What Happened in Portland

[Edgedancer]

It seemed that Nighthound succeeded in cutting around all the pretending and managed to get to the meat of the conversation. How trustworthy her claims of master espionage were was to be seen given that her only show of it was selling information of her own allies. She certainly didn’t figure out his connection with his sister. Seeing the actual seriousness under was appreciated, however. Wanting to stick with the dinosaurs certainly wasn’t something he could blame her for.

 

Then she fell right back into her silly act. Nighthound kept his face straight through it but the description of her “boyfriend” sounded rather weird, assuming he even existed, considering how he was last on her list. Although he could have been an Epic, in which case they were SOL. Eh, none of his trouble.

 

“A lucky fellow I’m sure and it's not like any good courtship goes without a couple of holes into the body of whoever can take it or random bystanders for that matter. Now to repay like with like,” Nighthound gave a small bow of his own, “I am Nighthound, very much here for my own amusement and the dinosaurs, specializing in getting things done and brother to our dear Lucentia.”

 

It’s not like keeping back any of that information would stay secret for long, so he may as well lay his most obvious card on the table.

                                                                     

 

 

 

Voidgaze was growing nervous on her way to Altermind. There most likely wasn’t a reason for her to think so much about it, given that she didn’t plan on saying anything she would have to worry about but that didn’t mean she wasn’t accidentally going to say anything in a way she would regret afterwards.

 

Big Al seemed to pick up on her worry and put a comfortable hand on her shoulder. For a good part of the walk he eased her mind with chatter about interesting happenings in Thoughttown, like the one time he and someone from the cafeteria staff held a contest whether his McMuffins or something comparable made by him tasted better, according to the judges it was a landslide victory for Al. Not suprising, given how good they tasted.

 

Disparo silently followed them, until Al managed to calm Voidgaze’s nerves mostly down. Then she explained more about her idea, the paintballs, white uniforms, what roles she thought they could take in battle and then some. Voidgaze was impressed with the amount of detail she put into this in just one night.

 

With all the talking the walk was over relatively fast and they arrived at the door to his office. Banishing all other hesitation she threw open the door and barged into the office. She was greeted by his usual illusion, hiding his somewhat less impressing actual appearance, greeting her with a curt, “Yes?”

“Well, boss, there are two things I wanted to talk with you about. First off all, what would you think about a group of soldiers to support me?” Voidgaze said, while half pointing, half waving at Disparo, who was still standing a respectful distance away outside of Altermind’s office.

“We could equip them with paintball guns, so they could mark areas for me to use my powers on and stuff like that.”

[Voidus]

Lucentia has a brother?

Watching carefully for any indications he was lying, Neverthere scanned his face, mentally comparing it to Lucentias. True there was perhaps some resemblance, and why would he risk such a lie when Lucentia herself could disprove it in a moment. But very few Epics still had any living relatives, those with destructive powers almost never did. And if there was one thing the attack on the museum had shown it was that both Lucentia and this Nighthound had destructive powers.

Interesting.

"Her brother you say? Well that must make for some lively sibling rivalry." Neverthere quipped, trying to decide how best to use this information.

Watch for now, watching is always best until you know more. Stick with little pushes until you know their capabilities and motivations.

"Well, speaking of getting things done, did you have any plans for the morning? I must admit that you've piqued my interest and I'm sure you'll find having someone who can spy on anyone in the state to be useful if you'll let me tag along for a while."

She didn't give Nighthound an exact range, it was always better to give as little information as possible even when you were trying to appear to be open and honest. Perhaps especially when you were appearing open and honest.
 

Subtext strutted down the street, happy to finally be given a mission. And though he wouldn't say it, thankful that his mission wasn't as dangerous as those attacks.

Picking an apple off a nearby stall he nearly walked away before he stopped and turned to the owner.

"How much?" He asked.

Can't stand out, blend in with the crowd, safety in numbers.

"Normally a dollar but since you look like you can afford it, I'll charge five." The woman blurted out, eyes widening as her mouth kept moving.

Smiling, Subtext handed the money over.

It was time to wreak a little havok in the factions of Portland.

[the winter system]

 

Lightbulb nodded to himself as he walked down the street. 
 

"Chess!" He called. He really didn't care that much for Cutcloud's brother, but Vine indicated that Cutcloud might be a tad bit angry if she woke up and her brother - who always had a habit of getting into stupid situations - was lost. "Breakfast!" 

He saw a person coming down the street, nervous. The streets were practically deserted. It wasn't that early. Maybe something had happened. He'd been working on restoring another part of the old hotel with Vine the last few days, so he wasn't sure what happened. He'd rather have gotten out more, but Cutcloud was always so annoying about doing stuff. 

Lightbulb was- how to put it gently- intimidated by Cutcloud. 

 

"Hey!" Lightbulb grabbed the guy's arm. The guy jerked his hand away and flinched. "What's been going on, dude?" 

 

"Um..." The guy looking like he was about to run for it.

 

"I'm an Epic. Better answer my questions, dude." Lightbulb summoned a bulb of light in the air. He didn't mention the best he could do was blind someone or help Vine's plants grow.

 

Wow, my abilities are so cool. 

 

"Stuff." The guy shrunk away. 

 

"Okay, well, have you seen a guy wearing black and white striped? Kinda like a chess board? Or what about a giant chess piece?"

 

"Er, maybe. A few weeks back, I saw something that might've been like that."

 

"Too late, dude. Not cool. Any more recent info? Or what about, like, a cool place for breakfast? Like, food."

 

"There's some abandoned shops that way. Not too bad. Usually has some scraps." The guy then bolted. Lightbulb sighed and turned. 

 

"Don't tell anyone you've seen me!" He yelled. The streets were deserted anyway. "Yesh. Chess! Breakfast! Chess! Breakfast!" He pointedly didn't walk in the way the dude pointed. Scraps? Lightbulb wanted something not garbage. If he wanted garbage, he'd stay back at the hotel and gotten fruit. "Chess! Anyone seen Chess?"

 

He turned a corner and kept yelling for Chess. Hopefully someone knew him. Though, more likely not. The hotel crew wasn't well known. Chess was the most active of them, though. 

[Fatebreaker]

Maximilian Black walked through the jungle from another time. He marveled at trees that hadn't been seen in millions of years, at creatures who once had ruled the planet, but now served the apes who had inherited it from them. It was beautiful, so beautiful... He touched roots and branches, vines and ferns. But not flowers, never flowers.

 

He turned a corner and almost ran into someone. It was one of the ladies from earlier, the one with short red hair and the toothpick. She was talking to herself angrily.

 

"I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!"

 

Rage bubbled around her like molten metal. But there was more. Max blinked and the girl had changed. She was curled up on the floor, crying and whispering fearfully to herself.

 

"Help me, please someone help me. I'm so scared, I have to escape, I'm so scared."

 

She kept rubbing her arm as she cried, as if trying to remove something. Max looked closer and saw what looked like a tattoo of a wolf's head. But it wasn't a tattoo, it was an infection, a stain. and it was slowly growing larger and darker. around it were a series of cuts, straight and thin, as if made by a knife. The cuts leaked the pulsing blackness, horror in liquid form. Tears of horrible darkness.

 

Max turned around. He didn't like crying. Crying was pain, crying was not fun...

 

Crying was too Real. So he woke up.

 

He was back in the Museum, alone in a different room. He turned and he ran down a nearby hallway, looking for something to distract him. He jumped over a tree root and rounded another corner. The was a large room and someone else was there. It was Lightwards, the Glorious Emperor. Max smiled, he thought Lightwards so so cool. He had raised Dinosaurs and commanded an empire and lived in a castle that defied the very sky with it's presence. He had to meet this hero. 

 

But as Max ran, Lightwards changed. The Noble figure suddenly split, becoming 3 different people. The first stood facing forward, looking off into nothing, his face straining to hold it's bold expression.

 

"I am the Emperor! I am the Ruler of Life and Death! I am the Greatest Being to walk this Earth! I Deserve TO RULE!"

 

Behind him stood another Lightwards, but he was different in every way.  This man had no regal bearing, no radiating confidence. He was disheveled, his posture timid, his eyes terrified. He reeked Fear like a corpse reeks of Death.

 

"I can't do it, they're all against me. No one fears me, no one respects me. I can't keep carrying this wait, it grows stronger with each Birth. No more birthdays, I don't want anymore birthdays. They're waiting to kill me, to give me too many birthdays. I can't take it, I can't take it, I'm..."

 

"Losing it."

 

The third Lightwards spoke. He was different still. His clothes were ragged, his hair wild, his grin maniacal. Tears of blood fell from his eyes as he smiled the smile of insanity itself. He was Madness.

 

"You are falling ever so slowly, Lightwards the Great. I am the price you have to pay. I am the Endless Tunnel at the end of the road you tread. A tunnel of darkness with no end. Your greatness is a cloak, your bravado a mask. You've had too many birthdays for one person. Your grip is slipping. You will fail and everyone will be there to see it. You will die, and I will be the one who is reborn. It's only a matter of time, of time, of time..."

 

Max pulled up short. How could this be? How could this man who radiated such power and authority also be filled with such fear and madness?He could create dinosaurs! He had conquered Death! If max had those powers everything would have been different, everything would have changed, and They would have...

 

He froze. He had done it. He had thought of the Past. Of the Time before Dreams.

 

He tried to run but couldn't move. He heard someone run up behind him. He tried to resist , but his body moved of it's own accord. There were children he knew each and every one of their names. They all stared at him. They walked silently towards him, never blinking, not even breathing. The one in the front was Michael. It was always Michael. As he got closer, his eyes started tearing up, but his expression didn't change from it's blank stare. he closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were bleeding. The same change happened in all the children, crimson stains running down their face, down their clothes. but they never stopped looking at him.

 

Max wanted to wake up, but he was afraid it would just be another dream. Afraid that She would be there.

 

Suddenly he froze. Oh no. Fires above no...

He had done it, he had made the worst mistake possible...

 

He had thought of Her

 

He turned in slow-motion, the world fading to gray. Lightwards had disappeared, and in his place there was a woman kneeling on the floor. She was in full color. Her dark flowing hair, her smooth chocolate skin, her bright hazel eyes. She held her hands to her chest, and blood seeped between her fingers. Tears fell from her eyes, flawless prisms refracting the light, mixing with the blood that pooled on the floor around her. She looked at him and whispered

 

"Maxi, you must run. Run, run, run..."

 

Max turned and ran his eyes screaming but his voice dead. he ran and ran, but he did not move. She was still there, She was still crying. He tried teleporting away, but each time he only moved closer. Finally he was face to face with Her, standing in the pool of blood and tears, of Sorrow and Despair. She looked through his eyes and into his soul.

 

"Maxi please, run."

 

Max watched knew what came next, what always came next. Out of the blood grew a flower, white as death with a sharp black stalk. He watched his hands grasp the flower, even as it cut him, his blood flowing down it's stalk and mixing with Hers. He looked at Her, into Her eyes as She spread Her arms as if to take him in an embrace.

 

And he watched as he drove the Flower into Her chest. His eyes never left Hers, but he saw it all, from every angle. 

 

"Run, my beautiful Maximilian, run for your Momma..."

 

She slowly began to sink, the pool of blood and tears swallowing Her up. Maximilian Black watched his mother disappear, then screamed.

 

Real. Too Real. Too Real... Too Real.....

Edited August 26, 2015 by Fatebreaker

[Edgedancer]

One could assume that Nighthound was only imagining all the family resemblance between himself and his sister, given how thoroughly Neverthere seemed to scrutinize his face, though she undoubtedly was already thinking about how to use the information, assuming she was half as smart as she claimed to be.

 

And as a result she was already offering him service. Nighthound considered it for a moment, he could send her off to the south of Oregon to see if her range really went that far but there was very little gain in risking to displease her just to find out information he was very unlikely to need in the first place. On the other hand, he could send her somewhere in town but keeping her alignment secret for a little while longer might pay off. Ultimately it would likely be better to give Lightwards and Lucentia a chance to put her to actual use, before sending her off on a wild goose chase.

 

“My, I’d love your company but I’m afraid my plans for the morning won’t be very interesting to you,” he ran his arm down Red’s side,” I’m afraid I have given this one too little attention last night, a shortcoming I intend to make up for, before I head out for my actual work.” With some luck her power to locate people would actually bring some results this time. Otherwise he'd have to rethink how useful she actually was.

 

“However,” he continued, keeping a charming smile on his face, “I’d be more than happy to lead you to someone that will find a way to put your powers to proper use. Who knows, we may also be able to quell some of your curiosity concerning me and my lovely sister.”   

 

Nighthound took a step forward and held out an arm, as if for Neverthere to take it. There was fairly little point to it with an astral projection but he did have some interest in seeing how she’d react. Plus, if he was to play an escort he may as well do it with some flair.

[the winter system]

 

Lightbulb turned and saw a long street with some shops. This street also seemed deserted. Except for an open door. Someone had been here. Lightbulb moved into the building. There were some discarded sequins on the ground. 

 

"Huh?" He asked, picking them up. Lightbulb wasn't sure where they would've come from. It was kinda dark in here, so he summoned a globe of light to illuminate the fallen sparkles.

 

No vanilla would be caught dead with sequins. Or Minor Epics. Even Chess, erratic as he was, wouldn't caught dead with sequins. They made a person stand out. Too... defiant. Rebellion via sparkly things. Lightbulb liked sparkly things, but not something like these, to attach to clothes. 

 

Chess wouldn't. He seriously wouldn't have gotten sparkles, would he have? 

 

A vanilla came down a set of stairs. He wore a t-shirt and jeans, hands in pockets.

 

"Um... were you with that bad business last night? Cause I don't want to be part of it." The vanilla was trembling faintly. He saw the light. 

 

"What not cool business? Tell me, everything you remember, dude." Lightbulb commanded, dropping the sequin and stood. 

 

"Well, I was upstairs here, then I saw this girl. She was down there, right where you were standing. She was wearing some very sparkly clothes. Lots of pink. She was a High Epic, I think. I don't know her name. She was crying." 

 

"Crying?" Lightbulb asked. "Did she see you?"
 

"No, I don't think so. I was about to go and hide, because, you know High Epics... but there was another Epic." Lightbulb nodded, then jumped.

 

"What other Epic? What did they look like?" 

 

"They looked like a king, like from the game chess, not like King of a Kingdom." 

 

Chess. Chess was here. 

 

"Then what?"

 

"He transformed into a person and had a gun. He pointed it at the other Epic, the one with all the sparkles."

 

Please tell me Chess didn't threaten a High Epic, please tell me that Chess didn't threaten a -

 

"And then he called her weak."

 

No, no, no! Please say he's fine, fine, fine, fine...

 

"What happened?" Lightbulb's traitorous mouth asked. 

 

"Then she teleported him to a corner and choked him. After that, they both went somewhere else. I didn't see either of them again. She probably killed him." 

 

Probably killed him. Probably killed him.

 

The words reverberated through his head. He extinguished his light and ran. 

He didn't care what attention he'd be attracting. The vanilla was there. He ran up the stairs again. 

 

Chess was dead? 

 

By a sparkly Epic.

 

Cutcloud would kill him. 

 

But... what did the Epic know? The hotel could be in danger. So he ran.

 

Chess...

 

Cutcloud slumped against the ground, tears spilling from her eyes. Chess was dead. Dead. Dead. Cutcloud wanted to protect her stupid brother from the world, but he'd finally been caught by someone more powerful. 

 

"The vanilla must've been mistaken-" Her voice was shaky. "My brother. Chess has more sense than to threaten a High Epic, right? Right? Right? This is all a joke! A stupid, cruel, joke. I'll find that vanilla, I'll kill him. He should've saved Chess, should've-"

 

"It's not the vanilla's fault. What would you have done? You're powerless and you don't want to die protecting someone you don't even know." Vine said, soothingly.

 

"Shut up! You didn't know him! HE WAS MY BROTHER!" Cutcloud screamed, a cloud of glass forming around her. She shot it into the walls.

 

"I know, I know. You think you're the only one who lost relatives to Epics? Before I... I became an Epic myself, I watched my cousin killed in front of me. It tore me apart but you can't kill whoever you wants. You're fragile, Cutcloud. You don't have any invincibility powers."
 

"I DON'T CARE! I'll kill the vanilla, tear them apart. Wait, no, I'll kill the High Epic. I'll kill her. She murdered my brother. I saw my parents dead, slowly. My grandparents on my mother's side were in Chicago when it was Annexed, I don't know what happened to them. And my other grandparents were in Miami when the chaos came. HE WAS MY LAST CHANCE. HE WAS SAFE. SAFE! HE WAS AN EPIC!" Cutcloud lunged to her feet. 

 

Vine tried to grab her, but she sent a tiny piece of glass into his palm. He screamed in pain.

 

"She'll kill you!" Burnheart exclaimed. "I can't lose you, you're everything to me. Am I anything to you?"

 

"I promised my parents I'd keep Chess safe. If I can't keep him safe, I'll die avenging him. I'll do anything to get my Chess back. And if you don't like it, you can go find some other girl. I'm going to kill her. Then, if I survive, myself." 

 

"We're coming with you." Burnheart said.

 

"No, I can't let you guys die too."

 

"If you're going on a suicide mission, you need us." Lightbulb said. "We'll keep your back."

 

"No, I can't lose you guys too."
 

"You said that you expect to die anyway. Let us come too. We've lost people too." Vine said.

"You'll follow me if I try to leave you behind, won't you?"

 

"Yeah, just let us come." Lightbulb said.  

 

Cutcloud sighed. "Okay, we need to get some info on this High Epic."

[Mailliw73]

Altermind listened to Voidgaze’s proposal with his excitement growing with each word. “Well, boss, there are two things I wanted to talk with you about. First off all, what would you think about a group of soldiers to support me?” Voidgaze said, gesturing to the soldier behind her. “We could equip them with paintball guns, so they could mark areas for me to use my powers on and stuff like that.”

White paintballs would give Voidgaze explosive ammunition everywhere she went without having to use her own clothes. This special squad would be increasingly helpful to Thoughttown if they were giving Voidgave better targets. “Approved,” Altermind said, small grin on his illusion reflecting the larger one on his actual face. “Pick one upper-ranked guard and four or five lower guards for your squad.” 

“And your second question?” he asked.

[Edgedancer]

Voidgaze felt the excitement rise in her stomach as the Altermind illusion began to smile. When he approved the idea she made a delighted sound and turned around to give Disparo a thumps up. Of course now came the problematic part.

Facing Altermind again, she gave it her best to look serious, keeping her arms at her side, so she didn't start gesturing wildly again, “Well, you know how I visited the Empire yesterday,” Voidgaze said. “And one of them was a guy that just broke into my home trying to kill me for no reason and Lightwards himself just kills people to use them as zombies and I I’m probably not doing a good job explaining, if I’m explaining anything at all, but I don’t think working together with people like that is the right thing to do.” 

[mail-mi]

 

”I HATE you!” 

 

Jamie held back tears as her thirteen year-old daughter screamed at her for what seemed like the millionth time that week. 

 

“I HATE YOU MOM!” The screams were like daggers in Jamie’s ears. “YOU’VE NEVER DONE ANYTHING FOR ME!”

 

“But I--” Jamie stuttered back. Daniel was at work--it seemed that Daniel was always at work when these fights started. 

 

“You’re just restricting me! You don’t love me, you never loved me! And I never loved you!”

 

“Jenny, I’ve always loved--” Jamie couldn’t ever get out a full sentence in these fights--and not always because Jenny cut her off. The sobs that she had tried to force back came up and choked her, ending her stammered statement. 

 

“No you haven’t! You LIAR!” Jenny swung the full backpack over her shoulder. “I’m done. I never want to see you again! EVER!” 

 

With that, Jenny stormed out the front door and slammed it shut. That slam reverberated through Jamie’s mind as she collapsed in a sobbing heap on the floor, the entrance hall of her home spiraling around her as the slam repeated over and over and over and over....

 

And, as it always did, the nightmare switched right there. Six years had passed, six years of futilely trying to forget her only daughter, six years of unsuccessful attempts to have another child. There was a knock on the front door, again while Daniel was gone at work. Jamie opened the door to see a girl she almost didn’t recognize. 

 

Jenny had changed so much. She had shaved both sides of her head, and the rest of her hair was dyed bright neon pink. She wore a tiny tight tanktop that didn’t leave much to the imagination and a short mini skirt that barely covered anything. Next to her was a large, muscular man covered in thick, dark makeup. “I never regretted leaving, Jamie,” Jenny said. Words that had been forever imprinted on Jamie. After that, Jenny just left again, walking out wrapped up in that evil boy’s arms, abandoning her mother forever. 

 

The image spiraled down, down, down, as the words repeated over and over again.

 

“I never regretted leaving.”

 

---

Mommy jolted awake after a particularly bad nightmare. It was so much worse because of Calamity-cursed girl from last night, but waking up made it all better. Mommy looked out over all her loving children, her children that would never ever ever leave her....

 

Standing up, Mommy put on a smile. “Everybody wake up!” she said cheerily. “Get ready quick! Make sure to brush your teeth! We’ve got a long day today.”

[Mailliw73]

 

Voidgaze's childish gestures and rambling annoyed Altermind to no end. He rolled his real eyes, keeping his illusion perfectly stoic. "Voidgaze, I don't like that idiot of a professor or his hound from hell anymore than you do, but Corpsemaker is the first obstacle. You met him, you know what he can do. When he's gone, Helldog, or whatever his name is, can be next, if you please," Altermind said. "But first, we use him. Good tools are never to be wasted."

 

Altermind asked a question to both Voidgaze and his scribe simultaneously, "Anything else or are we ready for Funtimes, goddess of sparkles to show up?"

Edited September 12, 2015 by Mailliw73

[Voidus]

 “I’d be more than happy to lead you to someone that will find a way to put your powers to proper use. Who knows, we may also be able to quell some of your curiosity concerning me and my lovely sister.” 
Neverthere's mouth twitched upwards, whether Nighthound was dangling the potential leverage she could gain from more information deliberately or not she had to admire the tactic.

Closing her eyes slightly in an almost demure fashion quite at odds with her state of dress, she pretended to take the offered hand, making some mental adjustments so her projection would treat Nighthound as a solid object much as she did with the ground when trying to walk.

Linking arms? Is he just trying to appear gentlemanly? Appeal to my 'womanly side' or something? Or is it a show for someone else? Lucentia certainly seems to have a preference for the dramatic as you'd expect with her powers.

"Well then, shall we, my lord?" She said, breaking out of her philosophical musings on arm holding and sending a quick glance to the blood-encrusted girl who had interrupted earlier, evaluating her response.

So this one is here voluntarily, another lesser Epic who takes the sucking up too far? Neverthere observed. Why keep her? To sate his ego? To use her powers? No using her powers alone is easily accomplished without having her constantly at hand like this, it's almost like he's grooming a harem. So some personality trait he enjoys? Or just the novelty of her appearance?

The coy yet observant facade would have to be her niche for now, more submissive than the one who kept trying to stare him to death but not quite as eager as the bloody one. She'd have to see where C4 fit in too and adjust further if necessary.

Neverthere took in the sights of the museum as she'd been unable to do the previous night, after the attack the remaining Epics had been too observant for her to sneak in and stroll around, she'd had to resort to hiding in walls and under the floor, gaining what snippets of conversation she was able.

The atmosphere now was entirely different, if she wasn't linking arms with a sociopathic womanizer she'd almost say it was peaceful.

Snap out of it! Keep your attention on the people not the scenery! She snapped at herself. This person who could use me. Lucentia? Or someone with her?

Mind still awhirl she followed Nighthounds lead as he took her through the museum to the next meeting.

[Edgedancer]

Hook line and Sinker.

 

Neverthere took Nighthound’s arm with a rather pleasant display of womanly charm, a rather abrupt change from her playful but ultimately dismissive persona from scant moments ago. How far one could get with a bit of leverage. They would be playing quite a game, if things are to continue like this, and Nighthound got the feeling that he could get some enjoyment out of their banter. When he got his hands on her actual body, he’d have a rather hard time not just pushing her down and draw some sweet screams from her.

 

But that was for later. Right now he had her, or at least her projection, in his arm. "Well then, shall we, my lord?" She said.

“Of course, my lady.” Nighthound responded and with his best gentleman smile took her on a walk. The other women following behind them, Ray trying to keep as much distance as she thought Nighthound would allow, C4 making herself as small as possible and the bell around Red’s collar accompanying her.

 

Sadly, he didn’t get the actual feeling of her flesh but there was still a lot to learn from walking together like this. For one, Neverthere was capable to actually pretend like she was holding his arm with her projection, without making it overlap constantly, plus she played along with him in the first place and it didn’t seem to strain her nerves. In fact she still was in the mood to take in the scenery of the museum.

 

Not that he could blame her for it, between the lush jungle and the occasional prehistoric reptile stalking through, it did set a nice atmosphere. Although, he got the feeling that she appreciated the calm of the forest more than the slight thrill the nearby predators created. Then again, those things were disgustingly docile. In the end his female company was more pleasant to behold.

 

After a relatively short walk the foliage slowly gave away and revealed what may be the most deadly predator lurking in the museum. A ripple was settling on Lucentia’s diamond arm for a short moment until it calmed down and settled into the shape of a proper arm. A wave of displeasure washed over her face as she noticed Neverthere. It was quickly replaced by a raised eyebrow directed at her brother; she'd probably like nothing better than to ignore Neverthere again, if it wasn't for Nighthound making a show out of keeping her close.

 

And so it fell on him to act as the liaison between these two women well enough to satisfy Neverthere but still keeping his sister from forming a good opinion of her.

“What am I to say?” Nighthound said, while giving a shrug with his arm that wasn’t holding Neverthere’s. “I’m not one to turn down a fine ladies’ company and while I’m not quite sure how your first encounter went down, I do think I can at least interest you in her company.” Which for them was pretty much code that for now Lucentia should consider her a tool to be disregarded once it outlived its usefulness?

                                                             

 

 

 

 

Voidgaze did have to admit that Altermind had a point but it still didn’t sit right with her… maybe she just wasn’t as logical a person as he was? Whatever it was, she couldn’t help but think that he was being too cold. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, half in thought and half in protest against him simply cutting the topic short. “I can’t really disagree that Corpsemaker is a threat but does that really make it okay that we are ultimately helping them? I mean I’m not really worried about getting revenge on them or anything but more about what kind of damage they are going to cause.”

[Kobold King]

 

 

The next moment seemed to last forever.

 

Funtimes' face was blank, with just the ghost of her heartbreak and indignation threatening sudden murder. An Epic like her wouldn't take hurt feelings in stride. Most likely, she'd comfort herself with a new tea set made out of her bones, or balloons inflated out of her skin, or one of a thousand gruesome trinkets her powers made available.

 

The Epic's mouth opened, and a crooked giggle rattled out. ""Okay," she chirped. "Black. With pink."

 

Sam cracked a nervous smile and nodded. She hated herself for groveling, but there was a time and a place for showing spine.

 

And that place wasn't dyed pink and laid out on Funtimes' coffee table.

 

There was a moment of thought on Funtimes' part, but she suddenly lifted her hand and waved it over the towel. Sam flinched, but no acid seared her flesh--it only changed color from pink to a matte black. Next the towel began to stretch and squirm over her body, shaping from a fluffy bathroom cloth to a pretty tasteful dress.

 

It actually kind of tickled. Cap sleeves crawled up her body and curled over her shoulders, while the top of the towel migrated south to make a low neckline. The hem dropped down her thighs to stop at her knees, but Funtimes wasn't done.

 

Next pillows were tossed through the air, which Sam caught on impulse. She held it awkwardly, unsure of what was coming next but pretty pleased to have not been murdered so far. She had to have broken some sort of "Annoyed Epics but didn't die" record by now.

 

Funtimes was veritably dancing around the room, tossing pillows and changing them into ruffles as they touched fabric. Shiny baubles spontaneously grew around Sam's hem and waist, and she almost lost balance as a pair of boots rose from the kitchen tiles to form high boots around her feet.

 

The maelstrom of ruffles ended quickly, and Funtimes was staring at Sam with stars in her eyes. "You. Look. Amazing!" she squealed, and did the unthinkable.

 

She ran forward and hugged Sam close, putting her thoroughly off-balance and compressing her ribs slightly. Sam let out an involuntary grunt, but otherwise tried to put on a smile.

 

"Perfect," she lied when Funtimes pulled away. "Best dress I have."

 

Technically true, since she didn't own any other dresses. She left out the part where she'd happily walk out of here in a loincloth if it just meant she could go back home.

 

Funtimes beamed, took another look at her creation, and widened her eyes abruptly. "Wait—where's Revvie? Did she find the dress I made her too?"

 

Given that she was hanging around barefoot in a bathrobe instead of wearing anything: almost certainly.

 

"No, I don't think so," Sam lied. "I don't think she's had a chance to change..."

 

Internally deciding that this qualified as helping a friend as opposed to selling her out to an Epic, Sam raised her voice and called through the cottage.

 

"Revolution! The Doctor's taking requests!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Emperor Lightwards, Epic necromancer and vanquisher of Death, stood trembling in his socks because of a bad dream.

 

He glared at the tangled foliage as if it were somehow the fake trees' fault, falling into his old anger to push away the fear.

 

Last night's terror had been all new. It was as if he were witnessing aspects of himself, not as glorious conquerors, but as pathetic invalids too wracked with neuroses to rule so much as a vulture.

 

One made ineffectual boasts of his future rule over the galaxy.

 

One curled into a ball and wept at the notion of Lucentia or Funtimes' wrath.

 

And the last one was the laugher, the one whom Lightwards had felt more and more with each passing dance with Death.

 

All of them dwelt within him.

 

Not one of them was fit to be a ruler.

 

And so the Emperor Lightwards glared at a thorn bush as if it had personally slighted him, grinding his teeth as he stuffed his pockets with bullets and made his way to a dirt path. He was becoming increasingly aware that his plans as they were now might be unrealistic, or hard to attain with his current strategies. He was rolling over before new Epics like a frightened dog, pretending that he was alpha when they held all the real power.

 

If he was to be a dog, let him be a wolf that would bite back.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

"You seem to have made yourself at home," Lightwards observed, walking into the smoky forest clearing. Aldo the Enigmatic and his surly assistant had made themselves a campfire, and appeared to be roasting sausages over the flames. The scent of cooked breakfast meat wafted over the forest, attracting no small number of idly standing dinosaurs.

 

Most of the campfire had been built to carry the smell of the sausages to the tightly bound Unicyclist, however, which seemed to be deliberate.

 

"I see no reason not to," replied the beaming magician, who was already wearing his trademark cape and top hat. "This empire has the potential to stand a long, long time."

 

He sampled a sausage, grimaced as if it were slightly burnt, but smiled warmly again. "Of course, I look forward to the day that this empire encompasses a well-stocked kitchen."

 

Lightwards frowned. "Before long we will have an entire city at our disposal, along with everyone in it. Be patient."

 

"Of course." Aldo gestured towards the bound Epic by the tree. "Have you put thought into our guest here?

 

"I have." With a gesture Lightwards had one of his remaining human Warriors pick up the battered Vader helmet off the dirt floor, lifting it high. The tied Epic's eyes gravitated immediately towards it--while the man seemed determined to remain stoic, there was a glint of desperation in those eyes.

 

Gnaw him free, Lightwards thought firmly, putting every ounce of his concentration into the thought. A pair of raptors seemed to receive the message, moving towards the man with their mouths pulled slightly open.

 

A flash of terror seemed to fall over the man's face as the raptors closed in on him, but to his surprise and Lightwards' vindication, they were almost gentle in using their fangs to slowly rip the binds.

 

Lightwards was less gentle in what happened next. As the last bind was torn he pulled the heavy pistol from his belt, levied it at the man's leg, and fired.

 

There was an immediate gunshot and the sound of the man's scream of anguish, as he slumped against the tree trunk with a curse.

 

A smile spread across Lightwards' face.

 

"I believe you possess a healing capability," he remarked, walking closer to the agonized man and flourishing his gun. "At least, you're far less useful to me if you don't, so I'm hardly losing anything if you bleed out."

 

He smiled down at the man, making sure to show teeth. He'd made a few guesses about the man's power from his attachment to his belongings--it was time to see if they were correct.

 

"It would be a simple task," he continued, relishing the temporary power, "for my Warriors of Light to bring you the instruments you require to heal yourself. Your helmet, your bagpipes... all could be returned to you before that artery runs dry.

 

"But for me to give that order, I will require assurance that you will choose the right side in the battles to come. Quit whimpering and tell me: can I count on keeping you as a soldier in the upcoming war?"

 

 

[Voidus]

"Hey Lucy!" Neverthere giggle-blurted upon seeing the diamond queen once more before taking Nighthounds lead.

"Oh of course, I'm plenty interesting, you learn plenty of interesting things when you're never there." She continued, giggling some more at her trademark pun.

"Like there's this one woman who has a picture of Corpsemaker that she kisses before she goes to bed every night how weird is that?"

A frosty stare halted her forward babbling momentum and reminded her that while she did enjoy taunting High Epics who were powerless to beat her into submission this was Lucentia she was talking to, not some petty local thug or a warlord too busy fighting rival factions to bother looking for one annoying Epic. Lucentia had an entire city at her disposal and it seemed that she might soon take Portland under her dominion too.

Her mask slipped for a moment, her normally vacuous gaze turned for a split second into a look of concern before she habitually rearranged it again under cover of adjusting her glasses.

"Well enough of that, to business then? This gentleman has mentioned that you might have some use for me and I've always wanted to work for a queen."

She gazed coyly at Nighthound once more, stopping just short of batting her eyelashes. Nothing she'd seen or heard from him made him seem even slightly likely to intervene on her behalf if Lucentia decided to try to track her down but she could hope he might at least remind Lucentia of the uses of someone with Nevertheres range. Plus a little flirting with the rebellious bad boy never hurt.

Keep them both interested, but wary as well. Remind them that for Epics information could be just as dangerous as destructive powers, in the case of Epics information could be even more dangerous.

[Edgedancer]

For a short moment Lucentia considered humoring her brother and giving the little stain that was hanging on to him another chance at making a servable impression. A deficit in personality didn’t make a tool inherently unusable, even a major one. Something she had much more experience with than she would like.

 

"Hey Lucy!" then started the innate rambling intermixed with asinine giggling.  

 

It was indeed a very short moment.

 

"Oh of course, I'm plenty interesting, you learn plenty of interesting things when you're never there." more giggling, as if she actually said anything clever.

 

Lucentia wondered if she could afford the time to track her down and cut her head off. Probably

 

"Like there's this one woman who has a picture of Corpsemaker that she kisses before she goes to bed every night how weird is that?"

 

Definitely. Nighthound was probably already thinking up a way to track her down anyway.

 

Apparently her thoughts didn’t go unnoticed by Neverthere, as she faltered and pathetically tried to cover herself up by adjusting her glasses. After that she made an almost passable attempt at courtesy followed by making pretty eyes at Nighthound, a gesture that he returned rather happily. Fine by her, it only meant that he would have more motivation to hunt her down and do whatever he wanted with her.

 

“Let me explain one thing to you Neverthere,” Lucentia said. “I don’t care if you go and whore yourself out to my brother, he might as well get some enjoyment out of you, but the only way this will so much as resemble a working relationship, is that you at least pretend to have a brain in your head. Otherwise, I see no reason to let you keep it. The only thing I could possibly want from you is useful information and not gossip. Understood? “

 

Lucentia leveled a stare at the insolent insect. As much as she hated to admit it, someone that knew their way around the city would be useful and she certainly wouldn’t make herself dependent on information coming from Altermind. Still, why did it have to be someone with no sense of propriety or modesty seeing how short her skirt was.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

 

Altermind hadn't, to Nathan's knowledge, given Funtimes any protocol to follow upon entering Thougttown. Even if he had, she would have probably broken it anyway. 

 

She ported everyone, sans the Unicyclist but including Suki, from the cottage, landing them on a cracked asphalt road in what appeared to have been a suburb back in the day. He saw men and women moving about, hurrying from one place to the next as though dallying carried drastic consequences. If Thoughttown was anything like Newcago, it probably did. 

 

And just like that, Nathan was homesick. Homesick for a brutal, metal city cloaked in darkness where a murderer waited for him to show his face. 

 

It didn't make sense. He knew it didn't. 

 

But he felt it anyway. 

 

"Excuse me? Ma'am?" 

 

Nathan's heart went into his throat. That voice—so official-sounding—had to belong to Enforcement or the equivalent, and they—

 

Breathe. 

 

He turned, forcing himself to meet the officer's gaze with the smooth smile of an Epic, but the officer was more interested in Funtimes. 

 

"Yeeeessss?" she said with a giggle. 

 

"Doctor Funtimes, I presume?" 

 

"That's me! Where's this Altery Mindy do his mindy-stuff?" 

 

"At HQ, but ma'am, you've bypassed two border checkpoints already, and—" 

 

Funtime turned and walked in the opposite direction, blowing a raspberry. Nathan and the officer both jogged to catch up. 

 

"—I wouldn't dream of telling you what to do—" 

 

"Bored." 

 

"—but there are protocols to uphold, and our leader is—" 

 

"Boooorrrrrred." 

 

"Ma'am, would you please at least consider—" 

 

Seizing Nathan's tie, Funtimes pulled him into a kiss. Not a long one, but long enough to make the officer stop talking. She released him, patted his cheek fondly, and linked arms with him before tossing the officer a grin. "Where's HQ, Sargent Penguinhands?" 

 

"Captain, Ma'am. Captain Cartwright." 

 

"Penguinhands." 

 

Captain Cartwright drew his lips together, drumming his fingers against his nightstick. Nathan could guess at his thoughts: Obey this powerful Epic and make her happy, or do what the boss wants and make him happy? Somebody's gonna be unhappy either way, unless there's a way to please them both…..

 

The captain's gaze took in her color-splattered dress, the lights in her socks blinking in no real pattern, the glitter in her hair, Sam's outlandish dress and Revolution's subdued—but still sparkling—one. 

 

Against an Epic who abhorred rules, there was no winning. 

 

"I'll escort you." 

 

-------------------------------------

 

Captain Cartwright had a seemingly endless list of questions, which he asked one at a time. 

 

"How long has that pet been in your possession?" 

 

"Twenty bazillion cucumbers!" 

 

From Sam's arms, Suki gave a snort that could have been agreement. 

 

"Why did you bring a dog with you today?" 

 

Funtimes blew a raspberry and pushed open a tall wooden door, as grand as the rest of HQ appeared to be, and there he was. Altermind, seated behind a polished wooden desk, speaking to Voidgaze. Or Blueberry, according to Funtimes. Both gave her their full attention as she swept through the door. Captain Cartwright drew into a smart salute. 

 

"Escorted her here, sir," he said. "I was unable to obtain satisfactory answers for you, but—" 

 

Funtimes threw her arms suddenly around his waist, giggling and breaking his salute. "You did amazingly, Sargent Penguinhands." 

 

"Captain Cartwright." 

 

She giggled again. "That's what you think!" 

 

For the first time, Captain Cartwright looked at the back of his hand. Sure enough, his glove now bore the image of a penguin. Nathan made out the white belly and, when Cartwright drew his fingers together, two eyes and beak became visible. 

 

Cartwright studied it for a long minute; then, he sighed, shoulders slumping like a deflated balloon. 

 

"Back to duty now, sir." He gave Altermind another salute—surprisingly dignified, even with a penguin printed on his glove—and marched out. 

 

Before Altermind, or anyone for that matter, could speak, Funtimes had turned her back and draped herself over his desk, shoulders between two piles of paperwork, face gazing dolefully up at Thoughttown's ruler. 

 

"I just don't know what to do! I came all this way, and I brought all my friends, but now I don't even know how to let Lighty Lightwards know where I am! He must be worried sick and I won't just leave before I make you all the carpet bombs you wanted!" 

 

Altermind and Voidgaze both stared. 

 

"Please, Altermindykins!" She pushed with her heels, moving an inch or so closer and nudging the paperwork with her shoulders. "I simply must tell Lighty Lightwards where I am before he worries and turns all of the city's pumpkins into carriages!" 

 

All along, Nathan had been guessing at what she wanted, and he thought he had it right. That was as good a cue as any. "Can she borrow your mobile?" Nathan asked, covering his surprise with an easy smile. "Just for a minute." 

Edited September 22, 2015 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Mailliw73]

Voidgaze crossed her arms, obviously annoyed with Altermind. “I can’t really disagree that Corpsemaker is a threat but does that really make it okay that we are ultimately helping them? I mean I’m not really worried about getting revenge on them or anything but more about what kind of damage they are going to cause," she complained. 

 

Altermind replied, "Voidgaze, this is my city. This is your city and it is mine and I do not intend to let it be destroyed. Portland is a bastion of intelligence and strength for the rest of the west, if not the rest of the nation. So don't worry, we will protect it. Is that i-" Cutting him off, an abomination of sparkles burst through the door, her belligerence for decorum and respect blatant. 

 

"Escorted her here, sir," a border captain said. "I was unable to obtain satisfactory answers for you, but—" Funtimes, who never deserved her title of Doctor, wrapped herself around the soldier, laughing maniacally, interrupting his stately manner.

 

"You did amazingly, Sargent Penguinhands." Sergeant what? His captain quickly corrected her with his perfectly regular name, but Funtimes had changed his standard-issue glove to include an image of a penguin. The captain gave up his arguing, smarter than the average person. Funtimes was difficult to reason with.

 

"Back to duty now, sir." He saluted, penguin glove hand in the air, and left. 

 

Funtimes draped herself over Altermind's desk, disturbing his papers and plans, before Altermind could help the guard. Whining, she began yelling,  "I just don't know what to do! I came all this way, and I brought all my friends, but now I don't even know how to let Lighty Lightwards know where I am! He must be worried sick and I won't just leave before I make you all the carpet bombs you wanted!" 

 

"Please, Altermindykins!" She pushed with her heels, moving an inch or so closer and nudging the paperwork with her shoulders. "I simply must tell Lighty Lightwards where I am before he worries and turns all of the city's pumpkins into carriages!" What the Calamity was this insanity personified creature talking about? He got the gist of her request, but was grateful for the Traveler's explanation.

 

 "Can she borrow your mobile?" he asked. "Just for a minute." 

 

Altermind stepped away from his illusion silently, getting the sparkles out of his face and made the hallucination speak. "I'll do one better. Here's your own, Funtimes. He waved his scribe over and gave the asylum-exploding woman her own mobile. "Tell Captain Cartwright to report to the Supply Station for new gloves before he returns to his post," Altermind quietly ordered his scribe. She rushed out to do his bidding. 

[Voidus]

“I don’t care if you go and whore yourself out to my brother." Lucentia said, seeming to think it would insult Neverthere somehow.
"He might as well get some enjoyment out of you, but the only way this will so much as resemble a working relationship, is that you at least pretend to have a brain in your head. Otherwise, I see no reason to let you keep it. The only thing I could possibly want from you is useful information and not gossip. Understood?“

 

Briefly Neverthere weighed the pros and cons of simply evaporating on the spot but these two did seem to be such wonderful tools it would be a shame to throw them away.

Neverthere turned her full attention to Lucentia, her eyes shifting from mirthful prankster to cold and dead between blinks as her smile changed from shyly flirtatious to simply dangerous.

"Useful? Useful like the names and locations of all the Epics belonging to the faction that attacked here last night? Although they're small fry anyway, how about the names, relationships, abilities and sleeping arrangements of the Epics in Thought Town and Corpsemakers new 'Dominion'? Or perhaps useful information like the flood of Epics arriving in Astoria of late? Quite the ruckus that has broken out there."

The muffled sound of a gunshot interrupted her mid-conversation and her image wavered for a moment as she quickly manifested throughout the museum, capturing 15 different vantage points in barely a second before reforming before Lucentia to process them.

"Or of course I can simply act as an incredibly efficient scout and alarm so you don't need to go off investigating mysterious gunshots when it's just Lightwards playing with the pet-turned-Epic who likes the bagpipes."

Dipping her head slightly, Neverthere once more adopted her usual mask, that of a vapid hyperactive young woman without a thought in her head.

"But." She continued, her voice still cold and completely at odds with her facial expressions. "I'm much better at gathering information when most people just think I have neither the temperament nor the capacity for subterfuge, so if you'll excuse me my lady I'll need to keep the guise for now."

[Edgedancer]

Voidgaze was happy that Altermind cared about keeping the city safe but she started to wonder if maybe he was setting his priorities a bit weirdly. Granted, Voidgaze had no idea what kind of connection Portland had to the neighboring cities or which cities those were... actually she spend the last couple of years to isolated to even know much about the city's inner working in the first place in the first place but she could figure that if anything the empire was going to be a bigger problem for them be it in or outside of Portland than Corpsemaker anyway.

 

But before the conversation could go anywhere Funtimes bursted into the room, a distressed looking soldier behind her. The poor Cartwright tried to give a proper report to Altermind but was cut short by Funtimes until he ultimately gave up and dismissed himself, at least he got some nice penguin gloves out of it.

 

Then Funtimes proceeded to shove herself on Altermind’s desk and was talking about contacting Lightwards and… making carpets? It didn’t seem like she would get a chance to finish her conversation with Altermind right now.

 

She also noticed Sam and Revolution entering the room, they had a cute little dog with them. They also wore much more elaborate clothes than they did yesterday. It would probably be best to go talk with them, with them being friends and all that.

 

Voidgaze slowly edged closer to them completely and definitely relaxed and not feeling nervous at all, after all this was just going to be a conversation between her and the two girls she just befriended yesterday. That was just as normal as her legs feeling completely stiff.

 

“Hey,” Voidgaze greeted the two, while the tassels on her cloak where fidgeting around seemingly on their own, “nice to see you again. So… those are some nice dresses and that dog is really cute. I guess yesterday went well for you two?”

 

Stopping to act like a brainless bimbo should have been an improvement for Neverthere’s presence. However, she just fell straight into impertinence. The only thing that saved her from pitiable attempt at appearing threatening was that she actually provided useful information.

 

What Lucentia did note is that Neverthere apparently had a large enough range to gather information back in Astoria and already did so. Deathgale already informed her about what was going on, so Lucentia knew very well about the situation, probably better than Neverthere knew herself. She'd still better not run her mouth needlessly.

 

A gunshot from within the jungle interrupted their conversation. The projection wavered for a moment and once she settled back Neverthere cleared up the gunshot as more of Lightwards’ posturing, before she returned to her eyesore façade.   

 

Lucentia gave her a slow clap, her face absolutely unimpressed. “Yes, you showed yourself to have some competency, congratulation. You also ruined it again by falling straight into the behavior of a petulant brat.”

 

Lucentia was about to continue, her voice dripping with sarcasm, but Nighthound interrupted her. He wrapped his arms around the projection or at least he would have, if she were standing there with a solid body, instead it flickered shortly as his arms passed through her and he ended up hugging himself.

 

“Come on, Lucentia. You have to give her some credit for having some fire. It adds some spice to her already cute looks.” Lucentia had to give credit to her brother’s acting ability, for a moment she almost thought he was actually growing some affection for the bug.

 

They locked eyes for a short moment and then Lucentia gave a sight, “Fine. I suppose she can at least make herself useful.”

[Voidus]

A wry smile tugged at the corner of Neverthere's mouth as Lucentia delivered her latest attempt to insult her, blessedly she was cut short when Nighthound tried to hug Neverthere, his arms phasing straight through her incorporeal body making her wish, if only for a second, that she could be there in person. But no, too dangerous.

Lucentia finished by staring at her before seemingly accepting some aid.

"Well that's splendid then." Neverthere replied, side stepping the arm halfway through her torso before linking her arm with it and resting her head on Nighthounds shoulder. "Did you have anything specific in mind? As I said I know where all the major Epics in Portland are and I think I found most of the Astorian Epics too, although I did have trouble tracking down a certain blood manipulator."

She was very interested to see if Lucentia would confirm the existence of the Epic, during her outings to Astoria she'd heard little more than whispers although one group of Epics may have had an altercation of some kind with her in person. But if it was true that Lucentia had her own spymaster then it would be valuable information indeed. If she could ever find the Epic she would be able to spy on the master spy, both deliciously ironic and a great tactical advantage. It might even be enough to convince her to move, Portland was growing more dangerous by the day and if she could gain any leeway over the ruler of Astoria...

Well, she would see how things developed and as always find her own advantage in the ensuing chaos before vanishing into the mist again.
 

The Planner had quickly realized their destination, some memories of the previous few days had resurfaced, allowing him to recall the flying museum and its inhabitants.

Standoffish base of power, meant to inspire awe? fear? Method of levitation? Unclear. Memories show no investigation was performed. Sloppy.

He had vaguely recalled there being some kind of pillar leading up to the museum before but if there was it was gone now.

Offering his hand to his spouse, the Planner attempted to rearrange his facial structure into a suitably charming smile.

"May I?" He asked, gripping her hand lightly before a dark pair of wings sprouted from his back, constructed from the nearby shadows.

Abilities yet untested, thickness of shadow relative to strength or limited per surface area? Unclear, more testing required, more facilities. Need to acquire more samples for research, museum inhabitants? No. Needed for social advantage, power base and to minimize security risk. Spouse?

Before the thought was even complete something inside him screamed no. No, not spouse. He concluded, unusually forming no sort of logical argument, it seemed to be something of an axiomatic response, something that would never be questioned. He would not harm her.

Bringing her closer to him with another strip of shadow he lifted the two of them skywards, the strength of the shadow seemed to be enough to hold them, and the force it exerted was enough to provide a somewhat speedy ascent.

Time to assess the situation. Gather allies. Acquire resources.

Nodding in satisfaction, Jeff Carlisle held onto Marigold Carlisle before they both stepped lightly into the entrance of the museum.

[Edgedancer]

Lucentia considered for a moment where Neverthere would be the most use to her, while she pretended to snuggle up to her brother. She certainly wouldn’t give some random Epic like her the chance to snoop around in her city. Even more so, given how she already proposed interest in Bloody Mary. She and Deathgale would be quite capable of dealing with the situation on their own.

 

Keeping her in the town would still give her a couple of options. The Empire itself had enough suspicious people in it but starting surveillance within it right away was highly likely to make this powder keg explode and it was a bit too early for that. Once it was the time to disregard them, it would be best to get rid of them in one fellow swoop. If anything it would be safer to let her pretend to over her services to them and then let her report back, to see what they were interested in but she’d beware of giving her a double agent role without anything against her in the backhand.

 

A lot of the same points held true for Thoughttown, given that for now they were rather willing to cooperate. That left her with Corpsemaker as her priority… or that gathering of minor Epics that decided to stretch their head out last night, assuming they didn’t learn their lesson already.

 

“First of,” Lucentia said, “you might as well tell me if that ragtag bunch of minor Epics is still planning on doing anything and if they have anything resembling a headquarters or important members. Otherwise I want you to find out what Corpsemaker is planning and be discrete about it. No grand announcements that you are spying for me, at least not until you actually prove yourself.”

 

Lucentia doubted that moment would ever arrive but now that she was working with her, however much it was on her brother’s whims, she might as well entertain the possibility instead of just dismissing her right out.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles]

 

Quota fell asleep to the sound of Timeport slashing mannequins with his axe and woke to a gunshot.

 

Fully awake, he paused. No shots followed, and there were no alarms or soldiers running or pounding at his door, so the armory wasn’t under attack. Whoever fired the shot had acted alone.

 

That made it interesting.

 

He dressed and made his way toward the shot, wishing the hallway wasn’t empty. Nothing beat trolling a few vanillas first thing in the morning, and he would have felt bored had the walk not been so short.

 

The sight awaiting him was ten times more interesting than what he’d planned to do to those soldiers.

 

Timeport lay facedown in a pool of blood, a pistol in his hand. Aside from the body, the room was empty. Self-inflicted, then?

 

His body vanished as his resurrection kicked in, and the pieces flew together.

 

He’d been hacking at mannequins all night. Probably hadn’t slept a wink. And now, to stave off exhaustion….

 

Quota laughed. He laughed as he caught a glimpse of Timeport moving upward, chuckled as he took the stairs, and burst out laughing all over again when he saw Timeport face to face.

 

“Calamity,” Quota said, “that’s how you sleep now? Genius.”

 

 

Lightwards reminded him, for some reason, of a motivational speaker.

 

The Unicyclist remembered those. Slick hustlers with too-bright teeth who got on TV to show off their teeth and tell everyone watching what they ought to know already.

 

He hadn’t seen them that way back then. The day he’d heard a man with an unnatural grin shouting for anyone listening to “Live your best life now! Take that dream you had—that crazy, impossible, laughable dream—and make! It! Happen!” had been the day he’d bought a kilt and dragged his old unicycle out of the garage. That smile had spurred him on, kept him going as he pedaled around Portland and soaked up all the strange looks he got.

 

Now, with Lightwards grinning maliciously down at him as his leg screamed in pain, it was as though that hustler had risen from the grave to gloat.

 

"It would be a simple task for my Warriors of Light to bring you the instruments you require to heal yourself. Your helmet, your bagpipes... all could be returned to you before that artery runs dry.”

 

The Unicyclist wanted to growl something, anything to wipe that smirk off his face, but all his mind could conjure was an endless stream of agonized profanity.

 

"But for me to give that order, I will require assurance that you will choose the right side in the battles to come. Quit whimpering and tell me: can I count on keeping you as a soldier in the upcoming war?"

 

Slontze. He disguised it as a choice, but it was no choice at all. Die unmasked, or live enslaved. Serve this powerful, pathetic man and have it lorded over him….or not live at all.

 

Blood flowed from the wound, warmth gushing between his fingers.

 

He couldn’t plot revenge if he was dead.

 

Clenching his teeth, the Unicyclist nodded.

 

 

Funtimes accepted the mobile with a gasp of delight and a loud “Yay!” She leapt to her feet and skipped to a corner of the room, pulling up Lightwards’ number from the contacts list.

 

Voidgaze made her way toward Sam and Revolution, and Nathan slowly shifted away. So far as he could tell, she hadn’t spilled his secret…but that could change as swiftly as her mood. Best if he didn’t give her a reason.

 

He reached Funtimes as the phone connected her to Lightwards or his voicemail. “Hi, Lighty Flighty Lightwards! I’m in Thoughttown! Altermindy needs some carpet bombs and stuff so I brought all my friends here and that’s were I am right now!” She giggled. “Okie dokie don’t worry artichokie eat donuts marry a muffin BYE!”

 

She ended the call before Lightwards—if he was there—could respond, and turned on him with the same grin.

 

“You look amazing today,” she said, placing her hands on his cheeks. “You should stay with me. All day.”

 

“Planning on it,” he said, taking her wrist with a smile. Something—anger, fear, he wasn’t sure—flashed in her eyes before he kissed her hand, calming whatever he'd seen. “I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere else.” 

[Mailliw73]

Funtimes called Lightwards and Altermind noticed the Trattner girl and the hippie in the back for the first time. He chided himself on his lacking attention. Funtimes was just so sparking consuming to keep track of. Voidgaze moved closer to the teens and began small talk with them. Altermind turned his attention back to the matter manipulator as she wrapped up her call with "-marry a muffin BYE!" Shaking his real head, he once again briefly pitied the necromancer for having to live with this woman. She then turned to Traveler and began some lovey face-grabbing and he kissed her hand. 

 

Altermind cleared his throat. "Excuse me, you two. If you wouldn't mind keeping yourselves off of each other for just enough time to finish our business, we can all be done earlier."

 

"Funtimes, would you mind if I make a couple requests for you today? I have a list of potential things for you to make that would benefit us immensely. First is lifting this building off the ground, similar to your floating museum, but that immense height won't be necessary."

[Voidus]

 

“First of,” Lucentia said,   not reacting in the least towards Neverthere's knowledge of her spy “you might as well tell me if that ragtag bunch of minor Epics is still planning on doing anything and if they have anything resembling a headquarters or important members. Otherwise I want you to find out what Corpsemaker is planning and be discrete about it. No grand announcements that you are spying for me, at least not until you actually prove yourself.”

 

Well I suppose just getting confirmation about it right away would be boring, I'll have to think of another way to confirm. Maybe find a cute guy in Astoria. Or...

She sent a somewhat more subtle glance Nighthounds way, he was after all Lucentias brother, surely he'd know all the Epics under her control. She'd need to see how things panned out with him.

"The rabble call themselves the 'Minor Epic Empire' a bunch of low leveled Epics with powers ranging from obscure but strong to completely useless." Neverthere began, gaze returning to meet Lucentia's.

Neverthere hadn't been paying particular attention to the MEE since they weren't important enough players to be anything more than pawns in the game. But pawns could come in handy too, and no decent player worried about sacrificing one or two pawns for the greater strategy.

"They were started by two Epics, Refill and Zip. Refill died last night while attacking Alterminds territory which leaves Zip nominally in charge. He's a spatial manipulator who can shrink things, I don't know any more details about his powers but I know most of the other Epics involved fairly well. Mostly just rejects who weren't useful enough to get recruited by any of the bigger factions."

"As for my allegiances, well I've never been prone to revealing who I really am for people." She said slyly before sending an equally sly look up an Nighthound. "Not unless I like them and they're cute anyway."

Taking her head off his shoulder she stood up on tiptoe before levitating slightly off the ground to gain enough height to give him an imaginary kiss on the cheek as she faded away.

"I'll be in contact then." She said as she vanished from the museum.

She was surrounded completely by darkness, having shifted to a wall inside the dominions territory. A handy trick for being able to listen and watch when she really didn't want to be seen.

Ah Lucy, I think we're going to have a lot of fun together.

She shifted once again, moving around the grounds to follow any conversations she could pick up as the Epics from the Dominion slowly set about their day.

Now how long should I leave it before I switch back and find out what Lucy's getting up to? She wondered idly as she watched the inhabitants of a room filled with chopped up mannequins. 

[Kobold King]

 

 

Somehow, a part of Sam deep down still saw Thoughttown as a mythical paradise, like Valhalla or Santa's workshop.

 

Seeing it now, well... it was like finding out Santa's workshop was filled with forced child labor and had a nasty sewage problem.

 

Funtimes had teleported them onto a cracked asphalt street, amidst plain-clothed people who ducked their heads and refused to make eye contact as they passed by. They were well-fed people--a few were even portly--and they had shoes and decent clothing, which was more than could be universally said for Portlanders. But these were not happy people. The downcast faces Sam saw in the crowd didn't belong to people who had everything they wanted, freedom included. They were alive, but clearly Thoughttown didn't afford them much time for living.

 

The buildings were drab, often in varying states of disrepair. There were a few streetlamps with cracked or missing light bulbs. If this part of town had existed before Calamity, it probably would have been condemned.

 

But then, Calamity lowered everyone's standards.

 

"It's kind of a... grey place, isn't it?" Revolution observed mildly, shifting Sam out of her personal contemplation. The smiling hippie woman was the opposite of grey herself--or at least, as close to the opposite of grey as you could get with Doctor Funtimes around. She'd happily taken their Epic captor at her clothing offer, and was now rocking an intricately patterned skirt which glistened with carefully placed rhinestones not even Sam could object to. The top was well-woven despite having never touched a loom, and was short enough to show a fair bit of midriff. The confident smile on her face suggested that Revolution Sunburst Jones had not gotten the memo that she was part of the oppressed peasant class of society.

 

"Pretty grey, yeah," Sam agreed ultimately. "If they didn't have a fast food buffet there'd probably be riots."

 

Which made her stomach growl as she wondered whether they still gave out Sausage McMuffins here. Great.

 

What could have been a marvelous conversation on the terrible upkeep of Altermind's citadel was cut off by Funtimes publicly making out with Nathan, and a pair of extremely nervous guards leading the hodgepodge group to a stern high school--no, command center--in the center of town.

 

And into the belly of the beast they went.

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

"How long has that pet been in your possession?"

 

 "Twenty bazillion cucumbers!" 

 

Thankfully Doctor Funtimes answered all of the questions--sort of. In any case, Suki got through the customs check unmolested, the guards apparently realizing that an irritated Epic was infinitely more dangerous than a rogue pug.

 

They were brought into an orderly office, filled with guards with varying degrees of large guns. At the desk where once a principal would have presided over education, a too-perfect blonde face stared passively at a jabbering lieutenant. The rigid high school halls were Altermind's court.

 

The illusionist king didn't spare Sam a second glance, even though she technically possessed what might be the only key to killing him. Rationally, she could only hope he wasn't secretly giving her his full attention from behind that picture-perfect mask of his. Not even Funtimes would be able to save her if Altermind became fully set on eliminating her.

 

Egotistically, she'd be rather insulted if she didn't get at least a passive aggressive glare. That was the bare minimum of what she was owed, right?

 

Funtimes hopped on top of Altermind's desk before spouting off her whimsically veiled demands, and Sam stopped paying attention to them. Instead she focused on the white Epic--Voidgaze, was it?--who was now approaching them with a smile.

 

“Hey,” Voidgaze began, seeming almost nervous. The tassels on her clothes were twitching, even writhing as she spoke. Whether this was akin to a nervous tic or a predator flexing her claws was open to debate. “Nice to see you again. So… those are some nice dresses and that dog is really cute. I guess yesterday went well for you two?”

 

"Oh yeah," Sam replied, grinning insincerely. "Had great food and great company. It was all a blast except for..."

 

...The kidnapping, the death of a family friend, the complete powerlessness in the face of murderous slontzes...

 

"...the ants," she finished flatly. Suki tilted her head curiously at her from her arms, and Voidgaze seemed slightly confused.

 

"The cottage has an ant problem," Revolution explained, smiling yet giving Sam a slightly disapproving look. "Nothing the good Doctor can't fix."

 

Sam sniffed in vexation, but said nothing as she began furiously rubbing behind Suki's ears.

 

"How have things been for you?" Revolution went on, smiling much more genuinely at the pudgy Epic than Sam had. "Has Altermind been saddling you with all his war work?"