Mountain, meet Endbringer

[sturdycoldsteel]

The Fate who calls herself Mountain tried to convince some of her neighbors to allow the occasional mountain in their lands, for stability purposes.

"I meant no insult!" Dodge ball of lava. "I don't intend to interfere, you said no!" Dodge house-sized spear of ice. "I'm leaving peacefully, okay, so stop tearing up the tile!"

"You'll respawn at home. No permanent damage. You interrupted an important meeting, you need to learn a lesson about territory, mountain bitch." Dodge- no, fail to dodge a thrown tree, and then another ice ball. The next sphere of magma is what destroyed that form.




She wakes up, stripped of all her tools and enchantments and even clothes, and groans in pain.

Comments

[mxglam]

"I mean, sure, except for the whole 'arrested for a good chunk of my life' part."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"If it was genuinely an accident, don't you think you could get them to wipe the record somehow? I admit I'm not super familiar with the law here."

[mxglam]

"The kind of accident it was was 'there were more of them than of me and they expected it to be lethal,' which to the law looks a lot like 'I ducked up weapon choice.' Not much leniency for that."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Mm. The past follows, broken, in our footsteps... The rules seem to bend around capes, though. Have you actually talked to them about it? It's not like they can ambush you while you send an email or make a phone call. Or, have you talked to a lawyer about it?"

[mxglam]

"No, and no. The law bends around capes until they become dangerous or reckless enough that they're not playing the game anymore. Murder is beyond that line."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"If you don't want to even ask, I suppose that's your decision. But I think it's a mistake."

[mxglam]

"What do you suggest? 'Hey, I know I killed a guy, but it won't happen again, I promise!'"

[sturdycoldsteel]

"I'll swear to a lie detector it was an accident, I learned my lesson and am much more careful now, it can't be undone but I want to make up for it... And if they do condemn you, say the way to make up for it is prison, you have lost nothing but the time taken to ask and looking remorseful to them. And that is my last word, I need to get back to Buffalo and finish my job."

[mxglam]

"You're underestimating the power of bureaucracy," they sigh. "Good luck with Buffalo."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"You can't win if you don't try. Good luck with nominal villany." She flies off, accelerating to near-plane speeds over a minute or two.

[peterxy]

Capes flying this way and that really fast isn't terribly uncommon, and as long as that's all they're doing no one will stop them.

[sturdycoldsteel]

She lands at the building site in Buffalo and resumes building. It takes an hour to finish, but her customers have left, it being night now. And her customers can call Laura if something's wrong with it, she just fought Behemoth.

This world has so many problems. She has a lot to think about and watching a quarter of a city get melted is as good an excuse for drinking as any. She sheds and buries her rock-costume leaving plain pants and shirt, only somewhat careful of being spotted, and goes to find a quiet bar.

[peterxy]

And she finds a quiet bar, because those aren't actually terribly rare.

[sturdycoldsteel]

She orders a beer, 'I've had a long day just give me something to drink' brand, paying in cash.

[peterxy]

And the barkeep gives her that.

"Long day?" he guesses, in the tradition of barkeeps since olden times.

[sturdycoldsteel]

Sip. "Yeah. You have no idea just how long." Sip, sip.

[peterxy]

"I hear ya," he says, and starts cleaning a pretty clean glass with a towel, in the tradition of barkeeps since olden times. "You see the news? Behemoth. Tragic." He shakes his head slowly.

[sturdycoldsteel]

She smiles wryly. "Could've been worse. They say he was heading for a nuclear plant. Boom."

[peterxy]

His eyes widen. "Well, I ain't a religious man, but thank Scion he didn't get to it."

[sturdycoldsteel]

"Hmm." She doesn't say 'something is off about Scion' but it might be obvious she's thinking it.

[peterxy]

It is. "You one of 'em as don't like 'im much?" he asks without judgment and only a raised eyebrow.

[sturdycoldsteel]

"It's just... He'd be able to do so much more if he just talked to folks. Or listened. Whatever. The way he acts isn't human, humans talk." Leaving aside how Mountain isn't human either. She drains the cup. "Another, please."

[peterxy]

He gives her another. "Well, I reck'n if anyone ain't human it's 'im, and who knows what goes on in 'is head? Maybe there's a reason for that. 'Least he's doin' some good with 'is power."

[sturdycoldsteel]

She wants to complain about having to punch Behemoth in the face, and watch dozens of people die in front of her, because Scion wasn't fast enough. But she's not yet drunk enough to just blurt that out. "Secrets are annoying."

[peterxy]

The barkeep shrugs. "Ev'ryone's got secrets. Reck'n the most powerful man in the world's got his, too."