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>>5346371

“It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.” Valjean says, not looking all-that shocked about the newest development. He seems more pensive about this whole thing than anything else. “I’m more surprised they lasted this long.”

You think Valjean makes a good point. If there were any other such groups like the Fraternity of the Atom, the most you would have heard of them is a passing mention on the news. Either that, or you wouldn’t have known about them whatsoever because of how short-lived they truly were, as FutureLabs had viciously and meticulously snuffed out all forces that could possibly think to oppose them.

“I think that’s the most we’re going to get out of her anyhow,” Valjean’s voice interrupts your train of thought.

Boleski, on the other hand, doesn’t say anything, not quite sure what to make of this whole thing.

“So what do you want to do with her?” Valjean asks, looking over to you.

After she had announced the existence of her group, Jezebel had gone completely silent, but the self-righteous grin she’d been wearing for that moment is still firmly plastered across her face.

What are you going to do with her indeed?

>You’ll have her make reports to Boleski. Have her keep bringing you as much information as possible.
>Have Valjean brainwash her into forgetting about the gang and defecting. It’s likely a small dent in their numbers, but you'll get this woman off the streets.
>Have Valjean brainwash her into saving mutants– it’s a more constructive use of her time, in your opinion, and she’s certainly strong enough for it.
>Throw her back on the streets. She’s a small fish in a big gang. Can’t risk these guys finding out you know about them anyhow.
>Write-in

>(2/2)

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Welcome back, kings, to the greatest, source of mutant mayhem this board has ever seen!!!! That's right-- it's kelpin' time!!

>Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?searchall=mutant%21quest

Pastebin: Kind of outdated. Needs some updating:
https://pastebin.com/u/SiirenQM

>QM Twitter for updates:
twitter.com/QmSiren

----------

>Dice:
>31d100 unless otherwise noted

>Other:
Starting school again soon, so this is the last thread before then. Other than that, LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

>>5346379
>>Throw her back on the streets. She’s a small fish in a big gang. Can’t risk these guys finding out you know about them anyhow.

>>5346386
>>31d100
We'll never finish rolling

>>5346379
>Have Valjean brainwash her into saving mutants– it’s a more constructive use of her time, in your opinion, and she’s certainly strong enough for it.
>>5346386
Nice to see you this soon. btw you should've linked this one in the last thread
>>5346421
he means best of 3 1d100

>>5346379
>>Have Valjean brainwash her into saving mutants– it’s a more constructive use of her time, in your opinion, and she’s certainly strong enough for it.
I feel like if we let her go she'll eventually try to get even... might as well try to steer her in a more positive direction.

>>5346431
I'm just ribbing

>>5346379
>>Have Valjean brainwash her into saving mutants– it’s a more constructive use of her time, in your opinion, and she’s certainly strong enough for it.

>>5346379
>>Throw her back on the streets. She’s a small fish in a big gang. Can’t risk these guys finding out you know about them anyhow.

>>5346431
>>5346446
>>5346460
>Medusa redemption!

>>5346469
>>5346421
>Get back on the streets, bee-otch!

>Writing!

>>5346421
>>5346431
Yeah no it's 31 rolls all the way, cause I make the rules-- that's why!!
Kidding. Don't take that seriously plz

>>5346431
>link in last thread
My bad on that part-- been rushing around all day and totally slipped my mind. Bit late to do it now though.

>>5346537
No worries, I already sent the link just to make sure

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>>5346537

“Yo, Pharos.” You address the former Crux leader, an idea forming in your head. “Can you brainwash her into wanting to save mutants?” You’re pretty sure that is definitely within his ability.

“Cannibal.” He says, giving you a look that says ‘Do I look like some B-grade mutant to you?’ In other words, Valjean is more than capable of brainwashing Jezebel to do exactly what you want.

At once, Jezebel’s eyes glaze over at the mental reprogramming. Smartly, he brainwashes her into forgetting this whole night (and you guys) as well. You’d rather she doesn’t remember you and seeks you out later for revenge. Worse yet, if she remembers you, she might bring along stronger reinforcements from the Fraternity of the atom, because it seems that you’ve only found one of the smaller, weaker branches of it tonight.

With everything on your plate right now, you’re not quite ready to delve into that just yet. You’ll save that problem for future-Elise, or near-future-Elise to be more precise.

“...you also got seriously drunk. You were so embarrassed by it that you hid in an alley for the rest of the night and fell asleep.” Valjean finishes, smiling at his handiwork.

“To dobrze.” Boleski nods. “Let’s go.”

Like that hamfisted Ghengis you fought earlier tonight, you leave the unconscious Jezebel in an alley, far from where your fight had transpired.

With your conscience cleared, hopefully Jezebel will put her group of thugs to good use by targeting endangered mutants instead of FutureLabs’ squadrons. Those thugs seem to be able to keep themselves hidden well-enough anyhow– you think they can do it.

“Hey, Boleski,” You address the winged man. “You still know where the Healer is?”

“I look tonight, but find you instead,” he replies. “We look now if you want.”

There are enough pharmacies and clinics in Rottsville to make the whole thing rather time-consuming, but, between you and Boleski, the two of you make decent ground within the slum.

Neon signs and car headlights pass underfoot as you’re bounding in the direction of the next pharmacy, and it’s nice to have the wind in your face and hair after being in that cramped, musty building for so long, the fresh, cooling breeze telling you that the colder months are soon ahead.

>(1/3)

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>>5346664

You’re not sure what time it is, but, casting a glance to the sky, the moon is well-overhead, telling you that it is pretty late. Despite the time, you still feel quite energized from having slept the whole afternoon, enough that you could go the whole night if you wanted.

Leaping off the edge of a building, you aim yourself towards where you spot the next neon cross that denotes your next destination. Like every other building in this district, it’s as run-down and dilapidated as the rest of them, but, so far out of the way of the main part of the city, such a building is the perfect place for the Healer to conduct her business.

When you land, you drop Valjean off, who opts to loiter outside the building.

Passing through the door of the next pharmacy, you prepare yourself for the next reaction you get. While most of the people you came by just stared in abject shock, frozen and unsure of what to do, you already had a couple of screamers tonight, and, with your sensitive ears, you’re not looking forwards to another.

“Hello Kelpie,” A nasally voice greets, the sharp, sterile smell of cleaning chemicals hitting your nostrils in full-force. “Back so soon?”

It’s a nasally voice you recognize– one that’d been present at Nacht Haven.

Oh.

Oh shit.

Sitting at the front desk is a very familiar clerk, one with a head of shaggy hair and a poorly-shaved beard. You blink a few times, just to confirm you’re not just seeing things, even though the reality is sitting right there with a frown upon his face.

All-too-quickly, the air in the pharmacy becomes increasingly and unbearably awkward.

For someone you’d saved so very recently, you’d think this guy would show a little more gratitude– or manners, if at all possible, but before you can say anything else a chime heralds the arrival of Boleski.

>(2/3)

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>>5346666

“You brought him as well.” There’s no inflection in his voice, more of a statement than anything else.

“You recognize him?” You ask the clerk.

“Yes, I recognize him.” The clerk remarks disinterestedly. “Same guy came in with a trenchcoat and thought his wings weren’t visible. Try binding them next time.” Those words are directed to Boleski.

“Now tell me your conditions.” If he weren’t a human, you’d think this was some pre-recorded spiel.

“We’ll tell those to the professional,” You return, emphasizing the professional part of those words.

“The Healer doesn’t see just anyone. I think we’ve been over this before.”

“I saved the Healer from Mararanzano’s men.” You refute, becoming cross with this persnickety desk clerk. “Shouldn’t I, the mutant who saved the Healer, get a little leeway here?”

A few seconds pass, the clerk seemingly in deep thought, before he finally says, “No,” and you feel the overwhelming urge to punt this guy straight through the roof.

“Co za dupek.” Boleski frowns, green gaze narrowing at the clerk.

It’s a Mexican standoff between you and Boleski and this overly-fastidious desk clerk– a desk clerk whose name you totally forgot– and, like a bowling ball through a glass window, the silence is completely broken with a frantic shout of, “Who the hell let that guy in?!”

“I heard arguing.” Valjean says. “There a problem getting in?” He asks you and Boleski.

“Pharos!” The clerk’s voice is vehement. “The Healer explicitly said she didn’t want to see you, or any of your ilk, in her facilities.”

“Who still uses the word ‘ilk’ these days?” Valjean questions, deliberately ignoring the main point of the clerk’s words. “Last time I checked, the Crux is long-gone. You living under a rock there, pal?”

Though he’s able to maintain that same, passive expression, the clerk’s face takes on a slight tinge of red.

>(3/4)

>>5346667

The clerk takes a deep breath, still as a statue until all signs of rage are devoid from his features.

“For your information,” He draws out in a low hiss, glaring intently at the former Crux leader. “I can and will call the police if you do not leave. Same goes for you, Kelpie. You as well, you Polak.” He says, pointing to you and Boleski. “Because you are clearly affiliated with that guy.”

Crap. This is going downhill fast. Before the clerk (whose name still eludes you!) loses his shit and calls the cops on you guys, you need to act– and quickly!

>Rush the guy all at once– three versus one GO!
>”Eh, what was your name again?” Deflect. Distract.
>Keep him arguing, enough to keep him away from the phone– just make enough noise so that Healer’s bound to come out.
>Eh. Screw it. Just brainwash this guy.
>Write-in

That's it for the night-- gotta get going to one of my final days of wageing now!

Should be able to squeeze at least one update out tomorrow if I'm not dead-tired, so see you all then!

>>5346683
>Keep him arguing, enough to keep him away from the phone– just make enough noise so that Healer’s bound to come out.

>>5346683
>”Eh, what was your name again?” Deflect. Distract.
holy moly, was this guy such a bitch the last time or we didn't spend that much time with him while trying to save the healer ?

>>5346783
+1, and ask him why he's suvh a bitch
Put Valjean out to lower tensions

>>5346683
>>Keep him arguing, enough to keep him away from the phone– just make enough noise so that Healer’s bound to come out.

>>5346683
"Something big is about to go down, and we need to warn the healer beforehand just in case things don't go out way. She'll want to hear this, unless she wants to try making money from inside a futurelabs cell."

>>5346683
>Keep him arguing, enough to keep him away from the phone– just make enough noise so that Healer’s bound to come out.
bro you really gonna call the police, when you work for a mutant?

>>5346778
>>5346972
>>5347135
>Fight, fight, fight!

>>5346783
>>5346878
>"Sorry, you're such a bitch that I forgot your name, mister clerk teehee" :)

>>5346990
>Hey, Healer, the jig's (about to be) up!

Gonna work some of the stuff you guys wrote in the votes cause it's pretty solid stuff-- hope that doesn't step on any toes here, but writing!

>>5346783
Yes, yes he was a bitch.

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>>5347336

Wracking your mind for what exactly you should do, your eyes are drawn to the nametag attached to the lapel on his coat, which reads ‘SHAW’ in big, bold letters.

No wonder you forgot his name– you were right to block it out after he was such a douchebag the first time around– but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is something that’s painfully, hypocritically obvious about this whole operation that the clerk’s been a part of the whole time.

“Are you really going to call the cops when you’re the one who’s working for a mutant?” You fire back, not willing to back down from this tête-à-tête. As soon as the words fly from your mouth, Shaw freezes, bespectacled eyes moving their focus from the telephone beside him to you.

“I bet you’re making a hefty sum from all the mutants she’s treating.” You continue, putting your hands up on the desk. As you let that statement hang in the air, you notice that Shaw is a good couple of inches shorter than you.

“That doesn’t matter.” Shaw refutes. “I’m human. There’s no way they can do anything to me.”

“Does the name ‘Phillip Huber’ ring a bell?” It feels a little wrong to use Bernard’s dad in an argument like this, but you need to drive your point home. “One of the city’s richest billionaires is now in a jail cell for defending his own daughter– a daughter who’s not even in Konigsburg, no less.”

“He knew what he was getting into. That was calculated, and you were part of it.” He points out. “So was joining up with Pharos.”

“And this isn’t?” Shaw opens his mouth to say something but bites down onto his lip instead, unable to counter your statement.

>(1/?)

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>>5347435

“You see mutants, work with them every day…” You press on, leaning in further on the counter. “Are you honestly going to tell us that you believe everything the news spits out after everything you’ve seen?”

Again, Shaw is silent. The tension in the room is thick enough to cut with a knife, but you’re undeterred, your dark-eyed reflection visible in his oversized glasses.

"Something big is about to go down, and we need to warn the Healer beforehand just in case things don't go our way.” Your tone is foreboding, ominous even, as you direct your words at him. “She'll want to hear this, unless she wants to try making money from inside a FutureLabs cell."

“I–” Shaw starts, but he doesn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence as the door behind him bursts open, revealing none-other-than the Healer.

“Hey!” She seems surprised at the small gathering in the pharmacy’s lobby. “You didn’t tell me the M-Guard was here– and Boleski! Just what have you been doing to yourself?” She huffs, quickly spotting the numerous, fresh burn wounds on his person.

“Pharos is here too.” Shaw makes a motion to Valjean, using his last-ditch attempt to get his daily dose of petty revenge. At this point, he’s not even trying to be subtle, hellbent on making this whole thing as difficult for you as possible.

“I don’t know who that guy is, but it isn’t Pharos.” The Healer points to Valjean, who’s trying to hold back the smuggest grin known to man. Lifting her glasses to peer at the former Crux leader, she stares for a few seconds before saying, “Doesn’t look like Pharos at all.”

“But–”

“No, stop trying to tell me there are Crux members still around– they’re all long-gone. We haven’t seen any of them in months, so for once can you stop going on-and-on about them?!” She shouts, visibly aggravated.

“Dammit, Shaw, we go through this every week.” The Healer throws a hand into the air. “And I thought I was the one who was paranoid here!” She snorts derisively.

Shaw is left gobsmacked from the Healer’s outburst. Evidently at a loss for words, he is unable to do anything but stare into the blank space of his desk.

>(2/3)

>>5347437

“G-Go in…” He manages to grit out, not looking at any of you in the face, and no sooner does the Healer turn her back than the cockiest, most self-righteous grin spreads across Valjean’s face, like a kid at Christmastime.

“I win,” Valean sing-songs under his breath, extremely pleased by the sudden turn of events.

When he brainwashed the Healer into forgetting him and Julia, you didn’t expect for that to actually pay off. Now, you’re kind of grateful that he did it. Who knew that would actually work out for you guys?

“Now come on,” the Healer calls from the threshold to her office. “Who’s coming first?”

>Let Boleski get healed first, then you and Valjean get to your business with the Healer.
>All or none– all for one and one for all!
>You and Valjean first. Sinister plots first, healing business second. And, not that Shaw will do anything but you'd rather keep an eye on him as well.
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5347439
>>Let Boleski get healed first, then you and Valjean get to your business with the Healer.

>>5347439
>>Let Boleski get healed first, then you and Valjean get to your business with the Healer.

>>5347439
>Let Boleski get healed first, then you and Valjean get to your business with the Healer.
At first, I thought she was lying due to us saving her, but we indeed brainwashed the healer. Why didn't we do the same to the counter guy ?

>>5347439
>>Let Boleski get healed first, then you and Valjean get to your business with the Healer.

>>5347560
>>5347495
>>5347473
>>5347449
>Pomóż naszemu przyjacielowi!
Writing!

>>5347495
It was an option that no one went for.
Ngl Shaw needed that verbal ass-whooping.

>>5347571
Btw what manga/comic did you use for this one >>5347435

>>5347583
Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint, senpai.
Don't usually shill manga/manhwa but it's a banger.

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>>5347571

“Take Boleski.” You speak up, since no one else has, and, at the mention of his name, his wings scrunch up around him.

“Alright, come on over,” the Healer beckons him over to her office, the older man awkwardly weaving around bits of furniture and whatnot so as not to get acid anywhere, but it’s oozing out of every feather and pore, enough that you watch some of it burn straight through the tile when he knocks right into an unsuspecting shelf.

The door slams shut, but, with the Healer present, that tense, hostile atmosphere that had permeated the room is long-gone. Shaw still stares at the counter, not having moved since the Healer ripped him a new one, and it doesn’t look like he’s going anywhere anytime soon.

“He okay?” You question aloud, eyeing the clerk– a clerk who seems to have entered some state of fugue.

“Salty is more like it.” Valjean snarks, shooting Shaw a sidelong glance. “Not sure he’s ever gonna recover from that, but who knows? Maybe he’ll have learned his lesson and be a better person for it.” He shrugs, the whole spiel being a complete act of sarcasm.

“So what kind of incentive do we have for the Healer?” Valjean asks more seriously.

“Money.” You say simply.

“Money,” Valjean repeats, shooting you a look that asks ‘are you serious?’

“Worked last time,” You shrug, not willing to question something that undoubtedly works.

>(1/3)

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>>5347648

Not having really much else to say on that matter, the room descends into relative silence. From behind the door, you can hear the ongoing chatter between Boleski and the Healer.

“--mutant too?” The Healer’s voice is inquiring.

“Tak,” Is Boleski’s response.

“Your condition still can't be–”

You’re not sure what they’re talking about, but, as inclined as you are to keep listening, you decide to shut out whatever else might be said because, far as you know, it’s just regular doctor-patient chit-chat that you don’t really have much business poking your nose into.

You don’t know how much time has passed, but, by the time Boleski walks out, you’ve made many, tiny indents in the counter with your claws from drumming your fingers against the counter so much.

His torso looks considerably less marred than before, most of the burn marks cleared from his person. You can’t imagine how awful that must be to deal with that all the time since his normal skin can’t actually handle the acid.

“Next!” The Healer calls to the room.

>(2/3)

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>>5347651

“Can I take a break?” Shaw wearily raises his hand.

“Yeah, yeah, do whatever,” The Healer waves him off. Shaw takes his leave, and, before he rounds the corner, you see him pull something that suspiciously looks like a flask from his coat pocket. Weirdo.

“Boleski, you wouldn’t mind manning the counter, would you?” The Healer asks Boleski. “Just flip the sign to closed and make sure no one else comes in, got that?” Boleski gives a nod and a grunt, turning on his heel to make for the door.

You and Valjean, on the other hand, make a beeline for the Healer’s office, crowding into the room that’s considerably smaller than her office back in Nacht Haven.

“Kelpie, I don’t think you can truly get injured, and you–” She points to Valjean. “You look more than fine, Whateveryournameis…”

“So what can I do for you both?” She asks, scooting backward on her medical school.

>Give her the TLDR (Conduit, danger, etc.), most importantly. Gauge her reaction before asking if she wants to work with you or not.
>Skip straight to the point. You want her to work with you, and you got cash.
>Ask her if she's seen any weird gangs of mutants around lately. Not the most important thing on your plate, but maybe she knows something about the Fraternity of the Atom.
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5347656
>>Give her the TLDR (Conduit, danger, etc.), most importantly. Gauge her reaction before asking if she wants to work with you or not.

Informed choices are the best kind.

>>5347656
>>Give her the TLDR (Conduit, danger, etc.), most importantly. Gauge her reaction before asking if she wants to work with you or not.

That's it for the night-- gonna check out cause I'm kinda running on fumes here. That, and I drank for the first time in like six months. Whoof. I laugh and cringe at all of the drunkposting I did in some of the earlier threads.

We continue tomorrow in the afternoon!
As always, thanks for playing, and see you next time, kings!

>>5347656
>Give her the TLDR (Conduit, danger, etc.), most importantly. Gauge her reaction before asking if she wants to work with you or not.
>>5347674
I think you never told us before about that

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>>5347661
>>5347671
>>5347730
>Informed consent FTW!
Writing!

>>5347730
I've admitted to it several times in the /qtg/ (though I thought I'd mentioned that quite a bit in some of the earlier threads)-- I forget not everyone goes there.

Mostly happened through threads 5-6 cause that was the full-swing quarantine summer. Not my most responsible move, but the quarantine was definitely getting to my head. Am still piss-poor at holding my booze apparently.

>>5348443
I see. I check qtg sometimes, but it fills quickly and unless something grabs my eye, I don't read everything.

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>>5348443

You explain all your points with the same spiel you did to Boleski: Conduit becoming a living mutant tracker, FutureLabs drugging him into oblivion, and the like. Whatever the Healer had been expecting from you and Valjean, it certainly wasn’t what you’re telling her now.

As you press on, you watch as her skin becomes increasingly pale, likely shell shocked from the whole thing.

“What the hell?!” The Healer’s voice is one small step away from a shriek. “That’s impossible!”

“No, it isn’t.” You shake your head. “FutureLabs has ways to completely change a mutant’s power, but whatever it does to them affects their mind as well.”

“Is that what happened to–” She stops herself short, words lost on her tongue. “Is that what happened to that one girl?” Though she’d all-but forgotten her in name and face, you know that the Healer is definitely referring to Julia. “How is she doing anyways?”

“She’s definitely more lively, thanks to you,” Valjean informs her. “I don’t think anyone would’ve guessed she had actual cranial damage.”

“It’s definitely something you wouldn’t have been able to tell right-off-the-bat, especially if she was still recovering from amnesia and whatever else FutureLabs might’ve done to her…” She trails off.

A silence overtakes the room, the Healer seeming to be contemplating something as her eyes center back on you. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

“Because we need your help.” You return, gauging the woman for a reaction. “We’d like you to work with us.”

>(1/3)

>>5348655

“Me?!” She nearly falls off of her seat. “But I don’t have that kind of power– I don’t even have any fighting experience, for crying out loud!” Her stethoscope clatters to the ground from her flailing, but she doesn’t bother to pick it up, understandably distressed at the curveball you just threw her way. “The only job I’ve gotten that’s come close is being a security guard, for crying out loud, and even then I could barely swing a baton.”

“We weren’t going to force you to fight. We just need someone who will help us if things go south.”

“But they got guns, and that– that X-Force,” she argues. “I might not want to end up in a FutureLabs cell, but I certainly don’t want to die!”

“Well, you’ll either die now fighting for a good cause, or you’ll die either on the run or as a test subject. Your choice.” Valjean says, to which you elbow him none-too-kindly.

“Ow!” He yelps before saying to the Healer. “Forget I said that. Did you really have to do that?” Valjean grouses at you.

>(2/3)

>>5348659

“The Healer isn’t a fighter. We can’t reason with her the same way we do with everyone else.” You whisper.

“So can we just offer her money, or do you want me to brainwash her?” Valjean crosses his arms, getting impatient with the other woman. The Healer, sitting with her head in her hands, still seems unable to process Valjean's ultimatum.

>Wat do?
>”If you’re scared, we’ll protect you every step of the way. You can heal yourself, can't you?”
>”If you don’t want to go inside FutureLabs, how would you feel about stealing a body?”
>”You're right. This isn't the safest thing, but we were planning on compensating you heavily."
>Brainwash her. Not your most honest move, but the ends justify the means.
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5348677
>>”If you’re scared, we’ll protect you every step of the way. You can heal yourself, can't you?”

>>5348677
>>”If you don’t want to go inside FutureLabs, how would you feel about stealing a body?”

>>5348677
>”If you don’t want to go inside FutureLabs, how would you feel about stealing a body?”
since she's scared of fights, let's have her save Eddie while we do the thing. They'll be too focused on us to deal with the burglary.

>>5348680
>We protecc

>>5348685
>>5348700
>Body Robbers Inc.

Called! Writing!

>>5348677
"Blink and I went in there once already and came out in one piece, and you'll be taking more of a support role anyway. If we time this right, the X-force will be in New York fighting mafiosos, so we won't even have to worry about them."
Before we leave let's tell her about the fraternity of the atom, she's bound to run into them eventually and it's better that she know ahead of time.

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>>5348783

The Healer’s adamance tells you that she might not fare that well if you bring her straight into the heat of the action, but maybe, just maybe, you can put her to use in some other way…

”If you don’t want to go inside FutureLabs, how would you feel about stealing a body?”

Your sudden change of topic makes the woman perk up in her seat, but the most important thing is that she’s listening.

“We have another mutant helping us, but his physical body is in Vitello Hospital.” You take her silence as your cue to keep going. “He’s working on a way to sabotage FutureLabs’ computing systems when we go in there, so they’re going to realize it was him right-off-the-bat.”

“T-They’ll kill him, won’t they?” The Healer quickly realizes what will happen to Eddie.

“Yeah.” You don’t doubt that Atticus Charles will retaliate as soon as he figures out what’s going on.

“Sooooo…” The Healer drawls, nervousness coating her tone. “Am I stealing a dead body here? I-I’ve never touched a dead body before in my life.”

“No, he’s in the coma ward.” You clarify.

“Oh! Well, that’s better than dealing with a nasty, pallid, possibly-haunted body, right?” The Healer replies. “Though we all have to die someday, don’t we?” She trails off, looking increasingly thoughtful about something else.

“What are you going to do with the body once you have it?” The Healer asks, straightening up her glasses against her face. “I assume you have some way to wake him up if you’re going so far as to take him out of there.”

“Yeah, we have his brain.” You affirm.

“So you’re in possession of a mutant who can separate his mind from his body? How interesting!” The Healer wheels herself closer to you. “How long has he been in a coma anyhow?”

“A bit over a month, maybe longer.” You shrug, but you haven’t really been keeping track of time. All you do know is that it’s been as long as you’ve had Valjean and Julia in the warehouse.

>(1/2)

>>5348823

“I can start writing up some PT exercises for when he’s back in his body, since his muscles have definitely atrophied.” The Healer dips back into some semblance of professionality, producing a pen and scratchpad out of thin air to jot down a couple of things. “But I’m not going to be lugging a body solo, will I? I didn’t think so, but I just want to double-check before I have to do something that’llpotentiallymaimharmorkillmeandthenI’llnevergettobuythedreamapartmentIwanted…” She blurts out all in a rush.

“We’ll have someone with you.” You reassure the woman.

>Anything else you want to say/do before you skedaddle?
>You should warn her about the Fraternity of the Atom, if she hasn’t seen them already.
>Give her a bit of the cash you were going to give her– a down payment, if you will.
>Nah. Time to skedaddle.
>Write-in

>(2/2)

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>>5348784

I CAN'T BELIEVE I MISSED THIS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

>>5348824
>>You should warn her about the Fraternity of the Atom, if she hasn’t seen them already.

Oh btw, this is the first time Valjean is hearing about Eddie isn't it

>>5348824
>>You should warn her about the Fraternity of the Atom, if she hasn’t seen them already.
>>Give her a bit of the cash you were going to give her– a down payment, if you will.

Gonna pick this up tomorrow-- feeling a little wonky (not alcohol-induced, really!).

As always, thanks for playing, and see you all next time!

>>5348824
>You should warn her about the Fraternity of the Atom, if she hasn’t seen them already.
>>5348825
classic siren move. no biggies qm, we all lose track of something we focusing on writting.

>>5348827
>>5348837
>>5348910

You know what? Screw wonkiness. I'm gonna call and write the last update for the night now as in now. Hoorah!

Writing the last update for the night!


>>5348910
can't believe my defining feature as a QM is being a scatterbrain. kek.

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>>5348923

“By the way,” You start again, suddenly remembering something important. “Have you heard of the Fraternity of the Atom?”

“Can’t say that I have.” The Healer responds amid jotting down Eddie’s new PT routine.

“They’re relatively new, but they’re kind of like the Crux, except they seem more… aggressive, in a way.” The Crux, on the other hand, had been far more calculated in nature.

“So far, they’ve stuck to killing cops and whatnot, but they seem to be getting bolder. So keep an eye out if you see them or any mutants who travel in packs.”

“Alright.” There’s a tincture of worry in the Healer’s voice. “W-Will do!”

Reaching into Valjean’s backpack, you procure the small wad of bills you brought along, holding them out to the Healer. “Consider this your down-payment.”

“M-M-M-Money!” She sounds like a dog drooling over a piece of bacon, swiping it from your hands with the speed of a fox. “T-Thank you!”

“No problem.” You respond. “There’s more where that came from when the job’s done.” The Healer's body language tells you that she's died and gone to heaven... well, at least mentally she's there.

As well as a brand-new rehab regimen for Eddie, you get everyone’s contact information from Boleski’s to the Healer’s, both of which you assume are burner phones. As you’re walking out of the building, you see a gangly mass of lab-coat and limbs curled up in the corner, an empty flask laying at the side of it.

“’Hic–’ Shee you soon, guysh!” Shaw waves, glasses lying half-crooked on his face as he laughs giddily from his spot on the floor. That’s one way to have a change-of-heart, you think, as you leave the decrepit pharmacy behind.

>(1/2)

>>5348943

Leaping back into the night with Valjean in tow, you take to the air, your body running on autopilot as you bound back towards your side of the city.

However, with each passing second, you can feel Valjean’s prying eyes nearly boring holes into your back as there was a lot of stuff you'd left largely unanswered for the former Crux leader, mainly in regards to Eddie.

You never really needed to mention the technopath so far as you had Valjean, but now that he's coming to the forefront of this operation, you know Valjean will have a lot of questions.

“You never told me about another mutant.” Crap. And you'd clung onto the hope that he’d drop that for the night.

“He’s a technopath. A very powerful one.” You answer.

"And you've had him for as long as you've had me." Valjean hadn't missed that in your conversation with the Healer.

"Yes. What about it?" You say, pushing off of a building's edge.

"I remember that mutant clearly, FYI, because of the way his powers didn't respond to mine at Vitello. I just didn't want to believe he was one." His words cause you stumble on the next landing, nearly tripping over your feet. "How long were you planning on keeping me in the dark about this?"

>”It wasn’t anything against you. It just really didn’t come up in conversations.”
>”We were protecting him from FutureLabs when we rescued him, so we thought the less people knew about him the better.”
>"We didn't think you'd be all-that accepting of a mutant that came from FutureLabs. It wasn't our secret to tell, but the situation's changed."
>Write-in

>(2/2)

Now that's really it for the night! Time to sleep and stuff for real.
Happy weekend and all that, kings!

>>5348952
>"Wasn't planned, Matt fed you some bullshit about him being an AI and we just kinda went along with it."
>"That was back when we hated you, which hasn't changed but now you're somewhat pulling your weight so I guess there's not much point in being secretive now."
>"Also he's John's best friend and John thinks you 'killed' him so, if he catches you you are probably dead. Just heads up."

>>5348952
>”We were protecting him from FutureLabs when we rescued him, so we thought the less people knew about him the better.”

>>5348952

>"Well, at very first we didn't tell anyone because we were trying to protect him from FutureLabs, but...gah, I could make all sorts of excuses, but I'll be honest- I kinda flat out forgot you didn't know. "

>>5348952
>>5348996
+1 to this, kek.

>>5348996
>>5349306
>We fed you some bullshit and rolled with it... also you're toast if John finds you.

>>5349027
>The less you know, the better...

>>5349040
>So I kinda just forgot... oops.

Calling! Gonna start writing in a bit!

Hey-- hate to be a big blueballer, but some plans just came up! I'll be back to write later in the afternoon, so stay tuned!

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>>5349373

“Wasn’t planned.” You tell him, digging your feet into the roof to regain your lost balance. “Matt fed you some bullshit about him being an AI, and we just kinda went along with it.”

“That bastard– I knew he wasn’t smart enough make something like that!” Valjean sounds more mad about Matt getting the one-over on him.

“It was pretty funny at the time.” And it really was funny that Valjean had bought the lie in the first place.

“Ha. Ha.” Valjean’s voice is bitingly sarcastic. “Well, you got me, and I am certainly laughing. What did he call himself again?”

“Ermac.” You state matter-of-factly. “Also known as Eddie, Conduit’s brother. If not for him, this operation wouldn’t be possible.” In theory, you still think you could pull it off, but, without Eddie’s help, it would be significantly harder.

“Damn it all.” Valjean hisses. “So let me guess, FutureLabs blackmailed him, and you didn’t think I, the big, bad Crux leader, would take too kindly to having him on our team.”

“Yeah, that was back when we hated you, which hasn't changed but now you're somewhat pulling your weight so I guess there's not much point in being secretive now." And, if you told the you from a few weeks ago that Valjean had come this far, you don’t think you would’ve believed it unless you saw it for yourself.

“If he was blackmailed, then he didn’t have much of a choice unless he wanted Conduit dead. There’s a big difference between having someone held over your head and working for them willingly, like those X-Force assholes.”

Speaking of the X-Force, you’re reminded of another issue here, one that might come back to bite you once you cross paths with John again.

“Oh. Forgot to mention he’s also John’s best friend, and John thinks you killed him. So, if he catches you, you’re pretty much dead. Just a heads up.”

“Good to know.” Valjean’s voice is cordial, but you know he’s not pleased in the least to hear this tidbit of news. “Small freaking world…”

>(1/2)

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>>5349468

You make it back to the warehouse in record time. While you’d laid out all the stuff you’d been keeping from the former Crux leader, it was something that he did need to know.

It’s pleasantly surprising to find that he’d been accepting of Eddie’s situation, as opposed to jumping the gun on someone that might possibly be a ‘mutant traitor.’

All the better, as everyone can now work together, and so your odds of succeeding on this mission will be ever-higher.

“So when do I get to meet this Ermac?” Now that he knows of Eddie’s existence, Valjean is interested in seeing the technopath in action.

“You will when we start planning,” You tell him. “Soon.”

“Here. Take the book then.” Valjean tosses Boleski’s journal-thing to you, which you swipe out of midair. “See you.” He gives a salute. Then he turns on his heel, presumably off to sleep.

That night went better-than-expected. You gained two allies, and Valjean wasn’t as big of a dick as you expected him to be over the Eddie-thing.

Matt and Bernard arrive back the following morning, their clamor and noise as they barrel into the house cruelly prying you from your sleep.

“Yo Ellie, where’s the coffee at?” Matt calls into the house. “I can still taste the gas station coffee and I need my fix of the good stuff, so get cracking!” He demands some real coffee.

“Ngghhh… shut up…” You groan. Not wanting to wake up just yet, you cover your face with one of the couch pillows. “...five more minutes…”

“Fish!” Bernard calls, just as loud-- if not louder-- than Matt. “We brought home some goodies!”

Ever the child at heart, regardless of what they might be, the mention of goodies immediately has you up on your feet.

>Where them diamond swords at?!
>How was the trip?!
>Yo Matt– anything happen with Jenna? :)
>Goodies? Where?!
>Write-in


plans got bailed on. enjoy the earlier update.

>>5349471
>>Goodies? Where?!

>>5349471
>Goodies? Where?!
Start with the important questions! Also awesome John pic there, Mystery Pencil Anon. >>5349468

>>5349471
>>Goodies? Where?!

>>5349471
>>5349501
>>5349535
Time for some damn goodies!
Writing!

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>>5349622

Springing up from the couch like a kid on Christmas morning, you make a beeline for the kitchen, very much excited at the prospect of goodies.

Goodies could be anything, you think, a myriad of possibilities swirling around in your head, and, when you spot the load of bags on the table, your excitement all-but doubles, because even tearing open the bags is just as fun as getting the goodies themselves.

“Ellie– paws off the bags!” Matt growls, looking a little too serious for the situation. “Coffee first.”

“Come on, stick, don’t be a spoilsport.” Bernard chides, waving him off. “You’ll get your coffee when you get your coffee.”

Ignoring Matt’s demands for caffeine, like a bloodhound, you attempt to sniff out what might be in the bags. Above all else, the one thing that sticks out to you is the smell of meat. Food! You mentally cheer, already licking your lips at a particularly-filled paper bag– one that looks as if there’s more than half a cow in there.

“This all from Jenna?” You wonder aloud, scales blossoming across your face unbiddenly.

“Aunt and Uncle too. Wouldn’t say no unless we took it home.” Bernard informs you. “Jenna says ‘hi,’ by the way.”

You resolve to have that meat later when all the goodies are unbagged, of course.

“Speakin’ of which,” Bernard tears you from your fantasies of a farm-fresh breakfast. “She made a little somethin’-somethin’ for our next mission–” In a single, fluid motion, Bernard grabs one of the bags and holds it out to you, and you waste no time in tearing it open.

“A utility belt!” You exclaim, holding up the object in question. It’s the same color as the one that goes with your suit. However, unlike the belt which had been purely for aesthetics, this belt has all manner of compartments and pockets.

“When Jenna found out about the swords, it was kinda hard to stop her from making it.” Bernard says. “Check it out!”

>(1/2)

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>>5349693

“This is perfect!” You grin, buckling it on and inspecting it– a perfect fit, if you must say.

“If you think that’s cool, just wait and see what she made me and stick!” He looks around the table until he finds what he’s looking for, holding up two of the bags.

“No way–” You breathe, knowing Jenna’s knack for making supersuits.

“Yes way– she’d been workin’ on em’ way before we came over to the farm.” Bernard’s voice echoes your own excitement.

“Is there anything we can give her to say thanks?” You feel the need to thank the woman who’s been giving supersuits out to you guys like candy.

“Eh. I think stick’s got that more-than-covered…” The blonde says flippantly, a knowing grin on his face.

“Can it, you dick!” Matt makes a lunge for Bernard, to which he deftly dodges.

“Just wait until he finds out how babies are made–” Bernard says in a stage whisper, avoiding Matt’s next attack with a teleport and dropping the bags on the table.

>Now that you’re in the possession of some dank goodies, wat do?
>Bring on the new suits, fools!
>Sword time! Sword time!
>Make your disgruntled brother some coffee.
>Write-in

>(2/2)

>>5349697
>>Sword time! Sword time!
I swear we are gonna stab John with these, it's gonna be the most tone breaking shit but it's hilarious

>>5349697
>Make your disgruntled brother some coffee.

>>5349697
>Make your disgruntled brother some coffee.
He's earned it. Plus we parted on awkward terms--might help a bit.

>>5349697
>>Make your disgruntled brother some coffee.

>>5349707
>Diamond swords time!

>>5349737
>>5349716
>>5349709
>Sweet, delicious, caffeinated nectar...

Called! Writing!

>>5349697
>>Make your disgruntled brother some coffee.

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>>5349793

It’s only a matter of time before Matt gets hold of Bernard for those comments about him and Jenna, and, while Bernard has the advantage of his teleportation, Matt is highly, highly tenacious.

“Who wants coffee?” You blurt out, saving Bernard from possibly another broken leg.

Shoveling and pressing the coffee grounds into your well-worn moka pot, you think it’s been a while since you’ve made coffee for everyone. You think Matt deserves the pick-me-up anyhow since you don’t know if he’s still mad at you for what happened back at the warehouse.

Since you have a good while before the moka pot boils, you start throwing eggs, flour, milk, and butter in a bowl to get some pancakes going.

You’re surprised anyone bothered to keep the fridge filled with John no longer in the house to cook, but you’re glad there was something usable in the fridge– something that wasn’t rotten or had some new species of mold growing off of it.

It’s not the best cooking in the world, nor are you sure if the consistency of the batter is correct, which is why you keep throwing in more flour and milk at random.

“Little more milk, Ellie.” Matt instructs. Having been too immersed in your cooking, you hadn’t noticed him behind you. “Now stop–”

Setting the milk down once more, you stir it all through. You’ll take Matt’s word on how food should be over yours any day of the week. More importantly, it doesn’t seem like he’s mad at you anymore, which is a positive in your books.

The frying part is way more intuitive for you, and, by the time you have two plates of pancakes, the coffee’s fully done.

>(1/2)

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>>5349879

Matt, however, is more concerned with getting his cup of joe, the kind that doesn’t taste like tap water or comes from a gas station.

“Thank you.” Matt says gratefully, voice muffled by his cup. Bernard, too, is satisfied with the pancakes– pancakes that he’s eating faster than you can make them.

“So Ellie,” Bernard starts through a mouthful of food, “What’d you even do the whole time?” He’s genuinely curious.

“I–” You speak, realizing you don’t actually know where to start. “It’s a long story, actually.”

“Well, we’ve got plenty of time. Those swords and suits aren’t goin’ anywhere, and neither is that meat.” The blonde reassures you.

>”Let’s enjoy the morning first. We can talk about it later.” Save the doomtalk for later. See those swords instead!
>”So about Conduit…” You will give them the gist of the new evil plot(s).
>"You guys want to start planning for the extraction later?" Not exactly a doomtalk, but you want to get planning.
>”So how are the captives adjusting to the farm?” Again, save the doomtalk for when it’s *not* morning.
>Write-in

>(2/2)

>>5349881
>>”So about Conduit…” You will give them the gist of the new evil plot(s).

>>5349881
>>”So about Conduit…” You will give them the gist of the new evil plot(s).

>>5349881
>”So about Conduit…” You will give them the gist of the new evil plot(s).

Just realized it's kinda late, and I'll need all my brain cells to write the next update.

Gonna pick this up in the afternoon. As always, thanks for playing, and see you all next time!

>>5349886
>>5349900
>>5349906

Called! Writing!

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>>5350546

“So about Conduit…” You start. This wasn’t the way you wanted to start your morning, but Matt and Bernard have to know.

“Remember how Atticus Charles promised Eddie he wouldn’t ever harm him?” You leave the question hanging in the air. “Guess who met me in a dream?” Again, you take pause to let that sink in, Matt and Bernard collectively blanching. “Conduit’s been altered.”

Silence overtakes the room, their breakfasts forgotten in lieu of a far more pressing issue.

“Oh my shit, Ellie…” Matt breathes, running a hand through his hair. “Did you tell Eddie yet?”

Your lack of answer is enough of an answer for the room.

“Well, you kinda have to cause, you know, he’s his brother.” Bernard pipes in. “Hate to be the one to ask this, but how bad is he right now?”

“Not like Julia when we first found her, but he’s getting there...” As much as it pains you to say that, it’s the truth.

“We’ll just have to tell him when we’re laying down the groundwork for our plans, which isn’t a big deal, but, for as much as Eddie tries to convince himself that nothing’s happening to Conduit, he’s not stupid.” Matt says, pouring himself another cup of coffee. “He knows damn well what’s probably happening to him right now.”

>(1/3)

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>>5350610

“Yeah, I remember I had some freaky kind of dream where I was gettin’...” Bernard trails off, face falling in realization. “Oh damn… that was Conduit, wasn’t it?”

You nod, wishing that you’d realized it sooner yourself. Maybe then you could’ve urged Eddie to finish the program way faster, but there’s no use in thinking too much about the past.

“So, do you guys want the bad news or worse news first?”

“Eh. I’ll take the bad news,” Bernard says.

“Worse news.” Matt replies.

You’re not sure if finding out about the Fraternity of the Atom or Conduit’s impending transformation into a mindless husk is the worse of the two evils. Considering that Conduit’s doom is the more pressing matter, you decide to start with that first.

After explaining the deal with Conduit for the third time in the past day, much like everyone else you’ve told thus yet, Matt and Bernard are left in varying states of shock.

Of course, you don’t stop there, since the Fraternity of the Atom is another lurking threat. If the fight’s in the sewers, you’re confident you can win. However, with Jezebel’s gang being what you think is a small portion of the overall group, you wonder just how many mutants you’ll be facing.

“Well fuck.” Matt finally says, breaking the dread-filled silence. “There goes my good morning.”

“Hey, but at least Boleski and the Healer are gonna help us out.” Bernard tries to find even the smallest speck of something positive in the situation. “But man, guess you really were busy, Ellie– we were both kinda goofin’ off the whole time. I was swimmin’ in the river, stick was canoodlin’ with Jenna–”

“I told you not to mention that…” Matt growls, a sudden look of fury growing on his face.

“Nah stick, I’m just teasin’ you.” Bernard tells him with a pat on the back. “It’s nice what you got goin’ on– we’re seriously happy if you’re happy.”

“You too, B. Ever gonna tell you-know-who that–” Matt says in a whisper, and, all-too-quickly, Bernard shoves a hand over his mouth, the rest of Matt’s words ending up muffled and unintelligible.

“Gonna tell who what?” You tilt your head, a little puzzled by Bernard’s behavior.

>(2/3)

>>5350613

“Nothin,’ fish.” For whatever reason, you think that Bernard looks tad nervous, his face taking on a faint hint of red. “Just some guy stuff.”

“Ah.” You nod, and leave it at that.

“Anyways,” Matt drawls, drawing yours and Bernard’s attention. “If we’re going to start planning, we should do it soon before the X-Force starts moving again. Would tonight or tomorrow sound good?”

While you’re fine with either, Eddie will be finished with his program within the next two days.

>When do you want to start planning?
>Tonight!
>Tomorrow night!
>Write-in

>It's still morning, so you still have time before then... so wat do?
>So where are those dank new suits?
>Who wants to test those swords?!
>While not a pressing matter, you still have Boleski's notebook...
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5350615
>>Tonight!
>Who wants to test those swords?!

>>5350615
>Tonight!
>>5350615
>Who wants to test those swords?!

>>5350661
>>5350681

>Tonight or never!
>DIAMOND SWOOOOORDDDSSSSSSSSS

Pardon the wait, kings-- got some surprise guests and couldn't get out of playing host ;-;
Writing!

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>>5350944

“Tonight’s good,” You tell Matt because earlier is always better in your opinion.

“Gotcha– tonight it is.”

It’s not even the afternoon, which means you have plenty of time before then. One thing you’d been thinking about are those diamond swords you got from Ralph– swords which might as well have been pulled straight from Meinkraft.

“Why don’t we give those swords a try?” You suggest to the others, and later sees you outside of the city in some empty field of Bernard’s choosing.

“Why couldn’t we have done this on our beach?” You wonder why you couldn’t have just chosen the easier and closer place to do this.

“One: we needed the guy who actually knows how to use a knife, the guy who also happens to be the most wanted mutant in the city–” Matt throws a hand out to Valjean. “Two: we needed a second person who wouldn’t get hurt when we beat the shit out of them with said knives.” He makes a motion to Julia.

“I only came to see if they were real.” Valjean crosses his arms. “Hate to rain on your parades, but is it really a good idea to get injured before our next mission?”

“We have the Healer.” Matt states. “And Ellie.”

“Last time I checked, the Healer wasn’t free, midget.” Valjean objects, taking one of the diamond swords to inspect it. “And isn’t real-life diamond fundamentally brittle? It’ll shatter as soon as you hit it on something hard enough.” He points out.

“It doesn’t follow real-life physics, dumbass. It follows video game logic. Video games–” Matt explains, as if it were plainly obvious. “It shouldn’t break fast at all unless you hit it on something that isn’t alive.”

“Sounds fun.” A grin spreads across Valjean’s face, one that shows too many teeth to be a nice one. “Explain to me how a Meinkraft sword works again, midget. Never touched Meinkraft in my life.”

“You’ve never played Meinkraft?!” Matt is appalled, but, quickly recovering from his shock, the two of them fall into a heated discussion about how to properly use the diamond swords.

>(1/2)

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>>5351043

As for you, you’ve played your share of Meinkraft– not nearly half as much as Matt, but enough to know the game pretty much inside-and-out. Grabbing one of the swords off the ground, the bright blue weapon gleams in the noonday sun. From within the transparent crystal, you can see the innumerable facets that almost make it look rainbow as opposed to its vibrant shade of blue.

It is immensely light in your grasp, barely heavier than what a twig might feel like to a normal person, and, slashing it with all of the expertise of someone who’s never used a weapon in their life (though Matt has taught you the basics of gun-shooting), you can’t help but relish in the whooshing sound it makes– because the sword is way cooler when you’re actually holding and swinging it!

While you don’t really have much use for a weapon with your powerful claws and deadly fins, this isn’t an ordinary weapon that runs on normal logic.

It’s why you want to test its limits and see just what kind of damage the sword can wreak...

Total swords: 7 (-1 sword for merging two)

Sword Enchantment List:
>x1 Fire Aspect I/Sharpness I
>x2 Bane of Arthropods I
>x1 Unbreaking I


>How will you test out the swords?
>Spar with someone! (Julia will outright refuse.)
>Have someone hit you/Julia/both of you with one of the enchanted swords!
>Have someone spar against someone else (Write-in versus Write-in).
>Test its durability at your full strength and hit it on something!
>Write-in

Don't forget to write in which sword(s) will be used with your option!

>(2/2)

>>5351067
>Fire aspect+sharpness
>>Have someone hit you with one of the enchanted swords!
Light me on fire!

>>5351067
>Spar with someone!(Matt)

Gonna check out for the night-- got hit by the drawing bug and got into a zone, so you all know how that goes!

We'll pick this up tomorrow in the afternoon, so until then!

Calling with a coin flip in a half-hour to an hour.
Anyone else experience the weird 4chan blackout last night?

>>5351817
same, man. it only got well at 5am (4am for ya I think)

>>5351067
>>5351104
+1 to this! And yea, 4chan was down last night--still kinda funky today.

>>5351068
>FIRE, BABY!

>>5351104
>>5351845
>Spar time!

Looks like we're sparring with Matt (who I presume will be taking the sword with Fire aspect+sharpness)! Called and writing!

Update postponed.
Power surged and router might be broken. Using hardware store wifi to write this so Rip.

>>5352052
The curse strikes again. It's not an episode of those so, it could be worse!

test

Aw yeah it works! Thanks for your patience, anons! Early(er) update incoming!

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>>5351899

Okay, so you kind of suck with weapons, but that isn’t going to stop you from trying out a freaking sword!

And who better to try a sword out with than the one guy who can probably use the sword well and won’t intentionally try to make sashimi out of you?

You find Matt still with Valjean, still discussing whether or not the sword will work more like a bat or a knive, and, when you propose the idea of a spar with Matt, you get odd looks from both the guys, as if you’d said something completely outlandish.

Still, you know Matt won’t refuse a spar against you because, deep down, he wants to know how strong the swords are just as much as you do.

“You don’t even need a weapon.” Valjean points out the obvious.

“Well, do you wanna be the guy who test-runs Fire Aspect and Sharpness I on themselves?” Matt asks to the air, and Valjean doesn’t answer. “No? Didn’t think so either.”

“Spar with me after, midget. You'll get a real fight.” Valjean says before taking his leave, one of his own swords in tow.

“You sure you wanna do this?” While Matt won’t be malicious, you know he won’t go easy on you whatsoever.

“It’s no big deal– I’ll regenerate it all back anyways!” You wave him off. A little blood spilled on your part will hurt no one, except for you. Probably.

“‘S not that. I thought hand-to-hand combat was more of your forte.” Matt says. “You're way, way better than me at it anyhow at this point, and you know how they say ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it?’”

True as that might be, you already asked to spar. Even if you lose miserably (which is a given with your skill with weapons), you’ll at least get a good idea about how well the sword will fare against stronger mutants like yourself. Plus, there’s no way you're backing out of it now.

>(1/2)

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>>5352688

“You really don’t mind getting the shit beaten out of you?” Matt sighs, knowing there’s no escape from your stubbornness. "This might get bloody reaaallyyyy fast..." He tries again.

You shrug. Whatever Matt throws at you can’t be worse than anyone else you’ve fought against.

“There is no way this can possibly go wrong…” He mutters sarcastically. “Let me run you through the basics at least.”

With that, Matt explains to you the barest basics of how to swing, parry, and block a sword. While it's easy to commit the moves to memory in the same vein you learn new fighting techniques, the use of something that is not your fists or fins leaves you feeling a bit out of your element.

Matt, on the other hand, moves with far more confidence where the weapon is concerned, but you chalk that up to his affinity with weapons in general.

When you ask, he tells you, "Kinda just read up on it-- honestly seems like a bat with extra steps to me." The two of you then take your positions, face-to-face with each other.

It's a little hot out but not oppressive, the sun gleaming down on your swords and reflecting on the grass below.Taking a fighting stance, you hold your blade out in front of you, stealing a quick glance to Matt to see just how he's holding his sword.

"Ready?" He asks from across the grass, a cold, calculative calmness filling his eyes.

Wordlessly, you nod, and that's all the incentive your brother needs to come slashing at you with vicious intent.

>Roll 1d100+-15 to block!(-10 SWORD NOOBIE, +5 NATURAL SPEED, -10 HOLDING BACK)

>(2/2)

Rolled 45 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5352691

Rolled 14 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5352691
Watch THIS

Rolled 71 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5352691
Hope we can at least learn something, might be useful down the road if we find something better than our fins or if we have to hide them.

>>5352700
>>5352711
>>5352798
>Highest Roll: 54
Writing!

>>5352067
Yep-- anything's better than one of *those* episodes!

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>>5352858

The sharp, deadly weapon swishes through the air, right towards your torso.

Though awkward and amateurish, with inhuman reflexes, you bring up the sword to parry with inhuman reflexes, preparing for the onslaught of blood and pain.

What you don’t expect is for a loud ‘clang’ to resound through the air, diamond meeting diamond, elation flowing through you as your block had been successful. But that elation is short-lived.

Pulling his weapon out of the fray, Matt quickly recovers, again aiming a slash at your upper body. You try to block it again, and, in spite of your speed, the sword fumbles in your grip, falling downward but not completely out of your grasp, but the error is more than enough for Matt to get a hit on you, pixelated diamond slicing mercilessly through flesh.

Blood spurts out from the wound, staining your clothes crimson and causing your instinct to buzz, but that isn’t the worst part.

In a single, great burst, pixels in all manner of reds, oranges, and yellows nearly-explode into existence, encompassing the whole of your body.

And, oh man, is it painful! The fire would be more than enough to have a normal person on their knees, and, while you can still see Matt through the pixelated flames, you ignore the pain in favor of taking a sloppy, half-blinded swing at him, the swing missing by a wide margin.

Just as quickly as the flames started do they stop, as if they weren’t even there in the first place.

Surprisingly, with not even the faintest hint of a singe anywhere on your person, nothing had ended up burnt. The whole thing just happened to hurt like a bitch.

“How did that feel?” While his sword is still poised to fight, Matt had taken pause to watch the effects of Fire Aspect on you.

>(1/2)

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>>5352875

“That was just a scratch,” You declare, taking a few steps away from the sword; the wound on your shoulder has already healed, and you’re more than ready for whatever else Matt will throw at you. “Just a flesh wound.”

Though you could definitely power through that, it’s not something that you particularly want to deal with again. You’ll just have to play this smarter from here on out.

Like a pair of dogs circling for the kill, you and Matt watch each other, waiting to see what the other will do. As the proverbial coals have already been lit, the fires of both battle and sibling rivalry burn deep within the both of you, the two of you being far too stubborn to even consider calling it quits.

>Wat do?
>Go offensive!
>Keep on the defense!
>Yield (like a little bitch)!
>Write-in

>(2/2)

>>5352877
>>Keep on the defense!

>>5352877
>>Keep on the defense!

>>5352858
56 aktchually
>>5352877
>Keep on the defense!
Man, this fights reminds me of the Musashi vs Pickle fight in Baki, specially the part where pickle get's Musashi's sword.

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>>5352879
>>5352893
>>5352911
Time to defend, which also means it's ROLL TIME!
Roll me 1d100+-15 for defense (-10 SWORD NOOBIE, +5 NATURAL SPEED, -10 HOLDING BACK)!!!

Oh, and, if there's any strategy, move, or ploy you guys want to do, be sure to write it in! Now best of three!! GO!!

>>5352911
>56 aktchually
Oof-- I'm supposed to be elevendy times smarter than that ;-;
>picrel

Rolled 62 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5352930

Rolled 59 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5352930
Let’s go

Feel free to roll again! I’ll be back to write the results in a bit!

Rolled 17 - 15 (1d100 - 15)

>>5353134
Alright then

>>5353159
>>5352968
>>5352936

>Highest Roll: 47
And I definitely, DEFINITELY did not use a calculator to make sure I wasn't going loco like on that last roll...
I promise I'm not a dumbass, at least when I'm sober.
Writing!

>>5353205
Watchu drinking ?

>>5353227

That question made me laugh, but nothing tonight, anon-- I am very much sober kek

I'd be drinking Prosecco or Gewurztraminer if I did have some. That or Leffe blonde/brun. Hate the feeling of alcohol way too much to drink more than once a week if at all, but can't lie that it tastes damn good.

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>>5353205

It’s Matt who breaks the standoff, lunging forwards to aim his sword at your lower body.

Slightly more sure of yourself after that first block, you bring your sword down to parry, but, far too focused on holding back for Matt’s sake, you end up sacrificing a good deal of your own, battle-borne dexterity.

Your sword blocks his own, but he’s able to get an opening by deftly sliding his sword below and under your own.

It doesn’t even have to cut you, but all it takes is a nick from the ice-blue blade for your body to burst into flames once more.

“Oh come on!” You shout, holding your sword out in front of you to prevent Matt from getting anymore hits on you.

“Don’t be a baby, Ellie– probably doesn’t even hurt for you.” He taunts, your body still aflame. Whatever concern Matt had for you before has all been thrown to the wayside, your brother enjoying the fight far too much for his own good.

“Now get rekt!” He cries, ferocious excitement coating his voice as he strikes at you again and again. By a narrow margin, just a few of the blocks end up successful, but the majority of Matt's slashes hit their mark. While the pain from the Fire Aspect is the same as it was the first time around, it’s a little easier to bare now that you’ve felt it once.

>(1/2)

>>5353318

The fire, if the pixels can be considered that, is the lesser of the evils if you’re comparing it to being sliced, because getting sliced means losing blood, and losing blood means your body will want something to replenish what was lost.

For now, it doesn’t seem like that secondary part of yourself will overcome you, your instinct thrumming like the low beat of a drum from the smell of blood.

Obstinate as you are, you still don’t want to concede, but you refuse to lose yourself over something as stupid as a swordfight.

If you want any chance of salvaging this fight, you’ll have to think of something fast!

>What do?
>Thrust– if you can make it past Matt’s defenses, he’ll yield!
>Continue defending– hasn't worked so far, but maybe you'll get that opening!
>Reluctantly yield– give your bro a confidence boost! (WARNING: He will be VERY cocky afterwards)
>Write-in

>(2/2)

>>5353321
>>Thrust– if you can make it past Matt’s defenses, he’ll yield!
fuck it, just power through

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Gonna check out here for the night, folks--hoping after all this sword stuff we can move to the REAL MEAT of the thread.Crap, I miss my formatting powers.

As always, thanks for playing, and see you all next time!

>>5353321
>Thrust– if you can make it past Matt’s defenses, he’ll yield!
Since bro is cocky and our defense is really shit, time to advance

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>>5353321
>>Thrust– if you can make it past Matt’s defenses, he’ll yield!
Channel our inner M O T I V A T I O N!

>>5353328
>>5353457
>>5353536
>Go big or go home!
Guess what, folks?! It’s time to roll, that’s what!!
Roll me 1d100+-10 for (-10 SWORD NOOBIE, +5 NATURAL SPEED, -5 SLIGHTLY HOLDING BACK)!!!

If you got a strategy, move, or ploy you guys want to do here, be sure to write it in! Now best of three!! GO!!

Rolled 54 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>5353717
use uh pocket sand

Rolled 92 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>5353717
catch his sword with your teeth!

Rolled 89 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>5353717
>>5353736
Nice roll, anon

>>5353730
>>5353736
>>5353833
>Highest roll: 82!!!
Writing!

>>5353736
We'd end up destroying the sword there-- not a good idea if you wanna lose the only good sword with decent enchantments.

>>5353911
Damn, can Eli not contain her urge to bite? That's a bad sign for future Blink

>>5353916

Well, if you consider normal human teeth are the strongest substance in the human body, you can imagine just how strong Elise's teeth must be.

Damn, anon, you made me kek hard though.

>>5353921

Though you’ve recovered from everything your brother has thrown at you thus far, if only for the fact that this is your first time sparring with a sword, Matt’s had the upper hand on you for the majority of the fight.

There’s only one way to end this, and it’s not going to be you giving up, because Matt will rub it in your face for the rest of your natural-born life if you do!

You can’t have that happen, not even if your life depended on it!

You’re no longer holding back completely like you were throughout the fight, a little more speed in your step as you surge towards him.

Matt’s getting cockier, careless even, now swinging at you as if he had his bat rather than an actual sword.

Strongly, firmly, you plant your feet into the ground at the same moment he throws another slash at you, to which you just barely block.

Somehow, with Matt’s sword in close reach of your face, you have the overwhelming urge to lean straight forwards and bite the sword– break it into pieces with your teeth– but you push the thought out of your mind as quickly as it came, kicking him backwards with the intent to make him fall.

Using the momentum, he deftly recovers by rolling into a crouch, the look on his face even more determined to end the fight here and now.

That’s why it’s either all or nothing. Gripping tighter onto the hilt, you spring forwards before he can make his next move. Just barely, does he rise to greet your forward thrust with his own sword to parry by pushing your own sword downwards, but that move ends up being Matt’s downfall.

>(1/3)

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>>5353984

Just the slightest bit of your own strength ends up causing Matt’s sword to fall right out of his hand, the weapon going airborne and landing a good distance away.

With your sword poised at his neck– an unspoken prompt for him to surrender– Matt looks around wildly, reaching to his side for a bat that doesn’t exist.

“Fold!” You exclaim, a sharp-toothed grin spreading across your face, because that’s Matt’s only option. It takes a good couple of moments, but he raises his hands slowly and reluctantly before throwing them down in a huff.

“Beginner’s luck!” Matt calls, scouring the overgrown fields for his sword. Evidently, he is highly salty about losing.

You, on the other hand, feel just a little more competent with the sword than you had been, but you just saved yourself from a few weeks worth of smug taunts, courtesy of Matt.

“And don’t try to hold that shit like a spear, cause I saw that– you were doing that the whole time!” His voice interrupts your train of thoughts. You could’ve sworn you’d been holding it correctly…

But who cares?! You won!

Even if you kind of fudged the ending with your strength, you can’t help but be a little proud of yourself for winning on your first try. Maybe weapons aren't all that useless if you can learn how to use them right-- never hurts to be more well-rounded, in your opinion.

Wandering off to see what the others are up to, you find that Bernard and Julia had been swinging around the swords as well with all of the grace of a pair of baboons.

Valjean’s motions, on the other hand, are leagues above either of the two, which is why you’re interested in seeing how the swordfight with him and Matt will go...

>Roll me some 2d100s-- one for Matt and one for Valjean!! BEST OF THREE!! GO GO GO!!!

>(2/2)

Rolled 35, 85 = 120 (2d100)

>>5353992

Rolled 4, 50 = 54 (2d100)

>>5353992

Rolled 73, 12 = 85 (2d100)

>>5353992

>>5354002
>>5354007
>>5354021

>Matt: 73
>Valjean: 85

Looks like V-Man’s taking home the gold! Writing!!!

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>>5354100

You find a log to sit on that’s positioned comfortably in the shade, taking a swig of water from some of the drinks you brought along. Also having anticipated the upcoming fight, it’s not long before Bernard and Julia join you.

While Matt switches out his enchanted sword for something that will cause minimal damage to his opponent, Valjean had been long-since ready for this swordfight.

“Who you think is gonna win?” Bernard asks, turning his head to you. “I’m bettin’ on stickface, hands down.”

In your opinion, it’s hard to say; Matt might be skillful with all sorts of weapons, but knives are a relatively new ballgame for him. A ‘tsk–’ from beside you snaps you out of your musings.

“Are you so certain?” Julia asks with a raised brow. “I wouldn’t put all your stock in him– he did just lose to Elise.”

Even though you won, without your strength and speed, Matt would’ve had that fight in the bag. That spar had been the epitome of beginner’s luck.

“Eh, let’s just watch and find out.” With that, Bernard leans forwards to watch the two other males take their positions in the field, squirming slightly in anticipation.

“Don’t try any funny business, asshat.” Matt tells Valjean.

“Me? Never?” The comment elicits a smirk from the former Crux leader. “Loser either has to drop their sword or be on the ground for more than five seconds.”

“Whatever–” Matt glares. “Just shut up and put your money where your mouth is.”

“If you say so.” Valjean hums, not-at-all fazed by Matt’s attitude. “On my count…” He pauses to shift into a fighting stance, Matt following suit.

“Three… Two… One…” Right as that last number is said, both of the males are in motion.

Diamond against diamond, the field is filled with clang after clang as Matt and Valjean descend into their deadly dance. While your terror of a brother moves with all the ferocity of a rabid pit bull, Valjean is the hallmark of calm, calculative poise– calculative poise that hides a fierce tenacity just beneath the surface.

>(1/3)

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>>5354175

It’s hard to tell who has the upper hand, both males slashing and blocking in equal measure.

You watch Valjean dodge a particularly brutal slash from Matt, one that could’ve left a nasty scar on his face if he’d been just a few inches closer. From beside you, you hear a low intake of breath from Julia, clearly worried for Valjean’s own safety despite knowing he can hold his own. But Valjean absolutely refuses to give Matt any headway, thrusting his knife through the opening left by your brother’s attack.

Matt blocks in the nick of time, struggling to hold his sword against Valjean who’s pushing down against his own.

With bated breath, you, Bernard, and Julia watch to see who will pull through. It’s Matt who stumbles backwards, tumbling back into the dirt and grass.

Much too quickly for him to react, Valjean pins him to the dirt with his foot, the force knocking the wind right out of him. This causes Matt to loosen his grip on his sword, which Valjean spares no second in knocking it from his hand with his own sword.

Five seconds pass before Valjean removes his foot from your brother, the match having ended and the winner decided.

“Fuck!” Matt cries. With two losses in a day, that has to sting at his pride. Though he’d won, Valjean doesn’t look all-that-cocky like you’d expected, staring down at Matt with a contemplative look on his face.

“Wasn’t terrible… for a nonmutant.” He finally says, and you’re pretty sure that’s the closest Matt will get to a compliment from Valjean. “Keep practicing.” Valjean curtly tells him, pulling Matt back to his feet.

The display of good sportsmanship on Valjean’s part leaves you slightly disconcerted, and you’re left staring at the empty space where Matt and Valjean had been, wondering if you’re high on drugs.

“Are my eyes playin’ tricks on me or what?” Bernard confirms you are not on any sort of drug. “Jerkface must be in a good mood today.”

>(2/3)

>>5354177

“Think he’d be doing the same thing if he lost?” You wonder aloud.

“Probably not.” Bernard laughs. “He’d probably tell stick he got lucky or somethin,’ but let’s not go questionin’ a miracle, shall we?” The blonde has an excellent point. “Ready to get goin,’ fish?”

When you get home, you end up snacking on some of that cow carcass that Jenna and her family gave to you. It satisfies the whisper of hunger that had been left from losing the amount of blood you did from the spar, so, when night rolls around, you, Matt, and Bernard are more than ready to get to business.

>Who's showing up to the meeting?
>Everyone– it’s way easier if everyone gets to hear the scoop when it’s being made. Call Boleski and the Healer in and tell those guys it's time!
>Just Ermac. You’ll give the deets to Boleski and the Healer when you’ve actually got the plan.
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5354186
>Just Ermac. You’ll give the deets to Boleski and the Healer when you’ve actually got the plan.

Gonna leave the vote open and skedaddle. Feeling kinda sloggy for no reason and don't want to force an update if my eyes are crossing.

We'll pick up in the afternoon tomorrow, as per usual.
See ya folks!

>>5354186
>>Just Ermac. You’ll give the deets to Boleski and the Healer when you’ve actually got the plan.

>>5354186
>Just Ermac. You’ll give the deets to Boleski and the Healer when you’ve actually got the plan.

>>5354249
>>5354313
>>5354640

Looks like we're only bringing our favorite man-made-machine to the proverbial war-room! Writing!

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>>5354876

For now, you’ll only drag Eddie along to the warehouse, his knowledge of FutureLabs being essentially priceless. Boleski and the Healer will definitely be hearing all about it later, but your planning will be a lot more effective if you just bring the people who will get it done and get it done right.

Only downside to not having either of your new recruits is that you won’t get a chance to see Matt’s and Bernard’s new suits tonight, since there’s no real reason for any of you to dress the part of hero.

At the very least you won’t have to go through the rigmarole of putting on your suit, instead throwing on something more comfortable like a fresh T-shirt. Though, the number of clean, viable shirts you have in your possession is rapidly diminishing.

“Pharos and Jewel.” Eddie greets Valjean and Julia. For tonight’s gathering, the technopath had made himself at home within an old burner phone, the device in Matt’s hand coming to life in a flash of light blue.

“We haven’t properly met, but you might know me as Ermac.” Although Eddie has been watching the two for a long while via the security system he built, this is his first time actually meeting either of them face-to-face.

“So you’re the man-made-machine?” Valjean drawls, leaning back in his seat.

“That I am. As it stands, my consciousness exists as code and will continue to exist as such until I’ve returned to my body.” He informs the former Crux leader. “Jewel looks well.” Eddie points out, to which Julia starts at being addressed.

“Do I…know you?” She stares curiously at the phone.

“You shouldn’t, and you wouldn’t have remembered me even if we did meet.” The technopath answers.

“Oh.” Julia seems to understand, eyes cast downwards. “I’d–I’d rather not remember that if I had to…”

An uncomfortable silence settles over the table, Julia shuffling a bit closer to Valjean. He doesn’t seem all-too-happy that Eddie had dug up those old bones, but it’s hard to deny something that shaved away all-but the smallest fraction of her memory.

>(1/?)

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>>5355128

“Let’s get to it, shall we?” Valjean says a little too aggressively, clearly wanting to shift the focus off of Julia. “How is this going to play out exactly?”

“We’re going to time it when the X-Force isn’t in Konigsburg.” Matt speaks up. “There’s a lot of stuff on the news that implies they’re going to make a move on Maranzano soon or later. That’s all the way in New York.”

“And pray tell, how do you actually know when they’ll go?” Valjean looks highly skeptical of Matt’s proposition. “There’s no way in hell they’d make that public.”

“Ermac and I monitor the livestreams of the road leading out of FutureLabs.” Matt states, as if that explained everything. “There’s only one road in and out of FutureLabs, and we’ve noticed that every time the X-Force makes a move, they don’t use regular police vans. Look–” He holds out the phone, Eddie’s trademark glow being replaced with snapshots of the streetcam footage.

“That’s a prisoner transport van…” Valjean whispers, eyes lighting up in recognition. How he seems to know that on instant is beyond you, but you don’t question it for now.

“Yeah no shit– those guys are still property of FutureLabs at the end of the day– but usually it’s one or two vans at a time for small things. Stuff that makes them look good on television.” Matt explains. “So when they’re finally making their move on Maranzano, we’ll definitely know.”

“Cause they’ll be bringin’ the whole calvary too, right?” Bernard chimes in. “Can’t imagine they wouldn’t want some normal backup as well just to set an example.”

“Exactly.” Matt nods. “But that’s when we’ll make our move.”

>(2/3)

>>5355130

“How long do you think we have?” You ask. The more time you spend waiting, the closer Atticus Charles will get to having his living mutant detector.

“I’d be surprised if it was even a week, Ellie.” Matt tells you. “Trust me when I say it won’t be long.”

“Okay…” While you’re still worried for Conduit, you fully believe in Matt’s intelligence. At least everything and everyone will be more than good-to-go by then.

But there’s another concern that weighs on your mind: the concern of Eddie’s body.

“Hey, quick question,” You blurt out, wanting to get this settled. “Who’s going to be stealing back Eddie’s body while the rest of us are rescuing Conduit?” You ask the rest of the table. “The Healer already agreed to do it, but she’s definitely not capable of doing it alone. And they will try to kill Eddie as soon as they realize what's going on.”

While it would be a waste of strength to put you or Bernard on this task, you have no shortage of people you could put on the job.

>Who goes with the Healer to retrieve Eddie?
>Matt– you already got a hacker in the form of Eddie. (Carjacker/hacker/first-aid/weapons)
>Julia– a little excessive in terms of muscle. (Can’t carjack/hack/do first-aid)
>Valjean– he will likely object/refuse this.
>Boleski-- brutal/schizo/acid
>Write-in

>(3/3)

Pardon the long-ish wait– dog ran away and I had to chase him down. No way I’m letting him get eaten by the neighborhood pibble!!! A leashless one, in fact.

Pibbles are love.
Pibbles are life.

>>5355144
>>Matt– you already got a hacker in the form of Eddie. (Carjacker/hacker/first-aid/weapons)

Glad your dog is safe, man!

>>5355144
>>Matt– you already got a hacker in the form of Eddie. (Carjacker/hacker/first-aid/weapons)

>>5355144
>Matt– you already got a hacker in the form of Eddie. (Carjacker/hacker/first-aid/weapons)

>>5355146
Is your dog a pit, or are you protecting yours from them?

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>>5355248
>>5355167
>>5355165
>Matt attack!
Writing!

>>5355310
Not a pit and a heck of a lot larger, but now he's old enough that he wants to start protecting territory from other dogs. Wouldn't stand a chance with zero violent bones in his body.
Also if anyone ITT has a pitty I'm sure they're very nice and friendly and raised to be super duper uber precious nanny dogs that wouldn't hurt a fly :-)

>>5355144
>Julia
Excessive maybe, but we did promise to keep her safe

I just realized it's like super late in my timezone. Got half the update done and realized it's just ballooning into a monster-- four posts long, maybe five, if I had to estimate right now-- and, in my exhaustion, I don't particularly want to end up making some logic-slash-continuity error that I'll end up slamming my head against my desk for (some of the stuff I've written while exhausted can get just as bad as the boozeposts kek).

I'll finish it up tomorrow so this way I can draw some nice pretty pictures to go with it (I've been kinda slacking on pics for... reasons. Reasons which you shall see later ITT).

So... with that, I shall now get some snoozes. As always, thanks for playing, and see you next time, kings!

>>5355398
No problem QM. Rest well.

Update incoming, lads!

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>>5355320

With everyone shooting each other sidewards glances, no one really wanting to volunteer, it seems that you’ll have to take the initiative, and you know the one person who’s more than perfect for the job.

“We’ll have Matt get Eddie’s body.” You declare, then immediately brace yourself for the storm of complaints on hAvInG tO dO tHe sHiTtY jOb.

But such complaints never come, the expression on Matt’s face remaining unchanged. “Fine by me.”

“Come again?” You thought he would’ve thrown a tiff over having to go with the Healer.

“The rest of you will screw it up royally.” While the rest of you guys have your own strengths, for situations that require a bit more finesse, Matt’s like a precision knife when it boils down to it.

“He’s right.” Eddie’s screen flashes as if in agreement. “The highest probability of success lies with Matt. Second lies with Pharos with ten-point-five-nine-eight-five percent less of a chance.”

“And where’d you get those numbers?” Valjean wonders, more curious than doubtful.

“Self-created algorithms.” Eddie returns. “One of the many perks of being a technopath.”

“Anyways,” Matt interrupts, scooting forwards against the table. “Let’s get back on topic here.” You don’t need to be told twice.

“Alright,” He starts, clearing his throat and gathering up his thoughts. “So when you guys go in, you’ll need to get Eddie’s program in the data center, which is separate from the main building.” On the phone, a miniature display of a blueprint flashes to life, a set of red dots indicating your assumed waypoints. “It’s going to be guarded, but if you do end up getting busted, which I highly doubt if you have Valjean…” He makes a motion towards the former Crux leader. “...then you’re going to need to really haul ass back to the containment center.”

“Not a problem.” Bernard dismisses that part of Matt’s concerns. “Cell three-twenty-four, right?” The blonde somehow had remembered that tidbit of information.

“You’re right, but there is a possibility Conduit might not be in his cell period.”

“Don’t remind me…” Eddie’s voice crackles from the phone.

>(1/?)

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>>5356031

“Elise.” The technopath addresses. “Your brother informed me about what happened between you and Conduit.” Matt had to; Conduit’s situation was something that everyone on this plan needed to know.

“I didn’t mean to keep it from you.” You say in a rush, guilt flashing through you for having hid that from him. “It just happened so soon that–”

“͔͍̳͜N̤̭̙̜͍͡o̥̯͉̮–”̘̳̠̞ Eddie cuts you off, the noise startling you into silence, and, in spite of the fact that he doesn’t even need to breathe, the computerized man emits a long, weary sigh.

“I’ve known this would happen for a long time, long before I gave up my physical body. Doctor Charles would’ve found a way to get his hands on my brother with or without my death.” He tells you. “I just never wanted to acknowledge it.”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that Conduit would be in danger so long as he’s a prisoner within FutureLabs’ whitewashed walls. You think it must have really pained Eddie to make that final call in giving up his body, but, in the time he’s been separated from it, he’s done far more in helping to get Conduit back than he has when he had his physical body.

“Please continue, Matt.” Eddie refuses to stew in the uncomfortable silence.

“Mhmm…” Matt’s face is the pinnacle of clinical impartiality. “You have any way to get back in touch with Conduit, Ellie?”

“Dreaming,” You answer simply. “But that’s a horrible idea– last time I went in Conduit’s head I got stuck there for a day and a half.”

While the time in Conduit’s realm felt like the span of a few hours, you’d fallen asleep in the late evening and woke up in the middle of the afternoon. If you go to sleep in the middle of FutureLabs, you’ll be no better off than a sitting duck.

“Hmmph…” Matt huffs, putting his hand to his chin. “If you can’t get to him fast enough, it’s gonna become touch-and-go real fast.”

While Matt has a fair point, though you could spend a whole eternity planning for this thing, you've found that all of your fights end up becoming touch-and-go more often than not-- it's just the very nature of a battle. A strong base for this extraction is what you really need, so, when it gets to that point, it will be as painless as possible for everyone involved.

“Any other ideas?” You suggest, wanting something more surefire– something you can do while you’re awake. If all else fails, you’ll use the dreaming thing as a last resort.

“Plenty, actually.” Matt takes your question as a challenge. From nowhere, he pulls out a garishly-colored notebook that’s filled to the brim, all manners of papers and bookmarks spilling out from the sides.

“You shouldn’t put that kind of stuff on paper.” You rebuke him, because putting anything in the physical plane is the equivalent of playing with fire.

>(2/?)

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>>5356033

Instead of saying making some comeback, in a single, grandiose motion, Matt opens the book to shove it in front of your face. The sight that greets you is a whole jumble of letters.

“Different letter, different cipher.” He grins. “Pattern is Caesar, Atbash for every odd-numbered paragraph and Atbash, Caesar, Atbash, Atbash for every even-numbered paragraph.”

“Caesar-whatnow?” Bernard is lost.

“Okay, okay, we get it! Can we just get on with the plan?” Valjean is getting tired of Matt’s antics. From beside him, Julia squints at the mess of letters as if mentally commanding them to make some sense.

“Alright… Alright…” Matt sets the book down, looking a little miffed that no one was impressed with his tactics.

“So here’s the rundown on some stuff I came up with, paranoid ciphering tactics notwithstanding…” Matt flips to a page that’s bookmarked with neon green.

“First plan is to be as sneaky as possible, just grab Conduit and get out of there since you’ll all basically be ghosts in the building so long as Eddie’s program’s doing it’s thing. Minimize the amount of contact you make with the enemies, but, let’s be real, that’s easier said than done…”

“Is that the best you can come up with?” Valjean’s unimpressed. “I bet a preschooler could come up with something better than that.”

“Shut up, dick.” Matt growls as he flips to the next bookmark, this time in red.

“Next plan was to create a distraction. Start releasing prisoners with this–” Matt throws Boleski’s keycard on the table.

“Dominic Boleski.” Valjean drawls, peering down at the keycard in question.” Why am I not surprised?” With that, he leans back to kick his feet up on the table, looking to Matt in a silent prompt to continue.

“Now mind you, if you want to do something even bigger than simply releasing prisoners and cause even more of a fuckfest, you have the two special agents on the bottom floor, or should I say FastBall and Blaze?”

While your battles with either of them feel like an eternity ago, you remember both of those fights well. There’s also the fact that neither of them were all-that-fond of you, especially Blaze at your time in the Crux, but, if Julia’s condition is anything to go by, they likely remember nothing about you (or so you hope).

Still, you can’t deny that their powers would give FutureLabs a run for their money.

>(3/?)

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>>5356034

“So who wants to hear plan number three?” Again, Matt’s voice pries you from your thoughts. “Kinda similar to plan number two since it involves more distraction but a little bit different in application…” He stops to take pause.

“Plan number three involves a whole mess of pipe bombs– my creation, of course– so my idea was to have someone, preferably Bernard or Valjean, spread them out and detonate them. Whole point is to have the agents scrambling.”

Bernard looks none-too-pleased about the idea. “Hey I’m not splittin’ if I don’t have to!”

“And I never agreed to sit on the sidelines…” Valjean looks none-too-pleased about getting designated such a task.

“This isn’t our first rodeo. You guys can definitely pull it off.” Matt insists that it can be done.

As the table devolves into an a squabbling mess about who does what between Matt, Bernard, and Valjean, Julia and Eddie watching on in silence, you think that you should be the one to break this up before it gets out-of-hand.

Moreover, as you ruminate on all of the suggestions Matt thrown your way, you wonder if now's the perfect time to pick something and stick with it...

>Wat do?

>You’re ready to decide on a plan!
>You’ll do the:
>Sneaky plan– ghost run! GO!
>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.
>Bomberman plan– spread their forces thin and cause lots of damage to the facility. You'll have to designate at least one bomberman.
>Write-in

>Wait! You’re not ready to decide on a plan yet!
>Tell me a little more about (Blaze/FastBall/something else)
>Write-in

>(4/4)

>>5356042
>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.

>>5356042
>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.

party at Aticus' house all muties invited

>>5356042
>>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.

>>5356042
>>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.

I'm open to the possibility of recruiting Blaze or Fastball. Things are heating up and we might need their help, assuming they're amenable. Big if there though.

>>5356042
>Jailbreak plan– funnel all the FutureLabs goons into a single place and cause a shitload of confusion. You’ll be going to the containment center anyhow.

>>5356044
>>5356055
>>5356062
>>5356163
>>5356164

Looks like Jailbreak wins, no questions asked!
Writing!

>>5356290

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFjE5A4UAJI

Between the storm of testosterone and a trio of egos that are all battling for dominance, you doubt the three guys will shut up if you try to butt in. Okay, maybe Bernard would cause he’s nice, but Matt’s stubborn as a mule. Then you have Valjean, who is… well, Valjean.

Drumming your hands against the table, it’s getting tiresome to argue about who does what. You didn’t like the third plan from the start, the idea of splitting the team leaving a bad feeling in your gut, and, if you’re being frank, it’s your least favorite of all the plans.

Without so much as a word, you shoot up from your seat, and, before anyone present can ask what you’re doing, you bring your hands together in a loud, ear-splitting clap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPGcpIXeA-4

You put enough strength into it that it ends up leaving your own ears ringing, but it has the intended effect, as everyone’s hands fly immediately to their ears.

“Gah–” Bernard is caught off-guard.

“The fuck?!” Matt howls.

“My ears!” Julia shrieks, unused to such a sensation. Next to her, Valjean’s teeth are gritted in pain.

When the table recovers, you have four sets of eyes leveling pissed-off glares in your direction, but, if they didn’t stop fighting, who’d make them?

“Do I have your attention now?” You ask, sharp teeth filling a self-satisfied smirk. “If no one can decide on a plan, then I’ll decide on a plan.” You take a few seconds pause to leave those words hanging.

“We’ll go with the second plan.” You announce to the table.

“Before or after you make us all deaf?” Valjean grouses.

“But you heard that just fine, didn’t you?” You return genially, and, while you know you shouldn’t be adding fuel to the fire, the whole table was basically asking for it… except Julia, of course.

>(1/?)

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>>5356504

It takes a few seconds of Valjean stewing in his own attitude before he finally gives up on trying to out-snide you when he’d clearly been in the wrong. In spite of his aggravation, you can tell he sees the merit in the second plan as well.

“Let’s do it.” He finally agrees. That’s one person on-board with the jailbreaking plan.

“What about the rest of you?” You ask Matt, Bernard, and Julia, hoping that the rest will be on-board as well.

“Fine by me.” Matt shrugs. Since he made the plans, you think he would’ve been fine with any of them.

“Seems like the best shot we have.” Bernard says.

Julia just nods, not seeming to really care all-that-much but agreeing with the general sentiment.

“Cool.” Valjean is satisfied with the outcome. “Now you all can scram because I got some stuff to do.” He moves to get up from his seat.

>(2/3)

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>>5356510

“Like what?” Bernard scratches his head. “Last time I checked, you don’t have a dayjob– at least not anymore.”

“That is my business. Not yours, skeleton.” Valjean smirks. “Meeting adjourned. Now run along and play some video games or whatever kids your age do…” He makes a shooing gesture with his hand.

“For your information, jackass, I’m an adult. A-DULT.” The blonde fires back.

“A real dolt, that’s for sure.” Valjean laughs to himself, and now you’re starting to get pissed off with his mouth.

Bernard gets up from his seat all-to-quickly. Towering over the former Crux leader by a good couple of inches, his fist is clenched as if he wants to clock Valjean in the jaw.

“Leave him be, B.” Matt grabs the blonde by the jacket before the squabble further escalates. “He wants to be a weirdo, let him be a weirdo.”

“Yeah, listen to him, why don’t you? Leave me alone, and let me be a–” Valjean trails off, finally realizing what Matt said. “Screw you too, shortie.”

>Now that the matter of your plan’s settled, you got any more business here or are you good to go?
>Yeah let’s skedaddle– V’s got his BuSiNeSS
>Wait– can he tell us more about Blaze/FastBall/both?
>Say something else to Valjean before you leave (Write-in)
>Write-in

>(3/3)

>>5356520
>>Yeah let’s skedaddle– V’s got his BuSiNeSS

>>5356520
>>Yeah let’s skedaddle– V’s got his BuSiNeSS

Are we hitting up Healer and Acid bro to give them the plan?

>>5356535

Of course we will-- I'll even work that into the next update if you're all cool with it!!

>>5356520
>Wait– can he tell us more about Blaze/FastBall/both?

Anything he was privy to as crux big boss that we wouldn't have known?

>>5356520
>Wait– can he tell us more about both ?

I'm gonna leave the vote open for now-- some crap came up before I could call, but now we're at an impasse it seems!

With that, I'll see you all in the afternoon (unless even more crap comes up), so until then!

Also testing some italics down below, since it's kind of grinding my gears that I don't have it anymore :C
t e s t
test
not werking
i l i k e c h o c c y m i lk

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Hey all, if you follow Siren's Twitter he's run into some net issues again. He still plans to update at least one more time tonight, but naturally it's a little funky. Per his Twitter he rolled to break the tie, so it looks like we'll be talking about the Crux girls!

Thanks for being patient and feel free to follow him on Twitter for more future updates!

While Valjean wants to be left to his BuSiNeSs, whatever that might entail, you're not letting him off that easily; because you want info, specifically about FastBall and Blaze.

You might have information from them from your battles, your time in the Crux, and the Epsilon Trial files, but Valjean personally knew both of them. Perhaps some insight from him could be just as valuable as the information you already have.

"We're not going anywhere until you tell us what you know about FastBall and Blaze." You tell him, placing a hand on your hip.

"You met them," Valjean huffs, none-too-pleased about having his alone-time infringed upon. "Couldn't you get 'him' to tell you about them?" He gestures to Bernard.

"They were a couple of jerks to me is what they were, and you never did anythin' to stop them-- especially Blaze!" Bernard spits out, glaring down at the former Crux leader.

That... wasn't something Bernard ever brought up, at least not outright.

"You have powers, and you weren't a baby either." Valjean's lack of empathy is astounding.

"But I wasn't a brute-force mutant like those lunatics!" He argues, and you're not sure what the blonde could've done against a pair of mutants who either could throw him around like a ragdoll or fry him to a crisp. Aside from his teleportation, he wasn't all that good of a fighter before you and Matt took him under his wing, so that must've made him an easy target for FastBall and Blaze. Pity for the blonde settles like sour milk in your gut.

"You know I'm thinkin' they might be better off not rememberin' anythin.'" Bernard says after several long moments of deliberation.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." You tell Bernard emphatically, placing a hand on his shoulder. His muscles are taut like a coiled spring beneath your touch, fists clenched at his sides.

"V, why don't you take it from here?" Like you, Matt doesn't see the point in bringing up old wounds for Bernard.
"Hmmph. Alright." Valjean taps his foot against the ground. "Where do I start?"

>(1/5)

>>5357638
"Well, we don't know that much about them other than what we got from FutureLabs." Matt tells him. "Wasn't really that much, but we know they've been altered."

"What about Banshee?" Valjean asks, curious as to what had become of her. Of all four girls in the Crux's clique, Banshee had been the least outspoken of all of them.

"Didn't see her in the files." Matt replies, and, when it comes to FutureLabs, that could either mean one of two things: imprisoned or dead. "Anyhow, let's hear about FastBall first."

"She could accelerate the gravity of any object, including herself, but she was a good fighter outside of that. If she knew she was being brainwashed, she didn't care. Didn't have much going for her outside of MMA."

"Yeah I remember she was one of the first members of the Crux." Bernard points out. "But the two of you always gave me the vibe that you knew each other way before that."

"Yes." Valjean nods curtly, causing Julia's head to whip towards him fast enough to give her whiplash. All-too-quickly, you feel a highly menacing aura emanating from the other woman.

"You knew her too, Julia..." Valjean, sensing the mortal danger he's in, attempts to abate her jealousy. "I thought you remembered a little bit of Nina from college. She actually taught you how to fight yourself."

"It's all still bits and pieces for me, but I remember you tried to get that memory back for me." Julia admits, clearly lost about the whole thing. "How-how did you end up meeting Nina anyways?"

Valjean doesn't look like that's something he really wants to delve into, but, with Julia staring up at him with her vivid blue eyes, the former Crux leader's shoulders slump. "...do we really have to talk about this now?"

Julia doesn't answer, a silent cue for him to continue. Under the force of her puppy-dog eyes, Valjean has no choice but to cave to her whims.

"We knew each other through the same scholarship program for kids in less-than-stellar circumstances." Valjean tells her, not-quite looking her in the face. "Happy?"

"Yeah." She smiles, no longer looking ready to tear anyone's head off.

>(2/5)

>>5357639
"Okay. Blaze time--" Matt interrupts. "Stop giving each other googly eyes before I vomit."

"As far as I know, I can do whatever I want, midget." Valjean shoots back. "Want your info or not?"

"The sooner we hear about Blaze, the sooner you guys can go back to playing chess." Matt responds.

"Last time I checked, we don't have a chess set." Valjean grouses.

"Exactly." Matt smirks a very devious smirk, and only then does Valjean realize the connotation of your brother's words.

"Dick." Valjean utters before pointedly ignoring Matt altogether.

"So tell us about Blaze." You remind Valjean, who you know will answer so as to get the rest of you out of here.

"Blaze..." He repeats. "Blaze was definitely effective-- intelligent and powerful as well. She was the one responsible for taking out the majority of the Maranzano family's first wave."

"Yeah I remember that-- how many people you think ended up dyin?'" Bernard questions aloud.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Valjean replies. "But I think the power got to her head-- made her a bitch to deal with sometimes."

"Sometimes?!" Bernard exclaims, looking affronted. "Let's be real, jerkface, she was a bitch all the time."

"I won't deny that, but who knows about now? She could be someone entirely different after what FutureLabs has done to her." Valjean reasons. "If not, that's what 'Les Miserables' is for..."

"We'll worry about that when we get to that point." You say; because what Blaze may or may not be like isn't something worth thinking too hard about, especially with just how different Julia became afterwards.

"Yep, that's basically everything I can give you, unless you'd like to stay and hear about some petty Crux drama. Let me tell you, I've got no shortage of that stuff." He grins a wry, humorless grin.

"Hard pass." Matt mutters, more than ready for Bernard to teleport him out of here. You, too, would rather not stay and hear about that kind of stuff.

"See ya." Matt waves, just as the three of you are enveloped in a flash of green.

>(3/5)

>>5357640
When you get back to your place, you don't waste time in letting Boleski and the Healer know about your new plan.
Your conversation with Boleski goes quickly with you filling him in on the plan, the winged man following along with short responses in his native tongue.

"Tak."

"Rozumiem."

"Do zobaczenia."

Absently, you wonder how the native Poles are able to understand their own gibberish.

The conversation with the Healer, on the other hand, lasts a tad longer.

"H-Hello?" The Healer answers, nervousness coating her tone.

"Healer," You greet the other woman, and, with that, you proceed to fill her in on your plan, the most important part being on how Matt will accompany her in thieving Eddie's body.

"Ahahaha-- Bludgeon, right?" The Healer laughs. "Man, that kid looked like he was barely outta high school."

"You've met Bludgeon before?" Matt hadn't been at Nacht Haven with you.

"Uh, I saw him on TV once on-- on that Huber conference!" She stammers out all-too-quickly. "It-it was really cool seeing the whole M-Guard together. What's his power anyhow?"

"Doesn't have one." You simply state.

"He's n-not a mutant?! B-But he does all that stuff and--" She stops herself, disbelieving. "What the heck is he doing in the M-Guard!?" The Healer sounds positively aghast.

"Bludgeon fights better than half of some mutants out there." You reply, wondering if she has some sort of bias against non-mutants.

"He r-really does-- it's a-amazing!" She half-stutters, half-gushes, and that's enough to lay rest to any of your suspicions. "I-I would've thought he's a mental type if anything. Never would've guessed it myself, but who knew?!"

"Don't go running around with that tidbit. We like to keep FutureLabs on their toes." To this day, FutureLabs still speculates on what type of powers Matt might have. You find it funny to watch them scramble like that--keep them paranoid over something as trivial as a nonexistent mutation.

"Hehehe-- I won't." The Healer laughs, and you trust her enough that she won't go throwing around that bit of information.

>(4/5)

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>>5357643
"So..." She draws out, and you can tell she has another question.

"...when will I get paid?" You could've seen this question coming from a mile away. "S-Sorry for asking! I'm just-- I like m-mone--" She stops herself. "I-I mean that I very much enjoy the fruits of my labor..."

"You'll be paid afterwards." You tell her. "Give or take a day or two."

"Y-Yes please!" The Healer cheers, all manner of professionality thrown to the wind. "Thank you!"

You'd think you told her Santa Claus was real with how happy she sounded, but, since the Healer seemed more-than-pleased with the arrangement (and the payout, as well) the call ends on a good note for the both of you.

It's only a matter of days before the X-Force leaves to New York, and, while the group is away, you and everyone else involved will make your descent upon their facilities once more.

While yo're more-than-prepared for the extraction itself, continuously training your powers and fighting skills, you wonder how you should occupy yourself beforehand.

>Wat do?
>A night on the town with Matt and/or Bernard, like before all this crazy stuff started popping up
>Boleski had that notebook thing. Why don't you take care of that?
>...Text John?
>Write-in


That's it for the night, folks! Router or not, I will try to get an update or two out tomorrow. QM-cancel may try to take me down, but I shall rage, RAGE against the dying light!

>>5357644
>>Boleski had that notebook thing. Why don't you take care of that?

>>5357644
Text John. Try to tease out if X-force is making any big moves soon. If we can get some idea of when they're moving up north to fight the mob, we'll be that much more ready for the break in.

>>5357644
>>...Text John?

>>5357644
>Boleski had that notebook thing. Why don't you take care of that?
Seems like Jenna has a rival now

>>5357644
>...Text John?
hey bro how's life as a FILTHY FUCKING MUTIE FUCK

>>5357659
>>5357727
>Notebook sidequest!

>>5357670
>>5357672
>>5357870
>Text scalie!bro!

I am a very HUMBLE and GOOD QM. Henceforth, I shall work these two options together. No objections? Good.
Writing!

>>5357727
Nina/FastBall's power is pretty different from Jenna's actually.

Quick rundown:

Jenna: Creates a gravitational field around herself. Good for making stuff float; maximum radius unknown.

Nina/FastBall: Able to increase the acceleration of objects, moreso like a slingshot than a constant field. Makes stuff go FAST.

Come to think of it, if Jenna *can* change the gravitational direction in a sort-of mimic of FastBall's power, but, again, there's whole radius thing to take into consideration. Gonna have to take a good ol' archive-dive to figure out what that was...

>>5358297
I thought with rival he meant the Healer being a big Matt fan now

>>5358297
I meant the healer due to her fangirling over Matt, but thanks for explaining the differences between her and fastball powers. It's been a while since the early threads.

>>5358297
sounds like they're pretty different actually

jenna is anti grav while fastball is railgun

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At the very least, before you take a nosedive back into the bleach-white pits of despair, you resolve to get Boleski's notebook to wherever it needs to go. The worn tome will be a weight in the back of your mind otherwise.

Grabbing the book where from where you left it on your desk, you flip it over to where the address reads:
XXX Bard's Way
Little Pike, NJ XXXXX

A quick internet search yields the location of a small suburb just a little ways from Konigsburg that, with Bernard, will make this whole thing a piece of cake.

"Ohd tahtee?" Bernard reads out the words on the cover on the worn tome, green eyes squinting at the mess of consonants that litter the cover page. "What kind of book even is this?"

Before you can think to stop him, the blonde undoes the strap that encloses the moleskine notebook, flipping through a few of the pages.

"Huh..." He says, his rifling through the pages slowing down a tad. If anything, Bernard looks even more confused than he had before. "It's all just words and diagrams."

While you wanted to respect Boleski's privacy by refusing to look inside of that book, now that the book is open, you are very much compelled to steal a peek for yourself, and peeking over Bernard's shoulder confirms his words.

The more you inspect the pages, in spite of Boleski's outward condition as well as the language barrier that prevents you from reading any of it, it appears that the man had put a lot of thought into the construction of this journal. Where neat, spaced out paragraphs litter pages chock-full of anatomical diagrams and illustrations of his power in action, the book seems more akin to some sort of documentation or manual rather than a journal like you had initially suspected.

"Alright, this book's actually kinda boring. Take it back--" Bernard turns around to hand the book back to you, careful not to let any of the pages fall out. Then he yawns loudly and audibly, telling you that you he probably won't deliver the book tonight (not like you'd make him anyhow). "Wanna tag along?"

"Sure." You tell him, because why not? Even if your destination ends up being as dull and boring as the contents of the book, you would be lying to yourself if you said you weren't the least bit curious about where the book might take you.

With that, Bernard proceeds to stretch like a cat, clearly ready to go to bed. For now, without his old mattress, he'll have to take the couch, but, the next time you hit Schonbrunn Mall, you plan to get him something way better to sleep on.

"Night Ellie." He says through yet another yawn, making his way towards the couch.

"Night." You return, before padding back to your own room.

>(1/2)

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>>5358574
Along with your plans on helping Bernard play notebook-courier, you try to text John. You don't know why, but you feel the need to do so, which causes you to spend a good half-day battling your phone. Every time you think you've come up with just the right thing to say, fingers quickly jotting your words into the chat window, you delete them just as quickly, doubtful of yourself.

In that time, your cell phone gets flung across whatever room you're in more times than you can count: on your bed, against the couch, and one shameful time against the floor, you're wholly surprised that your phone hasn't ended up cracked at least once. Then again, you took money out of your own, meager funds (not John's nor your parent's) to buy an especially hardy cover for that phone-- no way you're going to explain to anyone that isn't Matt or Bernard why you need a new one.

Retrieving your phone, John's contact seems to mock you among the short list of your civilian contacts. At this point, however, it would be a hard stretch to think of John as a civilian.

Manipulative as it may seem, you feel like you could use this as an opportunity to wheedle some information out of him in regards to the X-Force's upcoming Maranzano raid. It's a small recompense, compared to the things your reptile of an older brother has done against you in the short time he's used his powers for FutureLabs' gain.

Opening John's chat log for what feels like the umpteenth time, you begin jotting down another message. Though you can't just cut to the chase (and there's a very good chance he might not answer at all), you want to write something that will give you the highest odds of John answering back, that being...

>Something genial: "Hey, is everything alright?/Hey, how's it going?"
>Something accusatory: "Hey, nice of you to tell us you were a mutant..."
>Something provocative: "Hey asshole, thanks a lot for the heads-up..."
>Write-in

>>5358306
>>5358403
Whoops-- guess I fully misinterpreted you guys there.
10/10 Jenna would fling the Healer straight into space if she was into Matt. Then we'd have to sound the Cougar Alarm! But the Healer was more impressed about the fact that he was a non-mutant anyhow.
As for why the Healer had referred to Matt as if she'd seen him before... well, I've been throwing small-ish hints for the past several threads, but we may or may not have seen her before... I'll leave you guys to guess.

Word from the man himself: hoping the router will be repaired tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

>>5358576
And one more post just to really piss people off: this will be the last update of the day! With luck the real Siren_QM will be back in bidness soon! Thanks for being patient!

>>5358576
>Something provocative: "Hey asshole, thanks a lot for the heads-up..."

>>5358576
>>Something genial: "Hey, is everything alright?/Hey, how's it going?"

John's in some deep shit, head space wise. Gotta at least try to be a port in the storm.

>>5358576
Genial.

>>5358576
>Something genial: "Hey, is everything alright?/Hey, how's it going?"

Now, about those hints, I'll have to check the other threads 'coz I don't remember jack shit from matt that might lead to him meeting her before.

>>5358576
>Something accusatory: "Hey, nice of you to tell us you were a mutant..."

no hypocrisy here, no sir

test

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1.71 MB GIF

AW YEAH GUESS WHO HAS INTERNET?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xda2RU_SWNY

Hopefully there will be no more outages unless the weather gets nasty on my end, but I'm back in business for now!

Also, I would like to give a word of thanks to the esteemed anon who elected to be the Stand-in Siren, since I wouldn't have been able to post the past two days of updates without them!

So... in the words of a well-known meme, please clap. Otherwise, I'll just throw in some stock footage of people clapping, which is fine as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBNxGZP49ls


Bad news for you guys is that Stand-in Siren's help qualifies as unpaid labor, and, since I forgot to use an incognito window for the whole thing, I now am fleeing the country so as to not pay various court fees that my state will rain down upon me. Picrel.

All jokes aside, I will be back to tally/call the vote in a bit-- thanks a bunch for your patience!

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1.59 MB JPG

>>5358595
>"Hey, asshole..."

>>5358620
>>5358634
>>5358640
>*Don't* call John an asshole...

>>5358663
>tfw you accuse John of the exact, same thing we've been hiding since thread #01 :-)

Writing!

>>5358640
Can't blame anyone if they forgot when and where we might have seen the Healer since the gap between her "unconfirmed" first appearance had a whole hiatus between the two threads.
Man, as much as I'd love to give the direct answer, that's not as fun for me as a QM.
If you are so curious, refer to thread #08...

Also here's a better-resolutioned picture of New Jersey in *this* universe so you guys can see the notes I added for them. If you thought NJ was the most densely populated state in the real universe, then the Jersey in the Mutant!universe is an absolute traffic nightmare!!