Comatose

Glad you like it! And a hypnotist epic sounds good. Rainmaker could use him to keep difficult Vanillas in line.

Those icons are great! I made a few small grammatical and spelling edits to the post, nothing major though. Now I really need to stop thinking about Corvallis and start on some homework... *he said for the umpteenth time, lying through the teeth to himself.

Aaaand posted. Also, I'll add than any named NPCs who survive the prologue are open for adoption, just let me know .

TWO WEEKS AGO It was a beautiful day. They were standing on what had once been the Harrison Street Bridge, with the Williamette River glittering in the sunlight below them. Then again, it was almost always a beautiful day in Corvallis. That was part of the city’s charm. Rainmaker was proving herself to be a comparatively benevolent ruler. Her rages, though terrifying, were rare, meaning that most days in Corvallis were clear and sunny. ”Five minutes until arrival” Good, things were on schedule. Euphoria made a few notations on her clip-board, and then looked up to survey the assembled crowd. They were a downtrodden lot, both Epics and Vanillas alike. You could pick all but the least powerful of Epics out, of course. There was something in their posture, in the very way they held themselves that seemed to say, ”I have power, and you do not.” Euphoria, of course, was one of those epics, though she took care not to seem like one. Her position within the city was precarious, even with Rainmaker’s protection. Rainmaker was careful to avoid antagonizing other high epics, but many were coming to resent the power that she and Euphoria held. Even within Corvallis, there were whispers of rebellion and betrayal filtering through city’s elite. Rainmaker and Euphoria were providing lives of peace and luxury that few could claim to rival in the days since the rise of Calamity, but the populace resented them for it. Rainmaker spared no expense when more powerful Epics chose to move to the city. They were given everything: the best residences, any possession they could possibly desire, and, of course, more Vanillas than they knew what to do with. Still, they whispered and plotted behind closed doors, inexplicably hoping that the person responsible for their wealth and comfort would fall. “The immigrants are ready,” Euphoria said, speaking into the mic attached to her lapel. Both the mic and her earpiece connected wirelessly to her mobile. She caught sight of one man, staring skeptically up at the stage and podium, no doubt wondering if the mythical Queens of Corvallis could possibly live up to what was claimed of them. Scanning the crowd for further signs of discontent, Euphoria switched channels to speak to one of her agents. “Back right hand corner, green jacket. Needs a dose. Just a little for now though. Keep your eyes on him when Rainmaker arrives.” Euphoria would save using her powers herself for Rainmaker’s arrival. For now, they wanted to build excitement and anticipation, but it was Rainmaker’s speech and entrance that they really wanted the new arrivals to associate with their new-found happiness. “Euphoria paging Reynolds. What’s Bubbles’s status?” Euphoria waited impatiently for the agent she had on Buttercup’s team to reply. When it came, Reynolds voice was labored and he was breathing heavily. Likely he had forgotten his mobile somewhere again and left it unnoticed until he heard Euphoria’s page. ”We are in position at HQ. The shield is back up.” Euphoria switched channels on her mobile, not bothering to reward Reynold’s tardy reply with a response of her own. Euphoria continued to scan the crowd, giving minor instructions here and there, doing her best to ensure everything would be perfect when Rainmaker arrived. Though she never caught anyone’s gaze, she could not shake the feeling that she was being watched. It’s just your paranoia talking. You’re invisible up here. As was her custom, she wore standard business attire, with a matching blazer and loose fitting pants, a white blouse, and stylish but sensible heels. Her hair was tucked back in a simple bun, and she was wearing her trademark thick-framed glasses. To any observer, she should seem to be one bureaucrat among many, just doing her job to prepare for Rainmaker’s arrival. Unless someone already knew what she looked like. The crowd fell silent as thunder rumbled in the distance. Rainmaker was coming. A gentle wind rose up around them and swirled through the crowd, playfully tugging at loose fitting hats and stray locks of hair. Then, there was a flash of light in the sky above them, accompanied by another rumble of thunder in the distance. If Rainmaker loved anything it was theatrics. A cloud appeared where the flash of light had been only a moment before, seemingly out of nowhere. Then, out of the cloud, came Rainmaker, accompanied by a supernaturally bright ray of sunlight lighting her path down to the earth. Her skin was shining with a gentle glow, and rainbows danced in the sky around her. “Dose all targets.” Euphoria took a breath and unleashed her power on the crowd, hitting them with a powerful dose of positive emotion. It was difficult to affect a crowd of this size effectively, which is why her agents would be targeting specific individuals. The sooner potential trouble makers learned to crave Euphoria’s power, the easier they would be to control later on. While Euphoria was never entirely comfortable with her powers, using them in this way made her feel whole and complete. She could not affect her own emotions of course, but affecting the emotions of others made her feel in control, and helped to keep her feelings of anxiety and paranoia at bay. Rainmaker touched down, and a strong gust of wind rushed out into the crowd. Standing behind the high epic on stage, Euphoria only felt the faintest of breezes, but judging by sight alone the gust Rainmaker had hit the crowd with had been stronger than the playful breeze she had used before. The effects of Rainmaker’s powers were extremely localized. If she wanted, Rainmaker could create a tornado next to a playground and not harm a single child. Rainmaker spread her hands out to either side as a gesture of welcome, and as she did more rainbows appeared, seeming to flow out from her outstretched arms to dance among the crowd. This was the Goddess of Corvallis. Rainmaker was a true High Epic in all her glory. So why was it that Euphoria’s name was the one people whispered about? Euphoria knew it was her own fall and disgrace that the other epics of Corvallis hoped for, not Rainmaker’s. Rainmaker was easily understood. She was incredibly powerful, and so less powerful epics followed her to enjoy the benefits of her power and protection. Rainmaker seemed custom-designed to succeed in the world that Calamity had created. Euphoria, if she was anything, was the opposite. She had no form of invincibility, and no offensive capabilities to speak of. Despite this, the epics of Corvallis and the surrounding area found her more threatening than even Rainmaker. It was her power, after all, that kept the Vanilla population docile and under control. Corvallis would not be what it was without her, and everyone knew it. And so, the other epics whispered to each other, no doubt wondering when the mysterious Euphoria would choose to take back everything she had given them, and what they could do to prevent that eventuality. Rainmaker launched directly into her speech, welcoming the new Epics and Vanillas to Corvallis, her little slice of paradise. After the welcome, the newcomers would be taken to their new homes. Epics would be given residences that suited their power levels and usefulness to Rainmaker, likely within Corvallis proper unless they preferred to live on one of the acreages in the surrounding area. The Vanillas would be taken to be processed by more of Euphoria’s agents. There, the rules of the city would be explained to them, each of them would receive a full dose of Euphoria’s power, and be told to expect more if they performed well at their work. Then, based on their skills and experience, they would be assigned either to serve a particular epic, or to work in Cornucopia’s fields, harvesting the goods that supplied the city. “Before Calamity, those people who told me that my dreams of a better world would never come true, also told me that happiness could not be bought or earned, and that we were all hapless victims of fate.” Euphoria prepared herself as Rainmaker’s speech started coming to a close. “Well, my fate has given me the power to change all that, a power I now wish to use in service of you, new citizens of Corvallis. So come, lay down your cares and your woes, for they are things from other times and places. You all have a home in Corvallis now, and by working together, we can all build a better and brighter future.” As Rainmaker finished, she once again began shining, and Euphoria unleashed all the happiness she could onto the crowd, trusting her agents to do the same. Rainmaker, still shining with rainbows dancing in the sky around her, began to ascend back into the sky, radiant, triumphant, divine, as her new subjects showered her with applause. . As the crowd gazed up adoringly at their new goddess, Euphoria continued to watch the crowd, searching for signs of discontent or malice. A young woman caught her eye. As everyone around her was cheering for Rainmaker, the woman was looking down, reaching into a large suitcase she kept by her feet. Wait a minute… “Security Team B, we have a shooter.” The woman removed an enormous looking gun from the bag, and lifted it to her shoulder in one smooth motion. How in Calamity had she gotten that past their metal detectors? “Center crowd, female, bright red sweater. I repeat we have a shooter.” Euphoria felt her body guards stiffen as they caught sight of weapon. What did that thing do, anyways? Despite her recent lessons at the shooting range, Euphoria couldn’t do much beyond telling a handgun from a rifle. “Begin evacuation maneuvers, and ensure the security of all Tier 1 epics. I repeat…” Euphoria was cut off as her body guards jointly tackled her, throwing all three of them off the stage. A second later, the entire construct exploded. Euphoria remained pinned to the ground, shielded from the worst of the blast by her less vulnerable body guards. Bulletproof was impervious to any damage caused by any kind of gun, no matter how indirect, and Decoy had healing abilities that would help her recover from the blast. A form leaped out of the wreckage. Though she was now twice as tall and probably three times as wide, the gun on her shoulder helped Euphoria to recognize her as the woman from the crowd. Along with being huge, the woman’s skin seemed to either be coated with or entirely composed of metal. “Euphoria!” The metal-epic shouted, leveling her weapon and pointing it in Euphoria’s direction. “Your reign here is OVE-uh?” Euphoria felt a strong wind rise around her, but the wind she felt was nothing compared to the one that threw the metal epic several feet into the air and then slammed her into the ground. The gun was carried over the side of the bridge and into the river. The sky above them was already darkening, growing so thick with clouds that the sun was blocked out completely, and the only lights to be seen came from the city. A low hanging cloud burst into sudden radiance and Rainmaker rematerialized, shining with rage. Her light revealed the crowd, scrambling away for safety, as well as the metal-epic, who seemed to be pinned in place as she was buffeted by gale force winds from all sides. “Euphoria, come on, we need to get you out of here. She knew who you were, and there could be others…” Euphoria removed her heels, and helped herself to her feet, choosing not to take the hand Decoy offered. “Okay,” Euphoria said, trying to keep the fear from her voice. “Let’s go.” As the last of the new immigrants got clear of the scene, Rainmaker unleashed all of her pent up rage and frustration, calling dozens of lighting bolts down from above to strike the enemy who had dared to ruin her welcome speech. Whoever this metal-epic was, Rainmaker would see to it that she paid for failing to fear Rainmaker’s wrath. Rainmaker angrily ripped her ear piece from her ear—any messages were being drowned out by the sound of her thunder anyways—and continued her assault, lettering the winds that held the metal epic in place alternate between bone-chilling cold and blistering heat. Above, she worked the winds to create hail stones, some the size of cars. When they were ready, she sent them crashing down as well, pelting the metal epic with giant blocks of ice, before beginning a new assault with more lightning. As the last of her new citizens cleared the area, some fleeing back the way they had come, others crossing the bridge to the other side and entering the city, Rainmaker’s troops, opened fire on the enemy. They were all accustomed to working in darkness, but between Rainmaker and Calamity, the bridge was brilliantly lit. Snipers popped up on the nearby Van Buren Bridge, peppering the metal-skinned epic with fire from their rifles. “It will take more than that to do me in, weather witch!” the puny epic shouted through gritted teeth. “I can withstand any thing you can throw at me! Come on, hit me with your best shot!” Rainmaker bristled with rage, and again she sent down strike after strike of lightening, feeling her frustration grow as each strike failed to leave even a scorch mark on the epic’s metal skin. It doesn’t matter she told herself. Even if she couldn’t personally damage the epic, her winds seemed to be sufficient to keep the metal-skinned annoyance trapped. If none of her powers would work, she could call in one of her retrieval teams with powerful restraints, and lock the intruder up until they could find a way to bypass her invincibility. Yes Rainmaker thought, as she brought down another round of hail stones. ”I’ve already won. Her vibrant glow lessened slightly as she calmed herself. Below her, metal skin continued to look up at her, grinning like a maniac. Why would she be smiling? She must know she’s lost. Poor thing, perhaps losing has driven her mad. Rainmaker certainly wouldn’t be smiling if she were in the same situation. The way the epic was smiling, it almost reminded Rainmaker of the Vanillas who served her, smiling and humming to themselves as they catered to Rainmaker’s every whim. Once, wanting to test what lengths the Vanillas would take to have another taste of Euphoria’s power, Rainmaker had used her slaves as furniture for a day, requiring them to kneel on all fours while she used them as benches and coffee tables. Even then, they had been smiling, totally in Euphoria’s thrall… Euphoria! Rainmaker jammed her earpiece back in, switching her attacks to solely hailstones so that she could hear. “Bulletproof, I need your location. I have metal skin under control, but I think she might not be working alone. Expect another attack at any moment, and know that if they manage to harm a hair on Euphoria’s head, I will hold you personally responsible.” Rainmaker flew off into the city, shouting instructions to her security teams into her mobile, warning them to keep an eye on metal skin, but not to engage her until Rainmaker returned or something changed. The winds and hailstones would continue in her absence, and should be able to keep metal-skin pinned down. In the mean-time, Rainmaker had another target to see to, before it was too late. “Rainmaker seems to think there might be another attacker.” Bulletproof was saying. He was driving, while Decoy and Euphoria sat in the back seat. “It’s possible we are being watched.” Other cars holding members of Euphoria’s security team were driving in front and behind them. Her team was filled with Corvallis’s best, consisting of both epics and Vanillas, all armed to the teeth, incredibly dangerous, and ready to risk their lives for her. For some reason, that did not make Euphoria feel safer in the slightest. “Any updates on Bubbles?” Euphoria gratefully accepted a new pair of glasses from Decoy. Her old ones had broken when she was pushed from the stage. “She’s reached her bunker. Buttercup is with her, so she should be fine. Cornucopia is with her team at the Arboretum. They are on the look-out for any danger, but right now it seems like only the city itself is under attack.” What you mean is, it’s just me who is under attack. With a new pair of glasses, Euphoria could finally read again, so she turned to her tablet computer and began searching through the city’s data base of Epics. “Do we have any idea who the Iron Maiden was? She seemed dependent on the gun to attack at range, but she might be hiding other abilities.” Decoy was about to respond but was interrupted when the lights from the car behind them suddenly swerved off course, and all of their mobiles went off at once with messages and alerts. ”We are being pursued by another car, he’s trying to drive us off the road!” “Roger,” said Bulletproof as he stepped on the gas. “Car A, are you hearing this? Get Earthrumble out there, and see if she can slow this guy down!” Instead of a verbal response, the ground behind them began to shake, breaking the pavement and stopping both the other members of their team, and the unfamiliar vehicle who was chasing them, in their tracks. “Decoy, you better be ready just in case.” Decoy nodded and, taking Bulletproof’s instruction, she reached out to take Euphoria’s hand in her own. After a brief moment of hesitation, Euphoria accepted Decoy’s hand, and felt a tingle run down her spine as the link was established. “We’re ready,” Decoy said, giving Euphoria an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, they can’t hurt you now.” The sound of gunshots and epic powers being used echoed behind them. ”He’s out of the car! We’re trying to hit him, but he’s too fast. Definitely has super speed, and possibly some form of precognition, though it’s difficult to tell… Ugh, no, argh…” “Dammit, they got Smith.” Bulletproof cranked the wheel, turning off onto a side street, heading to the University, where the Corvallis guard would be waiting for them. A man appeared in front of them suddenly, seeming to blur into focus as he stopped moving. The headlights of the car lit up his smile and the whites of his eyes before he vanished again. Suddenly, Euphoria felt a hand on her shoulder, and found herself being thrown from the speeding car. She tumbled a few times in the street before coming to a stop, losing her second pair of glasses in the process. Thankfully, the link to Decoy protected her from any harm. As long as she stayed in range, she would be fine. “Resilient eh? Has Lady Euphoria been hiding some secret abilities from us all this time?” Euphoria swung around to face her attacker, but before she could get a look at him she found herself flying backwards through the air. The wind left her lungs as she slammed into the wall of a nearby building, but the link protected her from any further harm. “Get away from her!” Bulletproof shouting, his fists glowing in the darkness. His secondary power allowed him to cause any substance to burst into flame with a single touch, which, combined with his invulnerability to ranged weapons, made him a deadly combatant. “Sorry hot-stuff, not today.” Again, the assailant moved faster than Euphoria’s eyes could track. Bulletproof swung his fists wildly, trying to get in a hit. A single finger graze would be all it took to end things. Decoy stood nearby, using the car for cover while she took aim and fired, trying to land a hit. Three shots echoed from Decoy’s gun before Bulletproof collapsed onto the street, bleeding from a dozen carefully placed stab wounds. The light from his fists flickered out. Decoy was next, not even getting a fourth shot in before she too fell to the ground. The attacker had left his knife lodged in Decoy’s throat so she could not heal. A few seconds later, Euphoria felt the link fade. It’s finally happening. I’m going to die. Euphoria reached for her own gun, but it was knocked from her hand before she could turn the safety off. Her assailant grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Now that he had stopped moving, she could finally get a good look at him. He was about her age, and handsome in the way that many epics were, with dark curly hair and darker eyes. A knife glimmered in his long, slender fingers. “And now, Euphoria, Queen of Corvallis, allow me to introduce you to your untimely end…” Euphoria acted by instinct the moment his hand touched her skin and stayed there, forcing all the power she had through the hand he held her throat with. She knew nothing about him, so she rewrote his history blind, forcing him to despise what he had been doing the last few days, and himself because of it. Knife raised, he hesitated as the self-loathing he now remembered feeling caused him to question his current actions. The contact continued, and days turned into weeks. Euphoria began to struggle for air, but forced herself to concentrate, watching the inner turmoil grow behind his eyes. Suddenly, she found herself on the ground again. This time, she didn’t have the link to Decoy to protect her, and so she felt ever bump and scrape as she tumbled down the street, collapsing in a heap on the ground. Her entire body ached with a dozen small cuts and bruises, but for the moment, it seemed like she would be all right. Not that it would do her any good. The attacker stood across from her, his eyes wide with rage, the knife still glimmering in his hand. It would seem he had realized what she was doing to him. Now it would only be a matter of time before he reoriented himself, and realized that he did, in fact, still want to kill her. “You…” Euphoria shot up into the air, carried by a stream of warm wind rising upward. At the same time, what seemed like dozens of lightning bolts flashed at once, blinding Euphoria with their radiance, and deafening her with the thunder that followed. When her vision cleared, she was on a nearby rooftop, while her assailant was lying still in an unrecognizable blackened mass on the ground. The darkened sky cleared, and daylight returned to the city. Rainmaker landed on the rooftop next to Euphoria, with a gentle smile on her face. “Such a shame,” she said, “I’m still waiting for the day when an Epic will be able to outrun my lighting.” ***** After Skinsaver had seen to the worst of Euphoria’s injuries, and the city was determined to be secure, Euphoria made her way to Rainmaker’s office, with new bodyguards in tow. The metal epic, apparently named the Iron Ogress, had been drowned. To make it work, they had needed to wire her mouth open after an Epic with super strength managed to pry her jaws apart. Her partner, who apparently called himself Fast-Forward, had been killed instantly by Rainmaker’s lightning. For the moment, it would seem like the attackers, both new comers, were working alone, but Euphoria still couldn’t shake the feeling she was being hunted. “Ah, Euphoria, I’ve been expecting you.” Rainmaker gestured and one of her slaves brought up a chair for Euphoria to take while another was standing ready with a cup of tea. All of the Vanillas in the room had the overly bright smiles and dazed expressions that were becoming characteristic of those who were constantly under Euphoria’s influence. While some of the lesser epics in the city had to scrimp and save the happiness that was allotted to them through Euphoria’s agents to reward their servants for good behaviour, Rainmaker’s entire staff were kept blissful by a near constant supply. “Now dear, how are you doing?” Rainmaker was reclining on a plush divan, and had exchanged one of the sparkling outfits she wore in public for a comfortable looking silk robe. A slave was brushing her long dark hair while another one massaged her feet. “I do hope you have recovered from that grisly attack today. I trust Skinsaver treated you well?” “Yes of course. I’m fit as a fiddle.” Euphoria waved away the cup of tea. Fearing poison, she had gotten into the habit of only consuming food and beverages she prepared herself. “I did want to talk to you though. This attack felt… different from the others.” Euphoria shuddered, once again feeling Fast-Forward’s phantom fingers clutch at her throat. “Oh?” Rainmaker took a sip of tea, an amused expression playing across her features. Of course she’s amused. Rainmaker was virtually indestructible. Even the government, back when they still exercised some power, had been unable to find a way to kill her. How else would a being with that kind of power react when confronted with the fear of death? “We’re exposed here,” Euphoria continued, trying to keep her voice from trembling. “Perhaps we should hunker down for a while, stop allowing new immigrants in. Reports from our agents indicate word of Corvallis,” And of me, “Is spreading across the state. It’s only a matter of time before we attract the attention of someone more powerful. We’ve been lucky up until now, but what if word travels out of state, and someone like Steelheart or Obliteration chooses to attack us?” Rainmaker burst out laughing. Euphoria felt her cheeks colour, both out of embarrassment and frustration. How dare Rainmaker laugh in her face, after everything she had done. “I’m sorry dear,” Rainmaker finally replied, dabbing a tear from her eye, “You’re just so precious. You know as well as I how high an opinion I like to have of myself, but even I know that, for the moment, we are far below the notice of Steelheart and Obliteration. Maybe if we were controlling Portland we might grab their attention, but they have bigger things to worry about than the tenth largest city in Oregon of all places. As things stand, Portland remains divided and in chaos, and there are no other cities in the state that are big enough to attract the attention of anyone important . Why do you think I chose Corvallis of all places for our little experiment, hmmm? Remember the plan. Another year or so here should be sufficient to work out all the kinks in our system. Then, when the time is right, we can make our move to somewhere larger, and be ready for anything those tyrants want to throw our way.” Euphoria forced herself to smile. “Yes of course, you’re right as always. I’m sorry I let my paranoia get to me. I must still be a little frazzled from the attack.” “Tell you what, how about you take tomorrow off? We’ll reschedule the appointments you have tomorrow and spread them out over the next couple of days. I’ll send by some of your agents in the morning to get extra doses to distribute, and you can stay home and just relax. Have a massage, take a bath, read a book, do anything that can get your mind off of this grisly business. We can talk about our public response to this attack on Tuesday, once you’ve recovered.” “Thank-you, Rainmaker.” Euphoria knew when and when not to question Rainmaker’s ‘advice’. It was clear there would be no changing the High Epics mind. She was determined to see their little experiment through. “You know, I think you’re right. A nice bubble bath and a good book might be just what I need.” PRESENT DAY Euphoria was awake before the alarm on her mobile went off, but she hit snooze anyways. It had been two weeks since the attack, and still she had trouble getting out of bed. All the safe-guards she had designed to protect her identity seemed foolishly flimsy now. After all, how easy would be to bribe one of the thirty or so people who knew her true identity? Could any vetting process really secure someone’s loyalty? Who really knew how many of her trusted staff had been placed in her company with the sole purpose of finding a way to destroy her? Fifteen minutes later, one of her servants arrived with the outfit she had chosen for the coming day freshly laundered and pressed, inquiring when she would be down for breakfast. Euphoria didn’t know why her staff still bothered keeping track of her morning schedule; she prepared her own food anyways, mostly eating food picked straight from the trees Cornucopia had grown in Euphoria’s own personal garden. Even a slice of bread buttered by foreign hands had the potential to be poisoned. Even eating food from Cornucopia’s trees had become a source of anxiety for Euphoria, and she had to constantly tell herself that Cornucopia, at least, was on her side and would not betray her. She decided which food she would pick for the day—some eggs and veggies for an omelet for breakfast maybe, then a vegetable wrap for lunch—while she showered and got dressed. She was picking a bottled water from a potted bottle-of-water plant when she heard the sound of her door opening. When she turned, she was surprised to see an all too familiar face. I knew someone was watching me! “It’s you…” “We can’t find her anywhere, your majesty. She’s vanished.” Rainmaker stood on her balcony, and felt herself begin to shine with fury. “How could she have just vanished without a trace? Her home was fully staffed, well-guarded, and its location was supposed to be a complete secret. A secret, that you were in charge of keeping safe.” Gossipmonger shrunk away from her harsh rebuke, and squinted in the face of her radiance. “I… I don’t know, majesty. All of her power was recalled around eight o’clock this morning, and…” “I KNOW the timelines," Rainmaker roared. Outside, the sky began to darken and thunder rumbled in the distance. “In fact, I think I know that nothing you could possibly say right now will satisfy me, so get your filthy self out of my sight, and don’t enter it again until you have some good news to share.” “But…” Lightning flashed through the open balcony doors, frying Gossipmonger where he stood. Rainmaker's slaves hurried forward, concerned expressions marring their usually smiling faces. How long before they realized how awful they were treated and started to rebel, or grew so desperate for a dosage of Euphoria’s power that they went mad? Rainmaker took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. The sky outside cleared again, revealing a radiant sunset. Almost a full day had passed, and she was still no closer to finding even a hint of where Euphoria was hiding. The whole city was on lock-down, but it was only a matter of time before the Epic population began asking questions, if they weren’t already. Right now, only their happily rewritten memories and present fear of their epic masters was keeping the Vanilla population under control. How long could it last? “When you are done cleaning him up, summon the other Queens. I’ll meet them in my office.”

Aaand, at 5429 words, I am officially DONE the Corvallis opening post. Sorry to all for the length! I hope you all enjoy. I want to get it posted and move on to homework, so I haven't done much editing. Let me know if you see any problems. . Also YAY for new West Coast epics, or 'new' in the case of Obliteration. I still need to format things and insert icons, so I'll be a few more pages, but expect a post ASAP. I've set things up so any of the Queens could post next, but the thread is officially open, literally ANYONE can post . Let the plotting begin.

I feel the same way in the luck department Voidus. If my band of sociopaths and other social incompetents on MBI, or any of my characters here have anything to say about my romantic skills, then I am definitely lucky to be married . Does make me question my partner's judgment though... Maybe I should be worried?

Any time you want to feel better FB, just look at my join date and rep to post ratio, haha.

Sorry to go back in time a bit, but I just thought I'd point out that the Lord Ruler hasn't been doing the same thing over and over again. The books Elend is reading in the first Mistborn indicate that the plantation system itself, which is the back bone of the 'modern' Final Empire, was only about 500 - 600 years old. Not sure if that strengthens or weakens the point, but it does show at least some adaptability on the Lord Ruler's part.

You guys, what if the bracers were just storages for the Lord Ruler's age, with some hemalurgic enhancements as well (we still don't know what atium can all be used for in Hemalurgy), BUT they became more than that AFTER he died. Think of it, they the were in contact with the Lord Ruler's blood, and were essentially used to kill him. True, Vin finished him off with a spear, but he was on his way to death as soon as she ripped off the bracers. We aren't sure about all of the mechanics of Hemalurgy yet, so who knows what counts and what does not as a 'sacrifice'. We do know that it requires blood and a death, but not much more than that. What if, by ripping the bands out of the Lord Ruler's arms, Vin empowered them with power beyond what the Lord Ruler was using them for? They would now include whatever charge the Lord Ruler originally put in them to enhance his power AND some of his incredible Lerasium enhanced allomancy. There are holes in this theory, of course. For one, if the bands were already charged, I'm not certain they could be charged a second time. Secondly, we aren't sure if the sacrifice needs to die as the 'spike' is being pushed through in order to imbue it with power, or if the spike just needs to cause the death. Given that someone who is dying, but not yet dead, could technically find a way to survive, it makes more sense that the spike can't steal their power unless they actually die, otherwise you could either have a living person without allomancy, or duplication of the power, which would be kind of world-breaky and against Ruin's MO. On the other hand, we know the Lord Ruler was weak from his rapid aging, and I always took it for granted that was why all of the fight went out with him, and why he was crawling pitifully to where the bracers went out the window, BUT, what if he was more powerless than we thought? What if taking away his bracers also removed his allomancy? Sure, he was aging rapidly, but with his power, couldn't he have jumped out the window and pulled the bracers back to himself? Maybe the rapid aging was enough to incapacitate him, but what if it wasn't, and his powers were stolen and sealed in the bands? Regardless of what is correct, I think it's clear the bands are more significant than we originally thought. These are just my thoughts, not sure about their correctness, but I would LOVE the idea that Vin had a part in creating the Bands of Mourning.

Am I the only one who pictures Twi with bright green hair, purple skin, and a pink and blue tail?

One final down, three to go (plus an essay!) Now the all important question. What happens if Funtimes meets stick? (Sorry about the WoR reference for those who aren't there yet).

There was another question or comment about Corvallis that I keep forgetting to reply to, and I just forgot what it was. If anyone has a question or concern they feel I have left unanswered, please let me know, in case I don't remember. Also, here's an amusing thought. What if Rainmaker heard about Backtrack somehow? With Euphoria missing, he would be just the guy to find her. I know he's busy tracking down Springfield at the moment, but if there is room in the plot later on, Rainmaker could send someone to 'retrieve' him so that he could track down Euphoria. *Whistles innocently and hopes others don't notice the blatant attempt to get Kobold involved with the Corvallis RP, or that Backtrack's involvement will provide a fun excuse to write cool flashback scenes... EDIT: I REMEMBERED WHAT IT WAS! On the subject of Cornucopia growing motivators, I think I agree with what everyone else is saying. She could duplicate the tech bits of the epic-tech, but not the epic parts. Being able to essentially grow epic powers on trees would make her much more dangerous and world-breaky.

Yay Kenshin! Excited to have her there!

I think Benedict Cumberbatch or Eddie Redmayne would both be great Lord Rulers. They can both pull off that "surprisingly young but incredibly precise" look. Also, Nikolaj Coster Waldau would make a great Kelsier in my opinion. As would NPH. Since this movie seems to be growing ever farther into the future, I agree with the choice of Maisie Williams (Arya in Game of Thrones) playing Vin. She's got a good look, great acting chops, and while she still looks very young, she's 17. I'd have to see how she plays in more adult roles as time goes on (right now it's difficult for me to see her playing "married to Elend; Empress of the Final Empire" Vin, but maybe with a little maturity, she will be able to pull it off. She would definitely have book one Vin down. Don't get me wrong, I'm still on team Ellen Page all the way (from Hard Candy, to Inception, I think she has it covered. Also, Vin needs someone who can be snarky, and Page in Juno is queen of the snark), but I also think its getting less and less likely someone that age will still be in the right range when it comes time to cast the movie.

I thought Fortuity's weakness was just being attracted to someone, which would be a mental state, but I guess I was just trusting Megan with that one, and she could be wrong. Euphoria Weakness Spoilers: I think I would prefer to have the attack on Euphoria be independent of any player characters for now. It will give me more freedom to craft my opening post, and I don't have much time for collaboration at the moment. So, the attack begins at a welcoming ceremony where Rainmaker welcomes new citizens, and it is set one week before the start of the RP (Euphoria's disappearance). What if, Iconoclast, posting as a flesh manipulation epic, was among one of the immigrants. He sees the attack, and how Rainmaker and team respond. Then, he has a week to start recruiting minions and plotting the destruction of the city before his first post. Would that work?

Aaaaaand, here we go with the Epic Profiles (because I'm an awful procrastinator who might fail his exam tomorrow)! Rainmaker Euphoria: So there you have em! I tried to tone down Euphoria's powers by playing around with the limits of range and the number of people she can affect at once, by increasing the time she needs to rewrite emotional memories, and limiting the extent to which she can revise. Like I've said before, I still want her to be powerful (there's a reason she's the center of the plot), but I don't want her to be too mind-controlling. For Rainmaker, she's obviously quite overpowered, like any Epic despot. She'll be a tough cookie to take down, and should provide a good fight for any invaders or rebels who try to invade the city. Let me know what you guys think, and if you have any suggestions!

I think Tia is off the grid hiding somewhere. Even if he was overconfident that he could control his powers, Prof would have known there was at least a risk that he would be corrupted, and I think he would have taken counter-measures. My guess, is he and Tia created a figurative wall between them, where Tia, on Prof's orders, kept things from him. He would know what she would be doing, but perhaps not exactly where. My guess is that Tia had an exit plan in place ready to go, and that she made it out okay, and is likely rallying some Reckoners, or otherwise preparing to bring down Prof if she has to. Now, Prof likely knows this, but he also knows Tia very well. She's the smartest of the group, so she'd likely be the toughest to track down. He tracks down the others first before they can scatter and go underground, and THEN goes after Tia when he can afford to spend time analyzing her actions and her history, guessing where she might be hiding. The one hole is that this leaves the one person most likely to know his weakness free. I mean, how much of a threat are David and the gang to Prof really, especially compared to Tia? Maybe they set up a trap or weapon to use against him together, and Prof is afraid of confronting Tia before she's ready, lest she use he weakness against him. In that scenario, it might make sense for him to track down the other Reckoners first, demolishing any potential support base Tia might try to recruit, before taking her on. Honestly, it could go any way. I agree that there is no way that Tia is dead. My guess is what happened to her remains a mystery until she shows up part way through the book with some serious answers . It's also interesting to me that this book is called Calamity. That makes me think that Prof will not be the main villain, and that by the end of the book, the focus will be on Calamity him/her/itself. Perhaps there is potential for Prof to be redeemed midway through the book...

I found this gem on page 13 of my Steelheart harcover: So I guess David HAD heard of Steelheart. Perhaps at first he and his father did not realize it was Steelheart they were seeing, until AFTER David at least saw the full extent of his powers. In the opening chapters of Firefight, David also mentions a fledgling press being restored to Chicago, so I'm assuming there was a news industry there before Steelheart came and shut it down.

By open you mean physical hand to hand, or with all powers in play? If she is more of an independent person, she could be a citizen of Corvallis, not affiliated with the Queens. In terms of position, I picture them having regulatory positions according to expertise, unless they don't have any leadership expertise, in which case their title would be mostly a formality out of recognition of their contribubtions with their powers to the safety of the city. All would have Rainmaker's ear in an advisory capacity, but ultimately Rainmaker makes most final decisions I think. Euphoria was a Masters student studying economics before calamity, so she does a lot of logistical/coordination type stuff (which will make things even more disorganized when she vanishes). Other roles are open for Queens to take, if they so wish. Since I'd consider "sountracking" to be a subset of the illusion category (whether mental or if the epic is manipulating actual soundwaves), it would make sense for it to be somewhat common, especially at the lower end of the power scale. If we want to go for something more original, I'm sure Rainmaker can make do with a standard sound system, though it would likely irk her knowing there are epics elsewhere who have epics to see to their soundtracking needs. Another idea I had: Do you think Cornucopia's power can recreate epic tech (Voidus)? If so, Corvallis would just need to purchase prototypes and then they could equip the whole city!

Kenshin is more than welcome! Let me know if you would like her to be an immigrant, invader, citizen, Queen, or Queen's underling. I think she'd work well in any capacity . Ok, sounds good. I was thinking Blossom and Buttercup's primary job would be to protect Bubbles from harm (since that would help keep them together), but they could have other functions as well depending on what their powers are and what you want for them. I'm not necessarily going to put a cap on Queens (at least, not until the thread starts), I was just pointing out we need more other characters too. If you want though, we could make them underlings serving the Queens, particularly Bubbles. That could be a fun character dynamic, with two epics who are arguably more powerful having to protect a weaker, but more useful one. Also, I can't get the opening scene for Corvallis out of my head! If I can pull it off right it's going to be EPIC! I think I'm going to set it one week before the RP begins, with a flash forward to Euphoria vanishing. EDIT: Oklahoma is also welcome, lol. He could provide an interesting viewpoint of how weak and relatively useless epics are treated in Corvallis. He'd still have a life of privilege, likely even his own Vanilla or two if he wanted, but probably not much else. I also had an idea for an NPC (or PC if someone wants him/her) soundtrack/soundeffects epic who provides epic music (see what I did there?) during Rainmaker's public appearances. The more I get to know her, the more I realize Rainmaker takes the standard High Epic flair for the dramatic to the extreme!

I think it sounds like Voidus was intending Cornucopia to be something different, so you can have all three girls, and they are all more than welcome in Corvallis . As for numbers, I kind of envision the Queens as a group of lesser to mid- level epics with fairly unique powers that help Rainmaker rule the city. Bubbles for defense, Cornucopia keeps the city well stocked, and Euphoria keeps it under control. On that note, as I originally conceived Bubbles, she did have a minor PI. Originally, if threatened, a force-bubble would automatically spring up around her to protect her. This was a potential way invaders could enter the city, by having an agent on the inside threaten Bubble, then force her to drop the bubble around the city (because that is her max size) by attacking her and letting her PI put up a smaller bubble around her for protection. If you want to change this though, go right ahead! Just let me know. All of the other powers are sounding good so far! Keep me posted. So, thus far for epics we have: As you can see, I think Blaze is correct in saying we have enough QoCs, at least for now, since we are pretty unbalanced with them compared to enemies and neutral parties, even if I put my two WIPs into the mix. I think the place we mostly need more characters for is the epic citizen category. Initially, we can do a lot of internal stuff among the Queens as they react to Euphoria's disappearance, but as things move forward, we will need more epic citizens to play them off against. More invaders and newcomers to the city also wouldn't hurt, though I'm certain Iconoclast's arrival will give the Queens more than enough trouble. Right now, I'm picture Iconoclast laying siege to the city, outside of Bubbles's field, while internal unrest steadily grows within. Also, Blaze, on the note of Bubbles, I was thinking of making it a bigger deal when her maximum city-sized bubble drops. What if she can only reset it from the center of the city, since she must always be at the center of her force-bubbles when setting them. Once they are set, she can move around within or outside of them, but to set it up she must be in the center of where she wants to place it. This would mean that if Bubbles is forced to drop the force-bubble around the city, she would have to make her way back to the center to reset it, which would give Iconoclast lost of time to get his minions (and possibly himself) into the city and start wreaking some havoc. The reset bubble, however, could cut him off from some of whatever army he brought with him, giving him incentive to find new recruits from among the Corvallis vanilla population. Blackhoof, would that sound good to you? In some of the panic, we could also have Bubbles reset the field off center, abandoning parts of the city to Iconoclast. Thoughts? I'm glad this is coming along. I'll keep adding to my list of epics if people have more suggestions or want to get involved .

The intent was to do epics based on the Powerpuff girls, and Cornucopia was meant to be an amalgamation of the duplication epic and the "Blossom" epic, while Force-Field-Epic was "Bubbles", and "Buttercup" was still up in the air. That being said, I see no reason why Cornucopia cannot exist alongside an epic based on Blossom, so as long as Voidus is okay with you doing all three epics, that's fine with me. If we'd rather Cornucopia be the "Blossom" of the trio, then you are still welcome to take over the Bubble Epic, as well as world build Buttercup. I also had another idea for a Queen of Corvallis, if anyone wants to take her. I thought of her while brainstorming a potential Buttercup power, so Blaze, you are welcome to use it if you would like. I was thinking it would be cool if an Epic had the power to imbue people with calories, cutting down on how much they would need to eat. They would likely still need to take supplements to get their vitamins and minerals, but this would allow however many people Calorie epic could affect to work with very little food. After all, if Cornucopia is spending most of her time growing fun things like Queen-Sized-Beds and power generators and weapons, she might not have time to plant enough pancake trees for all of the Vanilla slaves to get pancakes, and some other means of sustenance might be necessary. Studying is going slowly Why did I choose to go to law school again? Immigration Law is ridiculous!!! I printed off the 100+ page Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (in booklet format to save paper), and the Citizenship Act, only to realize most of my notes (at least from early in the semester) deal with the 428 pages of Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and there is no way I can justify printing that out ... *slinks off to copy down obtuse legislation. Hopefully I have a more successful go at things tomorrow! For now, I think it's time to get ready for a run. I'm still brainstorming the opening scene for the Corvallis thread, but I'm getting pretty pumped! We still need epics to fill out the citizen role, so let me know if you have any ideas for that category!

Whoa! While it's time consuming reading through pages of posts, this kind of activity is not a bad thing to come back to after Easter with the inlaws . I could probably run Corvallis, or at least get it going. Come next September (or even late August), I might need to share the responsibility with someone else if it becomes too much for me, but that's a bridge we can cross when we come to it. Thanks for the votes guys, I know I haven't been here long, but I'm really getting into the story we have going here! Anyways, so I'm pretty much prepared for my Thursday Final, and my next two days will mostly be spent preparing for my Wednesday Final. I have an essay to work on Friday, and another final Monday, but I'm hoping to get up bios for Rainmaker and Euphoria (with refined and defined powersets) up sometime over the weekend, along with a list of epics currently planning to enter the Corvallis plot line. After the 15th, and even moreso after the 20th, I should have way more time to really get things going, but I hope to at least get things started with an opening post or two this weekend. Speaking of an opening post for the Corvallis thread, I think I'd go with an attempted assasination of Euphoria by a High Epic NPC with a PI. That way, I can introduce Euphoria's character before she disappears, and show off some of Rainmaker's abilities when she defeats the NPC. My idea for the NPC was a pretty standard super-speed/pre-cog/damage-impervious-skin combo, but let me know if you guys have any cooler ideas. I also need two epic bodyguards for Euphoria who can be killed by the assassin in the action, so if anyone (*cough Voidus *cough) has any ideas for their powers that would also be very helpful. Anyways, I am super excited for Corvallis. If you want your character to be among the Queens of Corvallis, I think I'd like to have all of them decided on by the time the RP begins, to avoid continuity issues. Other than that, I think we can slot new characters in both as residents and as newcomers as the story progresses. Does that sound good? I think that's everything for now. While I'm studying the next two days I should be able to keep up the action here, and if things go well, I might even be able to post early . Thanks for your patience everyone, and let me know if you have any new ideas to help flesh out Corvallis!

Keep in mind I'm still figuring out her powers, so I'll take your guys' thoughts into account. I can't do a detailed explanation right now. If my husband comes home and I haven't done more studying he will be frustrated with me because I already told him I couldn't do stuff because I needed to study For clarity, right now Euphoria has two abilities: 1) Making People Enhanced Happy - I think this subtle change is a good way to get around the gifting problem Edge pointed out. So basically, she can make anyone feel an enhanced form of happiness/pleasure/etc. for as long as she concentrates on them. She can ALSO gift this power (the power to bestow happiness) to others, who can then choose whether or not to use their gifted power on themselves, or use it (not gift it) on others. Does that work? Like with other gifted abilities, how long happiness lasts depends on how much power she has gifted. When she uses this power directly, she can pretty much overwhelm someone with happiness, but it takes a lot of concentration, and when she leaves a person's presence it fades instantly. I'm also thinking a good limit on this power would be that she can only effectively use it on one person at a time, and attempting to use it on multiple targets only causes a vague improvements to overall emotional state. The reason she is able to affect multiple people at once, is because of her ability to gift her power, and then they can use it on themselves or on others at their leisure. This will limit the application of Euphoria's power as currency, as "payment" would have to be used instantaneously, but I think it could still work with some tweaks. I'll keep working on it. 2) Emotional Perception of History Rewrite - Basically I'm thinking for this one that the more specific or nuanced she gets, the more time/concentration it takes. So, her regular emotional bump of existing vanillas only takes a few seconds, because all she does in generally improve their emotional perceptions of the last two weeks. Think of it like shooting a blanket rioting into their past, making them view it more positively. However, because it is so general, it would likely make it easier for them to realize the inconsistencies. To do more complete or nuanced emotional rewrites, she needs more intense concentration and more time. Also keep in mind, she is not able to see into people's histories, so she is essentially shooting blind. If she knows about someone's past, she can target specific memories or time periods, but if she knows nothing a blanket emotional alteration is all she can do. An example would be, say someone came to Corvallis one month ago. Euphoria could alter the perception of the time before coming to Corvallis to be bleak, and the time after coming to be more positive, but if that's all she knew she couldn't get more specific. If the person in question was not using her happiness power, as soon as she left they would be free to start questioning their perceptions of their memories, especially if they knew how her powers work. Given time constraints, I think she generally just gives quick positive brushes to everyone's last few weeks (or whenever it was since their last appointment), and only does more nuanced mind controlly work with rebels and dissidents. My intention for her was that her ability to alter people's past perceptions COMBINED with her ability to control people with enhanced happiness highs would make her a force in the mind control department, but that either power used separately would merely be suggestive/persuasive. Also keep in mind that although Corvallis has a system of Euphorification in place, this system is not perfect. Vanillas could definitely sneak through the cracks if they knew what they were doing, and avoid their regular appointments. I think of it like in The Giver, where people take daily medication to suppress their emotions, but when the medication is skipped, they quickly realize they were walking around in an altered state. Perhaps Euphoria is running behind, so someone goes a little extra time without having their perception of the last few weeks altered, and they are on the bottom of the social hierarchy, so they don't get regular boughts of happiness. They would be likely to look at their recent experience, see it as horrible, and begin to question why they enjoyed it before, leading them to rebel. Since Euphoria is going to go missing in like the first post, this is all kind of moot anyways, as regardless the system will quickly fall apart without her. I do want to make Rainmaker's rule with Euphoria reasonable though. My goal is for it to be terrifying, so I don't want to underpower Euphoria too much, but I don't want to make it absolute. So, to answer the above points: 1) A few weeks is enough time to start to hate your current existence, even if you remember loving it not long ago, especially if you aren't getting your happiness doses. Also, imperfect altering of historical perceptions could lead to inconsistencies that make you suspicious. You also have to keep in mind that you can't assume the system will work perfectly, even if it is meant to. While the system is meant to give Euphoria complete control of the population, the system is NOT perfect, and people will slip through the cracks. 2) This is true of the citizens who Euphoria devotes most of her attention too, but she can't be everywhere. Her alteration of peoples' perception of their memories is permanent, but they can start to question their perceptions, especially if they are aware of her powers. Her second power (the historical perception one) has no effect on the present, so if it is not accompanied by doses of happiness, it can be noticed. If I remember something as happy an enjoyable, but present experience has taught me otherwise, I am free to question my perception of the past, and make decisions accordingly. 3) As I said above, she can't actually read a person's history, she is altering it blindly. I'm sorry I didn't make this clear earlier. Like a soother/rioter, she can infer certain things and edit accordingly, but she has no supernatural method of divining historical emotional states.

In thinking I might go with temporary incorporeality whenever she gets hit, by having her burst into cloud and reform. For Euphoria my original conception was of her as a gifter, who gifts positive emotions. The person she gifts it to can choose to use it on themselves or gift it to someone else (this is how it is used as currency and why it doesn't work on Epics). Basically like what Conflux does with enforcers. They have the power and then use it to power their suits and weapons. I hadn't thought of her using agents to distribute happiness but I like it! If you join, Euphoria can gift some bonus happiness as a start up bonus. Remember how people used to say you can't buy happiness? Well now you can. .