Chapter 33 - Surviving in a World of Magic and Superheroes (Worm/Fate): Interlude 1

A/N

Small warning, I included some blunt exposition for those unfamiliar with Worm since I've had a lot of people tell me they know nothing about Worm. Basically, it's introducing all the Capes/PRT. You can easily skip over it if you don't' need it.

[Line Break]

Emily Piggot walked into the conference room.

The Director of the PRT ENE—Parahuman Response Team, East North East.

Or in simple terms, the Director of the PRT out of Brockton Bay.

The laws had been set years ago when they folded all the government institutions together to formalize government-sponsored superheroes. They oversaw both the Protectorate and the Wards together.

The Protectorate was the Organization of Superheroes. Parahumans who were hired as an additional type of police force that specialized and focused on crimes committed by Parahumans or Parahuman-related powers.

The Wards being the underage hero group. Usually, they're taught how to navigate the government institution and practice alongside their Protectorate superiors in anticipation of joining the Protectorate when they become of age.

Long ago, the laws were written that both the Protectorate and Wards had to be overseen by a non-parahuman authority. That's where the PRT came into play, supervising the Parahumans and providing oversight.

Ironically, Director Piggot had a particular dislike of Parahumans.

She had a heavy gait and a stiff walk due to her being overweight. A side effect of her getting hurt in the line of duty during her fieldwork as a previous PRT agent. 

The PRT weren't just government officials; they had their own 'police force' to handle Parahumans. Agents that were deployed along with their Cape allies to contain and arrest villainous Capes.

Years ago, there was the worst Biotinker attack in history.

The Town of Ellisburg was besieged by a Biotinker—a Cape with the power to manipulate flesh and create monsters—to turn the residents of the town into his own monster minions, turning the town into a sort of personal kingdom.

Piggot was one of the agents dispatched to try and contain the damage, but with her fellow agents, she was abandoned by all the capes that had gone there with her.

Only she and one other agent survived, and she didn't survive without her own wounds.

Constant dialysis was just one of her reminders of what happened.

Ever since, she has had a not-so-subtle hate for parahumans in general.

She took her seat with a small sigh. "Alright, everyone, let's get started. The Wards are here to join in on the debrief so everyone can be on the same page."

Joining her was the normal group.

From the Protectorate, there was assault and battery.

They were a husband and wife duo who had been part of the Protectorate for several years at that point.

Battery, a woman named Jamie, had the ability to charge up her 'power' and release it to give herself a boost in speed and strength and some minor electromagnetic powers. With each second she 'charges up,' she can then use the increased power for several seconds afterwards. 

Her husband, a man named Ethan who went by the cape name Assault, had powers related to kinetic energy manipulation. By controlling the energies of movement, acceleration, and motion, but only on himself. He was able to move at high speeds with bursts of speed and jumping. 

Next was Dauntless, also known as Shawn when not under a mask. Dauntless had the ability to empower items by infusing them with a little bit of his power each day, permanently enhancing them. He was known for his spear, shield, and boots, all of which were enhanced to a supernatural degree. Though, his 'items' couldn't be used by someone else with their enhancements. He was acknowledged as someone who would become 'Triumvirate' tier in the future if his powers didn't hit some kind of ceiling.

Following Dauntless was Miss Militia, also known as Hannah outside of the job. Miss Militia had the power to create a sort of green and black energy that could then be morphed into mundane weapons. Primarily, projectile weapons such as guns, but she could also make melee weapons. She was unable to make anything too large, like a tank, but she could more or less make anything handheld if it were a weapon. However, all her creations were basically generic in existence. 

The most recent addition to the Protectorate, Triumph, also known as Rory Christner. He had just come of age and moved up from the Wards to the Protector within the last year. His main power is sound manipulation; he can control its force, area of effect, and unleash it in bursts. He also possessed a mild healing factor that was enough to prevent most scarring. His sound blasts were strong enough to punch through concrete.

Next was Velocity, also known as Robin Swoyer. Contrary to what most people thought, Velocity wasn't a traditional speedster. His ability was to enter a 'Breaker' state that enables him to alter the way time and physics work in relation to himself, speeding him up at the cost of reduced ability to affect the world. He becomes fast enough to run on water and outrun vehicles, but in return, while in this state, his full-force punch is weaker than an eight-year-old's. 

Lastly, and certainly not least, was Armsmaster, also known as Colin Wallis. The leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate Team. Armsmaster is a Tinker, a Cape that specializes in creating items rather than having outward expressions of powers. He specializes in miniaturization and efficiency and hybrid technology. He uses his power to create extremely efficient technology that he fits into his power armor and halberd that he is famous for. 

Along with the Protectorate members, the Wards sat on the opposite side of the conference table.

First was Clockblocker, also known as Dennis. He had the ability to freeze objects in time, making them 'inviolable' to the point where it would be easier to fold the universe in half rather than break something he 'froze.'

Next was Kid Win, also known as Chris. Also a Tinker like Armsmaster and able to create things beyond the current level of technology like the older hero, his actual specialization was still unknown. 

Following him, there was Shadowstalker, also known as Sophia Hess. She has the ability to shift into a shadow state, which allows her to pass through walls and makes her lightweight. She also had the ability to pass these attributes onto her equipment, including shots fired from the crossbow she carries. 

After her, it was Gallant, also known as Dean Stansfield. He was an Empath, having the ability to generate concussive blasts of energy that could alter the emotions of those it hit, in addition to being strong enough to cause harm. He was able to use his powers to lob cannonball-sized orbs or shoot tight beams from his fingertips and everything in between. As an empath, he was able to sense the emotions of those around him. 

Next to him was Vista, also known as Missy Biron. The youngest member of the Wards, yet the one with the strongest powers. Her powers allowed her to distort non-living material by stretching, compressing, or bending it. Her powers involve warping spacetime rather than matter itself.

Lastly, there was Aegis, the leader of the Brockton Bay Wards. Also known as Carlos, his powers gave him the ability of flight and an augmented physiology that operates at peak capacity as long as he is still living. His entire biology is filled with so many redundancies and reinforcements that it makes it very difficult to put him down. If he is blinded, he will be able to see by sensing light through his skin. Cutting his throat bleeds no more than cutting the back of his hand. Cutting an arm off only requires it to get reattached without any negative side effects. 

The large group were all assembled into the room to talk about what had happened recently with both the city attack and the attack on Winslow.

"Shadowstalker." Emily Piggot spoke up. "I just received some word from above. It's highly likely that you'll be moved to a new city with a new Cape identity soon. In the meantime, you're still benched even if Panacea healed you up."

Shadowstalker just grunted, expecting it.

She already knew how things went. When a ward got hurt, even if they had the best healer in the world bring them back to full health, they were benched for weeks, maybe even months, as the Youth Guard did their 'investigation.'

"What about my family?" She asked.

"Protective custody for now, until we decide what city you'll be moving to." She responded bluntly.

"Director." Aegis raised his hand. He was a Ward that always tried to look mature around his fellow capes. 

"What, Aegis?"

"Is that standard procedure? When a Cape gets outed, just ship them off to a new city with a new name and identity?" 

Piggot frowned and let out a grumble, not at him, just merely at the situation. "Normally, the family in question would have the option to veto that kind of decision. However, it is very unwise to keep them in a city with Nazis running around."

She didn't feel the need to explicitly state that a Black girl outed as an 'enemy cape' was in a very bad situation to have when Nazis were in the city and showed that they're willing to murder families in their homes.

"But that's irrelevant for now; there will be a proper memo passed down later. Let's get back on track; we'll start with what happened in the city." Piggot gestured to Armsmaster, who stood up to the projector in the front of the room.

It was a mess in and of itself, one of the few rare times in recent years that a Ward was outed, but it was surprisingly not at the top of the list of gigantic cluster fucks she was dealing with.

Normally, an outed Ward had Legend flying down from New York to express to the ones responsible how disappointed he was in their behavior.

It was a reason that most villains on the East Coast abided strictly by treating Wards with the kids' gloves.

No one wanted Legend to fly down and show them why he's one of the strongest capes in the city and has enough goodwill with almost everyone to the point where he could get away with a few accidental misuses of force on his record.

"Shall I begin, Director?" "Armsmaster?" he asked in his usual monotone.

"Let's get this over with; I still have a dozen meetings this afternoon." She grunted.

The screen changed; everyone knew that it was some tiny piece of tech that Armsmaster probably made to save time from manually clicking on a button to change slides.

"At 11:08 AM Friday morning, we received the first report of a 'zombie outbreak' downtown." He clicked, and it showed slides of some of the pictures. "The call was originally confusing, and the phrasing meant we wasted nearly five minutes on discussions before we mobilized."

"Jump to the important bits, Armsmaster." Piggot told him. She didn't want to hear him rant about misuse of time and how to optimally handle such calls in the future. 

He just nodded curtly. "These are some of the many pictures we've managed to secure. With many more already floating online."

They were rather graphic, more than what you would normally find online. They confiscated what they could, but when hundreds of people had phones and witnessed what was going on, getting everything was difficult.

It showed creatures that wouldn't look out of place in a zombie movie as they swarmed out of random buildings, attacking anything and everything in sight.

"Jesus Christ." Clockblocker whispered, turning away at once from the screen where it bit into the arm of a person it tackled.

"Eww." Vista cringed, also looking away. 

The other Wards didn't fare much better, but they did their best to look professional.

For that matter, the Protectorate Capes weren't numb to it either; however, most of them had been deployed to deal with the issue firsthand, so they were used to it.

"Did they actually act like 'zombies'?" Aegis asked. "Is that what we're calling them?"

"For now, that seems to be what we're calling them shorthand in-house." Piggot just shrugged. If the shoe fit in her eyes, she didn't give a crap about names. "Miss Militia, your thoughts? You were the first to arrive on the scene."

Miss Militia had a frown on her face as her eyes stared at the screen before she blinked and focused back on everyone else. "I tried to use a Taser, rubber bullets, and pepper spray bullets, but none of those were able to keep them down. I even had to use a baton to break the jaw of one, and it still barely even slowed it down."

"I arrived not long after." Velocity spoke up. "I spent most of my time getting civilians out of the war, but these things were relentless. I saw one get run over by a car, then get right back up and try to claw at the window."

"Say the best part." Assault snorted.

Battery smacked him. "Don't joke; a lot of people died."

Piggot held up a hand. "Armsmaster, go ahead."

He cleared his throat and went to the next slide. It showed someone who had been bitten and clawed to death slowly getting back up. Every indication showed that they should be dead, but they got up and started attacking people as well.

"They could apparently make more of themselves." Piggot stated. "If it hadn't been contained, it would have been designated an S-Class level threat, and the Triumvirate would have been called in."

"Holy shit." Kid Win whispered. "How close were we to having the city condemned?"

"Fortunately, the Director acted quickly." Armsmaster answered. "Her quick authorization of lethal force is what allowed us to keep this Biotinker terrorism contained before it could enter dangerous levels."

He wasn't simply praising her for the sake of it.

The director recognized the situation immediately and ordered lethal force in record time. It was one of the major reasons that the spread of the 'zombies' was contained at manageable levels.

"And what were the other reasons?" Gallant asked. They humored the questions, mostly because this was for the benefit of the wards; the Protectorate heroes had already been somewhat briefed. 

"It took place in Empire territory." Armsmaster said bluntly. "There were enough gang members present and…responding that they were able to hold off a portion of the Biotinker creations until assistance arrived."

He changed the screen and shifted through several images that showed a lot of skinheads with various tattoos or gang colors holding a wide array of guns as they shot at the monsters.

Assault let out a whistle. "That's a lot of firepower. I'm pretty sure they're breaking some kind of laws with all those."

"We're not going after them." Piggot said bluntly. "We're treating it like an S-Class threat and a retroactive truce."

No one could really argue against it.

"So guns were effective?" Kid Win asked.

"Ironically, shooting them in the head was one of the best ways to put them down." She snorted. "But it seems that given enough damage, they would eventually stop moving."

"Was there really no way to save those people?" Gallant asked. "Maybe Panacea could have removed whatever it was that was making them go crazy?"

Piggot didn't want to call him an idiot, but she had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "There was no opportunity to 'arrest' them. And after analysis indicated that they were already dead."

Gallant just hesitantly nodded but frowned behind his mask.

"Armsmaster, keep going."

As ordered, Armsmaster moved on to the next subject. A woman appeared on the screen, with blonde hair and green eyes, wearing armor like an old knight. And she had a bright, glowing glance.

There were various pictures of her moving very quickly and killing a great many of the 'zombies.'

"Code Name: Radiant Knight." Armsmaster introduced her. 

"After the fact, The Think Tanks credits her with being the third containing factor that led to the situation being resolved without becoming a second Elisburg." Piggot said bluntly.

They could all practically hear the venom in her tone as she said that.

"Isn't she the same—" Assault was about to say something, but Piggot cut him off.

"We'll get to that part." She grunted. "One thing at a time."

Though, at this point, everyone had been online and recognized her face.

"Are we calling her 'Radiant Knight' or the name that she goes by now?" Aegis asked.

"Call her Lancer since that seems to be what she responds to." Piggot stated. "Radiant Knight, however, was the designation given beforehand just to avoid confusion."

They all nodded.

"Should I give the field report judgement, Director?" Arsmamster asked.

"Go ahead, but it's likely to change in the future." Piggot waved her hand flippantly.

Field judgments on new capes were notoriously inaccurate. However, they were meant to initiate first contact with new Capes, either on friendly terms or potentially hostile ones. 

Knowing that a Cape appeared to be a 'Brute' or not meant a lot if you're going in blind.

Power Classifications were originally used in-house for shorthand threat identifiers in the field, but they quickly took on a life of their own over the years.

Moreover, An ability that grants a cape enhanced speed or mobility.

Shaker, an ability with an area of effect.

Brute, An ability that grants a cape enhanced strength or durability.

Breaker, an ability that allows a cape to shift into another state.

Master, An ability that allows a cape to control others or create minions.

Tinker, An ability that allows a cape to create or alter devices with futuristic technology.

Blaster, A long-ranged offensive ability.

Thinker, An ability that focuses on information gathering.

Striker, a melee or touch-based ability.

Changer, An ability that allows a cape to alter their form or appearance.

Trump: An ability that allows a cape to manipulate powers in some capacity.

Stranger, An ability that focuses on stealth or infiltration.

And then there were ratings for each classification, starting from one.

"Very well. The first thing to do on the scene, as is protocol for meeting a new cape and witnessing their powers, is to submit an immediate threat report. Brute Rating: 5, Blaster 4, Mover 6."

"Those are pretty good ratings and classifications." Assault noted. "That's, like, perfect hero-work-kind-of powers right there. And she definitely nails the looks; that can't be amateur costume design."

"Is the Mover Rating a side effect of her Brute Rating or another part of her power?" Dauntless asked.

"Unknown for now." Piggot said plainly. "The Think Tank is still trying to…process her. But they're having difficulties."

For some reason, to everyone else, the tone sounded a bit ominous.

She didn't feel the need to reiterate that those designations were still pending and most likely wrong. "She's strong, she's fast, and that 'spear' of hers seems to be able to release blasts of energy on demand."

They all pretty much nodded along.

There wasn't much else they could say about her.

"Uh, Director." Clockblocker raised his hand. "I think I've met her before…."

She snapped her head towards him. "When?"

"During the thing at the mall earlier this week? It's hard to…miss her." He said awkwardly.

Piggot snorted at that, wanting to roll her eyes at horny teenagers. She knew what he meant; she didn't swing for that team, but even she could acknowledge that this 'Lancer' was extraordinarily beautiful.

"Make a report if there isn't anything immediately to add. Try to estimate the time; we'll see if we can pull videos from the mall." She told him.

"Yes, Director."

"What should we do if we see her on patrol?" Vista asked.

"The current order is to not approach unless absolutely necessary. Let the Protectorate handle her if it comes to it." She stated.

She didn't need the Youth Guard coming down on her ass because she gave the Wards permission to touch that hot potato.

Despite the calm tone she was talking with, Piggot was still stressed beyond belief. She didn't really press on the younger Capes how close they were to having to call in the military.

And oddly, there wasn't much to go over regarding the near zombie apocalypse that happened further downtown.

At least, not much the Wards needed to know. It was mostly logistical things and handling the aftermath, not something some kids playing superhero needed to bother with.

They were all more than aware of how devastating the attack was; she didn't need to cram the death toll down their throats either.

"There was also a fourth party that helped contain the attack." The director's voice dripped with very easily identifiable disdain and barely hidden anger. "But we'll get to them in a moment."

Armsmaster too had his lips thin, as he knew exactly who she was talking about. "I will move on to the attack at Winslow High School."

The images on the projector changed.

It showed the aftermath of the damage, parts of the building destroyed, blood stains, and a few covered dead bodies.

"Simultaneous to the attack in the city, there was an attack on Winslow High School." Armsmaster began to narrate. "We theorize that the city attack was meant as a diversion."

"Wait, you're saying that the zombie apocalypse was a diversion?!" Clockblack blurted out.

Many shared the same sentiment.

"After going over various footage we obtained from the presumed perpetrator, that is our current working theory." He nodded. "Sophia, would you please give your rendition of events from your perspective?"

Shadowstalker scowled; it was hard to say for what reason. She pursed her lips for a moment before opening her mouth. "I was in the middle of class when shit hit the fan. Everyone started talking about what was happening in the city. Then the principal went on the intercom and told everyone to gather in the cafeteria."

"You didn't go." Miss Militia pointed out.

"Shit was weird, so I thought something might happen. I stayed back and found my gear just in case." She lied through her teeth. "You know, if they were locking down the school, it'd be better for me to get on the roof or something with my gear if shit went bad."

Truthfully, Piggot didn't buy it for a second. She fully believed that Shadowstalker was probably doing something that would have gotten her in trouble. But based on how things turned out, she wasn't going to dig it up.

"And what happened after?" The director asked, though already knowing the answer, as the Wards looked to her for information.

"I had a friend inside who texted me that a villain was inside and mastered the teachers, and he even killed the principal. So I did what I was supposed to and suited up and tried to stop him." She grumbled.

"Why didn't you call for help?" Vista asked, eyes slightly narrowed.

Shadowstalker scowled deeper. "My fucking phone wasn't working, brat."

"Hess, keep your temper in check." Piggot warned the girl. "It turns out that the principal had an illegal signal blocker that she used at her discretion."

While it wasn't technically illegal to own one, it was illegal for someone to use one in public at, like, a school without authorization. There were authorized signal blockers at Arcadia, for instance, because they worked with the authorities to allow special phones for the wards to work through it.

In this case, her actions directly helped the one who invaded the school.

"I'm guessing there are some lawsuits coming at the school district soon." Assault clicked his tongue.

"If the principal were still alive, she would have been arrested." Piggot said simply, letting them fill in the blanks. 

Suffice to say, the school district was going to be up shit creek without a paddle. 

It also didn't help that the majority of the school's cameras were broken, and it wasn't because of the attack. There are a lot of people wondering where all the school funding went when some of it was explicitly meant for upgrading the school's security.

"Continue, Sophia."

Sophia grumbled. "I phased through the wall up near the ceiling to get a jump on him. I saw he had already killed someone, so I tried to take him out as fast as I could."

"You mean you tried to kill him." Gallant interjected.

"You got a fucking problem with that? He stuck his hand through my stomach!" Sophia slammed the table.

"Stop." Piggot hissed. "Dean, she made the right choice. He was in a building full of kids, and he already showed the willingness to murder without regard. He would have received a kill order after his stunt anyways."

Most of the Wards didn't have an input, but there was very clear uncomfortableness written across their faces.

The constant hounding of 'nonlethal force' into all aspects of their training meant that it was hard to digest how easily it switched to kill on sight.

In this case, Piggot fully supported Shadowstalker's jump to lethal force.

She was certainly aware that Shadowstalker didn't have the kind of rational thought process she was spouting, but she didn't care in this one case.

Sophia scoffed as Dean went silent. "He shrugged off my crossbow bolts like they did nothing, and he healed any damage I did."

"Thank you, Sophia." Director Piggot said evenly. "Colin, continue."

"Here are the initial pictures we were able to obtain." Armsmaster stated.

They showed the cafeteria on lockdown, the teachers and staff blocking the doors, and the person responsible standing on the stage.

Piggot was oddly happy that since it was a school, every kid had a phone out and was probably recording within seconds.

It was the only silver lining she could find in this, making it so they had proof to corroborate eyewitness testimony.

"After Shadowstalker was…disabled." He stated hesitantly. He wasn't good with delicate wording. Sophia scoffed but didn't interrupt. "It was then stated that some people began to hear a student…chanting."

There was a beat of silence because everyone knew what was coming. The questions they all had were the questions that millions of people had been asking.

Armsmaster changed the screen. "Frederick Allard Verde."

"...Is it okay to just unmask him like this? I mean… I know his face is everywhere…." Aegis asked skeptically.

"The normal rules don't apply." The director said pointedly.

Aegis gulped a little and shut his mouth.

"According to the reports, he seemed to quote a biblical verse." Armsmaster stated. "Then he activated a power that seemed to burn the villain inside the building, only stopping when he jumped out the window."

A video then appeared on the screen; some of it was caught, some of it wasn't. It was awkward at best, but it was the best they could find.

"Kid took a nasty hit to the leg and barely winced." "Assault," muttered.

Everyone saw him get stabbed in the leg, yet he still fought off the villain, even doing what he did to expel him from the building.

"Sophia goes to the school; he should know him, right?" Kid Win looked at her.

Sophia crossed her arms; her nostrils flared. "He's just a random nerd. He hangs out with the other nerds; I didn't even remember his name before. He didn't have any friends and was always alone."

The truth was, she was still having trouble believing that a kid she pushed around when she was bored was…capable of that.

That he was a predator.

Sophia had watched the videos dozens of times, and she still found it unbelievable. It was like she was looking at two completely different people.

"Are we going to talk about the big magic elephant in the room?" Clockblocker cut right through all the pretense.

Director Piggot resisted the urge to sigh. "Fine, you want a definitive answer?"

Everyone seemed to lean in as she said that.

"From the deputy director, as of today, we estimate that we now have the first case of an outed wizard since the revelation that magic was real." She spat out without any pretense.

The room went silent.

"Director." Dauntless spoke up. "Are we seriously acknowledging 'magic' as an answer?"

It looked like Armsmaster wanted to ask something similar, but Dauntless beat him to the punch.

"Do you think I'd be standing here and happily acknowledging something asinine as 'magic' if I didn't have to?" She glared at him before taking a deep breath. "Before a golden flying man appeared, we didn't believe in superpowers either." She added. "I'm not privy to the details of what happened years ago, but the deputy director was adamant that it is real. So take it as you will."

The thing is, it was mostly treated as a joke.

Despite it being 'recognized' by the government, they've never seen or interacted with it before. It was something you said online; instead of something being 'aliens,' it was 'wizards' when explaining the unexplainable.

"...and what exactly happens now?" Aegis asked. "This is a first, right? What are we supposed to do?"

Piggot's lips thinned. "No idea. Everyone's arguing about how to handle this, so we don't have marching orders as of yet. Make no mistake, we've entered uncharted waters with a storm brewing, and it's centered right on top of the Bay."

She snapped her fingers towards Armsmaster, and he continued.

"Here are a few more images of the initial confrontation."

A few of them winced again.

"Did he just stab his hand?" Dauntless asked.

"Eww." Vista winced. "That's a lot of blood. Does he need blood? Is that how magic works?"

They saw him stab his hand and then slap it against the table before 'chanting.'

Then a shaky video popped up, clearly hidden behind several students.

Frederick, in the video, told someone to stay inside and that it should be safe inside for a bit before grabbing the kid's belt and tightening it around his bleeding thigh.

"...that was smart; it would stymie the bleeding." Miss Militia whispered. "But that's not something I would expect a child his age to do without so much as blinking."

Several of them also had the same thought; it was a bit uncanny how he pushed down the clear flush of pain.

Sophia perked up, though, because the real fight was about to start. She only managed to watch broken videos up to this point, so she was intent on seeing it all properly displayed.

Without hesitation, as soon as the villain opened his mouth, Frederick launched at him at speeds that would make many of the superpowered individuals in the room jealous and kneed him in the face before utilizing a practiced technique to throw him into a wall, shattering it.

The video paused. "As you can see, the…subject showed a high Brute rating."

"That's at least as fast as I am when I'm charged up." Battery stated. "And he went right for the guy's face. That would be strong enough to shatter someone's skull; he was going for the kill immediately."

"He put on gloves and shoes. Are those important? Like, magical items?" Clockblocker asked. "Plus 1 to kicking teeth in?"

Truthfully, no one really had an answer.

The hints were obvious that the items were indeed not normal, but for the actual explanations, they had nothing.

The video continued, and the next part was just as…aggressive.

The villain charged at him, and he just barely moved his head out of the way before saying something; his glove glowed, and then he punched him in the jaw, shattering it.

It literally caused nearby windows to shatter from the force.

The villain's neck seemed to twist, and he went flying into a bunch of structures before coming to a stop.

"...a punch wizard then?" Clockblocker joked, though his tone didn't carry with it the same humor as usual.

"See, that bastard has some stupid healing!" Sophia pointed out, ignoring her fellow Ward.

He stood back up on the screen, all the damage correcting itself like it never happened.

Armsmaster turned up the sound. "The sound was better quality; please pay attention."

"Load." There was a little bit of static, or maybe wind, making it hard to hear. "Trajectory set—Compress, Sun, Release."

It was the first real 'magic' kind of reveal. Chanting Bible quotes or punching real hard were completely different things to those inexperienced than having spell circles appear and shoot energy blasts.

They were strong enough to tear right through the villain's chest and carried on through the nearby walls until they weren't seen anymore.

It was the first 'spell-like' reveal that lent some credence to the whole 'magic' thing for them.

And then, they hear the villain confirm it, calling him a 'wizard.'

But what was also surprising was that the kid got annoyed at being called a wizard; likewise, there was confusion at being called that.

In the back and forth, the audio wasn't great, but with some technology, they were able to pull some of the words, if barely.

Frederick, in turn, revealed the 'name' of the villain, or rather, a title? They didn't know what it meant, a 'Dead Apostle.'

But in doing so, Frederick also basically confirmed it himself, indicating that he knew how to cast spells.

The fight carried on.

Despite it being gruesome and bloody, it was hard to look away.

The Wards liked to pride themselves on their power and status. For kids their age, it was a normal thing when you're hailed as heroes.

But more than a few of them had strange thoughts as they saw a kid their age show that kind of skill in addition to power.

He was, for the most part, systematically taking down the villain with a display of skill that none of them could confidently say they could come close to.

Their 'training' and their 'lessons'—they didn't tend to take them overly seriously.

For someone who can shoot blasts of emotion from their hands, what was the point of learning to fight barehanded?

It was the general train of thought.

Most Capes didn't train themselves.

"Time Alter—Double Accel."

That was heard much more clearly, probably because he was pushed up against the cafeteria when he said it.

He then moved far faster than he had before, unnaturally so. It was leaving afterimages in his wake, like he wasn't moving at the same 'speed' as everyone else.

He then took out some strange-looking swords and stabbed the villain through the head, through the neck and into the spine, and then through the heart.

None of the Wards could say they would have been able to do the same. They saw how strong the villain was and how easily Shadowstalker got taken out. And how the villain just kept healing after everything.

Yet, even to this point, a kid—a presumed 'wizard'—their age had beaten him.

"...what are those lines shining on him?" Kid Win asked.

"There's steam coming off." Gallant pointed out. "That can't be good, can it?"

At this point, he was beaten, bloodied, and had cuts and stabs all over him.

But, even after all of that, the villain got up again, discarding a brain, a heart, and a spine to pull itself free.

It then smacked Frederick with enough force to send him into a wall.

That was when he pulled off his glove, and a red tattoo on the back of his hand glowed bright.

"By the power of this command spell, overturn time and space and appear by my side, Lancer."

They all recognized the face of the knight from but a few minutes ago.

Some manner of teleportation had her appear by him. And they could blatantly hear the 'spell' he had cast, or whatever it is he was doing.

With ease, she obliterated what remained of the villain.

Seeing how easily he was regenerating before, it made them realize that maybe she hadn't shown her full power yet. That, or he was on his last legs and just finished him off.

Either way, they saw how she was concerned for Frederick's well-being.

"Does it look like he hurt himself when he did whatever it is he did? Time whatever?" Clockblocker asked. 

It passed that moment a bit, but they were all still taking a bit to digest what they were watching.

"Like, his eyes started bleeding…" He added,

That wasn't missed by them; just no one had called it out yet.

"Powers aren't supposed to hurt the user, right?" Aegis asked.

"Yeah." Assault nodded slowly. "Generally, powers don't hurt the person using them."

Of course, if you were Miss Militia and created a gun and shot yourself, that was a whole different matter. But, say, turning yourself into fire didn't mean you burned yourself. Or creating sonic blasts didn't rupture your own eardrums. Or turning into shadow didn't cause you to die because your organs disappeared.

"He's hurt bad; does he have some kind of healing ability? That's like…Panacea-bad level of injuries." Kid Win muttered.

The video kept playing until more lines appeared across his chest and his body as he chanted something again.

Then, he started to use his own blood to draw something on the ground and chanted something new. Several moments of words that left his mouth that meant nothing to the ones hearing them.

Then they saw a barrier spring to life around them and the villain's corpse.

Likewise, he told the newly named Lancer to destroy the evidence.

"He ordered her to destroy the evidence?" Gallant asked. "Isn't that a crime?"

Armsmaster's lips thinned further into a frown. "It is an illegal action, yes."

There were another few moments, and everyone stilled as they vaguely heard the words spoken by Lancer as this particular frame was zoomed in and it had quieted down from the earlier fight.

She called him 'Master.'

"Uh, are we going to ignore that?" Vista spoke up. "She literally called him 'master'; that's a big red flag if I've ever seen one."

"Has anyone checked up on her?" Battery asked. "The last thing we need is another Heartbreaker situation."

"Her expressions look muted as well." Miss Militia added. 

Overall, it painted a very bleak picture.

"Unfortunately, we're unable to get ahold of the woman 'Lancer.'" Director Piggot stated. "We're working on it."

"Why haven't we brought the kid in for questioning then?" Dauntless asked. "We have more than enough, right?"

"The situation is delicate." Piggot grumbled. "He will be coming in for questioning. His 'lawyer' has responded on his behalf that he will be arriving within a few days but is delayed due to his injuries."

"Wait, is he not at the hospital!?" Vista blurted out. 

They glanced at her but had similar thoughts.

"No." Piggot said bluntly. "According to his lawyer, his religious beliefs reject modern medicine." Her disdain wasn't hidden from them.

Assault snorted. "Yeah, okay."

They all knew it was a bullshit excuse.

Hell, it wasn't the first time they've heard it. They've had villains in the past say some of the same bullshit to reject healing from Panacea or the hospital just so they would delay being taken to the Bird Cage of prison to stall for time for a rescue.

"How old is he? Can't we press his parents for being neglectful?" Miss Militia asked. 

"Frederick Verde, parents deceased, status: legal emancipation." Armsmaster stated. "Legally, we have no right to override his desire to forgo modern medical healing unless he is unable to decide for himself."

"Yeah… I think I remember hearing that too." Sophia huffed. "I think he got beat up last year because some kids wanted to use his house for a party since he didn't have any parents, and he didn't agree."

"Goddamn, he has some saint-level restraint if he just let them beat him up when he could do something like that." Velocity commented. "Is his emancipation on the up and up? Maybe we could find something there?"

"Funny you mention that. There are some discrepancies with regard to his emancipation because it started when he was fifteen years old, which is very rare. Legal is currently going over it with a fine-toothed comb." Piggot informed them.

Suffice to say, his whole life was being dug into by the world.

"Honestly, it looks like he's been intentionally hiding this whole time with everything put together like this…." Kid Win said quietly.

"That's the picture it paints, doesn't it?" Piggot crossed her arms. 

"...his clothes." Sophia frowned.

"Do you have something to add, Hess?" Piggot looked at her.

"His clothes are way too baggy. Look at his body; someone doesn't have muscles like that and keep them hidden in baggy clothes without a reason." 

What she didn't add was that she always thought he was dressed shitty because of his slightly too big clothes. It wasn't something she particularly noticed on a normal day; it just added to the whole 'nerd' persona she already attributed to him.

A nerd who couldn't dress well—it wasn't strange.

Only in hindsight did things start to sort of make sense.

It showed a person who didn't want attention on themselves.

Someone who was more than happy to fade to the background and be forgotten by everyone around him.

"We're not done; keep going, Armsmaster. This is where it gets worse." Piggot stated.

They watched Armsmaster arrive on the scene. It was hard for her to hear what he said because the kids around on the one recording started cheering.

It was hard to be annoyed because they probably genuinely felt like they might die only a few minutes earlier.

"As you can see, I was unable to penetrate the barrier that his powers created." Armsmaster's tone quite explicitly expressed an annoyance that no one felt the need to comment on.

It didn't take long for the paramedics and agents to start flowing in to handle the situation.

The recording shifted, presumably because the previous one had stopped or they were being pulled out of the cafeteria by the authorities.

"Ah, that's when I arrived." Velocity spoke up. "It's too loud, but I basically asked Armsmaster what the situation was, and then I recognized Lancer from earlier. I tried to ease the tension because she showed heroic tendencies, and just from the first look, I could tell that the kid had fought whoever that guy was."

"Your judgment wasn't wrong, Velocity." Piggot told him. In any other situation, she would have praised him for his correct judgment; this was just a very unordinary situation. "Armsmaster, however, we'll be having words with you about how you handled it. Even if their face is revealed in front of the whole damn school, what went through your mind to rattle off his information like that!?"

Armsmaster's lips twitched. "I apologize, Director. I merely was identifying him in response to the situation."

Piggot let out a sigh, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Velocity, the sound is a bit difficult to parse here; recount it from your perspective along with the video."

"Yes, Director. So, I was trying to calm everyone down, get him to lower his 'barrier,' and all that, you know. Good cop, bad cop off Armsmaster's usual stoicness."

Armsmaster grunted, but he didn't deny it.

He would happily agree that his persona adhered to a strict 'stoicness' while working.

"...and that's when apparently a bunch of Haven Capes showed up?" Velocity said in confusion. "I wasn't entirely sure. But a bunch of people dressed up as priests came strolling in like they owned the place and…somehow pulled rank and forced us back?"

The video continued to play, and they could see exactly what he was talking about. 

"Switch to your point of view, Armsmaster." Piggot told him.

The camera shifted, and now it was being recorded from his helmet.

It had nearly perfect sound and video attached.

"The field of vision is more narrow, but we have perfect audio here." Piggot stated. "Unfortunately, the audio is not connected to his inbuilt radio, so we can't hear from that end. Armsmaster, if you would please explain what happened."

"I was ordered to stand down and retreat. The console had commanded me with the proper codes that come from a position above the director." Armsmaster was revealed. 

"Codes, we have codes?" Aegis asked, surprised.

"It's not something you learn as a Ward." Triumph, the newest Protectorate member who had just moved up from a Ward not long ago, spoke up. "It's part of the things you learn when you move up. There are certain codes that correlate to certain positions of authority. We're supposed to memorize them, and they sometimes change."

Piggot nodded. "It's not a secret, nor is it something absolute either. But they're important for fieldwork to know who's commanding the situation in a hectic situation. And it's to understand who you're supposed to listen to when things are chaotic. If the chain of command gets disrupted and it needs to be reestablished, or if an order needs to be immediately given without time to pass it downwards, those sorts of things. Misuse of the codes is grounds for arrest if certain criteria are met."

"Who ordered it then?" Vista asked.

"It was ordered from the office of the deputy director." Armsmaster revealed.

"...From the Deputy Director?" Aegis asked. "She—"

"Let me cut you off there, because I know what you're going to ask. The deputy director did not give the order. The one responsible was one of her trusted aides, and he's currently in PRT custody pending a proper investigation." Piggot told them.

"Who exactly are they?" Vista asked.

Piggot let out a long sigh. "From what information we've obtained, they appear to be from the Catholic Church."

"...what?" Clockblocker blinked. "Like, with the Pope."

"Yes, Dennis, that Catholic Church."

Piggot had her own annoyed expression on her face, and they could all hear it in her voice, so their questions were put on hold. She waved at Armsmaster to continue the video.

That utterly confused them.

"Director, why did the Church send some priests to a Cape crime?" Vista asked. 

The video changed, and it showed a younger-looking lady jump off the top of the roof without so much as a wince or needing to break her fall.

"Holy shit, the Church has their own Capes?" Kid Win blurted out. "Since when?"

"...What the hell is even going on?" Assault frowned. "If they really are from the Church, how were they able to come in and strong-arm us into giving up jurisdiction?"

"I followed Armsmaster's lead, but I was wondering the same thing." Velocity nodded. "I get that someone high up ordered it, or someone illegal did it, but…."

"Are…we being spied on by the Catholic Church?" Clockblocker asked. "If so, I think I'm going to need to rethink going to church every year on Christmas."

"Currently, any attempts to ask for an explanation from the Church have been stonewalled." Director Piggot said pointedly again. "But that's out of my hands, so don't expect me to have an answer there."

It irked her just as it did everyone else, especially since she was also being kept in the dark by even the higher-ups of the PRT.

The only thing that alleviated the annoyance was that she knew that everyone else was also completely confused and scrambling around for answers just as she was.

The video switched over to a wide view, indicating that it wasn't Armsmaster's helmet anymore.

It provided a better angle to see what was happening, and it was seamless and decent quality, showing how much effort Armsmaster went through to splice the videos for the meeting.

It showed him trying to stab at the barrier, getting angry that he couldn't get through.

"Sir, how come your halberd wasn't able to get through the barrier? You said your Nanothorn wasn't complete yet, but even in its current state, you've been able to cut through all materials for testing." Kid Win asked.

"I am still collecting data." Armsmaster responded, but there was a hint of annoyance in his tone still.

Those familiar with him could tell that he took it personally.

Then they saw the Church arrive from the wide view. The sound was slightly off, but it was easy to guess that the sound from Armsmaster's helmet was filling in the gap.

"Kid is pissed to see the Church lady." Assault muttered. "They know each other?"

"Really pissed." Gallant noted. 

While his Empath powers didn't work through the video, he's studied facial expressions and emotions to better understand his own powers. He could see the anger was very real and genuine.

Likewise, everyone ignored Armsmaster's commands.

Which only further angered the usually stoic man in the video.

Still bleeding, looking like an absolute mess, they saw the kid stomp up to the girl and get right in her face with basically a snarl.

'You were hunting a Dead Apostle in MY city, and you didn't even let me know!?'

That particular sentence seemed to quiet the room.

They noted the name 'Dead Apostle,' but it meant as much as anything else. 

But what caused them uncomfortableness more so was something else.

"...did he just claim the city as 'his'?" Miss Militia asked. "That's a very…bold thing to say."

The video continued until he ordered Lancer to kill them if they moved.

"Woah!" Vista shouted.

"I agree, Director. Why isn't he in custody?" Aegis asked. "Even ignoring the implications of his…control over Lancer there, he just ordered her to kill them." 

"That's messed up." Clockblocker nodded. "A murdering psychopath is one thing, but that's way over the line."

"That's something I'd expect to hear from one of the villains in the city." Triumph agreed with the wards. "Maybe it could be treated as a slip in the heat of the moment…but I'm not feeling really good about this."

Director Piggot held up her hand. "Keep going, Armsmaster."

Velocity spoke up about it thankfully, but he seemed to be completely ignored as well.

He even shut up the gentle-looking priest.

And again, he claimed ownership of the city.

It wasn't merely 'my city' in the context that he lived here and these people were presumably outsiders.

But it was a direct, intentional term used.

'Second Owner.'

While the specifics weren't known to them present, combined with the context up until now, it was very easy to guess that this seventeen-year-old kid seemed to be under the belief that the city actually belonged to him.

"Do we have a psych profile on him?" Dauntless asked. 

"It's being created somewhere else; we'll get it once it's completed." Piggot responded. 

"So are we just supposed to ignore that he actually thinks the city belongs to him?" Clockblocker asked. "I mean, we've seen Lung, Kaiser, and even Skidmark jump around saying that the city belongs to them, but that's more like…I don't know, hyperbole? Seeing someone my age actually look like he believed it and say it confidently feels kind of fucked up."

"Language." Piggot chided him, though her words weren't very stern. She just didn't want the Wards cursing on record; otherwise, she didn't care. "Make no mistake, any of you. I am far from happy hearing some brat think he owns the city."

In fact, the thought made her more angry than she let on.

The idea that some snot-nosed brat randomly pops up and thinks the whole city belongs to him? Just for that alone, she wanted to force him under PRT control out of spite.

The arguing between the two people didn't really mean much. If anything, it felt more…familiar, two different organizations seemingly arguing about jurisdiction and procedure.

That was until Frederick claimed to have a cardinal on speed dial. Whether that was exaggeration or not, it was added to the growing file of the boy.

"Armsmaster, pause." Piggot commanded as he paused the video, and she pointed at the screen. "Dean, your family brushes elbows with all the big-name families in the city. He emphasized his family name. Do you recognize it, this 'Verde' family?"

Dean looked thoughtful. "I can ask my dad, but I don't recognize them, Director."

Dean came from a wealthy background; his father was a predominant business owner in the city. He ran in the same circles as the mayor and wealthy families in the city, where everyone knew each other.

Piggot just grunted.

She wasn't hoping for much, but it would be stupid not to check.

Regardless, they were running through his entire life. His background, his family history, his finances, everything.

The ending was…anticlimactic. 

There were plenty of new terms for them to go over, but otherwise, it was about the same as most people knew online at this point.

Even the 'secret' recordings straight from Armsmaster's helmet camera didn't give much else.

The kids were evacuated, and then the church forced everyone else out of the area.

"When we checked back inside after they left, all the evidence had been destroyed and cleaned. There wasn't so much as a drop of blood we could find." Velocity spoke up.

"Which means they're thorough, implying they have experience and have done this before." Piggot added. 

To many of them, that sounded more terrifying than it should have.

It implied that the Church apparently had a secret organization that went around doing things under everyone's noses.

The proof was right there.

Beyond that though, they all knew that there were people in the city operating in secret, hiding away. 

Magic?

Were they supposed to believe that?

It was a hard pill to swallow, but some things pointed towards that direction. 

"We're entering new territory." Director Piggot spoke up. "There are going to be a lot of eyes on the city now."

"Um, Director." Clockblocker raised his hand. 

"What, Clock?"

"Is this even our… I mean, we deal with Cape stuff…does this count?" Calling it 'magic' seemed…weird. If he were being honest, he didn't really believe it so far.

It was just difficult to accept.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Piggot snorted. "We have no protocols for the situation, so here are your marching orders. We keep the city safe, Clock. The PRT and Protectorate were established to protect people from the misuse of powers. We will continue to do that to the best of our ability."

"If we run into him, should we try the normal pitch?" Gallant asked. "See if he wants to join the Wards?"

"You're not to seek him out." Piggot said sternly. "However, if the situation allows for it, and you find yourself in front of him and he proves…passive, you may try."

What Piggot didn't tell them was that she did receive orders to try and get him to join with the Wards or Protectorate by any means necessary.

There were more than a few voices who believed that 'Wizards' belonged under the purview of the PRT just as Capes did. 

And if they did manage to get their hands on one, well, then the rest would presumably fall over like dominos.

Unfortunately for Piggot, in her mind, the 'first outed wizard' just happened to appear in the Bay.

She knew also that it wasn't only the PRT that would want to get their hands on the only publicly recognized 'Wizard' in the world.

@***@

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards

 You are currently logged in, Whatisausername?

 You are viewing:

 • Threads you have replied to

 • AND Threads that have new replies

 • OR private message conversations with new replies

 • Thread OP is displayed

 • Ten posts per page

 • Last ten messages in private message history

 • Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.

■​

 ♦Topic: Biotinker attack!

 In: Boards ► North America ►Breaking News!

 Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

 Posted on March 20, 2011;

Alright folks, you know the drill. Everyone knows what's happened, but I talked to my sources in the BBPD and PRT to see if I could get some details. Here's what we know so far;

There was a Biotinker attack downtown in the Bay. If you don't know about it, consider yourself lucky, and consider going outside more because it's a pretty big event that's made international news.

It's being dubbed a 'Zombie Apoclypse' already, but when the shoe fits.

From what I've gathered from my sources, there is no suspect so far. But here are some of the in house reports to go along with what happened.

Zombies appear to reflect their fictional counterparts. Enhanced strength and speed, with a video showing a zombie nearly ripping part of a car door off. Enhanced durability, they were able to get up from getting knocked out by something that would send a person to a hospital. Likewise, Included is a video of Miss Militia cracking one across the head with a metal baton and it gets right back up.

And most important, and I can't stress the important part here, they're apparently able to turn others into zombies. It doesn't seem like it's a bite = zombie scenario, but some of the people they killed got up after a few minutes and started attacking people as well.

[Link] [Link] [Link] [Link]

Edit: New cape seen here [Link]. Tentatively called Radiant Knight. Appears to be a woman without a mask, is it a new member of New Wave?

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin):  We are aware of the new cape revealing their face, as it appears to be a conscious decision on her part, we are tentatively allowing pictures and videos that show it. However, further speculation on her identity will not be allowed until we know for sure their face reveals aligns with their desires. Please respect their privacy.

Edit: New Cape (Radiant Knight), going to town on more Zombies [Link] [Link]. Looks to be heroically inclined, kind of the picture of a knight in shining armor. Also, guys yeah, we get it, she's beautiful, wowzer, hubba hubba, etc etc. Stop posting about her looks and other disgusting stuff, you're going to get the thread locked.

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): Locking the thread until further notice.

(Showing page 5 of 158)

►Brocktonite58 

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Jesus this is horrible, I made the mistake of clicking on one of the links, that is a lot of dead bodies.

►BurgerWithoutMeat

Replied On March 20, 2011:

I can't believe I'm saying this, but thank god for Nazis being armed to the teeth to fight the literal zombie hoard.

►Miss_Sunshine (Veteran Member)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

How did this even happen!? How did a Zombie Apocalypse just spring up in broad daylight and catch everyone offguard? The PRT really messed up here! There needs to be someone held accountable!

► CapeWatcher92

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Is anyone else noticing how FAST the new knight cape is?? Is she a brute, a mover, what? Also, god damn, that's super model levels x10, does she have some sort of power that makes her irresponsibly beautiful?

► DragonSlayer69

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Is it just me or does Radiant Knight's spear BLAST energy?? That's not medieval anything. That's like Tinker-tech or something! Or maybe it's a Dauntless like power!?

We NEED classifications ASAP.

► Stray_Thoughts

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Fun fact: Nilbog's constructs could replicate after death. NOT SAYING this is Nilbog 2.0, but. You know. Patterns.

(Please don't ban me I'm just observing.)

► NewWaveTruther

Replied On March 20, 2011:

She's 100% a New Wave cousin. I will die on this hill.

► Point_Me_@_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (Glory Girl)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

@Stray_Thoughts

Sorry to spoil your fun, but she's not with us. First time seeing her, but if she's rocking that kind of image without a mask, I'm sure we'd be happy to have her!

P.S. Shout out to everyone involved that helped contain this mess. Everyone's talking about the Capes, but I saw a bunch of PRT Agents doing just as much work.

► Parahuman_Theorist

Replied On March 20, 2011:

@Point_Me_@_The_Sky

Why weren't you out there helping!? Do you have any idea how many people died!? My cousin is in the hospital because he got run over by a car that was being chased by those things!!

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): This is a warning, don't attack others, you have no idea what was going on. 

► Point_Me_@_The_Sky (Verified Cape) (Glory Girl)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

@ Parahuman_Theorist

Hey, don't blame me, I was in class, and school went on lockdown. By the time I heard what happened, it had already been settled. Besides, my mom wouldn't have let me get involved anyways.

► PRT_Agent07 (Verified PRT)

Replied on March 20, 2011:

Just to add clarification as well. The attack has been designated an S-Class threat, meaning that Wards, and by extension, Glory Girl, would not have been deployed unless there was an immediate life threatening reason. 

Please do not attack the underaged Heroes for not being sent after literal flesh eating zombies.

► Sk8rBoi

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Dude I saw this armor lady cut one of the zombies IN HALF in like one swipe. That wasn't a taser baton or whatever. That was straight up anime. New Tinker maybe? Power Army maybe intead of a Brute rating?

► ArmoredHotTake

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Honestly the weirdest part isn't the zombies. The weirdest part is Armsmaster NOT being the first one to show up. Where was he?? Dude LIVES for this shit.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 … 156, 157, 158

(Showing page 85 of 158)

► CivvieWitness

Replied On March 20, 2011:

I was three blocks from the cordon. They had us shelter in a Starbucks with the shutters down. We could STILL hear them hitting the security doors. That sound is staying with me forever.

► Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Update: My PRT source clarified something. The zombies WERE contagious, but needed a lot of tissue damage before "conversion" triggered. No "one bite = doomed." Still bad. Also, Radiant Knight reportedly cooperated with PRT on-site but avoided identification. I'll update if I hear more. Adding an edit to the original post too.

► BrocktonBayMom

Replied On March 20, 2011:

My kids are terrified. School's cancelled tomorrow, thank god. Someone PLEASE tell me this was a one-time thing and we aren't about to get Ellisburg 2.0.

► EmpireAreGayNazis

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Am I actually reading posts thanking the Empire for shooting zombies? They didn't do it to help the city. They did it because anything that moves and isn't white scares them. Let's not rewrite history.

► TinFoilParahuman (Verified Cape)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Not a coincidence zombies appear THE SAME DAY a new cape with a SPEAR AND ARMOR shows up. 

Someone is running a tabletop RPG campaign IRL.

P.S. I'm actually a Thinker, tried to gleam some information from 20 sided dice, and I'm getting a headache trying to parse her. Probably some kind of anti thinker powers?

► ShakerShook

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Anyone notice Radiant Knight didn't hesitate? You even see Miss Militia hesitate a bunch of times before she started popping the zombies in the head, with guns. Yet, this new Cape runs out there and tears them apart without a single flicker of emotion on her face.

Is that some kind of power or is she a psychopath?

With the kind of power she has, I really hope she joined the Protectorate so that they can atleast watch her closely.

► ScienceSideOfPHO

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 If the "zombies" stayed ambulatory after head trauma, then the Tinker must have used a decentralized neural control system. Possibly a mycelium network or [Removed by Moderator].

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): Science is all and good, but you veered way off into gruesome descriptions. I get that this thread is in reaction to a scene that wouldn't be out of place in a Zombie Movie, but please keep it under a certain level for people that are not comfortable hearing this sort of thing.

► Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

New mini-update:

People in PRT brass are pissed. Like, "shouting in hallways" pissed. Whatever the internal response is, it's chaotic. Also, rumor says Radiant Knight left the scene before identification.

Not hostile, just… gone.

More info soon.

► ThisIsFine.gif

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Let me get this straight, Brockton Bay.

You guys have:

Nazis.

A plethora of Drug Dealers with powers.

A literal Rage Dragon that kidnaps women off the street that people like to pretend doesn't exist until he burns parts of the city down.

And now, fucking Zombies running around.

How do you all still exist?

► BrocktonBoy27

Replied On March 20, 2011:

@ThisIsFine.Gif

Spite, mostly.

► HeroAccountabilityNow

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Why is everyone SIMPING over Radiant Knight?

She showed up, killed a bunch of things without hesitation, and ran off before giving ANY kind of debrief.

That's not heroic.

That's unaccountable.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 83, 84, 85 … 156, 157, 158

@***@

Welcome to the Parahumans Online Message Boards

 You are currently logged in, Whatisausername?

 You are viewing:

 • Threads you have replied to

 • AND Threads that have new replies

 • OR private message conversations with new replies

 • Thread OP is displayed

 • Ten posts per page

 • Last ten messages in private message history

 • Threads and private messages are ordered by user custom preference.

■​

 ♦Topic: A Wizard in the Bay?

 In: Boards ► North America ►Breaking News!

 Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

 Posted on March 20, 2011;

Two posts in one day guys, buckle up, because this one is a doozy. 

Everyone knows what happened earlier in the city. At this point, there are probably a million threads about it, with new being made every minute. And of course, half of them getting locked for a certain reason.

But I just clarified some things with my contacts in the BBPD and PRT. I think everyone's seen the videos so far, so I won't be providing links, you guys can find them basically everywhere. But just for context sake, I'll start from the beginning.

Roughly the same time as the attack down town happened, someone also attacked Winslow. From my contacts, they're working under the assumption that it's the same person responsible for the attack downtown.

According to the videos and reports, the unknown person Mastered the staff of the school and called everyone to meet in the cafeteria where they locked in the vast majority of the students. 

He then proceeded to kill the Principal in front of everyone and essentially give his evil monologue.

Shadowstalker appeared to attack the villain, but…well, let's just say that ended badly. Reports say that she was hurt, badly, and unmasked infront of everyone.

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): Putting the warning inserted right here for everyone. Do not! I repeat, do not! Discuss Shadowstalker's identity. Anyone revealing it, even if she were outed publicly, will receive an immediate ban. Revealing a Ward's identity publicly is a Federal Crime! You have all been warned.

The Villain then killed a few more people, but not before basically declaring he was going to use Shadowstalker as 'research material'.

That's when we had another 'hero' step up to the plate.

And from there, that's where things get….weird.

Through the rabbit hole we go, Alice.

Looks like Brockton Bay has the first Wizard?

(Showing page 43 of 10,657)

► TinFoilParahuman

Replied On March 20, 2011:

A WIZARD.

AN ACTUAL WIZARD.

Everyone laughed when the government said "magic is real." WHO'S LAUGHING NOW??

Also, what the hell was that TIME SLOWING THING he did? My uncle triggered and all he got was the ability to heat up spoons.

► CapeMoralityDebater

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Putting aside the memes, can we acknowledge the ethical nightmare here?

Kid: uses lethal force instantly ,shows zero hesitation stabbing someone through the skull, BLOODCASTS something(?) that looks like it hurt him, summons a woman who calls him MASTER

WTF?

► GiveMeMagicToo (Veteran Member)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Not even joking — if magic is real and learnable, how do I sign up?

I'm 24, unemployed, and have the reflexes of a potato.

 But if "stab your hand, draw a circle, and chant something" gives you superpowers, LET'S GOOOOOOO.

Edit: Jesus Christ, yes this username is over a year old, I'm not just memeing.

► ParanoiaPam

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Nobody is talking about this and I don't know why:

HE CLAIMED THE CITY.

Not joking.

 He literally said "this is MY city" and then "Second Owner"? Whatever that means, but it sounds fucking weird. That's not normal teenage behavior. That's warlord talk.

We already have Lung. We don't need Wizard-Lung.

► WeirdWaypoint

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 SERIOUS QUESTION:

Why wasn't there an emergency broadcast that a supervillain was controlling a school??

Why did one random kid have to fight this thing ALONE?

PRT messed up so badly it's unreal.

► DustQueen (Verified Cape) 

Replied On March 20, 2011:

It's fucking insane that people are shitting on Shadowstalker. She went in ALONE because that's what heroes do.

You're all just jealous of her.

► EveryoneElseButMe

Replied On March 20, 2011:

@DustQueen

Bro she tried to assassinate him without backup and got bodied in 3 seconds.

Sit down.

► Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Mini-update:

My PRT contact says they're scrambling because:

They don't know how to classify a "wizard"

They don't know if his abilities fall under PHO rules. There's too much gray here and it's making a lot of people uncomfortable.

They don't know how many others like him exist in the area.

They SURE AS HELL don't know what a "Dead Apostle" is.

The Church isn't cooperating.

► ConspiracyCrow

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Wait wait WAIT—

If the Church was already here…

And they had capes…

And they had someone who the kid clearly knew…

Does that mean the Church is running a SECRET MAGIC DIVISION??

How long has this existed??

How many are there??

WHY ARE THEY IN BROCKTON BAY??

► CapeWatcher404

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 "Second Owner."

That phrase is sticking with me.

Not "my turf."

 Not "my city" metaphorically.

Owner.

 Like it's a legal designation.

Is this something in wizard law??

 Capes have jurisdictional codes, but nothing like OWNERSHIP.

What does that even mean?

► RealTalk_RTT

Replied On March 20, 2011

@CapeWatcher404

If we're going by a strict definition, a second owner is someone who buys or inherits an item after the original owner. So, contextually speaking, I think he's saying he owns the city as like the second authority? Like, maybe he's the Wizard owner and owns the Magic stuff in the city?

I don't know, I'm grasping here.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 41, 42, 43 … 10,655, 10,656, 10,657

(Showing Page: 583 of 10,657)

► TheologyNerd

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Hey guys, I'm a little late, but I was analyzing what the kid did in the cafeteria with his Bible Quoting.

And by that, I mean I was eating cereal while zooming in on a few blurry videos I saw.

Anyways, I'm fairly confident he was depicting the Archangels? He used their symbols and drew them in blood which is…..well, weird and gives me the heeby jeebies.

But yeah, that's what I got. Combined with his Chanting which comes from the Bible, the verse is about 'Cleansing', and considering what happened to the dude…..

That's my addition, Cereal Theologies out.

► WTFIsMyLife

Replied On March 20, 2011:

Can we talk about how the kid didn't even FLINCH when that thing punched a hole through his leg??

Teenagers are supposed to cry when they stub their toes, not go anime protagonist mode.

Something is WRONG with this boy.

► ClockblockMeDaddy

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 The most terrifying part?

He and the Church chick argued like coworkers having a bad day.

No shock. No confusion. No "who are you?"

Just

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE HERE?!" like she forgot to CC him on an email chain.

There is a WHOLE hidden world behind this.

► ShadowStalkerDefenseForce

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Can we PLEASE stop dragging Shadowstalker?

She tried. She failed. But she STILL TRIED.

If anything, blame the PRT for not having a protocol for literal evil immortal masters.

► ShadowStalkerCriticsClub

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 @ShadowStalkerDefenseForce

She attacked a literal unknown with no backup and no intel.

 She didn't TRY.

 She SUICIDED.

If you want to be Batman, you need at least three functioning brain cells.

► WhyDoesBrocktonBayExist

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 So far Brockton Bay has:

A crime rate worse than Gotham

• Lung

• Empire 88

 • Merchants

 • ABB

 • Now fucking ZOMBIES

 • A teen WIZARD who claims he owns the city

 • The Catholic Church running black ops on school campuses

 • And a knight woman with a spear that launches laser beams

The city needs to be evacuated into the ocean.

► WizKidFanclub

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 I know he stabbed his hand and bled everywhere and summoned a lightning knight to kill the regenerating master monster, and he may have tried to dismember a corpse….

BUT HE ALSO SAID "PLEASE STAY INSIDE, IT WILL BE SAFER FOR YOU."

So I'm declaring it:

 Wizard Boy = Hero.

► ScienceOrBust (Veteran Member)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Magic isn't real.

 It's not a thing.

The "circle" he drew? Probably a neuro-interface trigger.

 The "prayer"? Probably a vocal activation phrase.

 The "holy fire"? We've seen Tinkers do similar stuff with micro-lasers and aerosolized chemicals.

This was either:

 A) a disguised Tinker

 B) a Shaker with a thematic gimmick

 C) a Stranger with mass-hallucination capability

Magic… does not exist.

► Mangled_Cat

Replied On March 20, 2011:

I'm a Martial Artist. Not like, some weeabo anime protagonist wannabe. I've always liked martial arts since I was little. Started with Karate, picked up some boxing, Taekwondo, etc etc. I'm bringing this up, because I was watching the kid's form and it's good.

Like, really good. Like, trained for years level of good and has experience against actual people, not just fighting in a ring or something. Either he's fought like this before, or he has a teacher that kicks his ass like it's a real fight every time they spar.

Do all Wizards know Martial arts?

In a world of Capes flying around shooting lasers, I thought it was just a hobby that took a back seat. But seeing how he could apparently move at super high speeds and punch through walls….maybe not? Is that like a spell or something, did he cast Bear Strength on himself and go ham on that guy?

► PRT_Intern_Probably (Verified PRT Employee)

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 As someone who may or may not work for the PRT, let me just say:

If magic were real, we'd all know about it.

We screen for EVERYTHING — parahuman abilities, edge-case behaviors, exotic triggers, new categories.

"Magic" is not a thing.

What you saw was a parahuman.

► XxVoid_CowboyxX (Banned)

Replied on March 20, 2011:

[Deleted]

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): Void, please, please, do not give your personal information out in a thread like this. This is a highly volatile situation and claiming any connection to the person in question could easily put you in danger, especially if you out yourself. I'm giving you a one week ban for your own protection.

► Internet_Penguin (Banned)

Replied on March 20, 2011:

[Deleted]

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): I just told Void not to out himself, and you go and out him right away again after I deleted his post? Take a one week ban and if I see you do it again later, it will be a permanent ban.

► L33tNotL33t

Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Tinkers have literally made:

 • Ice cannons

 • Hard-light constructs

 • Forcefields

 • Gravity distortion bubbles

 • Radioactive super-lasers

But SURE, the kid drew a circle and suddenly we're in Lord of the Rings.

Guys… come on.

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 581, 582, 583 … 10,655, 10,656, 10,657

(Showing Page: 957 of 10,657)

► Vista (Verified Cape) (Wards ENE)

Replied on March 20, 2011

Guys stop pinging me or the others. We're not allowed to comment on anything yet, we have meetings all day for a debrief.

Edit: Tin_Mother (Admin): I will be adding a sticky of this to the top of the thread. People who ping any of the Wards in the thread, you will get a temporary day ban starting from now on.

► Mouse_Protector (Verified Cape)

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

Jumping in for a sec between patrols:

Please don't go stabbing your hands and drawing blood circles. Even if it did work (it won't), you'd be giving first responders aneurysms.

If the Church really is running around with secret capes, I want their PR team. Do you know how many forms I have to fill out just to cross a state line?

"Second Owner" sounds… ominous. If I run into him, I am absolutely asking if there's a "Tenant Association of Brockton Bay Wizards" I can send a strongly worded letter to.

On a more serious note:

Kids fought. People died. Everyone is scared. Try to keep that in mind when you're theorycrafting.

► LazyLiabilityLawyer (Verified Lawyer)

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

To answer a question from the previous page;

From a pure legal standpoint (and yes, I'm actually a lawyer):

If magic is inborn and uncontrollable → it's closer to parahuman powers

If it's taught, structured, and reproducible → it's closer to martial arts + Tinkertech

In the second case:

There is a VERY strong argument that governments have a right (maybe even obligation) to regulate who is allowed to use "combat-grade rituals" in public.

There is ALSO a very strong civil rights argument that, once established as real, magical instruction cannot be restricted solely to members of a particular religious group or private organization.

So yes, the second someone writes "magic is real and this is how it works" on official letterhead, expect a decade of court battles.

And given this is Brockton Bay, it'll probably start with someone trying to open a "Wizard Dojo" in the Boardwalk.

►Moon_Is_Haunted

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

 No jokes, no memes: if this kid walks into a PRT building, they're going to try to flip him.

If I were in charge I'd:

Offer him protectionOffer him a consultant positionThen pressure him to turn over whatever he knows about "spells," "casting," and "Dead Apostles."

But here's the thing: if this gets buried under NDAs and black budgets, the rest of us are screwed. We're already living with powers we don't understand. Now we're adding a second system we're also not allowed to know anything about?

I'm not saying dump a spellbook on PHO, but there needs to be some transparency or this explodes later.

► ChurchWatchdog

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Call me paranoid, but I'm reading this as:

Church knows about "Dead Apostles" (their terminology)Church has fighters specialized to deal with themThe wizard knew one of them personally and was pissed he wasn't told about the threat

That implies:

There's an existing ecosystem of magic usersThey have factions (Church vs whatever he is)Brockton Bay is now a hot zone in a shadow war we didn't know existed

And we're just… supposed to pretend this is a "local incident"?

► SecularStateSandwich

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

 I cannot get over the Church angle.

We have a few things already

Agents in clerical outfitsA superhuman nun-type dropping off a roof like gravity doesn't apply

Someone using codes high enough to override a PRT DirectorThen they waltz in, take over, and we're told "no comment"

Why does the Vatican get to send powered agents into an American city, seize a crime scene, and walk away with the evidence?

► InternationalLawLurker

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

@SecularStateSandwich

There are precedents (sort of). We already have:

UN-level agreements about S-class eventsCape "loaner" programs, like Legend appearing outside his region

 But none of that covers:A non-state actor (The Church)Exercising direct operational authority over a US agencyIn a non-S-class, localized event

If what Bagrat's source says is true and the order came from "Deputy Director's office" then someone either:

 a) forged priority codes

 b) handed them out like candy

Either way, that's a scandal brewing.

► LockHimUpNow

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

 Just gonna say it:

If the videos are accurate, he used lethal force multiple times. Performed some kind of illegal evidence destruction (ordering the knight to "clean up"). Threatened Church reps with death .Claimed territorial ownership of the city (!!!)

If that was a cape, they'd already be tagged as: Probable Rogue at BEST, Tinker/Master with serious oversight needed, or Potential Villain

Magic or not, why isn't he in custody? "Mysterious wizard boy" isn't an exemption from the law.

►PewPew57

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

Everyone making these huge bullet points comments. Shit, I'm just here wanting to know if I can be a wizard too. It's not fair that some people can apparently hoard it? Is it Harry Potter, am I a muggle and they have this whole secret society that thinks they're better than us?

Shit is unfair.

► RNJeebus

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

 We're all focusing on how "cool" the spells look and ignoring some major red flags.

He's self-harming (hand stabbing, blood sigils, whatever the fuck it is he was do ing).The power obviously hurts him (nosebleeds, shaking, borderline collapse). He escalated STRAIGHT to lethal on a guy trapped in a cafeteria with kids.

If a parahuman did this, we'd be talking about:Possible Master/Stranger influence and a Psychological evaluation on whether they're safe to be in public. Instead, everyone's like "haha wizard go brrr."

► SlushieGod

 Replied On March 20, 2011:

First Congressman giving a speech on what happened. Apparently, he's going to push for some legislation on 'wizard's. Can't wait to see how spectacularly this fucks up.

[Link] [Link]

End of Page. 1, 2, 3 … 955, 956, 957 … 10,655, 10,656, 10,657

@***@

A/N

First interlude for the story.

Did a PRT debrief where they went over everything systematically, with a healthy dose of skepticism ont he whole magical thing. I didn't want everyone to just 'believe it' outright even if it's an acknowledged thing.

And I added a bit of a PHO after to see various points that randoms are talking about. A few capes chiming in, but it's earlier in the whole thread, so I didn't want it to be flooded with canon characters because that felt weird? Next time I do an interlude like this, it'll be more canon characters. For the most part, many canon characters just don't know what to say and so early, it's a wait and see approach.

If you want to read 1 chapter ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone

I also have a boosty if you can't use the above under the same name