BrokenPromise

March of the White Rabbit: A Roll-Your-Own Magical Girl Roleplay

*Tries to be annoying.*

*Gets flirted on.*

— Tonya “Mac” Murphy IRON MOUSE

Tonya “Mac” Murphy

Age: 24/11 | Gender: Female/Female | Illusion, Gravity
Body | Power of Friendship, Regeneration, Third Eye | Cradle
Coercion, Soul Jar, Martial Training, True Sight, Parasite, Gifted, Awareness, Overcity Shift, Mystic Artifact

Magical Overload, Cradle Supply, Connected, Gifted Item (Aigorost) | Monstrous Form, Exposed, Mercy, Distrust
Redirected Magic, Second Specialization | Non-Standard Limbs, Destroyer

STR: 05 | AGI: 04 | VIT: 05 | MAG: 03 | LCK: 03
+46
STR: 20 | AGI: 20 | VIT: 20 | MAG: 20 | LCK: 20

Earnings this post: Zilch

Remaining: 8 Gold, 30 Silver, 39 Bronze
Total: 12 Gold, 162 Silver, 183 Bronze

Mac never knew how her alternate identities would be received. She did tailor them to her goals, often choosing traits that she hoped would make a certain impression. Knight of Tonight was made on the spot and probably wouldn’t fool anyone other than MDP. Iron Mouse was intended to be somewhat obnoxious as to make her less interesting to others. Nobody liked a showoff, so she figured people would not want to stick around her. The irony of Iron mouse was that her boasts were accepted at face value, and her self-centered nature was seen as endearing by their “mark.” Mac was a little surprised by Nefer’s open flirting, but she couldn’t let it show on Mouse’s face.

”Yea, you aren’t the only one.” Iron Mouse winked. ”If you keep up the good behavior, maybe you’ll get a cheek pinched though..” Mac grimaced as Iron Mouse uttered the words. She was quiet for the rest of the trip.

…

…

…

”Oh wow.”

Mac might have broken character, but there was so much stuff going on. Even a magical girl with A_W_A_R_E_N_E_S_S would have a hard time keeping up with it all. Evacuations, a giant scarecrow, it was nuts. But she had her orders.

”Sure thing, Fable!” As soon as Iron Mouse hopped out of the car, she brandished a machine gun. ”Oh!” She turned to Nefer and pinched her cheek. ”I’ll show you to Penrose as soon as I’m done here. Shouldn’t take long!” Iron Mouse gave the Egyptian woman a salute before catching up with Finn.

It wasn’t long before Finn started cutting into the enemy ranks. Shortly after calling some barn animals to his aid, he shot Iron Mouse a message, more a suggestion really. He believed that she should ignore the giant metal man for now and focus on something else. Mac could tell the tin man was strong. But that was exactly why she felt like she should be the one to deal with it. She had spent a decade silently operating in the shadows. Now that she was stronger, exposed, she didn’t have to operate on the sidelines anymore. It was also beneficial to attack something that everyone would likely be fighting. If several magical girls were beating on the tin man, who could really say which one was doing the most damage to it?

More importantly, attacking the tin man was just a very iron mouse thing to do.

”You wanted to see how strong I am?” Iron Mouse ran towards the tin man. ”Bet tin can here goes down before lion king does!”

Iron Mouse opened fire. The illusionary bullets sparked as they “bounced” off of the tin man’s frame. ”Gunna need geo rounds for this one!” She dove into the ground. A mole mound raced straight for the tin man before exploding. Iron mouse lept out of the earth with a boulder in hand, fully intent on smashing it into the tin man’s heart.

Though what was actually happening was far more mundane. Mac was on the ground, guiding a cluster of tightly packed stones towards her target.

---

"Oh no, I’m feeling something other than hatred!”

— Sakura

Sakura

3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3
8 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 5
Lightning - Water - Air | Killing Blow
Awareness | Enhanced Outfit | Training (Wing Chun) | Sanctum | Bile | Reverence |Immortality
Free Agent | Mana Overload
Alone | Monstrous Form

Sakura had managed to free herself from her prison of flesh. It seemed that going to heaven and returning had renewed her strength, almost as if she had gotten a good night’s rest. But she had resisted the urge to use a killing blow or a powerful spell to free herself. Such things were overkill anyway. The other sleepy girls always fled before her attacks landed anyway. He remembered the big oppai cat maid, and was willing to see how far her advice would lead her.

But that didn’t stop her from assuming a combat stance. She flailed her arms around as her eyes scanned the area for foes to beat up.

---

"I lived bitch."

— Chloe Irving

Penrose was never in a state of rest. If things did seem normal, that was an indication that there was some other fuckery afoot. If the streets were quiet, it just meant that there was someone in the overcity scheming to destroy love. Or maybe a group of monster twins and their clueless date were trying to summon a horror. Maybe The Ascendancy were threatening to destroy a beach dimension, or maybe wonderland was waging war elsewhere to claim an outpost for their assault on Penrose. Or maybe Chloe Irving was waiting in the wings. Prepared to stage a spirit attack to drum up some chaos for some end.

Mmmmm, not today.

Chloe strut through Penrose like she was walking down a catwalk. Aurora and Divina flanked her sides, matching her step for step. One might have confused them for charlie's were it not for their appearances. Chloe’s magical girl outfit showed too much skin, Divina was a moth girl, and Aurora was a very petite boy. Chloe was closer to a demon than an angel anyway.

"My my, it looks like they’ve started to put Penrose back together." Chloe grinned as she walked through the business district. "Magical girls love to flaunt how resilient they are, but despite everything, normal people still love to live here."

”It is a sight to see.” Divina beamed. ”It just goes to show you that regardless of how bad things get, human resilience can triumph any hardship.”

Chloe grabbed Divina by the chin and pulled her closer. "Don’t forget where you are, Divina. This is the business district. There’s a reason why this place is more put together than the rest of Penrose." She grinned. "It’s an opportunity for these parasites. They come in pretending to give a damn about the local people, but they’re all here because property is cheap. They bought this rubble for pennies on the dollar." She released Divina’s head with a shove. "Not that I care one way or the other, just temper that attitude of yours."

"Like, it is nice to see the place packed again." Aurora groaned. "Though I can’t go out and buy dresses anymore."

"And what makes you say that?" Chloe wrapped an arm around Aurora’s waist. "I think you’d look stunning in just about anything. And that’s not something I tell many men."

Chloe’s comment made Aurora blush. "I really wish I had my boobs back!"

"Well, regardless, we should probably go undercover for now." Chloe stroked one of Divina’s feelers. "I enjoy having eyes on me, but I think Divina’s going to be a little distracting like that." And so the three magical girls returned to their normal forms. "I have a few errands to run, so if the two of you want to play around for a bit, I’ll meet with you later." Her lackies wished Chloe well as she walked deeper into the business district.

I wonder where that coin broker is in all of this.

Stumped by my own premise

I'm kind of reminded of the wizard of oz, where Dorothy's house is picked up and dropped near the yellow brick road by a tornado. On top of a witch no less, so maybe the hag can make her way into the story that way. Then one of the locals could ask if someone in the adventuring party "was a good hag or a bad hag."

It would be pretty easy to just copy the wizard of oz wholesale and just edit parts to make them feel more like a D&D campaign. Though there are a few stories that feature people getting spirited away for one reason or another.

Symphony of Espers

The first to strike the Behemoth was Jacqueline. It was hard to get a clear shot with the locusts buzzing around, but she wasn’t picky. A place where Havoc’s tip could find purchase was all she required. Jacqueline found her opening and appeared over the Diver’s knee. A single swing punched through the giant cloak. The first of many strikes to come. A low risk attack with a low reward. With the downpour of blood, she couldn’t be sure if her attacks were drawing blood, or even if they were making holes. It almost felt like she was swinging into tar. The Diver was still in one piece.

A shot in the right place may be more effective. Ashley prepared a melody for such a case. Her wand trembled as it surged with power. Its eerie neon glow was visible even through the downpour of blood. But how to deliver it? The Diver was hovering close enough to the ground. He could be climbed, but that was more difficult with a wand and shield in hand. At least the power in her wand wasn’t going away. It would only grow stronger over time. Samuel cut through the locust as Ashley decided her next move.

Finn arrived shortly after and ran up the Diver’s torso, with some help from Marrie’s melody. Unlike the others, Finn didn’t struggle to scale the behemoth. He sliced through the insects that blocked his path, and managed to get to the Diver’s shoulders as his melody ran out.

He scrambled to the Diver’s head. Once his feet were stable he thrust at the behemoth’s jaw. The blade penetrated as deep as Finn could thrust, but his blade came back clean. Clean until the crimson sky stained it red.

Mika was new to all this, but she had to do something. The cat girl was the only one with mana to spare. It was apparent they needed to work together if they were going to bring down this monster. Though what to do eluded her. At least until she realized Ashley and Samuel weren’t attacking the diver.

”Let’s get closer!"

Mika sprung into action. The head of a spectral giraffe emerged under their feet. The snout rose up under Sam, Ashley, and Mika, and they were all seated on it as it took to the sky. And it took to the sky fast. The giraffe raised to the height of the Diver’s hips. But the acceleration was so great that it threw them higher still. While initially surprised, the agents regained their composure.

Samuel spun like a top, eviscerating the incoming locusts.

Mika pulled back her fist and belted out a warcry.

Ashley thrust her wand into the Diver’s center mass.

The tip of Ashley’s wand buried itself in the Diver’s cloak. An explosion of neon burned a hole right over the Diver’s chest. Burnt fabric and ash were scattered to the wind. The Diver’s chest had been exposed, but it was a mystery how much damage had been dealt. There was no gore, no chunks of diver sloughing away.

While Samuel kept the locusts off everyone’s back, Mika maneuvered in for a debilitating punch. She soared towards the behemoth’s exposed chest and threw a punch directly where its heart should have been. Her fist sunk into her target. She had landed a hit.

But the Diver still stood.

Their outlook was getting darker.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness will spread over Egypt—darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and total darkness covered all Egypt for three days. No one could see anyone else or leave his place for three days.

— Exodus 10:21–23

As the fight drew to a close, the clouds darkened even more. The clouds turned black without a single beam of sunlight breaking through. Lightning strikes had taken out the power long ago, leaving the espers to rely on their own effects to see by. But they had come too far to give up. Their remaining mana didn’t matter, nor did their wounds. Finn wanted to do something right. Samuel wanted to complete his objective. Ashley wanted there to be a tomorrow for all the firstborns. Jacqueline knew backup would show up. It just wasn’t here yet.

Not Gemini reinforcements at least.

”Armstrong!” A zombie woman ran up beside Marrie. How Stacy managed to find her in the darkness was unclear. But Stacy was able to do a lot of things without a head, so maybe it was best not to question it too much. Though if she could talk, she must have found one. ”I hope I didn’t make you worry, I could tell there were a lot of fresh heads nearby. I ran into the Mavericks and-” She turned. ”We can catch up later! Let’s move the queen to D9 and sink their battleship!” Stacy lifted Marrie over her head and bound towards the Diver’s location.

Ashley hung from the Diver. Her wand had sunken into its flesh with that last attack, and it was holding onto her instrument. It was the only thing keeping her from taking a very long drop. But it was here by the Diver’s chest that she could hear the sound of an instrument. Harp strings, plucked to the beat of the behemoth’s heart.

It was in this darkness that Ashley could more easily see things with a fainter luster. The diver’s flesh was not fully opaque. She could see the shape of a grand harp floating inside the creature’s chest, just inches away from Mika’s fist…

INCREDIBLY SECRET! DO NOT ENTER!

@Squashedquatch Good sir, did you mean to post this in the spam section?

Grimoiric Heart

Stripes gave a huff when Tesni misinterpreted her sarcastic comment for genuine advice. She should have expected that from a dimwit. Whatever.

With so many magical girls in the area, Stripes's strength was lowered to that below of a mundane human. She barely had the strength to lift a two-by-four. But with a blink of her orange eyes, they turned emerald green.Stripes became Silvia.

The grand minister's poorly timed appearance did little to spark a flame in Silvia's chest. It wasn't that her enchanted charisma didn't work on Silvia, just that it was hard to get her to feel anything to begin with. She never ate in the cafeteria and she didn't know any of the people who had their grimoires corrupted. It was hard to care much about what was going on.

It might have helped if Ozma cared, but she didn't seem to. She just dragged Roma into the school and appeared okay with Merlin having her back in school. She did not stir. Silvia thought Ozma might have protested as capturing Roma was her idea. But if Ozma didn't care, why should she? It unnerved stripes that Ozma was impartial about it. It didn't make sense.

Unless Ozma and Merlin were one in the same.

It wouldn't be hard, and it explained a lot of mysteries. Such as why Ozma was so strong, how she got clearance to do things that only the faculty should be able to do, why the minister was seldom seen, and many others. It wouldn't even be that hard. Merlin was a master of enchantments and illusions. Creating a magical girl should be easy. They kind of acted the same in that they were both so jubilant. Everything Ozma did could be recreated by the minister. Or was it the other way around?

A sensible person would ask Silvia "But why?" And that was easy to answer. The two biggest reasons that came to Silvia's mind were that Merlin could use Ozma to break her own rules. Ozma was outside the system, so she was not held to the same standards as the minister herself. The second reason was that due to Merlin's importance, they probably didn't let her enter dangerous areas out of fear that she could be hurt. So she could use Ozma to live a double life. Or if Ozma was the real one, maybe she did something to merlin and was pretending to be her with their powers.

But now that she had this epiphany, who would she tell it to? How would she set out unmasking Ozma, her former idol? How did she feel knowing that Ozma, the strongest magical girl to hold a fable, was a sham and nothing more than the minister's way of manipulating the rules of their own establishment? And if not that, someone who was manipulating Marrywell as a whole, playing the students and faculty as puppets.

She looked straight at Ozma.

"...Whatever."

Silvia went back to piling up debris.

Then there was Lupin trying to kill someone and Suzuya trying to stop them. seemed like a simple disagreement to Silvia. Magical girls were soooooo dramatic...

Lilian was ignoring Mika, and Mika found it just as easy to do the same. The minister could turn the entire academy into her harem if she wanted too, but Mika's legend made her nigh impervious to to such effects. All Lilian wanted to do was stir up more drama, and she didn't need Mika to do that. So Mika turned her attention back to the students.

_@McFazzer

Mika was only half listening to Tesni. There was a lot going on and it wasn't like Mika could dedicate her attention fully to any one situation. "Your well being is important to me, but so is that of everyone else. Lets ignore the judgmental gazes for a moment and look around. This can't be something you're proud of." With a huff, she crossed her arms. "We can't dictate who takes blame for our actions. If you left your lunch unattended in your classroom because of an emergency, and I walked into that classroom, would it make you feel any better to know I said 'Alright, last call for this sandwich!' before I ate it? I don't think it would." Mika's hand moved to her hips. This wasn't exactly a private place to talk, but if Tesni was alright airing her grievances here, maybe she didn't care about her privacy so much. "Diversifying your skill set is great, but you had everything you needed to win that fight. I told Bon-bon to help you and she ran into a wave of pageless just to reach you. If you had tried-" Mika rubbed the back of her head. "Alright, you wanna train and get stronger? Relationships are just like muscles. The less you use them, the weaker they become. I understand you really wanted someone's help back there, but that's why everyone ignored you. You can't just go off relying on your own strength all the time. You need to keep those physical and emotional muscles strong!" She patted Tesni on the head before turning to Drossel.

_@KoL

"Sorry about that, Strudel. Guess I still need to help students out every one in a while." Mika flashed a grin. "Don't be too bummed about your performance. We got blindsided and stemmed the damage as best we could. But I've been thinking..." She stepped closer to Eins. "A lot of the kids are curious how your powers work, right? Maybe if you use them on me in a special demonstration everyone will be begging for a taste. Even if-"

_{@Lonewolf685@Majoras End}

Then the sound of a fire starting caught Mika's attention. Followed by Suzuya and Tesni exchanging words.

"Aigorost's eyes!" Mika approached the gathering of magical girls. "With all that's happened, do we really need to add more fighting and a fire to the-"

The sprinkler system kicked on.

Every overhead sprinkler sprung to life and soaked the room. The broken sheetrock, timber, and the magical girls themselves. They were all wet, and the air rung as the fire alarm went off. Mika hadn't been in a great mood ever since Lilian showed up, but that mild irritation was growing. She clinched her teeth as her eyes swayed between the two students. Mika's short hair stuck flat against her head.

"A lesser student counselor... May be tempted to use violence in a situation like this." She raised her finger. "But that's exactly what the pageless want! They turned Roma, who tried to turn the school, and now you two are preparing to go fisticuffs!" Mika pulled out a stack of post it notes and started to scribble on it with a pen. The sprinkler system was fierce, and the sticky notes were barely holding together. The ink ran off as fast as Mika put it on. "I don't know what your teachers or the minister is going to do about your behavior. But..." In a flash, two soggy clumps of post-it notes were stuck onto Lupin and Suzuya's foreheads. "There we go, a week of appointments for some counselling. I hope you don't have any after school plans. However!" Again, Mika pointed at the heavens. "If you girls can show me that you can still respect your fellow classmate. Say, with a hug. Then maybe I'll wave the whole thing."

Off in the corner of the room, Silvia sat under a plastic table to avoid getting rained on. Though that hadn't prevented her from getting blasted while trying to pile up the debris. She looked like a wet rat, shivering as the water dripped off of her elbows and nose.

"...Cool."

Grimoiric Heart

@Sonnambula Yoooo, glad to see you back! Did you want to join the discord?

Why is everyone so horny on this site?

@Squashedquatch Yea, the forum's tag system is kinda shit. It's suppose to be for X rated material but lots of people use it because they don't wanna play with a minor for reasons besides sex stuff.

Why is everyone so horny on this site?

@Squashedquatch Fair enough.

I think we can both agree that 1x1 RPs are more personal than group RPs. Especially if they are being run in PMs and will only ever be seen by the two people participating in them. Mix in some anonymity and you can probably understand why.

Regardless, safe for work 1x1 RPs do exist. If you look at the actual 1x1 section where the RPs are being run you can see that there are quite a few RPS with non-erotic elements. I also would not presume to assume every 18+ rp is erotic in nature. Some people just enjoy dark themes, violence, or do not feel comfortable writing with teenagers/children.

Just make your interest check and specify that you won't write erotic scenes or wish to "fade to black." It will take a few tries to get someone you feel comfortable writing with, but that's 1x1 rps in a nutshell. I assure you not everyone is a super kinky mo-fo.

Why is everyone so horny on this site?

@Squashedquatch You've been to the 1x1 section huh?

Symphony of Espers

Some might find Betty’s endless rage endearing, but Finn had enough of it.

Her thrust was easy to deflect. The bow glided over Finn’s blade and missed him completely. They both came up with their off hands to deliver a counter attack. Betty was swinging her violin while Finn’s hand cracked with magic. Tendrils of lightning wrapped around her torso and shoulders, restraining her arms in place.

”Hey! I’m not done yet!“

But Finn had decided that they were. He lifted Betty over his shoulder and ran for shelter. The door to the precinct wasn’t far, and it had already been unlocked. Finn could already hear the people inside running for their lives. Still, it was safer than being out here.

Though Finn wasn’t going to get Betty past the threshold of the door. All because his ears were never blessed by the words of Quintus Ennius, father of Roman poetry.

“The victor is not victorious if the vanquished does not consider himself so.”

Betty drove her knee into Finn’s chest, bursting his boils. Only Finn’s boils were patches of rust filled with water. Or at least they would have been if the Diver’s curse hadn’t turned the water to blood. The clockwork boy bled, and he could feel Betty slide off of his shoulder. She landed on her feet and ran into the apartment complex. Regardless if Finn wanted to pursue or not, there would not be a second chase. The falling hail cut the two off from each other. Betty disappeared under the veil of frozen blood. He could wait for it to pass, or return to the roof to help the others.

Marrie may have tracked down Betty, but she had her own target to worry about. Pac was already shielded by the mass of tendrils over her head, but Marrie decided to play it safe and gave her a shield anyway.

Her next move would be more time consuming however. She had spotted Ashley on her way down to the street, but she was no longer in sight. Ashley was about four to five stories up and no longer visible to Marrie. Climbing the rails wasn’t viable. They were a floor apart, and even a push melody would only get her up a story at a time. Hail and Pac’s incoming pacman projectile would have made a slow climb up the railings impossible to complete. Marrie ran inside so that she could ascend the stairs. If she was quick, she might save herself. She might save Ashley too.

But Ashley didn’t have much time.

Before her was Justin, a one man stampede accompanied by his mighty blood magics. She could see Jacqueline chasing the vampire, but she wasn’t able to catch him. Espers had the athletic ability of olympians, but a vampire veered into superhuman territory. He could jump across a city street without a running start. Staying ahead of Jacqueline was a simple matter.

Viridian energy gathered at the end of Ashley’s wand before flying towards Justin. But all it took was a simple twitch of his head to move the opening in his shield. Her projectile collided with his blood barrier and burned a large hole in it. Offense may have been the right move, but it was easy to telegraph when you could hardly move. That didn’t stop Ashley from preparing another shot from her wand.

If only she had more time.

The melody/wand one-two punch was a nice combo for minimizing the time between attacks. Melodies took time to cast though, and Ashley barely had enough time for that. Justin’s fly swatter-like arms were about to crush Ashley where she stood, and her wand wasn’t going to fire in time.

Then, an unlikely ally showed up.

In a battle of biblical proportions, it was a snake that came to Ashley’s aid. It sunk into Justin’s left arm, severing it and the flyswatter from Justin. The bloody net floated in the air, but it couldn’t move without Justin to swing it. Though he still had the right one. Blood ran down his legs and rooted him into the roof. The remaining net plowed into a car at Ashley’s left flank.

She couldn’t brace for it.

Something broke inside her arm, Her scapula sung with pain as she was flung to the ground. The remains of dead frogs and insects cushioned Ashley’s fall, but she might have preferred to land on the asphalt roof. Her head rested in some frog intestines, still warm and wet from detonating moments ago.

Ashley couldn’t see Justin bearing down on her. Just like she had predicted, stopping his first attack was not going to stop his assault. The bloody roots that held him to the roof released him. His new wound grew tendrils that latched onto his severed arm. He’d be back in full fighting strength shortly.

Had a war pick not shattered both of his legs.

Damage melodies were potent. They could be strong enough to sever limbs but they were limited in how long they took to cast. In the span of six, an esper could cast only a single melody, leaving them open to retaliation afterwards. Havoc, on the other hand, could do a lot of damage in that time. With a hard enough swing, Havoc could punch through multiple limbs. Justin’s brief stop meant Jacqueline could attack with impunity. His arteries and vessels cracked and shattered with every blow Havoc delivered.

He was about to roll himself over when Jacqueline shattered his remaining arm. The pick sunk into his torso and crushed his heart, but he still lived. Bloody tendrils started to wrap around her legs, even as Jacqueline drove her pick into his skull. His visage was split in two, and what remained was a cracked ruby large enough to be Justin’s brain. Ashley was able to stand back up without Justin’s gaze on her, and she fired her wand straight at the flawed gemstone, shattering it.

Had they killed Justin?

What remained of Justin’s body sunk to the ground. The ruptured blood vessels and remaining organs were now behaving like soft tissue instead of brittle gemstone. One by one, the organs melted into a pool of blood and sunk into the ground. But this did bring up another important question.

Where had all the hail gone?

Jacqueline and Ashley looked up. A spectral moose had appeared. It stood above both of them, horns crossing overhead like a giant net. The moose's antlers overflowed with frozen blood, but it kept those around it safe. Samuel had approached too, if not to seek refuge than to assist with Justin’s extermination. But things like this don’t come out of thin hair. And if that was what happened, someone needed to cast a melody or spell to make it happen.

All eyes turned towards the teal blur from earlier.

Nestled among the overturned cars was a catwoman in a teal dancing dress. She hugged her knees against her chest and looked all around herself. She looked at the spectral moose the way a child may look at an aggressive dog. But that wasn’t how she looked at the Gemini espers. When she looked at them she straightened her posture. Her grip on her knees was a bit more loose. But no matter how many times she scanned them, she couldn’t find what she was looking for.

"Where’s mom?"

No one would have a chance to answer.

Meanwhile, Marrie had emerged from the fifth floor of the apartment building. Pac was nowhere to be seen, which was probably a good thing. She had managed to survive the hail. Marrie herself managed to outrun the giant pac man, who took a few bites out of the hallway before expiring. She put the rest of her energy into scolding the Diver. It was hard to tell if they understood Marrie or even heard her. No behemoth thus far had demonstrated the ability to speak, Diver included. The only answer they gave was swinging their cross through the air. It kicked up some dust in the far corners of Pax Septimus, but as the dust particles came closer, it started to buzz.

This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow. They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians—something neither your fathers nor your forefathers have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.
— Exodus 10:3–6

The hail was gone, the bugs were only returning.

The streets, the rooftops, all overrun with giant locusts. The teal esper shrieked as one went to land on her, and she punched straight through its head. She ran across the rooftop yelling, but her words were lost in the buzzing. Though a giant spectral cat laid across the gap between the police building and the Diver’s hovering place. Just in time for the strange esper to cross.

If they wanted to put an end to this madness, they’d have to strike the Diver now.