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The Guild of Gamers: The Tinker by The Dark Wolf Shiro
Anime X-overs & Worm Xover Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Tattletale, Words: 81k+, Favs: 4k+, Follows: 4k+, Published: May 31, 2023 Updated: Mar 24, 2024
1,918Chapter 9: Kyushu
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Malcolm Tent, Marethyu, Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Beans, Old Man of the Mountain
The Guild of Gamers: The Tinker
Chapter 08: Kyushu
– Narwhal –
Kei was going to put them all out of business, a thought that caused a rare amused smile to flit across her face as she looked at the Guild's newest member.
It was odd to look at someone making you obsolete with such fondness. She could see why Dragon liked her fellow tinker so much. It was genuinely absurd how much had changed since the almighty Tinker Jesus showed his face at the Behemoth attack in Hawaii.
Watching from the deck of the Pride, she joined everyone else in awed gasps as the force field surrounding Kyushu fell to reveal what Kei had been so hard at work with. She'd seen the plans, and as the leader of the Guild, she probably knew more about what Zero was up to than anyone since he'd joined up, but seeing it in action was entirely different.
The Prime Minister of Japan had tears in his eyes as they looked over the restored island, the crystal clear waters surrounding it cleansed of the rot that had been spreading through the oceans and affecting all of eastern Asia. The Emperor of Japan himself seemed to be praying, and his daughter gasped as she moved to the railing for a better look, her security going after her.
Director Costa-Brown was more composed, though clearly impressed, as the Pride flew towards the city Zero had built on the island's coast, the only sign of civilisation on the massive island.
But the person who seemed the most unaffected, borderline bored of the proceedings?
Kei, or the android he was remotely piloting, barely batted an eye at the sight of his hard work. Typing away at a holographic keyboard, he even seemed mildly annoyed when someone gave him a pat on the back as part of the celebrations, jostling him.
He wasn't bothering with a mask, wearing a very nice suit instead. She knew full well that Lisa picked it for him; he would have probably shown up in his pyjamas if he had been given a chance. Lisa herself was dressed very smartly in her position as Kei's 'assistant', sitting in the back as she engaged in a little people-watching with a small smirk.
She liked it when people were shocked by her man.
"What did you name this city?" The Prime Minister asked, making Kei finally look up.
"I didn't. It's built geographically in the same place as Fukuoka, but it felt wrong to name it after Fukuoka, so I just left it unnamed," Kei admitted, his fingers still typing even as he looked towards the city.
Even from here, she could see how advanced the buildings looked. Countless white buildings, blending the designs she'd seen in a lot of Kei's 'solarpunk' technology with more traditional Japanese architecture. There was also a considerable amount of greenery, nature blending with the city itself.
"My focus was on making it self-sufficient, which I more than succeeded in. It has five solar plants, any one of which could power the entire city with energy to spare. Between all five, they can power the entirety of Japan with ease," Kei explained. "See the domes over there?" Kei asked, gesturing to the large glass domes in the distance. "They're incredibly advanced hydroponic farms, producing enough fruit and vegetables for the entire city. There are several larger ones deeper in the island that are producing enough for the entirety of Japan and then some. It's all automated and maintained by drones, from the power plants and farms to the greenery."
Kei had the Prime Minister and the other members of the Japanese government hanging off his every word, and she hadn't missed that Lisa was assisting him. Kei wasn't a people person, but Lisa had a mental connection to him since they were both piloting his incredibly advanced androids; she could silently help him navigate the conversations with such high-profile people.
"And it's ready for people to move in immediately?" Michiko, the daughter of the Emperor, asked, making him nod calmly.
"It is; the residential areas are all prepared and pre-furnished," Kei replied. He wasn't quite following protocol for dealing with the Japanese royal family, but she didn't seem to mind. "I think the first group of former Kyushu residents are due to move in next week. It turns out offering a free home to anyone who lost theirs due to the destruction of Kyushu got a lot of attention," Kei said with a slight smile and a quiet laugh. "It's why the city has ended up so much larger than originally planned. It's about three times as large as my original plans, though the design is supposed to be very spacious. I didn't want the place to be cramped."
The conversations continued, and while Kei was obviously not thrilled about being the centre of attention of so many high-profile figures, he handled it easily enough. The representative from the American government was obviously interested in getting this technology for the good old US of A, but while America and Japan might be allies, the Japanese officials practically formed a wall around Kei, keeping him away.
– Lisa Wilbourne –
God, Kei was sexy when he had the entire world by the balls.
For all the acts Zero had to his name, raising Kyushu and turning it into a high-tech utopia was the one that had truly gotten every country's attention. He already had the cape world watching his every move, but now he had every politician practically drooling for a chance to have Zero pay their countries a visit.
Cleansing all the damage caused by Behemoth and Leviathan was a good start, but showing how easily he could rebuild an entire island was the biggest flex the world had ever seen.
Costa-Brown herself was practically drooling at the potential, and soon, this city would be the shining jewel of the world, and everyone would know that her man was the one responsible. Kei didn't particularly care for wealth, but that didn't stop him from rapidly becoming one of the richest men around.
The fact that he was so uninterested in leading made him all the more alluring to the various governments; he didn't want to be declared King of Kyushu; he just wanted to fix the island and then move on to his next project.
As long as people weren't abusing his technology, he was perfectly happy leaving everything to everyone else. Even now, the Prime Minister and Emperor were discussing the governing of the region, with Kei making it clear he had no interest in becoming a government official himself.
It would limit him too much; he wanted to do so much more and didn't want to get caught up with something that boring.
He did have a house in the new city, or to be precise, they had a house in the city, which she'd designed in VR, and his drones had made exactly to her specifications. It was nice to be able to go outside again, even if she didn't think she'd ever leave in her real body again. These androids were just better.
Still, goddamn, was Kei sexy when he was flexing his metaphorical muscles. Her man had the entirety of Japan fondling his balls. He could whip out his cock, and there would be a line waiting to blow him, with Costa-Brown and the princess fighting to be the first to worship his shaft.
Zero was the most important man in the world, and he was all hers.
– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –
She had suspected that Zero would be important from his first appearance in Hawaii; his tech was a game-changer, and it made her wonder if this was what would have happened if Hero had survived.
Japan was going to go from a third-world country dependent on the generosity of others to a thriving first-world country in a matter of months. Number-Man predicted that they'd be an economic powerhouse on par with any of the other first-world countries by the end of the year.
But what interested her was the ability to rebuild. They didn't know when Scion was going to snap, but even in the best case, they were looking at immense devastation. Devastation that Kei was clearly able to reverse.
His refusal to come out of hiding was a blessing; she'd noticed that his body was robotic, even if it was a very good body double, because it meant he was more likely to survive the final battle against the enemy.
The ability to fix even a completely devastated island would be a godsend when the time came. Mass energy and food production and the ability to build an entire city in such a short amount of time, everything Kei could do would be invaluable in the future.
She had to wonder, though. Kei had to realise that the CUI was almost certainly going to try to take the island, right? Even if Leviathan didn't come back for round two, Kyushu wouldn't be as peaceful as it looked.
"He knows; I almost can't wait for them to try," Kei's assistant said, making her almost jump at the smug look on the blonde's face. Tattletale, formerly Coil's pet thinker, now Kei's girlfriend. Quite the promotion.
"Which one?" Rebecca asked, hiding her annoyance at the fact that Lisa had managed to read her.
"Oh, either. Kyushu has some surprises ready for them," Lisa teased in a singsong voice before moving past her towards her boyfriend, rescuing him from the clutches of the very single princess whose intentions she didn't need to be a Thinker to read.
Tattletale was a fitting name; walking over to the railing, she looked down over the beautiful city as the Pride settled down at the dock on one of the larger spires.
Maybe she'd need to try and get answers out of Narwhal, who was standing a few feet from her newest recruit, looking entirely too smug at how much the Guild had benefited from Dragon recruiting Zero into their ranks.
But, just for today, she put the scheming aside and enjoyed one decisive victory over the Endbringers. Kei had done good work, undoing years of damage in the short time he'd been active.
– Kei (Zero) – Weeks Later –
The repopulation of Kyushu is going incredibly smoothly, with people flocking back to their lost island. I think my parents will be proud of what I've achieved here. Well, if they believe the whole 'got kidnapped after doing a CYOA' thing.
It'll take time to settle in, but I've made this city into a paradise that makes current Brockton Bay seem like… well, the Brockton Bay of a year ago. Energy bills? Nonexistent, even now, we're working on sharing the massive amounts of energy produced by Kyushu with the rest of Japan. Japan's average energy bill has dropped by over 95%, a good start.
Those food issues? Solved. Between my big ass dome farms (yes, that's what I actually named them, Lisa made me call them 'Solarfarms' officially) and my devices encouraging the fish population to bloom, Japan's food crisis is basically over. Already, the government has cancelled a lot of the very costly trade deals they've had to rely on, which frees up more budget for other things. Even better, soon, we'll be looking at exporting the food to the rest of the world.
I even made an Amazon-like company since nobody else thought of it yet. Same-day delivery is much easier to promise with teleporting drones involved, and while it's only available in Japan and Brockton Bay at the moment, I have plans to spread it out to the rest of the world soon enough. Then I started my own food delivery company, making deals with various restaurants so my drones can deliver the food to the hungry people at home within minutes of it being ready.
They're still trying to work out how to reward me because there isn't exactly a precedent for 'brought back an entire island, solved like seven crises in one go, then made life better for everyone in the country'. No reward seems good enough.
I'm just that good.
Of course, I'm fully expecting things to go south sooner rather than later. The next Endbringer attack is now late, with the Simurgh flying even higher than she normally is and Behemoth and Leviathan both being no-shows for entirely too long.
Or so they think; I don't think those two realise we know where they are. I built a new scanner that can track them. Behemoth is deep under the Sahara desert at the moment, being very still, and Leviathan is lurking in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.
But they're going to make their move, sooner or later. Simurgh should have attacked Canberra, but she doesn't seem to be in a rush to do anything.
Speaking off the big feathery bitch, the PRT has started to clear her Quarantine zones with my Anti-Master tech, it's a slow process, but it's nice to have those guys actually do something instead of just standing around watching me do all the work. Dragon is overseeing them, of course, and so is Observer. My AI will tell me if I need to get involved, but for now, we're dismantling her legacy, and she doesn't seem to be doing anything to stop us.
That makes me paranoid. I'd honestly prefer that she went on the attack, but she's just sat there.
Still, I am almost sure that Kyushu is going to get attacked soon. I don't know whether it will be an Endbringer or the CUI, but I'm ready for them either way. As prepared as I can ever be, at least.
When I went to deal with Behemoth, I said I'd be satisfied with a mere quarter of the fighters dying. That was a much less experienced Kei, and this time, a quarter of the heroes becoming casualties would be unacceptable. This time, I have a limit on fatalities; only one thing is dying and not a single person more.
But for now, I'm stuck playing the waiting game. I considered changing tactics and attacking the Endbringers first, but I just don't know how that would change things. The last thing I need is for one of them to break their usual pattern and go on a rampage so I have to sit around and wait for them to get off their asses and attack.
Eh, there's always more to do, and as a gamer, I do love time off. The biggest issue with the speed at which my AIs can produce games is that I can't keep up. It's a completionist's heaven and hell, all those massive open worlds with so much to do. Plus, the whole girlfriend thing means I can't just no-life them and ignore the world.
Not that I'm complaining. If I have to stop playing games for anything, it might as well be for my very hot girlfriend. Yeah, I'm winning at life.
Which is why a certain golden bastard needs to go; I can't have all my hard work undone because a depressed widower decides to throw a temper tantrum. I know how to deal with him; I just need the points.
…can Simmy or Leviathan hurry up and attack me already? What's the point in a trap if the bastards won't trigger it? Surely Eidolon is seething enough at me massively eclipsing him that they'll come for me sooner or later. I should know. I've been actively waging a secret PR war to embarrass him online and get that ego working.
Ah, well, back to catching them all.
Fucking Lisa got a shiny Totodile as her starter, and I refuse to be beaten, so I'm now trying to catch a shiny everything. Yes, I'm that petty. I swear the Architect gives Lisa some super-luck buff when she plays, but it claims it doesn't, and I couldn't find anything in the programming.
Maybe later, I'll spend some time ticking a couple more things off my to-do list as well while I wait.
— Emily Piggot —
Looking over the reports for this past week, she took a sip of her coffee and sighed.
Nothing.
There had not been a single cape battle in the past month and barely any street crime, for that matter. What crime they did have was small-scale due to the complete lack of any serious gang presence.
Sure, some dumb kids tried to form a new Empire simply called 'the Pure', but they'd been taken down in less than a week. Brockton Bay had no tolerance for their kind anymore now that Kaiser had taken half his gang and fled to Dallas to fight against the immigrants coming from the south.
It brought her no small amount of joy that Victor had gotten shot within a week of arriving in Texas, and the Empire had a lot of trouble dealing with the gangs from down south since their European allies had left them out to dry in fear that Zero might turn his attention their way if they helped the Empire anymore.
Half of Kaiser's gang had left him, scattering to the winds. Rune got picked up after getting into a fight in New York and was going to be joining the Wards. Krieg had gone back to his Gesellschaft masters and taken Night and Fog with him. Cricket fled after Hookwolf died to the Brotherhood. Kaiser was left with a fraction of his former power and simply didn't have the manpower anymore to be a major gang.
Lung is retired in Hawaii; they'd found him basically immediately, but the general decision was 'leave him the fuck alone'. He'd actually busted Oni Lee out of prison and booked his former lieutenant into therapy, but the PRT didn't want to risk him rampaging when all he was doing anymore was sipping tropical drinks and getting a tan. Plus, he hadn't put on a mask once except to break out Oni Lee.
If he tried to return to crime, they'd be ready. For now, it seemed the rage dragon was well and truly retired. It angered her that he got to commit so many crimes and then just take off his mask and walk away, but attacking him while he was unmasked would cause trouble with the other villains as well. It just wasn't worth it, not when he was seemingly done with villainy.
With the crushing defeat of the Teeth before they could even finish planning to return to Brockton, the other major gangs had washed their hands of the Bay. Nobody wanted to be the reason Zero returned to America, which meant she had so very little to do.
The PRT hadn't even taken that many of their heroes, as she had originally feared. Brockton Bay was now a symbol, a city that had gone from the highest crime rates in America to completely peaceful and the PRT wanted to keep it that way because it looked damn good for them, even if they all knew who did most of the work.
Battery was retiring from the hero business, thanks to Assault being as careless in bed as he was in every other aspect of his life. Dauntless and Triumph had no desire to move when they were hometown boys, and Miss Militia was taking over Armsmaster's position as the head of the Protectorate branch.
Armsmaster himself was moving; he couldn't stand staying in a city where there was so very little to do. Personally, she thought he just hated living in Zero's shadow, but good luck to him finding anywhere that wasn't in the same shadow. Where he was going was undecided, but she wished him the best and was just happy not to have to deal with him begging for another tinker budget increase every month. Velocity was moving as well, primed to move to Chicago.
At the end of the day, her roster had taken a small hit, but in exchange, crime rates dropped by over 90%. A more than worthy trade as far as she was concerned. Of course, with things being so much calmer, something had to give.
With Elastigirl in charge of the Wards now, Shadow Stalker's actions had come to light, and now Shadow Stalker was very much retired. Officially, to focus on her education. Somehow, Emily didn't think Sophia would be studying that much in juvie.
Naturally, the lunatic had decided to go down fighting, but Kid Win just shot her in the back with a tazer inspired by the ones used by the Brotherhood. She'd been dragged out, practically frothing at the mouth as she swore vengeance on everyone. Something told her that Kid Win was waiting for an opportunity to shoot Sophia, but Emily didn't blame him. He'd been one of Shadow Stalker's preferred targets for her bullying along with Vista. It must have felt like Christmas to put her down and get praised for it.
Getting a message, she opened it and read through it before freezing. Going over it again, with much more attention, she let out a disbelieving laugh even as she double-checked something.
Yup, Zero was still in Japan. Not that it was enough to stop him and his Brotherhood from arresting Nilbog and purging Ellisburg of his abominations. Nilbog was imprisoned in the same top-security facility that the Butcher and Coil had ended up in, and Ellisburg was wiped off the map to make sure no trace was left.
Apparently, Dragon had led the operation, which had lasted all of an hour. Zero barely even got involved beyond providing some data and his tech, seeing the entire thing as a minor diversion from his real work.
Leaning back in her chair, she laughed in disbelief before she made her decision.
She was very reluctant to agree with Lung about anything, but on this, she could admit he had the right idea. Sending off her declaration that she was retiring to the chief director, she snorted to herself and raised her mug to Zero.
Well played.
– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) – Two Weeks Later –
"Zero, what defences does the island have?" Alexandria asked, looking at Zero as he lazily leaned against the deck of his Pride. "How long until Leviathan makes contact?"
It was inevitable, really. Kyushu was a monument of their ability to recover from Endbringer attacks. It was practically guaranteed that the next attack would be here, but even as Leviathan swam towards the island at incredible speeds, Zero didn't seem worried.
"It'll reach the city in… three minutes," Zero said, still very calm as the Sentai Elite prepared themselves. "Or it would. Honestly, it's rude that the stupid lizard kept me waiting this long."
She blinked at his words, watching Zero lazily press a few buttons as the forcefield reformed over the entire island, Leviathan pausing in its rush to the island. The forcefield was transparent this time, letting them see the beast as it started to attack the barrier, the Pride within the barrier.
"That won't hold him," Eidolon spat, making Zero snort.
"It doesn't need to; it's just to prevent the city from getting affected by this," Zero said easily, pressing another button as their view of Leviathan was blocked by the sudden pillar of light engulfing the Endbringer, a loud hum audible even from here. "Taste the sun, asshole."
As the light faded, she stared in shock at the sight of Leviathan, now standing on dry land as the oceans had been evaporated by whatever Zero had just deployed, another strange barrier forming around the Endbringer as the first barrier fell.
Trapped within this new barrier, Leviathan thrashed against the force field with seemingly no effect, and she immediately realised something.
There was no water in the barrier with it, just a large swath of scorched; no glassed seabed that was trapped within the massive bubble Zero had trapped Leviathan in, but the oceans were gone.
"Won't he control the water outside the barrier?" one of the Sentai asked, making Zero snort.
"Sure, if his range is interdimensional. It's complicated, but Leviathan is nowhere near as close to us as it looks. Let's just say I creatively interpreted dimensions to make this work and leave it at that. Sherrel, you're up," Zero said, making them blink in confusion. Looking around, they wondered who he was talking to as nobody responded.
Wait, who was Sherre-
The sound of something massive landing made them all turn back to the bubble, her eyes widening at the sight of the ungodly large mech that was now at the far side of the arena. She'd wondered why he'd made the space so large; now she had her answer as the obscenely large mech started to move.
"So, everyone who doesn't want to go play with Leviathan, raise your hands. I'm teleporting the Pride into the barrier; I'll teleport anyone who isn't coming down to the city," Zero said, looking around even as the giant robot blasted Leviathan with its fucking massive chest death-laser and started to melt the shocked Endbringer's flesh, even as it dodged out of the way. "Everyone else, make sure you've got your wristbands on. You'll be teleported out to the medical tents if you take serious damage."
– Kei –
How do you beat a hydrokinetic? You say, "Fuck you", and take away their water. As the Pride reappears inside the bubble, I smile at the already less-than-great condition the bastard is in as Sherrel manages to predict Leviathan's movements and stomps on it.
My solar bomb left Leviathan injured before the fight even began, and then Sherrel hit it dead-on with a weapon made to disintegrate. This Gipsy is far more advanced than the original, and Sherrel's shard must be having a blast as she goes one-to-one with a fucking Endbringer, several VIs assisting her. Leviathan usually produces water where it goes, but the solution to that is just to keep Leviathan so damn hot that the water evaporates as fast as it makes it, thick steam coming from its burnt body.
Teleporting all the capes to the ground level, I can already tell that Leviathan isn't having the best time. I don't know if Endbringers can cry, but I intend to find out. It's the closest thing this fucker is going to get to water if I have my way.
Every wristband is connected to my combat AI; it will teleport people away if they are about to be hit with a lethal blow, and its reaction time puts Dragon to shame. I don't intend to let this overgrown newt get a single kill unless it reveals some bullshit levels of hydrokinesis and starts ripping people apart with their own bodily fluids.
If it does, I'm immediately teleporting everyone out and leaving this for the mechs.
I've essentially trapped Leviathan in a dimensional bubble, a little slice of another earth brought into this dimension. It was expensive, but that's why I was saving up anyway. I've made a lot of points with my actions, both in dealing with various villains and my more civilian-focused deeds.
And it was all to deal with the Endbringers, so I could use the points from them to deal with Scion himself.
As Sherrel kicks Leviathan hard enough to send it flying, smashing into the barrier, the blasters don't waste this opportunity to blow the everloving shit out of it while it is momentarily immobile, and I can see Leviathan is starting to speed up.
Its speed is rapidly reaching levels we've never seen Leviathan display before as the Endbringer's body takes more damage (mostly from Sherrel landing several direct hits on him with her big fuck-off guns). The Pride is doing some damage as well, pinpoint accurate shots predicting Leviathan's movements and repeatedly hitting it in the limbs to slow it down, but the fucker is regenerating.
Well, it's my turn. I sat out the last fight, controlling the Pride, but this time, I'm going into the fray myself. Well, not technically, since I'm still home in my pocket dimension.
– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –
They'd never had an Endbringer on the backfoot like this before. Removed from any source of water, Leviathan was far more vulnerable than ever before, even as it displayed worrying levels of speed.
The bastard had been holding back before, even on dry land. Even she was having trouble tracking it with the sheer speeds it was moving at, but the mech that 'Sherrel' was controlling didn't share that issue as she deployed another weapon.
Clearly, there was either a parahuman ability or predictive technology at work here because one of her arms snapped to the side and sent forth a different weapon, the giant net catching Leviathan as it tried to charge at some of the blasters who were keeping their distance and attacking as long-range artillery against Leviathan.
Wrapping around Leviathan, the net immediately shrunk as the razor-sharp netting cut into the Endbringer's flesh. The netting glowed purple as it sliced through Leviathan's skin, holding it in place for just a few seconds as the Endbringer shredded the netting, taking a lot of damage to its hands to do so.
It launched itself at the giant mech but was rebuffed by a forcefield that sprang up around the mech, and Leviathan bounced off it, though not without clearly weakening the barrier itself. Leviathan's head snapped around rapidly, seemingly trying to work out what to do next. She didn't know if an Endbringer could feel desperate, but she hoped it could at least feel fear.
Sensing danger, Leviathan leapt to the side just as the next surprise showed itself, barely avoiding the giant glowing red sword that stabbed into the ground. Rising to its full height, a red and gold mech stared down Leviathan.
It was designed to look like a samurai, though no samurai stood at almost thirty feet tall, matching Leviathan's full height as Zero sent a message through every armband.
"This sword should be able to kill Leviathan; focus on slowing him down so I can land a fatal blow," Zero ordered, pulling back his sword as he rushed forward to engage the Endbringer. His mech was fast, perhaps even faster than Leviathan itself, and his words proved to not be an idle boast as Leviathan once again tried to dodge, but not fast enough to avoid the slice, the blade leaving a red trail behind as Zero struck.
Leviathan was able to move most of his body out of the way, but they all froze and watched as the Endbringer's severed arm hit the ground, cleaved off in a single blow. Even the Endbringer seemed shocked at the dismemberment, and immediately Leviathan turned and ran.
Sherrel wasn't as caught up in staring as the rest of them and sent another net in Leviathan's path, which it managed to dodge this time, slowing it down enough for Zero to catch up again and land another strike on Leviathan's back, leaving a large gash in the flesh.
A gash that wasn't healing, she quickly realised.
Sherrel teleported (because, of course, the hundred-foot-tall mech could teleport), getting in Leviathan's path and making another barrier, making the Endbringer run headfirst into the energy barrier, pelted by dozens of blasters the moment it stopped.
It didn't care, even diving towards her in the hopes of getting away from the blade that was thrusting towards it, uncaring of her uppercutting it immediately. Leviathan feared Zero's sword. In fact, it didn't even seem to care about attacking anymore as it tried to flee, making this a game of cat and mouse.
Reaching the 'bubble' again, Leviathan started to strike it with more force than they'd ever seen it use, desperate to break free as Zero kept up the pursuit, never far behind. She did her own part, constantly harassing Leviathan as it tried to flee; even if all she could do was stop it for a moment, Zero would immediately capitalise on her distraction.
It was on one of these that she first saw it, as Zero once again landed a devastating slash on Leviathan's chest, a hint of white under the dark green flesh, which now had a small cut in it. If Leviathan was worried before, it was straight-up panicking now, flailing wildly as it sent Zero's mech flying back (which lasted for just a moment before the thrusters stabilised him, and Zero was flying right back towards the fleeing Endbringer).
She noticed several capes teleport away the instant before they would have been crushed by the raging Leviathan, but as it crashed against the barrier once again, it stopped.
Turning to face them, Leviathan stopped its retreat completely, seeming to accept that it wasn't going to get through the barrier. Glaring at them, the badly injured Endbringer shot forwards at Zero's mech at speeds unseen; she barely saw it move before it slammed into Zero, one of its clawed hands slashing at the mech of Zero's helm, managing to tear the kabuto helmet shaped head off, spinning as Leviathan's thick tail smashed into Zero's mech and sent it flying.
She was briefly horrified, but Zero's mech calmly stood back up, twirling the blade casually before pointing at Leviathan. Of course, the head was just for show. She really needed to stop being surprised by Zero's tech.
– Kei (Zero) –
How am I keeping up with Leviathan? That's easy, I'm fucking cheating. My combat AI is doing 99% of the work as I engage again. My sword was made by studying Flechette (in secret) and other all-or-nothing capes, able to cut through basically anything.
Still, this is fucking tiring, and I'm already bored of this stupid lizard, and it's bullshit. Sending a message to Sherrel, Eidolon actually manages to help me briefly as he takes control of the ground under Leviathan and has it bind up Leviathan's legs.
Leviathan breaks free almost instantly, but almost just isn't enough as the delay costs the stupid fucker its tail. Another limb down. Seriously, just give up and die already; I have stuff I need to do.
Like Lisa.
Grabbing Leviathan, I spin it around and toss it into the air, where Sherrel and Gipsy are waiting, the chest beam catching Leviathan dead on as it flails through the air helplessly, a giant fist coming down on Leviathan's airborne and scorched body sending it straight back down to earth.
To me.
With too much drama, I sheathe my blade and draw it at incredible speeds in the most cliche samurai move in history as I launch up to meet the bastard. Would I have missed completely if my combat AI didn't take control and forcibly corrected my fucky aim? Yes.
Did we slice its stupid core in two? Also, yes, and with an order I teleport everyone out of the pocket dimension in preparation for the blast. Of course, the petty assholes blow up when they're slain.
Teleporting my mech out of there, I open my eyes aboard the Pride just in time to watch the bubble get filled with the final fuck you of Leviathan, its core severed in two. The bubble 'pops', and nothing remains, the oceans soaring forward to fill the empty space where we had been fighting. Good thing Lisa reminded me about that; my tech coming online to stop my newly fixed island from being hit with a tsunami.
There's a moment of complete silence, followed by far too many people being far too loud. I quietly adjust my androids audio sensors, letting out a sigh. I'm not gonna get to play games today, am I?
What a pain.
– David (Eidolon) –
Zero had killed an Endbringer.
The entire world was probably celebrating that fact; Zero was now officially the biggest damn hero the world had ever seen. The Triumvirate? Were they some kind of band? Hero who? All that mattered was Zero.
As he sulked alone, far away from the celebrations, he knew Rebecca would scold him later for not being a more active part of the party. It didn't give off a good impression, and she did love her PR. Stewing in his thoughts and far too reliant on the danger sense that he often kept active, he didn't notice the sniper aiming for him or hear the nigh-silent shot until it hit him.
He was unconscious before he hit the ground and gone before anyone could notice what had happened, a woman in a stylish hat abducting him at the exact moment that nobody was looking his way.
– Bonus Scene — PHO –
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Topic: Leviathan Slain!
In: Boards Endbringer Attacks
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Feb 10th 2011:
You read it right, folks.
Leviathan is dead, not driven back, not injured.
Leviathan is dead and gone.
Leviathan attacked Kyushu (as so many predicted he would) and ran into a trap set by Zero, our very own Tinker Jesus. Trapped in a bubble of space with no water, Leviathan was put on the defensive from the beginning, with Zero sending someone known as 'Sherrel' in the giant mech. I've found out it is named 'Gispy Danger.'
Sherrel has been seen at the after-party, and it is believed she might be the former merchant Squealer. A part of Squealer's power was being inhumanly good at driving anything, which may carry over to giant fucking mechs.
[GipsyDanger] [Sherrel]
With the help of the other heroes, Gipsy managed to deal noticeable damage to Leviathan before Zero revealed his own giant samurai mech (though far smaller than Gipsy). At this point, Zero can pull out anything, and I'm not even going to be surprised anymore.
Zero actually provided the visual data from his mech, apparently named Zero Requiem, so we have the entire fight from there in glorious high-definition.
[TheZeroRequiem] [ZeroPOV]
I'll give you the cliff notes for those who don't want to watch it.
Leviathan got the shit kicked out of him, lost several limbs, then got cut in half. Finally, it blew itself up and got nobody because Zero just teleported everyone away. Our losses? Literally nobody; Zero's Endbringer Bands teleported people out the moment they would have taken fatal damage.
An ignoble defeat, Leviathan died without taking a single person with it.
There haven't been any official statements yet because, frankly, everyone is either in disbelief or are still celebrating, but on behalf of the entire world, thank you, Zero!
God, I've said that a lot. Here's to saying it a lot more.
(Showing page 1 of 745)
Seiunsho (Verified Cape) (Sentai Elite)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Leviathan died on the shores of Kyushu, trying to undo the good work Zero did in healing the damage it caused.
On behalf of the Sentai Elite and Japan, you have our utmost gratitude, Zero. If you ever get bored of the Guild, you'll always have a place with us.
Narwhal (Verified Cape) (The Guild)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Oi, back off. He's our super-Tinker.
But also, good riddance to bad rubbish. This is proof that the Endbringers can be slain; they can be stopped. We just needed the most broken Tinker in history
Sorry Hero, but you've officially lost that title.
Legend (Protectorate: New York) (Triumvirate)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Believe me, he wouldn't have minded.
Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
For those trying to get in contact with Zero, he won't be checking his messages for the next couple of days. He's taking a long weekend off.
Direct all urgent messages to me or ChloeinWonderland
Edit: oh very funny, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go and spank my boyfriend, who thinks he's a lot funnier than he actually is
Kenta
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Leviathan is dead, and Kyushu has risen. As it should be.
XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
spank? so you're in charge in the bedroom lol
Zero gets pegged lolololol
Zero (Verified Cape) (Verified Badass) (Tinker Jesus) (The Guild) (Wonderland Productions) (Endbringer Slayer)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Void, I've just deleted your legendary skins in Capewatch.
Wanna keep going? I can hurt you more than the mods here ever could
XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
wait hold up, I earned those fair and square.
I'll be good, please give them back. I was just joking
Zero (Verified Cape) (Verified Badass) (Tinker Jesus) (The Guild) (Wonderland Productions) (Endbringer Slayer)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Good boy.
I've given them back, but don't forget the power I hold
Feychick
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Ah, yes, slays Leviathan and tames Void in a single day. Truly a day in the life of Tinker Jesus, all hail the messiah!
…I wish Zero would call me a good girl.
Laotsunn (Kyushu Survivor)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
All hail!
This doesn't bring back the people Leviathan killed, but the fact that Leviathan is gone for good has made my entire life. Zero truly is the greatest hero of all.
Of course, I'm also typing this from my free house on a risen Kyushu, which makes my old apartment look like a decrepit ruin, so I might be a little biased.
Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave) (The Almighty PanPan, Queen of Snark)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
As one of the people in the medical tents, I can say for the first time that there was nothing for me to do at an Endbringer attack. His bands were just that good, and most of the people who were injured were taken care of by his medical drones.
I've never been so happy to be not needed.
Dawgsmiles (Veteran Member)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
So, I know Leviathan is a big deal, but...
Holy fucking shit, look at Sherrel's curves! Did Zero pick that skintight outfit, because if so I'm converting to his cult immediately.
MakeMeSqueal (Verified Cape) (Verified Badass) (Gipsy Danger Pilot)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
he did lol
and yet, he won't fuck me. talk about mixed messages lol
still, some boys get girls flowers, Zero got me a giant fucking mech, so he's officially won my heart (now I just need to find a way to get Oracle to share)
Coyote-C
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
If anyone deserves hot blonde threesomes, it's ma boi Zero. Good luck, Sherrel, you get that tinker D!
Maybe invite Glory Girl as well, can't have enough hot blondes
Glory Girl (Verified Cape) (New Wave)
Replied On Feb 10th 2011:
Oi!
Eh, who am I kidding? I'd go for that if I were single; Zero is seriously cute.
Leviathan dies, and PHO is more interested in Zero's sex life; some things never change.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 743, 744, 745
Author's Note: I considered having the Endbringer fight to be much more serious, but this isn't the fic for that. Kei ain't here to play fair; he's here to win and go home, fuck his girl into a pleasure coma and then play games until he passes out.
Leviathan was just something on his to-do list, and Kei is beyond broken at this point.
Also, I'm posting this chapter from a hotel in London. Tomorrow, I'm going on vacation and won't be back until next Thursday, so I'll be taking a short break from writing.
I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I'll probably write faster.
I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn.
Here's the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd
If it says it's expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you'll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it's expired, add me (ThePumpkinKing), and I'll invite you myself.
I've finally put my Pat reon to use after months of procrastinating. My Pat reons now have the ability to vote for which fics they'd like to see updated more during the next chapter cycle. The winner of the normal tier poll gets one extra chapter per cycle, the second tier poll gets two extra chapters, and the highest tier pat reons can pick a fic that will get three extra chapters per cycle. The winning fics this cycle were Tamer (three extra chapters), Tinker (two extra chapters) and Supervillain (one extra chapter). I'm currently in the process of making the advanced chapters for Pat reon, which will slow down updates somewhat as I make the five advanced chapters.
Link: Pat reon TheDarkWolfShiro
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The Guild of Gamers: The Tinker by The Dark Wolf Shiro
Anime X-overs & Worm Xover Rated: M, English, Supernatural & Fantasy, Tattletale, Words: 81k+, Favs: 4k+, Follows: 4k+, Published: May 31, 2023 Updated: Mar 24, 2024
1,918Chapter 10: Gold Afternoon
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Malcolm Tent, Marethyu, Mike God of Lore, priapus, Old man of the mountain, Beans
The Guild of Gamers: The Tinker
Chapter 09: Gold Afternoon
– David –
After everything he'd done, all the heroism and all of the lives saved, this was how it ended.
This was how Eidolon died.
"You have to understand that this was the best option," Rebecca said, defending her decision.
"You had Contessa kidnap me, you handed me over to fucking Zero, and look what he did to me," David spat out, making her nod.
"He removed your powers, but it was the only way. I didn't know it was possible; my plan was simply to kill you and make it seem like you'd retired," Rebecca admitted, showing the heartlessness that had guided Cauldron all their years.
And yet, despite the despair he was feeling, he couldn't argue with her decision.
It was him all this time. He'd guided the Endbringers. He'd unwittingly caused the attacks just to satisfy his ego. Zero had just put a stop to the worst villain in history. He almost wished Rebecca had gone with her plan, let him die a hero, not knowing what he'd done.
"What happens now?" David asked, making Rebecca shrug.
"That's up to you. The Endbringers will be neutralised in short order, and no more will appear with the power in better hands. Eidolon is retiring, leaving the world in the hands of Hero's successor. Exalt will take over the Houston Protectorate; I've arranged for a body double to handle the last few appearances if you'd rather sit them out," Rebecca explained; she always did have a handle on things like this.
"And Scion?" David asked, dropping the million-dollar question.
"Not your problem anymore, barely mine either," Rebecca scoffed, both pausing for a moment as they considered how trivialised they'd been by the appearance of a single cape.
This was Zero's world now; he was just living in it. Oddly enough, that didn't sting as much as he thought it would.
Eidolon was dead, but maybe David could start to live again.
– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –
Leaving David to brood, she made a note to have Contessa keep an eye on him. He wasn't a blindspot anymore.
After Kyushu, after Leviathan fell, Zero had approached her. He knew far more than anyone realised and knew that David was going to make a new Endbringer that would try to counter Zero's tech.
She didn't want to believe it, so he casually dropped her real name, Scion, countless Cauldron Experiments, and the dimension their not-so-secret base was in until she realised he was dead serious. In their looting of Eden's corpse, they'd unwittingly created the Endbringers.
She'd decided to kill David immediately, but Zero had a better idea.
"It's done. Behemoth is dead," Kei reported lazily as if he were talking about the weather. "Tracking him wasn't hard, and with Eidolon's shard, I just forced him to the surface."
"And the Simurgh?" Rebecca asked, making him smile slightly.
"Dealt with, just got hit by the most powerful missile that the world has ever seen. Publicly, she was slain high in orbit. You can make the announcement; the world deserves to know the threat is well and truly gone, and the PRT could use the good PR," Kei offered, making her nod gratefully. Officially, it was a project between the Guild and the PRT, but realistically, Zero did all the work (from his bedroom).
She knew the Simurgh wasn't dead, but then, why kill what you could use? The Simurgh was the greatest Thinker in the world; when that power was put to good use, it could be a game-changer. Unlike David, Kei understood the Shard he'd taken; he had the controls and could deal with the Hopekiller at any time. She would be Zero's Contessa. Of course, given the way Zero had taken over the fight, Contessa was also Zero's Contessa.
While the world was still celebrating Leviathan's defeat, the entire threat had been dealt with. She knew people hoped he'd be able to do the same at the next Endbringer attacks, but it turned out Kei wasn't a patient man. Why wait for them to attack when you can go on the offensive?
"And Scion?" Rebecca asked.
"Will be dealt with; I have everything I need now. I can't tell you the details. If he uses his Path to Victory, he'll find out if anyone but me knows. Fortunately, he's a fucking idiot," Kei scoffed, making her nod in reluctant agreement.
The fact that Scion had a Path to Victory, and the only reason they hadn't already lost was because he just didn't use it, was a blow to her image of the enemy. They'd survived this long because Scion just hadn't used his best tool.
"And what comes after that?" Rebecca asked, making Kei shrug.
"Fix the rest of the world's problems, play more games, maybe propose to my girl," Kei said with a lazy shrug. "Scion is just in the way, I have shit to do. I'm glad you were willing to work with me; I was getting ready to send a dimension-collapsing missile into your base, to be honest."
…was he telling the truth?
Looking into the tired blue eyes, she decided that, for once, she didn't want to know.
"I'll do my part; the PRT will be ready," Rebecca agreed, making him smile.
As the call ended, she sat back in her chair. She couldn't quite hide her nerves for once because if all went well, then Scion would be dealt with by the end of the day. All the plans they'd had, all the things they'd done, and it came down to some random teenage boy who'd really rather be on a virtual date with his girlfriend than wasting his time saving the world.
Getting ready for the work that would come after, she paused as she got an alert. Scion had just vanished. The big golden bastard had just disappeared, popped like a balloon.
It was over, just like that. All their predictions, all their plans, and Zero just clicked his fingers and dealt with the biggest threat the world had ever seen.
Still, she had work to do.
– Kei (Zero) –
At the end of the day, killing Scion would never really be the problem. He's just some weird, depressed space whale, and the golden avatar he uses is just his vtuber model.
This entire thing came down to pressing a big red button and firing a lovely little missile into his space-house. The idiot probably didn't even notice he was in danger until I collapsed his entire dimension.
I wasn't joking with Alexandria.
Scion is strong, but I have way too many options to deal with him and an influx of points.
So, the issue? Titans, Broken Triggers, shit like that which comes after the golden fucker is gone. The Solution? The same way I removed Eidolon's powers.
I am now a Power Tinker and a damn good one. Scion was the admin of the Shard Network; I just overrode his administrator privileges. It's a lot more complicated than that, but that's the simplified version.
It also means I can stop that whole conflict drive, so powers stop pushing the users to just generally be a pain in my ass.
"...Kei, you know I love you, right?" Lisa asks, making me nod with a yawn. What a busy day.
"Yup, where's the but?" I ask, making her give me a dirty look.
"Why is the Simurgh in our living room?" Lisa asks, her voice raising several notes as I blink. Shit, I knew I had forgotten something; I probably should have warned her.
"Because I decided to keep her, she's useful," I say, making her pause.
"You have her under control, right?" Lisa asked, making me nod. With Eidolon's shard and the knowledge of how to actually control it, I had no trouble reprogramming her to fit my needs.
Because I was sure as fuck not micromanaging the entire Shard network. Plus, the Simurgh is the precog, any issues that could pop up she'll see coming years in advance. Oddly enough, I think she knew this was coming despite being unable to see me. I've been keeping an eye on everything she's done, and I've removed her Master capabilities completely; no more Simmy bombs.
"Kinda wish you'd warned me before I went to get a drink and saw her just standing there," Lisa sighs, slapping my shoulder lightly.
"My bad," I say with a stretch. "It's been one hell of a day."
Sighing fondly, Lisa puts her head on my shoulder as we go back to watching our movie.
Cuddling against her, I nod. This is the life, and soon, this will be my entire life. No more dealing with the grimdark that is Worm because there's not gonna be any grimdark left.
– Sveta Karelia –
Taking a walk, she smiled to herself as the sun shone down on her.
The celebrations were still going on, of course. It didn't matter that the Endbringers had been taken down a month ago. People were still partying. Zero wasn't one of them; the world's saviour was a very busy man.
After all, it was less than a week after slaying the Behemoth and the Simurgh that he revealed that he'd worked out how to fix Case 53s. He could alter powers themselves, giving people much better control over their powers… or he could remove the powers altogether.
She was one of the first, along with other members of the Parahuman Asylum, and she'd made her decision so easily. She had her power removed, stripped away forever. She didn't want it; she'd have rather died than gotten that cursed body, but thanks to him, she was normal.
She could walk through the city without fearing that she'd accidentally kill someone; she could have a normal job. Of course, the charity that Zero set up was helping her reintegrate into normal life.
She checked her watch. Smiling, she changed directions and headed back to her University. She'd done the high school and college courses virtually with the White Rabbit, but she'd decided to attend University in person now that it was an option for her.
She'd even met Zero himself, or Kei, as he made no real attempt to hide his identity. It was only brief; he was too busy for her to take up too much of his time. It was funny; this was life-changing for her, life-changing for every Case 53, but she got the feeling it was just something on Zero's checklist.
He probably had a list titled 'things to fix', and he'd just crossed Case 53's off it. Just a box to be ticked, right alongside the Endbringers, the Slaughterhouse Nine and the Gray Boy bubbles. She knew some people treated the Tinker Jesus thing as a joke, but for her, it was as close to a religion as she had.
Zero was her saviour, something she'd never forget. Every day she lived as a free woman was a blessing from Zero.
– Kei (Zero) –
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Watched Threads
Case 53s Cured?
Who would win, Gipsy Danger or Zero Requiem
Eagleton Cleared by Zero and the Guild
Zero and Oracle, the Ultimate Power Couple?
The Sleeper Disappeared?
Canary Exonerated
Capewatch Patch Notes
Sitting at my PC, I smile to myself. My to-do list is getting smaller every day. There are some problems still around (looking at you, Yangban), but I'm getting there.
The Yangban have had their infiltration attempts driven back from Kyushu by the Brotherhood of Steel, but it won't stop them. They're getting nervous because the issues the world is facing are rapidly vanishing.
No Endbringers, major threats vanishing, and the rest of the countries are starting to thrive as my technology starts to spread out. The fossil fuels industry is basically falling to pieces in the face of my Solarpunk, but the cost of living is also sinking like a brick.
A large family can survive from having a single parent working thirty hours a week in one of the cities that have had my special touch. Brockton Bay is basically having to ward off people from all over America who want to move in.
But my tech is spreading out quickly; more cities are starting to get the Zero touch. It's started to reach Europe and South America now, though South America has a large villain and gang population that needs dealing with.
So, the Yangban are watching all these countries getting powerful, becoming allies, and they're starting to sweat at how much they've been left behind. It's only a matter of time until they do something stupid, and I'll be waiting.
And while I wait? I have plans, so many plans. The Simurgh was the big middle finger keeping humanity chained to the Earth, crushing the dreams of space exploration, but I intend to bring them back.
– Taylor Hebert –
Heading into Winslow, she briefly stopped and just stared at the building for a moment. The neat, modern-looking school made her briefly smile as she entered the grounds, seeing how clean it looked.
The only graffiti on the building was a large mural of several members of the Brotherhood of Steel standing in front of a flag with their emblem, Zero's emblem, on it. Apparently, a kid from the lower years called Aisha had done it, and while she'd gotten in trouble, nobody wanted to take it down.
She was still hardly able to believe how much had changed over the past year,
but that was true for all of Brockton Bay, wasn't it? She'd come here on the high-tech monorail, clean, free, and so efficient. She'd not seen a single crime or heard a single gunshot in months. Brockton Bay had won an award for being the safest city in America and was called the number one place to raise a family.
And everyone knew why.
This was where Zero first appeared; it was the place that had first benefited when he basically laughed in the face of the NEPEA-5 bill and decided he was improving basically everything about living here.
Brockton Bay, the place to be. Shaking her head, she smiled as she went to her locker. She briefly spotted Emma, but her former best friend didn't even look up from her phone. Emma had changed too, though whether it was for the better was up for debate.
Aside from basically being Zero's number-one fan, she'd become almost introverted. Her dad had talked to Alan, and apparently, Emma had become a complete White Rabbit addict, to the point where she didn't even want to come out into reality anymore.
Not that she didn't get it; her dad had gotten her one with his better pay, and it was a lot of fun. Actually exploring worlds she'd read about was unreal.
Apparently, Emma was some superstar online, but Taylor didn't know and frankly didn't care about that. She and Emma were done; it was better that way. Sophia was gone, nobody really knew where, and Emma seemed to be doing better with that psychopath gone.
Their arguments had been legendary; Sophia had a real grudge against Zero for some reason, and Emma wouldn't stand for it.
Meanwhile, she actually had friends now. On Lily's advice, she'd joined one of the school clubs that were forming now that the school had better funding, the literature club, to be exact. Sure, she wasn't as close to any of them as she had once been to Emma, but maybe that was for the best; if they backstabbed her, they wouldn't hurt as-
No, Lily had repeatedly told her not to think like that.
Speaking of funding, half the school's staff had changed in the past year. Several teachers and Blackwall had 'retired', and their replacements were greatly improved. The new headmaster was a bit of a hardass, but it was needed.
The students were used to getting away with anything they wanted; the new staff didn't stand for that. People weren't thrilled about it being stricter, but grades had been improving, and some of the worst students had been expelled. No weapons or drugs were allowed on the grounds, which was technically always the rule, but now it was actually being enforced. Crimes would result in the BBPD being called, and the school had a whole new security system, so you'd get found out.
It meant Winslow, where she'd once dreaded to come to, was now a safe haven she looked forward to coming to every day.
Of course, home life was doing better as well. Her dad was busy with work, Leviathan's death and Zero healing the bay meant that Brockton suddenly had a massive fishing economy, and shipping was starting again.
Plus, while the Brotherhood had fixed much of the city, the Mayor was pushing for every broken window and pothole to be repaired so the Dockworker's Association was back in business, well funded at that.
And Lily was clearly going nowhere; even now, she had a packed lunch in her bag made by her. She wasn't going to call Lily her stepmother, but she'd come to accept that relationship with some reluctance.
It didn't help that a full year of good meals, not having to hide in the toilets to eat, and getting some exercise on Lily's advice had put her in better shape; her hair was better, and she had better-fitting clothes.
Basically, she looked more and more like Lily, which made that relationship all the more odd. Fortunately, Lily made sure to keep any PDAs to an absolute minimum, so she had that going for her at least. Lily had even started to wear her hair differently for her sake; she was pretty sure her father was trying his hardest not to admit how similar they looked.
Still, Lily really was amazing. It seemed like she could do anything, had read up on every single subject, and was genuinely a nice person. Lily had done more to help her with her bullying than her dad ever had, mostly because Lily had taken one look at her and worked out something was wrong. They'd actually gotten a nice settlement, apparently straight out of Blackwell's retirement fund, which was now her college fund.
Not that she'd need it, given her grades and the new scholarships Zero was supporting. Apparently, the guy just had infinite money and was trying his hardest to throw it away; you couldn't go anywhere without running into some charity, program or something else he was pumping money into.
But then, he had killed all the Endbringers, so he'd probably gotten one hell of a bounty. What do you give the man who saved humanity? Whatever the hell he wanted, probably. His grandchildren could probably live comfortably off his bounty money.
…plus, the instant food-delivery app that she should uninstall if she wanted to keep her figure. And the streaming service, and the games. Yeah, he was so fucking rich. She probably couldn't even count that high.
Better him than her; the simple civilian life treated her better.
She didn't want the kind of pressure that had to come with his life.
– Kei (Zero) –
"Shit," I say, sitting up. Lisa looks up, worried at my sudden exclamation. "I knew I was forgetting something."
"What's up, what's wrong?" Lisa asks, the sheets falling enough to expose her breasts and briefly distract me (which makes her smirk).
"It's my birthday," I say, making her blink.
"Wait, seriously?" Lisa asks. "Why didn't you say something?!"
"I forgot, I've had a busy day," I say defensively, making her stare at me in bemusement,
"Kei, we've been laying in bed watching Star Wars for six hours," Lisa points out, and after a moment, I nod. "We've only stopped for food and sex."
"Yeah, like I said, very busy," I agree as she laughs, which makes her breasts do interesting things. I don't care if I see them every day; they're Lisa's breasts, and they're great.
"Still, I wish you'd have said something. Getting you gifts is a pain, but I'd have thought of something," Lisa says with a fond sigh.
"Meh, I have what I want," I say with a shrug, kissing her on the forehead as she cuddles against me. How better could I have ever spent my birthday?
She gives me a fond smile, laying her head on my shoulder as I settle back down. But my girlfriend is a minx, and it isn't long before she decides to give me a present anyway, her head slipping lower and going under the covers.
Yeah, my life fucking rules.
– PHO –
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Topic: Birdcage Emptied/New Laws for Serious Offending Villains
In: Boards Location America
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On July 16th 2011:
As the title says folks, the Birdcage is no more.
Due to a new creation by: you guessed it, Zero himself, it was decided that the Birdcage had served its purpose. Each Villain was individually extracted with Zero's help and then depowered before being transferred to a regular maximum-security prison.
The PRT has announced that this will be the new punishment for repeat and seriously offending villains (their statement [here]), and I, for one, am glad to see this being done.
The Birdcage was said to be hellish, and yes, these people were the worst of the worst, but it is nice to have it retired. This also means we should see a sharp decline in major villains because they'll have their powers stripped away for their crimes.
One note: a single prisoner was unaccounted for (many were confirmed killed by infighting). It turns out that Glaistig Ulaine (or The Fairie Queen) could leave the Birdcage at any time and chose to do so before she could be depowered. Her current whereabouts are unknown, but please alert your local PRT if you see her.
(Showing page 1 of 145)
ArchmageEin
Replied On July 16th 2011:
I'm sorry, did you just say the Fairie Queen walked out of the fucking Birdcage?
Aside from that, all around good; if we have the tech to do so safely, why leave powers in the hands of the villains?
Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Some villains have even approached and asked to be depowered, such as Purity (formerly of the now-defunct Empire Eighty-Eight).
I'm not sure what deal she struck, but I know she was fully depowered and left to live a civilian life on probation.
Glory Girl (Verified Cape) (New Wave)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Woo, go Zero!
Also, the Empire's gone? Weren't they making a mess down in Texas?
Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Kaiser tried making an example of some old black gentleman who simply showed him Texas hospitality and shot him in the head with a powerful revolver. The gang never got the same control down in Dallas, and losing Kaiser was the final blow; half of them have been captured and depowered at this point.
Iblis
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Yeehaw, chucklefuck
You go, old dude. Bye, bye Nazis!
Also, yeah, what the fuck do you mean the Fairie Queen could just leave whenever she wanted? She's been in there for years. I'd be scared, but Daddy Zero can handle her
Chaosfaith
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Damn right, he can. He'll probably just bend her over and spank her if she tries anything
Feychick
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Daddy Zero can bend me over anytime
Mr. Fabuu
Replied On July 16th 2011:
I'm telling Oracle.
Feychick
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Bah, she knows most of the girls in the world are thirsting for her man, and a fair few of the guys as well.
Bitch won and she knows it. Have you seen her Instagram? They're so fucking lovey-dovey, she's rubbing her victory in our faces!
Let us fantasise!
Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Damn right, I won. You girls can look, but I'm always touching.
I don't care about some PHO messages thirsting for him. Do you know how many heroines and villainesses have sent him nudes? So many, and you would not believe me if I named some of them.
Also, yeah, don't worry about the Fairie Queen. We know where she is; she won't be a problem.
XxVoid_CowboyxX
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Post them! Drop the mega-cape nude collection! It's your public duty!
Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Nah, it's funnier to leave you all scratching your heads wondering if the gallant heroine you like sent some truly filthy pics to Zero. Spoiler alert, she probably has.
Deadman
Replied On July 16th 2011:
So, Zero's handling the Fairie Queen? Thank fuck.
Oracle (Verified Cape) (Wonderland Productions) (Zero's Waifu) (The Guild) (The Girl In The Know)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
Daddy Zero handles all, but atm he's just finished dealing with the Three Blasphemies. We know where she is, but she's not making any aggressive movements, so I believe the Guild is planning a diplomatic approach first. You have to remember, she went into the Birdcage willingly.
But I have to go. My man needs a backrub and a meal after taking down those annoying bitches
Winged_One (Wonderland Productions)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
They were annoying, but they won't be a problem anymore.
How sad for those governments that were using them as political assassins :p
Valkyr (Wiki Warrior)
Replied On July 16th 2011:
And that's another major threat with their status changed to 'Zeroed'
Remember how they used to talk about the statistics for heroes surviving? I wonder if anyone is telling new villains the percentage chance of them getting personally spanked by Daddy Zero.
End of Page. 1, 2, 3 ... 143, 144, 145
– Amelia Dallon (Panacea) –
Riding Air Zero, she sipped her drink and watched the country go by.
Panacea was basically retired; Zero's medical bots were being deployed all over America and soon Europe and part of Asia as well, so she just wasn't needed. They could be everywhere and save thousands of people in the time it'd take her to do five.
But that didn't mean she wasn't still needed on occasion, usually thanks to some weird accident where her power could still be useful, and for once, she didn't particularly mind the PRT asking her to go check out a mess.
It had been a tinker fuck-up this time because not every tinker was motherfucking Tinker Jesus, and some overly ambitious villain had been experimenting on civilians. She'd saved them. Easily, in fact.
Zero had arranged for one of his luxury transports to be left cooling its jets in Brockton, specifically to transport her. It was faster and far more comfortable than any PRT transport and more secure as well.
Apparently, the President and Chief Director had arranged for their own, and here she was basically given one without ever asking. Not that she was complaining; it was definitely travelling in style.
Strider had apparently retired when the Endbringers were gone; he'd done enough and decided it was time to call it quits.
"We'll be arriving back in Brockton Bay soon, Miss Dallon," the velvety voice of the real reason she enjoyed these flights said, making her look up at where Chloe was checking something. "You did exceptionally well today; Zero's faith in you was not misplaced."
"Thanks, Chloe," Amy said, forcing down her blush.
Chloe was the second most beautiful woman she'd ever seen; the incredibly leggy blonde that was Zero's personal assistant was a true bombshell. It helped that she didn't feel nearly as dirty to fantasise over Chloe as when she did Vicky. She also couldn't use her powers on Chloe, something she learnt when they brushed against each other. She didn't know if it was power-related or if Zero had some tech protecting his assistant, but it meant she didn't get any of that nasty data from Chloe.
Chloe just gave her a soft smile, typing away on a holographic keyboard. Chloe was probably a Cape; she'd been seen in a dozen places at the same time, but she supposed someone like Zero needed an assistant who could be everywhere at once with how busy he must be.
Wasn't he starting a fucking moon colony or something? Every time she heard his name, it was connected to something ridiculous and yet fantastic, like the recent clearing of the Birdcage.
Zero could remove powers; once upon a time, she might have secretly wished he'd take hers away, but not anymore. The worst offending villains were simply being stripped of their powers now, and the Birdcage had found itself emptied one by one; the worst villains in the world were turned into regular criminals and locked away in regular high-security prisons. Well, except one, but nobody knew where the Fairie Queen had gone. Seemed like she'd just gotten up and walked out of the Birdcage one day because that was a thing she could apparently do.
Basically, with the Endbringers gone (she still wasn't tired of saying that), people had less patience for villains. They weren't needed anymore, so they weren't welcome to stick around and ruin a genuinely healing world.
Even the Protectorate had switched tracks, finding other uses for their powers. There would always be some crime, some lunatic willing to be the villain, but half the time, the heroes were doing humanitarian work now.
Smiling to herself, she took another sip of her drink. Vicky was off helping after an earthquake in Peru, helping look for survivors and performing search and rescue. She was enjoying it, but Vicky was travelling so much recently that she was barely ever home.
She missed her sister somewhat, but honestly, the distance was probably healthy for her, and Vicky still texted her constantly. Also, Vicky and Dean had broken up again. Distance did not make the heart grow fonder between those two, and Gallant was allegedly transferring out of the Bay, so who knew if they'd end up together again.
Honestly, Amy was done with that whole mess. She was washing her hands of it; she didn't want to hear about the endless break-ups and honeymoon phases ever again. Vicky was happy with her travelling anyway; she was taking a year's break before deciding if she wanted to go to college. It was driving Carol mad, of course, but that was just a bonus.
Oddly enough, with Vicky flying the coop every other week, Carol actually seemed to remember that she had two daughters and was kinda trying to be a better mom. Better late than never, she supposed.
Of course, Vicky also had her White Rabbit so they could see each other whenever they wanted. It had even pushed Carol to finally start using one of the VR headsets herself.
"We're just setting down now," Chloe announced, making her blink. She always forgot how smooth these rides actually were, having not even felt them land. Finishing her drink in a single sip, she checked her watch. It was getting late; she'd probably missed dinner.
"Thanks for the ride, as always," Amy said with a stretch.
"It was my pleasure," Chloe said calmly, swiping the screen and keyboard away. "However, it is already rather late. Would you allow me to take you to dinner? I noticed you didn't eat more than a single energy bar during the crisis."
Amy blushed at Chloe's wording, briefly misunderstanding, but she calmed her heart down and gave Chloe a grateful smile as her belly rumbled.
"I'd love that, thanks," Amy agreed, allowing herself to daydream that this was going to be a date as Chloe quickly arranged for a ride, guiding Amy into it.
– Hours Later –
Lying in the incredibly soft, unfamiliar bed, Amy stared at the ceiling in a mixture of shock and awe, her clothes scattered around the room. Next to her, Chloe's utterly naked body pressed against hers, still flawless despite the vigorous exercise.
Huh, she hadn't been misunderstanding. Oh crap, she put out on the first date… what would Vicky say?
…a tiny voice in her head that sounded like Vicky shouted, 'You go, girl!' the image of a tiny Vicky in a cheerleader outfit waving little flags around, making her briefly giggle before she shook her head. Yeah, that sounded about right.
After a day of healing and a night of action, Amy's body had had quite enough, and she felt her eyes drooping, cuddling against Chloe with her head between the older girl's large breasts, drifting off.
– Kei (Zero) –
"Did you get Chloe to seduce Panacea for a reason, or did you just want to watch some lesbian porn?" Lisa asks, making me roll my eyes at her teasing tone.
"Amy is a ticking time bomb, just a ball of stress that was ready to pop before things started improving. Panacea is useful, so I'd like to keep her around, and Chloe can make sure she's available for us when we need her. Besides, giving her a love interest who isn't her sister is bound to be healthy," I say shamelessly.
"It was pretty hot, though," Lisa points out, rewinding Chloe's perspective as I roll my eyes again. She's the perv in this relationship, I swear.
"If I wanted girl-on-girl action, I'd use VR and turn myself into one and fuck you. But yeah, it's not bad," I admit with a shrug.
"Who has nicer tits, me or Amy?" Lisa asks with a smirk, making me sigh.
"You, obviously. Amy's are pretty nice, but yours are perfect, and also, I get to see them in person daily," I reply, making her nod smugly.
"Damn right, and don't forget it. Oooh, I have an idea~" Lisa teases in a singsong voice, making me raise an eyebrow. "You have Amy's model for Capewatch, right? I know those models are secretly very accurate. I want you to fuck me when I look like her."
I just raise an eyebrow at her. We've slept with each other in VR a lot, but usually as our characters, even if they are vastly different from our real bodies. My Gnome Artificer damn-near ended up crippled by her Orc Barbarian; death by Snu-Snu is a real threat. But this would be a new one; she's not used actual people's bodies before.
"Come on, it'll be fun," Lisa says, and I just shrug.
"Eh, why not," I say. "You're still hotter, though."
"Damn right, I am."
— Bonus Scene — Accord
He had long known that humanity was on the decline, but when he'd tried to get the PRT to start to fix things, they'd all but laughed at him. They told him his plans were absurd, that they'd take too long, cost too much, and wouldn't work.
Now, Zero was doing what he had tried to do, and the world was worshipping him for it. The PRT could have solved world hunger, now they had missed out and Zero was the one to do it.
He wasn't bitter, quite the opposite given what Zero had done for him, his murderous impulses gone. He just found the PRT's foolishness amusing.
"Sir, Moord Nag's former men made another push, but the Brotherhood drove them back," Citrine reported, making him smile. The fools. They were so predictable without their boss protecting them.
"Well done, Citrine, continue as planned. One more defeat like this, and they'll break; don't let them get away," Accord ordered, looking over the map. Africa had long since descended into warring kingdoms led by powerful capes fashioning themselves as warlords.
The Brotherhood were reliable allies, far more than the usual thugs he was forced to deal with. Zero himself had taken care of Moord Nag and Ash Beast, but the rest? The rest were his.
Zero had offered him a position when he came to Boston, a better place to utilise his talents than a single city. Zero understood him in a way the PRT never had.
His goal? A peaceful and thriving Africa, free of any would-be warlords or corruption. With his plans, Zero's tech and the Brotherhood's manpower, it would be a reality in short order.
Author's Note: As you can probably tell, this fic is rapidly wrapping up, which leaves me in an odd position. Do I let this story come to a natural end? We know Kei's story doesn't end here since he's got multiversal adventures ahead of him, but do I actually show them?
Basically, I'm leaving it up to you guys whether we let this story be finished or show Kei (along with Lisa) on their travels. The worlds that have been suggested are Cyberpunk, Star Wars, and RWBY, but let's be honest. Kei would dominate any of them in like a week. So it'd probably be a matter of Snippets instead of a full story, but we'll see how it goes.
I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I'll probably write faster.
I have a pa treon, where my supporters can vote on which fics get bonus chapters each cycle and have access to advance chapters, up to five chapters ahead of the public release at the moment. Feel free to check it out.
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Link: Pat reon TheDarkWolfShiro
I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn.
Here's the link for that: discord .gg/DarkWolfShiro
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