Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Retribution (50 First Therapy Appointments)

Hmmmmmm. I don't like that we don't have a hint what sort of location we use for working with the henches in option 1. I'm leaning option 2 partly just because I want this mob to have a base at all.

 

With option 1, we wouldn't have a single dedicated location — we'd use temporary meeting spots as needed.

 

>Base but no face. Full worksona.

 

We would prefer not to bring our full self to work, thank you. Or to only bring our full self? (Being several identity crises in a villainous trenchcoat is confusing.)​

> They have access to my base but don't know who's beneath the helmet.

Even if they are trustworthy, old habits die hard. They have never seen your face beneath the helmet, even though you've trusted them with access to your base—everything except your inner sanctum, where you keep your armor.

Maybe one day you can trust them enough to share your identity. Today is not that day.

>

It has been two months since the events at the museum and Ortega is back in uniform. Not recovered, not by a long shot. She's avoiding fights and that's unlike her.

Herald hasn't been in proper combat since Anathema wiped the floor with him, though the Rangers have made sure to bring him out at press conferences. Controlled ones, of course. He keeps hovering.

And Steel…well, let's just say you've avoided the Marshal to the best of your ability. You have been too busy establishing yourself to do pointless battle when you've already got headlines for beating the Rangers.

Lady Argent however…lately, it feels like every turn you've taken, she's been there. Harrying you. Landed at least two prospective henchmen in the hospital during their first trial run. Oh well, if they didn't know better than to stay out of her reach, they're better off there.

　‣ I enjoy fighting her; she's a good challenge.
　‣ She's an annoyance; she's messed up too many of my plans.
　‣ I'm thinking of her far too much lately….

Ah, yes. Lady Argent. What's it like to have caught her interest?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is comfortable.

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%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% (+8) / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Hmm, the scenes we missed do make me want to get to know Argent, and liking fighting her could count we getting to know her...

 

>enjoy fighting her. spades spades spades spades

 

> I enjoy fighting her; she's a good challenge.

You have enjoyed your battles with Lady Argent; she's a good challenge and keeps you on your toes. Fast, dangerous, and durable. That is the kind of opponent you can use to hone your tactics, and test your armor to its limits.

She's not particularly impressed with your efforts so far; she thinks your tactics are underhanded and is not shy about telling you so.

And yet she keeps choosing to fight us. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯​

You shake your head, tapping your helmet to bring up the HUD. Daydreaming while passing the time is all fine and well, but you don't want to screw up your current mission. Luckily you've still got time; everything is right on schedule, and this time you have made sure that Lady Argent is busy on the other side of town.

Out of your hair.

Your crew will have caused a big enough distraction, and you've given them strict instructions to avoid and not engage. Keep her chasing. That's one thing you've learned while fighting Lady Argent; she likes to chase a little too much for her own good.

Being too much of a predator makes you predictable; you will never forget that you were once prey.

This time everything will go according to plan.

> No Distractions

Lou Carter has been the city treasurer for years. Treating the city's coffers as his own personal piggy bank, he's remained one of Mayor Alvarez's closest allies by erasing any obstacles in her way. In return, she looks the other way as yet another project of his goes absurdly over budget.

Which means that he's a target for you. The information that his mind holds about who can be bought and who does the buying would make a solid foundation for your organization. All you need to do is to get in there and dig it out. People tend to protect their files, but their heads are a different thing entirely.

Sadly, City Hall is protected against telepathic intrusions, and unlike the minor functionaries you've caught outside their workplace in the past, he's paranoid enough not to go wandering. You're not sure what's making him so nervous, but you're about to find out.

His home is easier to assault than his office.

It's all routine by now. You've gotten used to your armor, and between jump-jets, your nanovores, and years of experience stopping criminals like you, there's not much that can keep you out. Even with the dampeners…

You were expecting telepathic countermeasures. It's annoying but understandable. Someone with this much money, enemies, and secrets would make sure their home was protected against spies. Carter lives alone, but you know he has staff to run the mansion. There's probably radar jamming and cameras as well, neither of which concerns you.

With the Rat King's help, you can control your nanovores enough to have the perfect lockpick in your left hand. Now all you have to do is scan the grid for electricity usage to find out which room the dampeners are in. Hmmm…the east wing it is, probably close to the bedroom.

　‣ Just another day on the job.
　‣ This still fills me with excitement and adrenaline.
　‣ I need to make sure I don't mess this up.

In any case, time to focus on the job. How are we feeling about this one?​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is comfortable.

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%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 64% / Caution: 36%
████████████▒███████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Same old, same old

 

>Don't fuck it up now

 

(We're currently split on this one, if any lurkers feel like tiebreaking.)

 

I'll switch my vote to don't fuck it up, then

 

All right, game, give us the path where we don't fuck this up.​

> I need to make sure I don't mess this up.

You need to make sure you don't mess this up. It's so easy to get lost once you put the helmet on, seduced into things you never planned to do. You need to stick to the script, not deviate. Being Anathema is a drug, sure, but you can't allow yourself to become addicted.

This is too important for you to fail.

Hovering right on the edge of the dampeners, you send a thin stream of nanovores up to the cameras, devouring them. Once that is done, it's an easy leap to get over the wall, restricting the output of your jump-jets as much as you can, just enough to get you over the top.

Being a ghost in the dark suits you fine; that's where you feel the most at home. Watching. Not being watched.

Now, where are you…and where's the east wing?

Your HUD renders the dense parkland around the mansion in eerie green. There might be dogs prowling the grounds, but since you don't give off a human scent, they should not be an issue. And guards, you can handle easily.

You avoid the lighted paths, easily picking up the heat signatures of people before they notice you. Good. Going smooth. The building is lit up, the floodlights giving you momentary flashbacks to your own past, another building where the lights never went out.

No shadows to hide in there.

Fuck. Not the time for that.

You increase the flood of oxygen in your system before you start to hyperventilate. Control. Breathe. You can feel the Rat King press against your hindbrain even through the dampeners. Those must have been what set it off; their oppressive weight just brings back bad memories.

Time to shut them down.

　‣ Quietly and sneakily, like everything I do.
　‣ Loudly, time to stir the hornet's nest.
　‣ I need my powers back before something bad happens.

How best to go about making this place telepath-accessible?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is comfortable.

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%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 28% / Anonymity: 72%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 55% / Caution: 45% (+9)
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Quiet and sneaky!

.... hm

 

Possible perfectly reasonable explanations for this line:

• The full-body watertight armor masks Josie's scent
• Josie is actually a robot
• Josie spent the last five hours cuddling with puppies in preparation
• Josie wears AXE® Body Spray
• All of the above

 

All entirely reasonable and plausible!

 

Seconding quiet and sneaky.

 

Shhh.​

> Quietly and sneakily, like everything I do.

Breaking into the house is no harder than getting over the wall; a slap of nanovores against the lock opens one of the garden-side doors, letting you slip in unnoticed. You took care to have the nanovores eat the motion detectors first. There might be an alarm in case of malfunction, but if there is, it's silent and it will take security time to check things out.

Alarms malfunction all the time, and mostly for not-villainous reasons.

Softening your footsteps, you head toward the dampeners. This close, all you have to do is aim for the heaviest pressure. Self-harm as a proactive thing; find the cause of your suffering and put it out.

Start with the small ones. You'll move up eventually.

Bereft of even the last scraps of your telepathy, you nearly collide with a guard, but your reflexes are faster. They always are; you'd be dead otherwise.

A single blow to the head and he goes limp. You quickly tie him up and stuff him in one of the many empty rooms. People that live like this can't be afraid of ghosts if they surround themselves with so many places for them to haunt.

It's handy for you, though. Perhaps that's what you are now. A ghost. Back to wreak havoc on the people that wronged them.

Another effect of the dampener. Stripping away your layers of self, spreading them out like skin to dry in the sun. Crispy. Flaking. Who are you when the constant chatter of minds dies away?

Silence can be a terrifying thing.

At least right now, you're not alone. The Rat King is still close enough to be felt thanks to your neural connection, reminding you that this is the present, not the past.

And that you have a job to do.

There!

> That's The Door!

The lock disintegrates under your touch, and you step inside the room, ready for a fight.

It's empty, with no guards or alarms, but you recognize the familiar hum of dampeners nestled right next to the central generator. Of course, Carter is rich enough to have his own power supply and not deal with the frequent outages in this remote area.

With a grin underneath your helmet, you pull the breakers. Immediately the humming stops, the weight on your mind lifts, and the house is plunged into darkness. You don't need the power to get what you want; it's easier without it. Darkness never stopped you, it's where you dwell. Perfect for disappearing into, letting you be a shadow among shadows.

You take a deep breath, mentally stretching your back as you no longer have to carry the weight of the dampeners. There's a certain amount of glee as the nanovores devour them. It's the same every time; even though you think you are aware of the pressure, you never realize how much it's been weighing on you until it's gone.

And you're free at last to let your mind soar.

　‣ I scan for Carter. Where is he hiding?
　‣ I take a moment to scan the house thoroughly.
　‣ I get moving right away, no time to linger.

They know something's up now, so what's the plan? Try to confirm our target's location first, do a proper scan of our surroundings, or just get moving before they have time to react?​

Spoiler: Show Stats

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is comfortable.

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%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 26% / Anonymity: 74% (+2)
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50% (+5)
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

I kiiiiiinda vote keep moving, partly because i figure only wrecking a couple cameras, lock, and telepathy dampener would give away that a telepath is involved here!

 

We've got places to be and people to mind-read before they run.​

> I get moving right away, no time to linger.

No time to linger; that will only give them time to react. You can scan on the fly, and whatever comes, you'll deal with it then.

Carter is the one you want, and if you know him, he's heading for the chopper on the roof.

As you race upstairs, the emergency lights switch on, dim, red bulbs illuminating your progress. Good, you know from experience that red stresses people out, makes them even more susceptible to your manipulations. Why they wouldn't have gone for a soothing green, you have no idea, probably lacking the urgency they want.

OSHA notoriously underestimates the risk of mind control.​

An urgency you feel right now—one born from excitement.

"We need to go!" A faint voice, but your suit picks it up. Carter. Heading toward the roof.

And he's not alone, you can hear heavy footsteps approaching the stairwell, and you slow down just in time to not run into the man that steps out.

Fuck. Marshal Steel.

"You." Marshal Steel speaks first, which is unusual, but from the look of things, he did not plan to run into you here. The feeling is mutual. You have to wonder what favors Carter has called in to get the Marshal as a bodyguard. Is he worried about you? Or someone else?

　‣ "Marshal," I tip my imaginary hat.
　‣ "Get out of my way," I growl.
　‣ "Didn't picture you as a bodyguard for a crooked politician."

…Well, that's not according to keikaku.​

Spoiler: Show Stats (no change)

CLASSIFIED

Subject: Anathema

Secret Identity: Josie Jacobs
Gender: Non-binary.
Description: A tall mixed person in their thirties with brown eyes and short and styled curly dark brown hair.

They have a short, scruffy beard and mustache.

Standard of Living: Josie is comfortable.

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%
██████████████▒█████

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 47% / Obscurity: 53%
█████████▒██████████

Armored Suit
Anathema's suit is a shadow with a mirror for a face, revealing nothing. The cape conceals and obfuscates what's underneath.
In its left hand, the suit has a neutered colony of nanovores, functionally similar to having disintegration touch. The suit is also equipped with telepathic boosters and enhanced speed as well as jump-jets.

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

Leadership: 28%
█████▒██████████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 26% / Anonymity: 74%
█████▒██████████████
Ruthlessness: 39% / Empathy: 61%
███████▒████████████
Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
████████████████████

Back in the day, Sidestep was known as a vigilante working with the Rangers.

Main Puppet
Name: Barbara
Puppet Status: She is fine, and has no serious wounds.
Description: A tall white woman in her twenties with blue eyes and long straight blond hair.

Allies and Enemies

Charge
Josie's Relationship with Ortega: Friend and ally.
Ortega's Connection with Josie: 83%
████████████████▒███
Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
███████████▒████████

Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: flirting.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 65%
████████████████████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent thinks Anathema is a cheater.

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████
Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Rat King really is Josie's emotional support therapy animal huh.

Hm... I kinda want to hassle Steel about this, I bet he hates this sort of favor pulling
Even if the pretend hat option is very funny. Cowboy AU when.