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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent and Mike, God of Lore 

The Guild of Gamers: The Occultist

Chapter 01: The Red Thirst

I honestly don’t think I did anything wrong, in the grand scheme of things.

“Alexander Shaw, for the crimes of aggravated assault, vandalism, fraud, arson, kidnapping, multiple counts of premeditated murder, along with too many more to list, you are found guilty,” the fat judge says, their makeup failing to hide their unhealthy skin tone. “For the crime of driving under the influence, you are found not guilty.”

See, I told them I wasn’t driving drunk. I absolutely did the rest, however, but again, I believe I’m the victim here.

Despite my sentencing, my smile doesn’t fade, ignoring the Judge’s ever so dull ramblings to look towards the crowds, giving my adoring fans a wink.

Ah, the benefits of good luck, good looks, and fame. You can be a true monster and you’ll still have fans swooning over you.

The Judge says I’m sentenced to death, but again my expression doesn’t shift. 

The advantages to being an a-list actor, faking serene calmness is entirely too easy. 

I’m better than these peasants, a true artisan, how dare they judge me for my actions? 

Long story short, I’m a former child actor turned superstar. A producer tried to take advantage of me when I was barely in my teens and I beat him to death with an award I’d won not two days before.

It got covered up at the time, due to my rising star, and things… developed from there. I personally believe that I’m merely a victim of the terrible Hollywood culture, corrupted by being dropped into that cesspool from such a young age by my gold-digging parents.

I should be pitied, not punished. 

Do you want to live?

Hmm? Oh, hello voice in my head. Is that you, God? Here to absolve me of my sins.

You’re more right than you think. Do you want to live, even if it means leaving this world?

I’d rather not die, if it’s all the same to you. 

You won’t die, technically. You will be moved to a new world, given powers and a second chance.

And what is in it for you? 

For now? Entertainment, we shall see if you’re worth more than that.

Ah, so it’s my eternal duty to be entertainment for the masses? So be it, I do love the spotlight. 

Take me away, my mysterious friend, away from the consequences of my mischief, and the judgement of these fools.

A flash of light fills my vision as people shout in shock and fear, but their confusion isn’t my problem as I’m spirited away by my saviour.

So, one last question. 

What’s your favourite mythical creature?

Why, the vampire of course. Was there ever any question? 

I once played Dracula, my pale skin and long black hair making me fit the role perfectly. 

Called it.

Have fun, and try not to die.

With that said, I feel my body start to change as I black out, never to see my home world again.

— Alexander Shaw — 

Waking in some dark, dirty back alley, I wince at the overwhelming smells my nose can pick up, piss and faeces, vomit and trash.

This isn’t a place for someone such as me, shaking my head as I stand up.

It looks like it’s just after sunset, and my eyes are adapting to the darkness better than before.

[Occult System Online]

[Vampiric Fortitude]

Your vampiric body is far more resilient than mere mortal bodies, granting you both rapid regeneration and a body that can take far more punishment.

[Vampiric Senses]

Your vampiric senses are far stronger than those of mortals, granting yourself sharper vision, hearing and scent.

[Vampiric Physiology]

Your vampiric body is far stronger than a regular mortal’s, granting you great speed and strength.

[Spider Climb]

As a vampire you can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, while keeping your hands free.

[Deathless Nature]

As a Vampire, you don’t need to breathe, and mindless undead creatures will not perceive you as a threat unless you take aggressive actions towards them.

An influx of information fills my mind, only now noticing that while I was instinctively breathing, I don’t actually need to at all.

[Weakness: Blood Thirst (Thirsty)]

You require a considerable amount of blood to survive, around one pint a day unless you are heavily using your powers. If you do not drink this much, your powers will start to fade, all weaknesses will become stronger and eventually you will fall into a feeding frenzy.

[Weakness: Fire (Major)]

Fire is a major weakness for you, dealing much more damage than usual, bypassing your defences and being much harder to heal.

[Weakness: Silver (Major)]

Silver burns you to touch, leaving painful burns that heal slower than usual. Silver weapons are especially effective against you.

[Weakness: Sunlight (Ultimate)]

The sun is your ultimate enemy, any exposure to the sun will cause the exposed flesh to incinerate almost instantly, taking much longer to regrow.

[Weakness: Stakes]

If a wooden stake is placed into your heart, it will paralyse you leaving you completely defenceless until it is removed.

Ah, perhaps ‘vampire’ wasn’t the right answer, but as I take in my surroundings, some run-down city, I feel excitement stir in my unbeating heart.

I’ve always known I was better than other people, more beautiful, more talented, just all-around superior to the regular chaff, but now? 

I’ve been given power to match my obviously superior nature, chosen by my mysterious benefactor and dropped into a world where I can thrive.

New knowledge tells me that I’m in a place called Brockton Bay, on Earth Bet. A world of heroes and villains, and now the supernatural.

My ‘system’ isn’t just vampirism, I can sense that, that just seems to be what I’m currently limited to. How interesting.

It seems like my powers will grow if I act according to my ‘class’, I will grow as a vampire as long as I’m acting like a vampire.

Personality Analysed: Toreador preset selected.

[Celerity, Discipline of Dexterity: Novice]

[Cat’s Grace]

You gain supernatural balance and grace.

[Rapid Reflexes]

Your reflexes are increased to the level of being able to dodge gunfire.

[Presence, Discipline of Emotions: Novice]

[Awe]

When you employ this power, those who are near you either want to be closer to you or shudder in fear, wanting to flee. It is an immediate and intense attraction, but not so overpowering that those afflicted lose their sense of self-preservation. Danger breaks the spell of fascination.

[Lingering Kiss]

Once you kiss a victim, through either the Blood Kiss or otherwise, you possess a lingering influence over them, staying in their mind for days.

[Auspex, Discipline of Sensing: Novice]

[Heightened Senses]

Allows you to elevate one of your senses beyond their already-supernatural levels.

[An Ear For Lies]

You have an innate ability to sense when someone is lying to you.

[Sense the Unseen]

You can sense things that are invisible or otherwise hidden if they come within your range.

I have no idea what a Toreador is, but I won't complain about gaining more powers.

But I have a pressing concern, because I’m thirsty , and this isn’t a thirst that can be quenched with water.

A test, from my new patron? To prove I can hunt for my own food with my new powers?

My next problem is the prison jumpsuit I’m wearing, though my handcuffs have been removed. 

Stripping out of it, I stuff the ugly jumpsuit into a dumpster. I'd rather be in nothing but my boxers than wear such an ugly shade of orange for one second more.

Thinking for a moment, I walk up to the wall and experimentally place my hand on it, then my foot, as I start to walk up the vertical surface.

It doesn’t take me long to reach the top, looking out over the city below as I consider my next move.

I need better clothes and I need blood, so perhaps I should find a place where I can get both?

This neighbourhood seems run-down, more industrial than residential, not a place I would normally be found.

My ears faintly pick up the sound of music, focusing as I heighten my hearing and make out the muffled sound of a party in the distance.

My nose can pick up the chemicals in booze and weed coming from that direction as well, if I heighten that sense instead, though I can’t identify them from here.

If I was closer? Well, let’s say Hollywood taught me my recreational drugs.

But I can’t show up to a party in nothing but my boxers, no matter how amazing I look, frowning as I switch back to heightening my hearing.

I need clothes, and I don’t want to risk being around too many people with a thirst this strong.

I don’t know how strong I am, nor how fast or how tough, so I don’t want to take chances just yet. 

Moving across the rooftops, I listen as I pass over houses, able to leap from rooftop to rooftop as long as they aren’t too far apart, finding a house where I can barely hear breathing but no movement. 

Moving down to the ground level again, I carefully check the doors and windows, finding them all locked. Makes sense, this doesn’t seem like a good neighbourhood given the gang signs.

No key left around either, unless they’ve got a good hiding place and I don’t know how to pick a lock.

Climbing the wall around back, I move to the window and peek in, seeing a couple sleeping together, unaware of the nocturnal predator peering in at them.

I don’t know the details of this world, I don’t know how strong the heroes are and I don’t want to risk a fight on my first night.

Retreating in annoyance, I listen carefully again, finally finding someone out and about. I don’t need to think too hard to wonder why they are out and about at this time of night, watching the hooded figure lurking around, wearing a balaclava under their hoodie.

Holding a crowbar, they make their way towards a store as I start my first hunt. He slips into an alleyway, never looking up as I drop onto him.

It’s not exactly a perfect execution as he spins around at the sound of me landing, swinging the crowbar at me.

My reflexes are apparently good enough to dodge bullets, so a frantically swung crowbar is no real threat to me as I grab it, the metal creaking in my grip as I rip it out of his hands. 

He stumbles back, a strangled cry of “Cape!” as he reaches for his waist, a gun tucked into his belt, but that seals his fate. I just wanted his clothes, but he’s some nobody , the dregs of society willing to try to kill me to escape the consequences of his late-night actions.

I lunge forwards, grabbing his arm with one hand as my other lifts his balaclava enough for me to bite down on his neck.

My first taste of blood isn’t exactly glamorous, nor is it particularly sweet as I pin him against the alleyway wall, reaching down for his gun and tossing it aside.

Pulling back after I’ve had my fill, I watch as the man slumps against the wall, pausing. He saw my face.

Stripping him, I change into the dirty jeans, white t-shirt and hoodie he was wearing, taking his balaclava as well before I hesitate.

Running a hand through my hair in frustration, my much more luxurious and thick hair than his reedy balding hair, I pause as I feel something.

Are my ears pointed?

A quick touch shows that yes, both my ears are almost elven in nature, long and pointed as they barely peek out through my hair.

Huh, I wonder what other aesthetic changes I have had, hopefully not too many. You can’t mess with perfection after all.

Reluctantly, I put on the Balaclava after making the mouth hole bigger, picking the gun back up.

I prefer knives, but with a steady hand I take aim and put two bullets in the man’s head and make my escape, back to the rooftops.

I run for a bit, eventually making a decision and listening once more, picking out the party as I slowly make my way towards the sound, sticking to the shadows as I once again take to the rooftops and watch the party below.

It’s not as classy as the parties I’m used to, though just as degenerate. Drugs and sex abound as I lurk on my rooftop, watching the chaos.

I manage to pick out some words from my position, Skidmark, Merchants, Empire.

It’s a victory celebration, apparently the Merchants are a gang led by Skidmark, presumably a villain, and they recently won some sort of victory against a group called the Empire.

What I want is for someone to break off, to go home where I can ambush them, but these idiots seem determined to party until they pass out, fucking and drinking as they take drugs I don’t actually recognise.

The party itself isn’t held in a house but in a scrapyard, for some reason, mostly open air giving me a good line of sight on the partygoers.

Just from how people act, I manage to pick out ‘Skidmark’, on a rotting recliner chair he’s using like a throne, his dark skin patchy and his teeth rotten.

He looks as disgusting as his name, one arm wrapped around a trashy looking blonde girl with massive tits, one hand groping her breast through her tanktop.

I think she’s called ‘Squealer’, and that walking pile of trash that’s the source of such a unique smell is apparently ‘Mush’.

I hate all three of their names, but apparently Mush and Skidmark beat someone called Stormtiger, so he’s the man of the hour.

I don’t need my considerable people skills to see that the girl he’s currently got giving him a handjob doesn't want to be there, her face scrunched up in disgust. 

I don’t blame her, I’ve seen some very pretty women with very ugly men, but Mush is a deformed goblin of a man, his body twisted and hideous with actual trash hanging off him.

The sight alone is offensive to me, my lips curling up into a sneer, exposing my fangs.

My thoughts are distracted as I hear talking, coming from above me?

In the distance, flying high above the building I’m hiding on is a stone platform that’s flying towards the party, three people on the top of it, and a guy wearing a metal tiger mask flying alongside it as I take cover, trying not to be seen.

One is a smaller figure in a long hooded robe, another is dressed like a German officer with a gas-mask covering his face and the third is a man with unnaturally smooth white skin, pure white eyes.

I also hear several vans approaching the party as I mentally curse.

This must be the Empire.

My thoughts are proven right as they fly down, the one I think is probably Stormtiger given the mask almost vibrating with rage as Skidmark laughs.

“See, Squeals, told you the cunt-licking Nazis would take the bait,” Skidmark laughs, making the Empire contingent pause even as the vans pull up, armed men piling out of them. “I’m such a fucking genius.”

Before they can speak, the reason they were partying in a scrapyard becomes clear as the mountain of junk cars behind Skidmark’s throne moves, shifting like transformer made out of rust and depression until it reveals its true form, pulling Skidmark and Squealer into its ‘cockpit’.

Is that a tank made of scrap?

What the fuck is wrong with this world?

But my disbelief doesn’t last long as the abomination fires flak up at the capes, seeming to be made up of more scrap metal and actual trash, Mush himself forming up as the fight begins, gunshots and chaos filling the night.

I don’t focus on the capes, I can’t, because as the bullets fly, I smell blood.

My pupils dilate as I clench my fists, looking at the closest source of blood.

As the fight starts, the trio split up with the Nazi officer and the pale man join the fray, while the robed girl stays in her platform as she launches rubble at the abomination.

But she’s unknowingly lowered herself to my level, and my eyes lock onto her side where some of the scrap from the surprise cut into her midsection, her hand on it as she bleeds and stains her robe with blood.

There’s something about her blood that calls to me, far more enticing than the disappointing taste I had earlier.

Before I can stop myself, I make my move and dash forwards, seeing an opportunity as she flies near my rooftop.

Leaping from my rooftop, the girl lets out a surprised shout as I land on her platform, though she reacts quickly and tries to pivot the platform to throw me off, unaware of my ability to stick to surfaces as I lunge for her.

She wears a mask, but it only covers the top half of her face leaving her lower half uncovered, an angry scowl in her youthful face, and more importantly her neck as I open my mouth, her mouth opening in shock as she spots my fangs.

As they draw in to bite down on her neck, her weak fists beat against my chest as I grab her tightly, my strength far exceeding her own as I start to drink her life essence.

Her struggles fade in my embrace, whether because she’s realised the futility of her efforts or because her strength is fading as I keep drinking, I don’t know.

I’m not sure I’d have been able to stop, intoxicated by the taste of her crimson nectar, but her allies aren’t completely asleep, which becomes clear when three blades cut into my naked back, forcing me to release her as I turn and hiss at Stormtiger, blood leaking from my mouth as Rune hangs limply in my hands.

He pauses not far from us, but before he can speak, I put my supernatural strength to use and toss Rune at him, her small frame not weighing that much.

I’m not that strong, but I’m definitely stronger than even the strongest base-human, sending the probably-teenage girl at my first real opponent, her platform already falling.

Focusing my reflexes, time almost seems to slow down as Stormtiger multitasks, sending another set of claws at me as he flies to catch the falling girl, who definitely wouldn’t survive the fall.

Using the falling platform as a springboard, I leap forwards towards him, barely managing to jump over the air-claws as he has a moment to make an important decision.

He can dodge me, or he can catch his comrade. He can’t do both.

Credit where it is due, he continues flying towards me and the girl, catching her out of the air as I collide with him, biting down on his neck as he shouts in pain, the three of us tumbling out of the air as he struggles to stabilise us with the girl in his hands and me clinging to him, fangs deep in his neck.

But he doesn’t need to, as the platform moves under us as we fall, Rune’s hand outstretched as she groans, making me let go of Stormtiger which gives him room to slash at me again, cutting my stomach open as I’m dislodged.

His blood wasn’t nearly as sweet.

I don’t think about that too much as I jump from the platform and onto the wall of my building, one hand and foot holding me in place as I stare up at him, my wounds slowly closing.

See, he’s forgotten something that I haven’t.

He goes to attack again, when a blast of scrap strikes him out of the air, the tank having taken aim when the girl stopped attacking it.

The girl catches him as I skitter up the building, briefly giving her a smirk as I turn and run up the building.

Discretion is the better part of valour, and my stomach and back really fucking hurt . I can see my fucking intestines hanging out of the large gashes he made, almost disembowelling me.

They don't pursue, and I’m pretty sure Stormtiger survived the blast, but the chaos of the fight lets me disappear between the rundown buildings as I watch my flesh mend, the gashes slowly closing inch by inch.

A few minutes later, I’m unharmed once more, freezing as a very fancy looking bike drives down the street towards the fight.

I do discover something important. Healing drains my blood supply, and while it doesn’t leave me back at square one I didn’t make any real progress on my goals, beyond making enemies of this ‘Empire’.

From what I heard, they’re Nazis, so fuck them anyway. I’ll be back for round two soon enough.

But, I have a problem.

I am effectively homeless, and I don’t have that long until sunlight.

I need to find a place to stay for the daylight hours, because near instantaneous incineration isn’t on my to do list.

Plus I don’t think I should stick around here either, I think it’s better that I move on for now.

I stick to the back alleys and side streets, there’s a lot of action currently on-going as I hear police sirens and more fighting, staying unseen in the shadows as I feel something inside me unlock as I lurk across rooftops and in dark corners.

Obfuscate Unlocked

[Obfuscate, Discipline of Concealment: Novice]

[Cloak of Shadows]

Allows you to become invisible as long as you remain still.

[Silence of Death]

Allows you to nullify all sounds that you make.

Hm, interesting.

I can feel a lot of disciplines inside me, ready to be unlocked when the time comes, whispers of power in the back of my head.

For now, I simply put my new skills to the test as even the quiet sounds my footsteps made disappear.

Now, where the hell am I supposed to spend the day?

— Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale) — Several Days Later

There was a new cape in the city, which wasn’t particularly unusual given Brockton Bay’s cape population.

This one was slightly different because during their first appearance they nearly killed an Empire cape. Rune hadn’t been seen since her near-death by blood loss during the Empire’s failed raid on Skidmark and the Merchants.

The Empire were going mad of course, searching the docks and boat graveyard for this new cape, which meant they were frequently fighting with the Merchants, who were rapidly learning that they held only their territory because nobody else actually wanted it.

But the Empire was having little success tracking down the new cape, even with how active they were being.

Every single night, someone was attacked.

The new cape was hunting throughout Merchant territory, ambushing civilians so he could feed on them. His victims usually survived and he was getting better at ambushing people. The recents ones didn’t even see his face.

From what she’d been able to work out, his power gave him a vampiric need to drink blood, which made some people think he might be a particularly human-looking Case 53 as they could have bizarre dietary needs.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have some resistance to Thinker abilities, as she couldn’t get much from the single recording there was of him moving, inhumanly fast.

Coil wanted information on him, but there honestly wasn’t much to go on.

“Got anything?” Tattletale asked, watching Bitch’s dogs sniff around the alleyway where his most recent attack took place.

“Blood, he went that way,” Bitch replied, Brutus, Angelica and Judas sniffing around.

Grue stood by her, quietly. Regent had stayed home for this one, though he had ‘helpfully’ told Grue to watch out, since the black guy always died first in the horror movies.  

Following the trail, they quickly found how he was staying unseen, because the scent led up the wall.

Bitch’s dogs could still follow from the ground, but this attack hadn’t been too long ago and he’d covered a lot of ground.

He never hunted in the same place twice, spreading his hunts around the docks and the surrounding area.

The trail finally led them to a rundown factory, long out of business and abandoned, the dogs growling.

Were they nervous? Now that she looked closer, even Bitch seemed on edge, more so than usual.

“He’s in there?” Tattletale asked, making Bitch nod.

“That’s where the trail leads,” Bitch agreed, making Lisa take a breath and move forwards.

“Hello?” Tattletale shouted, entering the rundown building. There were no lights on,  leaving the room almost pitch black, old machinery blocking her view. “We know you’re in here, we just want to talk.”

He didn’t respond, making her and Grue share a look as the dogs sniffed around at Rachel’s command before they moved towards the scent, barking at a stairway that led to a basement.

Right, follow the bloodthirsty cape into his creepy basement. She fucking hated Coil.

That basement likely didn’t have another way out, so he was cornered, and that was dangerous . 

“We know you’re down there, really I just want to talk to you, we mean you no harm. I know you’re new to this,” Tattletale tried, once again getting no response as she sighed again.

She could see where the dust on the floor had been disturbed, someone had walked down those stairs recently.

If this was how she died, she was going to haunt Coil, the bastard.

Rachel hesitated since her dogs wouldn’t be able to grow in such an enclosed environment.

“Stay here, so he doesn’t slip past me,” Grue reluctantly said, heading down the creaky stairs first, as Tattletale followed behind.

The factory basement had several rooms, but only one door was open, finding a sleeping bag which her power told her used to belong to a homeless man, some clothes and little else.

No cape though.

“Are you sure he came down here?” Grue asked, making her laugh.

“Of course, he’s down here, somewhere,” Tattletale said. “Look, we aren’t here to hurt you. Our boss has an offer for you.”

No response, and as Grue started to search the other rooms, she looked around finding… a small handheld mirror?

Perhaps more tellingly was what she didn’t find. Not a single piece of food or drink, or a wrapper, he didn’t need regular food did he?

She couldn’t deny she was nervous, there were too many unknowns involved for her to be comfortable here, she didn’t like having this little information to work with.

But where the hell was he?

— Alexander —

The blonde girl looks around my lair, which embarrasses me as she sees what I’ve been reduced to. I used to live in a high rise penthouse but now I hide in the basement of a factory.

She’s dressed in a purple and black bodysuit and a domino mask, trying to hide her nerves.

I wonder how she’d feel if she knew she was standing less than two metres away from her quarry.

“Tattletale, there’s a body down here,” the guy in motorcycle leathers says, making her eyes widen. “I don’t think he killed them, looks like they’ve been dead for a while.”

Ah, my roommate. Yeah he was dead when I got here, overdose I think. I just stuffed him into a corner.

“Is this really what you want out of life? Hiding away in some derelict factory? Our boss pays very well,” Tattletale says, seemingly knowing that I’m listening.

Her words actually hit right in my weak point, my pride.

“Tattle-“

“We’re leaving,” Tattletale interrupts, smirking. “When you get tired of hiding away, sleeping in a piss-covered sleeping bag, call me.”

As she says this, she writes something down on a piece of paper she had in her pocket, placing it on my ‘bed’.

She leaves the room, her leather-clad friend following behind, but while she might think she’s tempted me, she doesn’t realise her mistake.

She’s right, I am tired of hiding already. The very active Empire capes have been giving me reason to stay low, but what she doesn’t seem to realise is how much she’s pissed me off.

I don’t need her, or her boss, to better my situation, and the smug blonde girl is walking away triumphantly as if she’s achieved some great victory.

My lips curl into a snarl, fangs exposed as my gaze falls onto her neck. 

She thinks she’s better than me, but she’s nothing but livestock.

They all are.

This world will learn of my glory, and I think she’s unknowingly given me an idea of where to start. 

Author’s Note: Once again, spite drove me to make a new fic. I won’t apologise, fuck you if you complain. 

Worm is just too fun to write in, and I wanted another bad guy mc to balance Sett and Kei.

Also, Alexander can join the fuck Nazis gang.

Priapus’ note: This is canonically Old Man of the Mountain’s fault for poking the starting-addicted bear.

Old man of the mountain: I said I’m sorry dammit!

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a discord server (technically someone else’s but my name is on the server so it’s basically mine) with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it’s expired, add my (ThePumpkinKing) and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old Man of the Mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent and Mike, God of Lore 

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 02: Getting Started

So, I’ll admit I’ve been hiding because my research on a stolen phone quickly informed me that the Empire are the biggest gang in the city, by far.

They have more capes and territory than anyone else, and they’re hunting me down for attacking Rune. 

So I’ve been keeping my head down and only hunting late at night, away from their territory. 

But Tattletale is right, annoyingly enough. This isn’t what I want out of my second life. I hate this place, and I hate this part of the city, it’s a run-down dump that’s no place for someone like me.

What she’s not right about is that I need her or her mysterious boss. 

She was lying when she said she meant no harm, but not fully. Between my powers and my people skills, I’m very good at reading people, even smug capes who think they’re smarter than they are. She doesn’t want to hurt me, but she knows joining her isn’t in my best interests.

It’s her boss, I think. She couldn’t quite hide the undercurrent of distaste when she mentioned him. 

Whoever he is and whatever he wants, Tattletale doesn’t like him and she doesn’t actually think it’s in my best interest to join her little gang of petty teenage thieves. It’s clearly in her best interest, but she’s so smug and sure I’ll take her up on her offer that I doubt it’s in mine.

I’m not entirely opposed to joining a group, because while I have no real interest in serving someone else, I can play the role of a loyal cape for a while, and capes are in high demand.

My powers will grow over time, which means right now I’m at my weakest. It’s only natural for me to use another group for protection while I’m so weak.

For now at least, while I gather my strength.

The Undersiders, as my research tells me Tattletale’s little group are called, lack power. They’re thieves who excel at escaping. The closest they have to a heavy hitter is Hellhound (or maybe Bitch, not quite sure about that), and she’s got her own grudge match against the Empire due to Hookwolf’s dog fights.

If I’m going to join a group, it’s not going to be a team made up of four teenagers who primarily just run away a lot. 

So, what groups exist in Brockton Bay?

The PRT, our resident ‘good guys’ though they seem a mixture of corrupt and incompetent, like all government agencies. New Wave, once some movement but now they barely do anything. 

The gangs, so the Empire Eighty Eight, the Azn Bad Boys and the Merchants. Plus someone called Coil, but I could barely even find anything about him.

Finally, there’s a group of ‘villains’ simply called Faultline’s crew. I say villains with quotations because while they certainly seem morally dubious, they’re more like mercenaries than actual villains, and don’t take jobs in Brockton Bay.

So, options.

The ABB are out because they’re an entirely Asian gang and I’m not Asian. Also, Lung scares me because he turns into a dragon.

A dragon who can use fire , which could only be worse for me if he started radiating sunlight. 

The Merchants could have been a possibility because while they’re weak there’s potential there. Specifically, the potential for me to take over within a week because Skidmark is too high and stupid to be a leader, Mush is not leadership material, and Squealer doesn’t seem particularly smart either.

But… they’re disgusting. The Merchants live in squalor, and they reduce any area they take over to barely a step above derelict ruins, with trash, ruined buildings and ugly graffiti everywhere.

The Merchants themselves are almost all drug-addled fools, who don’t take care of themselves at all. They’re just so ugly , and I hate that more than the weakness of the Undersiders.

One day, I’m going to destroy them simply because of how hideous they make everything around them.

New Wave is both a family unit and also practically useless. The adult members barely even patrol anymore from what I’ve read, so they’re going to be of no use to me.

So, the PRT, the Empire Eighty Eight or Faultline.

The good guys would probably disapprove of my hunting habits- I’m sure they’d make arrangements to ensure I’m fed , but I also suspect they’d try and leash me.

I can suppress my pride enough to play the hero. I’m not a superstar here, just another cape in the blender that is the hero and villain scene. It hurts to admit it, but denying the truth won’t help.

That said, heroes are essentially celebrities here. Half the time they’re on PR patrols and jobs, and I’m fucking amazing at PR.

I had people asking for my autograph while I was being led into court for mass murder, even when I was found guilty my fans still adored me.

I could absolutely become a superstar all over again, just for something a little more violent here.

I’d have to (temporarily) submit to the endless rules of the PRT, but even then… a hero rising in fame only to fall to villainy? That’s always a good role.

The Empire might try to kill me before I can even ‘apologise’ for my loss of control, and they have enough capes to afford to turn me away. 

Plus, they’re Neo-Nazis. I can certainly play the part of the white supremacist, but I don’t think I’m better than other people because I’m white.

I’m superior to my fellow whites as well after all.

Faultline is a safer option, but they seem tightly-knit, a small band of cape mercenaries that have done a lot of jobs together. A close group like that would be more likely to notice any vampiric fuckery I try to pull to enthral the leader or turn her people against her.

I could of course not try and take over, but while I can accept not being in charge I can’t accept not being in a position of power and respect.

Faultline’s group is obviously led by Faultline herself, with a Case 53 named Gregor the Snail being her right hand, while the rest are ‘equals’. The others would notice if I tried to supplant either of them.

Plus, Gregor is hideous . His appearance disgusts me, Case 53s are truly abominations. Newter is less offensive to the eyes, but my investigation has shown that I dislike Case 53s. 

I don’t think I could take orders from Gregor, which is a problem, because while they seem to be recruiting, as I said they seem close-knit, and Faultline wouldn’t accept me rightfully looking down on Gregor.

But, I still have some time to decide because I have some matters to take care of before I make any decisions.

I will not show up to wherever I am attempting to join wearing nothing but rags without a penny to my name, I will not be looked down at with pity when I should be gazed at with awe.

I also need to get stronger, because as I am now my disadvantages and diet make me barely worth the effort given my lacklustre powers.

Heading out into the darkness, I smile a toothy grin as a plan forms in the back of my head.

They found me by tracking the scent of the blood I ingested, but did it occur to Tattletale that I can do the same thing?

My nose twitches as I pick up Tattletale’s scent, a flowery shampoo which stands out between the smell of wet dog and the more masculine body spray Grue uses.

Following the scent, I track them back to their hideout, all three scents leading back to an abandoned factory. Heh, we had the same idea.

Climbing to a vantage point, I get a look into one of the windows, showing off a mostly-hidden apartment with curtains covering it.

I know where you live.

I don’t try anything tonight, slipping away as I make a note of the location. Now, onto the next step.

I’m thirsty, and I need to grow in power.

Sitting on a rooftop, I switch which sense I’m enhancing as I listen carefully. It’s already getting very late, around 3 am, so most respectable people are already asleep.

It makes it easier to pick out the less respectable ones, head tilting as my smile grows. 

Stalking across the rooftops, I head towards the deal I could barely hear in the distance, arriving before it ends as I watch some rough-looking men handling this particular transaction.

One group eventually leaves with some white bricks, the other with a stained suitcase full of notes, unaware of their silent observer.

I would like a suitcase full of money.

Four Merchants head back to the van, their money in hand, while the others drive away.

Four-on-one, a risk I haven’t taken yet, having targeted people on their own for the most part.

Still, as I watch the Merchants put the suitcase in the back of the van, Skidmark coming up in their conversation, I make my mind up and leap from the rooftop.

The first man never sees me coming as I land behind him with inhuman grace, my reflexes allowing me to snatch the pistol stashed in his belt, one arm wrapping around his neck as I draw the pistol and take aim.

His first friend dies before they even have time to turn around in response to his strangled shout, the arm wrapped tightly around his throat cutting him off as I put a hole in the middle of the head of the man closest to my money.

I’ve played no less than four secret agents, I know how to handle a gun. 

The Merchants obviously have little love for their friends, as the second man decides to take me and his friend out with a blast from a shotgun, which tears through my hostage and me alike as I return fire.

Two shots, three kills. Not a bad start as I let go of my shredded hostage, turning to the last man who is fearfully aiming a revolver at me, his arm still raising as time seemingly slows down as he fires.

It’s still fast , the thick bullet moving at the speed of a car towards me as I move to the side and watch it fly past, readjusting my aim before I change my mind.

The second bullet clips me, as I throw my gun at the last man whose eyes widen in confusion and then pain as the pistol clonks him on the head.

It’s enough of a distraction for me to rush him, pouncing forwards and colliding with him as I bite down on his neck, scowling even as I start to drain the struggling fool.

I normally make sure not to take too much, I don’t want dead civilians on my hands after all, that’s how you get hunted down like an animal.

This guy? 

His blood is poor quality, but quantity has a quality of its own. He struggles as much as he can with an unnaturally strong predator draining his life out of him, his pasty skin growing increasingly pale as I keep sucking him dry.

His struggles cease as his bodily functions start to fail, his life fading as I drink down his lifeblood until his veins are empty, my wounds rapidly healing from the influx of blood.

As his heart stops beating, I feel his meagre life force become mine, empowering me as I finally break my bite on his neck, wiping at my mouth as I move over to the suitcase, opening it up and smiling.

This will help, and hopefully give Skidmark a headache.

Moving to a body, I bite down on its neck before I almost immediately pull back with a look of disgust, spitting out a mouthful of sickening blood.

It’s not gone cold yet, but it tastes foul nonetheless. Don’t drink from corpses, message received.

Dragging the bodies into the van, I engage in a little friendly pyromania as I remove the suitcase. You’d be surprised how easy it is to cause a serious fire. I know my agent was.

Bitch shouldn’t have stolen from me, we had a good thing going. 

I can’t deny that the flames cause a primal fear in me, and it’s hard to even look at them as I move away from the burning van.

Hopefully, Skidmark will think this was a deal gone wrong and attack whoever the other dudes were.

I don’t care if he knows I did it, I just think it’d be funny and useful to start a gang war and distract people from me.

As I’m admiring my suitcase full of money, I pause. I can hear someone breathing.

This in itself wouldn’t be particularly suspicious, but the breathing is coming from above me, on the rooftops.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see a masked face watching me, the mask in the shape of a stern frowning woman which has been painted black.

I recognise it, but what’s a Ward doing out so late on her own? Shadow Stalker doesn’t make any move as I consider my options.

Attacking a Ward is definitely a questionable decision, but she’s just seen me burning a bunch of bodies…

She’s not talking, and I think I’d be able to hear if she had an earpiece in, is she on her own?

This could mess with my potential plans to join the PRT… but I don’t want to let her run off and tell on me either.

— Sophia Hess (Shadow Stalker) —

The new cape was fast , able to dodge a bullet at close range, and he was strong too.

But beyond his strength was his brutality, killing the Merchants without even batting an eye, feeding on one of them.

She’d heard of women being attacked by a new cape in the area, feeding on them but leaving them mostly unharmed. 

The merchant hadn’t been unharmed, drained until he was just a husk. Honestly, she admired his handiwork, he was a true predator. 

Kinda sloppy, but he took that shotgun blast and walked it off like it was nothing, so he had the durability to survive his fuck-ups.

The cape moved, unaware that she was watching him, going around the corner with his loot in hand.

She moved to a different spot, wanting to keep watching him before she paused. Where the fuck did he go?

He was out of her line of sight for a second, but he’d seemingly disappeared from existence.

Frowning, she looked around for a while before she called it a night. She'd planned on doing some hunting herself, but the fire would probably attract some attention, so she’d leave it for now.

With practised ease, she got back to one of her hideouts in the docks, plenty of rundown buildings that nobody would check, starting to change out of her spare cape outfit and into the clothes she snuck out of the house in, hiding her crossbow bolts.

“Ah, so that’s it. You’ve been naughty, little hero,” a deep voice said, making her jump out of her skin, only dressed in her bra and jeans as she spun around, seeing the balaclava-clad cape she’d previously been watching standing in the doorway.

She dove for her crossbow, before cursing. She’d just taken the real bolts out of it, and before she could reach it, he was in between her and her weapon, pushing her back with casual ease.

“What the fuck are-“ Sophia started, panicking for multiple reasons. Her lack of a mask, her proximity to a dangerous cape that didn’t mind killing, and the fact that he was in one of her hideouts.

He picked up one of her crossbow bolts, sniffing it.

“Dried blood. So the Wards' redeemed vigilante isn’t as tamed as they think,” the man chuckled, making her growl even as she backed away, as much as she wished she could pretend otherwise, his presence was intimidating as he turned to her, bright red eyes locked onto her.

“You’re breaking the unwritten rules asshole, you can’t come after someone out of their mask,” Sophia warned, trying to sound tough as his rich laughter filled her hideout.

“Ah, but I was chasing Shadow Stalker, it’s not my fault you didn’t realise and decided to change. Stalker indeed, or did you think your observations went unnoticed?” he asked, tossing the bolt aside.

“You’re a stranger,” she realised, making his smile grow, his fangs on display as he removed his balaclava.

The incredibly attractive man gave her a sly smirk, defined cheekbones and long black hair making him look like the textbook definition of a vampire.

“Amongst other things, little hunter,” he said with a tone that was equally sultry and dark. She prepared to go into her shadow form, trying to work out how the hell to deal with him seeing her face. “Calm yourself, little hunter. I was planning on… silencing you, but I think we might be more alike than I first realised. You’re not the tamed attack dog the PRT likes to pretend you are, are you?” he asked, making her pause

Of course, she wasn’t fucking tamed, all the PRT had done was make her act more subtly.

“What do you want?”

“I want you to keep quiet about my little games, I want Skidmark to blame his client for the attack and go wild, and I want your blood,” he said simply, making her freeze. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t bite, without your permission. What you want is for me to not draw attention to your secret patrols, to the blood on your bolts.”

“I wasn’t going to tell the PRT anyway. I’ve got too many sanctions for ‘unauthorised’ patrols,” Sophia admitted, making him chuckle.

“Ah, I see. They don’t like you slipping your leash, do they?” he asked, making her frown but she didn’t deny his words. “Do they pay you well?”

“Ha, fuck no,” Sophia replied immediately, glancing at the suitcase he’d brought with him.

“So, my silence for your silence, a fair trade,” he said, stepping forwards and placing a hand on her chin, stroking her cheek with a fanged smile. “Then all that’s left is for you to name a price for your blood. It won’t hurt, it’s actually rather pleasurable , and I won’t take too much.”

His voice sent shivers through her body, which she suppressed. 

“What do you want my blood for? You just drained a man dry,” Sophia replied, flinching back as he moved closer, with her head tilted back he leaned down and gently kissed her neck, she should have run, but something kept her in place as she felt his lips on her neck.

He didn’t bite, like he said he wouldn’t.

“I’m a glutton, and his blood was so… low quality. I prefer female blood and I’ve found that the blood of capes tastes even sweeter ,” he whispered, dangerously close as she found herself frozen in place.

“I want a quarter of what you got from those Merchants,” Sophia finally said, having no idea how much money that even was. She wasn’t going to back down, and if he tried to drain her she could just phase out of his grip.

“Deal~” 

His fangs pierced her neck, but much like he promised it wasn’t pain that flooded her but pleasure, shivering as she felt him drinking her essence, moaning at the sensation.

One of his arms wrapped around her, embracing her as their bodies pressed together, an orgasmic feeling flooding her entire body until he finally pulled back, licking his lips.

“Delicious. Such a sweet taste for such a sour girl,” he teased, licking her neck briefly as she whimpered, her entire body shuddering from the aftershock of the climax she’d been dragged to.

Despite how thorny she usually was, as the man whose name she still didn’t know kissed her, she just tilted her head and let the handsome older man take her first kiss.

Her mind clouded with pleasure, she barely noticed her bra being removed, the mysterious cape whispering sweet nothings into her ear as her trousers and panties joined them.

He moved her onto a table, sitting her at the edge as he undid his belt, spreading her legs with a cocky grin as her pleasure faded enough for her to realise her situation, but as he gave her that fanged smile, she just looked away, her legs spreading in silent submission as she felt the thick tip of his cock press against her virgin slit.

This wasn’t like her, acting so submissive, but as she looked into his primal eyes, she knew she was in the presence of a fellow predator, someone like her.

Someone worthy of the virginity he ruthlessly took, a single thrust sheathing his large manhood inside her as she whimpered, his hands on her ass as he started to thrust into her.

“A virgin?” he asked in that deep voice, kissing her neck again, right on the bite mark. “And here you are, giving it away to a man whose name you don’t even know.”

His tone was teasing, but before she could respond, he bit down on her neck again, her eyes rolling back with pleasure at the dual sensation of his shaft thrusting into her tight slit and his fangs drinking her in.

Madison was the slutty one in their group, Emma was too obsessed with Hebert for dating even if she had half the boys in school wrapped around her finger, and Sophia herself just didn’t find the boys interesting.

They were weak, even the junior gang members, and her fellow Wards were all pathetic, but this guy? He was a predator, he saw something he wanted and decided to take it.

He didn’t ask for her permission, he just stripped her down and had his way with her, her fingers digging into his back as she whimpered and moaned.

“That’s it, cum for me, little hunter ,” he whispered, his voice travelling through her entire body as she shuddered, legs wrapping around his waist and locking behind his back.

He thought like her, that was why he called her hunter. He knew they were both predators, which is why it felt so right when she did exactly as he told her to and came around his thrusting cock.

— Alexander Shaw —

Teenage girls are so very easily manipulated. This girl reeks of daddy issues, and a mixture of my Lingering Kiss and Awe keeps her in line as I pull out only to flip her onto her front, sliding right back into her tight wet cunt.

Hey, it’s been a while for me. I used to have supermodels and actresses in my bed, and while the athletic dark-skinned teen is a downgrade from them, she’s very tight.

Her fit lifestyle means she’s got an athletic figure, not the best I’ve seen, but certainly in better shape than a lot of the models that warmed my bed.

I’m just glad I can still get it up, despite my vampiric nature. Consider this a test that all the plumbing is working.

This girl sees herself as a badass, and I’ve read up on all the capes in this city over the past week. Not needing to sleep leads to a lot of free time during the daylight hours. Shadow Stalker is the PRT’s prized redemption case.

“Look, we took a dangerous and violent vigilante and made her into a proper hero!” Only they failed and either haven’t realised or don’t want to admit it.

Those bolts have killed or at least heavily hurt people, I could smell the blood on them, some very old and some more recent.

She thinks she’s complicated, but she’s laughably simple.

For now, she moans in the rundown building she stashes her stuff in, my thrusts growing increasingly feral as I use my new position to truly go to town on her tight cunt.

The table shakes with each thrust before the old rotten wood simply breaks and leaves us in a pile of broken wood, Shadow Stalker is barely able to catch herself onto her hands and knees as I pound her pussy with my vampiric strength, spanking her firm backside as I go.

One hand reaches around her body and gropes her fairly small breast, roughly tweaking her nipple because I’m pretty sure she likes pain, her slit tightening down on my invading phallus with each spank.

Can I knock someone up? I genuinely don’t know. I was always careful in my past life, there were too many gold diggers looking for an easy pass through life by getting knocked up by someone as rich and famous as me, but I’m a vampire.

I’m pretty sure I’m not fertile, so when the time comes I don’t bother pulling out, gripping her hips as I slam forwards with a satisfied groan, unleashing my seed into her warm wet teenage cunt.

I’m only twenty myself, but I’d guess she’s closer to sixteen or maybe slightly lower. 

As I pull out with a pleased sigh, I pause as I watch her slump over, ass in the air with my seed leaking from her abused slit.

She doesn’t move, only her breathing filling the room as I scratch my chin. Did she really pass out?

Well, I’m a man of my word, and opening the suitcase, I leave some of the money on the floor next to her, looking around for something to write on.

Does she realise she just became a whore, selling her blood and body? Probably not, but ah well.

For now, I slip out into the night with a grin on my face. Shadow Stalker will be under Lingering Kiss for as long as her blood is inside me, which could last a while if I don’t use it for powers, since I took a little more than I should have.

Not enough to actually hurt her, she’ll just be a little lethargic tomorrow.

Obtenebration Unlocked 

[Obtenebration, Discipline of Shadows: Novice]

[Shadow Play]

Allows the vampire to manipulate the natural shadows around them.

Huh, that’s interesting .

Shadow Stalker can turn into a shadowy form, and I got this after feeding on her. That’s curious.

Licking my lips, I force myself to not go back and drain her entirely. I have plans for her if I do decide to join our beloved heroes.

She thinks we have a mutual secret, that we’d both suffer if we told on the other, a state of mutually assured destruction keeping us both quiet.

She gave away how worried she was about her bosses actually looking into her secret hunts. Body language is a bitch and she has poor control over it.

I’m hoping that means the PRT are too busy or incompetent to actually pay too much attention to what their heroes are up to. It’ll make things easier for me later.

— Sophia Hess —

Waking up, she blinked carefully as she rose up, wincing at the soreness between her legs.

What the hell had come over her, letting some cape she didn’t even know fuck her… oh shit, was he a master?

No, she was being ridiculous, she wouldn’t be waking up unharmed if he had mastered her into this, and she probably wouldn’t be able to think he was a master.

He was just a hot, dangerous cape who checked all her boxes.

Oh god, she was as easy as Madison.

Her hand touched the bite marks on her lower neck, small fang marks that were already starting to slowly close, her dark skin making them harder to spot.

Looking around, her eyes widened at the large pile of neatly stacked notes, her payment for her body- blood, for her blood.

She wasn’t some hooker, selling her ass on a street corner.

Next to it was a note, short and sweet.

‘Until we meet again, Alexander’

Alexander. Not a cape name but his real first name? She knew his face as well, was that to reassure her that he wouldn’t expose her identity?

The Empire would make sure she had an accident if it came out that the vigilante who shot a bunch of their guys was a black girl.

She didn’t believe for a moment that they’d follow the unwritten rules, they’d just make it seem like an accident or unrelated.

She might be tough, but if she was caught by surprise she was just as vulnerable to bullets as anyone else and there were dozens of junior skinheads who’d love to make themselves known by putting her down.

Alexander, huh?

Also… holy shit that’s a lot of money. 

 Suddenly her stash didn’t feel as safe, because where the fuck was she supposed to put the drug money she’d suddenly ended up with?

— Alexander Shaw — Next Night — 

Leaving the store, I smile at my new outfit.

It’s past regular opening hours, but it seems the stores of this city are used to strange customers only paying in cash.

For a notable donation, they were willing to open up late for a single special customer.

I spent a lot of Skidmark’s money on a new wardrobe, my expensive dark red shirt with black patterns suiting me far better than the trash I’ve worn lately.

I’ve even managed to arrange for an apartment, with a landlord who doesn’t mind me paying entirely in cash.

It’s in ABB territory, and the fact that I only want to pay in cash has made the price go up considerably, but it’ll do for now.

Awe is useful because it’s not blatant enough for people to start screaming master, but it gives me an edge in negotiations. 

Unfortunately, I’ve been so busy tonight that I’ve not had time to spy on the Merchants to see how they took my little bit of mischief, but I think I can count on a drug-addled fool acting rashly.

The Merchants aren’t particularly respected from what I can tell, being treated like a joke by most of the online community, but they’re an infestation that’s hard to root out.

But alas, that’s for another day, because tonight I have business elsewhere.

Making a trip to my admittedly small apartment, I drop my clothes off and head out again. Occasionally I get a look from gang members but Awe convinces people that I’m not worth the risk, my walk more of a prowl, giving off the impression that I’m more dangerous than I might look at first glance.

Arriving at my destination, I reluctantly join the queue, an experience I’ve never had to endure before, but soon enough I get gestured at, entering the club and smiling at the bouncer as I walk past.

Hot people rarely need to wait to get into clubs like this, and while it’s more common for girls to get in faster, I’m not surprised they picked me out.

Walking into the club, I look around. Pleased to see that I’m attracting attention even without using Awe, heading to the bar to get myself a drink.

I don’t need to eat or drink, but I still can and thank fuck for that , because I’m a big believer in fine dining. 

“Welcome to the Palanquin, what can I get you?” The cute bartender asks as I lean against the bar, spotting an orange-skinned figure surrounded by a group of young men and women who seem high as a fucking kite.

Giving the bartender a smile, I scan the room again.

Hey, I had to check out the place if I was considering joining up, right?

Author’s Note: This chapter is shorter than usual because I’m still undecided on where he should join.

Alexander is a Toreador, blending into human (or hero in this case) society is in his blood, so the PRT definitely works for him to regain his fame and riches.

But also, there’s the Empire for Nazi Vampires, and Faultline which I rarely see.

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a discord server (technically someone else’s but my name is on the server so it’s basically mine) with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it’s expired, add my (The Pumpkin King#1234) and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent and Mike, God of Lore, Beans

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 03: Realisations

It’s good to be back in my natural habitat, leaning against the bar of the nightclub as I sip my drink, looking around with an imperceptible frown.

But it’s reminded me of the harsh reality I’ve found myself in, a rude awakening to my current situation.

I’m getting attention, of course, I’m incredibly handsome and naturally charming, I could have basically any of the girls in this club, and half the guys if I felt inclined.

But it’s different here, I’m not a celebrity, I’m not a superstar, I’m just some hot guy drinking alone.

It’s a very unwelcome situation, and it’s made me realise the truth I’ve been ignoring.

My plan to join up with one of the groups has a slight issue.

I’m a nobody , at least at the moment. 

I have decent powers but in the grand scale of things, I’m still small-time in the cape world.

Sure, the PRT would take me in, but I’d be bargaining from a weaker position than I’m comfortable with.

I haven’t auditioned for anything in years, people came to me to beg me to take part in whatever project they had in mind.

Faultline might take me in, as a pity project, but I’ve got a glimpse of Gregor while I was carousing with the locals, and he is disgusting. The pictures were far too generous of that translucent slime of a man.

I am nobody’s charity case, and I will not work with such an abomination. 

The Empire would be unlikely to forgive my little mistake while I’m so weak, and more importantly…

I’m still learning about the movers and shakers of Brockton, and there’s one called Purity out there trying to play hero… and having a lot of trouble because she used to be Kaiser’s heavy hitter.

That Nazi tag doesn’t come out in the wash, even if I joined the Empire, dropping them later would be problematic because America really hates Nazis.

If I get painted with that blackened brush, it will take a lot to wipe it clean, too much to be worth the effort.

The PRT is my best bet, but once again I’m too weak. I don’t want to come to them, tail tucked between my legs, I want them to come to me on bended knee and beg me to join their failing little organisation.

Their reputation is far from good, they’re incompetent and corrupt, but that just makes it a better place for me to thrive .

As a hero, regaining my superstar status will be far easier than if I join a group of mediocre mercenaries or loathed Nazis. 

So, first things first.

I need power because powerful capes are in very high demand. Perhaps as my fame grows, another group will give me a better option.

And how should I gain power? By acting like a vampire of course. I gained a hint of power from drinking deeply of Shadow Stalker, but I want more.

I want to find out what happens if I drain a cape completely, down to the last scarlet drop, I want to see what power I can claim for myself.

So, who to feed upon?

Brockton Bay has a lot of capes, but I need ones that won’t be overly missed. Capes die all the time in this city. I’ve seen the statistics on how long the average cape lasts without joining up with an organisation, so making someone disappear shouldn’t be overly hard.

Quest Started

[Diablerie: The Ultimate Feast]

Objective: Drain a Cape

Optional Objective: Drain three capes 

Reward: ???, ???, ???

Oh? How interesting .

Taking another sip of my drink, I consider my options carefully.

The PRT capes are immediately out, I don’t need that heat this early on but… just about everyone else is on the table.

I should start with someone independent. I want to do this cleanly and I don’t need them calling for reinforcements, as much as I’m tempted to go for another bite of the Neo-Nazi girl, Rune.

Shaking my head, I take another look around the club, plans forming in the back of my head.

But it’s my first night out in my new world, and I can think more about who I am hunting first tomorrow.

There are plenty of beautiful women here, but as I survey the room I find the most interesting person in the room.

She might not be the sexiest woman around, dressed rather conservatively for the club, denim jeans and a white t-shirt standing out against the tiny dresses and mini-skirts.

Like me, she’s clearly here alone as she stands over to one side, somewhat awkwardly, giving me the feeling she isn’t exactly a regular clubber.

She’s gathering attention as well, and while she clearly knows how to handle the spotlight, she seems a bit distracted.

She’s cute, very girl-next-door, with soft blonde hair and cute brown eyes as I catch her gaze, giving her a warm smile.

Awe and my natural looks work together as she blushes slightly, looking away for a moment. After a moment, she looks my way again and gives me a soft smile.

She’s probably in her early twenties at the most, maybe nineteen if I had to guess an actual age.

Gliding through the club, I prowl towards my prey as her eyes widen ever so slightly before she smiles hesitantly.

Time to get to work.

As I introduce myself, I hide a curious frown as I breathe in. She smells wonderful, but there’s something oddly familiar under her perfume. 

— Later —

Annie, as I’ve learnt she is called, isn’t the type of girl to put out on a first date, let alone have a one-night stand with a stranger.

She arches her back as she grips her bedsheets, our clothes scattered around her nice apartment as I thrust into her tight slit.

She’s not the type, but even as sober as she was (only drinking soda at a nightclub), seducing her wasn’t a real challenge for me.

My old PR manager was both happily married and a lesbian, and it didn’t take long before she was giving me a blowjob before every interview she arranged.

I get the feeling she’s trying to take her mind off something, and I’m a welcome distraction as her legs wrap around my waist.

Her nails dig into my back, leaving small scratches as she begs me for more.

I’ve told her that I’ll need to leave very early for work, my excuse for why I need to be gone long before the sun rises, so we’re making the most of the night.

Capturing her lips, I have to appreciate the enhanced senses being a vampire gives me, her sweet natural taste mixed with the lemonade she was drinking on my tongue.

Her scent still stands out to me, something about it is driving me mad, and I can’t quite work out why as I enhance my sense of smell, picking the familiar smell up over her perfume and the scent of sex.

As my climax approaches, I start to speed up as I truly pound Annie into her bed, the frame creaking slightly under the force of my thrusts. 

Annie herself had cum three times so far, I must be rusty.

“P-pull out,” Annie says, her mind not completely lost to pleasure as she realises I’m about to cum, and despite my reluctance to pull out of her tight, hot pussy I decide to play nice as I do as she asks, her legs unwrapping from my waist.

Annie rewards my kindness, maneuvering me to lie down as she takes my cock between her lips, making eye contact as she slowly sucks my cock.

She’s inexperienced, I doubt she’s a virgin but she’s also no expert, but it’s enjoyable enough to push me over the edge as I grip her hair.

Her eyes widen slightly as my seed starts to flood her mouth, but she doesn’t try to pull back as my hand holds her in place, obediently swallowing the cum as it spurts into her mouth.

Letting go of her hair as my climax comes to an end, I give her a sultry grin.

Before she can even speak, I’ve moved again and flipped her over, face down into the sweat-drenched sheets as I sheathe myself inside her once more, making her gasp as she realises I’ve very much not gone soft.

“You didn’t think I’d be satisfied with only a single climax, did you?” I whisper into her ear, kissing her neck as I resist the urge to bite.

— Rebecca Anne January (Starlight) —

Waking up, she gasped and sat up straight as the memories from last night flooded back.

Her paramour was gone, as he warned that he would be, Alexander was at least nice enough to let her know he’d have to vanish at around 4 a.m.

She wasn’t sure what job he had, but she couldn’t exactly talk about someone working weird hours given her own job, as heroism wasn’t great for your sleep schedule.

She shouldn’t have listened to Crystal, going clubbing on her own was a mistake, but her cousin had always been a party girl. 

The taste of semen still stuck to her tongue, almost still feeling Alex’s talented hands on her body, his cock penetrating her as she closed her eyes.

It was very unlike her to have a one-night stand, and she couldn’t even blame it on the drink, but she didn’t really regret it.

Her decision to come back to Brockton Bay was already feeling like a mistake, but she wouldn’t back down now.

Hearing her father tell her how bad this city was didn’t compare to actually moving back to this place, with the highest crime rate in America, where a gang of Nazis were generally seen as the better of the three main gangs.

Getting dressed, she smiled to herself as she found a neatly written note from Alex with his number on it. He was unfairly good looking but she wasn’t sure she was down for a repeat. It was nice to forget about her troubles for a night, but she didn’t want to pull a civilian into her life.

Setting off, she frowned to herself as she spotted some gang tags in her neighbourhood. She was in the nicer part of the city but even here, clear as day, there were empire tags just brazenly sprayed on the walls.

The Empire Eighty-Eight.

The entire reason she’d come back to the Bay, despite her father's pleas and arguments to not return to this hellish place. 

She didn’t believe the public story, that her mother had been killed by some young wannabe gangster who wanted to impress Kaiser, a dumb kid whom Kaiser himself had apparently killed for the crimes.

Fleur was too good of a hero to be killed by some nobody, and she very much didn’t believe the report that Fleur had forgotten to lock her front door. Nobody was that careless in the bay, and Jessica had only just unmasked and revealed her identity.

No, something else was going on and while her father might have run away, she wanted to know what really happened, so here she was… in Brockton Bay, Nazi capital of America. 

Arriving at the Rig, she changed into her cape outfit, wondering as she put on her mask what her mother would think of her decision. Aunt Carol certainly didn’t approve of her choice to mask up, going against the movement her mother’s death had all but ended.

In truth, her identity was barely a secret. Even her cape name, Starlight, was just a flipped version of the name her father had retired from, Lightstar. Her uniform looked very much like her mother's (and Vicky’s since they both went for the white and gold theme that her mother used to wear), so chances were, most people had already worked out her identity.

Which likely caused some rumours, since the daughter of Fleur had joined the PRT instead of joining her family in New Wave.

“Ooh, someone got lucky,” a voice said, making her pause and turn to where Ethan was already being hit by Jamie. “What? You know I’m right. She’s practically glowing, not to mention limping. ” Ethan (Assault) said, as his wife gave a long-suffering sigh.

“Ignore the idiot,” Jamie (Battery) said, making Ethan pout as she smiled. She liked the couple. Ethan could be a bit annoying but he didn’t mean any harm, he reminded her of an older Clockblocker. “I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

“Armsmaster asked me to come in since the Empire is still on high alert after Rune was attacked,” Annie explained, their mover being attacked by an unknown cape had certainly kicked the hornet's nest. 

“Fair enough, it’s been chaos lately. We had to deal with Stormfront last night, which is always fun ,” Ethan said, making her frown at the reminder of the Empire’s own electrokinetic Alexandria package. “I’m right though, aren’t I? You definitely got la-”

Jamie’s hand clipped Ethan across the head before he could even finish his question, making her give her fellow heroine a smile.

“Fine, fine. I’ve got my own patrol to get to, I’ll leave you girls to gossip,” Assault said with a  carefree shrug. “Here’s hoping the Empire are taking a day off, I really don’t want to play dodge the lightning with Stormfront again.”

As Assault walked away, the older woman turned to Annie, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah, I got laid,” Annie admitted, slightly embarrassed as Jamie chuckled. She was pretty good friends with the older cape. To be honest she did kinda want to brag and wasn’t dumb enough to tell Crystal or Vicky, the teasing would be apocalyptic.

“You know, when I said you needed to take some time off and relax that wasn’t quite what I had in mind,” Jamie deadpanned. “So who was the lucky man?”

“His name is Alexander, I only met him last night,” Annie admitted, making Jamie chuckle.

“You slut,” Jamie said, clearly teasing. “You going to see him again?”

“I doubt it, he left me his number but dating a civilian is…” Annie trailed off, making Jamie nod understandingly.

“Was he at least hot?” Jamie asked as they walked towards the ‘waiting room’, basically a place for heroes who were on duty but not on patrol to hang out, waiting until they were needed, so they’d be able to deploy immediately.

“...he’s unfairly sexy. I thought he was a model at first, but he works weird hours since he had to disappear at 4 a.m, and he was amazing in bed,” Annie admitted, making Jamie chuckle.

“Are you sure you don’t want to give him a call? I know dating civilians is risky and complicated but it could be worse, you could end up making the mistake I did and end up with someone like Ethan,” Jamie said, making her blink, somewhat shocked at the seriousness in Jamie’s tone.

Right up until she heard an ‘Oi’ come from the doorway, giggling at Ethan’s offended expression.

“Do you want Alexander’s number, I won’t tell Assault if you don’t,” Annie offered, making Jamie chuckle.

“Okay, okay, I get the message, I’m going,” Ethan complained. “Demons, both of you.”

Brockton Bay had many, many issues, but at least she got on with most of her fellow heroes.

Even as they joked, she considered Jamie’s words but shook her head. She didn’t want to put Alex at risk. He seemed nice and didn’t deserve to get pulled into her dangerous life. 

– Alexander Shaw –

My list of potential victims is considerable, to say the least.

Brockton Bay has an excess of capes. Heroes, villains, and even a couple of rogues, and while there’s risk involved in all of them, it’s a level of risk I find acceptable.

I considered going for the ‘Undersiders’, but their secret boss had me on edge. A shame, as they’re small enough for nobody to really care if they disappear.

There’s a couple of independent heroes running around the area, Dovetail and Sere, but neither have a specific area they patrol so it’d be down to dumb luck to actually find them.

But then, that’s always going to be a problem because what cape would be stupid enough to broadcast where they are?

Oh, right.

— Über —

Sitting in his room, he looked over their game collection as he tried to pick the theme for their next stream.

People might expect him and Leet to have some fancy lair with rows of game-related tech and arcade machines or something,but in truth they just lived in an old apartment building in the docks. Leet had built a tinker workshop in the basement of a nearby factory, but his tech had a bad habit of blowing up, so even his workshop wasn’t safe to live near.

The Unwritten rules also meant that even if the PRT worked out who they were, and to be honest they probably already had, they wouldn’t come for them in their shitty apartment.

Maybe it was that confidence that made him let his guard down. Out of costume he felt safe, like nothing he did as Über would come back to bite him in the ass.

As their pizza arrived, Über paid the delivery driver, not giving a tip because despite their crimes they were consistently broke (tinkering wasn’t cheap), calling for Leet to come out of his own room.

He didn’t find it strange that Leet failed to answer, leaving one of the pizza boxes on the kitchen side as he took his back to the living room. Leet was either planning his next project or in the middle of a gaming session, but he’d come out of his man cave for food eventually.

Sitting down, he turned on the television and threw on a movie while he ate, living up to their reputation as a pair of joke villains as he failed to notice the figure silently approaching him until the fangs were already in his neck, powerful arms holding him in place as he let out a confused shout.

He focused and used his power to learn a judo throw to try and get his attacker away from him, but the throw was meant to be used on regular humans, and his attacker was unmoved as Über felt his strength draining away.

A cape? But that was against the rules-

Going limp in his attacker's hands, he died in confusion and anger at the unfairness of it all.

— Alexander —   

Über’s struggles come to an end, but I keep drinking as I drain his veins dry, feeling his life essence enter me.

Just as I did with his equally stupid friend, who was too busy playing games to even notice me enter his room with a little help from Obfuscate.

These two were ridiculous. 

Finding them wasn’t hard because all I had to do was check their last stream, go to the crime scene and follow the scent back home.

How ridiculous, they didn’t even seem to have a single defence beyond a weird taser that Leet never even managed to reach. Did they think they were safe because they weren’t in costume? Pathetic.

As I keep drinking, it’s more than just blood I can feel entering me, draining everything Über ever was, flashes of his memories entering my mind as I consume his very essence.

It’s an act of ecstasy, tainted by the low quality of the blood I am drinking. Über was a failure and it almost feels wrong to have his essence within me.

He lived as pathetically as he died, a sad loser whose only source of comfort was the attention of his internet fans. He knew he and Leet were jokes, seen with the same level of respect as Skidmark, but his livestream made him feel important.

He was no star, not like me, just a clown performing for the circus. Honestly, he’d have done far better if he’d just ditched the failure that was Leet and gone solo. 

I made works of art, I won Oscars, he thought driving around hitting prostitutes with baseball bats was peak entertainment.

I’ve done the world of entertainment a favour by erasing these imbeciles. The world should thank me!

As I finally drain him dry, I let go and step back with a slight sneer. 

Powers Gained

[Über: Tools of the Trade]

While holding an item, you gain mastery in the use of that item.

[Leet: Breakdown]

You have an instinctive understanding of how to sabotage tinkertech, spotting design flaws and weaknesses, knowing exactly how to break them in glorious fashion.

This is the most useful these clowns have ever been, and it gives me an idea.

Leet had something in his room, a weird box that I didn’t recognise, he died before he could reach it, but as I enter his room again, stepping over his desiccated corpse I smile.

Leet’s tech is good at one thing, failing in spectacular fashion, and examining the box I know exactly what to do to make this weird thing go boom . 

Big, big , boom.

Moving Über and Leet closer to it, I grab the screwdriver from Leet’s desk and jab it into a very specific spot. 

That’s all it takes, and I head out- with some haste considering the fuse I’ve just lit- but I know how long I have until it explodes in spectacular fashion.

I’m long gone when I hear the blast behind me, a purple flash as their apartment building is erased , leaving a smooth crater as everything caught in the blast is disintegrated.

I don’t know what Leet thought that box was going to do, the memories I’ve taken from him were disjointed and muddled, but he had hopes that this one would make the other Tinkers stop treating him like a joke.

Well, he got his wish, his legacy is the large apartment building he just destroyed. 

Heading out into the night, I’m careful to avoid any cameras as I make my escape, my mind focused as my smile grows on my lips.

Both Über and Leet had the same familiar scent I couldn’t place from Annie, and it made me remember where I smelt it before.

Rune, Shadowstalker, The Undersiders. 

Capes have a unique smell, there’s something about whatever is giving them powers that I can pick up when I have my sense of smell enhanced. It’s so very faint, unless I’m actually enhancing my sense of smell, I can’t detect it at all but I can use this.

I need to drain three capes, after all. 

So I set out into the night, hunting for my third victim.

— Taylor Hebert —

Waking up, she shuddered as the memories of the locker started to fade from her most recent nightmare, the feeling of countless bugs eating her alive, making her shove her emotions onto her bugs as she paused.

Something was wrong, but she couldn’t tell what. Getting out of bed, she noticed that her window was wide open, making a cold sweat come over her.

She had left it open, just a crack, so her bugs could get into her room, but it was pulled open far too much, and it wasn’t windy enough for it to have opened by itself.

The cold spring air hit her body as she looked around desperately, her swarm buzzing before she calmed them down.

Her bedroom door was still locked, nothing was out of place, and a quick check under her bed and in her closet showed that there were no monsters waiting for her.

Checking the time, she sighed as she saw that it was 3 a.m. She hadn’t been sleeping well these past couple of months, and she headedto the kitchen to get a glass of water.

— Alexander Shaw — 

Cloak of Shadows is very useful, lurking in the corner of the bedroom as the girl I think might be a cape walks out of the room.

I can hear where she’s going, the steps down the creaky stairs, the sound of the tap being turned on as I wait, very aware of the unnatural behaviour of the bugs around the house. 

She walks back upstairs, re-entering the bedroom as she sighs, sitting on the edge of the bed.

As she lays back down, I wait for a moment as I watch her start to fall back to sleep. God, what Twilight bullshit is this? 

No self respecting vampire should be watching a teenage girl sleep, but I want to make sure she’s fully back into the arms of Morpheus before I strike.

Maybe it’s the bugs that warn her as I move, closing the window first before I move towards the bed, her eyes snapping open as my lunge forwards, one hand covering her mouth as my fangs bite into her neck.

She struggles, but with my body pinning hers she can’t actually move me, but that doesn’t mean she’s defenceless, as bugs seemingly come out of everywhere, battering against the closed window as I feel countless stings and bites on my body.

It’s not enough to stop me, with their venom and bites unable to truly affect my inhuman body, and my regeneration boosted by the influx of blood as the skinny girl goes increasingly pale, panicked eyes staring at me as she flails uselessly.

I haven’t heard of any bug controllers, so perhaps I got lucky and found a fairly new cape on my travels, her memories flashing through my mind as I take in her essence.

She’s far sweeter than those two clowns, a fine red wine compared to the cheap flat soda that was Leet.

Her life goes by in flashes, her mother’s death, her best friend's betrayal, the unexpected glimpse of my little Shadow Slut bullying Taylor, ah that’s her name.

She wanted to be a hero, preparing a suit in her basement, her father too absent to notice his daughter's changes.

It’s easier to take in the memoires this time, less disorienting as Taylor’s struggles start to fail, the bugs stopping their assault as they start to scatter, her powers fading.

As Taylor dies, I pull back and smile, not even a drop of blood split as every millilitre of her precious lifeblood is consumed.

Dominate Unlocked

[Dominate, Discipline of Control: Novice]

[Compel]

The vampire can issue a short sentence command to the target.

[Mesmerise]

By holding a target with your gaze you can implant false thoughts or hypnotic suggestions in a target's mind

[Taylor Hebert: Hivemind]

You can share the senses and take control of all ghouls or vampires you have created, and can multitask to an unlimited degree.

Gasping, I shake myself off as I get to work. Grabbing a large Tupperware container from downstairs, I grab the bugs that were within the house, easily tracking them down by the faint sound of their skittering, then the incomplete suit from the basement as her father sleeps away, unaware of what just happened.

It takes some time, but finally I grab Taylor herself as I sneak out of the house, avoiding the streets.

Quest Complete

[Diablerie: The Ultimate Feast]

Objective: Drain a Cape (Complete)

Optional Objective: Drain three capes (Complete)

Reward: Create Ghoul, Fortitude, A Lair

[Create Ghoul]

By willingly feeding a living creature your blood, you can transform them into a ghoul. Ghouls possess great regeneration, strength and speed without the drawback of having the vampire's weaknesses, but they gain an obsessive addiction to the vampire's blood.

[Fortitude, Discipline of Endurance: Novice]

[Resilience]

You become more durable, from all sources of damage.

[Unswayable Mind]

Your mind becomes hard to affect with mind altering powers.

A location fills my mind as the world warps, a gift from my system for my overachieving nature.

It takes some time to get through the city undetected while I’m carrying a body, but before long I’m running through the forests surrounding Brockton Bay as I follow my mental directions.

Arriving in front of a large wrought iron gate, I pull out the key I feel in my pocket and let myself into the estate, looking up at the Victorian style gothic mansion with a growing smile.

Hidden from the outside world by tall stone walls, the mansion is surrounded by an extravagant garden, with a graveyard tucked away in the back adding to the foreboding atmosphere, oil street lamps light the path to the large building as I stroll into my home.

I was going to give you a lair in the sewers or something, but you did just kill the protagonist of this world so I figure it deserves a little more.

Protagonist? Ridiculous, I’m the only protagonist this world needs.

Ha, you might regret that.

Perhaps, we shall see.

Looking around the large, well furnished and candlelit rooms, I smile to myself as I feel truly at home for the first time since I arrived in this world.

Now, where to hide the body of one former protagonist? I hope this place has a suitably dark and gloomy cellar.

— Bonus Scene — 

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♦ Topic: Tinkertech Explosion in the Docks
In: Boards ► Places ► America ► Brockton Bay
Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)
Posted On Mar 31st 2011:
For those who didn’t see or hear the blast, a large purple explosion went off in the Docks, disintegrating an apartment building and unfortunately, all those inside.

Fatalities are estimated to be around 60-80, as the authorities are still trying to work out who was there at the time, since the blast left no bodies.

This is only theory at the moment, but it’s suspected that Über and Leet lived in that apartment building in their civilian identities, and that the blast was not an attack, but one of Leet’s devices malfunctioning.

Über and Leet have not been seen since the incident, and they missed their last scheduled livestream.

Another theory is that the ABBs new bomb tinker, Bakuda, was responsible but that is currently seen as unlikely.

(Showing page 1 of 11)

►Deadman
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
Those fucking idiots.

I called it that this would happen eventually, Leet was always dangerous, not because he’s powerful but because he’s fucking useless and can’t make anything that actually works.

►Thatdude
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
aw shit, no more streams?

►Feychick
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
Honestly, this is tragic but not nearly surprising.

Remember when they did Mario Kart and the blue shell suddenly stopped responding to Leet’s controls?

It’s a miracle it flew into the sky before it blew up, if it had stayed on ground level it would have killed civilians.

Über and Leet were jokes, but the PRT really should have taken them down before this happened. An unstable, immature Tinker was never going to end well.

►Miraclemic
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
@Thatdude Dude, nearly a hundred people died because Leet is a fuck up and you’re upset they won’t be streaming again?

Oh no, what will we do without a pair of sexist losers running around harassing people for the entertainment of their fanbase of twelve year old boys?

►Procto the Unfortunate Tinker (Not a tinker)
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
Yup, not surprising that Leet was irresponsible enough to take a ticking time bomb into a populated space.

He won’t be missed.

►GloryGirl (Verified Cape) (New Wave)
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
Ugh, that’s what that explosion was?

Fucking Leet, what a clown. How irresponsible can you be?

►Thatdude
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
ur just salty coz u lost to them lol

collateral damage barbie talking shit about people being irresponsible lmao

►Brocktonite03 (Veteran Member)
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
@Thatdude Glory Girl has only fought Über and Leet once, and they only escaped because Leet threw a Bob-omb into a crowd as a distraction.

Sure it turned out to be a bluff because it didn’t work but we’ve just seen the risk with Leets tech.

Rest in peace for all those who died because Leet couldn’t take the hint that he was a shit tinker, if only the idiot had blown himself up in a more private location.

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)
Replied On Mar 31st 2011:
After a raid by Miss Militia and Armsmaster on Leet’s suspected workshop, it’s been tentatively confirmed that Über and Leet were caught in the blast, and that Leet’s most recent project was responsible for the blast.

Leet has been given a Birdcage sentence, thanks to the sheer amount of fatalities in this mess, but given the very high likelihood that he blew himself up, it’s not likely to matter.

End of Page.   1, 2 , 3 ... 9 , 10 , 11

■

Author’s Note: I pulled myself away from Starfield to write this, praise me nerds.

Über and Leet don’t get to fight back, Über’s power gets wanked quite a bit but it’s honestly kinda pathetic and he’s even worse at using it and Leet is… well, Leet.

And yes, I just killed Taylor. I’m not apologising.

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a discord server (technically someone else’s but my name is on the server so it’s basically mine) with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it’s expired, add my (ThePumpkinKing) and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old Man of the Mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent, Mike, God of Lore and Beans

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 04: Vengeance from Beyond the Grave

– Emma Barnes –

Modelling had a bad reputation in the media. There was always some sleezebag taking advantage of the models, links to organised crime, prostitution, that kind of thing. Rumours that the models had to put out were all too common, but honestly, in her experience, they were completely unfounded.

Her agent was a woman, and so was the head of the agency she worked with. Nobody had pressured her for sexual favours, and she’d seen not even a hint of them being linked to the Empire despite being in their territory (aside from probably paying them for ‘protection’, but that was what happened to every business in Brockton Bay).

Gripping the sheets, she moaned lewdly as the older man sheathed his large cock inside her formerly virgin cunt, whispering sweet nothings into her ear and kissing her next as she pushed her hips back to meet the manhood that had snatched away her virginity.

So, how had a day of modelling ended up with her in bed with a virtual stranger? Well, that was easy.

Alexander was another model, a new one who was a rapidly rising star. He just had this presence during shoots that made the camera adore him, and he clearly loved the spotlight. She was convinced he was a former super-model, but she couldn’t prove it or find him online. She’d had the pleasure of watching him do a shoot, and he was magnificent. She thought she was good at her job, maybe even better than the twins that worked there, but he just lived for the camera. 

They’d made eye contact while she’d been watching him pose, and he gave her this… look, a mixture of hungry and knowing, and she felt her panties get damp, and her mouth go dry. 

They’d talked afterwards, his silky voice giving her advice for her own shoot, and when she went home that night, she’d dreamt of him.

In truth, she’d thrown herself into modelling lately to try and take her mind off… her. She hated Taylor for her weakness, but she’d been sure that Taylor wouldn’t break under their torment, that Taylor would finally grow a backbone and stop being such a victim. 

Instead, Taylor had disappeared. Nobody had seen her in weeks, and most people assumed she’d run away since the last sighting of her was her dad seeing her going to bed, or that she’d thrown herself into the Bay since, she apparently hadn’t taken anything with her. 

Something vaguely resembling guilt ate away at her, and she hated it. Taylor was the one so weak some pranks broke her completely. Taylor would have never survived against the ABB if she was the one in that damned alleyway. The weakling would have probably not even put up a fight; she wouldn’t have been deserving of being saved like Emma was. She’d have just cowered and let those chinks do whatever they wanted with her. 

If Taylor’s disappearance was related to them- if - then it was a simple truth that Taylor was so weak that she couldn't be reforged, couldn’t be made strong, and she didn’t deserve pity. She should just be forgotten. 

So when spending time with Alexander finally took her mind off Taylor and all her memories of her former best friend, both before the incident that made her choose to break away from Taylor and from her attempts to get Taylor to finally toughen up, she found herself constantly drawn back to him.

When she was with Alexander, it was like nothing else mattered, like life itself was shining a spotlight down on him and leaving the rest of the world in darkness. He was the centre of every conversation he was in, the star of that show called Life, and there was something dangerous about him.

It was the way he walked, prowled , like a predator stalking its next meal. She’d never admit it out loud, but Sophia tried the same thing, and it just didn’t compare; even Sophia seemed like a housecat next to Alexander. He moved with such grace, such power, and she wanted to be like him.

One day, as they had been talking between shoots, his hand came to rest on her leg, barely covered by the skirt she was wearing for a photoshoot; she’d looked into his eyes and known he was testing her, seeing if she’d push him away. She didn’t, couldn’t, as he caressed her thigh, a slender finger rubbing circles into her inner thigh. He’d kissed her, and she’d just tilted her head and let him.

It was a miracle they didn’t get caught, with her make-up needing fixing from his forceful, possessive kiss.

From there, her submission had made him bolder, and as days went by, he’d moved from innocent touches to outright molesting her as he pleased, and still she’d said nothing. He’d told her to send him pictures of herself, and she had, wearing less and less until she was exposing herself completely to the camera for Alexander's pleasure, a scandal that could ruin her modelling career, but still she couldn’t bring herself to care.

Alexander called her beautiful, a work of art, and his sweetly-whispered words of approval made her hunger for more. She’d been complimented her entire life, but she knew she’d do anything to hear Alexander praise her more.

So when he had wanted her to make an excuse to visit him at his home, she’d agreed, even knowing exactly what he’d wanted from her. A driver from the agency had picked her up after she’d told her father she was spending the day with Madison, taking him to Alexander’s mansion just outside of town. It was as extravagant as the man himself, and being led in, it didn’t take long until she was giving him a… private modelling session.

One that had seen her removing more and more until she stood in front of him utterly nude, his intense gaze wandering her naked body, soon replaced by his hands.

Crying out in pleasure, she begged him for more as he took her from behind, her face pressed against the silky sheets of his bed, his hands on her hips as he claimed her in a way no one else ever had. He was amazing. He was everything.

He didn’t pull out, but her mind was too enraptured in pleasure to care about the potential long-term consequences as she felt his seed flood her womb, Alexander filling her in a way that she didn’t know she needed.

A sharp pain in her neck momentarily dragged her from her pleasure, but in the haze of euphoria, it quickly faded as she cried out in pleasure. As he pulled out of her creamed slit, she collapsed onto the bed, glistening with sweat, and rolled onto her back. Staring up at him, he almost seemed to glow as he stared down at her with a bloody smile, her blood coating his lips.

Cutting his wrist with an abnormally long fingernail, he demanded she drink from his own essence, and while something within her clouded mind screamed, she latched her lips onto his cut wrist with adoration, drinking deeply of his essence.

– Alexander –

I need the spotlight, perhaps even as much as I need blood itself. Brockton Bay has no real  showbiz industry, but to my surprise, it is where one of the bigger modelling agencies is located.

It might not be movies, but the camera loves me all the same, so regaining some of my limelight as a model was easy enough… oh, and I turned the manager into a Ghoul.

[Create Ghoul]

By feeding a mortal your vampiric vitae, you can transform them into a Ghoul, a vampiric servant addicted to your blood. This halts their ageing and grants them a minor regeneration factor. 

I needed them not to pay too much attention to my weird schedule, and having her at my complete command, thanks to the power I got from Taylor, was just convenient. 

And then I met Emma, and something deep inside me demanded vengeance. I drained Taylor of her very soul , so it's only natural that part of her remained behind in my mind. It’s something to keep in mind, but the memories of Emma’s campaign of torment and humiliation against Taylor came to the forefront of my mind.

I’ve gotten slightly better at exploring the memories I steal when I fully drain someone, but I need to be more aware that draining someone entirely can cause them to… change me, if only in small ways.

I’m still me, but with Taylor’s memories in my mind, I set upon gaining vengeance for a girl long dead, buried in my graveyard. I am not a violent man by nature, and I’m certainly not wasteful.

Emma has spent the last month helping me master Presence and Dominate, her mind now putty in my hands, though she was already a broken doll.

[Dominate, Discipline of Control: Apprentice]

[Conditioning]

This allows you to slowly condition someone and make them more obedient to you until they are a slave to your will. The stronger-willed the target, the longer this process takes.

[The Forgetful Mind]

This allows you to rewrite the memories of a target, slowly altering or wiping their past memories. The more impactful and older the memory, the longer this process takes.

[Presence, Discipline of Emotions: Apprentice]

[Dread Gaze]

This power allows you to inflict unbearable terror within your victims.

This isn’t the first time I’ve fed on Emma, nor the first time I’ve taken her. She’s been my practice dummy for memory alteration, gradually losing her free will as she becomes more and more obsessed with pleasing me.

See, I needed a… blood doll, an obedient source of blood I could rely on, and Ghoul blood is not a viable substance. A dark part of me has taken satisfaction over watching Emma slowly lose more and more of herself, replacing it with me.

But as I said, she was already broken. I know this for one simple reason… what I got from feeding on her.

[Dementation, Discipline of Madness: Novice]

[The Haunting]

This allows you to inflict maddening visions upon your victim.

[Veil of Madness]

Allows you to force a victim to become overwhelmed with a chosen emotion, becoming incapacitated with laughter or sobbing.

She isn’t a cape, but her mind was already so shattered that she granted me a Discipline just from feeding on her enough. I might just be doing her a favour. With my ability to modify memories comes the ability to explore someone’s memories, though it's a slow and draining process. 

I know what broke little Emma and who put her back together in such a malformed state. I haven’t forgotten about Sophia, nor their little lackey Madison.

As I turn Emma into a Ghoul, I smile to myself. She’ll be a useful tool, and I can get other Blood Dolls. With this, her mind is mine to do with as I please. How fitting that it is Taylor’s power that allows me to make Emma well and truly mine. Her thoughts, her senses, her body, they’re all mine to use as I see fit.

I need to be careful not to trigger the famous M/S protocols, which is why I’m happy to have a relatively unimportant girl as my pet. The PRT have little reason to be looking at her, even with her friendship with Shadow Stalker.

“Who am I to you?” I ask, placing my finger under her chin and tilting her head up to meet my gaze.

“My master , my love, my everything, ” Emma responds, awe in her voice as I reshape her mind to make her truly mine.

“You cannot let people know that. If they find out, they’ll separate us. They’ll take you away, and you’ll never see me again; you’ll never feel my touch,” I warn, watching her eyes widen in true horror. “You must keep our relationship a secret, my dear.”

“I- I will, I promise,” Emma promises submissively.

“I know you will, pet,” I praise, seeing her beam.

Moving over to one of the chairs, I give her a commanding look.

“Come, worship me,” I demand, seeing her quickly move over to me as she falls to her knees, her mind responding to my desires. For the first time since I arrived in this world, I feel like I’m at home as the barely legal redhead worships my cock, uncaring of her need to breathe as her desire to please me overpowers even her self-preservation.

I deserve adoring servants, and if I don’t have my old fanbase, then I’ll just make more. These powers suit me.

I should be adored, and Emma is a good first step in assuring I will never be without adoration. 

– Later –

With Emma sent home by another of my conditioned servants, some errand boy for the agency who was particularly weak-willed, I head out myself.

I have not been idle this past month. In fact, I’ve been quite busy. If I want my plans to go ahead, I need to become a semi-successful hero, at the very least. As such, I’ve been quite the industrious little hero this past month while using the wonders of PHO to leak that my powers gave me a need to drink blood that I’ve had trouble controlling.

I drank from Rune and several other women around the Docks when I was starting out, after all. 

 I’ve avoided Cape fights, of course. The Empire has finally stopped actively searching for me, but they do tend to show up anywhere I spend too long. My senses have allowed me to avoid them for the most part, and I’ve stuck to the safer parts of the city for my forays into heroism.

In fact, I’ve avoided all capes for the past month. Keeping my hearing enhanced means I can hear them coming long before they arrive. There is only one Stranger in the city, and she hasn’t been used against me, after all… I think? Hm.

I can hear the Armscycle coming from half the city away (an over-exaggeration but not by that much), and while the PRT does tend to show up wherever I am, they don’t use the best way they have to actually catch up to me.

My ‘patrols’ happen past Vista’s bedtime, after all. If they were willing to let Wards out past midnight, maybe they’d try and send their invisible girl after me, but Elasti-girl doesn’t allow her daughter out that late and besides… I can still hear her just fine, and I do have Sense the Unseen, so I’d know if she was around.

As an added benefit, constant use of Auspex has improved my abilities with it considerably. It means I get thirsty faster, but Brockton Bay has plenty of criminals for me to feed on (even if it means inferior male blood; it’s just not as sweet).

[Auspex, Discipline of Sensing: Apprentice]

[Aura Perception]

Allows you to perceive a person's aura, detecting various details about them through it, along with their current emotional state.

[Unerring Pursuit]

Allows you to create a supernatural bond between you and a target, allowing you to view your victim on any reflective surface.

And, of course, I’ve done a lot of running.

[Celerity, Discipline of Dexterity: Apprentice]

[Fleetness]

Your speed and dexterity are further increased, even beyond what most see as superhuman.

I can actually outrun Armsmaster’s bike now, which really annoyed him the one time he tried to chase after me. I’m not quite faster than the eye can see, but my powers are growing steadily. That said, I feel like I’ve hit a wall at Apprentice, and I think I know why.

I need blood , the life essence of someone aligned with the Discipline. To get any faster, I need the blood of a speedster; to make my presence more potent, I need the blood of someone beloved by many. Cape blood is my best option, but that comes with its own risks.

Emma’s blood was useful for Presence but not enough to help me break past this roadblock. She’s adored, but only in a mortal way; she’s just a popular schoolgirl and amateur model, after all. 

 
The important thing is that I’m stronger now, and I’ve shown it to the heroes of this city. I make Velocity seem pathetic; I believe he’s faster than me but can’t interact with reality while he moves, while I very much can. 

The PRT wants me, and even the Empire has changed from wanting to put me in my place for attacking Rune to wanting to forcibly recruit me, which I know from conversations they didn’t realise I was listening to. 

I went with Ebon for my cape name, and frankly, if it wasn’t for the Unwritten Rules, I imagine they’d have shown up at my house already. I will not wear a full-face mask; it would be a sin to cover up and deprive the world of my good looks, and my domino mask is hardly an unbreakable disguise.

Between my piercing red eyes, long black hair and unnatural beauty, how could anyone ever mistake me for anything less than extraordinary? 

The agency I work with even has two Empire capes working there as well, Jessica and Nessa Biermann, or Fenja and Menja. They don’t know that I know who they are, but I know they know who I am. 

I’ve listened to them speaking to Kaiser or Max , and it seems like the hunt for me has been mostly called off as long as I don’t start going after Empire capes or operations. I wonder if they’d still be considering the soft sell if they realised I’d worked out the identities of… basically every Empire cape?

Between my ability to smell capes, my new Aura Perception, and the twins accidentally exposing Max Anders as Kaiser by vastly underestimating my hearing, the rest basically fell into place. It’ll be useful information in the future.

I may be planning on letting the PRT recruit me, but that won’t last forever, and one day, perhaps in the far future, I’m going to go my own way. I may just want to drain a dozen neo-nazis on my way out, something the PRT wouldn’t permit me to do.

Hookwolf has killed dozens of capes, and so has Lung. The strong do not need to concern themselves with the so-called Unwritten Rules. That’s why they’re Unwritten, so they can be conveniently ignored when the need arises. I will grow in power, and if the PRT are smart, they’ll bend over backwards to keep me for as long as possible as I surpass them, getting more powerful until even the Triumvirate pale in comparison to me.

Rules are for lesser men, and speaking of lesser men…

– Adam Mustain (Skidmark) –

Things had been going so fucking well; he’d had his turf, enough drugs to overdose the entire city, and plenty of holes for him to stick his dick in.

Then the fucking vampire showed up on his turf, and things immediately started going to shit. The fucking leech didn’t even have the balls to attack them directly, just running away like a fucking pussy anytime the Merchant capes showed up to try and deal with the fucker, and he was just too damn fast.

His men were scared to go out at night in their own fucking backyards, but that just meant they needed to do their deals in broad daylight; it wasn’t like anyone was going to stop them. The cocksucker didn’t show up in daylight; after all, everyone knew vampires hated sunlight.

But now the shitstain had gone too fucking far, as they stood in front of one of their burning drug labs, rage flooding his veins at the sight of his money and drugs going up in smoke. 

Squealer was by his side, looking nervous as she glanced around at the shadows as if she was expecting the fanged fuckface to jump out and attack them. He knew better, Ebon was a chickenshit coward who was too scared to fight them.

Mush had been sent to another drug lab, which was also burning down. They had almost a dozen scattered through their turf. Ebon had only hit two, and he’d told his boys to prepare in case the oversized mosquito dared show his face at the others. This wasn’t a major setback, but he was getting fucking fed up with this bastard rampaging through his territory.

Who the fuck did he think he was? They were the Archer’s Bridge Merchants, the biggest badasses and best businessmen in this shithole city, and this store-brand Dracula thought he could take them on?

“Skids,” Squealer said, trying to get his attention.

Nah, this bitch was going to pay for this just as soon as they worked out how to find the cowardly bastard. If the fucker was able to actually fight, he wouldn’t have run off so many times, but the coward even ran away from fucking Mush.

“Skidmark!” Squealer shouted, making him look over to her. Squealer just pointed down the street.

Standing there, without a single fuck given, was the cock-sucker himself, an arrogant smile on his face as he stared them down. His men paused, staring at him in shock and confusion.

“What are you fucks waiting for, a written invitation? Fucking shoot him,” Skidmark shouted, pulling out his own pistol as he placed a field over the barrel to speed up whatever went through it, let's see the little bastard dodge-

Pain. His body ached as he slammed into a wall, Ebon standing where he was a moment prior, having closed the distance before Skidmark had even managed to draw his gun, staring down at him with disdain.

“I suggest you all leave; I might even be kind enough not to chase you,” Ebon stated, looking at his shocked men. Squealer wasn’t taking that shit as she aimed her own pistol and pulled the trigger, the bang making his men flinch.

Fucking useless junkies.

…why wasn’t Ebon hurt?

His hand extended towards Squealer; he turned it over and opened his palm to reveal the bullet he was holding, his eyebrow raising in amusement as he gave Squealer a challenging look.

“I really wouldn’t advise trying that again. I might feel the need to return your bullets to you, with enthusiasm .” Ebon said simply, tossing the bullet into the air a couple of times before he caught it and threw it at the ground at Squealer’s feet.

Hard , the ground cracking from the force.

His men broke, fleeing for the hills as they left him to his fate, even Squealer scrambling to get back into her ride, not hesitating to drive away and leave him in the dust, all while the smug cock-sucker stood there with an air of superiority as if he was so much better than them.

But while the prick was watching Squealer drive away, it had been all the distraction Skidmark needed to take aim, layering as many fields on his gun's barrel as he could. How dare this cumstain turn his back on him .

Pulling the trigger, he flinched back from the sheer noise the shot made as it was accelerated a dozen times over; even Cockula couldn’t dodge it as it pierced the back of his skull and kept going right out the other side.

Skidmark grinned, rotten and yellowed teeth on display as he waited for the prick to fall, freezing as Ebon turned around, a brutal exit wound in the dead centre of his forehead.

Reaching up, Ebon touched the wound with idle fascination as it slowly started to close.

“Ah, Skidmark. I’m going to have to hurt you for that,” Ebon said with a calm smile, and as he went to fire again, the pain overwhelmed him a second time. He didn’t let it stop him, trying to pull the trigger once more.

Only, that was rather difficult considering where his trigger finger currently was, Ebon holding his torn-off arm with a confused look.

“Hm, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think you were so… fragile,” Ebon said idly, tossing the severed limb away as Skidmark stared at where his arm once was, torn off below the elbow. “Oh well.”

The drugs and shock delayed his reaction for a while before reality caught up with him, and the screaming started.

“Come along, Skidmark , let’s go meet our local heroes,” Ebon said cheerfully, approaching him with a smile. “This isn’t quite the first impression I wanted, but I’m sure it’ll work out just fine all the same.”

— Bonus Scene — Sherrel Bailey (Squealer)

“What the fuck are we supposed to do?” Mush asked, looking panicked as they gathered in one of the Merchant's hideouts. This wasn’t the first time that Skidmark had been arrested, but some had stuck around long enough to see Skidmark getting… disarmed. “We’ve gotta get Skidmark out of there; maybe we should grab that Panacea chick?

“Are you fucking stupid? You want the PRT to come down on us like the hammer of fucking God? Or New Wave to tear us a new asshole? Panacea is off-limits. Everyone knows that you retard,” Sherrel said, facepalming. “Skids said I was in charge while he was gone, and we’re gonna need to lay low for a while. Skiddy hasn’t done enough to get Birdcaged so we can bust him out later when fucking Dracula isn’t wandering our turf.”

“But-”

“But fucking what, shitstain?” Sherrel said, stepping into Mush’s space as he paused. “What part of I’m in charge was too hard for you to get into that empty skull of yours?” 

“Why should we listen to-” one of the men said, cutting off as she swung her wrench at his head, the sound of bone cracking making the room go silent.

“Because my babies are the only reason we’re even still around and because I’m the only one around here with a fucking brain. Mush, go check on our other drug labs and spread the word for the men to keep their heads down for a bit while I work out how we’re getting Skiddy out,” Sherrel ordered, making him blink. “Did I fucking stutter?”

Maybe it was that she was standing over the unmoving body of the last fucker who talked shit to her, but for once, the junkies actually listened to her as she stepped over the body and entered her garage.

Fucking morons.

Pausing, she looked around and made sure no one was watching as she locked the garage and went to her stash.

Pushing the cocaine and cash aside, she pulled out the small vial of a sticky red liquid, uncapping it as she downed the best drug in the fucking world, shuddering as she felt the power flood her veins. 

Get Skiddy out? Yeah, she’d do that. Her new boss wanted to drain the worthless shit to the last drop after all, even if the idea of drinking any fluid from Skidmark disgusted him.

But for now, she had a job to do, and if she failed, she’d never get to taste the crimson ambrosia again…

Right after she flicked her bean, watching Ebon in action had gotten her so fucking wet.

Author’s Note: Heartbreaker, move over. Actually, don’t. Alexander could use a snack. 

Fun fact, I finished the chapter on a coach to Scotland, where I’m spending a few days.

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn. 

Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it’s expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you’ll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it’s expired, add me (ThePumpkinKing), and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old Man of the Mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent, Mike, God of Lore and Beans.

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 05: Meet the Heroes

– Hannah (Miss Militia) –

Getting reports of Ebon fighting the Merchants had come as a surprise; Brockton Bay’s vampire cape was known for avoiding cape fights, and the man was almost as fast as Velocity; it would be a hard task for Skidmark to manage to pin him down.

She’d only seen  a glimpse of him before, hearing that he was hunting Merchant thugs not far from her patrol, but her bike was insufficient to keep up with him, and Ebon simply fled up a building and out of sight.

They’d been trying to get in touch with him for a while since he started stalking and attacking civilian women to drink their blood, but Ebon was good at avoiding them, which was why she was so surprised to see him just idly standing there as she turned the corner.

Pulling up, she shared a look with Armsmaster, who stopped his Armscycle a short distance away from Ebon, wondering what had changed Ebon’s approach to them. Normally, he’d be long gone before they could get this close.

Ebon himself was barely wearing a mask, a small domino mask covering his eyes but doing nothing to hide his striking features, long black hair going down to his shoulders, and red eyes that almost seemed to glow as they turned to her, giving her a once over. 

Glancing down at Skidmark, her eyes widened at the sight of the ripped-off arm just casually on the floor next to the pale villain.

“You’re Ebon, right?” Miss Militia started, making him smile at her, flashing her a fanged grin. 

“I am, and you need no introduction, Miss Militia,” Ebon agreed smoothly.

“This level of… brutality comes very close to breaking the Unwritten Rules,” Armsmaster barked, making her wince at the very undiplomatic tone. “He requires immediate medical attention.”

“If it’s any consolation, I didn’t actually mean to rip his arm off. He is just so… fragile,” Ebon said with an utter lack of worry, kicking Skidmark in the side lightly. “Feel free to take him off my hands. Maybe this will serve as a better warning for him to stay in prison; you might even be able to hold him for more than a month this time.”

Ebon’s taunting tone made Armsmaster’s eyes narrow, even as he applied some containment foam on the stump to stop the bleeding. Ebon wasn’t wrong; Skidmark had been arrested three times before, and he never stayed in prison for long, but he also wasn’t a serious enough villain to warrant the Birdcage. Panacea wouldn’t heal a villain unless they were at risk of dying, so Skidmark was likely going to remain armless. 

“Ebon, you’re wanted for questioning over the assault of several women,” Armsmaster said with his usual bluntness, Ebon simply raising an eyebrow in amusement, even as Armsmaster’s stance changed subtly.

“A man has to eat. I’ll admit I got a little out of control while I was learning about my new… diet, but they escaped with a little fear and some lightheadedness, no permanent harm done,” Ebon said with a shrug, amusement clear in his tone.

“Diet, you need blood then?” Miss Militia asked, placing herself between the two as she gave Armsmaster a look. He was a brilliant fighter, but his social skills were notoriously bad.

“Regular food and drink has no effect on me anymore, only blood,” Ebon admitted.

“You still assaulted almost a dozen women, feeding on them,” Armsmaster retorted, making Ebon smile innocently. “You’re coming with us.”

“Hm, no, I don’t think I am,” Ebon said confidently, his own stance changing. “I don’t plan to follow Ghoul’s example.”

“Ghoul?” Miss Militia asked, making him smile.

“A Case 37, that’s a Parahuman who has dietary needs caused by their power. He needed human flesh, much like I need to have blood. He fed on corpses, didn’t hurt anyone, and when he turned himself in to the PRT, you Birdcaged him. There was an entire legal act formed around it, though too late to help poor Ghoul,” Ebon explained, making her blink as she tried to recall if she knew anything about that.

“...he’s right; the laws were changed to give some leeway to capes who commit crimes to fuel an unorthodox diet,” Armsmaster said, clearly looking it up on his helmet’s computer. 

“Ah, is that Dragon I hear whispering in your ear? Does she normally have to babysit you?” Ebon asked, head tilting as Armsmaster froze. 

“If the laws were changed, you wouldn’t meet Ghoul’s fate. The PRT can help you-” Miss Militia started, pausing as he cut in.

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t trust that the PRT will play by its own rules,” Ebon scoffed before smirking. “And I am entirely capable of helping myself; I have a new source of blood, a willing one when I’m not using the criminals of this city as blood bags. It’s not like I’m going to run out of criminals anytime soon.”

Ah, the mistrust so prevalent in independent heroes. 

“I only waited so you could take this stain off my hands; I am done here,” Ebon explained, taking a step back. 

“You aren’t going anywhere-” Armsmaster started, making her pause and wonder what the hell he was thinking.

“Is that a threat, tin man?” Ebon asked, his fangs bared as he stared at Armsmaster menacingly. “You won’t like how that ends for you. As I’ve said, people can be so fragile, even when they clad themselves in scrap metal. Even your babysitter is telling you to play nice. I’d listen if I were you.”

How good were his senses that he could hear Dragon on the comms? They were designed to be extremely hard to hear; his senses must be incredibly powerful.

“It isn’t a threat; there’s no reason for two heroes to fight,” Miss Militia said, giving Armsmaster another look. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to come in for power testing?” 

“Had you arrived alone, I imagine you’d have been able to convince me quite easily, but I don’t feel like going anywhere with that prat,” Ebon scoffed, gesturing towards Armsmaster, who scowled but remained quiet. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Miss Militia. Maybe muzzle that one if you’re going to have him come along,” Ebon mocked, giving them a slight bow.

Turning, he practically blurred as he sped away, too fast to track with her eyes.

“I don’t suppose you want to tell me why you decided to antagonise an independent hero?” Miss Militia asked, turning to Armsmaster, who frowned. 

“Ebon isn’t registered as a hero, and he’s attacked civilians,” Armsmaster countered, making her roll her eyes as she called for a van to pick up the unconscious Skidmark.

“Registering with the PRT is highly recommended , but it isn’t required. You know that,” Miss Militia scolded, sighing internally. Armsmaster had not taken being replaced as the head of the Brockton Bay Protectorate well, even if Maeve was doing an undeniably good job. 

Maybe he felt threatened by another cape who only seemed to be growing stronger; they hadn’t missed the way Ebon’s power seemed to be increasing, comparing footage and reports from his earliest appearances to how he was now.

Shaking her head, she watched the PRT van approaching and wondered what she was going to say later. She didn’t really want to throw Armsmaster under the bus, but if Ebon was telling the truth, Armsmaster’s personality had prevented Ebon from coming back with her.

Still, there was one thing she could say for certain. That was one stupidly attractive man. They didn’t have any clear pictures of him yet, and grainy footage didn’t do his beauty justice. Her hidden camera and Armsmasters helmet would have both captured him in high definition.

– Rebecca ‘Annie’ Anne January (Starlight) –

Looking at the picture of Ebon, she felt her heart start to pound at the sight of that oh-so-familiar face staring back at her, Alex giving the camera a mocking smile. His ‘mask’ wouldn’t fool anyone who had actually met him; surely he knew that?!

…okay, her own identity was basically public knowledge, so that was a little hypocritical of her, but she knew what she was getting herself into; Alex had to be a new trigger.

“Something wrong, Rebecca?” Emily asked, seeing her freeze up as she decided how to respond.

The Unwritten Rules existed for a reason, but Emily had clearly already worked out that she knew something as the rest of the BB Protectorate capes stared at her, Jaime giving her a questioning look.

“I know who Ebon is under his mask. We only met once, but he’s rather hard to forget,” Annie admitted, not giving any names even as Emily stared at her expectantly before she frowned. 

“Do you think he knows your identity?” Emily asked, making her pause before she shook her head.

“No, that was almost a month ago, and it was just a chance encounter. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, and he didn’t do anything to make me think he knows my identity,” Annie answered. “He didn’t seem to recognise me, and let's be honest, most cape fans have already worked out who I am.” 

“Do you think you could get him to join up?” Emily asked, making her pause. Everyone knew Emily hated independent heroes; she didn’t trust any cape that wasn’t directly under the PRT’s command (and barely trusted those under it).

“I don’t know. I have his number, but that was a month ago. He may have forgotten me entirely,” Annie admitted, blushing slightly as Assault made a sound of recognition, immediately getting elbowed by Battery.

Dauntless paused before his eyes widened, coughing awkwardly and looking away. She’d briefly dated Shawn, but it hadn’t worked out; at least he didn’t seem upset about them breaking up. He’d definitely put two and two together, as they’d broken up just over a month ago. He didn’t look thrilled, but she imagined that it came down to her dating him for two months without so much as a blowjob and then jumping into bed with a stranger right after they split up.

“I want you to try. Tell him you recognised him and are worried about his safety,” Emily ordered, making her pause before she nodded. She honestly was, so it wasn’t a lie. She wasn’t worried that this would expose her identity; she didn’t mind Alex knowing since she imagined most of the villains had already worked it out. 

“...is it worth mentioning that he’s a professional model? I looked him up after spotting a photo of him on the wall of my favourite clothing store,” Annie admitted, making Emily face-palm.

“So he’s both not even bothering to try and hide his face and a public figure? Wonderful,” Emily sighed. “Are the Empire still hunting for him after his attack on Rune?”

“No, or at least they seem to have given up the hunt. They may have worked out his identity and are planning on using it to force him into the Empire, but at the very least, they’ve called off the search for him,” Queen Maeve explained, an uncomfortable silence follows.

“And we are sure he is growing in power?” Emily asked, making Armsmaster look up.

“His speed and strength from the earliest sightings were far less than they are now. He was able to outrun my bike nearing its top speed, and the sheer strength he would need to rip Skidmark’s arm off is far more than he’s ever shown before,” Armsmaster reported, frowning. “It’s possible he was holding back before, but I doubt it. He clearly doesn’t know his own strength, which would make sense if he’s only getting stronger. Without a chance to put him through power testing, we don’t have exact figures to work with, and that’s without the suspicion he has some kind of Stranger power. Frankly, we don’t know what he can do, only what he’s shown.”

As they moved on to the next topic, she considered how she was going to approach this. She definitely didn’t want Alex getting dragged into the Empire, and she knew better than anyone that they did not forgive. 

Would he remember a one-night stand? Would he be annoyed that she never called?

Her reason for not wanting a repeat was that it was dangerous to drag him into the Cape life, which seemed so funny now. If she’d called, they’d be friends with benefits at the very least, and she’d be in a better position to deal with this.

The meeting continued, but her mind was elsewhere; she had nothing to add anyway as they discussed the disappearance of some PRT consultant she had never met. She vaguely recognised the name and could put a face to it, but beyond spotting Calvert around, she’d never actually interacted with the somewhat creepy man.

As it ended, she wrote her message to Alex, deleting and restarting a couple of times. 

Alex didn’t reply, but she wasn’t surprised. He was always active during the night; in fact, he’d never been seen during the day, which only added to his vampiric image. She didn’t know if he was sensitive to sunlight, but she remembered him leaving her house before sunrise. 

Going on patrol in the Merchant territory, she had to admit it was unnerving how quiet things seemed. Merchants were never quiet. Usually, they went wild when Skidmark or one of their capes was captured, but it seemed like they’d gone to ground hard. 

Rooting out the merchants was nigh impossible because of how they functioned. The Empire and ABB had strongholds, hideouts, stashes, places that the PRT could target… but the Merchants? They just squatted in run-down buildings that they could abandon without a care.

Much of Brockton Bay was run down, and countless buildings and factories had been abandoned for years, which gave the Merchants hundreds of hiding places that they could use to stay below the radar. Plus, the Merchants didn’t wear anything to identify them. The Empire and ABB thugs tended to be tattooed, but Merchants looked like typical bums. 

They had drug labs and garages, but even they were low-quality and easily abandoned when the Merchants scattered like the cockroaches they were. It made actually looking for them much harder than any other gang; they could be literally anywhere.

Still, the level of quiet in the Merchant turf was… unnerving. Where was everyone? Sure, she could see the hookers, but even their pimps seemed to be missing in action at the moment. What the hell was going on?

As the night went on, things got even stranger. The Empire pushed into Merchant territory, as they always do when another gang suffers a setback, but nobody responded. She drove the skinhead thugs back herself, but this was incredibly wrong.  

Squealer should have shown up. The Empire weren’t exactly subtle about their approach, and she’d done the same before, using her creations to drive back the Empire and ABB alike. One time, she’d even driven one of her Killdozers into Lung, actually managing to hurt him. 

And yet, no Mush, no Squealer, not even some drugged-up Merchants to come and try and drive the Empire off. They were up to something, and she didn’t know what. That made her nervous. The Merchants were particularly unpredictable because how can you try and guess what a bunch of idiots who are probably on seventeen different types of drugs at any one time were going to do?

This was the same gang that one time tried to give drugs to a bunch of pre-schoolers because Skidmark had the genius idea that if he got them addicted young, he’d have customers for life. How he thought they’d pay was anyone’s guess, and he was quickly driven off, but you couldn’t predict what someone that dumb would do, and Squealer wasn’t that much better. 

As her phone vibrated, she paused and came to a stop, hesitating slightly as she pulled it out and saw Alexander’s name on the caller ID.

“Hello?” Annie said, hesitant.

“I was wondering if I’d hear from you. Do you know how rare it is for me to give someone my number and for them not to call?” Alexander chuckled, and somehow, she knew he wasn’t quite as casual about it as he sounded.

“Hey, Alex, sorry about that. I wasn’t sure you’d remember me, to be honest,” Annie admitted, hearing a laugh over the line.

“Exactly how many one-night stands do you think I have in a month?” Alex asked, making her blush at his blunt statement. “You aren’t that forgettable, but I doubt you called to arrange a repeat performance. That said, it is a nice night. Are you hoping for a star-lit encore?”

She paused, sighing at his unsubtle hint that he knew her identity.

“You know,” Annie stated simply.

“It wasn’t exactly hard to work out; your mask barely covers any more than mine, and I never forget a face,” Alex admitted, not even hiding that he was Ebon. He wasn’t wrong; Her mask was just a simple white and gold domino mask, not unlike his black one, though not quite as thin. “So, I take it that it is Starlight, the PRT hero, calling, not Annie?”

“You aren’t wrong. I recognised you during a briefing today; the others know that I know your identity, though I haven’t told anyone your name,” Annie promised.

“Considering how little effort I’ve put into protecting my identity, I’d be shocked if they don’t work out my real name by the end of the week, but that’s by design. I don’t particularly like the concept of masks to begin with,” Alex explained. “But I don’t think we should have this conversation over the phone. Are you free for a face-to-face?” 

“I’m on patrol now, keeping an eye on the Merchants after you took down Skidmark, but I can take a break,” Annie agreed, as Alexander sent her a location not that far from her current location. He must have been doing the same thing himself.

Saying goodbye, she ended the call and set off towards the meetup, wondering what she was going to say when she met up with him.

The location he’d picked was near the Merchant territory, but not quite inside it, a secluded part of the Boat Graveyard where she could already see him looking out at the Bay itself. Knowing how good his hearing was, she knew he could hear her approaching even as he stood facing the water.

Landing nearby, he finally turned to look at her. Seeing him in person, she gave him an awkward wave as he smiled.

“A pleasure to see you again, Annie,” Alexander said before pausing. “Don’t worry, nobody is around. I’d be able to tell. I have very good senses, and the residents of this particular part of the city have a rather… noticeable smell.”

The slight scowl on his face, his lips curling up in disgust (exposing his pearly white fangs), made her smile.

“Ah, the downsides of super-senses? I have a normal sense of smell, and even I don’t like the lovely scents of this part of town,” Annie said playfully, making him nod.

“True, but it has its benefits, too many for me to regret the downsides,” Alexander agreed. “So, what can I do for the PRT today?” 

“Let me be upfront. The director has asked me to try and recruit you into the PRT; she… isn’t particularly fond of Independent Capes,” Annie admitted, making him laugh.

“That would be the impressively corpulent Emily Piggot, yes? I’m not surprised; anyone that crippled in a city with Panacea has to have some severe issues,” Alexander said with a smirk, making her nod ever so slightly.

Emily Piggot’s injuries were well-known, and Panacea was often in the Rig several times a week, and yet Piggot still remained crippled. Panacea had fixed far worse in a matter of minutes, but Emily refused any parahuman healing. That didn’t exactly look good for a woman put in charge of the PRT parahumans.

“As for recruiting me, again, I’m not particularly surprised. I had considered joining up myself, but I decided to go my own way for a while,” Alexander explained. 

“Being an independent in this city isn’t exactly safe, especially one that has already picked a fight with the Empire,” Annie warned, making him chuckle.

“Ah, my… slip up. I had just gained my powers recently and didn’t understand my new hunger. I was very thirsty, and Rune was injured by the Merchants. Her blood drove me into a… feeding frenzy of sorts,” Alexander admitted with a hint of shame on his face. “I was able to regain my senses before I drained her, but in truth, I was new to the city and didn’t even know who the Empire were at the time.”

“Accident or not, the Empire aren’t the forgiving types,” Annie said, making him smile.

“You’d be surprised. Kaiser has called his hunters off, both because of their lack of progress in tracking me down and because he realised that I’m growing stronger. I’m a handsome, white, powerful cape. That’s practically his favourite thing in the world, only missing the word ‘subservient’,” Alexander scoffed. “He’s going for the soft sell, not realising I heard him talking to Fenja and Menja, who have been put in charge of recruiting me.”

Annie’s eyes widened at Alexander’s blunt words, making him grin.

“My hearing is very good, and I can enhance it further; it is hard to keep secrets around me,” Alexander explained smugly. “Stop looking so worried. I have no interest in becoming a white supremacist; I’m just glad not to have to avoid Hookwolf anymore. He’s far too slow to chase me down, all the Empire capes are, but he was certainly persistent.”

“You realise they won’t give up? The moment the soft sell fails, they’ll go back to hunting you. If they can’t get you to join them willingly, they’ll try to use force. If that doesn’t work, they will try and kill you, rules be damned,” Annie said, well aware of the Empire’s cruelty. “Kaiser only pretends to follow the Unwritten rules, and they won’t hesitate to come for you in your civilian identity.”

“They will certainly try ,” Alex agreed, utterly confident. It wasn’t hard to see that Alexander was a little arrogant. Trying to convince him of the danger wasn’t going to work. He was too prideful to admit he was in danger.

“I don’t suppose you’ll at least register as an Independent hero? It would save a lot of hassle and make working with the PRT a lot easier,” Annie asked as Alex gave her a smile.

“I already planned to do so, but frankly, Armsmaster annoyed me, and I felt like being contrarian,” Alexander admitted, making her chuckle.

“Yeah, sorry about him. He’s a brilliant fighter, but his people skills aren’t… great,” Annie admitted, making Alex smile playfully.

“I could tell,” Alex replied. “Shame they didn’t send you. You’re far more charming. You’d have easily smooth-talked me into the PRT.”

“I think we both know you’re the smooth-talking one here, given how our last encounter went,” Annie teased, making him grin.

“Ah, but not smooth enough, apparently. It’s been a long time since I’ve gotten ghosted,” Alex pointed out, making her cheeks darken ever so slightly. 

“It wasn’t anything you did; I didn’t want to risk putting you in danger. My identity is barely a secret, and I didn’t want to pull you into the cape life; funny how that worked out,” Annie said with a slight laugh. Of course, the guy she avoided for his own good turned out to be a cape as well.

“Oh, and now that I dove into that life entirely of my own accord?” Alex asked with a cocky smile, one finger running along her cheek before he forced her to look up into his deep ruby eyes.

“Dating is rarely a good idea for capes,” Annie reasoned weakly, not doing anything to stop him as he came in for a kiss, his other hand running down her side as she pushed her body against his. Pulling back, he gave her a smug smile as she rolled her eyes slightly.

“Being a hero is rarely a good idea, given the sharp decline in life expectancy,” Alex pointed out, making her laugh darkly. He very much wasn’t wrong about that.

“I- I don’t normally hook up with people like that. Casual flings aren’t really for me,” Annie countered, making his eyebrow raise.

“And if it isn’t casual?” Alex asked, making her pause. “How about this: I’ll join the PRT in exchange for a date,” Alex offered, making her blink in shock before she snorted. She really couldn’t predict what was going to come out of his mouth.

“Seriously?” Annie asked, making him nod.

“I considered trying to join New Wave, since my identity isn’t going to stay secret anyway, but I don’t know enough about them, and staying independent isn’t the best idea, as you’ve pointed out. I can’t guarantee I’ll stay in the PRT. I have high standards, and to be perfectly honest, I don’t play well with others, but I’m willing to give it a try.”

Aunt Sarah would probably accept Alex into New Wave, but Carol… well, her other Aunt had issues, to say the least.

“In exchange for a date?” Annie asked, amused despite herself.

“As I said, I have high standards,” Alex replied, giving her a slow once-over. 

The logical part of her said that it was a bad idea to try another relationship or get in a relationship at all. The little voice in her head that sounded a lot like Crystal told her to stop being so serious and relax. The last time she listened to that voice, she ended up sleeping with a complete stranger, but she couldn’t deny she’d enjoyed it.

“...what the hell. Fine, you have yourself a deal.” Annie agreed, annoyed at how red her cheeks were getting at the look Alex was giving her.

Mission complete, right?

– Alexander –

Nothing gets public attention like a power couple (other than an affair, but that’s a different story). Annie is beautiful, and Starlight is an incredibly popular cape. She polls as one of the most popular capes in Brockton Bay, just behind Glory Girl and Miss Militia. Female heroes always poll better, and if I want my own star to rise, a relationship with her will help speed things along.

If it goes well, we’ll be a power couple. If it doesn’t, then the drama can still be used to boost my popularity. There is no bad publicity and all that. That saying isn’t entirely accurate, but it mostly works.

That isn’t to say I’m not interested in Annie; I’m just a pragmatic guy. Why settle for just a happy relationship when I can have a happy relationship that also benefits me. Well, happy by a certain definition. I don’t plan to give up my adorable pet Emma, or settle for just one lover.

I deserve the best, after all, and it would be cruel to let the other beautiful capes of the city lose out on a chance to be with me .

But I’m sure Annie will come around to my point of view, and so will everyone else.

— Bonus Scene — Sherrel Bailey (Squealer)

Watching the men fight, she sat on the throne she’d made of junked cars, smiling to herself at the brutal display. The Merchants were too weak for his plans, but she could make them better.

Inside the cage, several merchants already lay unconscious, possibly dead, but she didn’t care. Those who came out of the cage victorious would be rewarded with their next hit, while the weak would be weeded out. 

In the back of her mind, she could sense him. Watching through her eyes, his disgust at their weakness shamed her, making her swear to do better, in fear that he’d cut her off. Like a true junkie, she’d gone through her supply of that crimson nectar entirely too fast, his annoyance stabbing into her like a knife.

But she’d had her reasons; the blood cleared her mind like nothing else, and plans for bigger and better vehicles filled her mind, her hands moving on auto-pilot as she easily bypassed the roadblocks she’d run into under Skidmark’s control. She was truly herself when she drank that red, sticky elixir, and she needed more .

Alexander listened to her inner thoughts, weighing her as she mentally pleaded her case, impassively judging her as she promised him whatever he desired, whether it be her creations, her body, or anything else. Whatever it took to get more of the only drug she cared about anymore.

Orders filled her head, and she had to stop herself from nodding fervently, not wanting to give away her secret master. His presence was within her mind and body, making a more intimate connection than she’d ever felt before. She knew he could take away her free will and puppet her body with a thought, but that only made her wetter. No secret could be kept from him, his mind delving through all her memories, the good and the bad, even her darkest moments dragged to the forefront of her mind for his perusal. 

She knew he found her distasteful, wasted potential, beauty marred by years of bad choices, and it made her shudder. She’d fix it, his blood restored her beauty day by day, and she wouldn’t ruin his property again. She’d be worthy of him, of his touch, his blood, his love. 

Whatever it took.

Whispered words sang into her mind, the flash of a face, and she mentally nodded. She knew what she needed to do, how she would earn her next fix. Seeing her obedience, he retreated from the forefront of her mind, his presence still lingering as it had since he had first made her his.

Hard nipples sticking through her tank top and her thong soaked, she panted heavily as she watched two of her men violently beat each other, getting some strange looks, the fools unaware that it was him who elicited such feelings in her. 

She knew what she had to do. Nothing else mattered.

Author’s Note: Sherrel is a stable woman who can definitely be trusted to not escalate things. Alexander can definitely work with other people without his giant ego getting in the way. I promise.

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn. 

Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it’s expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you’ll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it’s expired, add me (ThePumpkinKing), and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by Malcolm Tent, priapus, Mike God of Lore, Marethyu, Beans

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 06: Hunting

– Rebecca ‘Annie’ Anne January (Starlight) –

“Then we have a deal. I will come in and meet with the PRT. If they can meet my requirements I do believe we’ll soon be co-workers,” Alexander said, nose upturned. He was quite arrogant; that much was clear. “I suggest you tell the Director to keep Armsmaster on a short leash.”

“I can’t believe you’re offering to join up for a date ,” Annie sighed, amused despite herself as he chuckled.

“I’ve done my research; as long as the PRT can meet my needs, then it is my best choice,” Alexander explained with a smile. “I won’t join blindly, but at the very least, I will come in for power testing and to meet with the Director,” Alexander explained, making her nod. He seemed at first to act on a whim, but he was clearly thinking things through. “Though, not tonight, I think. Sunrise is approaching, and I have business to attend to.”

“It’s true, then. You can’t go out in the sunlight? I thought that was just the PHO being convinced you were a real vampire,” Annie asked, making him chuckle again. 

“Unfortunately, it is very true. I both need blood to survive, and count the sun a deadly foe; being caught outside is downright fatal,” Alexander admitted, a frown on his handsome face as he looked up at the sky. “I will be in touch, but I don’t want to end up stuck in the Rig throughout the day. I’ll come in just after sunset in a couple of days or so. I’ll message you to give your bosses the heads up.”

She couldn’t imagine how inconvenient his powers were, but then, he seemed very strong, so his cloud had a silver lining. 

“I’ll let Director Piggot and Maeve know; they’ll be happy to hear you’re coming in,” Annie said, making him nod easily. “There’s been a considerable amount of panic over the idea of the Empire forcibly recruiting you.”

“If there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that it is very hard to forcibly make me do anything. I have issues with people telling me what to do,” Alexander admitted with a smirk, flashing his pearly fangs.

“I’m sure the Director will love that,” Annie joked, making him shrug.

“I’m a powerful cape who is only growing stronger with time. She can accept that I have a few quirks, or she can fuck off. The PRT is my first choice, but they’re hardly my only choice. Frankly, you need me more than I need you,” Alexander scoffed. Yup, she could already see this ending badly. “Not that I’m not enjoying your company, but time is running short for me. I have some business to take care of before the sun rises, and that deadline is fast approaching. I’ll message you,” Alexander said, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her in for one last kiss.

He was very forward, but they’d already slept together, and she couldn’t say she didn’t find him alluring, so she just went with it. Breaking the kiss, he grinned at her as he stepped away. 

“I’ll message you about our date later; I’m guessing you’ll be asleep during the day?” Annie asked, making him smile.

“Often, yes, but I don’t actually need sleep. I sleep to pass the time,” Alexander explained. “There’s only so many daytime TV shows I can watch until sleeping seems preferable.”

Ah, she could understand that. 

Giving her one last short kiss goodbye, he turned and ran. He was unbelievably fast, leaving her alone in an instant. He might be as fast as Velocity, though she wasn’t sure. The fact that he could interact with people while moving made him a lot more dangerous than Velocity, at the very least. 

Continuing her patrol of the uncharacteristically silent Merchant territory, she sent a message to console, informing them of her success.

– Sherrel Bailey (Squealer) –

With the only drug that mattered anymore being her crimson ambrosia, she found herself unwilling to spend time with the other merchants as they got high and drunk.

Some of the idiots hoped that she’d be an easy lay with Skidmark gone. They were out of luck because while she wasn’t prudish in the slightest, she wouldn’t damage his property by letting some junkie fuck her. She needed his approval, and he hated the Merchants for their filth.

She paused as she heard movement in the workshop behind her. Thinking one of the idiots decided not to take no for an answer, she grabbed her wrench and swung it hard .

The moment she turned, she froze as the amused red eyes stared into her soul. Ebon easily gripped her wrist, the wrench falling to the floor. 

“S-sorry, I didn’t know you were coming,” Sherrel said submissively, head bowed. 

Ebon let her wrist go, giving her an appraising once-over. She was glad she’d showered today, wanting to take better care of herself to get his approval. He hated ugly things; she could feel it through their bond.

“You’re cleaning up nicely,” Ebon praised, dragging a sharp fingernail across his wrist. “Kneel.”

She didn’t hesitate, dropping to her knees as he offered the slit wrist. Latching her mouth to it, she made sure not to waste a single drop of the blessing he was granting her.

Her mind cleared, ideas flashing through her head. 

Far too soon, he pulled his arm back, and while the junkie in her wanted to grab it and drink more, she knew she couldn’t risk irritating him like that.

“You have done well,” Ebon praised, stroking her hair as she stared up at him. “I have your reward; I suggest you pace yourself more this time. My benevolence has its limits,” he warned, placing a small bag down.

The crimson vials inside made her heart race and her mouth water.

“Thank you, sir,” Sherrel said, her devotion clear. 

“I have a task for you,” Ebon said, making her nod quickly. Whatever he wanted. “I am thirsty; prove your devotion and bring me a sacrifice. Someone who won’t be missed, preferably female and cleaner than the average Merchant.”

“I’ll see to it right away,” Sherrel promised. She could have one of the prettier hookers brought, cleaned up first and given to Ebon. “Do you want to wait in my bedroom? It’s cleaner than the rest of the hideout.”

“Yes, that will do. Impress me, Sherrel, and there will be more rewards to come.”

– Alexander Shaw –

Biting down on the neck of the woman, I admit that Sherrel works faster than I expected. It barely took her an hour to bring this blood bag to me. The Merchants are responsible for countless deaths; one more won’t raise any attention as long as the body is properly dealt with.

Caught up in Mesmerise, the woman doesn’t even put up a fight as I drain her. I want to empower myself further before I join the heroes, so I need to up my game. 

Moving through the Merchant hideout was not difficult, not with my most recent upgrade.

[Obfuscate, Discipline of Concealment: Apprentice]

[Mortal Mask]

Allows you to hide the signs of your vampirism temporarily

[Unseen Presence]

Become invisible as long as you do not do anything to draw too much attention.

I’ve spent a lot of time skulking around, and it has paid off. Being able to move and maintain my invisibility is a powerful upgrade, even if I have to limit myself to mortal speeds and not interact with anyone to make it stick.

“I’ll melt the body down. We have some acid for drug-making. Nobody will see the drained body,” Sherrel promises, my dominated ghoul showing her utter subservience as I smile at her.

With my blood running through her veins, she looks noticeably better than when I first saw her. My blood has slowly cleared up years of drug use and bad habits, though she still looks rather trashy.

Tiny jean shorts and a white tank top that struggles to contain her breasts, she looks very much like trailer trash. 

“I have another task for you; I need you to grab up a pair of people  for me,” I say, making her nod immediately. “Celia and Aisha Laborn, Celia is a junkie, likely one of your customers, and Aisha, her daughter. They are to be captured and kept somewhere safe, unharmed .”

“Of course, I’ll ask around. See who she buys from; I won’t let you down,” Sherrel swears, making me smile as I wipe the blood from my mouth.

I need more power, and the Undersiders are just a free buffet just waiting to be claimed. I know they have some shadowy boss, but I can’t bring myself to care. I won’t refuse a feast.

Finding out their identities was easy with my sense of smell, and I could kidnap Grue’s family myself, but… I want to test the Merchants and see how useful they can be.

Grue, I hope, will empower my Obtenebration, and why risk fighting a Cape when I can use bait to deal with him? I considered attacking them at their hideout, but Bitch’s dogs are annoying, and they can sense me, I swear it.

“Will that be everything, sir?” Sherrel asks, her lust clear as I push the body off the bed. Giving her a look, I make a decision. 

Sitting at the edge of the bed, I crook a finger at her as she rushes forward.

“Kneel, show me your devotion,” I command. I’m not going to fuck her; she wants it too much, and delaying it will just push her to work harder for my affection, but my time with Annie left me aroused.

Sherrel doesn’t hesitate, and is on her knees between my legs in an instant. Undoing my trousers, she quickly extracts my shaft and pulls her tank top off, spitting down on her cleavage.

She knows her best asset, and before long, my cock is trapped between her pillowy breasts. She makes sure to kiss my cock when it barely pokes out of her cleavage.

She might be trailer trash, but I’m not that picky, and her breasts might just be the biggest I’ve ever seen. She knows how to use them as well, clearly experienced at spending time on her knees. 

Moving back, she takes my shaft into her mouth with zeal, eager to please me. Having devoted followers again is a nice feeling; it just feels right to have someone so eager to please me at my beck and call.

Leaning back, I just enjoy the moment as she works to pleasure me, feeling her joy at being useful through our bond.

After this, I have more to do. I need my adoring fans, after all. Just Emma and Sherrel aren’t enough.

– Zoe Barnes –

“Are you sure this is the place?” Zoe asked her daughter, making Emma roll her eyes as they walked through the gate of the very old-looking mansion grounds.

“Of course, I’ve been here before, but the company driver brought me,” Emma sighed in that typical teenage fashion. “Come on, I don’t want to be late.”

“Why do I need to come this time?” Zoe asked, looking at her daughter in confusion. She didn’t approve of her daughter getting involved in modelling in Brockton Bay, of all places, but Emma seemed to love it, and Alan didn’t see any harm.

“You’ll see,” Emma said excitedly, heading up to the extremely expensive mansion, opening the door without knocking, and entering with a certain familiarity.

Following behind her daughter, she admired the incredibly opulent interior as she wondered why Emma had insisted that she come along to this modelling session. Apparently, they needed parental supervision for something, and Alan was busy at work.

Entering the living room, she paused as she saw an incredibly good-looking man sitting in a chair, a pair of striking red eyes staring right at her.

“I brought her, like you asked,” Emma said demurely, her posture submissive as the man just stared .

“Good girl, Emma. Zoe, isn’t it?” he asked, making her nod slowly. “Emma has told me much about you, I can see where she gets her looks from. Still, I think you’re a little overdressed. Strip.”

Something in her mind shouted at her to run, but her hands were already working on her shirt, unbuttoning it slowly. It fell to the floor as Emma preened, sitting on the arm of the chair and cuddling against the man.

Her bra hit the floor, and the rest of her clothes followed shortly.

“She won’t be missed until tonight?” he asked, making Emma nod rapidly.

“That’s right, Alan is working home late,” Emma replied as the man rose. “She’s all yours.”

“I am Alexander, your new master ,” Alexander replied, one hand cupping one of her breasts as he smiled darkly, tilting her head up with a single finger under her chin. Biting down on her neck, she felt something inside her break as she came to her senses, slapping him away.

He didn’t move, gripping her hand with a cruel smile.

“Wha- what are you?” Zoe asked, covering her breasts with her free hand.

“Emma, if Zoe continues to disobey, take that letter opener and slit your throat,” Alexander said, her eyes widening as she watched Emma practically skip over to the small desk. “I am God, as far as you are concerned. Emma’s God, and now yours. She’d kill for me, and whether her victim  is you or herself makes little difference.”

Emma tilted her head up, pressing the blade against her throat hard enough to cut the skin. 

He gripped her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes again as she felt her mind fall into a stupor.

“And I have plans for you, pet,” Alexander whispered, stroking her chin with a dark smile. “Let’s begin.”

– Alexander Shaw – Next Morning –

I’ve set up a meeting with the PRT on Monday evening, five days from now. I decided to keep them waiting, mostly to show that I can. That gives me five days to empower myself further.

Zoe wasn’t a necessary part of my plans; she was simply a… comfort . I do not clean, so I needed a maid. I decided that I disliked Emma having anything but me to adore, so I got to work.

“Your tea, sir,” Zoe says, placing my drink down. She got an expedited version of what I did to Emma, a full day of domination and memory alteration. She will serve as my live-in maid in the future.

Well, it makes sense; she needs the job, given her widowed status. Alan’s life insurance will help, but she’ll need a new source of income. As for Alan? He killed himself by running a red light after being late for work, right into an oncoming truck.

A foolish mistake that ended his life and the life of several others. He will be seen as a fool who died because he was impatient, not the mastered victim he actually was.

Emma’s final show of loyalty to me was to sell her mother and be complicit in her father's death. The sacrifice of both parents to her new God, me . Her sister is going to college out of town, but she’ll return and decide to stay with her family for support.

As for Zoe? She’ll have a large payout thanks to Alan’s pre-existing life insurance, but decide to find a job to keep herself busy and take her mind off the loss of her husband. Through a mutual acquaintance, she’ll take a job as a maid for a reclusive model.

The timeline is a little out of order, but it should all add up. I know I’m playing with fire; the PRT has entire protocols for Masters, but I will not limit myself to satisfy their need for control.

It is also why I want to speed up my growth; I need to go to the PRT power testing with enough to utterly wow them and scare them. I want them petrified by the idea of me not being a part of their little organisation.

So, when my quirks become more apparent, I’ll get more wiggle room. Plus, I need to be strong to make up for my sunlight weakness and my blood reliance.

So, with four teenage capes just hanging around, how could I resist having a snack?

– Brian Laborn (Grue) –

“Our boss had nothing to do with this?” Brian asked, arms crossed as he scowled deeply. 

“No, this isn’t him. He’s not been doing anything ; something has made him extremely paranoid lately,” Lisa confirmed. “They're acting on Squealer’s orders, but why they’d target your family, I don’t know. I don’t think they know you are Grue, but without seeing Squealer, I couldn’t say more. Maybe Celia pissed off her dealers?”

Dammit, that sounded far too likely. He could let out a small sigh of relief that they didn’t know his identity, but that still left his mother and teenage sister in the hands of the Merchants. If Celia had done something stupid like steal from her dealer… well, he needed to find Aisha, and fast.

She’d been grabbed while walking home from school. A van pulled up next to her, and some masked thugs jumped out and pulled her into it. He learnt later that other masked men had shown up at his mother's apartment and just dragged her out.

“Any ideas where they’re being held?” Brian asked, making Lisa shake her head.

“Not at the moment; they’ve been acting weird since Skidmark was captured, and they’re hard to predict at the best of times. The drugs make them hard to read because even I can’t predict what someone tripping off their ass is going to do,” Lisa admitted with a frown. “If you go as Grue, you’re gonna blow your own cover.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do? My barely teenage sister is being held by the gang that’s almost singlehandedly responsible for the ridiculous rape statistics in Brockton Bay,” Brian growled, clenching his fists.

“We could hit their base as the Undersiders, make it out that we’re hitting them for their money and accidentally free them, but even that’s risky. I can find them, but like I said, Merchants are hard to predict. That’s not even mentioning the way Squealer has vanished off the face of the earth. Nobody has seen her in public since Skidmark was taken down, and that’s very out of character. She normally rampages when Skidmark gets arrested,” Lisa sighed.

“You think she’s making a new Killdozer?” Brian asked, making her shake her head.

“No, or if she is , it’s not the main thing she’s doing. The Merchants have all been acting weird. I’ve heard rumours of cage fights, kidnappings, and torture,” Lisa said. “I think she’s trying to make people trigger, but where the hell would someone like Squealer get that idea?”

It sounded like something the Teeth would do, not the fucking Merchants. They were supposed to be a joke, not a serious threat.

“Then I definitely need to get my family out of there as soon as possible,” Brian said, making her nod.

“I'm working on it. The Merchants don’t have any permanent hideouts like the Empire or ABB. They could be anywhere on their turf, so it might take me a little while,” Lisa warned, watching him pace.

His phone vibrating distracted him, his eyes widening as he saw a text from Aisha.

‘didn’t find my phone. help!!!’

She’d shared her location, making him clench his phone tightly as he showed it to Lisa, who quickly looked up the location.

“It’s an old motel, long abandoned because who the fuck would stay in Boat Graveyard? Looks like the Merchants are using it as a distribution centre,” Lisa explained. 

“I’m going; I don’t care if it risks my identity,” Brian said immediately, making her nod.

“I’ll get the others, if they’re using it as a staging point for their dealers, there should be a decent amount of hard cash we can grab. If we’re lucky, the Merchants won’t consider that we came for those two,” Lisa agreed, knowing he wouldn’t be stopped.

Grabbing his helmet, he glared at the location on the map. They better not have touched a hair on her head.

– Lisa Wilbourne (Tattletale) –

They needed to be fast; she didn’t want to give Squealer time to show up with a fucking tank or risk getting bogged down in armed junkies. 

She’d managed to get the layout of the motel, and while Brian hated waiting even a second, she’d managed to convince him to let her watch the place for a while to give them something to work with.

It was definitely a staging point; the drugs would be dropped off here, and the dealers would pick up their supplies and drop off the money. It was oddly well-organised for the Merchants, a worrying sign.

It wasn’t a well-oiled machine, but it was certainly being run better than she’d come to expect from them. The entire building was expendable as well, and they could ditch this place and set up somewhere else the next day with little issues. This side of town had far too many run-down buildings for them to use.

Aisha had briefly been typing, given the icon that popped up while Brian was looking at the map, but then suddenly stopped, which didn’t bode well for her. They’d almost certainly seen her on the phone.

“I think they’ll be in the basement,” Tattletale said, making Brian nod. She could have worked out more, given more time, but he wasn’t going to wait much longer. “Bitch, you’re our getaway. Go to that alleyway, they won’t be able to see into it, and we can leave by that fire exit and get to you quickly. Be ready.”

“Got it,” Bitch agreed, heading off to take the long way to the back of the alleyway so no one would see her going into it. There were some Merchant thugs hanging around, but they weren’t exactly attentive.

Something about this entire mess had her worried; it just felt off . When they did a job, it was usually planned out for weeks, with her knowing the exact guard patrols and the path they needed to take. It was why they were so good at escaping, but here, they only had some minor intel. They were basically going in blind.

“We’re going in through the back; there’s a single guard watching that entrance, but if we act fast, we can take him down without him alerting anyone. Grue, cover him in darkness to prevent him from calling for help; Regent, taze him,” Lisa said, shaking off her concerns. This was just the Merchants; even under better leadership, they were still the least threatening of the gangs.

– Rachel Lindt (Bitch) –

Standing in the alleyway with her dogs, she made sure to keep them quiet. Although she was out of sight, they could still be heard. They all seemed on edge, but then everyone was at the moment.

A thought struck her, making her open her mouth and tell her dogs to stay as she went back the way she came. The alleyway had a turn, going around the corner out of sight from her pack.

As she did this, she froze. Why had she come back this way? She was supposed to be waiting for the others-

Before she could try and work out what was going wrong, something struck her with incredible force, sending her flying into the wall. Her mouth opened to shout for her dogs, but the feeling of a pair of sharp fangs sinking into her neck made her freeze and a sense of calm overcame her.

Sleep? Yeah, she needed to sleep.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

As Bitch falls into a slumber, I quickly grab her and climb the building with her and place her on the rooftop, safe for now.

Already, my plan has paid off greatly.  She was a good find, and even without draining her completely, she was enough to both unlock a new Discipline and immediately reach Apprentice with it.

[Animalism, Discipline of Beasts: Apprentice]

[Feral Whispers]

Speak telepathically into the mind of an animal whose eyes you meet.

[Beckoning]

Call out to the wilds and summon all animals of a particular type to your location (such as canine, avian or insect).

[Song of Serenity]

Calm an animal, soothing its bestial rage and placing it into a trance-like state.

[Sense the Savage Way]

Project your mind to share the senses of any animal within your range.

[Summon the Flock]

Call upon a flock of ravens that will harass and attack your targets.

[Enduring Beasts]

Requires [Fortitude/Animalism - Novice]

You can extend your Fortitude powers to any animal under the effect of an Animalism power.

A hybrid power? How intriguing, but first… Hopping back down to where I attacked her, I see the dogs all turn to me. They smelt their master's blood, and I can feel their rage.

But unfortunately for them, their master just gave me the power to deal with them.

‘ Submit, and your master will live.’

Using Feral Whispers, Compel and Song of Serenity all at once, I enforce my will upon the three dogs who come to a stop. They see my fangs, the predatory gleam in my eyes, and know I’m not something they can beat. 

‘Remain here. Leave, and I will hunt you.’

They don’t audibly respond, I can speak to them, but they can’t speak to me. They don’t need to; I can see that they understand the situation all too well.

One down, three to go.

– Brian Laborn (Grue) –

Something was off ; he didn’t need to be Tattletale to realise that.

This was an important hub for the Merchants, but they’d found it basically abandoned. Aside from the outside guards, the entire place was a ghost motel, and it had them all on edge.

But Tattletale noticed something: someone had dragged two people through the hallway fairly recently. Both were alive and the smaller one was putting up a fight.

Nothing could stop him from following the direction Tattletale claimed they’d been dragged, not that he could see anything unusual himself. He trusted her powers, and before long, they were in the basement of the empty building.

“They cleared out very recently. The vans we saw leaving were taking the money and product away,” Tattletale said, frowning deeply. 

“Ah shit, we aren’t getting paid?” Regent whined, making them both give him a dirty look.

“They knew we were coming; the Merchants don’t have a Thinker, right?” Grue asked, making Tattletale shake her head. 

“I don’t know; if they do, it would explain some things, but it’d have to be very recent. Maybe a trigger from their pit fights, I don’t know,” Tattletale admitted, frustration clear in her tone. “They were taken into that room. Footsteps go away from it, but if they were taken, they walked. None of the footprints are small enough to be Aisha’s.

Not waiting, he charged forward and kicked the door open, looking around quickly before he stopped. Aisha was there, only dressed in her underwear, seemingly unconscious on the floor.

Rushing to her side, he examined her for any serious injuries (or signs of abuse), finding nothing notable as she lay there. 

“She’s been drugged, not sure what they used, but it has her out cold. She was fighting and punched one of the Merchants,” Tattletale explained, making him let out a sigh of relief. The drugs were worrying, but they’d just drugged her unconscious because she wouldn’t stop fighting. Sounded like her. “It’s wearing off, whatever it was.”

“I don’t see any hot single milfs in the area,” Regent said with a shrug, having checked the other rooms. His mother wasn’t here; they’d taken her? But why leave Aisha? Something wasn’t adding up. “Nice tits for a brat.”

God, he could be an asshole sometimes.

“...Regent, why don’t you keep watch outside,” Tattletale sighed, making Regent shrug again as he walked out of the room and closed the door with a loud bang.

Aisha started to stir, drawing his attention even as he heard another bang from Regent. 

“Wha-” Aisha groaned, her eyes widening as she pushed him away. He quickly pulled off his helmet; he’d deal with the mess of Aisha finding out about him being a Cape later. “Brian? How-”

“It’s okay, you’re okay. I got your message; you did good,” Brian said soothingly, making her blink and rub her eyes. She was clearly disorientated, but as she replied, he froze. 

“What message? They took my phone,” Aisha replied, making his blood run cold as he shared a look with Tattletale. 

“We’re leaving now,” Grue said, putting his helmet back on as she nodded. “Stay behind us. We need to get to Bitch, now.”

Opening the door, he froze as he spotted Regent lying face down on the ground, realising now that he should have paid more attention to the sounds coming from outside.

“He’s been bit ,” Tattletale said, making them both share a look. Ebon.

Why was the resident vampire hunting them?

“Ebon, we know it’s you. I don’t know why you’ve decided that this is a good idea, but you don’t understand who you’re-” Tattletale started before she cut off, gasping before she started laughing .

Gripping her hair, she started to laugh hysterically, falling to the floor as she visibly struggled to stop herself. He went to help her before a second sound distracted him. 

Sobbing. Turning, he spotted Aisha cowering in the fetal position as she just sobbed and wailed, making him call on his shadows. He didn’t know what Ebon was doing to them, but blocking his vision should at least help.

The feeling of something strong striking him in the chest made him groan in pain, flung back through the door into the room he’d found Aisha in. He was sure that he had broken some of his ribs, gasping in pain as he struggled to stand. 

Ebon stalked towards him, now revealed as a fanged smile looked down at him.

“Why-” Grue started, wincing in pain as Ebon ripped his helmet off.  The only answer he got was those fangs biting into his neck.

– Alexander Shaw –

The Renaissance fair escapee already helped me prove a hypothesis.

[Dominate, Discipline of Control: Adept]

[Possession]

Project your mind into the body of a mortal, allowing you total control of them if you can overpower their will.

[Autonomic Mastery]

Take control of a target’s bodily functions, such as their breathing, senses or even specific organs, starting or stopping them.

I was at a roadblock for Dominate, unable to reach the Adept level. He is a Master, by drinking his blood, I believe that roadblock has simply become higher. I suspect that I need to feed on unique capes to continue pushing that limit, and simply keeping him around as a blood bag won’t help.

But I intend to find out. If I can use him as my Dominate farm, I’ll keep him alive. If not, we shall see.

As for dear Grue? He let me skip the Apprentice phase entirely, much like Bitch helped me avoid Novice for Animalism.

[Obtenebration, Discipline of Shadows: Adept]

[Arms of the Abyss]

Summon inky-black tentacles from nearby shadows to assist you in combat.

[Shroud of Night]

Call forth the darkness and blanket an area in a cloud of unnatural shadow that obscures light, sound, and heat.

[Eyes of the Night]

Allows you to see without light, even through supernatural darkness.

[Nightshades]

Allows you to create temporary objects made of pure shadow as long as you understand how they work.

What a feast I have been granted, worth any amount of risk in my eyes.

Grue fights, but to no avail, as his own blood provides me the answer to counter him.  Before long, he joins his ally in the realm of Morpheus.

Tattletale glares at me angrily as I approach her, still cackling with hysterical laughter thanks to [Veil of Madness], but I simply smile at her. I don’t bite down, not yet. 

Knocking her out, I cancel the Veil on Aisha as well, who tries to run. She doesn’t get far before she joins the others, and I start to move them into the van Sherrel has waiting for us. They’re coming home with me because, of course, my gothic mansion has a dungeon.

I have experiments to do to work out what cape blood can truly do for me. These four have simply volunteered to be my obedient lab rats. 

— Bonus Scene — Emily Piggot

Just what she needed: another cape with delusions of grandeur and problems with authority. She already didn’t like Ebon, seeing him as an older, more powerful Shadow Stalker… but for all his arrogance, he knew that they were outnumbered and that they wanted him more than he wanted them.

Ebon setting up the meeting for almost a week later was mildly annoying, but at least Starlight had managed to get him to come in for power testing and to ‘hear their sales pitch’. 

She wanted to be dealing from a position of power, but Ebon’s every move just screamed that he saw letting them have a chance to recruit him as some great favour he was granting them.

But Ebon himself claimed he was growing stronger, and self-Trump capes were rare and valuable. They had clear proof he was becoming stronger and stronger, and she didn’t like the idea of an independent, bloodsucking Trump growing increasingly powerful even if he was nominally a hero. 

She had doubts about how heroic he truly was, given that he’d ripped off Skidmark’s arm. While he’d claimed it was an accident, he certainly didn’t seem to regret it.

Of course, that led her to her other problem. What the hell was going on with the Merchants? They’d started to hear rumours of Squealer holding pit fights to decide who got their fix, making homeless junkies fight until one of them was unconscious or dead for their drugs. That wasn’t even touching the darker rumours floating around over the kidnappings. It was something she’d expect from the Teeth , not the fucking Merchants.

Not to mention the fact that they were letting Skidmark rot; where was the invisible Killdozer rampaging through the city? Not that she was complaining about that, but Squealer not trying to save him was a complete change of routine for her.

Somehow, she was willing to blame Ebon for this as well. She wasn’t looking forward to meeting him; a narcissistic pseudo-vampire with issues with authority sounded like something custom-designed to piss her off.

But depending on the results of his power testing, she might have to suck it up. When he’d first shown up, he’d been fast, but not enough to outrun Armmaster’s bike; he’d been strong, but not enough to tear off a limb by accident . 

That wasn’t even getting into the potential of him also being a Stranger, along with whatever else he may be hiding. He was a high-value cape, and he knew it .

Author’s Note: Alex is a delight to write because he’s too arrogant to actually care about the consequences of his actions. He thinks he’s above such things as ‘punishments’, so he takes risks other MCs wouldn’t. He’s kinda like a more sane but also more narcissistic Sebastian in that way.

Malcolm’s note: New disciplines to play with, lots of fun to be had. Personally I can’t wait for the date with Annie.

Priapus’ note: I am reliably informed that she is likely to be hit by, struck by, a smooth criminal.

Beans’ note: It’s always amusing when Piggot decides it’s got to be some powerful cape’s fault for every single issue in her life. It’s especially funny when she’s right . 

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn. 

Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/DarkWolfShiro

If it says it’s expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you’ll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it’s expired, add me (DarkWolfShiro), and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by Mike God of Lore, Marethyu Malcolm Tent, Beans, Old man of the mountain

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 07: Dark Childe

– Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale) –

Waking up, the cold air on her body alerted her to the fact that something was deeply wrong. Sitting up, she looked down at her body, her heart pounding at the sight of her purple bra and panties, her bodysuit nowhere to be seen. Likewise, her mask was gone, making her rise to her feet with a fierce scowl on her lips.

Ebon was playing a dangerous game, but as she looked around, she cursed. 

Lisa is in a cell. The cell is underground. The cell is old, built decades ago. The bars are too strong for Lisa to affect. 

She was in an honest-to-god dungeon, deep underground inside a small stone cell, thick iron bars blocking the only exit. There were shackles on the wall, but she hadn’t been bound with them. Moving to the bars, she spotted another row of cells.

Brian was across from her, a furious look on his face and equally undressed. Alec was lying on the stone bed in the cell next to his, seemingly unconcerned by their predicament. She could hear someone pacing next to her, Rachel. No dogs in sight, Rachel was worried about her pets and fearful that they’d been killed. 

Aisha was shaking the cell next to Rachel’s, generally being loud and shouting for attention. She couldn’t see Celia, but she could hear the panicked breathing coming from the cell next to Aisha’s.

“Why is Ebon doing this?” Brian asked her, clearly torn between fury and panic. None of them had powers that would help them escape, not with Rachel’s dogs missing. She couldn’t think her way out of a cage, Alec couldn’t affect the bars, and Brian’s darkness would just leave him in a dark cell.

“I don’t know,” Lisa admitted, frowning deeply as she looked around for anything that could help her. Brian opened his mouth, clearly about to speak, before he stopped.

The sound of movement made them both go silent, their stillness underscoring the sound of a heavy door opening and footsteps approaching.

Confident stride, not concerned about the consequences of his actions.

Her power struggled on Ebon directly (which was the obvious identity of the figure currently approaching them without a mask), but she could still pick up some small things as he looked them over. He didn’t have this house before; why would he be sleeping in a disgusting, decrepit factory if he did? 

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing? Unmasking people, targeting their families? Do you want to go to the Birdcage-” Brian started, but Ebon turned to him.

“Silence,” Ebon demanded, and Brain froze. “You will speak when spoken to and only then.”

Brian clearly disagreed, but his body disobeyed him. A master .

“Where are my dogs!?” Rachel shouted, hands gripping the bars as she glared at Ebon hatefully.

“Hm, very well. We’ll start with you. Come along,” Ebon said, opening the cell door. Rachel rushed him, attempting to throw a punch, too enraged to think her actions through. Ebon caught her arm with the greatest of ease, his fist slamming into her stomach as she let out a pained gasp, falling to her knees. “Your dogs live; should you remain compliant , they will continue to do so. Attack me again, and I’ll feed them to you.”

Ebon was being serious, his face twisted into an ugly scowl at the sheer audacity of someone daring to raise their hand to him.

“Follow me,” Ebon demanded, moving away. As Rachel tried to rise, he held a hand. “ Crawl .”

Rachel froze, but the look in his eyes clearly spoke deeply to the normally argumentative girl as she started to crawl on all fours after Ebon, who turned and left. She started  to speak but thought better as she went silent. Ebon didn’t even glance her way, moving out of the room with Rachel following behind.

“What does he want? You had to get something .” Brian asked, making her shake her head.

“I truly don’t know,” Lisa admitted. She hated relying on Coil, but he might be her only chance out of here.

Hours passed with no sign of Rachel returning. The door opened again, the smell of food making her perk up as her stomach growled. A young red-headed girl around their age pulled a trolley into the dungeon, plates of food atop it.

The woman opened a small slot on the cell door, passing a plate through. 

“You, blonde. Get your food or starve,” the girl ordered, shooting her a scathing look. 

Ebon’s servant. Sees Ebon as a God. Completely mastered by Ebon. She’s stronger than she looks; Ebon has empowered her.

Fuck. 

Taking the plate, she noticed that they’d given them a knife and fork. The food was good, nothing special, but better than you’d expect to be served in a dungeon.

 As she went to give Brian his plate, he grabbed her arm and pulled her against the bars, a threatening look on his face. A look that was promptly wiped off as she broke free, gripping his wrist and snapping it with a cruel glare.

“You pathetic mongrel, you think you can touch me ? Only Alex gets to touch me, and you’re going to suffer for that,” the girl scoffed. Alex? Ebon’s real name. “I hope he lets me watch. Have fun starving.”

The girl moved back, picking up the food that had been scattered across the dungeon floor with a glare. Alec didn’t put up any fight, taking his food without complaint. 

“You know, when they find out you were complicit in this, you’ll be punished too,” Lisa said as the girl went to leave, making her laugh.

“You have no idea the depths to which I’d sink for him ,” the girl said simply, utterly devoted to her master. “I hope you don’t have to find out, for your sake.”

As the girl left, Brian groaned in pain and clutched his arm.

“She was mastered, wasn’t she?” Brain asked, making Lisa nod. They were captured by a Master, and that was bad . Eating her food, she tried to think of a way to break free of the bars, but her power failed her.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

Looking at the muscular girl in front of me, I consider my options. Rachel, or Bitch , is not a beauty. I don’t mind muscular girls, but Rachel is simply not overly attractive. Short hair with an assortment of small scars littering her body add to the overall disappointment as she glares at me.

“What do you want from us?” Rachel asks, anger clear in her tone. She’s seen her dogs wandering my grounds, and I’ve made it clear that if she tries to empower them, she’ll be dead long before they can grow.

“That is what I am trying to decide. You will be useful to me, but the question is how ,” I admit, looking over her. Do I turn her into a ghoul? Do I take her power for my own? I don’t want to drain too many people, now that I’ve learnt that it can have an effect on my mind. Rising, she takes a step back but my glare makes her freeze up as I close the distance, biting into her neck once more as I try and confirm something.

I can feel it giving me a trickle of Animalism as she freezes up in my embrace, but not the influx I got from first feeding on her. It's a shame. I had hoped to use them to master the Disciplines connected to them, but this will be far too slow. It would take months to get to the next level of Animalism like this, which will not do.

I pull back, looking into her eyes. There is fear but also rage, and it makes me smile. She’s a feisty one, and that alone saves her life, as I find her rage intriguing. 

I wonder just what I can make of her. 

My mind brushes against hers, and I can’t deny I’m curious about what I find. Her mind is different , more animalistic than any other that I’ve moulded to suit my whims. She snarls at me, not attacking after the demonstration of our power differences.

What a fierce girl, but I don’t want to make her into a ghoul, and I am hesitant to take her into my soul given the animalistic nature of her mind. I will not have her pollute my mind and make me more animalistic.

I smile, and before she can react, I bite down again. My instincts guide me, Rachel struggling against me as I drain her more and more, stopping just before I end her life, her skin deathly pale as I slash my wrist and force it against her mouth.

“Drink, and you will live. Drink, and you will be powerful ,” I order. After a moment, I feel her start to drink of my essence. It floods her emptied veins, changing her as I smile darkly.

[The Embrace]

By draining most of a mortal's blood, you can grant them some of yours to start the Embrace, turning them into a Vampire Childe. You can choose to make them the same Clan as you or let their clan be chosen by their nature.

After a moment, I feel fangs bite into my wrist, her suckling becoming more desperate as I smile. My first Childe. The changes are too much, and with my powers helping, she passes out.

– Rachel Lindt (Bitch) –

Waking up, she felt a hunger that was stronger than any she had ever felt before. Sitting up, she looked around the dark cell, smelling something utterly delicious.

“Hello, Rachel. Have you enjoyed your rest?” Ebon asked, making her look at him. Something deep inside her demanded she submit , he was the Alpha, her Alpha. “Are you thirsty?”

“Y-yes, so thirsty ,” Rachel agreed, straining against the shackles she’d been bound to the wall with. They creaked with her strength, making him smile. 

“That’s good, don’t worry, my dear… I went and got you a meal,” Ebon explained, dragging a man with a shaved head into the room and tossing him into the cell. A part of her mind identified him as Empire, a misshaped swastika tattooed on his neck.

“W-what… where am I?” the man said, but Ebon just stepped forward and, with a kitchen knife, slashed at the man's neck, blood spurting forward. Rachel’s eyes dilated, watching Ebon kick him further into the room. Rachel barely noticed the way the man's leg was twisted as Ebon stamped down on it, breaking it and preventing him from running.

“This man , if you can call him that, is one of Hookwolfs minions. He helps arrange the Dog FIghts. He is your meal ,” Ebon said, approaching her and, with a smile, unshackled her.

She pounced, the man barely able to let out a scream of fear as she sunk her fangs into his throat, his feeble attempts failing to fight her off as she pinned him with strength she didn’t know she possessed.

“That’s it, Rachel, feed ,” Ebon whispered, her senses picking up the quiet words as she just kept drinking, draining more and more until there was nothing left to drink, panting as she licked the blood off the floor, not wanting to waste a drop of the crimson nectar.

On her knees, she looked up at Ebon, who smiled down at her. 

“Are you ready to step into your new life, my Childe?” Ebon asked, and her animalistic mind demanded she bow to her master. Her words failed her, but she nodded deeply, making him smile. “Then let us go; your pack have missed you.”

Pack? Her dogs. 

She rose, following behind him, never once considering attacking him as she sniffed the air. She could smell them nearby. 

Ebon led them to her dogs, all three of them perking up at the sight of her, even as they hesitated for a moment. 

‘ It’s me, I won’t hurt you.’

She hadn’t even meant to, but her eyes widened as she spoke into the minds of her dogs. They perked up, rushing her as she sat and cuddled with them.

“You are the first of my Gangrel clan. Animalism is just one of the Disciplines you have access to,” Ebon explained, making her eyes widen as she felt his mind touch hers. Her master passed on the knowledge of how to use her new powers, and suddenly, she was looking up at herself through the eyes of Brutus. 

She was so pale, but she didn’t care. Her mind melded with Brutus, a closer bond than her powers had ever let her experience. 

“Thank you,” Rachel spoke, looking up at the one who granted her this gift as he smiled back at her, reaching out to stroke her hair. 

“You are most welcome,” Ebon agreed. “I am Alexander Shaw, your Sire. In time, you will lead your own clan, and I know how to start it. You hate the one called Hookwolf; I can taste your rage at his crimes. Once you have learnt how to control your new powers, you will slay him and claim his dogs for your pack. You will drain him and take his powers for your own, and when you have done this, I will know you are ready to build your own clan.”

Rachel nodded, her eyes wide and bloodlust filling her veins. 

“You are not to leave the manor, but my home and the grounds are open to you. Explore your new home, and learn to control your new powers. As a Gangrel, you have access to Animalism, as you can tell, Fortitude, increasing your durability to super-human levels, and Protean, the Discipline of Change. You can feel it within you, can’t you?”

She nodded, looking down at her hands as she tried to use this new power. Her nails grew into sharp claws, her power responding to her.

“You can also share your Fortitude with your pack, even when you are not using your original power. We wouldn’t want anything happening to your dogs, would we?” Alexander explained kindly.

Looking between her claws and her dogs, she smiled, two sharp fangs glinting in the light.

– Alexander Shaw –

Rachel Lindt has been turned into a Gangrel, gaining access to your Disciplines of Animalism, Fortitude and Protean.

Protean unlocked for having a Gangrel Childe.

[Protean, Discipline of Change: Novice]

[Eyes of the Beast]

You can will a supernatural red gleam into your eyes, giving yourself sight even in the total absence of light.

[Dolphin's Insight]

You can gain sonar-like senses, able to orient yourself even while blinded or underwater.

[Weight of the Feather]

You can reduce your effective mass and density, making yourself almost weightless. This allows you to avoid triggering pressure sensors as well as avoiding major damage from falls, collisions, or being thrown. The power cannot be used for longer leaps, as your strength is proportionally reduced.

[Feral Weapons]

You can extend your natural weapons to monstrous proportions. This usually takes the form of fingernails extending into wicked talons but can also come in other forms, such as fangs elongating into veritable daggers, as from a gigantic serpent.

[Phocidaean Webbing]

You can create webbing between your fingers and toes, which allows for faster swimming.

Turning Rachel has proven beneficial, my very first vampire childe. I decided to allow her to become her own kind because I felt that she was ill-suited to become a Toreador like me. She may not be a natural beauty, or a lover of the arts, but I can sense her potential and see the use of having someone to dirty their hands for me.

Through our bond, she has gained access to my skills of Animalism, Fortitude, and Protean, which means that as these Disciplines grow stronger, so too shall she. She has my enhanced endurance, shared with her beasts, and through the Hivemind I got from the bug controller, her loyalty is ensured.  

Not that it would be a problem with her. She has a simple mind and one that I very much appreciate as it quickly came to see me as her Alpha, the one she must obey. That fierce personality has been shifted into fierce loyalty to her pack and utter obedience to the one who granted her these boons. She will thrive; her obedience and lack of ego mean she sees nothing wrong with obeying the strong. 

Which is, of course, me .

As long as I remain the head of our ‘pack’ and do not fail or harm the pack, she will never waver in her loyalty to me. It’s that simplicity that makes her my ideal first childe because she isn’t a schemer. Even if I happened to somehow lose her faith, she’d challenge me outright without any backstabbing or betrayals.

Hookwolf is powerful but he is a brute of a man. I don’t want to take his power into myself, so Rachel can do it for me. It will also guarantee her loyalty, ending the fights she despises so much. She’d kill for me as she is now, but soon enough, she’d die for me without batting an eye.

This has been interesting, but I plan to limit those I turn for now. I considered turning Emma, but having her be unable to go out in the sun would attract too much attention. She’s still more useful to me as a ghoul instead of as a childe, but if she continues to prove herself to be such an obedient and useful tool, she will be my first Toreador childe.

Speaking of Emma… one of my prisoners was rather mean to her, trying to threaten her in some desperate attempt to escape. Time to punish Grue for that disobedience.

I have something I want to test, anyway.

– Brian Laborn (Grue) –

It had been a day since Ebon came for Rachel, with no sign of their teammate ever since. He wasn’t close with Rachel, but it still sent shivers through his body at the idea of what she may be going through. 

The girl had returned to bring supper and then breakfast (their only way of telling the time), and true to her words, he had been left to starve for his actions. His stomach rumbled painfully, and the girl watched to make sure that nobody threw him any food.

The door opened, Ebon returning with the redhead behind him.

“You. You attempted to threaten my servant,” Ebon said, stopping by his cell with a disdainful look. 

“You kidnapped my family and lured us into a trap, then unmasked us. Don’t try and take the high ground with me,” Brian scoffed, glaring angrily at his captor who simply smiled. “Have you killed Bitch?”

Ebon moved forward, unlocking the cell as Brian saw his opportunity. He knew he was no match for Ebon, but he didn’t need to be as he unleashed a wave of darkness into the dungeon.

Moving quickly, he tried to dash forward and get past Ebon, but something made him freeze. Ebon was staring right at him, tracking him perfectly as Ebon raised a sculpted eyebrow in amusement.

“Come now, really?” Ebon asked, dashing forward and grabbing him by the throat as he lifted Brian into the air. “You didn’t truly think that would work, did you? Dispel it, or I will.” 

Brian struggled, but the grip around his throat was painfully tight as Ebon smirked at him. His darkness faded, making Ebon smirk as he gestured and the shadows started to move, inky black tentacles rising from them as darkness pooled around Ebon’s feet.

“I can do that too, just better ,” Ebon laughed, watching him struggle in the air, held in Ebon’s iron grip. The shadows lashed out, striking him with incredible force as he let out a gasp of pain; he was sure he felt a rib break under the force of the blows. “You should be honoured, Grue, for you have been deemed worthy to become a part of me.”

W-what was this mad man talking about?! 

Ebon smiled, fangs proudly exposed as he opened his maw, and Brian’s struggles intensified as the mouth approached him, biting down on his neck. He flailed, kicking and punching but to no avail, feeling like he was punching a statue as his blood was slowly drained, his struggles becoming weaker. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Aisha looking at him through the cells with a mixture of shock and hatred, fearing what would become of her as his limbs fell limp and his struggles faded. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end…

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

[Obtenebration, Discipline of Shadows: Adept]

[Black Metamorphosis]

Encase your body in a nightmarish armour of living shadows, which can grow inky tentacles from it to attack your foes.

[Shadow Perspective]

Allows you to send your senses into any shadow within your range, able to move from shadow to shadow.

[Shadowstep]

Sink into a shadow and reappear from another, seeing the world as blindingly bright, only able to see things cloaked in shadow while travelling.

[Grue: Shadow Man]

You can make all the shadows you generate so thick that pushing through them feels like moving through viscous syrup. These shadows greatly muffle sounds and block things like microwaves, radio frequencies, signals, and radiation.

I suspect if I had drained Rachel, it would have been enough to empower my Animalism, and you get a lot for the first drink and a lot for draining them completely, but not much for just drinking them without killing them after the first bite. Interesting to know… 

“You bastard!” Aisha screams, seeing me drop Brian’s corpse to the ground. Emma spits on it, looking smug at the punishment the man who saw her as a tool for his escape was given. “I’m going to fucking kill you; I’ll rip you limb from limb!”

I go to speak, but out of the corner of my eyes, I see Lisa’s eyes widen as she zones out, Alec doing the same, and Brian’s memories tell me what is happening.

A trigger event. Aisha is getting powers.

I rush forward, tearing her cell open as I make my move. I don’t know what she is going to get, but I do know that I can’t take chances with a fresh trigger. Grabbing her by the throat, I hesitate as Brian’s memories flood my mind, stopping me from snapping her neck. I let out an annoyed growl as I change my plans; this is why I don’t like taking people's memories into mine.

Fine, I can deal with this.

– Aisha Laborn –

“Come on, bro, I’m strong; you know I am,” Aisha whined, making her adopted brother sigh fondly as he reached up and ruffled her hair, making her swat at his hand in annoyance. “Why can’t I join you on your patrols?”

“You’re strong, Aisha, but you’re reckless. I don’t want to see you get hurt because you did something careless,” Alexander said, giving her a soft smile. “I know you’re excited now that you have your own powers, but Brockton Bay is dangerous .”

“It’s not like they’d ever be able to catch me,” Aisha scoffed, making him chuckle. “They’d have to find me first.” 

“Very true, but capes are weird. All it takes is for one to be able to detect you, and you could die. I will not allow that,” Alex said, his protectiveness sending a shudder of pleasure through her body. “It’s not like staying in this nice, big mansion is a punishment, is it?”

She laughed at the truth in that; this place was so much nicer than moms apartment. It was funny that mom had ended up working for her adopted son, but Alex returning to the Bay had made her life so much better.

“Please, just one patrol,” Aisha begged, pressing herself against his side as he chuckled.

“I’ll think about it as long as you keep practising with your new powers. Don’t leave the manor grounds, I’ll know ,” Alex warned, his eyes flashing a deep red as she grinned. “We need to get you a costume first. A proper one, I won’t have my sister running around in some balaclava.”

“Seriously? You’re the best, Alex,” Aisha squealed, hugging him tightly. “Love ya.”

“Of course you do, and I tolerate you, Aisha,” Alex teased, making her scoff and kick his leg. “Oh, before you run off. Do you mind?”

“Nope,” Aisha agreed, lifting her neck as Alex leaned in, his lips touching her neck in a soft kiss before he bit down and pierced her skin. She shuddered, rubbing her thighs together as her hot (adopted) brother drank her blood. It always felt so intimate , but she didn’t mind him using her as a blood bag. He was so fucking strong, so it made sense that his power had come with some downsides.

As he pulled back, she let out a quiet moan and gave him a look.

“Thank you, Aisha,” Alex said, stroking her hair with a smile. “Work on your powers; you need to prove to me that you can be responsible before I consider taking you on patrol.”

“Hm, will do. Lemme know if you wanna suck me some more,” Aisha teased, giving him a quick hug before she slipped away, watching as her own shadow rose up and took form, a pitch-black version of her following behind as she grinned.  

Soon, he’d give in and let her come with him; they were gonna kick Nazi ass together.

Heading through the posh mansion that was her home now, she reached her massive bedroom and flopped onto the bed, her hand sliding down her stomach. Being fed on always left her feeling a certain kind of way, and she needed some her time.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

Rewriting years of memories is not easy, but with Aisha captured, I had plenty of time to rewrite her past. In her new life, Brian never existed. Instead, Celia adopted an older boy before she was born, and I ran away in my late teens. When I returned, I did so as a rich and powerful Cape, who Aisha idolises in every way. 

I freed her from Celia, forcing ‘our’ mother to move into my mansion as my maid. I do feel some protectiveness towards Aisha, the aftereffects of Brian’s strong emotions when it comes to his sister, and this gives me another cape as well.

Aisha’s power is certainly an interesting one. She can sink into shadows, moving between them and if she stops inside a person's shadow she can take control of their bodies through it or disable their powers while she hides in their shadow. 

She remembers teasing me for being a vampire cape; she remembers offering me her blood and several feedings since I returned last month. Those are fake, that was the first time I fed on her. I expected more Obtenebration, but she surprised me again.

She gave me two new powers for my Obfuscate, her stranger rating helping me out with the Discipline of Concealment.

[Invisible Weapon]

Allows you to hide a weapon so that it cannot be seen, even when you are attacking with it.

[Ventriloquism]

You can throw your voice so only the intended recipient hears you.

Both are useful enough, even if I don’t really use weapons… but the real interesting part?

Oblivion Unlocked

[Oblivion, Discipline of the Abyss: Novice]

[Ashes to Ashes]

You can disintegrate any non-Kindred corpses with your vitae, including animated cadavers like those brought to false life with Oblivion.

[Shadow Cloak]

You can shape ambient shadows to conceal your presence and make yourself more frightening. 

[Oblivion's Sight]

Your irises become black against the white of their sclera while using this power. While active, you can see through all darkness, including supernatural sources, and can see invisible and spiritual beings. 

Oblivion’s sight is more powerful than [Eyes of the Night] and allows me to actually see those who I pick up with [Sense the Unseen].  Shadow Cloak is fairly mediocre when I have actual invisibility now, but the description of Ashes to Ashes makes me pause.

Being able to reduce bodies to ash is going to be helpful, but the implication that Oblivion can be used to reanimate the dead is even more so. The Oblivion is essentially another plane of existence, one of pure entropy itself, that seeks to consume all. It is the very embodiment of entropy, a deadly force that even I am hesitant to delve too deeply into from what I can sense. If given the chance, it would consume the entirety of Earth Bet and it would do so with such ease . I just fear that I would be included in that grand feast. 

It doesn’t push me to use it; silent and patient. In time, it will consume all, and it knows it. So, how dangerous is Aisha truly that she gave me access to this horrifying new power? What potential does she have?

Celia remembers the son she only adopted to get some payments; now, her employer who remembers her neglect and disdain. Aisha remembers her older brother, better than the original version in every way. Neither will leave this manor. They’re presumed dead, grabbed by the Merchants, and I might be playing a dangerous game by keeping them, but I do have a plan for this. 

I just need time, which is why I’m keeping them on the manor grounds. My home is large, even if I have guests over, I could keep them all separate. My dungeon is hidden behind a secret passageway in my cellar; entire wings could be sealed off to keep the Barnes and Laborns from being discovered.

I deserve to have a horde of servants ready to tend to my every whim. Celia is eager to please, fearful of my wrath. I plan to make Aisha a Ghoul soon, letting me keep a closer eye on her. I’ll make it seem like something I’m reluctantly doing in preparation for her becoming a cape, something she is extremely excited about.

Two down, two Undersiders remain.

– Jean-Paul Vasil/Alec (Regent) –

“Oh, is it my turn?” Alec asked, giving the vampire an amused look as he opened the cell. 

“You seem rather relaxed about this,” Ebon said, making Alec shrug.

“Can’t affect you, trust me, I tried, and I’m kinda weak without my power. You’ve taken almost everyone else, not like I can stop this, so why bother trying?” Alec asked with a bored shrug. “Hey, before you kill me, can I ask you something?”

“Follow me, and I’ll consider it,” Ebon said, making Alec sigh. He was going to have to walk before he was eaten? Man, that’s just cruel and unusual; why should he have to die tired?

Trudging behind, Alec looked around the gothic mansion with a smirk. It was very on brand. Did Ebon sleep in a coffin?

“Now, what do you wish to request?” Ebon asked, taking a seat. Alec slumped into the comfy couch across from him, putting his feet up. It was a lot more comfortable than that stone bed.

“Can you kill my old man for me? I figure you’re immune to master shit, so can you head on up to Canada and eat Heartbreaker?” Alec requested, making him blink in surprise. Either Ebon would kill his old man, in which case it was worth it to get eaten by a vampire, or his dad would unknowingly avenge him. Win-Win, right? 

“Oh, you aren’t going to try and beg for your life?” Ebon asked, making him shrug.

“Eh,” Alec helpfully replied. “Kinda sucks that I won’t get to finish my games, but what can you do?”

“Join me? Rachel did, and now she is one of my childes,” Ebon said, giving him a searching look. “Then, we shall kill your father and claim his powers for our own. I can claim the power of anyone I drain, which is what I did to your teammate, Grue, or I can turn you to join the children of the night. The choice is yours.”

“Meh, who likes sunlight anyway? I’ll just close the curtains,” Alec said with a shrug. If it meant he got to rip his old man's throat out, he was totally down for getting some fangs.

“You are a broken doll, aren’t you?” Ebon asked, making Alec smile at the entirely too accurate description. “How interesting .”

Ebon approached, fangs hungry for blood, and Alec just raised his chin and put up no fight as Ebon bit down on his neck, groaning at the unexpectedly pleasurable experience of having his life force drained. 

As Ebon’s wrist was offered to him, he didn’t need any prompting as he suckled the offered sliced wrist, staring up into the intense crimson gaze of Ebon.

“Welcome to Clan Toreador, my childe,” Ebon said, giving him a smile as he felt his consciousness start to fade. “Sleep well; I’ll have your first meal waiting for you when you awaken.”

That sounded like a good idea, his body aching as it started to change. Yeah, he could use a nap. Childe, huh? Well, Ebon couldn’t be a worse dad than the old bastard.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

Alec is a broken shell, but he is a shell that will lead me to Heartbreaker. Why settle for the lesser meal when the biggest source of Dominate I will ever find can be baited so easily with my newest childe?

Jean-Paul Vasil has been turned into a Toreador, gaining access to your Disciplines of Auspex, Celerity and Presence. Jean-Paul’s own power has granted him access to your Discipline of Dominate.

I once again let his nature guide him, and I think I now understand the connection I felt with him. We are more similar than I’d like to admit, right down to the father issues.

I message Sherrel, telling her to grab me a young, attractive meal for Alec. Her cloaked vehicles are rather useful for these things. Alec will not come to regret his decision; on that I will make certain.

And then there was one . Ah, Lisa… does she still feel so superior to me? Does she realise that her mockery is what pushed me to embrace my new powers and carve my rightful place in the world? I saved the best for last.

Nobody is superior to me, nobody gets to manipulate me.

— Bonus Scene — Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale)

Watching the others be taken, one after another, she was left alone in the dungeons. 

Why had Ebon targeted them? Was he aiming for Coil? No, he shouldn’t even be able to know anything about Coil; she barely did, and she was a powerful Thinker who was working for him. It couldn’t be because she slightly insulted him when they visited his old hiding place. Surely he wasn’t that prideful?

No, this was because of his Trump power. She’d seen the shadows move to obey him; Ebon could develop new powers by feeding on other capes. Had he killed Rachel and Alec as well? Draining them and stealing their powers. 

Shivering in her cell, she waited for him to come for her, working on her argument for why she should be allowed to live. She never thought she’d be hoping that Coil would come and save her. This just wasn’t fair.

Author’s Note: I was in a vampire mood, and Alex is fun to write. Alec is also fun to write. That level of apathy, and no fucks given is very entertaining.

Written: 06/06/2024

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster. I do read every review/comment, because it gives me the happy brain chemicals and motivates me to write more. My body is a machine that turns positive reviews into new chapters.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn. 

Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/DarkWolfShiro

If it says it’s expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you’ll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it’s expired, add me (DarkWolfShiro), and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by Marethyu, Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Beans, Malcolm Tent

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 08: Fame

– Jean-Paul Vasil/Alec (Regent) –

As he drank from the beautiful girl, he didn’t bother asking who she was or where Alex had gotten her, too busy imbibing her crimson nectar to care. She didn’t react beyond a light moan, enthralled by his new powers as she willingly bared her neck.

Despite his hunger, he pulled back and looked at the flushed girl, a college-aged blonde girl with impressive curves and a beautiful face. A part of him wanted to drain her to the last drop, but it would be a shame to destroy something so beautiful.

His long-since muted emotions felt more intense than ever, and he reached out with the new powers (Presence and Dominate, his mind provided him) as his ‘sire’ guided him through his new powers and emotions, changing her pliable mind to putty in his hands.

“C-can I keep her?” Alec asked, turning to where Alex was watching him with a raised eyebrow. His mind went back to his past; his father would never have let him keep anything, but Alex just nodded with a calm smile.

“Taming her will be good practice for your new powers, Alec. If nothing else, you can keep her locked up as a blood-bag,” Alex agreed, making Alec smile darkly as he licked his lips. His hand moved up her side, tracing her curves, but the girl was too enthralled by Alex’s might to react.

Alex was helping him this time, but in future, it would be up to him to keep her under control. 

“As I told Rachel, you are free to wander the manor and its grounds, but do not leave without my permission. Get your new pet under control, and don’t try anything with my pets, but beyond that? Practise your powers and relax; get used to your new life, Alec,” Alex advised, making Alec nod with a small grin.

He was technically dead, right? It was funny, but he’d never felt so alive . His mind went back to his father and family , his fangs glinting as his smile took on a dangerous edge.

“Can I be mastered?” Alec asked, making Alex stroke his chin.

“I don’t believe so. One of my powers allows me to control all my childer and ghouls as a hive-mind. Even if you were mastered, I believe I’d be able to break any control over you through our bond. I am your master, Alec, and I don’t share,” Alex explained with a knowing smile. “I can feel your rage, Alec, but calm yourself. Learn how to control your new powers; your time will come. Nikos Vasil will die, and when we claim his life, you will drain him to the last drop and take his powers for yourself.”

Alex’s promise made him smile darkly, and he’d be counting down the days before he could rip his bastard of a father's throat out. He’d spent so long running from his past, but with his new powers and new sire, it would be Heartbreaker who was sent running.

And he wouldn’t get far.

– Lisa Wilbourne (Tattletale) –

She’d known this was coming, having watched Ebon take every last prisoner except her.

Being led through the manor by the red-headed thrall, Emma. She hesitated as Emma opened the door to a room, gesturing for her to enter. Emma’s scowl made her speed up, well aware that whatever Ebon had done had made his pets very strong.

Entering the room, she looked at Ebon with a hesitant stare as he gestured for her to sit, almost dismissively. What had he done with the others? He’d killed Brian, but what about Rachel, Alec, Aisha, and Brian’s mom?

“You realise that you are playing with fire, Ebon? Our employer won’t take this lying down, and neither will the PRT or other villains when word gets out,” Lisa started, making him smile grimly. 

Her power, usually so loud, gave her nothing as he stared at her with burning crimson eyes.

“Ah, yes, your employer . You once tried to recruit me, knowing that joining wasn’t in my best interests . You were rather insulting,” Ebon drawled, making her blink.

Okay, sure, she’d known that Ebon joining them would allow Coil to put a leash on him, but-

Wait, there was no way.

“You targeted us… because I insulted you?” Lisa asked, shock and disbelief clear in her tone as Ebon smiled. “Are you utterly-”

As she went to speak, her words caught in her throat as she felt something wrong with her. Her heart wasn’t beating, making her clutch her chest as Ebon watched her with a small smile on his lips.

“Do you still feel so superior to me, Tattletale, knowing that your life is in my hands? Perhaps you’re right, and my actions will have painful consequences, but it will not be in time to save you. Is your boss about to kick down the door and rescue you from my clutches? I think not,” Ebon said darkly as Lisa felt her heart start again, gasping as the pain in her chest began to fade. 

He’d done all of this, killing Brian and possibly the others as well, just because she’d made fun of where he was hiding? How egotistical could one man be? Of course, Coil wasn’t going to rush to save her; he’d probably already written her off as a loss, and he didn’t act recklessly.

It was more likely that he’d blackmail Ebon with the knowledge down the line, but Ebon was right. It didn’t save her.

“What did you do with Bitch and Regent?” Lisa asked, making Ebon smile easily as he clicked his fingers.

The door opened, and her two missing teammates walked in. Regent strutted in with a cocky look in his eyes and a fanged grin on his lips. Bitch just stared her down challengingly, moving behind Ebon.

Rachel sees Ebon as her Alpha; she has been empowered and has switched sides. Her heart isn’t beating. Alec is smug at his new powers, seeing Ebon as his master. He’s excited about… something? They aren’t mastered.

“Your power… you can spread it,” Lisa realised with a start, making Ebon nod easily. 

“I have made Alec and Rachel my childer. I have options . I can turn people into ghouls, empowering them somewhat, but at the cost of an addiction to my blood. I can turn people into vampire childer, gaining several of my disciplines based upon the clan they become, or I can just drain them entirely and take their powers for myself. Emma is a ghoul, Alec and Regent became my childer, and Brian became a part of me,” Ebon explained easily, giving her a dark look. “The question is simple: which should I do with you, Lisa? Are you worth more to me alive, or should I take your powers for myself?”

If Ebon was right, and given the speed at which he was growing she believed he was, he was a special kind of cape, one that the Unwritten rules would rapidly no longer apply to. The category that Lung fell into: someone who was too strong to punish for his crimes.

Lounging in his chair, Alec gave her a lazy smirk.

“You should try this whole vampire thing; it’s amazing ,” Alec drawled.

Alec is wondering what your blood tastes like; he’s hoping you fuck up so he can taste you before Ebon drains you. He’s wondering if he could convince Ebon to let him keep you as a blood bag.

Rachel said nothing, arms crossed, as she stared Lisa down.

Rachel expects you to fuck this up and anger Ebon with your inability to shut up. She’s getting ready to beat you down if you try to run. She plans to break your arms and legs to stop you from troubling her master. Her dogs are near, ready to chase you.

Thanks for the faith, dickheads. She wasn’t surprised; the Undersiders hadn’t been together long enough for any true camaraderie to form. They were a bunch of minor villains who were together because Coil had pushed them together. Grue might have helped her if he had been turned, but he was dead and gone.

“Your boss, who is he?” Ebon asked, making her hesitate before she sighed.

“Coil, and he’s far more powerful than he pretends to be. He likes being underestimated, but you’ve put yourself in his sights,” Lisa warned, making Ebon smile darkly.

“And who is Coil?” Ebon asked.

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be in this mess. I don’t even fully understand how his power works; I definitely don’t know his civilian identity,” Lisa retorted. If Coil were so easily worked out, she’d have killed him and gotten out from under him already.

Ebon remained silent for a moment before smiling.

“ Rise ,” Ebon demanded, watching as her body disobeyed her and followed his demand. “ Approach .”

She hated how powerless she felt, her body obeying his commands as she stood before him, watching him rise to his feet with a dark smile.

“ Bare your neck,” Ebon demanded, and her head tilted up to expose her neck to him, watching with fear as he leaned in, licking her neck briefly before his sharp fangs pierced her skin, making her gasp even as her body reacted in a very different way, a sense of serenity and pleasure overcoming her.

He didn’t drain her entirely, pulling back and licking his lips as he moved back and sat back down. It was Alec who gave away what just happened, gasping with wide eyes.

Alec is getting more powers, through Ebon .

Feeding on Capes empowered him, even if he didn’t drain them. He’d gotten stronger, and by extension, so had Alec. Something to do with his ‘clan’? Rachel didn’t get stronger. Did she not have the ‘discipline’ that Ebon had just improved with her blood?

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

[Auspex, Discipline of Sensing: Adept]

[The Spirit’s Touch]

By examining an object, you can learn of its past and its previous owners from the resonance left behind.

[Spirit Ties]

By examining the residues of a target, such as their hair or blood, you can learn a great deal of information about them.

[Telepathy]

Allows you to probe someone's mind, reading their surface thoughts or projecting a telepathic message to them.

Looking over Lisa, I consider my options. Her power is tempting, and I could probably empower myself further and gain Expert in Auspex if I drained her, but until I have a better understanding of the consequences of draining someone and taking their soul into me, I am hesitant to do so.

I could have Alec drain her, but he is naturally gifted in Dominate and Presence, not Auspex. Rachel is out; maybe she could gain Auspex by draining Lisa, but it's just not her . Rachel isn’t a thinker, and I don’t want to change her perfect simplicity by adding Lisa’s soul into her body.

I can’t let her go, so the question is, will she be a ghoul or a vampire childe? Making her a vampire almost feels like a reward, which she doesn’t deserve, but I can sense her rage towards this Coil figure. 

If I empower her, I could put her on the task of hunting for Coil so we can kill him and drain him. It would also make her eternally mine ; she’d be under me until one of us dies, and I don’t intend for it to be me. 

Biting down again, I make my decision as she gasps. Alec chuckles, watching me drain the rapidly paling Lisa before I let go and watch her collapse. Slicing my wrist, I offer it to her.

“Drink, or you will die,” I warn, seeing the rage in her eyes before she moves, the resentment. She hates this, but she hates the idea of dying more. I’ll have to keep a close eye on Lisa; Alec and Rachel are perfect recruits, easy to please and keep loyal. Lisa will be less so, and I may have to kill her later, but I will give her a chance to prove she is worth the blood she is gulping down.

I could guide her to Toreador, but I just let her nature guide her. 

Lisa Wilbourne has been turned into a Mekhet, gaining access to your Disciplines of Auspex, Celerity and Obfuscate.

Having vampires of several clans under you that possess Auspex and Celerity has boosted both Disciplines.

[Celerity, Discipline of Dexterity: Adept]

[Blink]

You are able to move great distances with sudden, short bursts of speed that allow you to move so quickly that it seems like you are teleporting.

[Traversal]

You now move even faster and are able to run on water easily.

Lisa collapses, making me smile in pleasure. I need to be as strong as possible before I undergo the PRT’s tests. I want them to beg for me to join them on their hands and knees, and for that, I need to utterly wow them without showing them my Master powers.

This is a good start, but only a start nonetheless. Checking the time, I smile to myself.

“Alec, Rachel. Tonight, I am going on another hunt. You two will remain here; you still haven’t gotten used to your powers,” I order, making Rachel nod easily, and Alec raises a lazy eyebrow. I can feel his eagerness to try out his new speed. His past has left his emotions muted, but we Toreadors are emotional beings by nature. I may need to keep an eye on his mental state. “I’m going to get a blood bag for Lisa when she wakes up, but you two are to keep a close eye on her. She isn’t as intelligent as you two and may decide to cause trouble. I don’t want to have to hunt her down myself; I will need to focus and not split my attention between my prey and Lisa.”

“That’s Tats for you,” Alec agrees with a shrug. “She’s what is commonly referred to as a ‘pain in the ass’.”

“And I’m counting on you two to prove you can handle a single little girl throwing a tantrum,” I say, making Alec smirk as he nods. 

“She isn’t going anywhere ,” Rachel promises, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. I can already tell she would see Lisa fleeing as a betrayal of her new pack. 

“Good, because I plan to set her on gathering intel on Hookwolf and his Dog Fights once she comes to,” I say, and I can tell that Rachel sees the bait for what it is, but still, I can see her grow more determined to keep Lisa here. Rachel isn’t stupid , but she doesn’t care that I’m blatantly baiting her. I just gave her another reason to keep Lisa here.

Smiling at them, I move Lisa to the cell and shackle her up. She will be hungry when she awakens, and I don’t need her going for one of my pets.

“S-Sir,” Emma starts as I leave, making me smile. 

“You want to become a vampire, don’t you?” I say, cutting her off as she freezes, making me gently stroke her cheek with a warm smile. 

“I know I don’t deserve such power-”

“You will be one of my childer, in time. When I change you, you won’t be able to return to your normal life. The sun will become your enemy, and I still have plans for you that require you to be able to move freely,” I say, making her eyes widen as I place a kiss on her forehead. “You were my first servant. I’m sorry you couldn’t be my first childe, but as I said, I still have need of you.”

Emma beams up at me.

“Whatever you need, I won’t let you down, master,” Emma swears, and I believe her. She sold her mother's freedom to me, arranged for me to be able to kill her father, and she’s been working on luring her older sister back to the Bay so I can complete the Barnes set. I place  a kiss on her lips and she beams at me as I bite my lip and let some of my blood leak into our kiss, making her shudder. 

Taylor’s tortured soul still demands vengeance. Seeing Emma reduced to such an obedient little pet has soothed her rage, but Sophia and Madison have gone unpunished. Winslow has gone unpunished despite their constant ignoring of Taylor’s complaints, which I now know is because of Sophia’s position as a Ward.

Taylor’s soul is a strong one; her rage at the injustice she faced still lives inside my soul. In comparison, Leet and Uber were forgettable little men, attention seekers who were happy to be the clowns of the cape world as long as people were watching them. Grue saw himself as a professional, but he was a fool being led around by Coil. From his memories, I can tell Coil never would have given Grue what he wanted, and the PRT could have helped him get Aisha out of her unsafe environment so much easier. 

The funny thing? Lisa knows this as well. Lisa was the little devil on his shoulder, guiding him to villainy and away from his goal for the sake of her own aims. Lisa did to Brian what she was planning on doing to me . 

Brian’s soul is potent, but most of the traces come in the form of his protective love for Aisha, and in that, I can promise that Aisha will be safe and happy. I had some of my ghouls buy her some new clothes and an expensive gaming set-up; she’s having a great time, even as she tries to convince me to let her join my cape life. Aisha adores me, more than she ever did Brian . 

I’m hoping that satisfying Taylor’s need for revenge will help satisfy her soul and lessen its effect on me. That’s why I’m limiting what souls I take into my body, using my childer to take the powers I want.

Still, there is one soul and power I want for myself. It’s not who I am hunting today, but it’s going to be a step in the right direction.

– Lisa Wilbourn (Tattletale) – Later –

As the blood from her first ‘meal’ still coursed through her veins, she stared at herself in the mirror. Her already fair skin had become even more pale, and her two fangs were noticeable, but after a moment of focus, she watched them both fade as she used her new powers.

Mortal’s Mask hid the signs of her change, and as much as she was angry at what Alexander had done to her, she couldn’t deny the power she now possessed at her fingertips. 

Auspex, which was only enhanced by her own Thinker power. Celerity, which allowed her to move at speeds that would make Velocity jealous. Obfuscate, allowing her to go invisible and silence any sound she made. 

She had feared that her own Thinker power would suffer from whatever had made Ebon so resistant to it, but instead, she’d found her power was stronger . It responded faster, and she didn’t get thinker headaches nearly as quickly anymore.

Auspex was insanely powerful; she had genuine telepathy now. Her power, combined with the ability to read minds, was immensely effective, and that wasn’t even mentioning the other powers she had gained. Any one of these powers would have made a decently powerful Thinker in the right hands, but all of them in her hands?

As much as she was bitter at once again being captured and enslaved by another villain (even one pretending to be a hero), she couldn’t deny that she could almost understand why Alex was so damn arrogant with all this power at her fingertips. She was weaker than him, and she felt invincible . 

She was a Mekhet, and while the word had meant nothing to her before, she now understood it, and the word resonated with her. The Mekhet were a clan of wisdom, finesse and stealth. They ruled from the shadows, weaponising the information they gathered to pull the strings of the world from behind the scenes, leading shadowy cults and conspiracies. 

She wasn’t as flashy as Alex and Alec, the pair of Toreadors, or as wild as Rachel, the Gangrel. But her new clan felt… right , like this was what she was always meant to be.

It was just unfortunate that this new power came with so many downsides; her new weaknesses were a problem but not the end of the world. She wasn’t that attached to sunlight, and blood was far sweeter than she expected, but the biggest problem?

Ebon was her sire, and she could not defy him. Unlike Coil, who needed threats to keep her in line, Ebon was bonded to her and could simply puppet her body as he pleased. His orders were absolute in her mind, and freeing herself from his control would be far more complicated.

That said, much like Alec was hungering to slay his father, she saw an opportunity to use her new powers to slay Coil and claim his power for herself. That was the biggest appeal of her new powers. Ebon could take the powers of capes he drained, and now so could she.

Coil had become more paranoid after Ebon arrived because Ebon interfered with his power. He was more vulnerable now than ever before, and she would find and kill the bastard who’d started this entire mess. She’d have been safe and happy as a rogue if it weren’t for him grabbing her, far away from narcissistic vampires and the chaos that was now her life.

Once Coil’s power was hers, she’d consider her options for Ebon himself. He’d promised Rachel that once she claimed Hookwolf’s power, she could make her own clan, no longer a mere childe. Alec wasn’t interested in creating his own clan, happy to be under Ebon, but could she slip his leash and keep all her new powers? She could handle him being nominally above her if she was in another town, with a clan of her own childer to serve her as she embraced her Mekhet nature and became what Coil only wished he was.

If not, being unable to defy him simply meant she needed to be smart about how she worked against him, and she was definitely clever. She could outsmart Ebon, and maybe she could even drain him .

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

Stalking through the night, I smile as I reach my destination. 

I considered turning my attention to the Empire first, but after a moment, I decided against it. Kaiser is still trying the soft sell, seeing my rapidly growing power with covetous eyes, 

The Merchants are under my control. Squealer has them following her orders, and Skidmark has been left to rot. Mush is pushing for her to try to rescue Skidmark, but I may have to arrange for Mush to disappear. Squealer picked several influential pimps and dealers that I turned into ghouls, binding them to my will. They won’t say anything, and Squealer controls their supply of the crimson nectar they need, so they won’t work against her because they know I’ll cut them off if they do.

Really, it’s business as usual for them. They just have a new drug, and Squealer is the one controlling the supply, not Skidmark.

Using [Unseen Presence], I move slowly through the building, bypassing the Asian guards with ease as I wait for someone else to open the door to slip inside. 

The smell of sex in the air makes my nose curl as I make my way through the ‘abandoned’ motel, planning my next move as I explore the ABB’s infamous farm. It’s just outside of the city proper, well-hidden and remote.

As for how I found it?

I looked up missing women in the city, looking for a recent one, found out where they lived and found something that belonged to them. A fifteen-year-old Korean girl vanished on her way home from school; I found out about her thanks to her mother pleading for more information on a wanted poster. 

With Auspex, I used the girl's favourite dress and her hairbrush to use [Spirit Ties] and [The Spirit’s Touch] to gather more information on her, then [Unerring Pursuit] to use that information to locate her.

It is hard to hide from me, and before long, I found my target, the infamous farm. Most of the girls here will be sold to brothels out-of-town; the ABB brothels don’t keep all the girls they capture, preferring girls who dubiously agreed to become whores rather than the grabbed girls. Finding the man in charge of this place isn’t hard. He is a somewhat elderly Chinese man sitting in an office, and his mind reveals a lot of the details about how this little operation works.

Lung is currently out of town, something about a new recruit that he decided to recruit personally. Telepathy has helped me scour the ABB thugs for information, so only Oni Lee is around to defend the Farm should anything happen.

Something like this, for instance.

Calling on [Black Metamorphosis], the shadows rise and envelop me, hiding my features and coating me in pitch-black armour as I begin my work. The elderly man realises he’s not alone as my Stranger powers fade, and grabbing his pistol, he desperately aims it at me, but with my speed, endurance and assortment of powers, regular thugs just aren’t a threat to me anymore.

I’m careful not to kill him as I backhand him into the wall because I know what he is going to do as I leave him coughing up some blood from the force behind my blow, heading into the base as I begin the mayhem.

He’s a well-trained man, and as he realises that a Cape has discovered the newest location of the farm, he pulls out his phone and sends a message, summoning Oni Lee to defend the place.

I smile, even as I descend upon the panicking thugs, the shadows spreading as [Shroud of Night] plunges the entire motel into darkness. The sounds of screaming, gunshots and shouting are muffled by a cloud of living shadows, [Oblivion's Sight] letting me move freely as I hunt.

– Oni Lee –

Arriving at the farm, he looked around for the cape who had dared attack Lung’s property with calm eyes despite the chaos.

Finding the threat wasn’t hard; the shadow-cloaked figure was toying with the ABB men who were meant to defend the Farm, tossing them around with ease and dodging their attacks as the cape dashed around at inhuman speeds.

As the figure stopped, holding one of the ABB thugs by the throat, seemingly taunting him, Lee struck. Teleporting next to him, Lee pulled his usual modus operandi, trying to blow up the intruder, even if it killed several of his men.

Teleporting away, he left a clone to explode and frowned as something struck him the moment he teleported away, the cape dashing towards him at ungodly speeds, striking him in the chest and sending him tumbling away. Despite the pain and likely a cracked rib, Lee just moved again and tried again, teleporting behind the figure and trying to shank them with his knife, but the cape grabbed his wrist and snapped it with a mocking laugh.

“ This is the fearsome Oni Lee? This broken little worm?” the man asked, but Lee didn’t rise to the taunts as he pulled the pins on his grenades. 

As he teleported away, watching the cape outrun his explosion, he went to move again before he felt a shard of fear for the first time as his vision went pitch black. He needed to be able to see to teleport, but his eyes failed him as he swivelled his head around desperately.

As he felt a pair of fangs bite into his neck, he tried to blow himself up anyway, but his arms refused to move to his bandolier of grenades. Lung would kill this fool, but Lee knew it wouldn’t be soon enough to save him.

It was with indifference that he felt his lifeblood being drained, his body going limp.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebon) –

Oni Lee is unique because his mind is so damaged by his own power that he barely remembers who he is anymore. His soul is the weakest I’ve seen, and it is because of that fact that I’m willing to claim it for myself.

[Autonomic Mastery] is a hard counter for people who need to be able to see. I simply turned off his sight, and he was left powerless. I’m actually mildly impressed that his final act was to try and kill us both, but I wasn’t going to allow him to deny me my hard-won meal.

[Oni Lee: Double Trouble]

While using any form of teleportation ability, you leave behind a copy of yourself for five seconds, which will follow your mental commands.

[Dementation, Discipline of Madness: Adept]

[Confusion]

Cloud your target's mind, causing them to wander around in a daze, mostly unresponsive to stimuli.

[Silence the Sane Mind]

Suppress part of the victim's mind, affecting them in different ways such as making them confused, enraged or even catatonic. 

[Mass Hallucinations]

Inflict Hallucinations on everyone within your range. You do not control what they see, but you can choose the theme of the hallucinations, such as making everyone see what they fear or forcing them to see their loved ones dying in brutal ways; you do not need to know their loved ones or fears for it to work, as their minds provide the details.

[Voice of Madness]

Your voice can drive those who hear it into extreme fear or anger, spreading terror and making those who listen to you cower or flee or driving them into a homicidal rage.

[Total Insanity]

Drive your target’s mind into a temporary insanity, though you do not choose which insanity is inflicted upon them.

[Devil in the Mind]

Cause your target to lose all inhibitions and social morals while bringing their impulses to the surface.

It says a lot about Lee that his broken mind was able to give me two full levels of Dementation, granting me new powers ready to inflict madness upon the world. Lee’s soul is as pathetic as I expected, fading into the others without a fight. 

Looking down at his body, I scoff before I get to work and slice my wrist, letting my blood drip onto him and watching as [Ashes to Ashes] does its work, reducing him to nothing as Oblivion takes him.

Lee’s decision to blow himself up repeatedly made short work of the witnesses, and I head back inside as I make my rounds, overpowering the remaining thugs who weren’t smart enough to run, convinced that Lee would handle it.

Binding them all with ropes made by [Nightshades], the pitch-black ropes utterly unbreakable by people so damn feeble, I let my [Black Metamorphosis] fade as I put on the facade of a true hero.

Dozens of traumatised girls of varying ages are freed, ranging from early forties down to preteens, a smile on my lips as I put my acting skills to work, playing the concerned hero. Auspex, Dominate and Presence combined ensure that things go smoothly, though I don’t do anything too heavy to make sure not to trigger the PRT’s master-stranger protocols as the heroes finally arrive.

Miss Militia dismounts her bike, two PRT vans pulling up behind her as she approaches me, hesitating as she spots nearly forty women in various states of undress and abuse. What little clothes they have been torn, semen stains their bodies, and they are littered with bruises, making it very obvious what happened to them.

“Hello again, Miss Militia,” I say, giving her a small smile and a nod as she approaches, though my smile looks strained, and a look of distress is poorly hidden as she looks around.

“Ebon, a pleasure. Your message mentioned Oni Lee. Is he still here?” Miss Militia asks, looking around at the clear blast marks.

“I overpowered him, but he fled. He was no real match for me; I’m too fast for him to catch with his little grenade trick, and I’m fairly certain I broke his ribs with a blow,” I explain. “I chose to remain behind; I hadn’t taken down all the thugs yet and didn’t want to leave the girls unattended. I’m fast , but teleporters are hard to pin down,” I admit with a frown, but she gives me a soft smile despite her own concerned look.

“You did the right thing, Ebon; how did you even find this place? We had trouble finding it even with your directions,” Miss Militia admits, making me pause and nod over to one of the girls, the one who led me here. The girl is sat on the floor, her legs pulled up to her chest, utterly nude. She has been here the shortest, I think, but she too has that broken look in her eyes, semen leaking from her abused holes and bruises covering her slender body.

“I have almost a dozen different Thinker powers at this point. I was looking into a missing person case, that is Song Su-Bin. Her mother put up a missing person poster, and it got me wondering. I asked her mother for some of her belongings, a dress she loved and a hairbrush, and used them to track her down,” I explain, truthfully no less. That’s a rarity for me.

I catch Miss Militia’s eyes widening at the idea of me having so many powers, but she is a consummate professional as she nods. 

“Impressive, though you are lucky that Lung didn’t respond. This could have gone very differently if he did,” Miss Militia admits, making me grin.

“Luck is for fools. As I said, I have a lot of Thinker powers, and I know Lung is out of town. He has headed to New York to try and recruit the Cornell Bomber. I saw an opportunity, and I couldn’t leave several dozen girls to be violated,” I say, getting a soft look from her even as I catch her surprise at the revelation of Lung’s plan. “Oni Lee is dangerous, but he is no Lung.”

“Lung won’t take this lying down; when he gets back, he will come for you,” Miss Militia warns, making me shrug. “If he manages to recruit this bomb tinker, things could get very unpleasant for you.”

“True, but I don’t regret a thing,” I say with a cocky smile.  Lung is going to hunt me?

No, Lung is going to bite the bait I’ve left out for him and find himself hunted because he is very powerful, and it is that power that I want. Lung will be a part of me, joining Lee inside my soul.

Miss Militia continues her informal interview as more PRT troops arrive, securing the thugs and identifying the girls, reconfirming that I’m still coming in for power testing as planned. 

I didn’t want to go in with meagre power and no reputation, but this should put me in the spotlight, and my growing powers will make me all the more tempting a recruit for them. That doesn’t mean I’m done yet; there’s one last thing I need before I’m satisfied.

The most in-demand type of Cape, above all else, are healers . My smile grows as I talk with Miss Militia, making it clear that I do want to take the credit since ‘Lee’ will tell Lung about me either way.

— Bonus Scene — Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) 

Piggot’s report on Ebon was as scathing as she’d expected from the bitter woman, already hating Ebon for his arrogance and recklessness.

Piggot would hate him far more if she knew what his true nature was: a self-perpetuating Master and Trump, growing stronger and spreading his power to those he deemed worthy of his ‘gift’. 

Ebon was far from subtle in his actions, and his unknowing interference in their Brockton Bay experiment had drawn their attention when Coil had contacted them in the hopes of buying another power after Ebon had removed the Undersiders from his control. His precious power could not work on Ebon, and it had him terrified and hateful of the disruption to his plans,

Ebon was a threat, similar to Teacher in many ways, but Rebecca just rubbed her chin in thought. No doubt Piggot would be happy to throw him into the Birdcage when his deeds were revealed, and Ebon was simply too careless and prideful to hide them forever.

They couldn’t predict Ebon himself, but the aftermath of his actions was a different situation. Regent, Bitch and Tattletale were all now far stronger, and Ebon could claim the powers of those he drained. 

She was half tempted to send him into the Birdcage, not to imprison him but to have those powers that were wasting away drained. Ebon wanted to be a hero, not out of the goodness of his heart but because the man was a Grade-A Narcissist and loved the spotlight.

Such a man would be easy to control despite their inability to read him. He wanted wealth and glory, of which she could provide in great measures. Stroking her chin, she considered what was the best way to approach the upcoming meeting with Ebon. 

Author’s Note: Yes, I know that Lee’s brain damage was probably just an incorrect comment by a butt-hurt Jack Slash, but I like the concept. 

Marethyu’s Note: “Nah, I’d win” -Lisa (a thinker) vs a thinker-immune cape who can mind control her

Malcolm’s note: Lisa is a Vampire for ten minutes before she starts plotting to diablerize her sire. Because, of course.

Written: 09/07/2024

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster. I do read every review/comment, because it gives me the happy brain chemicals and motivates me to write more. My body is a machine that turns positive reviews into new chapters.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn. 

Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/DarkWolfShiro

If it says it’s expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you’ll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it’s expired, add me (DarkWolfShiro), and I’ll invite you myself.

Chapter Text

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I’m just playing with them.

Betad by Malcolm Tent, Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Beans, Marethyu

The Guild of Gamers: The Occult

Chapter 09: Healer’s Touch

– Alexander Shaw (Ebonstar) –

At first, I considered Panacea as the prime target for my healing needs.

She’s closest, and getting to her wouldn’t be difficult with my powers. Everyone says she is one of the greatest healers in the world, and it’s only fitting that I get the greatest powers for myself, isn’t it?

But after a moment of temptation, I decided against it. If Panacea disappears and then I show up with a new, similar healing power, people may catch onto that particular aspect of my powers. I could feed on her, but again, there is some risk to that, and it just isn’t worth it… for now.

Not when there is another viable target so nearby.

I’ve done my research, and just a short run away from Brockton Bay lies another healer, one far less famous than Panacea. Lizardtail, one of Accord’s ambassadors. He’s capable of giving other people a regenerative factor, and with my speed, Boston is just a short trip away.

Capes in this world are so strange, so very few ever leave their city. Sure, there are some wandering ones like the Nine, but for the most part, a Brockton Bay cape wouldn’t leave the Bay for anything less than an Endbringer attack or to recruit someone (like our little rage dragon is trying to do).

When Boston is just minutes away at my speed, I’d be foolish not to take advantage of this preconception to find better prey. Most won’t ever assume that Ebonstar would leave the Bay, and disappearances in Boston won’t be linked to me.

Finding the Ambassadors was not hard. Much like Brockton, Boston is separated into distinct territories between the local PRT, the Teeth, the Ambassadors, the much smaller Blastgerm and some tiny gangs that are barely surviving against the big fish of the city.

Accord keeps his healer safer and far more secure than Panacea, at any rate, but with my growing powers and my little Tattletale, tracking him down is not difficult for me.

But again, I hold back. As easy as it would be to sneak into that hideout and steal away Lizardtail, I don’t want to risk someone like Accord working out that I am involved in this attack. Healers are very valued, and the loss of Lizardtail is bound to enrage the crime lord.

But then, he has enemies already, does he not? As it happens, one of those enemies has a power I desire. While I am still hesitant to take too many souls into myself, I believe this one will be worth it.

Using my powers of Obfuscation, I watch my prey hum to herself as she dances around the kitchen. It’s a strange sight, the hideous outfit made of spikes and bones clashing with the young woman’s actions as she shakes her hips to the music playing through nearby speakers, working on a chilli.

The Teeth are hideous. Their outfits and scars disgust me, and I’m tempted to just kill everyone inside this base before making off with Hemorrhagia. The Butcher herself is not here because someone attacked one of their pit fights and drew her out to defend her territory.

Spree sits, watching the television, with a bored expression as he waits for the food to be done. Apparently, it’s the Butcher’s favourite, and Hemorrhagia is making it to cheer up Butcher after my little mischief at their other base. I’m giving Lisa a chance to prove herself, as this is mostly her plan with some improvisation from me.

Of course, her first suggestion was, ‘Don’t attack the Teeth, you maniac,’ but I won’t be tolerating that kind of cowardice.

Reaching out, I capture Spree with [Confusion] and watch his expression go flat as he stares into space blindly, not reacting as I drop my invisibility. Nor does he shout out a warning as I move fast, Hemorrhagia barely getting to let out a strangled shout before my fangs pierce her neck. She can control her own blood, and despite her shock, I feel the blood going down my throat stab into my insides , her last desperate attack as I drink deep .

I don’t care about the damage she’s doing, and my strength vastly overpowers her own as she struggles helplessly. She has a stronger will than Spree, but as we engage in this battle of blood, her mind becomes more clouded until I feel her blood continue its smooth journey down my throat.

What vampire could resist blood control?

[Hemorrhagia: The Blood that Binds]

When you give your blood to another, either to make them a ghoul or vampire childe, you continue to possess a level of control over it. With a thought, you can cause the blood inside them to boil or harden into spikes to punish disobedient ghouls or vampires, feeling your blood destroy them from the inside.

[Protean, Discipline of Change: Apprentice]

[Earth Meld]

Becoming one with the soil, you can sink into the earth. Unless in torpor, you will rise again once the sun sets next.

[Mist Form]

You can turn into a cloud of mist, perceivable to the eye but untouchable by anything save fire, sunlight, and supernatural aggression. You can easily fit through pipes, crevices, and cracks. While strong winds might buffet you, no natural force can disperse the cloud.

Ah, I suppose she was a personal biokinetic, wasn’t she? 

[Quietus, Discipline of The Assamites: Apprentice]

[Taste of Death]

You can spit acidic blood at a target, able to burn through mortal flesh and bones with relative ease.

[Scorpion's Touch]

You can create a contact-based poison out of your blood that greatly debilitates a victim physically, able to paralyse weaker victims entirely.

[Dagon's Call]

By weaponising the blood within their veins, you can cause harm to a person who you have touched within the last hour, no matter the distance between you.

Hm. Not exactly what I was looking for, as I wanted my own blood control to frame the Teeth for what I’m about to do. Well, a new discipline is never going to be turned down, even if Hemorrhagia proved far less useful than I expected.

Taking a moment to knock her chilli off the counter, I toss her body over my shoulder before returning to Spree. I’m tempted to drain him as well, but I already plan to claim another soul today, and after a moment, I change my mind.

Hitting him over the head with enough force to likely give him brain damage, I grab him as well and make my escape. With a thought, I send a call to one of my pets as I escape the city limits.

Tossing Hemorrhagia down, I call upon Oblivion to reduce her body to nothing but ash, waiting as I feel my loyal childe rushing to my side.

“Pretty sure I just moved more in a few minutes than I have in my entire life,” Alec quips as he arrives. He’s not as fast as me, but he’s close enough to be able to make it to me since I met him halfway. “What’s up, boss man?”

“I’ve found you your first true meal, Alec,” I say, tossing Spree at his feet. “Drain him, every last drop. I need to be sure you can diablerise capes like I can before we go after your father.”

I don’t want to take him into my soul. Without a moment of hesitation, Alec pounces like the obedient childe he is. He’s so eager to please his master and to prove that he can deal with his father.

Spree finally snaps out of it, but creating rapidly deteriorating clones isn’t the most useful thing when a vampire already has its fangs into your flesh. Plus, Alec impresses me with his quick mastery of Presence and Dominate. He’s been using his pet to practice, and while it lacks the subtlety of my disciplines, he essentially blasts the villain's mind with emotion and control alike.

Maybe Spree would have snapped out of it eventually, but not soon enough to save himself.

Through our bond, I watch his powers carefully as he drains Spree dry, dropping the withered husk when there is simply nothing left to drink. A touch from me has Spree join his former friend, blowing away in the wind as the ashes are scattered.

Alec is too busy laughing to notice as I turn back to him, seeing three Alec’s staring back at me. Two have completely blank expressions, but unlike Spree’s, I don’t think they’re going to deteriorate anytime soon. Ah, Alec has learnt from me . Impressive. He’s using the Hivemind power I got from Taylor to control his clones. He gets less of them, and some testing shows that he can’t control more than four before it gets too much, but his grin tells me that he doesn’t mind that limitation.

“Man, I’m going to make Chloe airtight when I get back,” Alec says, making me blink.

“Was your pet’s name Chloe?” I ask, making him shrug.

“Hell if I know, and I got carried away with my memory modification tests, so she doesn’t know either. She’s Chloe now,” Alec explains with a shrug.

“Hm, why Chloe?” I ask, again getting a shrug.

“I think that was my mom's name, and it worked as well as anything else. I couldn’t decide between calling her Chloe or Cherie,” Alec admits with a light smirk, flicking his own face in amusement. “So, want some help with… whatever you’re doing?”

I don’t comment on his decision to name his first blood bag and pet after his mother; well aware that my Toreador childe has some considerable issues. As he mentioned Cherie, I got a flash of his sister, a beautiful young woman with a streak of red in her hair. To say his emotions are mixed about her and all his siblings would be an understatement.

“I appreciate the offer, but not this time. You lack my skills in Obfuscation, and I can’t hide other people yet. Go home to Chloe. I’m sure she’ll be impressed with your new talent,” I say with a chuckle, ruffling his hair.

One of me is more than enough, but Alec could use all the help he can get. Though, I do suspect that my lazy childe is never going to do a single thing for himself again with both Dominate and now clones of himself at his beck and call.

“Sure thing, boss,” Alec agrees with a grin, his hands in his pocket. “And thanks, sire .”

“You’re welcome. We’re one step closer to seeing Nikos dead, Alec. Continue to practice, and be ready for when the time comes,” I order, getting a bloodthirsty grin from him.

“I used to hate training, but I’ll work myself to the bone for a chance to rip that bastard’s throat out with my teeth,” Alec swears, mania in his eyes. He’s still adapting to his emotions returning and being so heightened. From near-complete apathy to feeling everything at a far higher intensity, it’s no wonder he’s a little manic.

Even if I didn’t get what I truly wanted, this was by no means a failure.

Alec gives me a flamboyant and utterly exaggerated bow before he dashes away into the night, heading back home. Watching him go, I turn and head back toward Boston myself. One target down, one to go.

With my original plan having fallen flat, I won’t be framing the Teeth for this. Well, not unless I dominate some of them, but revealing that a Master is running around would only make matters even worse. 

No, it’s better if Lizardtail follows Spree and Hemorrhagia’s example and just disappears with no real trace for Accord to follow. With three capes vanishing in one night, it might be better if I don’t come back to Boston anytime soon when I’m done here.

As Ebon, I’m deliberately flashy. I want people to know where I am. I practically shine a spotlight on my location, but as I move through Boston, I’m very careful not to be spotted or leave even a hint of my presence here.

Lizardtail is a tall man in an expensive-looking suit and a lizard-themed mask, going over what seem to be documents for Accord’s operations. Unlike Panacea, Lizardtail doesn’t heal for free, and he’s a good source of income for Accord, who sells his services to those in need. 

However, unlike Panacea, he can’t heal diseases, as all he does is massively increase the natural regeneration that humans have, though as his name suggests, he can regrow limbs like a lizard regrowing a severed tail. He’s an important part of Accord’s neatly arranged house of cards, helping ensure that any injured Ambassador is back in the fight before anyone can capitalise on their loss.

This time, I go for something different as I project my mind toward him from my hiding place inside his office. He stiffens, shaking for a moment before he relaxes. Well, his body relaxes; his mind screams in confusion as I take possession of his body for myself.

Controlling both bodies (thanks to the gift that keeps giving, Hivemind), I have my true body sink into the shadows and [Shadowstep] away from the office while Lizardtail rises. My true body escapes Boston once more, allowing me to fully focus on the task at hand.

Accord is not a man who tolerates insubordination or incompetence. His gang is well-trained, and his Ambassadors are to be obeyed as long as their orders do not contradict his own. In truth, Accord rarely deals with the rank-and-file so as not to trigger his murderous OCD fits, so when Lizardtail starts giving some orders to the local forces, they assume that he’s speaking with Accord’s authority. 

With Lizardtail’s body and memories at my disposal, combined with my own acting skills, his men don’t suspect a thing as they get me a car as I help myself to some of the Ambassadors' money. Lizardtail has a very important client to meet. The most important of all.

The driver only asks for an address, and I give him one in Providence, southwest of Boston. We’re halfway down the I-95 before ‘my’ phone starts to ring, Citrine’s name on the screen. Here I was, expecting the Ambassadors to be more organised. 

I end the call without answering, pulling out a small handgun from my jacket and with a single shot, the driver is dead. The car swerves out of control, rolling and crashing. Lizardtail is a durable man, and any wounds he takes are quickly healed as I climb free of the wreckage. Without a second thought, I make a break for it into the dense woods before any other cars can even stop to question me. 

And then I see something truly beautiful … me.

By the time any of Accord’s men or the PRT can get out to the crash site, Lizardtail is long gone from the scene of the crime. Lizardtail, Accord’s loyal healer, disappearing into the night with a briefcase full of money the same night that two Teeth capes vanish without a trace.

Fact can be stranger than fiction, but I can’t wait to see what the locals make of this as Lizardtail struggles in my grip. He’s tough, but he isn’t strong, and my fangs care little for his durability. They can pierce his skin, and that means I can drink.

[Lizardtail: Regrowth]

Any removed limbs will regrow in a matter of hours, at the very longest. 

[Fortitude, Discipline of Endurance: Apprentice]

[Defy Bane]

Your skill with Fortitude has increased your resistance to all vampiric weaknesses.

[Seal the Beast's Maw]

Through your mental endurance, you can ignore the effects of your hunger for a time. This risks causing you to become frenzied if pushed too far.

Ah, now that I can certainly use. Every little helps when it comes to defending yourself against your weaknesses. Fire and Silver will no longer be such a major threat to me, and Sunlight won’t incinerate me in an instant. It will still burn me to ash if I stay in it for longer than a minute, but that’s still a minute I can use to save myself should the worst happen.

[Valeren, Discipline of the Salubri: Apprentice]

[Anaesthetic Touch/Gift of Sleep]

By embracing the path of the Healer and the Warrior, you can remove the sensation of pain from a target or put a creature to sleep.

[Sense Vitality]

You have a sixth sense of how healthy those around you are by reading the life energy within their blood.

[Sense Cycle]

By embracing the path of the Watcher, you have learnt to sense the cycle of life in its entirety. You instinctively know when an individual or an event is important to your future.

[Panacea]
Your saliva can become a healing elixir, able to heal wounds by licking them or otherwise spreading your saliva upon them. This also heals the bite marks you leave behind.

[Auguring the Sickness]

By examining a target, you can learn the severity and nature of a sickness plaguing them.

[Corpore Sano]

By expending your stored vitae, you can heal any sort of wound on yourself or others.

Well, what do you know… I got Panacea, after all. Watching Lizardtail turn to ash, I make my way home with a pleased smile. Tonight has been a profitable one. 

Corpore Sano is stronger than Panacea, but Panacea is free, while Corpore Sano costs the blood I have drunk to work. I don’t understand what it means by the Cycle of Life, but the important thing is that I’ve gained the healing powers that will make me so valued. 

While another healer going missing around the same time is suspicious, our powers are noticeably different, as Lizardtail’s did not require blood or saliva to work. Plus, they already know my powers are constantly growing, and while I’m not as good as Panacea at the moment , if all my powers keep growing, then it’s only a matter of time, isn’t it?

Returning to my manor, I chuckle at the sounds of depravity coming from Alec’s room and give Rachel a nod as she waves. She’s benefitted from tonight as well, being linked to my Fortitude and Protean disciplines.

Heading into Lisa’s lair, a dimly lit bedroom, she gives me an annoyed look at my lack of knocking, but I don’t have to knock in my house. 

“You realise that Boston is going to pay for your little trick? Accord will snap, and the Butcher won’t take this lying down. Even if you didn’t leave a trace, Boston is bound to burn for your little trip,” Lisa drawls.

“For my new powers, it was more than worth it,” I counter, and she snorts.

“Assuming the Butcher doesn’t kick down our door tomorrow morning, I might just agree with you there,” Lisa finally admits. She’s a power-hungry little brat, seeing the benefits Rachel and Alec got from my trip and wanting her own.

She’s already looking into Capes that would compliment her own powers or empower my Auspex, Celerity or Obfuscate disciplines so that I will, in turn, empower her. She wants Coil dead; she wants to survive, and if she gets the chance… she wants to drain me and take everything I have. For that, it’s better if I get stronger while she ‘proves her loyalty’ and gets closer to me.

“Your plan worked well enough. It’s a shame I didn’t get the right power to frame the Teeth, but the chaos will be an opportunity in and of itself. You did well tonight, Lisa,” I praise, making her roll her eyes.

“With these new powers? I could do this in my sleep. Not that I sleep anymore,” Lisa boasts.  

“Have you finished the other thing I asked for?” I say, and I watch as she hesitates.

“I have, but this… sir , this is even more risky than picking a fight with the Teeth and Accord. That girl is dangerous , a ticking time bomb,” Lisa warns, but I just stare at her. After a moment, she sighs. “This is going to end poorly, and when it does, remember that I told you so.”

Listening to my pet Thinker, I smile.

Do you know what makes healers so valued? How very rare they are. True healing capes are so very uncommon and almost always have issues linked to their healing. This city is spoiled, with Panacea here and healing for free. That tired little girl has become one of the cornerstones keeping this city standing.

And wouldn’t my healing be more valued if they didn’t have their precious Panacea to heal them every time they got injured? She’s practically devaluing every other healer by her mere existence. 

I didn’t want to drain Panacea and then show up with a healing power because that’s too obvious. She’s too high-profile, and while I would love a taste of her, I’ll settle for simply removing her from the equation.

But I’m not going to kill her. As I listen to Lisa explain the bundle of stress and repressed emotions that is Amy Dallon, I smile... no, I have a better idea. Amy sounds so very unstable , one bad day from ending it all, and just perfect for a little Dementation .

All I need to do is use Dominate to set the stage a little, and then Amy will take herself off the stage and make room for the real star of the show.

But for now, I need to make myself seen around the city before sunrise. 

– Amelia Dallon (Panacea) – Three Days Later

Listening to Carol rant at her, she tried to hide her anger. All she did was take a single day off. Sure, she didn’t tell anyone that she wasn’t going to the hospital, but she was so tired, and Vicky took time off from her hero life all the time. Maybe she should have told someone that she wasn’t going instead of hopping on a bus downtown after school, but it wasn’t that big a deal.

But no, when it was her taking a walk around the boardwalk and catching a shitty movie, Carol acted like she had become a villain.  

Vicky had been sent out, banished to the same boardwalk she was being punished for going to. Carol hadn’t liked Vicky trying to stand up for her, and Vicky, as much as she tried, wasn’t good at standing up to Carol. Vicky would take fighting Neo-Nazis supervillains over having to argue with their mom any day of the week and had meekly slipped away after Carol had ordered her to leave.

So Aunt Sarah had been a little embarrassed to have to tell the hospital that she wasn’t coming, so what? It wasn’t like the nurses didn’t hint that she should be taking more time for herself anyway. Was the city so fragile that it couldn’t keep turning without Panacea for a single fucking day?

That’s what they were acting like, which made her unhappiness grow at their ungratefulness . Sure, they always thanked her for her hard work, but words meant nothing. Now that she’d deprived them of her services for a few hours, those empty words had turned to entitled demands. 

So someone had died, rushed to the hospital that they were expecting her to be at. People died all the time. She didn’t kill him; she had no part in the car crash, so why was it her duty to fix it? And for what? A pat on the back and being told she was such a wonderful hero? Carol was acting like she had personally got into a car and ran the man over, but she could recognise a guilt trip when she saw one. 

People are dead because you wanted a couple of hours to yourself. You did this. You could have saved them. Every other time this had happened, every time she had hinted at not going in for a day, Carol had weaponised these words to make her back down. This time, it filled her with nothing but bitterness and anger. 

She did so much, and for what? Her great reward for all her hard work was more hard work. If she charged, people wouldn’t think they were entitled to her services, but heroes don’t demand money for saving people, do they?  

That was the creed Carol had beaten into her mind. Vicky didn’t stop a mugging and then ask the victim for their wallet, so why should she want money for healing people? 

“Are you listening to me?” Carol asked, noticing the way she was zoning out.

“Not really,” Amy admitted, uncaring of the way that Carol’s eyes widened in incredulity and outrage at her honesty. “I stopped when you started repeating yourself.”

It felt good to admit it, even as it started a whole new tirade. If their positions had been swapped, if Vicky had been the healer and Amy had been the flying brick, Vicky would have gotten a slap on the wrist for this. 

Amy would be getting lectured endlessly for collateral damage, while Vicky would get a light scolding for running off to play with her friends instead of working herself to the bone.

Carol’s tirade finally petered out as the furious woman announced that they were going to the hospital. She demanded that Amy apologise to the hospital for her irresponsible behaviour, to her family for mildly inconveniencing Sarah and putting the tiniest black mark on New Wave’s reputation.  

As she did, something in Amy snapped .

“No.”

“W-what? What did you just say?” Carol asked, her tone deathly quiet as Amy stared back at her, unblinking.

“I said no . I’m not going to the hospital today. Not tomorrow either, or the day after. I’m not going to apologise for taking an hour to myself,” Amy said, her words spilling out as she realised that she was very much burning the shaky bridge between her and Carol. Instead of stopping, she pulled out the gasoline. “I’m done.”

“While you are living in my house, you-” Carol started.

“Then put me into foster care. I turn eighteen this year, and with my skills, I’ll be able to make more than enough of a living to look after myself,” Amy countered, seeing Carol recoil back as if struck. “I am done . And I’m done listening to you .”

Vicky was the only thing stopping her from leaving or just ending it all. Vicky would… she’d understand, right? Vicky had tried to stand up for her before Carol had verbally beaten her down and sent her away. Mark… well, Mark was sitting on the couch in the next room. He was probably listening, but he wasn’t going to get involved; he never did.

A part of her wished it had been the Pelhams that had taken her in; maybe they’d shelter her for a few months until she was legally an adult. No, she didn’t want to stay that close to Carol, who looked like she was about to explode from rage.

So much work, and this was where it all culminated. Her compensation for the tens of thousands of lives that she had saved as Panacea. A rant from a paranoid, controlling woman who couldn’t even pretend to love her.

Carol’s rant cut off as Amy turned, walking toward the door. She wasn’t sure where she was going, to be honest, just anywhere but here . As Carol grabbed her arm, Amy saw everything that made Carol Carol , the bare skin of Carol’s palms touching her wrist. 

Carol went to speak, to shout, but in a moment of insanity, she did the one thing she’d sworn never to do. Carol’s words died as her anger was squashed, the chemicals in her brain changing.

Carol’s mouth hung open, in an almost comatose trance as Amy’s heart pounded, but something in her sung at finally doing something other than healing. She could have done this years ago and made Carol truly love her as a daughter. Maybe she should have. It wouldn’t have been hard to slowly nudge Carol into the mother she always wanted. They could have avoided this, but the guilt vanished from her heart.

They also could have avoided this if Carol had just acted like the mother she was supposed to be or even given away the child she was clearly not ready for and didn’t want. 

She’d done so much work, dealt with years of neglect, and hadn’t seen a single reward from it. She deserved to relax, to let loose… just this one. Insanity guided her as she moved, bitterness and suppressed urges bursting free because it was time for Carol to love her.

Mark called out, finally pulling himself from his stupor to notice that something was wrong but Amy was too far gone to stop now, moving forward. It almost amused her to see Mark move into an almost defensive stance, seeing her as the threat she was. Something in him, whether it was the dark clouds in his mind or some affection for her, made him hesitate, and she grabbed his hand. 

They should have loved her, lavished her with rewards and praise like they did Vicky, and now she was taking the chance out of their hands. Deep inside her, something sang in joy, and a tiny voice that sounded like hers screamed for her to stop, but it was too late.

His expression changed as that apathetic caution, fading to a look of adoration as a body pressed against her back. Carol’s breasts pushed into her back as Carol wrapped her arms around her body, hugging her for the first time in months.

“Amy…” Carol breathed , adoration in her tone as Amy’s heart pounded, feeling Carol’s lips on her neck as she realised what she had done. She wanted Carol to love her more than anything, and in that moment… she made sure that her dream came true in all the wrong ways.

Turning, she faced her previously furious mother with wide eyes.

“D-do you love me?” Amy asked, her voice weak. The tiny voice was screaming to fix things, but she didn’t even know if she could . “Would you do anything for me?”

“Of course I do,” Carol answered immediately, and without reservation, her brain chemistry warped. Emotion really wasn’t that complicated or special. It was just chemistry, really. “We both do; we’d do anything for you, Amy.”

“A-apologise to me, tell me that I deserve a reward,” Amy demanded, and the voice screamed for Carol to snap out of it. It sounded even quieter now, stuffed further into her psyche.

“I’m sorry we’ve been so ungrateful, Amy. You work so hard,” Mark said, his words, false as they were, a balm on her soul.

“You deserve everything , Amy,” Carol agreed, kissing her neck as Amy’s eyes widened in shock. “Let me reward you; let me show you my gratitude . Let us show you just how sorry we are.”

The voice screamed again, but Amy didn’t listen to it. She would never listen to it again.

– Alexander Shaw (Ebonstar) –

Invisible in the shadows of the Dallon house, I smile.

[Devil in the Mind]

You can cause your target to lose all inhibitions and social morals while bringing their impulses to the surface.

This power was almost made for Panacea, ready to push her over the edge. Her actions will be discovered, and Amy isn’t thinking straight enough to consider the consequences. To make any real effort to hide her actions. 

Today has been trying, lurking in this dreadfully boring house since sunrise, using my powers to nudge people the way I want them to go, but I think this is more than worth it.

Panacea will never recover from this. Her heroic reputation will not survive; the world will tear her down. Maybe I’ll pick up the pieces, but all that matters is that Brockton Bay has just lost its beloved healer.

How fortunate they are that another, greater healer is about to take her place.

— Bonus Scene — Victoria Dallon (Glory Girl) 

Ending the call, she frowned to herself. Being told to spend the night with the other New Wave family was really not a good sign, given how angry her mom had been when she was sent away.

Her mom sounded weird , but she and Amy had assured her that it would be fine and that they’d see each other in the morning. Mom had talked to Aunt Sarah, who was happy to have her spend the night since Crystal’s room was currently empty anyway while Crystal was at college.

Making a decision, she typed a quick message to Annie and sighed to herself. Something told her that going home now would make things worse, but Annie was good at getting through to Carol. Like Aunt Jess had been, Annie was a good peacemaker, and Amy had sounded fine.

Guilt ate away at her for listening to her mom and leaving, but returning tonight wouldn’t help anything. It wasn’t like this was a new argument, so what difference could a single night make? 

Author’s Note: Alex and Sebastian would get along if they didn’t immediately try to kill one another.

Written: 08/11/2024

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I’ll probably write faster. I do read every review/comment, because it gives me the happy brain chemicals and motivates me to write more. My body is a machine that turns positive reviews into new chapters.

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Here’s the link for that: discord .gg/DarkWolfShiro

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