Kintsugi Plays Fallen Hero: Retribution (ᘛ⁐̤ᕐᐷ …(^_^)…)

Better get to the bottom of this.​

> I'm intrigued. Let's try talking to her.

"Maybe I'm biding my time," Lady Argent says, her smile widening. This time it's more happy than predatory, though the way she keeps flexing her hands keeps you on your toes.

"Maybe you're having second thoughts." You don't want to run away. Not yet. Not this time. Why should you? You can't remember the last time you had this much fun. You can afford to repair the damage.

You can afford the risk.

"What gives you that idea?" She takes another step and flexes her hands. Your instincts scream at you to move, so you do. You barely avoid the swipe of her hand, fingers fused together in a sharp blade. Long. Getting longer. It's a fascinating process, slow enough that you can see it now that you pay attention.

　‣ "Is that a new move?"
　‣ "Oh, a sword," I say with a wide grin. "That's hot."
　‣ "See, now that's just unfair," I complain with a chuckle.

There are three types of people in the world…​

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 56% / Obscurity: 44%
███████████▒████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

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%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

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

Other Characters

 

(If we're not sure which type of person we are, I could flip a coin?)

 

I'm doing the anxiety dance of not being the submitter too many times in a row, but if no one votes before bedtime, I can put a vote in to start us off

 

I'm down for any of the three, so if you've got an opinion sound off.

 

‣ "Is that a new move?"

I'm wary of escalating the flirt energy when she's changing the mood so much, and the complaint option seems too honest. This lacks narration on the tone, but seems like curiosity mixed with "oh, so to meet the challenge I'm posing you're changing up a lot, huh?"

 

> "Is that a new move?"

"Is that a new move?" What are the limits of her powers? You realize that you have no idea.

"You keep dodging, so I need some reach." She takes up a playful swordsman's pose, making her look like a pirate ready to descend on the whole English fleet. Reach is bad news for you; you're already at a slight disadvantage when it comes to her claws. Right now, you're betting everything on the fact that you should be able to read her before she moves.

"I think there are other things you need more," you say, forcing yourself to strike a relaxed pose. Can't let her get to you, even if she's standing far too close. "It doesn't take much to see that you don't like being shackled."

"And you are what then? Free?" She reaches out, and you still don't move, letting her tap the sword against your chest. It clicks against your armor, scratching it lightly in the process.

"Not yet," you admit, reading her stance. "Still working on it." You haven't seen her use a sword before, could it be…

"Let me know if you get there, then we can talk." You can feel her intention to move before her muscles tense, and you bat her sword away before leaping back to get some distance. The attack was a half-hearted one, but the sword still looks uncomfortably sharp.

You can also feel that she doesn't want to stab you—nothing of the sort.

More like…PullInStripDownKissDevourWant…

　‣ Good. She's flirting with me. I'm flirting with her.
　‣ I tried to unnerve her; it looks like she called my bluff.
　‣ Oh no, I just wanted to turn her to my side.

Is…is this 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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 56% / Obscurity: 44%
███████████▒████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

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%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

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

Other Characters

 

Josie has been by and large avoiding romance, so I'm voting for an "OH NO"

 

definitely NOT according to keikaku??​

> Oh no, I just wanted to turn her to my side.

Oh no, she actually is reacting to your flirting. That wasn't what you planned. You just wanted to get closer to her. Try to turn her to your side. She could be a useful asset, and you feel she's an awkward fit with the Rangers, so it was a logical pick.

That she'd actually be receptive was not in your plans.

"You misunderstand." You beckon her, and she attacks on cue, letting you step inside her reach. Just like you thought, she's not a sword fighter. You've fought enough of them; she's nowhere near Owl's level. Grabbing her wrist, you give it a twist to…fuck, she can't really drop her weapon, can she?

"Do I?" she asks, her sword curling back into a tentacle, wrapping itself around your wrist. "About what?"

A stab of panic, you're certain she will take your hand off. You can feel pressure on your wrist, caught in a noose of silvery steel, but she holds instead of cuts. Dodging under her arm, you turn, pulling at her limb, tugging her close to give you a moment of privacy.

"I want you on my side," you admit, close enough to see yourself reflected in her face. "And I'm flattered, but—" her grip is loosening around your wrist, "—I'm already spoken for."

"by which I mean I barely remember romance exists but I'm sure at least one of my identities has technically done it at some point"​

"I see." She lets go of your hand. "Tell me how that works out for you." She takes a step back, shaking her hands back into their usual configuration. Her thoughts are churning; is she struggling with herself? Why?

You don't move to stop her when she turns around and runs for the edge, dropping out of sight.

That didn't end the way you thought it might.

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 56% / Obscurity: 44%
███████████▒████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 43%
████████▒███████████

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

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

Other Characters

​

 

> Time To Get Back To Work

Looking around, you can see no further threats. The LDPD has yet to arrive, and the onlookers are a scared crowd hovering behind their vehicles at a safe distance.

Where did the Handyman go? You scan the crowds but find no trace of his thoughts. Did he pull back because he was hurt? You did mess him up pretty well.

"Pelayo?" you say, listening to the comms crackle in return.

"We're clear boss, see you back at the base."

Well, looks like the battle is over and done with….

> Not That You Dare Relax

Seeing that the battle has wrapped up, people start crowding a little closer. You're just about to do something with that when you pick up a stray thought focused clearly on you. Not a threatening one. Curious. It takes a moment for you to place her, because it is a her. A reporter. Intent on reaching you, making her way across the blocked lanes, weaving effortlessly through the mess on her bike.

　‣ I don't want to talk to the media; I'm out.
　‣ Curious. I'll let her approach.

"Victory." Yes, let's call it that.​

 

DO we, though? Do we really?

 

We are the very picture of composure.

 

>talk to the press. If we can't turn Argent (or, uh, not like that), might as well start going for the minds of the people. Less literally than usual.

 

Sure, we'll take the free PR.​

> Curious. I'll let her approach.

You patiently wait long enough for the reporter to pull her bike to a halt and pull off her helmet. Shaking out her hair, she walks toward you, already reaching for the recorder. She's not tall, but she walks with purpose. Southeast Asian? Probably. You dig out a name from her mind, Mia Ochoa, and a newspaper, LD Confidential.

You recognize her thoughts. She's been hounding you for months, trying to pin you down. Interested. Obsessed.

"You have five minutes," you say, crossing your arms as you stare her down.

"I'm going to need more than that," she says, and you can feel her curiosity strongly enough that it almost stings.

"Why?"

"Because I've wanted to interview you for months. You're new, you're interesting, and something tells me that you might want to tell your side of the story."

"You're using up a lot of time on baseless conjecture."

"Fine, five minutes?"

"Four now."

Mia clears her throat, putting on her best professional face. The recorder in her hand clicks on. The newspaper she works for, LD Confidential, has a lot more clout than the normal gossip rags. It's useful if you want to get your point across…or maybe misdirect. You have the opportunity to control how your villain persona comes across.

Time to get into character.

　‣ I'll be bragging and bombastic, like a true villain.
　‣ I'll be threatening. I want them to fear me.
　‣ I'll be reasonable; I'm not the villain here.
　‣ I'll be vague and give away as little as possible.

How do we want the public to see Anathema—as a classic, larger-than-life villain? A threat to be reckoned with? Sympathetic, perhaps even wrongly maligned? Or would we rather give them as little as possible to go on?​

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 56% / Obscurity: 44%
███████████▒████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████
Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 43%
████████▒███████████

Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
████▒███████████████
Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

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

Other Characters

 

I want to see what the dialogue even is for reasonable - how does Josie explain themself or decide what to share?

 

Why, the same thing we do every night: queer the hero/villain binary!​

> I'll be reasonable; I'm not the villain here.

It's never sat quite well with you, playing the villain. It is a role you have taken on by necessity. If your enemies are on the side of law and order, you have little choice. But that does not mean that you have to be unsympathetic. If you can manage to get the public on your side, it would mean a lot. It helps that everybody loves a mystery. Who are you under that mask? Are you even a villain? Sometimes you worry that you are giving too much away, but that is a risk you have to take. You're rapidly approaching the point where you could survive a reveal, maybe even thrive.

But you'd rather not.

That being said, there are also other advantages in speaking to the media. It's a perfect way to spread your message.

You'll use this opportunity to…

　‣ Cast suspicions on the government.
　‣ Call the Rangers out for being bad at their job.
　‣ Give a sympathetic impression.
　‣ Brag (lie) about what I'm going to do next.

Sorry to disappoint everyone who was hoping for dialogue specifics. :< (I think this is one of those cases where the details would depend on too many variables to be practical for a single choice in a short optional scene.) But the above options might help establish what our angle is.​

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 51% (-5) / Obscurity: 49%
██████████▒█████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████

Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 43%
████████▒███████████

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

Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████

Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

Leaning here. For all that the beef with the Rangers is personal, from time w/ them and the name chosen... We previously established it's not really about the Rangers as Their Bosses, which. Government, yeah?

 

If we're not the villain here, then who is? That's an easy one.​

> Cast suspicions on the government.

There's a line to walk when it comes to casting aspersions on the government. You can't say too much, or nobody will print it. But make the right hints, and there will be people adding up the dots. Making the connections.

The paranoid. The angry. The people that are already convinced the government is up to no good.

There are many people like that on the West Coast, and you are slowly, carefully seeding the information that you fight for the truth. To get it out there.

And one day, you will.

Sadly you only have five minutes. You can't risk reinforcements, and when you've said what you want to say, you end it by…

　‣ Signing some autographs, can't let the fan club be disappointed.
　‣ Disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
　‣ Stealing Mia's bike for a quick getaway.

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

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

Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 46% (-5) / Obscurity: 54%
█████████▒██████████

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: 46%
█████████▒██████████

Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 33% / Anonymity: 67%
██████▒█████████████
Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
██████▒█████████████
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: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
████████████▒███████

Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
▒███████████████████

Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 43%
████████▒███████████

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

Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

Herald
Josie's Relationship with Herald: Distant.
Herald's Connection with Josie: 20%
████████████████████

Herald thinks Anathema is a villain.

Other Characters

 

>poof! license plates are trackable, and even if argent's gone the ldpd (or other heroes) will show up sooner or later.

 

Ninja away!

 

Now they see us…​

> Disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

You need to get out of here soon. The LDPD will inevitably show up, and fighting them would be a waste of time. But that doesn't mean you can't give them a show.

"And what about the rumors of Sentinel's return?" Mia's words cut through your thoughts like a knife, but you don't allow yourself to get startled. That's a rumor you have heard now and then over the years, but you give it no credit. Sentinel retired when he got married and moved away from here. There's no reason for him to return and even less for you to worry about it. Still, it's interesting that she would choose to ask.

"Your time is up," you say, choosing to leave your reaction vague behind the mask.

"But, wait!" She almost steps forward as you step back. Almost, not quite.

Good. She's got instincts.

"I don't care about rumors," you say as you surreptitiously palm one of your many smoke grenades. "I am one." And with that, you drop the grenade, a cloud of smoke billowing out to surround you.

It will only be moments before the wind tears it to shreds, but a moment is all you need. Once everyone has lost visual contact, all you have to do is to redirect people's attention. The Rat King tracks them; every single thought that focuses on your form, you chase down and redirect. Blows and thoughts are not that dissimilar, but to do it on this scale is taxing your armor's system to the limits since your form automatically draws interest. You can't keep it up for long, but you don't have to. It's just a brisk walk to the rendezvous point, and once there, you can relax your grip.

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 well-off.
Josie is living in a comfortable apartment.

Josie Jacobs is a seasoned, tech-savvy tactician.

Physical Status
Stamina: You are rested.
Willpower: You feel calm.
Injuries: You are fine.

Telepathy
Strength of Mind: 50%
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Subtle Manipulations: 74%
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Anathema
Anathema runs a criminal syndicate.

Infamy: 46% / Obscurity: 54%
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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%
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Leadership: 46%
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Psychological Profile
Arrogance: 30% / Anonymity: 70% (+3)
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Ruthlessness: 33% / Empathy: 67%
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Daring: 50% / Caution: 50%
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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%
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Ortega thinks Anathema has made some good points.

Barbara's Relationship with Ortega: Flirting.
Ortega's Connection with Barbara: 59%
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Dr. Mortum
Barbara's Relationship with Dr. Mortum: friend.
Mortum's Connection with Barbara: 63%
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Lady Argent
Josie's Relationship with Lady Argent: Distant.
Lady Argent's Impression of Josie: 1%
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Lady Argent respects Anathema's abilities.
Lady Argent's Interest in Anathema: 43%
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Marshal Steel
Josie's Relationship with Steel: Former ally.
Steel's Connection with Josie: 24%
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Marshal Steel thinks Anathema needs to be brought in.

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

Other Characters