Alright then, so, for those of you have have read and enjoyed my Katawa Shoujo/Marvel Universe crossover Katawa Superpowers (located here). I have written a sequel. The rough draft is almost done, and the first six chapters or so have been refined with Oddball's help, so I am going to begin posting it. For those who have not read the original fic, do so before starting on this one, as this one won't make much sense if you do not have the backstory. One other note is that while the first fic dealt more with the casts relationships, this one is going to be much more "superhero-y". In any case...
The Enemy Within.
Prelude: Heirs to Darkness
Apocalypse was missing.
This was not unusual. Ozymandias' lord and master would often vanish for months or years or even decades at a time. Usually to gather his strength after his excursions. Being over four thousand years old proved damaging on the body, even for an immortal mutant such as he.
But this time was different.
This time, Apocalypse had left instructions.
Ozymandias was to institute the heritage protocols.
A series of faces appeared on a computer screen.
DESIGNATION: ROLFSON, AUTUMN: STATUS: SLAIN BY X-FACTOR
DESIGNATION: CALIBAN STATUS: SLAIN BY MR SINISTER
DESIGNATION: KIEROS, ABRAHAM : STATUS: SLAIN BY MARAUDERS
DESIGNATION: ELANE, TRISTIN: STATUS: SLAIN BY POWER PACK
DESIGNATION: NERAMANI, CAL'SYEE: STATUS: MISSING FOLLOWING EVENTS OF KREE-SHI'AR WAR.
DESIGNATION: KRISTIK, JONATHAN: STATUS: SLAIN BY VOIDSTAR
DESIGNATION: VALDEZ, TOMAS: STATUS: SLAIN BY VOIDSTAR
DESIGNATION: AWOLOWO , BAKKO: STATUS: SLAIN BY PSYLOCKE
DESIGNATION: HOWLETT, JAMES: STATUS: TAINT REMOVED FOLLOWING ENCOUNTER WITH SCARLET WITCH
DESIGNATION: BANNER, BRUCE: STATUS: UNKNOWN
Ozymandias then looked at the final two faces on the screen.
DESIGNATION: WORTHINGTING, WARREN: STATUS: ALIVE
DESIGNATION: IKEZAWA, HANAKO: STATUS: ALIVE
“Only two potential candidates?” Ozymandias muttered, “No matter, the strongest will win.”
He then reached hand over to a sinister looking lever and pulled it downwards.
The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Complete
The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Complete
Last edited by Chrono180 on Mon Nov 19, 2012 11:42 pm, edited 14 times in total.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel)
I was waiting and now its finnaly here!
The Sequel!
Ugh- The Hell?
I just Fan Girled.
Weird.
But as you said in the original you can tell us why Lilly was such a big threat for that robot guy in Which his name has slipped my mind.
The Sequel!
Ugh- The Hell?
I just Fan Girled.
Weird.
But as you said in the original you can tell us why Lilly was such a big threat for that robot guy in Which his name has slipped my mind.
Xanatos I'm Sorry.
LOL WUT: I Am Feeling The Urge To Get More Posts Than You By The End Of The Year. May The Best Man Win
Xanatos: Bring it, Clifford.
JOIN US
Hello! Did I mention that I have a form of Arrythmia?Xanatos wrote: I was totally going to include the leaf. Otherwise it's just a Ken(ji) doll because I can't model cocks from nothing.
LOL WUT: I Am Feeling The Urge To Get More Posts Than You By The End Of The Year. May The Best Man Win
Xanatos: Bring it, Clifford.
JOIN US
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel)
Glad you were anticipating it so much. That plot point is addressed in this chapter, though it doesn't get dealt with too much in this fic (I wanted to, but just couldn't squeeze it in the way I wanted. When I write a second sequel, it will play a major role however.)
Anyway, here's chapter one:
Chapter 1. The Voice
Hanako walked forward, staring at the man caught in her forcefield fist. Hisao looked up at her desperately as she pulled the cage towards her.
“You are in my way.” She stated, “Time to die.”
Hisao stared at her, horrified, “Please. Fight this!” He got out.
She raised a hand and the field tightened significantly, but ran into resistance.
“You're immune to the crushing.” She said, “No matter, I have another way.”
She willed a field to form inside his head, and then prepared to expand it....
And that point woke up gasping for breath.
“No...” she mumbled “No, I'm okay...I can get over this.” She said the words even thought she wasn't completely sure if they were true. Ten weeks since she had nearly killed Hisao. Ten weeks she had been trying to recover. It was a painfully slow process, and while she was improving, the fact was still that she was trying to get over what was, if not the most traumatic event of her life, a major contender for the title.. Reaching over to her nightstand, she found a bottle of Prazosin and choked down a pill, then took some deep breaths.
“I'm better.” She stated, trying to convince herself it was the case, “I'm going to be alright. I've got friends, a lover, a healed face, and excellent grades in my classes. I am going to be alright.”
“Really?” She heard someone say. The voice was icy, and Hanako couldn't help but think she had heard it somewhere before.
“What- whose there?” She called out, “Is someone here?”
There was no response. She brushed her fingers against the right side of her face nervously.
“Must have imagined it.” She mumbled under her breath. She then glanced at her clock. It was almost time for class. She threw on some clothes, grabbed her bag, then walked out.
On her way there she was stopped when she heard her name being called.
“Hanako, hey, Hanako!” A boy ran up to her.
“Denjiro?” she asked,
“Yeah, hey. I just...” The boy blushed slightly, “I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go out with me after class today? I mean you're pretty cute and...”
“I'm very sorry Denjiro.” Hanako said, shaking her head, “I have a boyfriend already.”
“Oh...” Denjiro nodded sadly, “I should have guessed. Do you get that a lot?”
“Lately? Yes.” Hanako shrugged. “Seven confessions in eight weeks. Kinda sad really, when my face was messed up hardly anyone gave me a second glance. Now that I'm healed, everyone wants a part of me. I mean, I'm still the same person underneath...”
“I guess that is kind of shallow of me. Sorry, I just thought...”
“It's okay.” Hanako nodded, “Human nature, sad as it is.”
“If you don't mind my asking...what happened? How did your face get fixed?”
Hanako visibly flinched, “I'd rather not talk about that.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It's fine.” Hanako glanced at her watch, “I gotta go, class is about to start.”
Hanako walked off. Truth was, as glad as she was that her face was healed, she still wasn't sure if it had been worth everything that came with it. For the longest time, it had been her greatest wish, but after being kidnapped and nearly having killed Hisao, she had been forced to realize that there were things more important than being “normal.” Well, in actuality, “normal” was major overstatement. After all, how many twenty one year olds could make force fields? Normal wasn't the right word. Good looking maybe? In any case, she had friends. They were far more important.
Hanako walked briskly down the hall and just outside of her classroom she saw Trevor hanging around.
“Hey there sweetie,” he said, “How you holding up?”
“Hey,” Hanako grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Doing alright. Nightmares again last night, but I'm managing.”
“Good to hear. Just thought I'd stop by and check on the program we've been working on. How's it coming along?”
“Almost ready, a few more days and my part should be finished. Yours?”
“Finished it last night. AI is always tricky, but I got it.” Trevor nodded
“Impressive, your skill never ceases to astound me.”
Trevor shrugged, “Been working on something else in my spare time. A search engine that actually gets the context of what you're saying, rather than just matching words. I mean, they're so primitive in this era.”
“If you can get that working you could revolutionize the industry. Put Google out of business. I think...”
“Kill him.” An icy voice came from nowhere.
“Did you hear that?” Hanako suddenly asked.
“Hear what?” Trevor said, clearly confused.
“I thought I heard someone saying something...”
Just then the bell rung. Hanako shrugged and went into her class.
After a particularly boring lecture about protein synthesis, she exited the class and the voice started again.
“The others will never accept you, you know,” it said, “To them you're still that freak with burns all up and down the right side of your body. You'll never be anything different.”
Hanako's eyes darted around the crowded hallway, trying to pinpoint the source.
“Who are you?” She asked, “Why are you telling me these things?”
“Um, Hanako.” A guy said, “Who are you talking to?”
Hanako shook her head. “I'm going crazy.” she muttered to herself, “That or I'm being talked to by some ghost or something. But crazy's a lot more likely. Side effects of the Prazosin, maybe? Oneirophrenia has occurred in a small subset of users...”
She shook her head and walked to her next class. “Better stop taking it.” she mumbled, “thought I should probably check with my psychiatrist first.” She pulled out her phone.
“Hello there Hanako,” a voice spoke and interrupted her concentration.
“Oh, hi Lilly,” Hanako replied.
“How are you doing?” Lilly asked, a clearly worried tone in her voice.
Hanako shrugged, “I'm surviving. And wishing I never found that godstone, to be honest.” she then suddenly shook her head, “Actually no, I don't mean that. That would be selfish to say considering our powers healed Hisao's heart, turned Misha and Shizune into superheros and gave you the ability to navigate without your cane. So no, I'm glad I found the godstone, I just wish I hadn't... you know.”
Lilly patted her on the shoulder. “I know, but it happened anyway. But you're going to be alright.”
“I hope so.” Hanako shook her head sadly, “I keep having nightmares, even with my medication. Which I'm going to need to stop now, sadly.”
“Why ever for?”
“I'm hearing voices. Dreaming while you're awake is a known side effect, so I'm thinking this is just a variant.”
“That's unfortunate...” Lilly frowned slightly
“Yeah, but to quote Kurt Vonnegut 'so it goes.' Side effects happen.” Hanako shrugged, “Could be worse. At least it's not a paradoxical reaction that made the problem intensify. Or that it made me gain weight uncontrollably. Or anything else, really.”
Lilly nodded.
“How are you and Hisao doing?” Hanako asked.
“Very well. His telepathy has become quite advanced. Last night he showed me one of Rin's works. I must say, it was possibly the most unusual image to date.”
Hanako chuckled a little, “Not for those new to sight, for sure. But she's got talent. A lot of talent. Considering she got a cosmic entity to date her based on her artwork, I'd say she's ten steps ahead of anyone other artist on this planet.”
“Indeed.” Lilly smiled. “It's funny, you know. Most everyone thinks of such beings as having no concept of how normal people think, but I believe that deep down they're just as human as the rest of us.”
“I wouldn't go that far. If you look at say...Galactus-”
“Galactus was once like us actually. Back before the big bang, he was a scientist called Galan. But everyone he knew died when our universe started.” Lilly smiled.
“Really? How do you know that?” Hanako inquired
“Hisao's been bringing home files from the X-corp. We've been going over them in our spare time. There is a lot to go through.” She chuckled a little, “It's pretty interesting stuff. And you should see Hisao's reaction to some of the concepts. When he learned about the “living laser,” well... Let's just say light shouldn't work that way.”
Hanako nodded and then remembered something. “There's something that's been bothering me. When the Chronomancer attacked two weeks ago, his armor said that you were the most powerful of all of us. But all you can do is sense object's histories....Why would it say that?”
Lilly shrugged, “I don't know. Kenji mentioned at one point that..what was it? There was a seventy five percent chance of my gaining molecular warping powers? Something like that.”
“Really?” Hanako inquired, “So maybe you just haven't unlocked your potential yet?”
Lilly shrugged again, “Maybe, but I'm not to worried about it. I'm fine the way I am. I don't need flashy superpowers to make a difference in the world.”
“Very true. You made a huge difference to me.” Hanako glanced at her watch, “Oh, man. I gotta go. Going to be late for class. See you later!”
She patted Lilly on the shoulder and walked briskly down the hall.
“You resent her, don't you?” the voice came again, “About how she's perfectly comfortable with herself? How she's so self-confident and always at ease? Don't you hate that?”
“No.” Hanako said firmly, “She's my friend. I admire her, not resent her. Why am I talking to you anyway? You're not real.”
“Oh, I'm real alright.”
“No you're not. You're just medication gone bad.”
There was an icy laugh, but the voice didn't answer.
Hanako shrugged and entered her next class.
“Why do you tolerate these fools?” She heard towards the end of the class. “You could slay them all if you had any spine in you.”
“Shut up,” she mumbled, “Get out of my head.”
The moment the bell rung, she ran out into the hall and dialed her psychiatrist's number.
Anyway, here's chapter one:
Chapter 1. The Voice
Hanako walked forward, staring at the man caught in her forcefield fist. Hisao looked up at her desperately as she pulled the cage towards her.
“You are in my way.” She stated, “Time to die.”
Hisao stared at her, horrified, “Please. Fight this!” He got out.
She raised a hand and the field tightened significantly, but ran into resistance.
“You're immune to the crushing.” She said, “No matter, I have another way.”
She willed a field to form inside his head, and then prepared to expand it....
And that point woke up gasping for breath.
“No...” she mumbled “No, I'm okay...I can get over this.” She said the words even thought she wasn't completely sure if they were true. Ten weeks since she had nearly killed Hisao. Ten weeks she had been trying to recover. It was a painfully slow process, and while she was improving, the fact was still that she was trying to get over what was, if not the most traumatic event of her life, a major contender for the title.. Reaching over to her nightstand, she found a bottle of Prazosin and choked down a pill, then took some deep breaths.
“I'm better.” She stated, trying to convince herself it was the case, “I'm going to be alright. I've got friends, a lover, a healed face, and excellent grades in my classes. I am going to be alright.”
“Really?” She heard someone say. The voice was icy, and Hanako couldn't help but think she had heard it somewhere before.
“What- whose there?” She called out, “Is someone here?”
There was no response. She brushed her fingers against the right side of her face nervously.
“Must have imagined it.” She mumbled under her breath. She then glanced at her clock. It was almost time for class. She threw on some clothes, grabbed her bag, then walked out.
On her way there she was stopped when she heard her name being called.
“Hanako, hey, Hanako!” A boy ran up to her.
“Denjiro?” she asked,
“Yeah, hey. I just...” The boy blushed slightly, “I wanted to ask you if you'd like to go out with me after class today? I mean you're pretty cute and...”
“I'm very sorry Denjiro.” Hanako said, shaking her head, “I have a boyfriend already.”
“Oh...” Denjiro nodded sadly, “I should have guessed. Do you get that a lot?”
“Lately? Yes.” Hanako shrugged. “Seven confessions in eight weeks. Kinda sad really, when my face was messed up hardly anyone gave me a second glance. Now that I'm healed, everyone wants a part of me. I mean, I'm still the same person underneath...”
“I guess that is kind of shallow of me. Sorry, I just thought...”
“It's okay.” Hanako nodded, “Human nature, sad as it is.”
“If you don't mind my asking...what happened? How did your face get fixed?”
Hanako visibly flinched, “I'd rather not talk about that.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“It's fine.” Hanako glanced at her watch, “I gotta go, class is about to start.”
Hanako walked off. Truth was, as glad as she was that her face was healed, she still wasn't sure if it had been worth everything that came with it. For the longest time, it had been her greatest wish, but after being kidnapped and nearly having killed Hisao, she had been forced to realize that there were things more important than being “normal.” Well, in actuality, “normal” was major overstatement. After all, how many twenty one year olds could make force fields? Normal wasn't the right word. Good looking maybe? In any case, she had friends. They were far more important.
Hanako walked briskly down the hall and just outside of her classroom she saw Trevor hanging around.
“Hey there sweetie,” he said, “How you holding up?”
“Hey,” Hanako grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Doing alright. Nightmares again last night, but I'm managing.”
“Good to hear. Just thought I'd stop by and check on the program we've been working on. How's it coming along?”
“Almost ready, a few more days and my part should be finished. Yours?”
“Finished it last night. AI is always tricky, but I got it.” Trevor nodded
“Impressive, your skill never ceases to astound me.”
Trevor shrugged, “Been working on something else in my spare time. A search engine that actually gets the context of what you're saying, rather than just matching words. I mean, they're so primitive in this era.”
“If you can get that working you could revolutionize the industry. Put Google out of business. I think...”
“Kill him.” An icy voice came from nowhere.
“Did you hear that?” Hanako suddenly asked.
“Hear what?” Trevor said, clearly confused.
“I thought I heard someone saying something...”
Just then the bell rung. Hanako shrugged and went into her class.
After a particularly boring lecture about protein synthesis, she exited the class and the voice started again.
“The others will never accept you, you know,” it said, “To them you're still that freak with burns all up and down the right side of your body. You'll never be anything different.”
Hanako's eyes darted around the crowded hallway, trying to pinpoint the source.
“Who are you?” She asked, “Why are you telling me these things?”
“Um, Hanako.” A guy said, “Who are you talking to?”
Hanako shook her head. “I'm going crazy.” she muttered to herself, “That or I'm being talked to by some ghost or something. But crazy's a lot more likely. Side effects of the Prazosin, maybe? Oneirophrenia has occurred in a small subset of users...”
She shook her head and walked to her next class. “Better stop taking it.” she mumbled, “thought I should probably check with my psychiatrist first.” She pulled out her phone.
“Hello there Hanako,” a voice spoke and interrupted her concentration.
“Oh, hi Lilly,” Hanako replied.
“How are you doing?” Lilly asked, a clearly worried tone in her voice.
Hanako shrugged, “I'm surviving. And wishing I never found that godstone, to be honest.” she then suddenly shook her head, “Actually no, I don't mean that. That would be selfish to say considering our powers healed Hisao's heart, turned Misha and Shizune into superheros and gave you the ability to navigate without your cane. So no, I'm glad I found the godstone, I just wish I hadn't... you know.”
Lilly patted her on the shoulder. “I know, but it happened anyway. But you're going to be alright.”
“I hope so.” Hanako shook her head sadly, “I keep having nightmares, even with my medication. Which I'm going to need to stop now, sadly.”
“Why ever for?”
“I'm hearing voices. Dreaming while you're awake is a known side effect, so I'm thinking this is just a variant.”
“That's unfortunate...” Lilly frowned slightly
“Yeah, but to quote Kurt Vonnegut 'so it goes.' Side effects happen.” Hanako shrugged, “Could be worse. At least it's not a paradoxical reaction that made the problem intensify. Or that it made me gain weight uncontrollably. Or anything else, really.”
Lilly nodded.
“How are you and Hisao doing?” Hanako asked.
“Very well. His telepathy has become quite advanced. Last night he showed me one of Rin's works. I must say, it was possibly the most unusual image to date.”
Hanako chuckled a little, “Not for those new to sight, for sure. But she's got talent. A lot of talent. Considering she got a cosmic entity to date her based on her artwork, I'd say she's ten steps ahead of anyone other artist on this planet.”
“Indeed.” Lilly smiled. “It's funny, you know. Most everyone thinks of such beings as having no concept of how normal people think, but I believe that deep down they're just as human as the rest of us.”
“I wouldn't go that far. If you look at say...Galactus-”
“Galactus was once like us actually. Back before the big bang, he was a scientist called Galan. But everyone he knew died when our universe started.” Lilly smiled.
“Really? How do you know that?” Hanako inquired
“Hisao's been bringing home files from the X-corp. We've been going over them in our spare time. There is a lot to go through.” She chuckled a little, “It's pretty interesting stuff. And you should see Hisao's reaction to some of the concepts. When he learned about the “living laser,” well... Let's just say light shouldn't work that way.”
Hanako nodded and then remembered something. “There's something that's been bothering me. When the Chronomancer attacked two weeks ago, his armor said that you were the most powerful of all of us. But all you can do is sense object's histories....Why would it say that?”
Lilly shrugged, “I don't know. Kenji mentioned at one point that..what was it? There was a seventy five percent chance of my gaining molecular warping powers? Something like that.”
“Really?” Hanako inquired, “So maybe you just haven't unlocked your potential yet?”
Lilly shrugged again, “Maybe, but I'm not to worried about it. I'm fine the way I am. I don't need flashy superpowers to make a difference in the world.”
“Very true. You made a huge difference to me.” Hanako glanced at her watch, “Oh, man. I gotta go. Going to be late for class. See you later!”
She patted Lilly on the shoulder and walked briskly down the hall.
“You resent her, don't you?” the voice came again, “About how she's perfectly comfortable with herself? How she's so self-confident and always at ease? Don't you hate that?”
“No.” Hanako said firmly, “She's my friend. I admire her, not resent her. Why am I talking to you anyway? You're not real.”
“Oh, I'm real alright.”
“No you're not. You're just medication gone bad.”
There was an icy laugh, but the voice didn't answer.
Hanako shrugged and entered her next class.
“Why do you tolerate these fools?” She heard towards the end of the class. “You could slay them all if you had any spine in you.”
“Shut up,” she mumbled, “Get out of my head.”
The moment the bell rung, she ran out into the hall and dialed her psychiatrist's number.
-
Mirage_GSM
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:24 am
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Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel)
Actually in THIS scenario it should be obvious to everyone which is more likelyHanako shook her head. “I'm going crazy.” she muttered to herself, “That or I'm being talked to by some ghost or something. But crazy's a lot more likely.
Emi > Misha > Hanako > Lilly > Rin > Shizune
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
Sore wa himitsu desu.griffon8 wrote:Kosher, just because sex is your answer to everything doesn't mean that sex is the answer to everything.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel)
Yeah, but cut her some slack. She's new to the whole tights and capes mindset.Mirage_GSM wrote:Actually in THIS scenario it should be obvious to everyone which is more likelyHanako shook her head. “I'm going crazy.” she muttered to herself, “That or I'm being talked to by some ghost or something. But crazy's a lot more likely.
Not Dead Yet
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel)
And here is chapter 2:
Chapter 2. The Nightmare at Hand.
“You are two miligrams of Prazosin, Oahhas, correct?” Her psychiatrist asked over the phone, his familiar vocal tic interrupting his sentence midway through.
“Yes.” Hanako replied
“In that case, reduce it down to one milligram tonight, Oahhhas, then wait seven days to stop taking it completely.”
“Seven days? I'm going to have to hear this voice for another week?” Hanako flinched at the thought.
“Quite possibly, Oahh, however...” her doctor's voice trailed off.
“However...?” Hanako repeated.
“I must say that hallucinations at such a low dose is very unusual. Oahh, I'm beginning to wonder if there's something else going on.”
“You think I'm going crazy.” Hanako said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Well, let's not rush to conclusions. Undergoing side effects, probably. Crazy, maybe. But there's nothing wrong with crazy. Oahh.This Kenji fellow you mentioned to me sounds perfectly functional despite his eccentricities.” Her doctor said frankly, “What is the voice saying?”
Hanako paused, “It's telling me other people hate me, that I hate other people...” she hesitated, “It told me to kill someone, but I'm not going to.”
“So, you don't feel obliged to follow it's commands?”
“No.” Hanako said flatly, “Not at all.”
“Most Interesting... Oaahh, Oahha. With normal schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations tend to be most overpowering. Are you available later today? I would like to run an analysis if possible.”
“I could make it around six. Does that sound good?”
“Certainly. Oahh. I will see you then.”
Hanako hung up the phone and checked her watch. Still had fifty minutes on her lunch break. Trevor had classes during this time on Mondays, unfortunately, but maybe she could meet up with Hisao and Lilly. She began walking towards the South Cafe they usually hung out in. Along the way, she began to think. Could she be going crazy? It was normal for schizophrenics to have their issues manifest in college ages, but she didn't fit the other symptoms of the disorder at all. Her emotions were perfectly normal, she no longer isolated herself from society and her beliefs were grounded in reality. Schizophrenia was unlikely, but what if...
A chill ran up her spine. What if Apocalypse did something to her when she was kidnapped? She had been under that monster's thrall for days, what if the mind control had other effects that she hadn't gotten out of? But why would they manifest now of all times? She had broken free of his control, and hadn't heard of anything since then. She was better, wasn't she? Wasn't she?
She flung open the door to the South Cafe and took a deep breath. “Let's not borrow trouble.” she mumbled to herself. She walked up to the counter and ordered a slice of cheesecake, then took the number she was handed over to her friend's place in the corner.
“Hey there Hanako,” Hisao said as she walked over, then he noticed the pensive look on her face “Is something wrong?”
“Not sure yet.” Hanako said softly and sat down next to him. She took a deep breath and looked at Hisao for a long moment.
“Hisao,” she finally said, “When other people have...gone through what happened to me... were their any aftereffects?”
Hisao stopped to think. There were a number of things she could be referring to. Getting caught in a house fire, gaining superpowers, undergoing a extrodinarily unlikely cure, being turned into a Horseman of Apocalypse. He figured she was probably referring to the last bit and gave a worried glance at Lilly before turning back.
“Its hard to say,” Hisao replied, “Most of Apocalypse's horsemen are killed shortly after their transformation.”
“And the ones that haven't?”
“Aside from you, the only survivor of such an experience is Warren Worthington the third, AKA Archangel. Well, not the only survior. Wolverine and the Hulk were transformed too but Logan was immediately reverted back following that bit with Wanda and Hulk... isn't the kind of person you test in a laboratory..”
“What happened to him? The Angel?” Hanako pressed.
“Hanako, I thought you were thinking it was a medication issue?” Lilly asked.
“Maybe it is, I'm not sure, but I'm worrying...” Hanako's voiced trailed off ”Look, just tell me, ok?”
“The short answer is that Angel's wings started acting of their own accord.” Hisao stated, “They would lash out whenever he got angry or upset, and at one point decapitated an enemy that was sneaking up behind him.”
“But no hallucinations?”
“Not as far as I know.” Hisao shrugged, “Wait, hallucinations?”
Hanako nodded, “I've been hearing someone telling me to do bad things, like kill people...Am I losing my mind?”
Hisao paused, “Would you like me to check?”
Hanako nodded and Hisao reached out telepathically, entering her consciousness. It was the first time he had ever been in Hanako's head when she was in her right state of mind, and he sensed it as a sort of library, containing thousands of books as well as a number of computers. There was something definitely not right, but he couldn't put his finger quite on what.
He traversed the shelves, taking a look at the titles. “Seventh Birthday Party,” “First Newspaper Club Meeting,” “Victimized by Middle School Bully.” read a few. Hisao winced slightly. Hanako had always been rather vague about her past, and yet she was essentially permitting him to look into her mind's darkest corners. She must be really worried to allow such a thing, even to him.
He blinked, and then suddenly realized what was wrong in her head. Several of the books looked different than the others. Whereas most took the form of fairly normal novels and textbooks, a few were...sinister looking. They had no titles, they looked old, very old, and were bound in a black material that reminded Hisao of human flesh. Taking one out, he noticed it was covered in arcane symbols that he couldn't understand. He opened it. The left page was covered in hieroglyphics and the right had a picture of Hanako in metal armor and a yellow skull mask.
The picture on the page moved, and Hisao nearly dropped the book in shock.
“Ah, the telepath.” An icy voice stated, “I remember you.”
“Who the hell are you?” Hisao snarled, “I DEMAND you get out of my friend's head!”
“Oh, I don't think I will. And you know who I am. You helped her kill me the first time, after all.” There was a deep chuckle, and Hisao wondered for a moment if he had gone too far.
Hisao concentrated on the book, attempted to erase it from her mind.
“Come on, remove yourself, remove yourself...” He mumbled, Then stared down at the book. It was still there.
“Somethings blocking me.” There was a sudden, violent shake and Hisao was ejected out of his friends' mind.
“Are you ok?” Lilly asked as he regained consciousness in his seat, “You blanked out for a minute there.”
“Hanako, I have some bad news...” Hisao said softly.
Hanako's eyes winded in fear.
“There's a foreign presence in your mind, and I'm not sure how to remove it. It appears Apocalypse...did something.” Hisao cleared his throat, “However, I am going to do whatever I can to help you. As soon as we finish here, I will go straight to the X-corp and see what they know about this.”
Hanako looked downward, her lip trembling slightly.
“Hanako, don't worry. We beat him once, I'm sure we can beat him again.” Hisao looked at her, “You'll be alright. Don't worry.”
Hanako nodded weakly. “I just don't want to hurt anyone.” she said softly.
“Don't worry, you won't.” Lilly said reassuringly, “You're too strong for that.”
Hisao leaned over and gave Hanako a hug. She relaxed slightly, with a look of fear in her eyes.
Don't worry, the action will kick in shortly.
Chapter 2. The Nightmare at Hand.
“You are two miligrams of Prazosin, Oahhas, correct?” Her psychiatrist asked over the phone, his familiar vocal tic interrupting his sentence midway through.
“Yes.” Hanako replied
“In that case, reduce it down to one milligram tonight, Oahhhas, then wait seven days to stop taking it completely.”
“Seven days? I'm going to have to hear this voice for another week?” Hanako flinched at the thought.
“Quite possibly, Oahh, however...” her doctor's voice trailed off.
“However...?” Hanako repeated.
“I must say that hallucinations at such a low dose is very unusual. Oahh, I'm beginning to wonder if there's something else going on.”
“You think I'm going crazy.” Hanako said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Well, let's not rush to conclusions. Undergoing side effects, probably. Crazy, maybe. But there's nothing wrong with crazy. Oahh.This Kenji fellow you mentioned to me sounds perfectly functional despite his eccentricities.” Her doctor said frankly, “What is the voice saying?”
Hanako paused, “It's telling me other people hate me, that I hate other people...” she hesitated, “It told me to kill someone, but I'm not going to.”
“So, you don't feel obliged to follow it's commands?”
“No.” Hanako said flatly, “Not at all.”
“Most Interesting... Oaahh, Oahha. With normal schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations tend to be most overpowering. Are you available later today? I would like to run an analysis if possible.”
“I could make it around six. Does that sound good?”
“Certainly. Oahh. I will see you then.”
Hanako hung up the phone and checked her watch. Still had fifty minutes on her lunch break. Trevor had classes during this time on Mondays, unfortunately, but maybe she could meet up with Hisao and Lilly. She began walking towards the South Cafe they usually hung out in. Along the way, she began to think. Could she be going crazy? It was normal for schizophrenics to have their issues manifest in college ages, but she didn't fit the other symptoms of the disorder at all. Her emotions were perfectly normal, she no longer isolated herself from society and her beliefs were grounded in reality. Schizophrenia was unlikely, but what if...
A chill ran up her spine. What if Apocalypse did something to her when she was kidnapped? She had been under that monster's thrall for days, what if the mind control had other effects that she hadn't gotten out of? But why would they manifest now of all times? She had broken free of his control, and hadn't heard of anything since then. She was better, wasn't she? Wasn't she?
She flung open the door to the South Cafe and took a deep breath. “Let's not borrow trouble.” she mumbled to herself. She walked up to the counter and ordered a slice of cheesecake, then took the number she was handed over to her friend's place in the corner.
“Hey there Hanako,” Hisao said as she walked over, then he noticed the pensive look on her face “Is something wrong?”
“Not sure yet.” Hanako said softly and sat down next to him. She took a deep breath and looked at Hisao for a long moment.
“Hisao,” she finally said, “When other people have...gone through what happened to me... were their any aftereffects?”
Hisao stopped to think. There were a number of things she could be referring to. Getting caught in a house fire, gaining superpowers, undergoing a extrodinarily unlikely cure, being turned into a Horseman of Apocalypse. He figured she was probably referring to the last bit and gave a worried glance at Lilly before turning back.
“Its hard to say,” Hisao replied, “Most of Apocalypse's horsemen are killed shortly after their transformation.”
“And the ones that haven't?”
“Aside from you, the only survivor of such an experience is Warren Worthington the third, AKA Archangel. Well, not the only survior. Wolverine and the Hulk were transformed too but Logan was immediately reverted back following that bit with Wanda and Hulk... isn't the kind of person you test in a laboratory..”
“What happened to him? The Angel?” Hanako pressed.
“Hanako, I thought you were thinking it was a medication issue?” Lilly asked.
“Maybe it is, I'm not sure, but I'm worrying...” Hanako's voiced trailed off ”Look, just tell me, ok?”
“The short answer is that Angel's wings started acting of their own accord.” Hisao stated, “They would lash out whenever he got angry or upset, and at one point decapitated an enemy that was sneaking up behind him.”
“But no hallucinations?”
“Not as far as I know.” Hisao shrugged, “Wait, hallucinations?”
Hanako nodded, “I've been hearing someone telling me to do bad things, like kill people...Am I losing my mind?”
Hisao paused, “Would you like me to check?”
Hanako nodded and Hisao reached out telepathically, entering her consciousness. It was the first time he had ever been in Hanako's head when she was in her right state of mind, and he sensed it as a sort of library, containing thousands of books as well as a number of computers. There was something definitely not right, but he couldn't put his finger quite on what.
He traversed the shelves, taking a look at the titles. “Seventh Birthday Party,” “First Newspaper Club Meeting,” “Victimized by Middle School Bully.” read a few. Hisao winced slightly. Hanako had always been rather vague about her past, and yet she was essentially permitting him to look into her mind's darkest corners. She must be really worried to allow such a thing, even to him.
He blinked, and then suddenly realized what was wrong in her head. Several of the books looked different than the others. Whereas most took the form of fairly normal novels and textbooks, a few were...sinister looking. They had no titles, they looked old, very old, and were bound in a black material that reminded Hisao of human flesh. Taking one out, he noticed it was covered in arcane symbols that he couldn't understand. He opened it. The left page was covered in hieroglyphics and the right had a picture of Hanako in metal armor and a yellow skull mask.
The picture on the page moved, and Hisao nearly dropped the book in shock.
“Ah, the telepath.” An icy voice stated, “I remember you.”
“Who the hell are you?” Hisao snarled, “I DEMAND you get out of my friend's head!”
“Oh, I don't think I will. And you know who I am. You helped her kill me the first time, after all.” There was a deep chuckle, and Hisao wondered for a moment if he had gone too far.
Hisao concentrated on the book, attempted to erase it from her mind.
“Come on, remove yourself, remove yourself...” He mumbled, Then stared down at the book. It was still there.
“Somethings blocking me.” There was a sudden, violent shake and Hisao was ejected out of his friends' mind.
“Are you ok?” Lilly asked as he regained consciousness in his seat, “You blanked out for a minute there.”
“Hanako, I have some bad news...” Hisao said softly.
Hanako's eyes winded in fear.
“There's a foreign presence in your mind, and I'm not sure how to remove it. It appears Apocalypse...did something.” Hisao cleared his throat, “However, I am going to do whatever I can to help you. As soon as we finish here, I will go straight to the X-corp and see what they know about this.”
Hanako looked downward, her lip trembling slightly.
“Hanako, don't worry. We beat him once, I'm sure we can beat him again.” Hisao looked at her, “You'll be alright. Don't worry.”
Hanako nodded weakly. “I just don't want to hurt anyone.” she said softly.
“Don't worry, you won't.” Lilly said reassuringly, “You're too strong for that.”
Hisao leaned over and gave Hanako a hug. She relaxed slightly, with a look of fear in her eyes.
Don't worry, the action will kick in shortly.
-
Mirage_GSM
- Posts: 6148
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2010 2:24 am
- Location: Germany
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Worst. Psychiatrist. Ever.“You think I'm going crazy.” Hanako said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Well, let's not rush to conclusions. Undergoing side effects, probably. Crazy, maybe
Shouldn't any psychiatrist have his office full of people trying to get over being mind-controlled in one way or the other in this setting?
Emi > Misha > Hanako > Lilly > Rin > Shizune
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
My collected KS-Fan Fictions: Mirage's Myths
Sore wa himitsu desu.griffon8 wrote:Kosher, just because sex is your answer to everything doesn't mean that sex is the answer to everything.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Oahhas? Uhh... how is "Oahhas" pronounced. I feel like I can't really read this properly if I haven't the slightest clue how that sounds. Besides, if it sounds as awkward as I'm imagining, that's a bit of a strange thing to get into a habit of just saying in the middle of a sentence.
Lilly > Emi > Hanako > Shizune > Rin
100% get!
100% get!
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
It's like a rather low gutteral grunt. It's based off the sound I make due to my tourette's.
And yeah Mirage, they probably would. Though thats never realy explored in the comics.
And yeah Mirage, they probably would. Though thats never realy explored in the comics.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
This looks like a job for Dr. Blink, Superhero Shrink!Chrono180 wrote:And yeah Mirage, they probably would. Though thats never realy explored in the comics.
I found out about Katawa Shoujo through the forums of Misfile. There, I am the editor of Misfiled Dreams.
Completed: 100%, including bonus picture. Shizune>Emi>Lilly>Hanako>Rin
Griffon8's Writing
Completed: 100%, including bonus picture. Shizune>Emi>Lilly>Hanako>Rin
Griffon8's Writing
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Maybe she just couldn't afford a better one.Mirage_GSM wrote:Worst. Psychiatrist. Ever.“You think I'm going crazy.” Hanako said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Well, let's not rush to conclusions. Undergoing side effects, probably. Crazy, maybe
Not Dead Yet
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Molecular warping powers? That's some pretty great story breaking power right there. So i assume molecular warping isn't as powerful as reality warping but doesn't that technically mean she can do just about anything? Anyway GREAT story really loving it, keep up the great work.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Without giving too much of the next story away, there is a very good reason why Lilly hasn't unlocked her power yet.
Anyway, chapter 3:
Chapter 3. Search for a solution.
As Hisao drove down 34th street he began mumbling angrily to himself.
“This just HAD to happen, didn't it?” he fumed, “She had JUST gotten better and now THIS happened. I swear to God, if I ever see Apocalypse in person, I will TEAR HIS MIND APART. Goddamit, why could I have been kidnapped instead of her? She didn't deserve this, not in the least. NOBODY deserves it...”
He pulled into the parking lot of X-corp Toyko and stormed out of the car. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, he went inside.
Armor was at the front desk. With one hand she was filling out documents, with the other she was using the computer. Hisao blinked, somewhat impressed at her ambidexterity.
“I need to talk to Psylocke,” he told her, “Where is she?”
“Down in the med-bay, but she is not to be disturbed unless it's an emergency.” Armor replied
“Oh, it's an emergency all right. Med bay huh? Wonder why she's there.” Hisao replied and went down the staircase into the basement. Quickly arriving at the medical office, he threw open the door.
“Betsy, we've got a problem. Hanako is-” he began but stopped. Betsy was there, yes, fiddling with dials on an piece of equipment, but there was another person. Lying inside a scanner was a tall man with blue skin and white feathered wings. He seemed to be asleep, and Psylocke looked up from her work to see him.
“This had better be important.” she stated in her distinguished British accent.
“It is. Hanako's in trouble, has a foreign presence in her mind left by Apocalypse. I need your help to get it out.”
A worried look crossed Betsy's face and she glanced over to the sleeping man in the med scanner. “Hanako too?” she asked.
“What?”
“My ex over there...Angel..” Psylocke shook her head, “He's been having a similar problem. Hearing voices, seeing things, having urges to kill people... I take it she's had the same effects.?”
“I don't think she's been wanting to kill anyone, yet. But there have been hallucinations.” Hisao looked at her, worried. “I need your help.”
“I wish I could. But I can't.” Psylocke said, shaking her head. “I've been trying to help Warren here but the corruption is ingrained in his mind so deep that removing it would tear his brain apart.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” she replied, then rethought her statement, “Sorry, bad choice of words. Thing is, this is a very unusual form of influence. It's difficult to explain why, but this is unlike any other mental construct I have ever encountered. Most of the time, when this kind of the occurs the mental manipulation sits like a lump in the brain. In this case overs, it's spread all over at a very low level of processing. Removing it without damage... I wouldn't even know where to start.”
“You've got to be kidding me! Are you telling me the X-men, who have five of the world's most powerful telepaths, can't fix this?” Hisao was getting a tad hysterical by this point.
“Hisao, calm down. Look, we're working on a solution. If we find one, we'll let you know.”
“There's got to be something we can do.”
“These solutions take time. I have every confidence we'll figure out a way-” Psylocke started, but Hisao shook his head.
“Let me rephrase. There's got to be something I can do.”
Psylocke shrugged, “If you've got resources we don't, feel free to use them. Lord knows I want a solution too.” she looked back over at her Ex and shook her head, “I know how helpless you must feel, trust me.”
“Really? When have you ever felt helpless? Whenever a problem comes along to a major superhero, some cure always shows up shortly after. Not even death lasts more than a few weeks. Hanako doesn't have that luxury!”
“Did I ever tell you about the time Kitty Pride was struck by an energy harpoon? The blast disrupted her molecular bonds and she began to discorpreate. Her molecules were drifting farther and farther apart and we were completely unable to find a solution. For the better part of three weeks we had to watch as the youngest and most innocent member of our team slowly died in front of us with absolutely nothing we could do .And while she was eventually resurrected, it didn't change how utterly devastated we were to lose her . So yes, I do understand what you're going through.” Psylocke shook her head. “Go home Hisao. If I figure out a solution, you'll be the first to know.”
Hisao stared at her for a long while, then walked out the door.
“Resources we don't?” He mumbled, “I suppose I could ask Kenji.”
Twenty minutes later...
Hisao had arrived at a small brick house just south of the university and knocked on the door. There was the sound of something falling inside and someone let out a yelp of pain. Then the door opened and Kenji was there, holding a bump on his head.
“Ah, hey there Hisao. Good to see you. Yuuko and I were just analyzing the likely existence of feminist conspirators in HYDRA-” He began.
“Wait, what?” Hisao replied, “Yuuko's dead. How can she..?”
“She got resurrected. Rather a dangerous concept, as resurrection totally screw up the life-death balance, but it was beyond my control so oh well. Anyway, we've come to the conclusion HYDRA is thirty two percent infiltrated-”
“Yes, yes okay.” Hisao said dismissively. “Look, I need your help.” he gave a brief explanation of what was happening with Hanako, and Kenji thought for a moment.
“'Apocalypse in the brain, huh?That's a tough one.” Kenji sighed and shook his head, “You wouldn't happen to have a cosmic cube, would you?”
“A what?” Hisao asked.
“Crystal clear cube, roughly six inches on a side, allows the wielder to make his thoughts reality and later evolves into a cosmic entity. That'd fix it up right fast.” Kenji made a dramatic gesture with his hand.
Hisao chuckled “If I had one of those, wouldn't you think I'd have used it by now?”
Kenji nodded “Fair point. How about an infinity gem? There's six of them, so you're six time as likely to have one.”
Hisao shook his head.
Kenji sighed “Then I'm afraid I'm not sure. Sorry.”
Hisao nodded sadly, “All right then.”
Kenj shrugged, “Would you like to come in and help with the planning? We could use someone with your brainpower.”
Hisao shook his head again,“No, I need to get back to campus. There's another lead I might be able to try.”
Thirty minutes later....
“You're serious?” Trevor asked.
“I'm afraid so.” Hisao replied.
“Well god damn it. This was the last thing we needed.” Trevor shook his head.
“Do you have any idea on how to help her?”
“No, I'm sorry.” Trevor sighed.
“But you're from the future.” Hisao started.
“You mean 'A' future. There's a big difference. My homeworld didn't deal much with this kind of stuff. What with superhumans being interned in concentration camps for the better part of six decades and all.”
“Can you open a portal to a world that would know how to help her?”
Trevor shook his head, “I'm afraid my power isn't that precise. I can't usually control where I'll end up unless it's to a location I've been near before. And I never really got to deep into the superhero career on any world aside from my first because I was afraid the Chronomancer would kill my friends. I hid out in civilian identities, so it's pretty unlikely anyone on the worlds I've lived on before would help us out. Not to mention many of them were rather nasty. Taken over by demons or overrun by vampires or whatever.”
“There's got to be something you can do.” Hisao stated.
“I’m thinking, okay?” Trevor ran his fingers through his thick green hair, “Do you know anyone else who might be able to help?”
Hisao shrugged, “I doubt it. Aside from my friends, who got powers just a couple months ago, there's you, this Magnus guy and...huh..” he furrowed his brow.
“You have an idea?” Trevor inquired
“Maybe,” Hisao replied, seriously considering whether what he was considering was a good idea.”Rin lately started meeting up with this cosmic entity called the Grandmaster. Considering how egotistical such beings tend to be, I doubt he'd be willing to help, but right now it looks like he's the only one who might know.”
“A cosmic entity....dating an artist.” Trevor stated clearly dumbfounded. “That is possibly the most absurd thing I have ever heard of.”
Hisao shrugged. “This entire life is absurd. I mean, I just read some files on a villain made up out of“solid sound.” Which, speaking as a science major, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sound is a series of waves through a medium, such as air. Trying to make it solid would be like trying to make a liquid out of someone's memories.”
“That exists, you know.” Trevor pointed out, “Draught of the Elders, if I recall the name correctly.”
“Are you serious?” Hisao stated, somewhat dumbfounded.
Trevor nodded, “Quite. Wizards use it fairly often. My homeworld's magi corps in particular.”
“Makes my brain hurt,” Hisao shook his head, “None of this stuff...superheroes, mutants, godstones, whatever..none of it makes the slightest bit of sense.”
Trevor shrugged, “It's the lifestyle we're in, whether we like it or not.”
“Agreed,” Hisao sighed, “Whether it was worth losing a normal life is debatable. As glad as I am that I don't have to worry about dying of a heart attack anymore, the fact remains I do not want to wear a costume and run around the world fighting supervillains at the first sign of trouble. What I wanted to do was become a teacher. Unfortunately it is looked more and more like I'm not going to have a choice in the matter.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Trevor nodded, “I understand, believe me. I wanted a normal life too...Well, as normal as you can get in a post-apocalyptic rundown hellhole of a planet. Instead, I wound up fleeing for my life for almost half a decade.
“Yeah, but you're a mutant, you're genetic code never gave a choise.” Hisao pointed out, “If Hanako had never found that stone, the seven of us never would have had this nonsense forced upon us.”
Trevor shrugged, “Look at it this way, this planet, unlike almost all the others I've been to, is in good hands. Many of the worlds I went to were really messed up. Overrun by vampires or ruled by sentinels or whatever.”
“Yes, but this world isn't.” Hisao sighed, “So why did I have to play the superpower lottery?”
Trevor shrugged again, ”Look, the X-men, the Avengers, the Fanstastic Four...They're good people. And now that you have powers, you can get to know them. You can make the best friends possible in the superhero profession.”
“I made friends. Seven of them. And now one of them is in danger of losing her mind because of some madman's delusions of grandeur.” Hisao gritted his teeth. “I swear to god, I am going to kill that bastard.”
Trevor shook his head, “Stronger people than you have tried and failed. Look, let's focus on helping Hanako right now. That's the important part.”
“Agreed.” Hisao replied, “I suppose the first part would be locating Rin...”
Finding Rin, however, proved to be more difficult than he had expected. After spending a half hour checking her usual locations and dropping by her apartment, Hisao was unable to locate her.
“I really wish she could use a phone.” he mumbled, walking down the south end of the campus, “Would make things much simpler. Now lets see... She's not at her apartment, or her classes, or the art building, so where could she be? If she showed up on Cerebro Betsy could locate her that way, but we're not mutants, just superhumans. Although....” An idea struck him. “With her unusual thought patters, maybe if I psionically scan the area, maybe I could pick her mind up. Worth a shot.”
Sitting down under a tree, he focused inwards and let is consciousness expand. Making a brief check of each mind he could touch, he searched, picking up thoughts as he swept the area
“What kind of supervillian uses a sword in this day and age, seriously?”
“I got beat in the track meet by a girl with no legs, can you believe that?”
“I don't understand how that guy has a skull for a head. I mean, where's his brain?”
“Come on,” Hisao mumbled, “Where are you?
“I don't trust those X-folks. Especially that chick with blue hair. She scares me, to be honest, with how she never talks.”
“I still cry at night from the shooting. My best friend Ember died at that man's hands. I wish she would come back.”
“I don't understand how that blonde X-women fights in stiletto heels and lingerie. That sounds not only embarrassing but horrible painful. ”
Suddenly, a torrent of bright colors and images flooded Hisao's mind, nearly overwhelming him with their vividness and unusual shapes.“There. Restaurant on fifth street.” he said, then thought hard “Rin, can you hear me?”
There wasn't an answer.
“Oh, well. It's not too far.” Hisao said, and began to hurry down to the cafe.
After a bit, he arrived. He was rather out of breath, but his heart was thankfully cooperating. “Good thing I'm doing those runs with Emi.” he thought as he entered, “Otherwise I wouldn't be in nearly good enough shape to run that far..”
He looked around and quickly picked out his friend's figure, and across from her was a blue man.
“The brood are actually one of the more aberrant species to exist in the galaxy you know as M16” the Grandmaster was explaining, “A insectoid caste race with a communal hive mind, their means of reproduction is to inject humanoid captives with embryos, which transform the host into a brood over time.”
“So, they're the xenomorphs from Aliens.” Rin replied, “Oh, hello Hisao.”
“Hey.” Hisao replied, “Sorry to interrupt, but I need the Grandmaster's help. Hanako's in trouble. Big trouble.” He gave a brief description of the problem. The Grandmaster raised an eyebrow.
“Why should I bother helping you?” he stated bluntly.
“Because Hanako's my friend.” Hisao said firmly .
“So what? The girl's completely unimportant in the scheme of things.” The Grandmaster's tone was as arrogent as always.
“She's important to me.” Hisao said, anger creeping into his voice.
“And me,” Rin added, “She's a good person.”
“There are many 'good people.' out there.” The Grandmaster replied, “Most of the time, they aren't.”
“En.” Rin stated flatly, “She matters to me. More than you do. So I'm going to put it this way. Either help her, or get out of my sight.” her voice didn't change it's level tone at all, though Hisao knew her well enough to know that this time, she was serious.
The Grandmaster sat there for a moment with a neutral expression on his face. “I suppose I could take a look.” he responded, then dropped a handful of gold coins onto the table.
“Good.” Rin said. There was a pop, and the three suddenly appeared in Hanako's apartment. Hanako was on her bed with her head in her hands, breathing heavily.
“Hanako?” Hisao started, “I'm here with an expert. Don't worry, you'll be alright.”
“I hope so.” Hanako mumbled under her breath.
The Grandmaster walked over to her and place his hand on her forehead.
“Binatrual algorithms. Trans-eter mental corruption...this is Celestial non-vana grund influence.” He stated firmly.
“What's that?” Hisao asked,
The Grandmaster heaved a sigh, “Let me dumb it down for your mediocre intellect. You are familiar with cancer, correct? This is a psychic equivalent of the disease. It starts at a miniscule level, but the inserted thoughts reproduce over and over again until they overwrite the person's brain.”
“How do we stop it?”
“You need a life seed. They are a triangular device, roughly six inches in length with horizontal stripes. The Celestials create one ever few hundred years.”
“Where can we find one?” Hisao asked
The Grandmaster paused, “I would recommend you search heavily metahuman linked areas. Any place out of the ordinary. Now if you'll excuse me...” There was a shimmer of light and the Grandmaster disappeared.
“What an ass.” Hisao stated once the figure left.
“He can change.” Rin replied
“Are you kidding me?” Hisao said in disbelieve “He's a cosmic entity. They view humanity as entertainment at best and food at worst. He's as bad as Galactus in his own way. Worse, at least Galactus has some sort of understanding about Earth after Mr Fantastic saved his life. Grandmaster just likes to yank peoples chains around.”
“Don't be so judgmental.” Rin shrugged “He's lived ten billion years. If you lived that long, you'd probably be just as arrogant.”
Hisao rolled his eyes,“Arrogance I can handle, but the fact is he's continually kidnapped metahumans and forced them to battle each other in human gladiatorial combats. That's evil.”
“He can change, Hisao.” Rin said somewhat softly, “He just need a human perspective. Like when you're sitting in the bath and put your head under the water so that your ears pop, then wait a while and lift them out again. He's been godly for so long he forgot how to be human. He can re-learn.”
Hisao rolled his eyes, “What do you see in him, anyway?”
Rin shrugged, “He understands me. My mind.”
“And that excuses the fact that he's caused no end of trouble for...”
“Hisao...” Hanako spoke weakly all of sudden. “Do you know where one of those life seeds can be found?”
Hisao paused, “Not off the top of my head, but I'm not the expert on that stuff. But I'm sure we'll be able to find one for you. And one for Angel too.”
“I just...I can hear her. Famine....she's horrible. She's telling me to hurt you. Right now.”
Hisao put his arm around her, “I'm certain you'll be able to resist that.”
“Yes, but for how long? It sounds like this will get worse and worse until I can't take it anymore and lose myself completely.” Hanako shuddered.
“I'm going to go to the X-corp right now. We'll get right on this. Rin, you want to come? I know you haven't been training, but maybe we could convince-” Hisao was interrupted by Hanako.
“Actually.” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. 'I need Rin to stay here in Tokyo.”
“For emotional support?” Hisao assumed,
Hanako shook her head. “No, because... because... because she's the only person who can kill me if I lose my mind.”
Rin winced, but nodded sadly.
Hisao's mouth dropped open in shock, “Hanako, what are you talking about? Nobody's going to kill you.”
“Hisao... I'd rather die than hurt the people I care about. You know that. And I nearly killed you anyway.” Tears formed in Hanako's eyes. “I don't want to die, but if it gets to the point where it's either me or other people... You know what decision I would make. If I did hurt someone I love, even if I regained my mind later... I'd break. I nearly shattered the last time. I can't...I can't go through all that again. If I go mad...I'd need someone to put me down. And Rin's the only one with the power to do it. Lilly's power is still untapped, Emi's ability has no combat applications, and Trevor requires skin contact, which would be difficult with my force fields.”
“Hanako, I'm not going to let Rin kill you. That's never a solution. Ever.”
“Hisao,” Rin spoke up, “You don't understand what she's going through. This is her call.”
“It's suicide.” Hisao stated, “I'm not going to permit it.”
“You can certainly be hardheaded when you're upset, can't you?” Rin said plainly, “Even with my misspelled mind, I can tell how determined she is to remain in control, and how desperate she is to not hurt anyone. Can't you? You're the telepath, after all.” She shrugged for emphasis “Look in her mind.”
Hisao sighed and reached into Hanako's mind. As he did so, a hoard of intense emotions nearly overwhelmed him. Hatred towards Apocalypse, love towards Lilly and Trevor and himself, and the strongest... sorrow at what she felt might become necessary...Hanako didn't want to die. She wanted to live. That much was certain. But more than that, she cared about people. And she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she would never endanger her friends again. Regardless of personal cost.
Hisao exited the library and turned to Rin, shaking his head violently. “She is NOT going to die. I will not allow it. I am going to tell you what is going to happen. I am going to go straight to Betsy and the others, we are going to get on that plane, and we are going to find the damn cure! There will be no killing! Got it?
Rin nodded, then she blinked, “Do you want to go back to the X-men?”
“Yes. That would be good.” Hisao agreed.
There was a “pop” and Rin and Hisao appeared outside the X-corps HQ.
Rin leaned her head on Hisao's shoulders,”I believe in you, Hisao,“ she said, then straightened back up. “You're a good person. One of the best. If anyone can save her, you will.” Another pop, and Rin vanished.
Anyway, chapter 3:
Chapter 3. Search for a solution.
As Hisao drove down 34th street he began mumbling angrily to himself.
“This just HAD to happen, didn't it?” he fumed, “She had JUST gotten better and now THIS happened. I swear to God, if I ever see Apocalypse in person, I will TEAR HIS MIND APART. Goddamit, why could I have been kidnapped instead of her? She didn't deserve this, not in the least. NOBODY deserves it...”
He pulled into the parking lot of X-corp Toyko and stormed out of the car. Taking a deep breath to collect himself, he went inside.
Armor was at the front desk. With one hand she was filling out documents, with the other she was using the computer. Hisao blinked, somewhat impressed at her ambidexterity.
“I need to talk to Psylocke,” he told her, “Where is she?”
“Down in the med-bay, but she is not to be disturbed unless it's an emergency.” Armor replied
“Oh, it's an emergency all right. Med bay huh? Wonder why she's there.” Hisao replied and went down the staircase into the basement. Quickly arriving at the medical office, he threw open the door.
“Betsy, we've got a problem. Hanako is-” he began but stopped. Betsy was there, yes, fiddling with dials on an piece of equipment, but there was another person. Lying inside a scanner was a tall man with blue skin and white feathered wings. He seemed to be asleep, and Psylocke looked up from her work to see him.
“This had better be important.” she stated in her distinguished British accent.
“It is. Hanako's in trouble, has a foreign presence in her mind left by Apocalypse. I need your help to get it out.”
A worried look crossed Betsy's face and she glanced over to the sleeping man in the med scanner. “Hanako too?” she asked.
“What?”
“My ex over there...Angel..” Psylocke shook her head, “He's been having a similar problem. Hearing voices, seeing things, having urges to kill people... I take it she's had the same effects.?”
“I don't think she's been wanting to kill anyone, yet. But there have been hallucinations.” Hisao looked at her, worried. “I need your help.”
“I wish I could. But I can't.” Psylocke said, shaking her head. “I've been trying to help Warren here but the corruption is ingrained in his mind so deep that removing it would tear his brain apart.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” she replied, then rethought her statement, “Sorry, bad choice of words. Thing is, this is a very unusual form of influence. It's difficult to explain why, but this is unlike any other mental construct I have ever encountered. Most of the time, when this kind of the occurs the mental manipulation sits like a lump in the brain. In this case overs, it's spread all over at a very low level of processing. Removing it without damage... I wouldn't even know where to start.”
“You've got to be kidding me! Are you telling me the X-men, who have five of the world's most powerful telepaths, can't fix this?” Hisao was getting a tad hysterical by this point.
“Hisao, calm down. Look, we're working on a solution. If we find one, we'll let you know.”
“There's got to be something we can do.”
“These solutions take time. I have every confidence we'll figure out a way-” Psylocke started, but Hisao shook his head.
“Let me rephrase. There's got to be something I can do.”
Psylocke shrugged, “If you've got resources we don't, feel free to use them. Lord knows I want a solution too.” she looked back over at her Ex and shook her head, “I know how helpless you must feel, trust me.”
“Really? When have you ever felt helpless? Whenever a problem comes along to a major superhero, some cure always shows up shortly after. Not even death lasts more than a few weeks. Hanako doesn't have that luxury!”
“Did I ever tell you about the time Kitty Pride was struck by an energy harpoon? The blast disrupted her molecular bonds and she began to discorpreate. Her molecules were drifting farther and farther apart and we were completely unable to find a solution. For the better part of three weeks we had to watch as the youngest and most innocent member of our team slowly died in front of us with absolutely nothing we could do .And while she was eventually resurrected, it didn't change how utterly devastated we were to lose her . So yes, I do understand what you're going through.” Psylocke shook her head. “Go home Hisao. If I figure out a solution, you'll be the first to know.”
Hisao stared at her for a long while, then walked out the door.
“Resources we don't?” He mumbled, “I suppose I could ask Kenji.”
Twenty minutes later...
Hisao had arrived at a small brick house just south of the university and knocked on the door. There was the sound of something falling inside and someone let out a yelp of pain. Then the door opened and Kenji was there, holding a bump on his head.
“Ah, hey there Hisao. Good to see you. Yuuko and I were just analyzing the likely existence of feminist conspirators in HYDRA-” He began.
“Wait, what?” Hisao replied, “Yuuko's dead. How can she..?”
“She got resurrected. Rather a dangerous concept, as resurrection totally screw up the life-death balance, but it was beyond my control so oh well. Anyway, we've come to the conclusion HYDRA is thirty two percent infiltrated-”
“Yes, yes okay.” Hisao said dismissively. “Look, I need your help.” he gave a brief explanation of what was happening with Hanako, and Kenji thought for a moment.
“'Apocalypse in the brain, huh?That's a tough one.” Kenji sighed and shook his head, “You wouldn't happen to have a cosmic cube, would you?”
“A what?” Hisao asked.
“Crystal clear cube, roughly six inches on a side, allows the wielder to make his thoughts reality and later evolves into a cosmic entity. That'd fix it up right fast.” Kenji made a dramatic gesture with his hand.
Hisao chuckled “If I had one of those, wouldn't you think I'd have used it by now?”
Kenji nodded “Fair point. How about an infinity gem? There's six of them, so you're six time as likely to have one.”
Hisao shook his head.
Kenji sighed “Then I'm afraid I'm not sure. Sorry.”
Hisao nodded sadly, “All right then.”
Kenj shrugged, “Would you like to come in and help with the planning? We could use someone with your brainpower.”
Hisao shook his head again,“No, I need to get back to campus. There's another lead I might be able to try.”
Thirty minutes later....
“You're serious?” Trevor asked.
“I'm afraid so.” Hisao replied.
“Well god damn it. This was the last thing we needed.” Trevor shook his head.
“Do you have any idea on how to help her?”
“No, I'm sorry.” Trevor sighed.
“But you're from the future.” Hisao started.
“You mean 'A' future. There's a big difference. My homeworld didn't deal much with this kind of stuff. What with superhumans being interned in concentration camps for the better part of six decades and all.”
“Can you open a portal to a world that would know how to help her?”
Trevor shook his head, “I'm afraid my power isn't that precise. I can't usually control where I'll end up unless it's to a location I've been near before. And I never really got to deep into the superhero career on any world aside from my first because I was afraid the Chronomancer would kill my friends. I hid out in civilian identities, so it's pretty unlikely anyone on the worlds I've lived on before would help us out. Not to mention many of them were rather nasty. Taken over by demons or overrun by vampires or whatever.”
“There's got to be something you can do.” Hisao stated.
“I’m thinking, okay?” Trevor ran his fingers through his thick green hair, “Do you know anyone else who might be able to help?”
Hisao shrugged, “I doubt it. Aside from my friends, who got powers just a couple months ago, there's you, this Magnus guy and...huh..” he furrowed his brow.
“You have an idea?” Trevor inquired
“Maybe,” Hisao replied, seriously considering whether what he was considering was a good idea.”Rin lately started meeting up with this cosmic entity called the Grandmaster. Considering how egotistical such beings tend to be, I doubt he'd be willing to help, but right now it looks like he's the only one who might know.”
“A cosmic entity....dating an artist.” Trevor stated clearly dumbfounded. “That is possibly the most absurd thing I have ever heard of.”
Hisao shrugged. “This entire life is absurd. I mean, I just read some files on a villain made up out of“solid sound.” Which, speaking as a science major, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Sound is a series of waves through a medium, such as air. Trying to make it solid would be like trying to make a liquid out of someone's memories.”
“That exists, you know.” Trevor pointed out, “Draught of the Elders, if I recall the name correctly.”
“Are you serious?” Hisao stated, somewhat dumbfounded.
Trevor nodded, “Quite. Wizards use it fairly often. My homeworld's magi corps in particular.”
“Makes my brain hurt,” Hisao shook his head, “None of this stuff...superheroes, mutants, godstones, whatever..none of it makes the slightest bit of sense.”
Trevor shrugged, “It's the lifestyle we're in, whether we like it or not.”
“Agreed,” Hisao sighed, “Whether it was worth losing a normal life is debatable. As glad as I am that I don't have to worry about dying of a heart attack anymore, the fact remains I do not want to wear a costume and run around the world fighting supervillains at the first sign of trouble. What I wanted to do was become a teacher. Unfortunately it is looked more and more like I'm not going to have a choice in the matter.” He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.
Trevor nodded, “I understand, believe me. I wanted a normal life too...Well, as normal as you can get in a post-apocalyptic rundown hellhole of a planet. Instead, I wound up fleeing for my life for almost half a decade.
“Yeah, but you're a mutant, you're genetic code never gave a choise.” Hisao pointed out, “If Hanako had never found that stone, the seven of us never would have had this nonsense forced upon us.”
Trevor shrugged, “Look at it this way, this planet, unlike almost all the others I've been to, is in good hands. Many of the worlds I went to were really messed up. Overrun by vampires or ruled by sentinels or whatever.”
“Yes, but this world isn't.” Hisao sighed, “So why did I have to play the superpower lottery?”
Trevor shrugged again, ”Look, the X-men, the Avengers, the Fanstastic Four...They're good people. And now that you have powers, you can get to know them. You can make the best friends possible in the superhero profession.”
“I made friends. Seven of them. And now one of them is in danger of losing her mind because of some madman's delusions of grandeur.” Hisao gritted his teeth. “I swear to god, I am going to kill that bastard.”
Trevor shook his head, “Stronger people than you have tried and failed. Look, let's focus on helping Hanako right now. That's the important part.”
“Agreed.” Hisao replied, “I suppose the first part would be locating Rin...”
Finding Rin, however, proved to be more difficult than he had expected. After spending a half hour checking her usual locations and dropping by her apartment, Hisao was unable to locate her.
“I really wish she could use a phone.” he mumbled, walking down the south end of the campus, “Would make things much simpler. Now lets see... She's not at her apartment, or her classes, or the art building, so where could she be? If she showed up on Cerebro Betsy could locate her that way, but we're not mutants, just superhumans. Although....” An idea struck him. “With her unusual thought patters, maybe if I psionically scan the area, maybe I could pick her mind up. Worth a shot.”
Sitting down under a tree, he focused inwards and let is consciousness expand. Making a brief check of each mind he could touch, he searched, picking up thoughts as he swept the area
“What kind of supervillian uses a sword in this day and age, seriously?”
“I got beat in the track meet by a girl with no legs, can you believe that?”
“I don't understand how that guy has a skull for a head. I mean, where's his brain?”
“Come on,” Hisao mumbled, “Where are you?
“I don't trust those X-folks. Especially that chick with blue hair. She scares me, to be honest, with how she never talks.”
“I still cry at night from the shooting. My best friend Ember died at that man's hands. I wish she would come back.”
“I don't understand how that blonde X-women fights in stiletto heels and lingerie. That sounds not only embarrassing but horrible painful. ”
Suddenly, a torrent of bright colors and images flooded Hisao's mind, nearly overwhelming him with their vividness and unusual shapes.“There. Restaurant on fifth street.” he said, then thought hard “Rin, can you hear me?”
There wasn't an answer.
“Oh, well. It's not too far.” Hisao said, and began to hurry down to the cafe.
After a bit, he arrived. He was rather out of breath, but his heart was thankfully cooperating. “Good thing I'm doing those runs with Emi.” he thought as he entered, “Otherwise I wouldn't be in nearly good enough shape to run that far..”
He looked around and quickly picked out his friend's figure, and across from her was a blue man.
“The brood are actually one of the more aberrant species to exist in the galaxy you know as M16” the Grandmaster was explaining, “A insectoid caste race with a communal hive mind, their means of reproduction is to inject humanoid captives with embryos, which transform the host into a brood over time.”
“So, they're the xenomorphs from Aliens.” Rin replied, “Oh, hello Hisao.”
“Hey.” Hisao replied, “Sorry to interrupt, but I need the Grandmaster's help. Hanako's in trouble. Big trouble.” He gave a brief description of the problem. The Grandmaster raised an eyebrow.
“Why should I bother helping you?” he stated bluntly.
“Because Hanako's my friend.” Hisao said firmly .
“So what? The girl's completely unimportant in the scheme of things.” The Grandmaster's tone was as arrogent as always.
“She's important to me.” Hisao said, anger creeping into his voice.
“And me,” Rin added, “She's a good person.”
“There are many 'good people.' out there.” The Grandmaster replied, “Most of the time, they aren't.”
“En.” Rin stated flatly, “She matters to me. More than you do. So I'm going to put it this way. Either help her, or get out of my sight.” her voice didn't change it's level tone at all, though Hisao knew her well enough to know that this time, she was serious.
The Grandmaster sat there for a moment with a neutral expression on his face. “I suppose I could take a look.” he responded, then dropped a handful of gold coins onto the table.
“Good.” Rin said. There was a pop, and the three suddenly appeared in Hanako's apartment. Hanako was on her bed with her head in her hands, breathing heavily.
“Hanako?” Hisao started, “I'm here with an expert. Don't worry, you'll be alright.”
“I hope so.” Hanako mumbled under her breath.
The Grandmaster walked over to her and place his hand on her forehead.
“Binatrual algorithms. Trans-eter mental corruption...this is Celestial non-vana grund influence.” He stated firmly.
“What's that?” Hisao asked,
The Grandmaster heaved a sigh, “Let me dumb it down for your mediocre intellect. You are familiar with cancer, correct? This is a psychic equivalent of the disease. It starts at a miniscule level, but the inserted thoughts reproduce over and over again until they overwrite the person's brain.”
“How do we stop it?”
“You need a life seed. They are a triangular device, roughly six inches in length with horizontal stripes. The Celestials create one ever few hundred years.”
“Where can we find one?” Hisao asked
The Grandmaster paused, “I would recommend you search heavily metahuman linked areas. Any place out of the ordinary. Now if you'll excuse me...” There was a shimmer of light and the Grandmaster disappeared.
“What an ass.” Hisao stated once the figure left.
“He can change.” Rin replied
“Are you kidding me?” Hisao said in disbelieve “He's a cosmic entity. They view humanity as entertainment at best and food at worst. He's as bad as Galactus in his own way. Worse, at least Galactus has some sort of understanding about Earth after Mr Fantastic saved his life. Grandmaster just likes to yank peoples chains around.”
“Don't be so judgmental.” Rin shrugged “He's lived ten billion years. If you lived that long, you'd probably be just as arrogant.”
Hisao rolled his eyes,“Arrogance I can handle, but the fact is he's continually kidnapped metahumans and forced them to battle each other in human gladiatorial combats. That's evil.”
“He can change, Hisao.” Rin said somewhat softly, “He just need a human perspective. Like when you're sitting in the bath and put your head under the water so that your ears pop, then wait a while and lift them out again. He's been godly for so long he forgot how to be human. He can re-learn.”
Hisao rolled his eyes, “What do you see in him, anyway?”
Rin shrugged, “He understands me. My mind.”
“And that excuses the fact that he's caused no end of trouble for...”
“Hisao...” Hanako spoke weakly all of sudden. “Do you know where one of those life seeds can be found?”
Hisao paused, “Not off the top of my head, but I'm not the expert on that stuff. But I'm sure we'll be able to find one for you. And one for Angel too.”
“I just...I can hear her. Famine....she's horrible. She's telling me to hurt you. Right now.”
Hisao put his arm around her, “I'm certain you'll be able to resist that.”
“Yes, but for how long? It sounds like this will get worse and worse until I can't take it anymore and lose myself completely.” Hanako shuddered.
“I'm going to go to the X-corp right now. We'll get right on this. Rin, you want to come? I know you haven't been training, but maybe we could convince-” Hisao was interrupted by Hanako.
“Actually.” she said, her voice dropping to a whisper. 'I need Rin to stay here in Tokyo.”
“For emotional support?” Hisao assumed,
Hanako shook her head. “No, because... because... because she's the only person who can kill me if I lose my mind.”
Rin winced, but nodded sadly.
Hisao's mouth dropped open in shock, “Hanako, what are you talking about? Nobody's going to kill you.”
“Hisao... I'd rather die than hurt the people I care about. You know that. And I nearly killed you anyway.” Tears formed in Hanako's eyes. “I don't want to die, but if it gets to the point where it's either me or other people... You know what decision I would make. If I did hurt someone I love, even if I regained my mind later... I'd break. I nearly shattered the last time. I can't...I can't go through all that again. If I go mad...I'd need someone to put me down. And Rin's the only one with the power to do it. Lilly's power is still untapped, Emi's ability has no combat applications, and Trevor requires skin contact, which would be difficult with my force fields.”
“Hanako, I'm not going to let Rin kill you. That's never a solution. Ever.”
“Hisao,” Rin spoke up, “You don't understand what she's going through. This is her call.”
“It's suicide.” Hisao stated, “I'm not going to permit it.”
“You can certainly be hardheaded when you're upset, can't you?” Rin said plainly, “Even with my misspelled mind, I can tell how determined she is to remain in control, and how desperate she is to not hurt anyone. Can't you? You're the telepath, after all.” She shrugged for emphasis “Look in her mind.”
Hisao sighed and reached into Hanako's mind. As he did so, a hoard of intense emotions nearly overwhelmed him. Hatred towards Apocalypse, love towards Lilly and Trevor and himself, and the strongest... sorrow at what she felt might become necessary...Hanako didn't want to die. She wanted to live. That much was certain. But more than that, she cared about people. And she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure she would never endanger her friends again. Regardless of personal cost.
Hisao exited the library and turned to Rin, shaking his head violently. “She is NOT going to die. I will not allow it. I am going to tell you what is going to happen. I am going to go straight to Betsy and the others, we are going to get on that plane, and we are going to find the damn cure! There will be no killing! Got it?
Rin nodded, then she blinked, “Do you want to go back to the X-men?”
“Yes. That would be good.” Hisao agreed.
There was a “pop” and Rin and Hisao appeared outside the X-corps HQ.
Rin leaned her head on Hisao's shoulders,”I believe in you, Hisao,“ she said, then straightened back up. “You're a good person. One of the best. If anyone can save her, you will.” Another pop, and Rin vanished.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Cause it will break the story. Well not the problem on hand right now but then again i don't know how strong this molecular warping is. Anyway great story and can't wait for the next one.Chrono180 wrote:Without giving too much of the next story away, there is a very good reason why Lilly hasn't unlocked her power yet.
Re: The Enemy Within. (Katawa Superpowers Sequel) Ch 2 up
Well, yes, but I meant an "in character" reason as well.Tormound wrote:Cause it will break the story. Well not the problem on hand right now but then again i don't know how strong this molecular warping is. Anyway great story and can't wait for the next one.Chrono180 wrote:Without giving too much of the next story away, there is a very good reason why Lilly hasn't unlocked her power yet.
Anyway, here's chapter 4, its where the meat of the story begins
Chapter 4. Introducing Mentat
“A...life seed.” Psylocke said, fiddling with a dial on the med-scanner. Angel with still there, unconscious, and Hisao was thinking Betsy was keeping him sedated, which in turn made him wonder if the disease was progressing faster than he had originally thought.
“That's what the Grandmaster called it.” Hisao replied.
“I hardly would count him as trustworthy source. That man had wheels within wheels. Everything he does is in the pursuit of some goal.”
Hisao glared at Psylocke, “Do you have any better ideas?”
Psylocke shook her head, “No, I don't. Short of a miracle. Now where could these seeds be located...” she thought for a moment. “Celestial origin, you said? Hmm....”
Hisao regarded Psylocke for a moment. Truth was, she reminded him a little of Lilly. Yes, Lilly was an Asian girl who looked Scottish while Psylocke was a British woman in an Japanese body, but they were quite similar in many other respects. Both were well-bred, both kept their cool in all but the worst situations, and both were extremely striking looking. Lilly with her bright blonde locks, and Betsy with her neon purple hair. Every time Hisao spoke to her, his mind kept wandering to his girlfriend, and he couldn't help but wonder if, had Lilly gained powers long ago, she might have wound up in same manner as his telepathic mentor. Psyclock had done some nasty things in her career with the X-men, and had some of the fewest moral concerns about so-called “grey” areas. She had killed dozens in her time as a superhero, and while the victims had deserved it, he could help but wonder if, should he and his friends continue this past, they might be forced into making decisions they would rather avoid experiencing.
“He said it could be found in 'metahuman linked areas'.” He said, picking up a widget on the scanner and looking it over, before putting it down again, ”Do you know what that means?”
“It means he doesn't know where to find one either.” Psylocke shrugged, “Though I can guess a few possible locations.” She reached over to a button on a nearby desk and spoke into a speaker. “X-23, Armor, Voidstar, Hardhead. Assemble in the briefing room, we have a mission.”
“Logan's not here?” Hisao asked.
Psylocke shook her head, “Right now he's off with Captain America and Iron Man on some thing with the Kree in the large magellanic cloud. That man's on two teams of X-men, plus the Avengers, plus he runs this branch of X-corp. Sometimes I think he's trying to work himself to death with all the irons he has in the fire. Usually, he can make it work but this time we're going without him. Thanks for the info, we'll let you know what we find.”
“I'm coming with you.” Hisao stated bluntly.
Psylocke shook her head, “Hisao, first of all, your arrhythmia is liable to cause you collapse in the middle of a firefight. Second, you have minimal combat experience. Third, your powers are the same as mine, but at a much lower level, so your usefulness is extremely questionable. It's better if you leave this to us.”
“Like HELL.” Hisao snapped, “First of all, I may not have that much combat experience, but since I heal from almost anything I won't need it. Second, maybe my powers are redundant, but so were X-23 and Wolverine. Both have claws and healing factors and little else. As for my arrhythmia...” he paused and tried to compose himself, but it didn't work. “Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Iron Man's heart constantly in danger of stopping for the first three years of his career? And he couldn't heal. If he can defend the people he cares about, so can I.”
“You yourself told me you didn't want a combat role-” Betsy began, but Hisao cut her off.
“And I told you shortly after that there are people I'd die for.” he said, slightly annoyed. “I'm not going to sit back while the five of you juggle my best friend's life out there. You told me you knew what it's like to be helpless, so put yourself in my shoes. If a chance had come up to save Kitty's life, but the others didn't want you to come along, how would you feel?”
Betsy sighed and shook her head. “This is really against my better judgment....” She walked out of the med bay and over to a nearby closet. Taking out a thick black shirt with the X-men logo and green highlights as well as black pants and shoes, she tossed the clothes to Hisao.
“Is this spandex?” Hisao asked
“No, its a high-tech nanotube array that acts as body armor. You'll need it. Go put it on and figure out a codename. I'll go brief the others.” She gave a slightly amused smile and walked off. Hisao blinked and gave a grim smile, then walked into the restroom.
Kicking off his shoes and throwing off his shirt and pants, he took a deep breath.
“Time for a lifestyle change.” his stated, then slipped the new pants on, followed by the shirt. Shoving his feet into the boots, he paused and glanced in the mirror. “I look absolutely ridiculous. Half secret agent half businessman. I wonder how many x-men deaths are from embarrassment.”
He then took a deep breath.“Codename? That's actually an easy one. I'm a Dune fan after all.” He then pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
The phone rang twice and then a voice came on the other end.
“Hey there Lilly,” Hisao started.
“Oh, hello there Hisao,” Lilly said.
“Good news,“Hisao replied, “I found a possible way to save Hanako.”
“Really?” Lilly said, excitement creeping into her voice, “How?”
“Life seeds. They're some alien artifact. I'm not sure where it's going to be located, but the X-men and I are going to go on a hunt for them.” He deliberately avoided mentioning the outfit.
“I have every faith you'll find them.” Lilly replied, “But hurry, Hanako seems to be quite... distraught.”
“Yeah...I know.” Hisao answered, “I visited her earlier... Um...” he paused for a moment, “Would you like to come along? I don't know if Betsy will go for it, but I could ask.”
“I think both of us leaving Hanako by herself would be a very bad idea.” Lilly replied, “I'm going to stay here and try to support her.”
“Fair enough,” Hisao stated, “I'll try to be back as soon as I can.”
“Please do. I love you darling.” Lilly said.
“Love ya too.” Hisao replied, “See you soon.”
“Goodbye, Hisao.”
“Goodbye, Lilly.”
Hisao hung up his phone and walked out,. “Okay briefing room. Now where might that be....”
Fifteen minutes later.....
“Still working on likely locations for the seeds.” Psylocke was explaining to the other four, “But several location seem to be good starting points. I thankfully am in possession of technology that can detect Celestial artifacts once we're nearby-”
“Hicchan? You look awesome!” Misha spoke as Hisao walked into the room.
“Mentat, actually.” he replied and blinked. “Shizune, you look like Trinity from-”
“I'm aware.” her thoughts appeared in his head. Hisao was a tad taken aback at how...girly her mental voice sounded. It was the first time she had ever 'spoke' in his head, so he wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't congruent at all with her personality. “Mental projection.” her mind continued, “Psylocke taught me how to do it, to shout my thoughts so local telepaths can pick them up. And yes, I know I 'sound' weird. Being deaf since I was six messed up the way I would think my voice would appear.”
“Anyway,” Psylocke stated, “I'm going to send out a bulletin to the other heroes to look out for these seeds. This first place we're heading is Chaparanga.”
“What's that?” Misha asked.
“It's where spaceships go to die.” Psylocke responded. “Spaceships fall all over the planet nowadays, and many times they are dumped in Chaparanga. Often with parts still intact. It's a likely place to look for alien tech, despite being completely lawless and containing more carcinogens than a case of Marlboro cigarettes. Now let's hurry, the longer we wait, the bigger danger there is of something...unfortunate happening.”
As the six X-men walked down to the hanger, Misha spoke up.
“You know, I've never been to a foreign country before. This should be fun.” She grinned.
[Are you joking me?] Hisao heard Shizune's thoughts come out at the same time she signed to Misha. [Half the populous of Chaparanga subsists on less than a hundred sixty yen a day, the starvation rate is through the roof, and the government is essentially an anarchy. Nobody would go there unless they have a mission or have no other choice. It's the fifth most dangerous place on the planet.]
Misha didn't seem perturbed in the least. “Fifth most, huh? What are the other four?”
[Madripoor, the Savage Land, the ruins of Genosha, and New York City. The Big Apple is by far the worst.]
“How did you know all this anyway? This place wasn't on any of the files I looked over”
[Considering how few you actually read, that's not surprising. But to answer your question, these glasses don't just print out what people say, they actually have a cybernetic interface that lets me look up all sorts of information. Very useful.]
“Seriously? That's so cool! I want a pair.”
“Maybe later,” Psylocke replied, “They're quite difficult to make.”
“So, Misha...” Hisao started, “How exactly do you fight? I mean, you're indestructible, but that leaves out any offensive ability.”
“Well, for one thing I've been learning kung fu.” Misha grinned, “For another...” she reached into a pocket on the side of her suit and brought out a sleek looking black pistol with an unusually long barrel and a dial on the side.“They called it a miniaturized....what was the term?”
[Railgun.] Shizune stated [Honestly Misha... Look, short version is that it packs a wallop on the lower settings and on the higher settings can bring down the side of a building.] She stopped signing for a moment and thought to Hisao “Frankly I think giving that kind of firepower to Misha is begging for disaster, but it wasn't my call. At least they made it so that it automatically resets back to the “off” position after each use so that she doesn't accidentally blow a hole in the floor.”
“A railgun?” Hisao stated, having a hard time believing it, “But the power supply on those things tends to be around a million amps! How the heck did they fit that kind of capacitor into a thirty-centimeter long pistol? Not to mention the wear and tear caused by the heat flow...”
“Forge makes amazing weapons.” Armor replied plainly.
“While we're on the subject of technology that makes no sense.” Hisao continued, “I want to know how those spaceships work. By all rights, faster than light travel should be impossible!”
“There are multiple ways to exceed light speed.” Psylocke said as the six climbed into the blackbird. “The most common methods is using what's essentially the warp core from Star Trek. By 'stretching' space, you can compress a multi-light year journey into a span of several days. For long distances, such as between galaxies, it's common to use a so called “stargate” where a hole is torn in space between two points.”
“A hole in...” Hisao shook his head, “That makes no sense either! Puncturing space time like that would form a singularity, not a portal.”
Psylock sat down in the pilot's seat and X-23 took the copilots. The remaining four sat in several of the remaining seats. “You can bring up the schematics of some sample spaceships on that console if you'd like.” she motioned to a computer screen on the side of the jet. “I'm warning you though, it's complicated. Very complicated.”
“I will take that as a challenge.” Hisao replied and began tapping on the attached keyboard. Bringing up details on the Starjammer, he began to read.