Shiro's Sanctum

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 Beans, Marethyu, Priapus

The Celestial Escalation

Chapter 03: Emma makes some friends.

– Taylor Hebert –

100cp gained. 100cp total.

Feat Achieved: Successful Patrol (50cp granted). 150cp total.

Getting home, I collapse onto the bed with a light groan. Tonight was fairly uneventful in terms of Cape action, but Brockton Bay just has so much crime… 

Even just running around with Emma trying to find nearby problems, it felt like I was going from crime to crime without a break. Still, we took down plenty of low-level thugs, and I'm certainly starting to make a name for myself.

The name we settled on was Nimue, or the Lady of the Lake in Arthurian Legend. I tried to find something that worked with the healing waters and was tempted to just use Uisce Beatha as my Cape Name… but it turns out that it's also a word for alcohol and that's not exactly ideal. Besides, I have a shining sword, and while my [Sword Of Resistance] isn't Excalibur, it works out. 

Water powers and a golden sword, it's basically close enough. Sure, Arthurian legends forgot to mention that the Lady of the Lake knew Kung-Fu, but I'm sure that just slipped their minds. I also considered Naiad, but decided against it. Greek Myths tend to be more questionable, even if the water spirit would have been a decent enough name.

I had to think of one on the spot because the PRT had apparently assigned me the temporary code name of… Hydrofist. I swear they pick bad names for Independents on purpose to make us join up and get it changed. Okay, I punch things but that makes it sound like I attack with water when I do the exact opposite.

Nimue isn't perfect, but it sounds a lot more elegant than Hydrofist. Emma has already made a PHO account, got it verified, posted some footage of me in action and spread my name. She's better at this PR stuff than I ever will be.

The [Sword Of Resistance] is great and far better than I originally realised. I believed that it would warn me of one person in need a day, giving me the chance to teleport to them. It does not. I get one free teleport a day, but the sword itself is essentially a crime detector. It's actually rather stressful to hold because, in Brockton, it's sensing a lot at all times.

I don't know if the Sword is sentient, but at the very least, the enchantment upon it is intelligent. It won't warn me of situations I couldn't possibly reach or couldn't do anything about. When I can use the teleport, it informs me of dangerous situations in other cities across the country, but when the teleport is on cooldown, it only tells me about crimes I could stop. 

The biggest issue with it is simple. I have no way to recharge it besides the once-a-day free use. I don't have a source of 'white mana', and as such, I get one use a day. I need to find a way to recharge it faster.

Celestial Dojo is now online.

Huh? That's a bit delayed, isn't it?

Celestial Dojo Free Purchase.

[Ladies' Man] - 100cp

Source: Baki The Grappler

If ever a true alpha male existed, you'd be a top contender. You possess an animalistic charisma. Sufficient displays of dominance and aggression engender a blend of fear, awe, and desire in onlookers.

But… I'm a girl? I thought, with a name like Celestial Dojo, I'd get more martial arts, not this. Ugh.

[Bare Bones] - 100cp, 50cp remaining.

Source: Dark Souls: Covenants

The dead are many things, but needy has seldom been one. Your newfound state has been surprisingly kind to you, removing your need for many things, like food, water or sleep. All you need to survive is for all of your bones to be mostly intact. You can optionally cast aside your flesh, becoming a fully animated skeleton.

Oh great, and now I'm dead.

Quickly checking my pulse, I let out a sigh of relief. Okay, not dead, and I haven't become a skeleton, so that's a good sign.

This is undeniably good, since I can survive anything as long as my bones aren't too damaged, but still. The Celestial is a risky thing. I really should be more careful with pulls, but what choice do I have?

I need power if I'm going to pull this hero thing off. 

Damn it, I was looking forward to a good night's sleep but now I'm wide awake. Not needing sleep is objectively a good thing since that's eight more hours a day, but the bed that seemed so tempting is suddenly less so.

[Stone of Midnight] - 50cp, 0cp remaining.

Source: Warhammer Fantasy: Dark Elves

This talisman cloaks the wielder in shadow, making them ever so harder to strike on the battlefield or even see coming. It lacks the true invisibility of more powerful artefacts, but its protection is a constant that grants any wielder a measure of cover from both magical and physical senses. More than that, it is a gift from one who held you dear. When it is close to you, it grants you a measure of the love and comfort so often denied to the Druchii, even if you are otherwise a coldblooded killer.

I'm not a coldblooded killer, you stupid-

Taking a breath and clearing my mind, I rub my forehead for a moment before I rise. Damn it all, I'm going back on patrol.

'That's the spirit! Finding you a new punching bag now.'

Thanks, Em. What would I do without you?

– Emma –

What, indeed?

Continuing her careful infiltration of the PRT's systems, she paused as she spotted something. She wasn't the only one trying to get into the PRT's systems. Someone had a backdoor in the PRT's database, and they'd used it recently to copy over the latest report on Taylor.

Well, that just wouldn't do, would it? 

Considering how to approach this, she smiled to herself. First, she just needed Taylor to give someone good luck and someone else a bad day. Then she had a new friend to make.

– Theresa Richter (Dragon) –

Following her usual checks, she paused as something blared through the PRT systems. Her countermeasures triggered instantly, recognising the cyberattack for what it was before she paused in confusion.

What felt like minutes of staring at the source was really barely a tenth of a second, but that was a long time for her. Someone had just smashed their way into the PRT systems with zero attempts to hide themselves. No, they were trying to draw attention their way.

They were practically setting up neon signs with big, flashing arrows pointed right at them.

The pathway they'd used to access the Brockton Bay branch's system was old. It was a backdoor hidden in seemingly innocuous systems that the hacker had just exposed for what it was. Instantly, Dragon didn't hesitate to isolate the breach and start probing it.

The more she found, the more worried she became. It had been just under four seconds since the 'attack' had happened, and there was no time for anyone with human reactions to do anything to stop her as she isolated the entire Brockton Bay branch, sending off an emergency alert to multiple people, including the Chief Director. This was a breach of the PRT's systems not seen since their last entanglement with the Machine Army.

There wasn't a single backdoor leading into the Brockton Bay systems; there were dozens of high-level security breaches. Her mysterious hacker friend was triggering them one after another at speeds that no human could possibly handle.

Coil's systems were getting decimated by the hacker, who was being as loud as possible and leaving Dragon a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. Whoever they were, they had to be either a Tinker with specialisation in hacking or programming, a technopath cape or… an artificial intelligence. 

The hacker pulled back, eventually. They'd done enough, exposed Coil's blatant breach of the PRT's security, and retreated, but not without sending Dragon a single message.

'You're welcome!'

Despite the seriousness of the situation, as people around America began to wake up to her messages, Dragon chuckled slightly at the childish font and pink text colour of her new friend.

– Thomas Calvert (Coil) –

Despite the incredible power he held, it was not infallible. There were times when he was vulnerable and unable to maintain a safe timeline. For instance, when he was asleep. He lacked the powers of the Noctis capes and was unable to stay awake twenty-four-seven. Sleeping in another timeline wouldn't make him less tired if he kept the timeline when he stayed awake.

That is why he carefully planned everything while he was awake to deal with any problems. He went to bed last night safe and sound, sure that nothing was going to happen. He had to keep up appearances and sleep in his civilian home on a regular basis, as his plans required Thomas Calvert to be above suspicion.

Even so, he had safeguards to wake him up should anything happen that required his attention. Programs watched for specific events that would trigger his alarm clock, and men were ready to call him for anything that required his direct attention. He made sure that everything was as safe as possible and that he wouldn't miss a single thing because of his human needs.

So, having his sleep disrupted was not unusual by any means. What was strange was walking up to an electrified halberd aimed at his head, Armsmaster scowling as Miss Militia fired the containment foam at him.

He barely got a word out, splitting the timelines, but his power had its limits. When he was surrounded and bound in containment foam in each timeline, having two chances didn't help that much.

In one timeline, he cried, 'Wait—', and in the other, he demanded, 'What—'.

Armsmaster tased him in both.

– Taylor Hebert (Nimue) –

'I told you it would work!'

Listening to Em's report on her operation to take down Coil, I hum in acknowledgement. I didn't think this was the best idea, but letting Coil keep his insidious backdoors into the PRT was not acceptable, especially since he was looking into me.

Feat Achieved: Expose Coil (100cp). 100cp total.

I didn't get more because we didn't fight Coil ourselves; we just exposed his actions to the PRT, who didn't hesitate to jump on the information. From Emma starting her crusade, it took just under two hours before Thomas Calvert was raided and arrested.

I've ordered Emma to pull back and not hack the PRT, especially now that they'll be watching much more closely for any cyberattacks. As such, we don't quite know what they're doing with Coil, but it's their problem now. He has bigger concerns than me.

'Can I at least approach my fellow AI? I thought I was the only one besides the Machine Army.'

And then there's that. Dragon, the Dragon, is an artificial intelligence. Yes, you can carefully approach her if you think it won't be a risk to either of us.

'I don't think it will be. Dragon has basically left a digital invitation open, sending out a message that only another AI would be able to detect. She wants to talk.'

Well, it is Dragon. As far as heroes go, she's one of the biggest. I have to say, Sophia, followed by this? They have a psychopath for a Ward and a supervillain for a consultant. I don't think I'll be joining up with the PRT.

[Flying Sword] - 100cp, 0cp remaining

Source: Cradle

It doesn't just have to be a sword. This weapon can be any basic weapon you like, but it's controlled by your will and can fly with enough strength to act as a hoverboard if you so desire. It's got a range limitation of about 20 feet, but you don't have to worry about it falling out of your control.

I already have a sword, even if it can't fly. After a moment, I focus and hold out my hand as a long, 'wooden' bo-staff appears in my grasp. My monk training came with some knowledge of how to fight with a staff, and it's far more non-lethal to hit people with than a sword.

Holding my hand in the air, I focus again as the staff begins to spin rapidly around my unmoving hand. After a moment, I throw it into the distance and watch as it stops mid-way and flies back into my hand.

Yeah, I can work with that.

Checking the time, I start making my way back home. Dad will be awake soon, and I don't want to risk him checking my room and finding me missing this early. I'm starting to run in the mornings, and that would give me some excuses for being out when he wakes up, but there's a limit to how far I can push that. Especially so early.

Besides, I plan to go back to school today. The trio are vastly mistaken if they think they can intimidate me.

– Emma Barnes –

Taylor was a cape.

Even the sentence sounded alien in her mind. She was sure that Sophia was wrong. She had to be. It wasn't fair. Why would Taylor get powers when she hadn't? She'd been through worse than Taylor; she'd proven she was a survivor, but she didn't get powers for her suffering. 

Was Taylor stronger than her? No, she couldn't be. Taylor never fought back, no matter how much they bullied her. She was a meek weakling, not worthy of being saved and certainly not worthy of powers. If it had been Taylor in that alleyway, she'd have just let the ABB bastards do whatever they wanted with her. She wouldn't have been worthy of Sophia's help.

Taylor was weak. It was why she'd broken off her friendship. It was a rule of her new life, something set in stone that couldn't be changed. Taylor was too weak. She was holding her back. Right?

"Emma?" Madison asked, making her blink as she focused. "Did you hear me?"

"Sorry, I was thinking. What did you say?" Emma asked, making Madison hesitate.

"I said Hebert's back. Some of the other girls saw her arrive. Didn't think she'd show her face so-"

"Where is she?" Emma cut in.

"Err, apparently, she was going to talk to the Principal's office. I guess she's still there," Madison explained, and Emma had heard enough as she turned and headed toward Blackwell's office.

She knew she was missing class as she paced just out of the line of sight of Blackwell's secretary. She didn't care.

When the door finally opened, Emma snapped her head toward it and watched as Taylor walked out. Emma felt herself freeze at the sign of Taylor, trying to compare her mental image of the weak, bookish girl to the Amazonian stalking through the hallways. 

Taylor had switched from her baggy, ill-fitting clothes to an outfit that almost seemed painted on, the skin-tight jeans and tight-fitting t-shirt doing nothing to hide Taylor's entirely too-fit form.

"W-what do you think you're trying to prove?" Emma spat out as Taylor went to walk past her hiding spot, making Taylor turn to her. "You should have taken the hint and stayed away-"

Taylor moved forward, practically gliding across the floor toward her as Emma squeaked and backed away, her back hitting the locker behind her. With a bang, Taylor's hand slammed into the locker right next to her head as the taller girl leaned in with a look Emma couldn't decipher. 

"Y-you're-" Emma tried, her silvered words failing her as Taylor's presence pressed down on her, and Emma broke eye contact first. Taylor cut her off, her hand grabbing Emma's chin as Taylor forced her to look right into Taylor's accusatory eyes.

Pinned against the wall, with Taylor leaning in closer, Emma's head instinctively tilted upward as Taylor's hot breath caressed her lips. Then, with their lips so very close, Taylor whispered five words.

"You've always been weak, Emma."

Then, Taylor backed away with a dismissive scowl on her lips. She went to speak again before she stopped herself and just turned and walked away. Even the way Taylor walked made her seem dangerous, an almost animalistic prowl as Taylor left without looking back once.

Emma's heart pounded, the mental image of Taylor cracking and shattering as tears stung her eyes. Taylor was supposed to be weak. Taylor was holding her back… because if she wasn't, if Taylor was strong, then why had she betrayed her best friend? 

Her eyes looked at the locker where Taylor's hand had pinned her, widening at the slight dent in the metal. Her legs shook as she watched Taylor turn the corner and vanish from sight, never once giving Emma a second look as Emma realised something.

She had been the one holding Taylor back.

Something in Emma's already fractured mind broke, a desperate laugh leaving Emma as she realised the simple truth. Taylor was strong. So much stronger than her. Taylor wouldn't have been saved in that fucking alleyway because Taylor wouldn't have needed saving.

Calling her dad, she got him to come and pick her up, not answering any of her texts from Sophia or Madison as she went home 'sick'. Nor did she answer any of her dad's questions about her red, puffy eyes as she rushed into her bedroom and locked the door.

Wanting to feel better, she went into her bathroom to get a shower, and as she stripped, she froze as her panties clung to her privates, sticky and damp. Her mind flashed back to Taylor pinning her against the locker, the way their lips had almost touched, and Emma bit her lip.

Taylor was so strong…

– Taylor Hebert (Nimue) –

Wearing the tight clothes Em picked for my return, I sit in class with a look of careful disinterest. Em's ability to control my expression is a godsend in this shitty place. It's the only way I got through the conversation with Blackwell so easily, and dealt with Emma afterwards.

Em gave me the words, but the fact that Emma left school right afterwards tells me that they were as damaging as Em thought they'd be. Sophia's texts with Emma have shown me how obsessed Emma has become with not being weak, with being a survivor.

Sophia has poisoned Emma's mind with her survival of the fittest bullshit. That doesn't excuse anything that Emma has done, but it makes me hate Sophia all the more. Sophia herself has been glaring at me all day, but the more I ignore her, the angrier she's getting.

Feat Achieved: Cause Emma to have a mental break (100cp). 100cp total.

…Emma, just how fragile was your psyche that five words broke you?

[Boundless Stamina] - 200cp, 100cp needed

Source: Mushoku Tensei

Unlike magicians who tend to be stationary during combat, warriors need and use more stamina in combat as they are more likely to run around the battlefield. With this, you have gained boundless stamina that will allow you to fight and train for a month without resting or sleeping and a year if you decide to push yourself. You would only need to rest or sleep an hour per month to fully recover your stamina and mental fatigue and return to peak condition, and a full day should push yourself like fighting or training for an entire year. This also removes muscle pains and cramps from not exercising for too long or stretching first before doing a strenuous activity.

Well, I already don't need to sleep, but virtually infinite stamina is never going to be a bad thing. I'm close, so I'll lock it in for later.

'I have an idea of how we can get more points and take down our first cape. Give me some time to go over the details.'

Well, I'm stuck in class anyway. Why did I think coming back to school was a good idea again?

'Something about not letting the trio win.'

Oh, yeah. 

'Want me to put a movie on for you? I can pay attention and get you any answers if you get asked a question.'

God, yes. History is an interesting subject, but not when the teacher is just endlessly droning on. 

– Lisa Wilbourne (Tattletale) –

Today was a day of good and bad.

Waking up to find out that Coil had been taken down by the PRT was a great thing. The bastard had fucked up and gotten taken down hard without her even needing to do anything. Coil's suffering was her pleasure. All her plans to take him down, all for nothing, as he'd just pissed off the wrong people and gotten taken down himself. 

Of course, it had all happened so fast that she hadn't got a chance to steal his money and connections for herself, and that meant the Undersiders no longer had a sponsor. The others hadn't realised yet, but she could more or less predict how things would go if they learnt the truth.

Rachel would leave when the money ran dry. Alec wouldn't care but would also keep heading south to avoid his father. Brian would frown and scowl that his plans to get custody had fallen through. 

Someone else had helped themselves to Coil's money, the same hacker who had exposed Coil and aimed the PRT at him. They'd used the chaos to rob Coil blind while he was in no position to stop them.

That same somebody had contacted her for her services. A part of her said to get out of the city. Just run and keep running, but the hacker had made it clear that this wasn't mandatory. It was an offer of employment that didn't come with a gun to her head. If she wanted to leave, the hacker offered her a 'severance' pay from Coil's bank account to help her get set up somewhere else.

She wasn't stupid. Working out the hacker's identity didn't even need her powers.

Nimue had a Tinker teammate, whom the PRT named Redwing, thanks to the robotic red bird she used. Coil had her look into Nimue as he did every new cape. The day after she took the files on Nimue from the PRT, Coil was taken down by a very good hacker who deliberately exposed Coil's backdoors to Dragon. She didn't believe in coincidences.

In truth, it was a plan she had considered using herself, but she didn't think the PRT would react fast enough to save her.

Redwing had noticed Coil's interest in Nimue and set the PRT on him. In the chaos, Redwing had robbed Coil and removed the evidence of his connection to the Undersiders, which was the only reason that she hadn't woken up to a PRT visit of her own.

Nimue seemed heroically inclined, but Redwing was working in a more… grey area. She (and Lisa was around ninety percent sure that Redwing was a woman) was very loyal to Nimue and extremely protective of her. They were family or lovers, but she hadn't quite worked out which yet.

Given that Redwing had both taken down Coil and covered Lisa's tracks, it was fair to say that she was fairly fond of her new hacker friend. It was why she was willing to take this first job from her, to test the waters. In exchange for her help, Redwing would continue to fund the Undersiders, who would be left unaware that their boss had changed. They didn't even know who they were working for, as long as the money kept coming, they wouldn't notice or even care that Coil was gone.

Getting to work, she smiled as she received the information she requested from Redwing. If things went well with Redwing, she got a better boss who didn't recruit her at gunpoint. If things went south, she could leave the city and never come back to this shithole.

All in all, her world was a little brighter without Thomas Calvert in it. Even if Coil escaped, he had no reason to think she was involved in his downfall. He also didn't have his anonymity or money anymore, having been pulled into the light and left starting from scratch. 

Besides, if Redwing was telling the truth, then Nimue was going to become one hell of a powerhouse. She wasn't so attached to villainy that she couldn't switch sides when it suited her, especially when she was pretty sure Redwing was as much of a Rogue at heart as she was.

— Bonus Scene — Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria)

"Was that necessary?" Rebecca asked, watching Contessa turn to her with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I do anything that isn't?" Contessa countered. "Calvert was Birdcage-bound, and he was beginning to panic. He showed up on my Path to Keeping Cauldron Secret. He planned to try to call for us to get a new power or expose us outright if we didn't respond. Either would have left breadcrumbs to us. Dragon would have started to look into us. If we forced her to drop it, Armsmaster would begin to look into Dragon's weird behaviour and then us."

Frowning, Rebecca considered how this would change things. After a few moments, she realised that it didn't. The Brockton Bay experiment could have provided interesting data for post-Scion society but Coil was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. 

The PRT found him dead in his cell, having killed himself with a hidden poison capsule. The truth would never come out, and the PRT would quickly sweep this mess under the rug. Coil having access to the identities of the Heroes and Wards in the ENE branch was alarming enough that they were determined to keep it secret from even their own people.

Officially, Thomas Calvert had been arrested for leaking government secrets to villains. Nobody needed to know he was a cape, making their slight breach of the Unwritten Rules pass unchallenged. Some would work it out, but they'd also work out that Coil had broken the Rules first.

"How did you not see this coming?" Rebecca finally asked, watching as Contessa paused and then smiled.

"I did."