976Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.
Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent and Mike, God of Lore, Beans
The Guild of Gamers: The Game Master
Chapter 02: Starting Out Small
Okay, so the AU isa little more alternate than I originally expected, but this isn't the end of the world.
Firstly, the merchants don't exist, but they have an equivalent, a gang from the Caribbean with a massive focus on drugs. The Sons of Samedi seem considerably more competent than the Merchants, and there's no mention of Skidmark at all.
The Sons in Brockton were by a man called 'Mr. Sunshine', a cape with a love of mutilating people, but the larger gang is controlled by someone predictably called Baron Samedi.
Secondly, Kaiser doesn't exist because Max Anders was killed in a bombing years ago, along with his father. Only his sister, Eleanor Anders survived and now controls Medhall and likely the Empire.
Iron Rain is brutal- I get the feeling she truly buys into the Empire rhetoric- and they apparently have a very close relationship with Gesellschaft.
The ABB exists, but so does the Ronin. Apparently the Ronin was formed of the various Yakuza gangs uniting after Leviathan's attack on Kyushu.
Lung failed to take down the Ronin, apparently fought to a standstill by the Ronin's capes and the arrival of the Protectorate and their hero Solarflare, who I'm almost sure is Purity.
The ABB are up to their usual bullshit, but the Ronin seem more focused on casinos and protection rackets. They're actually fairly popular among the Japanese immigrants, legal and otherwise.
Naturally, the ABB and Ronin despise each other. Lung rules Chinatown despite being half-Japanese himself (turns out being able to simply burn anyone who disagrees alive quietens most dissenters), while the Ronin have carved out a Little Japan in Brockton Bay and defend it brutally.
There's also the Deckers, but they're odd. They're entirely a cybergang of hackers, with no real presence on the street, but they're apparently menaces when it comes to cybercrimes and blackmail. If they have any capes, it's not clear, because nobody even knows who leads them.
And finally, the Westside Rollerz. Yes, with a Z.
They're teenage idiots. Literally, a gang of street racers and adrenaline junkies, normally just being menaces around the Boardwalk and richer residential areas, since half of them are rich kids playing gangster.
Street racing, illegal car mods, grand theft auto, and rumours of an underground fight club.
They're seen as more or less harmless, as long as you don't leave a nice car unattended and avoid the races. Also, they have a tinker named Overdrive, who I'm almost sure is Squealer. She's apparently amazing with anything that moves (from monster trucks to helicopters and everything in between), and the best racer the Westside Rollerz have by far.
So, not the Brockton Bay I was expecting, but I can work with this, drawing out a map as I make a note of the different territories.
One interesting note, Coil, and the complete lack of any mention of him or the Undersiders. Thomas Calvert doesn't bring anything up either.
I absolutely do not believe he doesn't exist, but I have no idea where to start looking.
Basically, Brockton is still a complete and utter shithole, but honestly, this works in my favour somewhat, as the Empire and ABB seem a bit weaker than canon due to the infighting between the expanded gangs. I planned to start with the Merchants, which obviously isn't an option, and the Sons seem considerably more dangerous.
I think my current plan is still a decent one, if I stick to the areas often patrolled by the Protectorate, I shouldn't run into any capes, but Brockton Bay has a very high crime rate even in the nicer areas.
I've checked where the Wards usually patrol, and while avoiding them might be good for trying to keep my identity a secret, it's also a wise decision to stick to those areas since crime tends to be less serious.
They don't send Wards to places where they're expecting serious cape battles, even in Brockton Bay.
Dean will definitely recognise me if he meets me as Gallant, thanks to his emotion sensing bullshit, but the unwritten rules should keep his mouth shut, so it's less of a risk than going into the more dangerous parts of the city.
If he decides to spill my identity? Well, hero or not, I can be extremely petty when I'm wronged, and I also happen to know the identities of almost every single cape in the city.
Finishing my research, I finally set out, looking like Solomon, since I don't want my cape identity to be seen near my house. It's starting to get dark, so few people are around as I slip out of the backdoor.
Staying to the back of the houses, I move a fair distance from my house before I find somewhere private to shift into my cape identity.
When I have more points, I'll need to get a better way to get in and out of my house since I don't want anyone trailing me home.
It's not that hard, there's some cameras around the suburbs we live in (which I try to avoid), but there's quite a bit of foliage around, including a small park probably a couple of miles away from my home.
Some teenagers is hanging out at a small playground area, smoking, from what I can tell, but they don't notice me in the dimly lit park as I change into my cape persona in some bushes.
With a (completely unnecessary) click of my fingers, a thick leather-bound book appears in my hand, opening and flicking through the pages with a wave of my other hand.
I took this method of summoning to fit with the image I want, but in truth it's completely cosmetic. I could conjure any of my summons with a thought, even as the book opens to a specific page.
The image of a large black bird, similar to an ostrich in shape but with much nicer feathers and more importantly wings.
I'm far away enough from the teens to be willing to summon my mount here, holding a hand over the page as the image starts to move and leaps from the parchment, shifting and growing as it takes form.
The painted image shifts from 2D to 3D as my power does its work, and in an instant I'm standing before a nine foot tall chocobo, the massive avian cooing quietly as she understands the need for us to be quiet right now, butting her head against mine gently.
On her back is a fancy leather saddle, the last item I bought with my starter money.
[Saddle of the Chocobo Knight]
This enchanted saddle grants the Chocobo it is placed upon both greater resistance to attacks and increased speed.
My (currently) unnamed Chocobo lowers herself, sensing my intentions, allowing me to easily mount her, and with a short run she stretches her wings and we take to the skies.
It's already dark, and a pitch-black chocobo doesn't exactly stand out against the night sky but I'd be very surprised if nobody saw us.
My girl is fast, as we fly towards the city proper, and I can't deny I'm slightly nervous as I head out for my first patrol.
That said, I can't stop myself from laughing as we fly through the sky, briefly stretching my arms out as the wind blows into my face, a grin on my lips. Knowing I have powers and actually using them is two very different things, and flying is fun.
Arriving in the downtown area, close to the boardwalk, I get ready to summon something to help me scout for problems that need solving before Brockton Bay proves itself a shithole, a loud crash drawing my attention.
Dude, I just got here.
Still, it didn't sound like a gunshot or explosion, so I can at least do a flyover and see what I'm dealing with.
— Victoria Dallon (Glory Girl) —
Flying down, she stared at the shitshow below her with a long-suffering sigh, several cars piled up in a heap of twisted metal.
She didn't even need to check for the details to know who was to blame for this, spotting the car that looked the worst, heavily modified with several decals.
The fucking Westside Rollerz.
With a Z.
Ugh.
Stupid rich kids who thought driving through busy areas at triple the speed limit was a good idea.
One of the cars had ended up upside down, so she started there as she picked it up and flew it some distance away from the others. A fire had started and she didn't have much time, she could hear screams for help from the other two cars (including a squeaky voice coming from the fancy car that was almost definitely responsible).
Tearing off the crumpled door, she looked inside at the unconscious woman at the wheel, seeing nobody else inside she snapped the seatbelt and picked the woman out of the heavily damaged car, flying her to the sidewalk and laying her down flat.
She didn't respond or wake up, but she had a pulse. Amy had been called to a different accident further uptown so someone had better have called an ambulance.
As she turned to the two burning cars, she paused as she heard a strange sound, watching as the flames started moving unnaturally before they all flew in a specific direction.
Turning to follow them, she spotted a humanoid figure floating a couple of feet off the ground just a small distance from the fire, arm extended as she (and it definitely was a she) absorbed the flames into herself.
A figure made of fire, partially enclosed in what seemed like black volcanic rock, shaped to be 'clothes' for the figure as it just floated there calmly.
It was kinda sexy, which made her blink and shake her head. Focus, Vicky. That said, she couldn't really be blamed when the rock had taken the shape of a pair of panties and a corset, leaving most of the fiery body on display.
Its face didn't have any details, but the rock had formed to make its lower mouth, stony lips unmoving, the rocks curving backwards to give the female figure two large horns.
A new cape?
Still, she focused on the situation as she flew to the second car, leaving the racer until last as the fiery figure watched her impassively, the cars had gotten almost melded together from the crash but both people inside were still conscious so she just tore the car door off again, helping the man since his leg looked fucked, the woman able to get out herself, shaken but otherwise unharmed.
And finally, the fucking idiot who caused this mess, now crying and begging for help as she reluctantly moved over to him and simply tore the roof from his fancy car.
The moment she did, her eyes widened at the sight of the bloody mess in front of her, some of the metal from the crash having stabbed into the boy's stomach, his skin paling.
Extracting him from the wreckage wasn't hard, her strength easily enough to pull the metal apart and free him from the prison he made with his stupidity.
He didn't look much older than her, and she'd seen enough wounds to know he wasn't going to survive, his intestines visible as she placed him down away from the cars.
Amy would be able to save him, but Amy wasn't here and Vicky didn't know where she was right now anyway, and Amy wouldn't have her phone on while she was working.
She heard someone shouting for her to get her sister, as if Amy was just hiding around the corner of every incident waiting to save the day.
If Amy gave up school and sleeping, she'd still be unable to show up at a quarter of the emergencies in this shitty city.
She'd almost forgotten about the fiery woman as she tried to work out what to do, she hadn't exactly needed a first aid course with Amy around, but she wasn't so distracted that she didn't hear the strange caw from above.
Looking up, her eyes widened as a large black bird flew down, its outline almost invisible against the night sky.
Landing between her and the still motionless fiery figure, her eyes locking to the teenager sitting on its back, in a saddle no less as he dismounted.
He looked like he'd just walked out of a fantasy game, pointed ears and some leather armoured pieces over some expensive looking clothes, watching as he patted the avian creatures head gently and started walking towards them.
He was entirely out of place, golden eyes looking from her to the injured people, but her eyes were drawn to the large leather-bound tome in a custom holster at his waist.
Her lips twitched despite the serious situation, wondering if that was his spellbook.
Her humour faded as he picked it up, opening it as the fiery being was absorbed into the tome, she was barely able to see the pages but she noticed a drawing of the same fiery creature appear on the page.
A projection-type master?
That'd explain the giant chicken.
"Thanks for the help. I had this but the fires were a problem," Vicky said. Villains didn't go around putting out fires, so he was probably a new hero.
"It was my pleasure, but let's wait until a less dire time to exchange pleasantries," the teen said, his voice rather grandiose with an accent she couldn't place. "Come forth, Carbuncle, I have need of your services once more."
The pages flipped rapidly, landing on one as he held his hand over the book, a light flying from the page and towards his hand, which he directed at the ground, taking form into another weird creature.
Undeniably cute, she watched as the light reformed into the shape of a strange mix between a fox and a rabbit, a fox-like body with bright blue fur and large rabbit-like ears.
It had a red patch on its forehead, until she looked closer and her eyes widened, realising the patch was a large gem embedded into the creature's head, three large tails swishing as 'Carbuncle' looked up at its summoner and yipped (very adorably).
"Carbuncle, work your magic," the teen said, reaching down and patting its head as the creature yipped again.
As it crept towards the injured people, she tensed up for a moment, but the gem on its head started to glow brightly and with a howl it pulsed with crimson light.
Immediately the results became apparent, the racer gasping as his brutal wounds closed up, the unconscious woman gasping and the man with the fucked up leg hissing in surprise before he touched his leg, the torn jeans revealing pristine flesh beneath it.
A healing projection?
Carbuncle, she was unsure whether that was its name or race, yipped happily as it scurried back to its summoner and with surprising grace climbed up his body and perched itself on his shoulder, yipping one last time as he reached up and stroked its furry ears.
"Is that everyone?" the new cape asked, making her nod.
"Yeah. I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?" Vicky asked, making him nod.
"It's my first patrol," he admitted, opening his book again as the Carbuncle jumped into it.
"A good start," Vicky praised, catching something out of the corner of her eye, flying quickly and grabbing the dumb asshole who caused this crash as he tried to slip away. "Oh no, you're not getting away from this."
With her aura at full blast, she glared at the idiot as he cowered, before she reigned it in and went to apologise to her new friend, her mother's scolding words about blasting new capes with her aura echoing in her head.
As she turned to him, she paused as she spotted how calm he looked, his giant bird having come over to him and nudged him with its head affectionately.
"I take it he caused this particular mess?" the man asked, making her nod in annoyance.
"Just another Westside Rollerz moron who thinks the busy city streets are a race track," Vicky sighed.
"Ah, my research said the Westside Rollerz were more-or-less harmless," he admitted, making her scoff.
"I wish. They might not be malicious but they are still a problem. Car crashes have increased fivefold since these idiots formed," Vicky said, giving the squirming idiot a glare. "Because Brockton Bay didn't have enough issues."
"I see, at least nobody was lost this time, what happens now?" he asked.
"I call the non-emergency line, and someone from the BBPD comes and picks this idiot up," Vicky explained, scoffing mentally as she added 'then his rich daddy pays off the judge and he gets a slap on the wrist'.
"Ah, I see. I should look into that line myself, honestly I should have done a lot more research before I set out," he admitted, before shaking his head. "But look at me, all these questions and I haven't even introduced myself. I am Azuth, a summoner in training, no introductions are needed for you, of course."
Azuth? Odd name, but then she frequently spent time with Clockblocker so what did she know?
His second comment stroked her ego and made her grin at the fancy teenage boy, before pausing.
But this was one of the times she didn't match the dumb blonde stereotype as something clicked in the back of her mind.
"So, honest answer, how much DnD did you play growing up, Azuth, Lord of Spells," Vicky asked, his eyes briefly widening as she giggled. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Let's just say a lot, and leave it at that," Azuth replied, making her giggle as she sent the message to the non-emergency line. She hadn't missed the way his grandiose tone lessened to a more normal cadence, giving her a grin.
Azuth, patron of wizards. One of the gods in Dungeons and Dragons. Crystal got her and Amy to play a campaign a while back, and her Arcana Cleric was a follower of Mystra. The name came up, and it was so unique it stood out to her to hear it again.
Amy played a barbarian, and it had taken a lot of work to get Amy to take the time off.
You weren't supposed to name yourself after gods, something she got scolded for after she tried to pick Nike, the Greek goddess of Victory (even without the copyright problems thanks to a fucking shoe brand), but that probably didn't include the gods of a fantasy game.
God, Nike would have worked so well for her, the Roman equivalent was Victoria damnit. Stupid trainers, she was forever an Adidas wearer out of sheer spite.
Giving his entire fit another look, she held in her giggles. He did look like he was a wizard about to set off on an adventure.
Curiously, he didn't have a mask at all, handsome features on full display for the world to see.
"So, how are you liking Brockton Bay? You don't sound local," Vicky asked, pausing as she reached forwards and gently patted the large bird on the head, making it caw softly and push its head further against her hand.
"It's… certainly interesting," Azuth said with a polite tone, making her snort. Yeah, interesting was about the nicest way to describe things.
"That's a word for it, yeah. Oh, you should probably register with the PRT as an independent hero, it'll make things a lot easier if you don't want to join the Wards," Vicky suggested, knowing full well Piggot would be frothing at the mouth at the word 'master' even before projection could be added to it.
"Perhaps, we shall see in time," Azuth said imperiously. Oh he was definitely playing his character. Typical overdramatic wizard players.
Still, he gave her a little grin, and she realised he was just having fun. She remembered her first patrol well enough, she didn't blame him.
The glamour hadn't worn off yet, she gave it a week.
That wasn't to say she didn't enjoy being a hero, just that this job was rarely fun.
They chatted a bit as they waited, not about anything of substance, but just killing time before someone arrived.
She did learn that his mount was called a Chocobo, but she was half convinced he was just making up weird enough sounding names and calling it a day.
Not a police van, but a bike, which made her frown as she watched it approach, relaxing when she spotted the military fatigues-clad woman on the back of it.
"Hey, Miss M," Vicky said with a wave. "What brings you here?"
"Glory Girl, a pleasure as always. I was in the area, dealing with some Sons, when I heard the noise. Figured I'd check it out, but it looks like things are well in hand here," Miss Militia said, though Vicky didn't quite believe her, as the older woman's eyes flickered first to Azuth and then to the large bird he was sitting on, his mount having sat down itself so he could use it as a chair.
"Yup, just a typical Westside fuck-up," Vicky snorted, lightly kicking the Roller sat at her feet. He seemed to accept he wasn't getting out of this, and unfortunately his phone was destroyed in the crash, so he couldn't call daddy to come save him. "This is Azuth, he's a new hero. Az, this is Miss Militia, one of the local PRT heroes."
He gave her an odd look at her shortening of his name, but didn't comment on it beyond that.
"Yes, I thought I recognised her. It's a pleasure to meet you," Az said with a light bow. "As Glory Girl said, I'm new to the cape scene, but I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of each other."
"Interesting name, it's nice to meet you Azuth," Miss Militia said, smiling at Az (only noticeable by the way her eyes crinkled due to the flag-face mask she was wearing). "You're independent then?"
"I am, Glory Girl has already suggested I register as an independent hero, but we shall see where the dice fall," Azuth explained.
"Have you given any thought to joining the Wards, assuming you're under eighteen," Miss Militia said, somewhat questioningly as she gave him another look.
"I am, and I have, but for now at least I intend to walk my own path, for better or for worse. We shall see where it leads," Azzy declared, the drama queen that he was. "It was an honour to meet two veteran heroes, but my work here is done," Az said, spotting the police van approaching as his ride rose to its full height. "Farewell."
Before Miss Militia could even speak, the Chocobo started running and took to the air, taking flight and vanishing into the night sky.
As she turned back to Miss Militia, she knew she was in for one hell of a questioning, sighing and wishing she'd followed Azzy's lead and just flown off as well.
— Solomon White (Azuth) —
Okay, Glory Girl plays DnD. You learn something new everyday.
Yes, I stole the name of a Faerûn deity, I was going to go for Oghma (god of knowledge) but it didn't roll off the tongue as well.
Okay, neither does Azuth but I like it.
Landing on a rooftop, I give myself a pat on the back, I gained points for both my first patrol and saving lives today, and on a whim I decide to spoil myself as I open the mental menu to my 'store'.
It's a slight waste to be honest, but with a smile I buy a cheap bundle in celebration of my victory.
[Food and Drinks of the Elder Scrolls]
My book glows as a menu section is added, making me grin as I open it up and make my selections.
It doesn't give me potions or ingredients, those are much more expensive, but pretty much all the food and drink of Skyrim is now available, and they're classed as consumables, so they come back over time.
With a sweet roll, a jazbay crostata, and a mug of spiced wine (if I'm old enough to patrol I'm old enough to drink, and who's going to stop me? I'm old enough to drink mentally so who cares) I've got a nice little spread to relax with, so I sit upon my perch and smile as I look over the city, munching my snack.
I also feed my mount and healer of course. They don't need it, but my chocobo happily eats a snowberry crostata, and my carbuncle some vegetables, since they're both herbivores.
My fire elemental, which I gave the form of the Flame Atronach for… important reasons, doesn't eat.
A good start, but only a start all the same.
…also, it turns out I don't like wine, but Honningbrew mead is pretty nice. Black-briar mead tastes like piss.
Hm.
Hey, if nothing else I have effectively infinite booze. That's gotta count for something.
— Bonus Scene — Emily Piggot
It was her worst nightmare, right in the city she was tasked with trying to keep safe.
A fucking healing master who summoned monsters, just fucking great.
Almost every healing cape had massive downsides. Panacea was the best, since the only known downside was dealing with Brandish (not that she trusted Panacea's healing either) and now some new cape was running around doing whatever he wanted without so much as a by-your-leave.
And nothing aroused her suspicions harder than a cape who could make monsters, projections or otherwise.
She would not have another fucking Goblin King, in her city
The fact that he was a master only made matters worse, sure he wasn't the 'make you tear out your children's throats with your teeth' type of master that they knew of, but Masters were almost always trouble.
And on top of this festering shitshow, all that power was in the hands of a teenage boy wandering around without a mask, just screaming to the gangs 'hey come and kidnap me'.
She wouldn't trust a teenage boy to be responsible for a fucking pet rock, and this one had at least three pet monsters!
Her implant warned her that her heart rate was too high, making her take several deep breaths, thankful for the advances in medical technology that Dr Ziegler had made. She absolutely refused to let a cape try and 'heal' her, but thankfully some people out there were still looking to prove regular humans weren't obsolete, unlike others.
'Why bother looking for an expensive solution for a problem Panacea could fix in a minute', fucking morons.
Back to the topic at hand, what the fuck was she supposed to do about this Azuth?
At the very least, the absolute bare minimum, they needed to drag his ass in for power testing before it turned out his healing caused people to grow an extra spleen or something equally bizarre, and more importantly didn't master the recipient, because a 'healing master' was the least encouraging phrase she'd heard since 'military-grade'.
If, and it was a big if, his healing wasn't going to turn people into monsters, and didn't make them his obedient mindless slaves, she wanted his ass in the Wards where they could make sure he wasn't going to accidentally summon a giant monster that would burn down the city for fun.
She wasn't having two independent healers that they would end up owing a million favours to, when they had to go on hands and knees and beg for healing so they could get their capes back in the fight and not be overwhelmed.
And then finally she'd need to fight off the other PRT divisions who would come around like the vultures they were, she could already hear the bastards.
"Oh you don't need your own healer, Panacea is right there."
But first, before any of that, they needed to drag the little bastard in for power testing, and they needed it yesterday.
And just to prove her day could in fact get worse, her phone rang and a particular name appeared on the screen.
Oh great, what did Costa-Brown want?
Author's Note: Sol is a big fucking nerd, in case you can't tell.
Fun fact, I finished this chapter as I was walking into work.
Priapus' note: Unfun fact: literally everything about Cordyceps.
Old man of the mountain note: Seriously Priapus? Thats a fact?
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