What Happened in Portland

[Kobold King he/him]

 

The robot rained death over the city.

 

Its path through the sky kept it well away from the Empire, but the devastation it wreaked was clear. The humanoid shape shone with bolts of lightning visible even in the bright daylight. The missiles it delivered over Portland gave out rumbling thunderclaps audible for miles around.

 

Miles away, Lightwards stood stiffly in the center of the street, his jaw set and his fists clenched. A steady fury was rising in his chest; he could feel his heart pounding and his eye twitching.

 

"CorpseMaker is a fool," he said finally, turning to Lucentia. The woman was also staring at the distant havoc, her expression unreadable.

 

"There will be nothing left to rule if he lets his minions destroy the city," Lightwards continued distastefully. "I don't need the city intact--I only need it's inhabitants stacked in open graves. But this destruction can't possibly serve him..."

 

He trailed off, quietly stewing. There was a purpose for the destruction, he quietly realized. It was a message; a message as crisply clear as those fractal lightning bolts.

 

CorpseMaker owned the city.

 

Shaking away the worst of his fury, Lightwards had a toy soldier open the clothing shop door, allow Lucentia to step in ahead of him. He had his soldiers wait outside to stand guard over the street, then followed behind the diamond queen.

 

I could grow too used to this, he thought warily. I won't always have these toys to control so beautifully. But I deserve a little luxury today.

 

The tailor's shop was just as he had left it: quiet, peaceful, and filled with Warriors. The lines of empty-minded zombies stood where they died, vacant and unaware of their surroundings. Only the tailor showed any trace of activity, repeatedly ruining the stretch of dinosaur hide. His face was shadowed from lack of sleep, and his hands were shaking involuntarily.

 

Lightwards cursed irritably, putting a bullet between the tailor's vacant eyes. The Warrior dropped to the floor, only to be immediately raised again with a gentle tap on the bloodied forehead.

 

"New instructions," Lightwards said sternly. "You will work as usual, taking breaks to eat and sleep as necessary. You will restart your efforts to create my coat. You will work for me like you worked for yourself."

 

The tailor nodded dumbly, and Lightwards placed his hand on the ruined piece of clothing. At once the scattered stitches popped out of the hide and a living dinosaur stood in the shop, only to be immediately executed once more.

 

"Begin now."

 

The tailor took the dinosaur carcass to the back room, presumably where he would skin the beast. Post-Calamity tailors had to learn to perform all parts of their trade themselves, Lightwards supposed.

 

With the coat business out of the way, Lightwards turned to Lucentia with a rueful smile.

 

"Forgive me for the dullness of my errands. Now, I believe you had matters of business you wished to discuss with me?"

 

 

 

 

A building exploded.

 

Chicago Joe bolted upright, his body crackling as it jolted from stone to worn flesh. He glared up at the sky, shaking his fist at the robot in the sky.

 

"Jackchull!" he slurred angrily. "Ah'm sleepin' here! Ever think of that, ya pit-sniffin' slontze?"

 

He took a few dizzy steps away from the park bench, still mumbling angrily to himself. It was that 'Electro' jackchull doin' it all. The one who'd been runnin' around the city like he owned the place, trying to recruit other Epic folk for some jerk named Corpsebaker or somethin'.

 

Chicago Joe had napped through the whole thing, really. Mr. Big-shot Electro Man had passed him by five or six times, completely unaware that he was passing an Epic instead of a particularly ugly park statue. But this was getting ridiculous.

 

"Jackchull," he shouted again, glaring at the panicking vanillas running all around him. "See if I come into this part o' town again, eh? Maybe Ah'll just see that jerk in the bowler hat, eh? See if he 'ppreciates ol' Chicago Joe..."

 

He put one foot in front of the other, determinedly hiking towards that 'Empire' nonsense down south. He'd sworn not to set foot there again after that goth chick scribbled a mustache on him while he was sleeping, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Thoughttown had kicked him out half a dozen times now, and Corpseraker's land was being blown up by some jackchull. Where was a fella supposed to get his beauty sleep?

 

"Nobody runs Chicago Joe out of town," he mumbled angrily, walking with his head down and his hands in his coat pockets. "Nobody..."

[Edgedancer he/him]

Toymaker was the one that created those robots, wasn´t she?

 

They delivered quite effectively on collateral damage, although not quite as impressive as a desert in the former Boston. Lucentia wondered how hard it would be to crush them; the soldiers were made from actual flesh, so whatever armor they had shouldn´t put up to much of a fight.

 

Next to her Lightwards stared at the scenery, clearly displeased. After seething for a while he addressed her, first bemoaning the wasteful destruction, which certainly was a part of the demonstration, and judging from his expression only caught on to its true meaning mid-rant.

 

Still both he and Corpsemaker missed the real reason why this demonstration was futile and it was such a simple reason, Corpsemaker didn´t demonstrate his power. Given that the emperor committed the same mistake it wasn´t surprising that he didn´t catch on.

 

After Lightwards swallowed his rage they made their way to a clothing shop. How practical. The necromancer showed the tactfulness to have one of his soldiers hold her the door open

 

Lightwards dealt with the tailor, murder, raise, order, certainly effective. Interestingly enough, he wanted an outfit made out of dinosaur skin, unique, which is good. Meanwhile, she surveyed the room for a suitable dress and was disappointed nothing in the room could hold up to proper standards. She could potentially find something in the back room.

 

"Forgive me for the dullness of my errands. Now, I believe you had matters of business you wished to discuss with me?" Turning her attention to the emperor the diamond queen gave up on her search but continued to take a stroll through the shop, always keeping a piercing eye on him.

“Indeed, three to be precise, all more or less dealing with the making of kings. How about we start with the most important one conquest?“

 

She finished her round and came to stop in front of Lightwards looking him straight into his eyes, “From what I heard, the most troublesome contestant would be Corpsemaker. You have the means to deal with him and I would like to hear how you´re going to use them.” It seems her dress had to wait for now, business first.

[Mrs. Voidus she/her]

 

 "Why do I like labs?" Saccharine repeated. "I like labs, especially the chocolate coloured ones because I always wanted one as a child, but was never allowed. You could say I am one of those people who treats her pets like children, and I why shouldn't I? The Fates decided it was not for me to..." 

 

Saccharine inwardly cringed and looked at her tea-time friend sheepishly. 

 

"I like Laboratories because I have spent my working life in them. And my early life as well I suppose, as my father was a chemist. But growing up, I became more interested in how people work in a literal sense and then I got married to another biochemist and I realised that through studying humans and how they live, I could also learn all the possible ways they can die. It's all a fascinating business I assure you, not least when you think about how close the medieval herbalists came to writing full textbooks on poisons and tinctures. After Calamity, the excess of epics for study was something we could never have dreamed of. And just like Culpeper and his medieval contemporaries, we found that the human body is easily manipulated, and information regarding powers could be gleamed from it as easily as from a cookbook."

 

Saccharine took the whistling kettle from the billy and delicately poured the boiling water through the silver tea strainers which rested over their orchid patterned china cups. 

 

She nodded her head in Aldo and the boyfriend's direction.

 

"Should you get married, or as I suspect, even now you will find that protection of your lover is first and foremost in your life. My knowledge allowed this for me  and with a laboratory of your creation, it can provide the same for you."

 

Saccharine sat quietly for a moment, as she stirred two lumps of sugar through her tea. 

 

"And so, my knowledge could also be of benefit to you, and the empire," Saccharine hoped that she had not been too subtle in her pledge of allegiance to Dr. Funtimes, before the supposed Emperor.

[Kobold King he/him]

 

“From what I heard, the most troublesome contestant would be Corpsemaker. You have the means to deal with him and I would like to hear how you´re going to use them.”

 

Lightwards frowned, leaning against a wall thoughtfully.

 

The truth was, he had no idea how he'd go about toppling CorpseMaker. By Altermind's account, CorpseMaker was impervious to all harm, capable of killing with nothing but a stare. Those powers, coupled with the armies of robots and powerful minions, made CorpseMaker one of the most powerful Epics on the North American continent.

 

With a single glance, CorpseMaker could send him back to the dark void, blindly squirming for the light while deaths flashed before his eyes...

 

"CorpseMaker is an... obstacle," he said finally, feeling his fists clench. "My current plan is to cement my control over this region before launching a coordinated assault. Perhaps speak to the people again tomorrow."

 

The answer was unsatisfactory, and he knew it. But realistically... what could he do against the man? CorpseMaker was a god among Epics, like Steelheart of infamy. Like Möbius. Like Doctor Funtimes.

 

You will die so many times you'll forget you were ever alive.

 

And then it hit him. Earlier that day, he had witnessed an unkillable Epic rendered powerless. Standing knee-deep in tar, his abilities useless to protect him.

 

High Epics could be trapped.

 

Lucentia could control the flow of crystals.

 

Lightwards began to smile.

 

"Lucentia," he began, hoping to sound idly curious. "Have you ever engulfed a man in diamond?"

 

 

 

 

Nighthound was a slontze.

 

Obviously no Epics were particularly cuddly, but there was something inherently wrong about Nighthound. He wasn't just a sociopath. He was like everything cruel and hateful in the world rolled up in a single person. It was like Calamity had found the creepiest, most disgusting serial killer on the planet and said 'Oh, what the heck. Let's make him super-strong and immortal.'

 

She and Revolution stopped on the jungle path, looking at the pair of female Epics that had gotten away from Nighthound.

 

Well, the one hadn't actually gotten away. Ray stood in the clearing with rage and loathing still flashing on her face, the dog collar still digging into her neck.

 

"Ray's from your part of town, right?" Revolution asked quietly.

 

Sam shrugged. "Yeah. I've seen her around before."

 

"How bad is she?"

 

"She's an Epic." Sam's reply was immediate, but the look on Revolution's face made it clear she was looking for more detail.

 

"She's not as bad as most," Sam sighed finally. "She's done some property damage, and Jack Tithers claims he saw her vaporize a stray cat once... but no, she's never killed anyone." Her voice softened a little bit. "I could think of far more deserving targets for Nighthound's affection."

 

Revolution nodded before smiling. "Let's go say hi."

[Tulir he/him]

Parity flinched.  "Ok, please explain to me why this museum is filled with explosives if it is very high above the ground?!"  She turned and walked over to the edge.  "That makes absolutely no sense, and is far stupider than anything I've done yet!"  

 

Parity looked around the museum again, and started trying to figure out where explosives would be hidden.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Lightwards squirmed in search for an answer. Did he just not find the way to deal with Corpsemaker or was he genuinely afraid of the Epic?

 

Being afraid of Corpsemaker wasn´t farfetched, for a mortal, given that Lightwards liked to boast with his immortality one would think that didn´t account to him. Maybe resurrecting was just especially unpleasant to him.

 

Finally a smile of realization dawned on the necromancer´s lips. "Lucentia," the man tried hard to suppress his excitement but self-control didn´t seem to be one of his strengths.  "Have you ever engulfed a man in diamond?"

 

Might as well humor him. Lucentia gingerly pulled strands of her hair behind her shoulder and gave him a soft smile. “My, how considerate of you to ask, it´s actually part of how I claimed my city. Not to bore you with the details but it ended with its current high Epic ruler, a nasty one that could crush everything in his range and then some, in a gigantic prison expensive enough to destabilize the economy of the entire fractured states.”

 

She didn´t have to tell Lightwards the whole story but it would serve to drive home a point. Lucentia´s smile widened as she continued to speak.

 

“Naturally, it would have been a waste to just let him rust in there, so once he broke in there I got his weakness out of him and with some help I ripped out every single bone in his body and replaced it with my diamonds just in case I need to shut him down. Since then he´s shown himself to quite the worker, if a bit eccentric.”

 

Describing the Metal as eccentric was going easy on his annoying and sloppy personality but there was no need to let Lightwards know.

                                                                          

 

The moment Nighthound turned his attention away they bailed.

 

It probably wasn´t the smartest decision, given that he would without doubt search for them but every moment away from that Slontz was worth it.

 

Ray had trouble not screaming out loud. Having someone with her helped, maybe they should just try to kill him, there were enough Epics here that also wanted him death. And then his sister kills me… potentially worth it.

 

Not that she was helping herself, she just had to go and pull his attention to herself by helping his other victims… because letting that Slontz do what he wants would be fine… sparks.

 

While she gritted her teeth in frustration two women approached. Ray herself took to herself, while Voidgaze greeted them. “Hey, Sam and Revolution, right? We kind of took the chance and ran from Nighthound and I´m trying to come up with a way to help her, she´s Ray by the way, but given how much of a sociopathic monster he´s I´m not sure how to do that without all Calamity breaking loose down here… so how´s the museum treating you guys?”

 

Taking a closer look, wasn´t that Goth the baker´s daughter? At least she got a decent Epic to pick her up, lucky girl.

[mail-mi he/him]

 

Seth...floated. He didn't know where he was, and he couldn't see anything. Except...yes, there. He saw the red light of Calamity, its light bathing him in a faint red glow. 

 

"You betrayed me..." Seth said, though he didn't quite know how. He wasn't sure he even had a mouth. "You let me die!"

 

Child, a voice whispered. Do you think I would just let you die? 

 

"I didn't!" Seth yelled. "Until you let it happen!" 

 

I gave you your gift so you could right the wrongs with humanity. Why would I just end you now? 

 

"I don't know..." Seth said. "I don't know..." 

 

Calamity whispered something to him. Seth's--no, not Seth. Timeport--Timeport's eyes widened, if he even had them. And then he nodded. "I will, Calamity."

 

Timeport woke up. 

 

He groaned, then sat up. And hit his head on the underside of a table. "Gah!" he exclaimed, feeling the top of his head. He hadn't been under a table when he'd died. Ah well. He clamored out from underneath the table and stood up. Everyone was gone, and Timeport had no idea where they had left to. That man on the bike, he'd kill him, he'd impale his body with so many things that there wouldn't be a body left for that man to have, he...

 

No. He didn't matter. Timeport looked around, then looked up. He thought for a moment, then tried to teleport up. He appeared five feet above the floor, then dropped back down. If I teleport fast enough... He teleported up, then up, then up, then up. He warped through the roof of the airport. He kept going up. Up and up and up and up, until he could see the entirety of Portland laid out below him. And still he went farther, getting closer and closer to Calamity and farther from the ground. Soon, he could see all of Oregon below him. 

 

Timeport smiled as he started to fall. Calamity had given him a sacred mission.

 

And he intended to see it through.

Edited November 25, 2014 by mail-mi

[A Joe in the Bush]

 

“He is not your emperor. You do not have an emperor. I will meet with him. Did he suggest a time and place? Sightline, where is Voidgaze?" Mailliw asked him. Everyone always seemed to say a great deal all at once. As if they only got to talk one time before they had to be quiet for a long time.

 

Sightline raised an eyebrow. Altermind seemed rather annoyed at Lightwards being called Emperor. “I never implied that he was my Emperor, just that he was one. I have no Master. But he wishes to meet with you just after Sundown tonight. At the site of his fight with Nighthound. He also mentioned he would be bringing his Lieutenants with him. So you might want to do the same. As for Voidgaze, she’s making friends and being a good diplomat. Now who are all of these people?” He looked around the room Lot’s of confidence in there. Altermind had been recruiting.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

"People, this is Max, Max, this is Rachel, Charles and William Pace."

 

Dr. Pace tried to smile, but failed. "Please, call me Dr. Pace."

 

Gordon nodded. "Bones here prefers to be called Dr. Anyway Rachel, where are the Others?"

 

Rachel looked back at him. she had been watching the door to the main hall where Seth had died. "Uh, Frank and Moses are out assasinating a minor Epic called Rumble, who's been making a Nuisance of himself in the nearby Neighbor hood. And Sierra and Luke are meeting with Jeffery, about bying some more weapons. So who's Max?"

 

"Max, is a recent client of mine, who's looking to kill some Epics. I'll let him explain himself, but I will personally vouch for him. Though I don't know how much that's worth anymore, 'cause I would have vouched for Seth as well."
 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Quota couldn't help breathing a wow as he took in the man before him. 

 

CorpseMaker was tall, as Epics went, but that was not what inspired awe. It wasn't the striking effect his turtleneck produced when contrasted against his sharp eyes or his impressively bushy eyebrows. It wasn't even the way he carried himself, tall and proud, as though inviting, daring a sniper to shoot at him. 

 

CorpseMaker was surrounded by powerful Epics, and there wasn't an ounce of fear in him. He glared at them as though he owned them, because he did. They could shoot, riot, stab or detonate a bomb, and Quota knew CorpseMaker would stand tall. His lack of fear confirmed it. 

 

"Quota, is it? What is your power, and why did you choose to serve me?" 

 

Quota sipped his coffee. "Fear. That's my power." He jerked his thumb toward Mundivore. "This guy here almost smashed me with his mech, I got him so scared. Made another guy cry on the way in." 

 

He broke off with a smile and a chuckle. Making men cry was always the most fun. Girls cried at almost everything—funerals, movies, insurance commercials—but men held it in. Bottled it up and stuffed everything down. It just made the explosion all the more satisfying. 

 

"'Course, that wouldn't work on you. I couldn't scare you if I wanted." He sipped his coffee again. "I picked you 'cause you sounded the most fun, but now I know you deserve someone like me. Someone who can make the whole city curl up and cry like little babies right before you smash 'em." 

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Max followed Gordon into the other room. "People, this is Max, Max, this is Rachel, Charles and William Pace." Gordon introduced them.

The man introduced as William Pace said, with an awful attempt at a smile, "Please, call me Dr. Pace."

Max nodded. The woman, Rachel, told Gordon where some of the other Reckoners were. There were more than Max had realized. Counting Seth, that made eight. He hadn't heard much about these Reckoners here in Portland, though that might be an example of their skill. Max heard Rachel mention his name. "So who's Max?"

Gordon quickly replied, "Max, is a recent client of mine, who's looking to kill some Epics. I'll let him explain himself, but I will personally vouch for him. Though I don't know how much that's worth anymore, 'cause I would have vouched for Seth as well."

Max spoke up now too, "As he said, I'm Max and I do want some Epics killed, one in particular, but more than that, I want a rebellion." He paused for a moment. "I want the people to rise up and remove the Epics from their power. You do good, assassinating the occasional Epic and giving an ideal for the people, but you can do so much more. The people fear only death. If we can convince the people and uncover the anger and bravery that lurk just below the surface of fear, I know we can triumph. Especially with these factions gearing up for war. They're too focused on each other to bother paying attention to us regular people." He stressed the word regular.

"They think we're stupid. They think we're weak. They don't know anything about us. I've seen people stand up to Epics. They're all angry. We just need to harness that and fuel it. With your experience and knowledge and Gordon's intel, we can spark the flames of revolt in the people. I've already begun. Yesterday, the Epic I mentioned who I would love to see dead, he slaughtered innocents for his own pleasure. An elderly man stood up and refused to submit to him. He was cut down immediately. I began whisperings of revolt and removing the hold that the Black Fist of the Epics' rule has on our city. It is our city, not theirs."

Max continued, "The assassinations are a good start. I used to, with my-" he faltered for a second, thinking of Mel, "my partner, steal supplies and food to help the poorer citizens. I got in touch with my contacts last night and a couple pledged to help me. If we start with planting seeds of insubordination and taking out some of the bigger players in town, the people will side with us. They will see that rebellion can happen. Will you help me?" Max didn't know how they would react. Gordon's response, while unenthusiastic, had at least been supportive. Max hoped the Reckoners would take it the same way.

[Voidus]

Soulswitch had been surprised to see Penumbra in the museum, even more surprised not to find the shadow Epic trying to remove heads from bodies or make shadows strangle their owners.
But for now those two look like they're having a more interesting conversation.
He had no idea who the magician guy was but him taking an interest in Traveler was definitely of note. He was just about to creep closer when a tendril of darkness wrapped around his leg.
damnation, this is why I don't use the same animal twice.
He was pulled to the ground and dragged over to where Penumbra stood, talking to the woman he'd noted earlier throwing explosives around.
Well at least I'm still alive, I suppose that means his personality has changed again. Wonder who it'll be this time.

Purple Phoenix looked down at the shaking raccoon, barely even registering the woman's question. He waved a hand absentmindedly at her.

"Oh just a fail safe, can't have it getting taken over by enemy forces or anything like that."

Phoenix scowled at Soulswitch.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were spying on Corpsemaker."

Having Soulswitch here complicated things, he couldn't spare the time to keep an eye on the body-switching Epic.
Soulswitch somehow managed to grovel while in the shape of a raccoon.

"All fine and done my lord." He said in what he supposed was supposed to be a Canadian accent.
"I've learned much of what he's been up to, and made contact with another Epic who you may be interested in, he may help supply you with animal soldiers for your empire."

Well, there goes any chance I had of pretending Penumbra never happened.
He scowled harder at Soulswitch.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 "Why do I like labs? I like labs, especially the chocolate coloured ones because I always wanted one as a child, but was never allowed. You could say I am one of those people who treats her pets like children, and I why shouldn't I? The Fates decided it was not for me to..." 

 

Saccharine's wistful smile became a slightly embarrassed one, as though she had said too much and hoped Funtimes hadn't noticed. Before Funtimes could figure out why, or even invite her to go find a lab to adopt as a pet, her new maybe-friend continued. 

 

"I like Laboratories because I have spent my working life in them. And my early life as well I suppose, as my father was a chemist. But growing up, I became more interested in how people work in a literal sense and then I got married to another biochemist and I realised that through studying humans and how they live, I could also learn all the possible ways they can die. It's all a fascinating business I assure you, not least when you think about how close the medieval herbalists came to writing full textbooks on poisons and tinctures. After Calamity, the excess of epics for study was something we could never have dreamed of. And just like Culpeper and his medieval contemporaries, we found that the human body is easily manipulated, and information regarding powers could be gleamed from it as easily as from a cookbook."

 

Poison. 

 

Saccharine liked poison. 

 

She liked poison and she studied poison and she used poison. Doctor Funtimes stared down at her tea with a grin to cover her misgivings. As Saccharine poured her own tea—which was probably not poisoned, unless Saccharine was a creepy weirdieface like one of her old boyfriends. He liked to sit in front of the fire and sip poisoned tea until he died, then resurrect and talk about how it felt. 

 

After the second cup, Funtimes had left him with a teakettle full of cement. He had seemed so much more fun at the tea party full of meaniefaces. 

 

"Should you get married, or as I suspect, even now you will find that protection of your lover is first and foremost in your life. My knowledge allowed this for me  and with a laboratory of your creation, it can provide the same for you."

 

Saccharine took two lumps of sugar from the bowl and stirred them through. Funtimes took eight, turned them to poison-free maple syrup, and added it to her tea, which she also transformed. She took a small sip, trying to taste poison—her old boyfriend had said he could taste it, that every poison tasted different—but he liked poison. Funtimes did not. Would she even be able to taste it, if it was there? No, her transformation of the tea should have cleared it of any poison. 

 

What if Saccharine had poisoned the cup, too? 

 

Funtimes balanced her cup on her saucer, blinking at Saccharine for a long moment. She had said something. Something that wasn't about poison. Something about married, or a lover, or….

 

Protection? 

 

Yes. Protection of her lover. Nathan. Good, unless Saccharine wanted to poison her and steal Nathan and protect him herself. And Nathan would not be safe, being protected by a poisoner. Not safe at all. 

 

"And so, my knowledge could also be of benefit to you, and the empire." 

 

You, and the Empire. 

 

Funtimes sat up straight, replaying the words in her head. 

 

You, and the Empire. You and the Empire. Not the Empire and you, but you and the Empire. 

 

She was first. 

 

Not Lightwards. Not the meanieface who called her boyfriend a pet. Not even the Empire itself. 

 

Saccharine liked her. More than Lightwards. More than the Empire. People didn't poison people they liked. Except her old boyfriend, but Saccharine wasn't that creepy. 

 

Funtimes took a sip of tea, set her cup down, and giggled. 

 

​"What kind of lab do you want first—chocolate or science?" 

Edited October 7, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Fatebreaker he/him]

Fade walked quickly through the museum, taking in details and memorizing the layout. This place was something else. He had just about finished surveying the building when he heard the explosions. He Faded and ran straight towards the source of the noise, ignoring any wall or dinosaurs that got in his way. He arrived in time to watch that girl with the orbs have a "discussion" with that purple fella and another Epic he hadn't met before. Fade's hackles rose. His instincts were telling him this was not someone to turn your back on. His fingers itched for his 1911, but he forced himself to stay in control. Ever since that cursed star had appeared, his violent tendencies had grown, at times making him dangerously unstable. 

 

Max. Focus on Max.

 

He quickly glanced around the room to make sure Maximilian was safe and saw him talking to a strange character with bagpipes and a unicycle. Well, that would occupy Max for a while. He turned to the rooms other occupants. He noticed that Lightwards character had left, as well as some of the other epics. He needed to find out what was going on. He saw the magician that had brought them here and decided he could provide useful information. He strode over to where the man was talking to a nervous looking fellow in a large coat. Fade didn't waste time with pleasantries, and spoke to the magician with his deep, gravelly voice

 

"You, magician. I need a word."

[Kobold King he/him]

 

Lucentia seemed almost too eager to tell the story.

 

“My, how considerate of you to ask, it´s actually part of how I claimed my city. Not to bore you with the details but it ended with its current high Epic ruler, a nasty one that could crush everything in his range and then some, in a gigantic prison expensive enough to destabilize the economy of the entire fractured states.”

 

The diamond queen spoke with a wider and wider smile. “Naturally, it would have been a waste to just let him rust in there, so once he broke in there I got his weakness out of him and with some help I ripped out every single bone in his body and replaced it with my diamonds just in case I need to shut him down. Since then he´s shown himself to quite the worker, if a bit eccentric.”

 

Calamity, Lightwards found himself thinking. Everyone I've met since coming to Portland is completely insane.

 

Instead of giving voice to the thought, he smiled and nodded his head. "An excellent way of handling the matter, if you don't mind the compliment. I may request that you take up the trade once again while you're in the city..."

 

He trailed off. A plan was hatching in the back of his mind--a plan which he would be prepared to lay out in full once he met with Altermind later that evening. So he merely smiled more warmly at the praying mantis-woman.

 

"Now, I believe conquest was only one of the three topics you wished to discuss. I would love to hear any other points you have to make."

 

With that he gave the notepad in his breast pocket a thoughtful tap. "And afterwards, there's a local bakery I've been meaning to visit."

 

 

 

 

It was clear that trading the Sibyl story had by no means been a mistake. Aldo's smile grew wider and wider as he listened to Traveler's story, giving a round of quiet applause as the story ended with Fortuity's car becoming an enormous metal hot dog.

 

"Bravo," Aldo exclaimed again. "Now that's a story worth visiting for. What I wouldn't give to see Fortuity struggling to explain the matter to his superiors..."

 

He noticed the dapper gentleman from the city advancing upon them with a stern expression. In this case, noticing the man was quite the achievement--he had a way of evading detection even when standing in a crowd.

 

"You, magician," Fade said gruffly. "I need a word."

 

"Absolutely, my good man," replied Aldo with a chuckle. He pulled another chair out of his sleeve and set it up for him. "Feel free to join us--Traveler was just telling a hilarious tale about his life in Newcago, and I'm sure a fine fellow like yourself has a few rib-ticklers to share."

 

 

 

 

Epics were easy to understand. Sam had spent the last six years of her life confident she knew what made them tick; their pride, their hatred, their utter contempt for all things beneath them. When they acted, they acted only to kill or to avoid being killed themselves.

 

It was a fine theory. Perfect for understanding about 99% of cases. It told her all she needed to know.

 

Except for that remaining 1%, which she'd never heard of before yesterday. There was the kind that would gut an old man to make a point, and then there was the head case who would make it rain pancakes right afterwards.

 

Voidgaze, by the sound of it, was part of that oddball 1%.

 

“Hey, Sam and Revolution, right?" the white woman exclaimed cheerfully. "We kind of took the chance and ran from Nighthound and I´m trying to come up with a way to help her, she´s Ray by the way, but given how much of a sociopathic monster he's I´m not sure how to do that without all Calamity breaking loose down here… so how's the museum treating you guys?”

 

Sam blinked, uncertain. When she asked "how's the museum treating you guys," it was almost as if there wasn't a veiled threat there at all. She seemed genuinely curious.

 

"Just fine," Revolution was replying, beaming. "We have yet to be tortured or killed, which is always an encouraging sign. We have however been within Nighthound's immediate vicinity, which I believe makes us ritually unclean in nine separate religions."

 

Sam laughed, turning her attention from Voidgaze to Ray.

 

She was an odd Epic too; apart from the dog collar, which she certainly wasn't wearing by choice, she looked no different from any woman off the street. Instead of a flashy costume or form-fitting dress, she was wearing a plan T-shirt and blue jeans. The most stand-out feature she had was her short red hair.

 

But there was another fact that made her interesting to Sam: her name was Rachel. Sam didn't know many Epics' real names, but she vaguely remembered Rachel Something-beginning-with-B coming around her mother's bakery.

 

Deciding against the perfect quip she had planned for Voidgaze--asking the white-robed woman whether grape juice was her Epic weakness--she instead walked up to Rachel/Ray and cracked a smile.

 

"Hey," she said quietly. "It's Rachel, right? How's Calamity been treating you?"

 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

"I'm sure a fine fellow like yourself has a few rib-ticklers to share."

 

Fade remained standing. 

 

"I want to be brought up to speed. I want to know a brief history of this so called empire, as well as a sketch of the epics and humans, including powers. I want a reason to stay. The boy may be entranced by the dinosaurs, but I need facts and figures. Your eyes don't miss much, so I know you've got a good grasp of the situation. Convince me to stay, and I might tell you something interesting."

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

 

Nathan knew by his widening smile that Aldo liked the story. He heard himself adding more and more detail as he went along, describing the way even Mister Hamsterface had looked relieved to be caught by Doctor Funtimes, how ridiculous the hot dog car had looked parked between sleek black and red convertibles. By the time Aldo burst into quiet applause, Nathan had given his share of laughter to his memories. 

 

"Bravo. Now that's a story worth visiting for. What I wouldn't give to see Fortuity struggling to explain the matter to his superiors..."

 

"You and me both," Nathan said sincerely. To that point, he hadn't considered how Steelheart might take the news that Fortuity had been beaten by an Epic with glitter in her hair and his own hat, but the thought lifted his spirits. Had he dashed outside, cape and suit in tatters with his hat gnawing at his ankles, just in time to see what she had done to his car? Had he been called to the palace, forced to answer whether or not he really lost to an Epic who thought Calamity was the Flying Spaghetti Monster? Nathan was still smiling at the thought of Fortuity forced to drive his newly modified car around Newcago when a voice at his side made him jump. 

 

"You, magician. I need a word." The demand came from an older gentleman in suit and top hat. He had to be an Epic. No ordinary man would demand things that way. 

 

Why can I never be accosted by one Epic at a time? 

 

"Absolutely, my good man," Aldo said, pulling another chair from his sleeve. "Feel free to join us--Traveler was just telling a hilarious tale about his life in Newcago, and I'm sure a fine fellow like yourself has a few rib-ticklers to share."

 

The newcomer remained standing. "I want to be brought up to speed. I want to know a brief history of this so called empire, as well as a sketch of the epics and humans, including powers. I want a reason to stay. The boy may be entranced by the dinosaurs, but I need facts and figures. Your eyes don't miss much, so I know you've got a good grasp of the situation. Convince me to stay, and I might tell you something interesting."

 

Aldo glanced, ever so briefly, at Nathan, smiling encouragement. At least, it seemed like encouragement. ​What does he—oh, right. He just got here, I've been here all along…but really, one more Epic here? Is that really what we need? 

 

He cleared his throat and laid out the bare basics. "It's fairly new, this Empire, I mean. Just established a few days ago. I can't tell you everyone's power, since I haven't met everyone, but I could introduce you to the leaders, Lightwards and Doctor Funtimes." The thought of looking into Lightwards' face again sharpened the pain in his side. "My girlfriend—Funtimes, that is—is certainly powerful enough to convince anyone to stay. You might recall a storm of pancakes? That was her. And she's the reason this jungle is floating, and why it's a jungle rather than a dusty old museum." 

 

And if you hit me, she'll try to kill you, so there's that. 

 

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

At the outskirts of Portland, there was a young man. A young man with dirt beneath his fingernails and leaves in his hair. 

 

The young man with dirt beneath his fingernails and leaves in his hair was hard at work. He raised a buzz saw to a half-formed topiary, driving it into the branches with a shower of leaves. He sang to himself as he worked, though it could not be heard above the roar of the buzz saw. 

 

​"CorpseMaker, CorpseMaker, Corpsey Corpsey CorpseMaker…." He broke off with a chuckle. "Just wait 'till nightfall, Corpsey CorpseMaker!" 

Edited October 8, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

“Certainly I wouldn´t mind taking care of another Epic and fell free to visit that bakery of yours, personally I still have to search for a suitable dress to replace my old one but you´re right, we still need to finish our talk first.”

 

That settled the first point, which was also the most pleasant one. Next, would be a more problematic one.

 

She folded her arms behind her back as her smile vanished. “There does seem to be some misunderstanding on your part. While I am here to collect my brother and I doubt that he´ll leave this place until matters are settled, I do not intend to claim a place in your empire. It is yours and we may collaborate as equals but do not presume that I´ll serve under you, understood?”

                                                 

 

The two vanillas reacted cheerfully to Voidgaze´s greeting, making a snide remark at Nighthound´s presence; probably still to tame to describe the Slontze. If they are unclean in nine religions wonder what that makes me.      

 

Sam walked over to her with a smile. "Hey, it's Rachel, right? How's Calamity been treating you?"

 

Ray visibly flinched, was that girl trying to mock her? Rub it into her face that she was effectively powerless? “How do you think it treaded me? It didn´t wrap me in a nice and fuzzy blanket that much is sparking sure and don´t call me Rachel.” Her voice was tense and her hands balled into fists.

[TheSilverDragon he/him]

"INSERT COOL WRAITH ICON HERE"

Sorry, I haven't found a picture yet.

 

 

This might be the right place for me, Wraith thought to himself as a new Epic walked towards the pair. Wraith snaked his body away from them and headed back to the entrance. No need to tell them that I was spy on them the whole time. He got to the door and slithered out and then changed into his normal body. Time to introduce myself. They're all wired anyways so me coming in unannounced might be considered normal to them. Wraith pushed open the doors and walked into the museum.

 

Wraith looked around to see if he could spot the Emperor of Light. Wraith stood there for a while, trying in vain to find the Emperor to no avail. It looks like he isn't here. I'll just talk to that wired sparkly lady that everyone says is second in command. When Wraith walked over to her, he found that she was having tea with another lady. 

 

"Hey I'm Wraith." He said uncertainty. "And I'm am interested in joining your alliance. Can I join?" Wraith stood there waiting for her response, waiting for anything really, but he wasn't expecting her to do what she did. 

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Sightline answered Altermind, "I never implied that he was my Emperor, just that he was one. I have no Master. But he wishes to meet with you just after Sundown tonight. At the site of his fight with Nighthound. He also mentioned he would be bringing his Lieutenants with him. So you might want to do the same." Altermind remembered roughly where that had been. He assumed it would be easy to find whatever sentries Lightwards put near it. He began deciding which of these Epics he would bring to the meeting. Panacea would do the most good here and the same with Strongsteel. Flashpoint he would bring as well as Intervention. Having the Empire's representatives a little tipsy could only make things better for him. Mare could be useful as well as Summoner. He had the feel of an intelligent fighter. Sightline would come as well. "As for Voidgaze, she’s making friends and being a good diplomat. Now who are all of these people?” Sightline finished. Well, Altermind could only hope that she could take care of herself until the meeting. He had no way to contact her.

"These are our forces. Most have come here, seeking to help us. I'll have this scribe distribute a list of each of us with our powers. I'll also get you all mobiles synced to my network so that we can all communicate," Altermind said. He radioed for one of his technicians to work on the mobiles right away. The scribe handed him enough copies of the list of Epics for each of them. Altermind distributed them to the assembled group.

"We need to be able to give Corpsemaker a good battle for this city. We have a large army, but my spy reports say that Corpsemaker has some Epic that can bring you soldiers to life. They are mindless, which gives us an advantage. He also has mech suits and robots." Altermind told his group. "What ideas do you have for us to negotiate from Lightwards and his matter manipulator? She can cause a museum to fly, so it's reasonable to assume that she can create similar technological feats. Any ideas?"

[mail-mi he/him]

Timeport landed with a thud and groaned, rolling over onto his back. When he'd decided to nearly escape the atmosphere, he hadn't thought of how he was going to get down. So he'd positioned himself over the giant carpet he'd seen while hovering over Portland, then let himself fall. When he was almost at the ground, he'd teleported a minute into the future, but remained in the same place. That way, he lost his momentum and didn't hit the ground at terminal velocity, but just hit it from a foot above. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to maneuver himself so he landed on his feet, so when he jumped back into time he landed flat on his stomach.

He lay on the carpet for a minute, trying to get over the feeling of splattering onto the ground. He hadn't actually splattered against the ground, but it felt like he had. After a good ten minutes passed, he finally felt good enough to stand up. He looked up to the sky and thanked Calamity for the idea on how to survive, then started to walk.

Wait. I don't have to walk. Timeport grinned, then teleported five feet forward. He teleported continuously, and anyone who briefly saw him appear quickly got out of the way, knowing that an Epic had decided to grace their street. I could get used to this.

He started to head toward the bank, but halfway there he stopped, realizing that the bank didn't exist anymore. It had been turned into a bouncy house, then subsequently destroyed, rendering Corpsemaker lair-less.

And realized that he had no idea where Corpsemaker currently resided.

He was standing there for a good minute, until someone distinctly familiar appeared from one of the side streets. He was teleporting, just as Timeport had, so Timeport never got a good look at him. The man stopped right next to him, close enough that Timeport could only see him out of the corner of his eye. "Lost?" he asked.

"What's it to you?" Timeport said, turning to try to get a good look at the man, but suddenly he appeared on the other side of him.

"I know where Corpsemaker is, and I can take you there." Timeport whipped around, but the man had teleported again. "Want me to lead you there?"

"Gah!" Timeport shouted, giving up trying to see the man. "That would be great."

The man appeared right in front of him. I swear I recognize that face! "Follow me."

And so Timeport did, teleporting along behind the man. Whenever they got to an intersection, the man would pause his teleporting briefly enough for Timeport to see where he was going, then start again before he could get a good look at him. Soon, they arrived at the armory, and Timeport could see that nearly half of it had been turned to steel. The man stopped right in front of the entrance, then turned to face Timeport. "This is Corpsemaker's HQ." The man smiled devilishly. "And make sure to ask him to let you see Upgrade."

The man teleport-walked away, and suddenly Timeport recognized who it was.

That was... me.

Timeport smiled. Somehow, this Corpsemaker was able to remove his restriction on travelling to the past. He laughed and knocked loudly on the door. "This is Timeport, a new Epic in town! And I have some information for you!"

 

Mommy walked out of the family's home. She was in one of the less terrorized parts of town, and this family had seemed stable enough to take care of itself. The children had been sad to leave her, but she knew they were in a better place now. She walked down the sidewalk to her waiting crowd of children, now 2 children smaller. It was much bigger than when she'd entered town; there had been several children on the street in need of a good home.

Too many. These three factions at war were ruining things for the children, and it was Mommy's goal to stop it. That's why she was searching out the Minor Epic Empire. To stop the war, to have peace for once. Peace for the children.

The family she'd just visited had had some information on where the Minor Epic Empire was headquartered; it was in a school around here somewhere. "Children?" she announced. "We're going to go find a school. Richard, Leonardo, and Maddie, go run around and search for a school. Come back when you find it." The children she'd called nodded--all three of them were at least eight years old, she didn't send anyone younger than that out by themselves--and ran off.

Several minutes later, they returned and reported that they'd found the school. Mommy told them to lead the way, and soon they arrived at a newer-looking high school--well, newer by pre-Calamity standards. Mommy told her children to wait for her, then walked up to the front doors. She tentatively pushed open the doors and took a step inside. "Hello?" she called. "Is this the Minor Epic Empire?"

Edited March 30, 2015 by mail-mi

[Kobold King he/him]

 

 

"There does seem to be some misunderstanding on your part," Lucentia said gravely. "While I am here to

collect my brother and I doubt that he´ll leave this place until matters are settled, I do not intend to claim a place in your empire. It is yours and we may collaborate as equals but do not presume that I´ll serve under you, understood?”

 

Oh, Lucentia, Lightwards thought, setting his jaw. I'm going to have to kill you.

 

He didn't say it aloud, of course. He merely met her stone-cold gaze, and put his hands behind his back just as she did.

 

"Of course," he told her with a forced smile. "You hardly seem like one to take orders. Though it's quite a shame--you could be a great asset to this cause. Perhaps someday you will see things... my way."

 

He certainly hoped so. In due time he'd be forced to bring down those distant threats on the horizon; not only CorpseMaker, but Altermind, Funtimes, and now Lucentia. The list of the Empire's enemies was longer than the list of its loyalists.

 

Pushing the thought of finding Lucentia's weakness to the back of his mind, he instead smiled more widely and snapped his fingers. "Tailor," he called to the shop's back room. "Bring Queen Lucentia the finest dresses you have on stock."

 

The sound of shuffling feet confirmed the tailor understood his orders, so Lightwards turned back to the diamond queen. "As for Nighthound," he explained firmly, "I get the impression that he is a man whose loyalty must be bought, not earned. And while your diamonds are certainly exquisite, I suspect that my saurian Warriors are more to his taste."

 

His smile grew a little more sincere, flashing teeth. "I believe I could outbid you for Nighthound any day, Lucentia."

 

 

 

 

 

The attempt at decent conversation didn't go over very well.

 

Ray flinched at the question, turning her head with a sharp glare. Sam felt a sudden queasy feeling in the bottom of her stomach--Ray's ear.

 

It had been savaged. Now properly in view, she could see the way it had been torn; her earlobe was completely missing, replaced with a mass of scabby tissue. Her ear was red; it was revolting; it would quite probably be scarred.

 

Nighthound was the slontziest slontze to plague Portland for a great many years.

 

“How do you think it treated me?" Ray demanded bitterly, her fists clenched and her eyes flashing. "It didn't wrap me in a nice and fuzzy blanket that much is sparking sure and don´t call me Rachel.”

 

Sam winced slightly at the response. "Sorry," she muttered grudgingly. "I didn't mean--"

 

For the first time, it occurred to her that she may have been a touch insensitive. Pushing down her misgivings, she tried to imagine that she wasn't talking to an Epic; she tried to imagine herself speaking to any decent person who'd run afoul of Nighthound. She tried to think of something to say that would be in the slightest comforting.

 

Yeah, real sorry you're a psychotic Epic's personal pet. Hope he doesn't put you in a sleazy dress or start breaking off fingers or something.

 

She kept her mouth shut to avoid making things worse; the small jungle clearing started to become quite awkward before Revolution stepped forward.

 

"We're sorry," Revolution said softly. She stepped close to Ray, looking at her with very large and sad eyes. "We really are. There's nothing we can do to help you... but I swear I will pray for you every time I see you. And if you need to talk to anyone... if he gets too bad... well, you can talk to us."

 

Sam looked from Ray to Revolution awkwardly. The last thing she wanted to do was have heart-to-heart therapy sessions with an Epic, but...

 

She caught another glimpse of Ray's ear, and nodded with a gulp. "Yeah. What she said."

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Trattner baked cupcakes.

 

It helped--the working. Helped keep her mind busy. Helped keep her from worrying too much. She cracked eggs into a bowl and took a glance at her recipe.

 

Bakeries in Portland were largely a relic of another world. A world with flour-laden supermarkets and thousands of hungry bread lovers. But with Calamity came a whole new environment for small businesses.

 

Elizabeth poured another cup of sugar into the bowl, frowning over the recipe. She was running low on sugar--she'd have to restock soon. It was no longer a simple matter of running to the nearest Walmart and grabbing a bag, but there were still ways of getting the right ingredients--if you knew where to look. Epics could squash out a great many things, but they'd never quite done away with entrepreneurial spirit.

 

Goods were still made in rural areas across the States, and a lot of those goods made their way into more developed territories. She had a friend who smuggled groceries out of Thoughttown and into the pantries of downtown Portlanders.

 

She poured the last of her sugar into the bowl and began mixing. No... restocking would be easy. She could barter for new ingredients.

 

And, as she rather morbidly found herself thinking, there wouldn't be a starving teenager with a sweet tooth in the house to diminish the finished batch.

 

Sniffing slightly, Elizabeth began putting the batter into the molds, throwing herself into her work. She tried not to think about how Samantha would usually help with this part--she certainly didn't think about what was likely happening to her now. A friend of hers had seen the new Epics' speech in the old playground. Dinosaurs had risen. Trees had become pancakes. People had died.

 

And a girl who fit Sam's description had been taken from the crowd, whisked away by a cannibalistic new Epic.

 

Elizabeth slid the cupcakes into the oven, doing her best to focus on the baking. Her last surviving daughter had likely been slaughtered already. Or she'd been tortured and maimed by the madman who rode dinosaurs. Or she was an undead servant to the man who called himself Emperor.

 

She didn't need to think about such things. Not yet. She turned the oven's dial and leaned against a wall, letting out a tired sigh.

 

There was a knocking on the door.

 

Elizabeth found herself racing to the door with her heart racing, only to stop short just outside of it. Sam wouldn't knock. She'd barge in complaining about the weather, or with a new update on how drunk Chicago Joe had gotten himself.

 

"Who is it?" she called cautiously. Her hands went to a drawer in the hallway, pulling out a small pistol.

 

"It's me," a voice said from the other side of the door. "It's Pamela."

 

Elizabeth hurriedly stashed away the pistol and opened the door, greeting her friend.

 

Pamela Tithers was a tall, moderately wrinkled woman with a determinedly plain appearance. She gave Elizabeth a deeply sympathetic glance, then held up a bag of sugar.

 

"My husband just got this from Thoughttown," she explained cautiously. "Figured you could always use sugar."

 

"That's right," Elizabeth said with a forced smile. "Always."

 

Pamela gave a smile of her own, before dropping her voice. "Are you alright?" she asked softly. "Have you seen...?"

 

Elizabeth shook her head.

 

"Want to talk about it?"

 

"No," Elizabeth replied, her voice cracking a little. "But... but you'd best come inside anyway."

 

The other woman nodded in understanding and stepped inside. Elizabeth glanced out the door, at the empty streets of downtown Portland.

 

"I'm not expecting anyone else today," she whispered to herself. With a ragged sigh, she closed the door and retreated into the house.

 

[A Joe in the Bush]

 

Fear. A Force that had driven Humanity to any lengths to survive. Even lengths that it considered unpleasant. Lengths like making deals with the Devil. CorpseMaker had been using Fear to recruit Epics and Civilians alike. But if he had somebody who could generate Fear, that would make things a lot easier. Quota could be very helpful, especially against the Epics who CorpseMaker couldn’t threaten with normal means. The ones too Insane to listen to threats.

 

“You speak of making the entire city cry, are you actually capable of this, or can you only target one person at a time?” The first would be more useful. If not, there was always Upgrade. He mentally pictured his plan, adding Quota into the first steps. Yes, it could work. The man talked grand as well. He had style. This man actually deserved to be Epic. Unlike others he could think of.

 

Streetwise glanced up from the corner, where he was furiously writing what he heard around the city. He’d learned how to organize the Information he got for exposure to Upgrade, who was still powering him. “Boss, there’s a Teleporter at the front gates. Two of em actually. Twins. He says he has Information and wants to join you.”

 

A Teleporter?! CorpseMaker’s fists clenched in anger. He would have drawn blood if he wasn’t bloodless. “Traveller? or Sightline?”

 

“No, Sightline’s still in his meeting, and Traveller hasn’t reentered Portland yet.” Streetwise made another notation on the large map. Another Epic has used his powers, revealing himself to Streetwise.

 

“Then send him in.” He turned back to Quota. “Now then. What do you wish for in exchange for your loyalty?”

 

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

The panda shook its head sadly. Seriously. He was just trying to get himself a house in a neighbourhood that didn't explode or become swamped with zombies every 5 seconds. First Oregon, then Dalles, then Calamityville and now Portland. He was really running out of places to live. Maybe he should just immigrate to another country.

 

Glummly chewing a bamboo, the Panda left his Portland home in the searches of a new one.

 

Don't mind me. Just popping in for some RP.   Doesn't mean I'm going to sign up.  

Edited October 11, 2014 by Lightsworn Panda

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

“You speak of making the entire city cry, are you actually capable of this, or can you only target one person at a time?”

 

Quota's eyes narrowed, but he covered it with a smile. Of course I can't make the whole city cry. Not all at once. Stupid sparking limit. "Give me a few days, and I'll have this whole city drowning in their tears." 

 

CorpseMaker shared a brief conversation with another Epic, the end result being a teleporter granted permission to enter. Quota sipped his coffee, covering for his unhappiness at the latest development. A teleporter just marched on in and demanded the spotlight—his spotlight. Then again, the thought of a teleporter seemed to drive CorpseMaker to anger, so perhaps there was fun to be had. Quota smiled, imagining the teleporter quaking in his boots, wondering why he felt so much more nervous around CorpseMaker than he ought to. Maybe, just maybe, Quota could make him cry. 

 

“Now then. What do you wish for in exchange for your loyalty?”

 

Quota's smile became genuine. Finally, CorpseMaker realized where his focus belonged. "Unlike some Epics," he said, cutting his eyes toward whoever stood nearest, "I like what I do. Give me a chance to show off what I've got, and I'll make you the most terrifying Epic in Oregon." 

 

Then, almost as an afterthought, he lifted his coffee cup. "And make sure that shop on Taylor stays open. They've got good coffee." 

[Edgedancer he/him]

Someone that let Funtimes stay at his place couldn´t complain that no one wanted to follow him and Lightwards didn´t, even though he didn´t look happy about it either.

 

Overplaying his discontent he ordered the zombie tailor to bring out his finest dress, with some luck it would actually be of quality.

 

All of that was overshadowed by his next statement, trying to buy Nighthound´s loyalty by outbidding her. Lucentia didn´t know if he wanted to show at least some kind of authority or if he had another reason but whatever it was the statement was so preposterous that she could barely contain her laughter.

 

With enough effort she could keep the amusement from showing but her mouth still turned into a slightly shaking line. “While it´s true that one can´t earn his loyalty you also won´t mange to buy it, simply because he doesn´t have any and trust me once you have some kind of stability established here you do not want my brother to still be around. Calamity, I don´t want him to stay close to me, there are just some business that require him to show his face once in a while.”

 

Regaining some of her composure she continued. “Not that it matters at the moment. Actually there is something I would like you to think about. Corpsemaker´s little robot display has one major flaw. He´s showing of the powers of one of his servants, mere mortals might not care about that but for a proper Epic it easily seems as if he is dependent on her to deal with anything that isn´t a worm. Now, excuse me for a second, we can head for that bakery right afterwards.”

 

Lucentia walked away, plucking the dress out of the tailor, which just returned and closed the door to the back section behind her. The dress was decent enough, dark blue with an emperor-waist cut, flowing down to her ankles and a cut at the bottom to give leg freedom.

 

Still, Nighthound and loyal, hilarious.

                                                          

 

Voidgaze was a bit worried that a fight would break out between Ray and Sam, the both of them didn´t exactly look happy. The prolonged silence didn´t create confidence in her either.

 

She looked over to Sunburst, hoping that the woman could somehow help the situation and that´s what she did.

 

"We're sorry, we really are. There's nothing we can do to help you... but I swear I will pray for you every time I see you. And if you need to talk to anyone... if he gets too bad... well, you can talk to us."

 

As soon as she heard that Sam agreed Voidgaze couldn´t help herself and grabbed all three of them in a hug. “I´m there for you too Ray, I´m gonna be there for all of you if you need me. It could be that I suck at this whole friend stuff because I never had any, actually I don´t even like hugging people but Ray needs one and leaving you two out wouldn´t feel right, anyway, I´ll try my best to be a proper friend. Actually, do you guys mind if I hug you? I can understand it if you do, I probably would. Just say something and I´m going to let go.”

 

While she didn´t look comfortable in the hug, Ray didn´t seem as angry anymore and let out a soft, “Thanks.” With some hesitation she returned the hug.

Edited October 11, 2014 by Edgedancer