Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Rebirth

Doubling down on the I'm a villain energy now that it's against a Ranger/hero rather than random civilians seems like a good ploy for our villain introduction, too

 

Time for some proper villainy.​

> He's a hero, and I'm not. I'll use that against him.

Heroes are idiots, and you know that because you used to be one yourself. The crowd outside is your best weapon, filled with curious innocents out to make a buck from snapping the right pictures. Just what you need to provoke Herald into acting.

"You dare to point those things at me?" You raise your voice into a booming roar, aimed at the press who have crept closer. "You will pay for that affront." The growl your voice distorter adds at the end, as you start walking towards them, leads to equal amounts of snapping shutters and shuffling steps back.

At the back of your senses, you feel Herald's mind flare up as he gathers speed. He's predictably provoked both by your words and the fact that you are menacing civilians. Perfect.

It is a thrill to watch people scrambling back in fear, not because of your powers, but because of your very words. Right now, they are afraid because they don't know who you are—whether your words are empty threats, or if you will tear them limb from limb and feed them their own cameras.

Soon, you will have to decide exactly how far you will take this. But for now, the threat of violence will do. Herald is not about to let you turn your promises into reality.

Quickening your step, hand outstretched in a threatening gesture, you make the reporters scramble back. Hopefully, some of them have the sense to snap some good pictures. It would be a waste to pose before an unappreciative audience.

You've never really done this before, but you've watched Ortega enough to pick up a few tricks. She had a natural flair for the cameras, probably because she never needed to fear them.

And neither do you. Not anymore.

>

"Fools," you say, extra gravitas added by the vocal distorter. You grab the throat of one of the reporters, who has stumbled to the ground before you. "You should have run."

The man struggles in your arms, his throat so brittle in your hand. You could kill him right now, but that moment of hesitation lets Herald get too close.

Oh well. He's the one you want anyway.

"Catch!" So instead of breaking the reporter's neck, you turn to throw the man at Herald, watching the flier desperately try to adjust his speed to blunt the impact of the unarmored reporter. The movement leaves him off guard for a moment, and you step in for a close-range punch.

"No!" Herald twists in the air as he tries to slow down, guarding the civilian with his own body, just as you had hoped.

The impact slams the air from Herald's lungs and makes him lose control entirely, spiraling into one of the parked cars.

The car doesn't explode when he crashes into it, but the frame bends and crumbles around his body, its airbags expanding like mushrooms. The reporter, protected from the impact by Herald, shakily crawls from the wreck, stumbling out of your way as you walk closer.

You let yourself laugh then, a completely unfamiliar sound that makes a shiver run down your spine. Is this what power feels like? Victory?

Nobody gives you any trouble as you stride over to the smoking wreck. You pause, looking down with a chuckle as the deflating airbags reveal the prone form within.

> You Have Won

Herald struggles to get loose, but the twisted metal has him trapped. His suit has been torn; there's blood streaking down his face, and from the way he winces, you imagine there are at least a few cracked ribs there. Maybe a dislocated shoulder. There's no strength in his movements, even though his struggle intensifies as you put your foot on his mangled form.

The scream is a reward you had not expected—broken bones grinding together? Something sharp digging into his body? It doesn't matter, but it sure feels nice. This fight is over, and all that remains is the finishing blow.

　‣ I will tell him exactly why he failed first.
　‣ No time to waste—I'll just knock him out.
　‣ I'll make this painful; I want him to suffer.

Maybe "Round 1" was an overstatement? Let's call this a warmup round.

In any case, that's one hero crushed on live television. How shall we wrap this up?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 29% / Anonymity: 71%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% (+6) / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
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Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

Monologuing is the doom of all villains, and we have this perfectly good mysterious unreadable persona! Besides, if anyone's going to be our nemesis, it's not him, and a reason-you-suck speech is practically a pitch overture.

(So, KO him)

 

I love the suggestion that we shouldn't make an example of him because it would be leading him on. I suppose if your job regularly involves stepping on heroes, it's important to keep them from getting the wrong idea.

 

Somehow I suspect this wouldn't upgrade our awareness of Herald to being in the Allies and Enemies list, as is, so yeah - saving pitch flirtation for more impactful options :3c

 

... oh fucking hell, how did I even manage that?

One moment while I go fix our stat screen, because apparently I accidentally dropped Herald off it three chapters ago and somehow failed to notice???

 

LP Patch Notes
• Fixed a bug where Josie drank so much in Chapter 5 that they forgot they'd ever met Herald.
• Minor but embarrassing formatting fixes.
• Those responsible for the above have been sacked.

 

Keeping this strictly professional, thanks!​

> No time to waste—I'll just knock him out.

No matter how much you want to break Herald's confidence and tell him how futile his struggle is, right now it's more important to break his body. The clock is ticking, and the other Rangers can't be far away.

"Time for a nap," you say with a snarl before kicking him hard in the head.

Sometimes our one-liner game is great, but sometimes it… could use work.​

Your boot is armored and heavy. The force of the kick snaps his head back against the wreckage. For a moment, you almost expect him to cling to consciousness, but his eyes roll back and his body goes limp.

Good. Listening to the flashes of the cameras tells you that the next player has just walked onto the scene.

"Get away from him, you scum." Ortega stands at the ready, fists raised. You can feel the low static hum of her mind now, blank and unknown. But even though you can't feel her thoughts, the fury and outrage is written clearly on her face. There's just the briefest of glances to make sure that Herald is alive, and then her attention is focused on you.

It feels…odd.

How long have you wanted her to look at you like this? Like a threat?

No. Like an equal. Not somebody that needed protecting.

That's Herald now, isn't it? The baby of the team. Another reason to hate him.

"Are you supposed to be another of these so-called heroes?" you tease, gesturing to her tattered finery. "You are not dressed for the occasion."

The dress is stained and dirty, and it looks like she tore the hem off entirely. Did she do that to make it easier to fight in, or did she have to bandage some hapless civilian? Is that why she is late?

"Really? Looks to me like I'm the only one here dressed to party." Ortega flashes you a smile, and you're suddenly very glad that she can't see you smile back. This is dangerous—you're too used to bantering with her.

"I am not here to be entertained," you say, relying hard on your distorter to make your voice unrecognizable. "I am here to grind you into dust."

"Well, good luck with that, then." The smile is still there, but she is slowly moving to the side, attempting to lure you away from Herald. This time you will let her lead the dance.

Like she used to.

But things are different now. Your armor is insulated, and that should protect you from most of her powers. But even with her best weapon neutralized, Ortega is a good, balanced fighter. So what will you rely on in this fight?

　‣ I rely on speed—I should be faster than her.
　‣ I rely on strength—all I need is to get one good hit in.
　‣ I rely on the fact that she should not be able to hurt me.
　‣ I rely on the fact that I know her and the way she fights.

Her best weapon, and ours too—we're going to have to beat her in a real fight. Thoughts on how?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 27% (-2) / Anonymity: 73%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

We're faster at moving than thinking up quips?

The latter could be interesting if we want to let the questions about the name choice linger, but I'm still Nervous about tipping that much off yet

 

I love when a villain perfectly predicts a hero's movements on first meeting, I vote for that. It's risking our cover but the drama!

 

The votes are in, and it looks like our drama stat outweighs our paranoia stat for once! Is this what they mean by "character development"?​

> I rely on the fact that I know her and the way she fights.

Ortega was always fast, but you know her and the way she fights. The question is, has she added any new tricks to her repertoire?

Soon you will know.

Ortega attacks first, of course, driving you back with a flurry of blows that sends sparks flying through the dark night as she tests your mettle. Just like you remember, a right hook followed by a left jab, electricity discharging harmlessly over the insulated surface of your armored gut.

Fuck, you can really do this, can't you? Win?

"You're going to have to try harder than that." Your first blow misses, barely, but she dodges the way you predicted. Your kick makes contact, sending her skidding across the ground.

That had to hurt—there's nothing to protect her, no skinsuit, no nanoweave armor. Just the torn finery, now with new tears and stains. Hope that wasn't a rental.

"I could say the same." Ortega flexes her shoulder, shaking out the pain. "That armor looks like it's compensating for something." You might have been bothered if you didn't know this is how she tries to push you off balance.

And that's not going to work.

Flashes from the cameras go off like fireworks, chronicling your fight. Ortega moves first and you retaliate, falling into an easy rhythm that feels almost familiar. You could never have kept up with her pace in the old days—she was stronger and faster, and without your telepathic edge, she always got the upper hand. Not that you ever fought in earnest; you just sparred.

Not like now.

> Let's Do This!

The world slows down around you as you reroute power to the suit and truly start to move.

One heartbeat.

Two.

Your blood feels electric. Your boots struggle to keep their grip on the concrete as you lengthen your step, covering the distance between you.

One breath.

Two.

She keeps her eyes trained on you, dropping low to avoid your blow, breathing a curse as you leap over the sweep of her leg in return.

This is what you've always loved about fighting with Ortega; there is a sense of balance and grace in the way you move together that other people might call effortless. Shows what they know—this is hardly without effort because you have to be more aware of your surroundings with no thoughts to steal intent from. Relying on your reflexes. On your body.

They never bothered honing that, just your mind. Training your physical form was your first step towards freedom. A decision that you made. Nobody else.

Just like it's your decision to send a fist flying at Ortega's face, only to have it batted aside. You parry the left hook you knew was coming, leaping back again to gain some distance.

Ortega is smiling.

　‣ So am I.
　‣ I am not.

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 27% / Anonymity: 73%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

I will vote for 'so am I', because what could bring a smile to your face if not fighting with an ex-friend/sort-of-still-friend who you are now enemies with whose moves you just know so incredibly well, like that just sounds so fun right y'all

 

There really is nothing like a night out with friends.​

> So am I.

So are you.

Luckily, it is hidden behind the helmet. The short laugh that slips out as you block one of her blows turns into a discordant growl as it passes through the vocal distorter. You had expected many things from this fight, but not that it should be this fun.

It's a thrill to be able to match Ortega blow for blow, to be fast enough to parry her strikes—to have the reflexes needed to leap back and gain some distance, jump-jets knocking up enough dust to make her wipe the smile from her face. You're loving every second of it, and the cameras keep chronicling your fight, illuminated by kaleidoscopic sirens and roving floodlights.

Crouching on top of a wrecked car, you see Ortega steadying herself. Is she winded? Bruised? Worn out? Smiling again, you make a theatrical gesture, your thumb raised to the heavens then turned down.

Time to stop playing.

Jumping down from the car, you clear the short distance to Ortega with a few easy leaps. She's ready for you—you can see it in her eyes. She thinks he knows what you can do now. Of course, she's wrong. She is also stalling.

Keeping her distance, Ortega avoids your blows, eyes scanning the crowd. She's probably waiting for Lady Argent to show up. She left the party a while ago; does she even know something is wrong? If you're lucky, she's stuck in a cab somewhere. But even if she's not, you don't plan to give her time to show up. Instead, you press the attack, leaving an opening so Ortega can make a move for the more vulnerable spots on your armor.

Just like you thought, she goes for it.

The blow hurts, as she doesn't bother holding back. But you're able to grab her arm, yanking her closer before punching her hard in the face.

You hear her cursing loudly in Spanish as she stumbles back, pressing a hand against her nose. Is it broken? Probably.

"Mierda…" Ortega's voice is hoarse with pain as she glances back at the encroaching photographers. "If I were you, I'd consider backing up a bit." You hate the fact that she's still managing to look properly heroic for the cameras. As if you are somehow not enough of a threat to focus on.

　‣ That annoys me. I'll threaten the reporters.
　‣ I'm the one she should pay attention to.
　‣ I'll remain cool and detached.

Rude. :/ Do we object to her lack of manners?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 27% / Anonymity: 73%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

Hmmmmmmm. Leaning towards I'm the one. We hadn't planned to tangle three facets of life up with Ortega, but now that we're at 2/3...? I do like laying the framework for my old friend kind of banter down the line, and it just won't do if Ortega is paying more attention to reputation and reassurance than the fists near her face.

Also,

I know that's a metric of relationship, but maybe it's a metric of distance too! :)

 

It even works for Herald too, assuming the EMTs have done their job! :)

 

Beginning to feel like we're the only one putting work into this "nemesis" thing. :/​

> I'm the one she should pay attention to.

"Do you really think you can afford to look out for others?" You break into a run, watching as Ortega pushes the reporters back. Then she tries to turn in time to face you.

Not fast enough.

Your kick hits her back, and even though she folds into a forward roll to diffuse some of the impact, you can see the pain on her face when she regains her feet once more.

"It's not about what I can afford." Ortega is visibly hurting, moving slower than she did before. "But you wouldn't get that."

"That's true," you admit, cracking your knuckles. "Still, you have to work harder at stopping me."

"Don't think you'll get away with this." Ortega wipes some blood from her mouth, but you can see she is doing it with her left arm. The right one hangs awkwardly at her side.

Interesting.

That means that you have the advantage right now. The question is, what will you do with it?

‣ I'll press my advantage, moving in fast and hard.
‣ I'd better be cautious—don't want to risk moving in too fast.

So far, so good. Knowing ourself and Ortega, is our best bet to finish this quickly and decisively, or to stay on guard and wait for an opening?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary
Description: An average mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short, neat curly dark brown hair.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine, with no significant wounds.

Telepathy

Strength of Mind: 50%
████████████████████
Subtle Manipulations: 74%
██████████████▒█████

Armored Suit

Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores that are functionally similar to having a disintegration touch. It is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed, as well as jump-jets.

Armor Status

Need Repair: 0% / Fine: 100%
████████████████████

Standard of Living: You are comfortable.

Psychological Profile

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████
Arrogance: 27% / Anonymity: 73%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Main Puppet

Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: Unknown, left in Mortum's care.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties, with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Josie's relationship with Ortega: friend.
Ortega and Josie: 81%
████████████████▒███

Barbara's relationship with Ortega: flirting.
Ortega and Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Barbara's relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum and Barbara: 71%
██████████████▒█████

Josie's relationship with Lady Argent: distant.
Lady Argent and Josie: 0%
████████████████████

Josie's relationship with Marshal Steel: former ally.
Marshal Steel and Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Josie's relationship with Herald: distant.
Herald and Josie: 20%
████████████████████

 

I...really want to go for 'press my advantage.' based mostly on the fact that our daring stat is a lil high right now and I feel like 'just Go For It' would fit that best, and also ngl I'm a little worried that if we stay on guard we might give Ortega a chance to recover. so yeah that's my vote, is press the advantage, finish it quickly.

 

I assume we'd know if Ortega tends to pull the feigned/exaggerated injury trick to lull villains into openings, right?

 

I think it's safe to assume Josie would know and take it into account, at least if Ortega used that trick back in the day.

 

Then yeah, let's do this >:)