witch's cape, not hat

[characterquarry]

Grendyne groans and starts pulling on her boots when the alarm goes off. Again. She quick-marches to the broom hangar, sits on her machine and is handed a plethora of loaded weapons by attentive corporals.

"Two flyers in one day? They're getting way too common."

"It's worse," the commander informs them, "South Karlsland got hit with three at once. We're taking Lytee's express and sleeping there. You can sit out if you absolutely need to, but Freya's still recovering so we could use you as a comms relay."

"No, I'll come. I just reserve the right to complain about it."

The 42nd United Forces Witch Wing takes off and assembles into a perfect synchronized formation as Lytee charges her teleport power.



...This is not South Karlsland wilderness.

[note: halfway through this thread I created a unique account for Grendyne. Do not be alarmed by the change in account. -Rockeye]

Comments

[wormcan]

Most governments don't exactly publish lists, but they aren't sending heroes to arrest her every time she shows her face. The official heroes still aren't hiring her, but some of the independent ones still do. They act as if they're working with a rogue, not a fugitive.

Over time she'll be as sure as she can be short of offering a customer satisfaction survey asking "were you aware I was peripherally involved in an incident that led to the deaths of two New York Protectorate members and do you consider me a villain."

[witchwatcher]

That's good then.

She can get back to making large amounts of money and learning interesting secrets when the chance comes up.

[whole_new_can]

While she's getting back to business, other people do the same.

"Door to Ostmark, Earth Gimel."

[witchwatcher]

The door opens to what looks like an endless sea of ash. It blows through, propelled by the storm in the sky beyond, but the winds are surprisingly calm given the sheer scale of the clouds above. The whole place looks dark and reddish, despite it supposedly being 11 am in that time zone.

[whole_new_can]

It's not actually inconceivable that different earths could have their rotations line up differently, but under the circumstances it's probably not that. Eidolon flies toward the storm.

[witchwatcher]

The storm: Is stormy. He might hear a faint metallic screech, but it'd have to be pretty loud to beat all this wind and rain and sticky wet ash pelting him from all directions.

[whole_new_can]

When one is Eidolon, it's easy enough to avoid being pelted. It's amazing how many of the powers he uses for flight can secondarily act as an umbrella, and the Protectorate people he tends to dismiss as politicians do always say it's good for effect. Not that it helps much with sound, of course.

If his information is correct, there should pretty much only be one thing up here. He heads toward the still-faint sound.

[neuroihive]

A strangely.... Humanoid Neuroi approaches him. The storm calms in a small bubble as it does.

The rhythmic flashes of light might be a language of some kind. Oh, and some kind of mental effect is pressing against him. It's not much like the Simurgh's scream, or any other mental powers he's felt, really.

[whole_new_can]

Eidolon didn't have a mental shield up. He swaps out his defensive power for a slightly different invulnerability to include mental attacks. The next minute or two would be a very bad time to start the fight.

"You have a plan. Holding back, letting your enemies fight you. I've seen it before. Why?"

[neuroihive]

It manages an extremely screechy approximation of, Hard speak sound. Speak light.

[whole_new_can]

He's going to have to use a thinker power, isn't he.
Neuroi don't speak to humans, from what he's heard, so this is a shot he shouldn't throw away. Interpretation, communication...

It gradually builds. When the flashes start making sense, he repeats the question and adds that they can respond in their own language.

[neuroihive]

Humans on this world were weak. We are- (Something. Lonely?) -so we want them to not be weak. We want them to take their place in the stars. But humans are not (another untranslatable word) they would destroy themselves as they are. But you are different. Where were you hiding?

[whole_new_can]

"I was never hiding.
Why humans? If you want people to join you in the stars, there must be any number of entities you could have chosen, with or without starting a war."

[neuroihive]

We have never found life other than our home planet, long destroyed, and this one. We are not what you think we are. Do you know more aliens? We would like to meet them.

That's not a lie, but that thinker power tells him they're hiding something about themselves. And also: Stalling.

[whole_new_can]

One of the benefits of communication powers: not all communication is intentional. The stalling isn't a problem, but he knows better than to trust them.

"And what are you, if not what you look like?
No aliens, and given Earth's track record with meeting them so far I'm not sure it would be advisable to introduce you if I had met any."

[neuroihive]

We do not fully understand humans. You live and die in moments compared to us. We are aiming for the benefit of the species. We wish to ensure the universe does not grow cold and empty. There will be no person to find the key to the universe and reverse entropy if there is no life.

A long pause. We are dying. That's what they were hiding. It is slow, but it is inevitable. The most intelligent of us can only produce lesser creatures, drones without true intelligence. This body is one such drone. Humans must grow as a species if they are to replace us.

[whole_new_can]

That is eerily close to what Contessa said their enemy's goal was. But when his kind come to a planet and start wars in the name of finding out how to avoid the end of the universe, it isn't with human flourishing in mind.

"Then stop killing them. We could grow more as allies than as your enemies. But if you were going to come in peace, you already would have, and I wouldn't be here now to stop you."

[neuroihive]

Conflict breeds strength. Peace would never lead to strength in our own species. Perhaps humans are different. But it is too late to change, none would trust us, the Twelve would trust none. Sadness/regret. Imminent threat.

[whole_new_can]

No surprise there. He is here to fight, and he did tell them that.

"Who are the Twelve?" he asks, before the language power fades in favor of a more relevant one.

[neuroihive]

Thousands of small Neuroi ascend from the ground and descend from the clouds...

[neuroihive]

...And a few dozen larger ones approach from all sides...

[neuroihive]

...And one massive Neuroi charges straight toward him at at least Mach 4, straight from the heart of the hurricane...

[neuroihive]

...And they all fire at once.

[whole_new_can]

He was legitimately hoping for an answer to that. Oh well.

Eidolon switches from stationary in the air to matching the massive Neuroi in speed, seemingly not bothering to accelerate in between. He stays away from any part of it that looks like a weapon, but flies right into a few lucky blasts from other ones. It barely harms him, feels like an impact knocking him slightly off-course. But he's down to two useful abilities at the moment.

An invisible beam drills toward the nearest large Neuroi that Eidolon and the giant are racing toward. No time to guess and aim for the core, just firing to get it out of the way.

[neuroihive]

The Neuroi beams aren't lasers, they don't travel at the speed of light. Nonetheless, some combination of still being damn fast and leading the target and sheer volume of fire means that more and more small blows and a few large ones start landing on him.

The large Neuroi attempts a dodge, fails, and goes flying with a good third of its body dissolving into glowing white particulate. It starts regenerating immediately.

The massive Neuroi is apparently not very maneuverable- it streams straight past him, firing as it goes, and disappears into cloud cover.