I was having a hell of a time trying to decipher Kairos' prophecies. I could never tell what was true and what was a lie. And a lot of his mutterings were, quite frankly, insane. He could go from talking about the end of time and space, the inevitable collapse of existence, to talking about people from the stone age whose actions apparently affected today somehow in some millennia long butterfly effect, to muttering about the clothes I'd wear tomorrow. He had moments where he seemed almost lucid but trying to talk with him was more often than not a mind numbing experience.
At least he could still cast magic to some extent, even if he struggled with it due to how calm the Warp was. I had him project an illusion around himself to make himself look like a normal bird. Making himself look like a blue parrot. I'd been expecting to have to leave him in the warehouse and come speak with him for prophecies, or at best have him turn invisible and follow me around. So that was convenient.
Still, I couldn't help but feel I'd been tricked again. He was really not as useful as I'd expected him to be.
Though I didn't fault Kairos for it. He couldn't help his madness. Or his current bird-like form.
A week after summoning him, almost a month and a half after the locker, and I had mastered my abilities enough to take thousands of dollars from illegal ABB gambling dens. Making myself look like a grown adult Asian man with illusions, and then cheating by making dice or roulette wheels roll in my favor and influencing minds to make them think I was winning at a normal rate. And I spread out my cheating over several dens to make my winning seem less suspicious.
Then I used the money I'd stolen to commission a robe from a parahuman fashion designer here in Brockton Bay. Parian, she called herself. Sabah, was her real name. My robe was rather distinctive, especially since it was made entirely of kevlar which she had to specially order. So I implanted the idea that it was just a normal job into her head, and made her forget that she had made it after it was completed. Moreso buried the memory rather than erased it outright, but it was essentially the same effect. The only difference was that the memories could be recovered if I wanted them to be.
It was surprisingly expensive, but that was apparently because Kevlar was expensive in general and I had opted to have it layered quite thick for the best possible chances of stopping a bullet. So she'd asked for seven thousand dollars. Six thousand for the materials and one thousand for the design and labor costs. I paid her nine thousand nine hundred and ninety nine.
Tzeentch criticized me for having paid her at all. But I argued that good work deserved some reward. And if I ever needed her to remember our transaction for any reason, having actually paid her and paid her more than her actual price would make a good impression which could then be utilized as a point of leverage. Plus it was technically the ABB who had paid for it. Not me. So it was hardly worth even considering since I was spending their money.
Unfortunately the robes weren't enough for me. Yes they were bullet resistant but even so, I wasn't confident I could adequately protect myself with the little power I could currently utilize with just them.
I needed stronger armor. And a better staff. Maybe a weapon too. A mask or something to cover my face would also be nice.
I harvested metal from the boat graveyard. Having Kairos turn away anyone who got too curious while I was in the process of collecting it.
Just enough for some armor and equipment. The fact I was using physical materials was almost embarrassing in a way. But manifesting materials out of pure warp stuff was beyond me, at the moment.
I'd also bought Aluminum Oxide and combined it with iron and titanium, using my powers to create sapphires for my equipment.
It took me a few more weeks but eventually I managed to inundate the metal with warp energy, shaping it into the exact forms I wanted. Even changing the color to suit my tastes, though it was still warp infused steel and titanium. By the end, I had plate armor that had been bathed and forged in pure warp energy, changing it. Making it stronger and giving it psychoactive properties. It was by no means indestructible, but I was confident it would save me from most bullets, including most common rifle rounds. Those would not penetrate it unless they hit a gap. More importantly it would increase my chances of surviving direct hits from villains.
I'd also used the remainder of the money I'd stolen to buy more materials and used them and the rest of what I'd stolen from the boat graveyard to make a new staff to help me focus my powers to cast stronger spells more easily without hurting myself in the process. I'd also made a knife and a sword with psi-convectors, so I could more easily defend myself if someone got too close to me. Or in case I needed to cut someone out of a destroyed car or something, in an emergency. Force weapons just made cutting through things up close easier and more efficient. And I could control their strength by channeling more or less of my psychic might into them.
Finally, it was April 9th and I was ready to make my debut.
That night after dad had gone to sleep, I snuck out of the house then found a suitable alleyway and stepped in. When I was certain I was out of sight, I had Kairos fly off of me. Then I channeled a bit of warp energy into an amulet Tzeentch had made for me and summoned my robes, armor, staff, force sword, and force dagger.
Blue light enveloped my body as my equipment transitioned from the physical world, through the warp, and onto me in a matter of moments.
The light faded revealing my new costume. A blue robe with swirling scrollwork patterns and embroidered symbols and sigils the base of which was gold but faded into reddish purples. On top of which was my cuirass and pauldrons. The metal looked brass, almost gold, with blue highlights like that of flame painted steel and titanium. Albeit without sacrificing the tempering. Hidden underneath the skirt of my robe, which had a slit down the front and back to not hinder my movement, I had plate leggings and boots. My arms were where I was the least armored, but I did have a couple simple plates under the sleeves to protect my upper arms. On my hands I had metal gauntlets, the plates of which were warped to fit and slide past each other perfectly without sacrificing my finger movement, and from which long metal cuffs extended to protect my forearms. A hood covered my head, and my hair spilled out the sides, unhindered. My face was covered by a metal mask designed to cover the front of my face completely and almost look like my mother, with runes and symbols embossed into it. It had padding underneath to make it comfortable to wear and on the forehead of the mask was a sapphire with a black line going through it, almost resembling an eye.
In fact all of the sapphires I'd made had that same feature. There was one right above my solar-plexus, several smaller ones on my pauldrons, on the backs of my gauntlets, and on the knees of my leg armor. The amulet hanging around my neck was a symbol of Tzeentch with another sapphire eye, my force sword was a long steel khopesh with an eye at the base of its blade, there was an eye in the pommel of my dagger, and the head of my staff was also an eye serving as the center of a stylized symbol of Tzeentch.
Admittedly I'd probably gone a little overboard with the whole eye design, but I thought it looked good.
Regardless, my costume covered me fully. There wasn't an ounce of skin exposed. And my mask was enchanted to shade my eyes. Making the eyeholes solid black to anyone who might try to see my eyes, though it didn't hinder my vision in the least.
I had learned some biomancy. Enough to change myself somewhat. Fix all the little cosmetic issues I had with myself. Shrink my mouth a bit, give myself slightly bigger breasts and wider hips. And I'd fixed my vision and even improved it further giving myself 20/10 vision. So I no longer needed glasses and could even see better than most people.
I flexed my fingers in my gauntlets and rolled my shoulders. The armor was heavy. Thick kevlar fabric with platemail. But I'd enhanced my muscles to the peak of what was possible for a fifteen year old female so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. I could have gone even further with my enhancements, but I didn't want to make myself look like a man or turn into a giant muscle bound freak. Being athletic and having muscles was one thing but any further than what I'd already done was a bridge too far for me. I was actually attractive for the first time in my life, and I didn't want to ruin that. Let alone so soon.
Part of me kinda regretted changing myself as much as I had. Had I been fine as I was? Had I just let the Trio's taunts get to me? I… wasn't sure. I wasn't sure I could be an unbiased judge of my own appearance anymore. But I certainly wasn't going to change myself back. So I dismissed the thoughts and any regrets I might have had.
I might have modified my brain and nervous system to be able to withstand more psychic power, but that was an incredibly complex and delicate procedure I wasn't ready for. I didn't want to fuck it up and end up lobotomizing myself by mistake. Plus I didn't understand the structures required to do so. I still had to learn more from Tzeentch before I could do anything like that.
"I'll admit, I was a little uncertain when you suggested it, but this summoning enchantment is pretty useful. I'm still surprised you offered to do this for me, though I'm glad you did since it makes putting it on way faster and more convenient. And, more importantly, it means I can summon it in an instant in emergencies. Or call my weapons back to me if I drop them or they get taken. So thanks again for that."
You're welcome. Now where shall you begin your endeavors to undermine the gangs and restore commerce to this city?
Kairos flew back towards me and landed on my shoulder. Dropping the parrot disguise and revealing his true form.
I didn't mind being seen with him like this. I could just say he was a manifestation of my power. Which wasn't a lie, technically… And he could do a good enough disappearing act by turning himself invisible.
I scritched the back of Kairos' head with my freehand. This time it was his right head. One head mildly enjoyed being petted while the other didn't, and which one it was changed constantly. Though I was getting a little better at telling which was which at any given time lately. Judging by his reaction it seemed like I'd guessed correctly this time.
"I'm thinking the Docks. It's the perfect place to bust a couple of drug dealers, maybe a mugger or two. It's not much, but I want to introduce myself to the Protectorate and PRT before I make any big moves. Seeing the news lately, they're probably a bit overtaxed and on edge. So I'd like to make a good first impression to make things easier for myself later. Once I know who and what I'm actually working with, I can make a proper "
I exited the alleyway set off towards my destination.
It was just after midnight, and I was crossing the line between one of the nicest parts of town and the part of town where the crack whores and gangsters lived. The distance between the two was thinner than one might think.
The Boardwalk was where the tourists came. Running north-to-south along the beach, there were shops that sold dresses for over a thousand dollars, cafes with ludicrously expensive coffees and stretches of wooden walkways and beaches where tourists could get a great view of the ocean. From pretty much any point on the Docks, you could see one of Brockton Bay's landmarks, the Protectorate Headquarters. Besides being a marvel of architectural design with its arches and towers, the PHQ was a floating base of operations that a squadron of local superheroes called home, outfitted with a forcefield bubble and a missile defense system. There had never been occasion for either to be used, but I had to admit, it made you feel safer.
If you headed west from the Boardwalk, away from the water, you found yourself in the area the locals just called the 'Docks'. When the import/export business in Brockton Bay had dried up, there had been a whole lot of people who were suddenly out of work. The richest and most resourceful people in town had managed to make more money, turning the city's resources towards tech and banking, but all of the people who had been employed on the ships and in the warehouses had few options left to them. They faced leaving Brockton Bay, sticking around while scraping up what little work they could or turning to more illicit activity.
Just moving from one block to the next, you could see the change in the area. As I made my way into the Docks, I could see the quality of my surroundings decline steeply. There were enough warehouses and apartments in the area for even the most destitute to find shelter, so the only people on the streets were unconscious drunks, whores and gang members. I steered clear of any and all people I saw and ventured further into the area.
As I walked I reached out psychically, keeping track of anyone and everyone within a certain radius of myself. I was starting to get used to reading a bunch of minds at once. Too many was still overwhelming to me, but I was getting better at dealing with it. So I could keep track of everyone within about a block or two, on average. Depending on how crowded it was.
Since it was the middle of the night and I wasn't in a particularly densely populated area I could extend my range about two and a half to three blocks. With some fluctuation.
I doubted most of the buildings here even had power. I had to use a simple spell to dilate my irises to improve my night vision.
I stopped as a group two blocks away entered my range. All grouped together in the middle of the street. I could sense anticipation from them. And from one, anger, rage. Murderous intent.
I skimmed their surface thoughts, not delving too deep so as to not alert them to my psychic probing.
The ABB. Lung was here. They'd come to kill some kids? I couldn't skim the reasons why or who the kids were without delving deeper.
I wondered why. Lung was a major gang boss. He wasn't Jack Slash. He didn't go around murdering people for no reason. Did they owe him money? Did they insult him and he was just trying to save face? I sensed rage and personal spite from Lung. So I was guessing they'd insulted or made a fool of him somehow. Idiots. Did they have a death wish, making an enemy of one of if not the most powerful cape in Brocton Bay, aside from myself? But they were still kids. I doubted they actually deserved it.
"I should probably call this in…" I was glad I'd bought a burner phone. There was no way I was fighting Lung on my first night out.
I reached into a pouch on the belt my force sword's sheath hung from… and found nothing. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and slowly released it. 'You're such a prick… I should've known something was up when you offered to enchant my armor so I could summon it to me. It doesn't take anything in the belt pouches when I summon it? Really?'
I said I would enchant your weapons and costume, and I did. I said nothing of your other trinkets.
"Right then… No phone, no calling for backup…" I muttered to myself. 'There's no way you didn't plan this. So what's your game? What are you trying to accomplish by keeping me from calling backup?'
It wouldn't be much of a "game" if I told you, now would it?
'I hate you sometimes…'
"Kairos, what happens if I go fight Lung to save those kids?"
"Fire and death. Spells cast in futility! Steel melts to slag, flesh burns to ash, bones splinter and blacken, the Architect of Fate's corpse charred and broken! The second head intervenes, and the dragon grows! The second head intervenes, and the children die screaming! Turn back! Turn back! Face not the dragon's flames!" One head screeched in a tone almost like terror.
"Blue and gold meets red and green. Lightning and wit meets flame and might. Blade meets claw and psychic steel carves through silver scale. The second head intervenes and the children are saved! Magic and intellect prevails over might and rage." The other declared.
I sighed and patted Kairos. As unhelpful as usual, but he was trying. Probably. At least he hadn't gone into a long winding riddle this time and he was at least somewhat coherent.
I thought about his words. I didn't want to get close enough to Lung to actually use my sword. My illusions and suggestions could do subtle things. My teachers barely noticed me anyway, so it was easy to make them mark me present and just give me an A without really paying attention. It was a stretch and thus a lot harder but as long as I'd shaved the hair from the spell that backfired on me, meant for the trio, let me convince my dad it was normal since I was a teenager going through puberty. Having him not notice me leaving was as simple as going to school or going for a run. People just won in casinos sometimes, even the ABB's casinos, so making it seem like I was just lucky and everything was normal was easy. But if I walked up to Lung and tried to stab him, he would see the sword and that it was decidedly not normal and would rip my head off. So that wouldn't save me here. If I fought Lung, it would be an actual fight. And that would be a losing game.
I would advise you to make a decision fast. Those poor innocent children are going to die if you do nothing. And we might die if you decide to intervene. Whatever shall you do?
'If I win, I get huge points with the PRT. If I lose I die or get crippled until I learn enough biomancy to heal permanent injuries, and the kids die… It's a huge gamble. One I really don't want to make.'
I set off in the direction of the ABB. They were waiting for a specific time, and for more of their guys to show up. 'But the potential benefits are tempting. And I can't just let Lung kill those kids, can I?'
As I walked, I was already plotting how I could do this without getting myself killed. I was going to have to use trickery of some kind. Illusions, probably.
I saw a spot of orange in the dark street ahead. The orange was the flame of a lighter, and I was able to make out several faces around it. They were Asian, some wearing hoodies, others wearing headbands or long sleeved shirts, but all wore the same colors. Red and green. Definitely the ABB.
With my eyes dilated as they currently were, I could faintly see Lung. He was a big guy, but not so big that he would send people running when he walked down the street, like some people with powers were. He was a little over six feet, though, which put him head and shoulders above most of the gang members. He had an ornate metal mask over his face, and wasn't wearing a shirt, despite the chill. Sprawling tattoos covered his body from the neck down, all depicting dragons from Eastern mythology.
I was going to have to undo the spell dilating my eyes before the fighting started. The light of those flames would be painful like this.
I looked around, taking note of the street and the layout of the buildings. Trying to come up with a plan.
I'd read about Lung and pretty much every other villain in the city before my costume had been finished. Trying to prepare for encountering them.
The information online and in the papers had told me this: Lung could gradually transform. Maybe it was based on adrenaline, his emotional state, or something, but whatever it was, it made his powers more potent the longer he was in a fight. He healed at a superhuman rate, got stronger, got tougher, got bigger, and he grew armor plating complete with blades at each fingertip. Rumor had it that he even grew wings if he fought long enough. If that wasn't enough, he was a pyrokinetic, which meant he could create flame out of thin air, shape it, intensify it, and so on. That power apparently got stronger as he transformed, too. As far as I knew, there wasn't an upper limit to how strong he could get. He only started returning to normal when there was nobody left to fight.
Lung wasn't the only one with powers in the ABB. He had a flunky, a scary sociopath called Oni Lee, who could teleport or create doubles of himself — I wasn't a hundred percent sure on the details — but Oni Lee had a distinctive look, and I didn't see him in the crowd. I'd also heard that the amount of parahumans popping up had increased worldwide and, by extension, that Lung had been snatching up any asian parahumans that popped up in Brockton Bay. There wasn't much information on the new guys yet, but there weren't many of them. The ABB was still dwarfed by the Empire 88 in terms of the number of capes. Who had also gotten a few new recruits. And the Protectorate and Wards… Pretty much the only ones that hadn't gotten at least one new cape were the Merchants.
Fortunately, I didn't see anyone who looked like they might be one of the newguys anywhere. No one else was wearing any masks, and no minds hidden away somewhere that could have been them.
'Do you know where the other capes are, Tzeentch?'
Of course.
'Will you tell me?'
No. But they aren't here so you needn't worry about them.
I supposed I could dig the information out of Lung's mind, but he would know I was doing it and the fight would start before I was ready. Regardless, that meant the only one I needed to worry about was Lung himself.
If I wasn't trying to be quiet, I might have chuckled. Oh yeah. That was sooo much better. It was just Lung…
Well, I obviously didn't want to get in a slugging match with him so I was going to have to try and play this as smart as I could. Which meant attacking indirectly.
'Kairos, fly off somewhere. I'm going to try and find a better vantage point to attack without being seen.'
Kairos leapt off my shoulder and flew off. I could still sense him circling in the sky overhead.
I slowly backed away from where I was and then circled around the rear of the building I was lurking beside.
My investigation paid off. Halfway down the alley, I saw a fire escape that was leading up the back of the building that Lung and his gang were standing in front of. With a muttered spell I silenced the noise as I ascended.
The roof was covered in gravel and cigarette butts, so I had to sustain the spell so I wouldn't be heard as I moved over it.
I crouched down on the edge of the roof, positioning my staff so the head was peaking over the edge but it hopefully wasn't too obvious. I looked down at Lung and his gang from above, and I began conjuring a fog to fill the area and make it harder to see. It started light at first, then slowly grew thicker and thicker. Hoarfrost slowly began to form across the area as an unnatural cold began to settle in along with the fog. I was hoping it would reduce the chances of them seeing any light glinting off my staff or armor. It was dark enough that I doubted they would see me if I jumped up and down and waved my arms, but I wasn't exactly wearing dark colors and the metal and sapphires were reflective. So it was better to be safe than sorry.
Fortunately none of them seemed to care much.
Being at the top of a two story building when they were on the ground floor made it hard to hear them. Lung had a strong accent, as well, which meant I had to wait until he had spoken a few sentences before I could figure out what he was saying. It helped that his mooks were utterly, respectfully silent as he spoke.
Lung was snarling, "…the children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"
There was a murmur of assent.
Someone else lit up a cigarette, and then leaned over to light a cigarette for the guy next to him. In those moments that his hand wasn't cupped around the flame, I could see the gathered faces of just a dozen or so of the gangsters gathered around Lung. In hands, waistbands and holsters, I could see the dark metal of guns reflecting the orange flame. If I had to hazard a guess, all of them had weapons, but that was no surprise and I was more than prepared for pistol caliber weapons anyway.
I supposed it was now or never. I cast an illusion into the fog, which was still slowly building. Faint whispers, eerie chanting, childlike songs and nursery rhymes, and faint distant screaming began emanating from all around them. Barely audible at first, but steadily growing more and more audible.
What was a little psychological warfare to start things off?
I was a little uncertain if I still wanted her to end up fighting Lung during her debut, but the canon debut sets things up quite nicely as is, for the direction I'm considering.
I considered swapping out Lung for Hookwolf or Kaiser but I'm not sure they work considering the undersiders' base is in ABB territory.
I'm a little iffy on including new capes, but I did say there was a nine times increase in the number of triggers. So it probably wouldn't make sense if I didn't. Especially with Tzeentch having his attention on Brockton Bay in particular since Taylor's there
Lung was the first to notice the building sounds. He barked orders to the non-capes, and they all drew their weapons.
I didn't stop. Letting the sounds continue to build slowly.
As the non-capes started to hear it too, I could feel them become unsettled. Their fear starting to build. I smiled under my mask. That had been exactly what I'd been waiting for.
I seized their fear and used it as leverage against their minds to draw forth their greatest fears inducing terrifying hallucinations aided by the fog and darkness. I could have been more overt and done this without the fear to leverage against but it would have become obvious that I was digging into their minds, and I didn't want the Simurgh comparisons if it got out that I was a true telepath. It would make things more difficult for me later on.
The men started screaming. Several firing shots off at things they saw that weren't really there.
Plucking at the strings of fate, I ensured no one would get hit by those bullets by mistake.
One started desperately clawing at himself as he saw and felt a horde of spiders crawling up his legs, covering his body, biting him and burrowing beneath his skin. "GET THEM OFF! GET THEM OFF! PLEASE! LUNG! SOMEBODY! HELP! HELP ME! AHHHH!" He started coughing, hacking and spitting as the non-existent spiders entered his mouth and crawled down his throat.
Another fell backwards, firing wildly into the air as a nightmarish demon rushed towards him. He "killed" it only for more to take its place. He scrambled to his feet and bolted. Screaming in Japanese as he ran for his life as imaginary monsters pursued him through the night.
"No… No no no! You're not real! You… You…! I… I killed you! Fuck, shit… G-get the hell away from me! Stay back! DON'T TOUCH ME! SHUT UP! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING! YOU AREN'T FUCKING REAL!" Another shouted as the mutilated ghost of a person he had murdered appeared before him. Followed by another. And another. They swirled around him in the fog reminding him of his crimes. I probably could have made them real by manifesting the actual ghosts of his victims, which would have been much worse for him. But they might have killed him, which I didn't want.
Tzeentch was blocking most of my Witchsight to prevent me from going mad while my mind was still acclimating to my powers, but I still saw the coronas of people's souls and flickerings of entities in the warp on the edge of my vision.
Lung grabbed one of his men by the shirt. "Get a hold of yourself, damn it! There's nothing there! Whatever you're seeing isn't real!" Lung wasn't afraid, and thus he wasn't seeing anything.
The man could only cry, seeing images of his family who had been killed by Leviathan in Kyushu. Drowned, bloated, criticising him, demanding to know why he wasn't there when they died, why he hadn't protected them, why he hadn't saved them, why he hadn't died with them.
Lung threw him to the ground and whirled around. "Come out and face me coward!" He shouted up at the sky.
A car pulled up and came to a screeching halt as the people inside noticed the gunfire and screaming. Another three guys dressed in gang colors got out with their weapons drawn.
Seeing a mostly clear path, I telekinetically pressed the pedal down and seized control of the steering wheel. It rapidly accelerated and slammed directly into Lung, before swerving and crashing into a brick wall. Pinning him between the car and the wall.
Lung stayed like that for a moment, and for a split second I was worried I might have hurt him worse than I expected.
However, after a moment flames exploded from him, engulfing both him and the car. He began moving and shoved the broken and burning car back sending it tumbling across the street, freeing himself.
I was both glad and worried. I didn't want to make a bad impression by killing anyone on my first night out. On the other hand, the fact he was okay and strong enough to throw a car, was a bad thing. If he was that durable, I wasn't going to be able to be subtle about this. The powers and spells I'd have to use would give away my position. And if he was that strong already, I would probably get turned to paste if he hit me.
Then just don't let him hit you.
'Gee, thanks. Why didn't I think of that?' I retorted sarcastically.
I cast a suggestion to the non-capes under the effects of the hallucinations I had induced, and sent them running. Fear, dread, and grief was enough of a motivator to initiate the flight half of the fight or flight instinct. They ran, leaving Lung and the three that had just arrived.
I wrenched the guns out of their hands and lifted them into the air, where the thugs couldn't reach them. Then with a burst of telekinetic force I threw the three of them. Unarmed and unable to fight back, they fled for their lives, leaving Lung alone.
With them gone, I turned the guns I'd taken upon Lung and pulled the triggers unloading the entire magazines on him. A hail of bullets assaulted him from different directions. The bullets only seemed to piss him off, if anything.
You didn't actually expect that to work.
I sighed. 'Honestly, no, or I wouldn't have done it. I don't want to kill him. But I was kinda hoping it might have at least hurt him a bit. To soften him up a little more before I go down there.'
You hit him with a car and ran him into a wall. He's as "softened" as he's going to get.
I stood up and chanted an incantation, sending nine orbs of blue-white fire hurtling towards Lung.
As the orbs flew through the air down towards him, I stepped off the roof and levitated myself just enough to slow my fall to a safe level.
As I hit the ground, the orbs of flame slammed into him. Doing little to his flesh, but scorching his soul.
Lung snarled in pain and practically pounced at me, leaping across the street towards me. I erected a telekinetic barrier. It was a large translucent wall with a faint blue glow that stopped him mid air as if he'd slammed into a wall of concrete or steel. I then conjured a sudden powerful burst of air that shot through the barrier and threw him backwards.
"No patience for introductions, I assume?" I asked.
Lung got up, growling in rage and frustration. "I don't care who you are! You're going to die tonight, you little bitch!"
He charged back towards the barrier and punched it, shattering it and then sending a blast of fire shooting towards me. I diverted the fire around me and thrust my staff forward, firing tendrils of warp energy at Lung. Each whip-like lash sapping the vitality and life forces from his body and soul.
He snarled and charged through it.
Realizing I wasn't going to knock him out before he reached me I stopped and blasted him with telekinetic force. He braced himself against the ground, his feet dug into the asphalt as he started marching inexorably towards me. Pushing through the telekinetic force I was blasting him with. Flames flickered around him, burning even as they should have been snuffed out under the forces I was hitting him with.
I grit my teeth and drew in more power from the warp. Enough that it started to hurt.
"Back off!" I growled, slamming him with telekinetic power.
He was forced back, just barely managing to stay standing. He was stopped dead in his tracks, unable to make any progress towards me but not going back any further. Meaty looking gaps appeared in his skin, followed by an eruption of silver scales. His clothes had burned or were burning, and he was slowly growing. The longer this went on, the stronger he was getting. So this wasn't sustainable. Not only did it hurt but he would eventually get strong enough to overcome it, then I'd be in the same position I had been just a moment ago. With Lung getting closer to me, step by step.
I redirected energy away from pushing him back and cast a spell on myself. The powers of the Immaterium flow into my flesh, heightening my speed to supernatural levels. I ended my telekinetic assault and in a blur of motion several things happened at once.
Lung rushed towards me, fire all but exploding from him, and tried to punch me. I was engulfed by the flames and weaved past the punch, only for Lung to follow up with a swift elbow jab that hit me in the chest.
It lacked the full force of a punch, but it was still enough to launch me to the side, dent my chestplate, and break my left collarbone and a couple of my ribs.
Fortunately I still had my staff in my right hand and I managed to hold onto it.
I hit the ground and sparks flew as my armor skidded across the asphalt, before I bounced and tumbled. Landing on my back, I coughed. Glad my armor was as strong as it was. If it was normal steel, my chest could have collapsed in on itself from the force of that strike.
I tore a hole through the warp and rolled inside, transporting myself up onto a nearby roof.
"Where'd you go, you cock sucker?!" Lung demanded furiously.
I got up onto my feet and I used telekinesis and forced the dent in my armor to pop back into place. At least enough that it wouldn't hinder my movement. Then with a twist of my hand, I ripped the life force from Lung and used it to heal myself. Mending the bones he'd broken and healing the bruise.
He ripped a tire off the broken burning car and threw it at me. I deflected it and teleported to another roof.
'Kairos, this is going to take a moment, don't let him hit me while I cast this spell.'
I felt Kairos descend, then land on my shoulder.
As soon as Kairos was in position and ready to defend me, I began chanting an incantation whilst focusing my powers upon the ground beneath Lung's feet, forcing an unnatural build-up of geothermal energies.
As soon as I started chanting, Lung ripped more pieces off of the ruined car and threw them at me, only for Kairos to catch them mid air and redirect their momentum, swerving around us in a circle, to throw them straight back at him.
As I continued my incantation, focusing through my staff and drawing as much power as I could from the warp, the street began to buckle and bulge, rapidly swelling like a balloon. Finally it burst like a vast boil spewing steam that screamed like the souls of the damned and lava with the twisted faces of daemons forming in the gushing geyser and flowing tide of molten rock.
Lung couldn't find his balance before the ground gave way and burst beneath him. He was blasted by burning hot stone shrapnel and was engulfed by the spewing lava.
If he had survived being hit by a car and was nigh immune to fire, I was certain he'd survive this. But I hoped it would slow him down or better yet, incapacitate him.
After a moment the geyser of lava began losing power before dying entirely. Finally Lung emerged from it, molten rock sloughing off of him as he limped out from the ruined pothole on the road stepping through the still molten lava. His mask had melted, his eyes were now glowing red, he'd grown even more, and more scales were covering him. He had several obvious lacerations and tears in his flesh from the shrapnel that were visibly closing albeit very slowly, one of his legs was bent the wrong direction, and his jaw was dislocated. He grabbed his jaw and forced it back into position.
If he couldn't regenerate and wasn't unreasonably durable I would have been worried I'd accidentally gone a bit overboard. As it was, I was starting to wonder if what I was doing was futile. It seemed like unless I outright killed him, physical attacks probably weren't going to work. He'd just tank it, or regenerate from it. Which didn't leave me with a whole lot of options.
With his one good leg, Lung leapt across the street and hit the building I was standing on. Digging his claws into the wall, he essentially stuck to it. He then threw himself up the rest of the way and grabbed onto the ledge.
As he did this I tossed my staff off to the side. I drew my khopesh with my right hand and my dagger with my left, holding the dagger in a reverse grip. Iridescent fire burned around the force blades, albeit far more prominently around the blade of the khopesh. I channeled the energies of the warp through my body, bestowing me with supernatural speed once again.
'Kairos, keep the flames off of me. I don't feel like burning to death tonight.'
Kairos flew off my shoulder, not wanting to get caught in the middle of our melee, and cast a spell. A wave of cold washed over me as ice began forming on my skin, robes, and armor. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but as long as it worked I'd take it.
Lung pulled himself up and lunged at me, swiping at me with his claws.
I ducked under the swipe and tried to swing my khopesh at him, managing to get a slash across his face, cleaving through one of his eyes. Blinding him in that eye. I backed off, fully intending to use the range of my khopesh to my advantage.
He roared furiously and tried to kick me. I blasted him with telekinetic force and threw him onto his ass.
I rushed forward and raised my sword to stab him through the shoulder, only for him to grab my shin and pull my leg out from under me. He then threw himself on top of me and grabbed my neck with both hands, intent on either strangling me to death or breaking my neck.
I held his fingers open with telekinesis, struggling to keep my airway open. I stabbed him in the side with my dagger.
Enraged, he reared his head back.
I barely managed to create a barrier in time to avoid having my mask caved in and my neck snapped as he headbutted me. I cushioned the blow, but my eyes began to water and blood ran down my face into my mouth as the strike broke my nose.
Dazed and disoriented, my focus on preventing myself from being strangled to death slipped a little and his fingers tightened around my windpipe.
Panicking, I let go of my sword and dagger and gripped his arms out of instinct more than anything.
Hm… What a dismal display. Are you truly struggling against some burning musclebound brute? He isn't even immune to sorcery like the followers of Khorne.
A bolt of annoyance shot through me, but it was overshadowed by panic and my struggle to survive.
I managed to pry his fingers back open just enough to breathe. Then took a deep breath, inhaling the power of the warp, before emitting a hypersonic banshee howl of psychic energy that tore at Lung's mind.
Nearby windows shattered and the daemonic sound echoed throughout several blocks.
Lung released my neck and clutched at his ears which had started bleeding, screaming in pain as my scream shredded his psyche.
Still screaming, I grabbed my dagger and slashed it across his face, slicing through his still intact eye, blinding him entirely.
I stopped screaming and thrust my hand forward, throwing him off of me.
Getting up I put my dagger away and pulled my staff to my hand, panting from the exertion of what I'd just done. My head was pounding and daemons were whispering, speaking, and shrieking in my mind, I could feel blood trickling from my eyes. Everything hurt.
I'd gone a bit overboard. And that scream would not be good for my image. I could practically hear the simurgh comparisons already… That was going to be a headache…
Lung got up and started shooting fire wildly, unable to see with his eyes gouged out, and I blasted him off the roof onto the street below.
I jumped after him and jammed the head of my staff into his back. 'Kairos, pin him down!' I ordered.
A powerful telekinetic force slammed into Lung, keeping him pinned firmly to the ground.
I cast a spell and tendrils of warp energy exploded from the head of my staff, each whiplike lash or barbed drag siphoning away his vitality casting it into the warp.
Lung struggled and started pushing himself up, resisting Kairos' telekinetic force. I pressed my staff into him even harder. The spikes found a gap between his scales and stabbed into his flesh.
I could feel the temperature rapidly rising as the Ice spell Kairos cast on me was running out of energy, no longer being sustained as Kairos focused on holding him down. I wasn't sure how long it would hold out.
As the seconds ticked by, the temperature rose to a point where I felt like I was starting to burn. Steam was visibly billowing from me and my costume. My mask and armor were getting unbearably hot.
Gritting my teeth, I kept sapping Lung's energy.
Finally his arms gave out, and his flames started to die.
I kept draining him until I was certain he was unconscious and if I drained him anymore he would die.
Then, and only then, did I stop and stumble back.
Kairos landed on my shoulder, already healing me.
I patted him. "Thanks, Kairos…" I muttered.
I looked at my costume. Some of the kevlar was slightly melted in some spots. But ultimately it had survived the encounter far better than I had anticipated. I vaguely wondered if I could fix it myself, or if I'd have to take it in to have Parian fix it for me. It wasn't metal, so I wasn't sure.
Regardless, I had other concerns at the moment. Such as the group of people that had been watching my fight and were now approaching me on the backs of mutated dogs. They'd only arrived near the end of the fight, but I had sensed them.
And skimming their surface thoughts, I was disappointed to learn the 'kids' I had just saved were really villains.
I channeled energy into my amulet and summoned my khopesh back off the roof, sheathing it at my hip. I didn't sense hostile intent from them, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I'd see what they wanted from me, but I would still be armed just in case.
I'm a little uncertain about this chapter. Particularly how short it is, and how well she actually managed to hold her own. Hopefully it's at least believable.
Unfortunately I don't have my ADD meds right now so it's been hard to focus. But I should be getting them again soon! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow.
As always, I'm open to any and all criticism
.Click to expand...Last edite
.Click to expand...Last edited: 16/4/2025