Robert Meta
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Brockton Bay's Marvelous Mage - Chapter Seventy Six
🕑 Added 2025-01-23 16:08:20 +0000 UTCThe next few days were a wild, busy time. With the cracks in the ABB finally starting to break through, we were determined to finally put the nails in its coffin. New Wave was eager, almost desperate to help as if I had handed them a way to return to their glory, and they were eager to help. I assumed that had refound their passion, and Glory Girl explained that, while that was a part of it, they were also just thankful for a second chance. Hero work brought them together as a family, and after Carol had nearly torn them apart, they were glad to still have a way to work together so closely.
Sarah also revealed that their donation page was so successful after being visually patrolling and taking down the farm that the adults planned on cutting their regular work hours significantly to focus on hero work.
Either way, together, we dedicated significant chunks of our time to finally drive the ABB to collapse. We chased down at least a dozen more depots, both for equipment and drugs, as well as protection racket and several other ABB businesses. Every day, we set out to claim at least two ABB sites, often more, as Alya uncovered groups hiding away, trying to weather the storm.
By the end of the week, both the police and the rumors that Olivia was picking up said that while small groups, no bigger than a dozen people, had banded together for protection and camaraderie, by the end of my charge cycle, most of the lieutenants had grabbed what money and resources they could and split. We even managed to catch one of them in the act, as well as his closer subordinates.
The ABB was finally falling apart, dissolving under our continual pressure and uncanny ability to find their safe houses, depots, and drugs. All of us were singing Alya's praises by the end of the week, the elemental accepting the privacy with an undercurrent of shyness that I could clearly feel.
Unfortunately, while we were making so much progress cleaning up the docks and making them a truly safer place to live, it wasn't all good news. The E88 was growing bolder, pushing and teasing the borders of what was once ABB territory, looking for ground they could take and add to their own. So far, no capes had been included in those tentative border crossings, so only about two dozen gang members had been shipped off with the police. The fact that I saw the same gang member three times showed how well that was working.
Still, we had made good progress cleaning up the area, and I knew that people living in ABB territory were feeling a bit less threatened now that those who had once been part of the gang had been sufficiently cowed. You could absolutely feel the difference while walking down the streets, as the air itself felt a little lighter. People seemed a bit more willing to leave their homes and walk the streets. There was still plenty of tension, unfortunately, as the threat of the E88 still loomed over people, but it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.
This achievement was something that New Wave believed was worth celebrating, so they invited Crow and me to a meal in costume, a novel experience I wouldn't soon forget. It was sort of like eating in a high school cafeteria again, except everyone was actually looking at you. Still, it was fun, and it wasn't every day you got to share some drinks with superheroes, even as a superhero.
While most of my time during the day was spent patrolling and tearing through ABB assets, I did manage to spend time working on my magic. During the nights, and occasionally through them, I worked my talents, doing my best to push myself further. I crafted a dozen or so spells, storing them safely in my spellbook. I also made a spare spellbook, basically just recreating the original, though I traded a few quality-of-life enchantments to take the recall enchantment to the same level that my staff had. Basically, if my primary spellbook was taken or somehow got destroyed, not a simple task by any means, I could call my spare to me by giving it a good mental yank. It would then appear in my hands as long as I was somewhere within several dozen miles of it.
Now, I just needed to remember to keep it updated, or it would be useless when I summoned it.
I also worked to make four more metal golems for New Wave, two for each family and house. I trusted the hero family well enough by this point, and I had already been loaning them some golems for a few days anyway. Plus, as with all my ritualized objects, the fact that they contained my magic meant I could unravel with a particularly hard mental yank. Not only did it mean they now had a pair of decent scale brutes fighting by their side, but they also now had two sleepless guards at their homes, something that they thanked me profusely for. We all knew, now that we had taken down the ABB, that the Empire was going to be our new primary threat, which brought back some unhappy and frankly scary memories for the maskless capes.
Fleur's murder at the hands of an E88 goon had been a tragedy, and it clearly still affected the families.
When I wasn't making new things, I was stocking old things, specifically starting the task of turning Troy into a mobile warehouse of materials. I ritualized a few hundred iron acorns, two more boxes of chalk, materials for some basic rituals that might come in handy, as well as some other small creations I had been working on. It was still in the beginning stages, but as a proof of concept, it was more than adequate. I was excited to start making some more powerful objects, but that could wait until I had a handle on whatever I spent my refilled charges.
On the last day of my current charge cycle, I also decided to let Olivia visit my compound. I first warned Kali that I would most likely be coming home with a guest and that she was allowed to be at the compound as long as I teleported her in and out. We arrived late in the afternoon after having our early celebration dinner with New Wave, landing on the ritual platform.
"Welcome to the compound," I said, gesturing around us as my golems stepped off the platform. "Take a look around, just don't go too far, or the protective rituals might kick in."
"The compound, really? That's kind of… a sketchy… name..." She said, slowly down and trailing off as she looked around, eyes going wide. "Woah… Will, this is…"
She walked across the platform to run her hands along the storage trees, feeling living bark under her fingers. She looked up at the thick green canopy above her, only for the hanging lights to flicker on, one after another. It would have been impressive timing if I couldn't feel Kali flicking them on with a metaphorical grin.
When she was done looking at the storage trees, and giving me an odd look after peeking inside one of them, I gave her a tour of the whole compound. She wasn't super impressed by my sleeping space until I explained it wasn't where I spent most of my time, showing her the living area next, as well as the bunkrooms.
"Expecting guests?" She asked after stepping inside and testing one of the beds. "You got room for what, ten people?"
"Sixteen, but it was more of an experiment than anything," I explained, looking around the cramped but serviceable sleeping space. "To see how many people I could fit if I had to. Mostly if something happened to the docks community before it was properly protected. I'll probably cover these into single rooms eventually."
"And what did you learn?" She asked curiously, stepping further into the bunkroom.
"That if I had to house that many people, I wouldn't do it like this," I answered with a chuckle, gesturing to the cramped bunk beds. "Four people in a room is fine for an emergency, but long term? It would be insufferable. If I had to house a lot of people, I would give up on the half-buried design and do something above ground."
I had designs in mind already, of course, because my mind refused to stop most of the time. Rather than using one tree to grow a single room, I would use multiple trees in a circle, growing up into one large support tree, and then creating a large circular room around it. Then, I would divide up the "large" room into smaller bedrooms, giving each their own door around the exterior. It would be a bit on the complicated side, but with a bit of practice, I was confident I could make a circle tree home that fit five or six people.
She nodded absently, looking around the room before stepping out to continue the tour. We eventually made our way to the fire pit, where I spent most of my time. We both sat down there, and I got the fire started with a little flame spell.
"This is impressive. I honestly didn't expect anything like this, though I suppose I should have," She admitted, still looking around. "It's like something you see in movies. Maybe with some elves walking around, all at one with nature and that jazz."
"What, did you think I would be huddled up in a tent? When I can manipulate trees so well?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Even before I was living here, I was squatting in an abandoned shop."
"Yeah, well, not all of us can grow nice places to live with an acorn and some chanting," She shot back, slapping my shoulder.
"Right, sorry," I said with a wince. "I would have been growing homes for people in the community, but the PRT would never let me get away with random tree growths all over the city. They barely let the orchards pass, and that's only cause they die hard without me."
"These trees won't?" She asked, reaching out to rub the smooth bark that made up the armrest of her chair.
"They would die without someone to recharge some of the spellwork I put into them," I explained, neatly avoiding mentioning that Kali was more than capable of doing that herself, and she would exist in this world as long as even the idea of this forest was alive. "But they are resilient enough that if they did die, the wood would stand true for a long time. The beds and more delicate stuff would dry and break pretty quickly, but the framework would remain."
"Huh... yeah, I don't imagine the PRT wouldn't like that."
"Not to mention that, unless you can find some cleared ground, the trees are rough on city infrastructure," I pointed out. "Their roots need to be pretty widespread, which can be rough on plumbing, pavement, and just about everything in between.
"Unfortunate, though also not surprising," she said, shaking her head. "You're the reason a lot of people are healthy and happy, Will. Don't get dragged down by not being able to help more."
I nodded, leaning back in my seat, and for a while, the two of us just chatted, talking about the progress we had made, what the city was like before I arrived, and even less important topics. It was nice just to talk with Olivia and not have it be about hero work or something related to it. Eventually, when it was starting to get a little late, Olivia confirmed it was probably time for her to get back to the community. Before I could teleport her home, she stopped me, and both of us stood on the ritual platform again.
"Listen… I wanted to thank you... and apologize again," She said, reaching out and putting her hand on my arm. "When I found out about Alya… it really freaked me out, but I shouldn't have taken it out in you."
"I appreciate that," I said with a nod. "I don't blame you for reacting like that if I'm honest, it was a shock and not exactly fair."
"That excuse might be valid for my immediate response, but I should have gotten over it quicker," She responded, shaking her head. "You were just trying to stay safe, and when it came down to it, you happily sacrificed one of your advantages to help people."
"It wasn't just me. Alya volunteered as well," I pointed out, not completely untrue considering she was the one who came up with the idea.
"Maybe, but it sounds like that, for the most part, you were the one at risk," she pointed out, letting out a long breath, still sounding disappointed in herself. "You've been nothing but good to me and the community, and you helped me step out of the shadows and actually help people. I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, but instead, I let my own paranoia convince me you were trying to keep secrets from me because… well, to use against me, I guess. So... Sorry, I guess."
"I'm just glad you came around, Liv, patrolling without you was awfully boring," I said with a chuckle, laughing when she slapped my shoulder.
"Alright, magic man, take me home," She said, though I could see a small smile on her lips. "I need some sleep, and I'm not letting you magic my tiredness away."
"Right, okay. Actually… You could stay in one of the bunks if you want," I pointed out, chewing the inside of my cheek. "I'm likely going to be up all night working, but it's a roof and comfortable bed. I've never seen you set up at the community, but…"
"You don't need to worry about me. I have my own space," she explained. "And I would end up killing you if you kept me up. No, better that I head home."
I nodded and began chanting, the both of us vanishing to an alley near the community. Her costume slid up to cover her body, leaving her nothing but a shadow. She wished me a good night, gave me a hug, and faded away into the darkness. I waited a few minutes to make sure she was gone before starting to chant again, returning to the compound.
"Right, time for the final countdown," I said, rubbing my hands together as Alya reformed beside me, floating along as I walked to the fire pit, stoking it gently.
When I was done poking my source of heat, I sat down and pulled out my notebook. At this point, it was just a habit since I had read through my list enough to repeat it verbatim. Still, I opened it up, closing my eyes and doing my best to visualize exactly what I was looking for.
"Have you worked out your options?" Alya asked, floating around but staying incorporeal.
"I've got it narrowed down as best I can," I said. "It's up to the Marvelous Mage system to determine if it's going to give me what I actually want. Let's hope it's feeling friendly."
Comments
AlthePal
Yeah, I was surprised by that. Especially since she freaked out with Alya. Now he just dropped her into a new place in a near identical scenario with another unknown presence and didnt even hint at it. If he ever reveals her, she will be justified in her anger. Not that Will isnt entiteled to his own secrets and those of his associates. But she made her stance clear on things like this and he should have just kept her out of "the Compound" in that case unless he was willing to let her in on it.
Pearl of the Orient
after being visually patrolling Change to: After their quite visible patrol and taking down the farm.
Al
I think he's got stored teleport spells set to a one word trigger on his staff. (Id put that on a bracelet or something) On vague rules of magic Kali would need to have reach to pull that off. Her range would need to expand to about global or some manner of sympathetic magic/spatial chicanery would have to happen
Urbane_Bomber
He should consider making a teleportation bracelet that Kali can control so he can be whisked away if he is hurt and not need to use the incantation as much. Using that, he could provide one to Olivia and others without fear of it being used against him.
Miguel Garcia
Oops. He used her real name in front of Kali and didn’t introduce Kali or even suggest there is a protective spirit that is private🤦🏻♂️
