drake when he said that. ”We know how to move forward, how to find Kari’s notes.”

Two more people walked in. Stormy, who didn’t say a word as he stood posted up by the door. And Amara, who came in with her arms crossed. ”I put some phantoms outside just in case. Sorry I’m late… Had a thing.”

”I think we have two more things to discuss at the very least. Firstly, the dreams we are having… Regarding the Pale Horse and the High Priestess, I am familiar with them, somewhat. The Pale Horse is a multi-dimensional terror, who murdered billions across the All-Verse. And the High Priestess was once a benevolent entity, before she met the Pale Horse and descended into madness. She became obsessed with “purging the unworthy,” according to what I can access. What that means, I cannot say.”

Jack didn’t let it show, but the idea of having to face not one, but two threats of that level again made his soul ache. ”And then there is the matter of Raven Jones. Some of you may not know the woman she is related to in these dreams, but her name is Sunshine Jones. Just like the Pale Horse and High Priestess, she was feared throughout the All-Verse,” Jack continued. ”She is a green Adept who dedicated her life to horrific experiments on unwilling test subjects, created monstrosities capable of destroying worlds, and was banished to the Pit long ago. I do not know who is expecting us to deal with these Apparitons, but we cannot stand up to them. So we do not need to concern ourselves with them for the moment.”

Jack paused and let everyone take that in. In their current state, there was no way the Sycamore could put up a fight against monsters like them. They were barely able to keep each other safe on a good day, they were in no position to wage another war.

”Second… We need power and resources. We’ve made good strides in that sense, but there is always room for more. Kenshiro and I have been planning to travel into other worlds to find artifacts. Ones that we can use to our advantages to make up for the fact that we are struggling compared to the other forces in this city,” he explained. ”When we are not needed, the two of us plan to enter a world known as Gloom to retrieve an artifact known as the Brass Needle. It is known to sever the bond between Apparitions and their hosts, including those sealed within a human being.”

He looked to Lila and Luca, both of which have been struggling lately. ”We can use it to give you two a chance at moving on from the Rot and the Maiden, if you wish. And we can use it against other Adjoined who oppose us. We’ll likely look for other artifacts in the future. We have also built a pocket reality to store them, and just recently, I finished organizing it. We can use it for meetings from now on, if we need.”

”Finally, if anyone would like to join Kenshiro and I when we leave to recover the Needle, let us know. We intend to be back within twenty four hours, and will leave when we know we won’t be needed here.”

”Holy shit, you yap a lot.”

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

Wiseman dove away from the exploding knife, seeing the bits of electronics strapped to it. He was safe behind Terraformer's reactive defenses, and quickly popped out to give Lady Blade one more stasis shot to the chest just for good measure. He looked over at Oracle's wound. "Two minutes and thirty seconds, then it will arrive," He answered, mentally counting down how long it usually took for Angel-5 to get from his lab to this part of Castleburg. "You'll be fine. If HERO One is under attack, then this is just a red herring. They may need backup over there once we've finished here, keep that in mind when we rejoin the fight."

Wiseman pulled up a map of the convention center on his Lexicon, looking for vantage points. "If we get to higher ground, we stand a better chance against Albino. That will help us stay out of the fight long enough for Angel-5 to meet us, without the risk of Lady Blade's partners from finding us here. Once Oracle is tended to, we can decide our next course of action. Terraformer, can you restrain her before she wakes up?"

Many heroes quickly descended on the scene, stopping Albino and Jellyfish from getting out easily with the Vice Director. Eva started attacking, Fallout was ready to annihilate them both. Crane was being Crane about this. But little did the two members of the Fiendish Five know that there was still one more surprise in store for them. Mire had already dissolved into the earth minutes ago, but their body could approximate a sense of touch. Many species of fungi could retract or release a cloud of spores in response to physical contact with something, often to ward off something that would eat them. But for Mire, this meant that they knew exactly what was happening above ground. Many pairs of footsteps running to one location, one of the humans hitting the ground. It was vaguely possible to distinguish them based on the way they walked. Crane's footsteps were, unsurprisingly, absurdly heavy against the ground.

So when people started moving, Mire could just tell, in their unraveled state, that Albino and Jellyfish weren't supposed to be here. In response to this, the ground next to Albino split open. Dirt and rocks flew up and outwards as a long and gaunt arm shot out like zombie. It grabbed his leg with a grip that threatened to break it, while dripping wet with some strange, murky fluid that spilled to the ground as if it were leaking from a sieve. That would be the enzymes of countless fungal species, mixed together into a ghastly substance that had no trouble dissolving metals, much less Albino's flesh.

Veins of pale hyphae curled up out of the hole opened by the arm. Mire's voice came through the ground as if the very soil that Albino stood on was a mouthpiece for the Leftover.

"I'm having a bad day, so I think I'll take it out on you."

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

You thought I wouldn’t

But I did

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Layla fuckin changing Apparitions like an influencer changes outfits

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: Who the Fuck is Baldur
Skills:
WHAT. THE. FUCK.

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That was easy.

Leah turned his ass into fucking chopsticks with that swing, as if he were made of butter. Blood sprayed everywhere, and surprisingly, Leah didn't care that much. She'd seen worse before. With that being done, she reared her axe back up over her shoulder and planned to get back into the fight to do it again, but then the voice behind the glass became clear. It wasn't some NPC, it wasn't Ed, unfortunately. No, it was none other than their friend who had gone off on her own adventure, somehow in here with the. Mai. Fuck, how did Mai get in here? Was this some kind of trick? Did Ed know that they were good friends? Or had he somehow trapped her in here as well?

A mix of fury and confusion filled her as she dropped the axe and hauled on the glass enclosure. Her fingers dug in between the seems of metal and the wall and she managed to pry the damn thing open. Leah didn't even bother to verify whether or not it was actually Mai in there, or some fucking shapeshifter, before backpedaling out of arm's reach. "Don't fucking move. How do we know you're not a trick Ed put in here?" She asked, picking her axe back up. "How did you get in here?

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

Lady Blade dropped from the ceiling. To Terraformer's credit, he reacted as quick as he could. Wiseman was already diving in the direction of his knife in case she jumped him first, but Lady Blade got a cheap swing in at Oracle. Of the three present, she was the least equipped to last long in this fight. Terraformer could protect himself with the environment, and Wiseman himself could use his weapons and his knowledge of Lady Blade to his advantage. But Oracle could only use flashes of inspiration for the chance of standing up. So when he hit the floor, Wiseman rolled over his shoulder and brought his Stasis Blaster up to eye level. It was instinct for the longest time, tilting the weapon slightly just enough to look past the scope. Lady Blade barely got the chance to finish her taunt before Wiseman fired off three shots, each with the individual potential to drop a target's body temperature to a debilitating level. He armed for her feet, hoping to immobilize her.

She was a hardened fighter who could kill any of them right now if allowed. If this wasn't enough to stop her, he'd just aim for the chest and not let up.

"Oracle! Knife!" He shouted, referring to the electrified blade he stuck in that robot. Oracle could get to it if Wiseman just laid into Lady Blade, and she'd be in a better position to defend herself.

---

Unsurprisingly, what followed was just a whole lot of empty words from the humans. "team bonding" this, "plants and fungus" that. Of course Mire was aware of the difference between the two kingdoms, they were a fucking kingdom of fungus on legs. If these humans had the cognitive function to understand that Mire was referring to the "pyramids'" nature as Leftovers, just them. The things that these humans were afraid of and yet kept in little boxes like pets. The human in the lab coat at least tried explaining itself better than the others, and on some level it made sense and was a window into the thought process of a human. This was just to get them into shape to actually do their "job," apparently.

"Cooperation is a funny word that all of you humans keep expecting me to understand," Mire commented, towards Emily. "Cooperate while we put you in this box of metal and plastic and gawk at you for a few sunrises. Cooperate so we can stab you with pieces of metal and rip you apart to "study" you, whatever that meant for them. Cooperate so we can put you on some metal tube and take you far, far away from your home so we can make you be a "hero." The word left Mire's guttural approximation of a mouth with some inflection that humans might use to portray disgust. They were pissed off, being here, if it wasn't totally obvious.

"Fine, I'll look for these things. Fine, fine." Without another word, Mire's body warped and sputtered until they were more liquid than solid. Mire turned around, took a few steps and then melted like a statue made of wax, draining into the soil beneath their feet and then vanishing from sight.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Sloane, @Atrophy Kenshiro, Greyson @AtomicEmperor

The House on the Hill

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Jack allowed Greyson to beam the images of his proof into his mind. Perhaps there was a possibility that he’d do something strange to Jack’s head- Something he surmised would be a challenge- but Jack didn’t feel that unsure of Greyson’s loyalties. He was always a snake, but he was always their snake. So he paid close attention to the details.

Meetings with 8th Street, Blake Schmidt’s face, Kari’s notes being magically incapable of translation. Good starting points, all of it.

”You’ve improved since the old days,” Jack commented towards Greyson’s display. ”I believe you.”

"Why, so someone else can get their hands on her notes to sell for profit? I know the ways of your bōryokudan; you'll not convince me of your good intentions without assurances on your life that those notes will remain confidential and out of your reach!"

”Kenshiro,” Jack turned and looked him directly in the eyes. ”If anyone has a chance of translating those notes, would it not be you? Your closeness to Kari puts you in an advantageous position, does it not? We can recover the notes and translate them ourselves.”

Greyson and Tayla claimed that Luna could be trusted. Between the two of them, it wasn’t hard to tell what Luba was thinking.

”Fine,” he said. ”If-“

The door flew open, and Jack almost tore Sully’s head off as he came in shouting like a fucking cowboy. Something about that made Jack’s skin crawl for a second as his face scrunched up in a copious lack of amusement. And then he fuckimg threw the Chalice at Sloane, who didn’t catch it. Jack beat down the urge to shout at him, and just picked the magic cup off of the floor as Sully came in blasting people with the healing elixir from water guns.

_{”Second chances. Second chances,”} he muttered to himself.

And then, Jack tried to change the subject back to something that wasn’t that. ”…If Anya can sneak into his dreams, then what should the rest of us do?” He asked Greyson, walking over and politely handing the Chalice to Sloane instead of throwing it at her like a barbarian… With an ominous black smudge on the rim of the cup just in case Sully happened to be fucking drunk right now. He clearly had a better understanding of this than most of them. ”8th Street may be actively reporting to him, they could attack us again in the meantime.”

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Commander.Sirus

N/A | Sirus | He/Him

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"And the heavens wept, for they know not the extent of us who live and die."

Description:

Sirus is a machine created by Connor Bray, a former member of the Sycamore Tree Coven. He was known to be one of the best weaponmasters of the coven, standing shoulder to shoulder with Goro Hatanaka as a source of powerful artifacts. But Connor's orange and gold Lux also produced many free-thinking entities that served as foot soldiers in the war against the Stygian Snake. Out of everything that he ever created, the metal commander who named himself Sirus was his greatest work. Sirus was a member of the coven just like him, as intelligent as the the more scholarly people among them and far more empathetic than his progenitor. A heartfelt counselor to those who reeled from the traumas of the fight, and a staunchly levelheaded voice in heated discussions, Sirus was a beacon of idealism to his flesh-and-blood friends. And of course, his preference for civility never stopped him from beating the brakes off of Apparitions alongside the heavy hitters of the coven, such as Aryin Thorne and Drake Blackmore.

In the aftermath of the battle, Sirus made it a point to tally up the dead and give them some semblance of last rites. Along with Connor, they worked to ensure that the house was cleaned, so to speak, and that no more minions of the Snake lingered. They remained in St. Portwell for another year, in which Sirus worked to find families of the deceased and put matters to rest. And after that, the two of them said their goodbyes and left. They had their own unfinished business to attend resolve, which Sirus cryptically described as "putting down a ghost that will not stay dead." No one in St. Portwell has seen the noble machine or his creator since the day they departed, but Sirus assured them that, one day, he would return. With or without Connor by his side.

Abstraction: Abominable - Steel Commander

Sirus was created by a masterful blend of red, gold and orange Lux. As such, he is a unique mix of artifact and minion-based magic, given presence by elemental power. He is made of solid metal from head to toe, and built to withstand blows from brutally strong paranormal entities. He has enough strength in one arm to crash through brick walls, and his emotional-field grants him a strong durability against most forms of offensive magic. Because he was created by an Adept with an absurd affinity for automaton, Sirus can also use a minor form of orange and gold Lux to create, or intuitively operate things created by Connor Bray. This includes every weapon the Adept has ever invented, and all of the mechanical drones he used during the battle against the Stygian Snake. These constructs are magically linked to Sirus, allowing him to communicate and command them telepathically.