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TEST DRIVE MEME: NOVEMBER EDITION
TEST DRIVE MEME
A Confluence, capitalized, is the converging of one or more supernatural forces.
This Confluence is predicted. Guild officials are ready to capture the new Starfallen and explain the situation to them. All of this has become quite mundane for them, but you -
You find yourself suddenly falling from the sky. Careening towards the pavement, only to be caught at the last minute by thin ribbons made of stardust. They would have caught you far faster, as they've been getting quite skilled at snapping tumbling bodies from mid-air, but...
This Confluence is predicted. Guild officials are ready to capture the new Starfallen and explain the situation to them. All of this has become quite mundane for them, but you -
You find yourself suddenly falling from the sky. Careening towards the pavement, only to be caught at the last minute by thin ribbons made of stardust. They would have caught you far faster, as they've been getting quite skilled at snapping tumbling bodies from mid-air, but...
ONE MIND, ONE WILL. CENTRAL CITY, MICHIGAN.
Staticky octogon-shaped portals appear in the sky you just fell from. At that same moment, every screen in Central City flares to life. A PINK-SKINNED ALIEN with glittering, crystalline compound eyes stares calmly into the camera.
"My greetings to The Society of Samaritans. My dear old teammates. And their hero friends like Atom...? Atomight? Atomight. If they're even still alive... When you've lived as long as I have..."
He trails off, staring into the distance. It takes a moment for him to resume speaking. "I hope they don't still have you all convinced of the delusion of free will. What does free will matter in the face of immortality? Of freedom from strife? I would reshape you all into something so beautiful." He gives the camera a beatific smile. "I don't know why you would eschew that - so I'm just going to take the choice out of your hands. It's for your own good, really. The Forerunner is here to save you from yourselves."
At that, monsters start to pour through the portals. Instantly there's mass panic. Screams fill the streets.
The Forerunner is viewed as a "god" by the monsters coming through. ABOMINIDS twisted long-limbed biological monstrosities slavishly devoted to him, and his AUTOMATA, incredibly intricate machines lacking free will. Alliance members appear familiar with his tactics, and familiar with the foe. They can tell you that The Forerunner himself is unable to cross between dimensions due to the tragedy that made him. In an act of heroic self-sacrifice which warped his mind, he was trapped between dimensions and his body was warped beyond recognition. This isn't the first time he's attacked Earth with his monstrosities, hoping to weaken the planet's defenses.
The monsters are not the only threat. The Forerunner has developed the ability to hack free will. Automata and Abominids are putting mind control helmets on unpowered citizens en masse, the projected stream of sound they provide capable of binding the victims to his will.
Swarms of converted non-meta civilians are quickly captured and converted. These people are not themselves, but they must be fought, freed, or avoided. You, heroes and villains, are the only force that can avert disaster. The mind-controlled civillians are targeting infrastructure like power transformers and fire departments.
Even more worrying, the Converts are swarming the local hospitals, raiding metahuman wards to take control of metas too sick and weak to fight back. These metas are the intended building blocks for the invasion force, who will be mind controlled and forced to fight despite illness or injuries. At ground zero for the earliest attacks, medical staff need help transporting sick patients and newborn babies to hospital wings that can be more effectively barricaded. Some will wind up trapped, stuck holding doors shut together while fists pound outside.
Whether heroes or villains, those unfortunate enough to be captured will find themselves given a modified mind control device at the base of the neck. If you are so unlucky, you will act completely normal at first to put the people around you off guard. And when the opportunity arises, you will try to convert others by implanting those same devices. The constant stream of mental hacking will leave your personality mostly intact, save for the devotion to the Forerunner.
"Surrender and sublimate. Flesh into flesh. All are one in the Forerunner." They chant in the streets.
Removing the devices instantly liberates the captive. However, there are so many of them. It's up to the Starfallen to hold the line, and stop others from being taken.
"My greetings to The Society of Samaritans. My dear old teammates. And their hero friends like Atom...? Atomight? Atomight. If they're even still alive... When you've lived as long as I have..."
He trails off, staring into the distance. It takes a moment for him to resume speaking. "I hope they don't still have you all convinced of the delusion of free will. What does free will matter in the face of immortality? Of freedom from strife? I would reshape you all into something so beautiful." He gives the camera a beatific smile. "I don't know why you would eschew that - so I'm just going to take the choice out of your hands. It's for your own good, really. The Forerunner is here to save you from yourselves."
At that, monsters start to pour through the portals. Instantly there's mass panic. Screams fill the streets.
The Forerunner is viewed as a "god" by the monsters coming through. ABOMINIDS twisted long-limbed biological monstrosities slavishly devoted to him, and his AUTOMATA, incredibly intricate machines lacking free will. Alliance members appear familiar with his tactics, and familiar with the foe. They can tell you that The Forerunner himself is unable to cross between dimensions due to the tragedy that made him. In an act of heroic self-sacrifice which warped his mind, he was trapped between dimensions and his body was warped beyond recognition. This isn't the first time he's attacked Earth with his monstrosities, hoping to weaken the planet's defenses.
The monsters are not the only threat. The Forerunner has developed the ability to hack free will. Automata and Abominids are putting mind control helmets on unpowered citizens en masse, the projected stream of sound they provide capable of binding the victims to his will.
Swarms of converted non-meta civilians are quickly captured and converted. These people are not themselves, but they must be fought, freed, or avoided. You, heroes and villains, are the only force that can avert disaster. The mind-controlled civillians are targeting infrastructure like power transformers and fire departments.
Even more worrying, the Converts are swarming the local hospitals, raiding metahuman wards to take control of metas too sick and weak to fight back. These metas are the intended building blocks for the invasion force, who will be mind controlled and forced to fight despite illness or injuries. At ground zero for the earliest attacks, medical staff need help transporting sick patients and newborn babies to hospital wings that can be more effectively barricaded. Some will wind up trapped, stuck holding doors shut together while fists pound outside.
Whether heroes or villains, those unfortunate enough to be captured will find themselves given a modified mind control device at the base of the neck. If you are so unlucky, you will act completely normal at first to put the people around you off guard. And when the opportunity arises, you will try to convert others by implanting those same devices. The constant stream of mental hacking will leave your personality mostly intact, save for the devotion to the Forerunner.
"Surrender and sublimate. Flesh into flesh. All are one in the Forerunner." They chant in the streets.
Removing the devices instantly liberates the captive. However, there are so many of them. It's up to the Starfallen to hold the line, and stop others from being taken.
DIADEM HOTEL
Whether you've survived the chaos, or arrived after the trouble's over, you're not going home anytime soon. Hopefully, the LUXURY HOTEL they've put you up in will ease that sting.
The DIADEM HOTEL is usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. Its rooms are enormous, the beds quite literally enchanted to offer the perfect night's sleep, and the food would usually cost your life savings just to sample. But given the circumstances, the Guilds feel its the least they can do to aid your transition into this world. EVERYTHING is complimentary, and everyone gets an ALLIANCE CREDIT CARD to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back... though if they catch you abusing it, their accountant will be coming for your head.
There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlets that cater to your every need. Food, clothing... and swords? If you can think of it, it's for sale. Although anything clearly supernatural or metahuman seems to be at a minimum and offered under the table. You can grab clothing made to withstand any superpower and a surprisingly mediocre Taco Bell order while you're at it. There's a Super Cinema in the shopping complex across the street that's showing the 11th sequel of a popular action racing franchise, BLASTS FROM THE CURIOUS: LAST OF THE NEFARIOUS, in which Hubcaps Nefarious tries to undo the Carmageddon caused by evil tech entrepreneur Jebs Robs. He uses the Large Hadron Collider to launch a Bugati into the past to save the world and the most important thing of all: family.
CENTRAL CITY isn't exactly the nicest place in the world, even after the clean up from the Forerunners's attack. Wander too far from the shopping district and you'll find yourselves thick into territory controlled by the local non-meta crime syndicate... but maybe that's where you want to be. Maybe you're here to see just what this world is dealing with. If you're going to be stuck here you might as well make yourself useful, right?
Or perhaps you're NOT the heroic type. Maybe this is simply scoping out the competition.
Regardless, it won't take long for TROUBLE to find you. Test out your new powers, do a little thieving, stop a few muggings - this is your time to use as you see fit.
The DIADEM HOTEL is usually reserved for the obscenely wealthy. Its rooms are enormous, the beds quite literally enchanted to offer the perfect night's sleep, and the food would usually cost your life savings just to sample. But given the circumstances, the Guilds feel its the least they can do to aid your transition into this world. EVERYTHING is complimentary, and everyone gets an ALLIANCE CREDIT CARD to spend on entertainment, clothing, and whatever other necessities they might need. The cards have an obscenely high limit and there doesn't seem to be an expectation for you to pay it back... though if they catch you abusing it, their accountant will be coming for your head.
There's a shopping center immediately across the street. It has an impressive array of outlets that cater to your every need. Food, clothing... and swords? If you can think of it, it's for sale. Although anything clearly supernatural or metahuman seems to be at a minimum and offered under the table. You can grab clothing made to withstand any superpower and a surprisingly mediocre Taco Bell order while you're at it. There's a Super Cinema in the shopping complex across the street that's showing the 11th sequel of a popular action racing franchise, BLASTS FROM THE CURIOUS: LAST OF THE NEFARIOUS, in which Hubcaps Nefarious tries to undo the Carmageddon caused by evil tech entrepreneur Jebs Robs. He uses the Large Hadron Collider to launch a Bugati into the past to save the world and the most important thing of all: family.
CENTRAL CITY isn't exactly the nicest place in the world, even after the clean up from the Forerunners's attack. Wander too far from the shopping district and you'll find yourselves thick into territory controlled by the local non-meta crime syndicate... but maybe that's where you want to be. Maybe you're here to see just what this world is dealing with. If you're going to be stuck here you might as well make yourself useful, right?
Or perhaps you're NOT the heroic type. Maybe this is simply scoping out the competition.
Regardless, it won't take long for TROUBLE to find you. Test out your new powers, do a little thieving, stop a few muggings - this is your time to use as you see fit.
THE PUMPKIN KING. SUNSET FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS.
The recently open door to the underworld is now closed but that doesn't mean Sunset Falls is free from supernatural events. That said, what's currently happening is at least a normal kind of abnormal, a well-established, necessary yearly ritual.
Every year, a being known as Magna Cucurbita, also called the Pumpkin King or Old Man Autumn, must be appeased so that Autumn in the northern hemisphere can start progressing to Winter and the other seasons. In the past, this entailed flattering him with various depictions in TV specials and movies, but with some of these beloved holiday specials and movies moving to streaming services and being viewed by less people - and increasing Christmas creep - this seasonal elemental has taken affront at the lack of attention at the end of the harvest season.
Fortunately, the magical community in Sunset Falls knows how he can still be appeased. Every year they perform a ritual in some pumpkin fields, corn fields, and orchards just outside Sunset Falls. While the ritual is led by the Alliance's Silent Mystic, the magical community sees it as something that transcends the loyalties of the guilds and all are welcome to help out, regardless of affiliation. It takes a large number of people performing it to make it work, enough that those that might be hesitant will practically be begged because of the importance of making sure Autumn doesn't last all year long.
After being teleported in by the mages, the ritual is a mostly harmless one. Much like the recent masquerade ball, all participants must pick out a harvest mask but instead of magically hiding their identity the mask does the opposite: it enhances it, transforming and taking the form of something deeply personal or that best represents the individual. Sometimes the carvings and paint can show more than one thing, causing a wearer to have an entire collage of personal symbols, objects, characters, or even whole scenes depicted on the mask.
Two participants, often chosen at random, then have their hands bound together with twine woven from straw. They have to walk through the pumpkin patch and both eat an apple from the orchard, then walk into the cornfields. Once all the sound gives way to the white noise of rustling corn stalks, they have to kneel and tell each other their greatest desire. This can be any number of things, both possible and impossible, like the recovery of something long-lost (or gone forever), a short-term goal they're desperate to accomplish, or a lifelong dream they keep aspiring towards.
This admission must be the truth or at least close to the spirit of it, and the stronger the desire, the sooner the ritual will be finished. This is a harvest of emotion that appeases the spirit.
Until both have said their truth, Magna Cucurbita can be seen in glimpses, circling in the corn around them, wearing his grand suit embroidered with pumpkins, accompanied by two skeletal Halloween spirits. When he is finally appeased the spirit gracefully departs, leaving behind the scent of pumpkins, bonfires, and ripe apples. Participants can then return to the others.
When enough participants have appeased the Pumpkin King, a very light first snow will fall, heralding Winter, and the ritual will be declared over. The new season is always welcomed in with the mages treating everyone to magically delicious hot cocoa and hot cider, various apple treats (baked, candied, and caramel), and various pumpkin based foods like pie and pumpkin spice bread.
Provided they don't indulge in a snowball fight first, everyone is then taken home.
EXCELSIOR
A scientist in Excelsior has come forward, claiming that he can solve the current metahuman crisis with science. Robots, he says, without intelligence. One that is programmed to follow human law by the letter. They do not need metahuman intervention. Their problems are caused by scientific minds, and so the solution must come from them.
The robots in question are mass-producted from cheap material. Their programming is… slapdash, at best. And there is no government sign-off on these robots, the eager scientist simply flings open the door to his lab and unleashes them upon the city.
Rejoice, he cries, I, Sprocket Biggs have saved this city!
He has not.
The robots are doing what they are instructed to. They are intervening when they catch sight of someone endangering others, or breaking the law. Unfortunately Sprocket did not think to check what laws they were upholding, nor did he think to prune the more ridiculous ones that have entered legislation over the centuries. And so these poor, ridiculous creatures descend upon the unsuspecting populace with only their binary understanding of what is and isn’t a law.
Some of the laws the robots are adhering to are…
• It is illegal to attach a vending machine to a utility pole without prior consent from the utility company.
• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold.
• Destroying a beer cask or bottle of another is illegal.
• It is illegal to entice girls away from the Maple Lane School for girls.
• X-rays may not be used to fit shoes.
• All lollipops are banned.
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.
• It is illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag.
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
• It is illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich.
• One may not spit on a bus.
• When two trains come to a crossing, neither shall go until the other has passed.
• You cannot buy meat of any kind on Sunday.
• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold. RCW 70.54.050 Exposing contagious disease -- Penalty. Every person who shall wilfully expose himself to another, or any animal affected with any contagious or infectious disease, in any public place or thoroughfare, except upon his or its necessary removal in a manner not dangerous to the public health; and every person so affected who shall expose any other person thereto without his knowledge, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town. This law was set up to curb an ever increasing crime rate in the area. Due to its sheer stupidity, however, it is needless to say that the law has affected nothing.
• You may not shuck peanuts on the street.
• It is illegal to display a hypnotized or allegedly hypnotized person in a store window.
• Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.
• You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.
• One may not spit on a bus.
• Those who sit on men's laps on buses or trains without placing a pillow between them face an automatic six-month jail term.
• No one may set fire to another person's property without prior permission.
• It is illegal to carry a fishbowl or aquarium onto a bus because the sound of the water sloshing may disturb other passengers.
• No one may kneel on a pedestrian skywalk.
• Spitting on city buses is outlawed.
• Persons may not wear a life jacket near a public body of water.
• TV's may not be bought on Sundays.
• Strippers may not come closer than four feet to any customer.
• No structure shall contain more than two toilets that use potable water for flushing.
• It is illegal to give noxious substances to a bird in any city park.
• You may not ride an ugly horse
• And many more.
These misshapen, malfunctioning hunks of metal are not much of a threat to any metahuman. They’ll sound their klaxons and chase you with grabbing hands, intent on hefting you above their heads and taking you directly to the nearest authority. This could be a police offer, but it’s much more likely to anyone with authority nearby. Don’t be surprised if your captor rockets through the windows of a board meeting, dropping you in front of the CEO expectantly.
They’re surprisingly durable, at least physically. It’s probably possible to overload them mentally without much effort, a simple logic puzzle or two might do. Or just bring up a few conflicting laws! Maybe even break as many as possible. Best to team up and grab a buddy so they don’t know who to chase.
The robots in question are mass-producted from cheap material. Their programming is… slapdash, at best. And there is no government sign-off on these robots, the eager scientist simply flings open the door to his lab and unleashes them upon the city.
Rejoice, he cries, I, Sprocket Biggs have saved this city!
He has not.
The robots are doing what they are instructed to. They are intervening when they catch sight of someone endangering others, or breaking the law. Unfortunately Sprocket did not think to check what laws they were upholding, nor did he think to prune the more ridiculous ones that have entered legislation over the centuries. And so these poor, ridiculous creatures descend upon the unsuspecting populace with only their binary understanding of what is and isn’t a law.
Some of the laws the robots are adhering to are…
• It is illegal to attach a vending machine to a utility pole without prior consent from the utility company.
• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold.
• Destroying a beer cask or bottle of another is illegal.
• It is illegal to entice girls away from the Maple Lane School for girls.
• X-rays may not be used to fit shoes.
(more laws here)
• All lollipops are banned.
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.
• It is illegal to paint polka dots on the American flag.
• People may not buy a mattress on Sunday.
• All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
• It is illegal to pretend that one's parents are rich.
• One may not spit on a bus.
• When two trains come to a crossing, neither shall go until the other has passed.
• You cannot buy meat of any kind on Sunday.
• No person may walk about in public if he or she has the common cold. RCW 70.54.050 Exposing contagious disease -- Penalty. Every person who shall wilfully expose himself to another, or any animal affected with any contagious or infectious disease, in any public place or thoroughfare, except upon his or its necessary removal in a manner not dangerous to the public health; and every person so affected who shall expose any other person thereto without his knowledge, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
• A law to reduce crime states: "It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town. This law was set up to curb an ever increasing crime rate in the area. Due to its sheer stupidity, however, it is needless to say that the law has affected nothing.
• You may not shuck peanuts on the street.
• It is illegal to display a hypnotized or allegedly hypnotized person in a store window.
• Dancing and drinking may not occur at the same establishment.
• You may not carry a concealed weapon that is over six feet in length.
• One may not spit on a bus.
• Those who sit on men's laps on buses or trains without placing a pillow between them face an automatic six-month jail term.
• No one may set fire to another person's property without prior permission.
• It is illegal to carry a fishbowl or aquarium onto a bus because the sound of the water sloshing may disturb other passengers.
• No one may kneel on a pedestrian skywalk.
• Spitting on city buses is outlawed.
• Persons may not wear a life jacket near a public body of water.
• TV's may not be bought on Sundays.
• Strippers may not come closer than four feet to any customer.
• No structure shall contain more than two toilets that use potable water for flushing.
• It is illegal to give noxious substances to a bird in any city park.
• You may not ride an ugly horse
• And many more.
These misshapen, malfunctioning hunks of metal are not much of a threat to any metahuman. They’ll sound their klaxons and chase you with grabbing hands, intent on hefting you above their heads and taking you directly to the nearest authority. This could be a police offer, but it’s much more likely to anyone with authority nearby. Don’t be surprised if your captor rockets through the windows of a board meeting, dropping you in front of the CEO expectantly.
They’re surprisingly durable, at least physically. It’s probably possible to overload them mentally without much effort, a simple logic puzzle or two might do. Or just bring up a few conflicting laws! Maybe even break as many as possible. Best to team up and grab a buddy so they don’t know who to chase.
CLIFF NOTES.
➢ New arrivals will be appearing in Central City. They fall from the skies and are caught moments before impact by magic users from the guilds.
➢ Taking advantage of thinned spots between dimensions caused by the Confluences and the recent opening to the Underworld, the otherdimensional tyrant known as the Forerunner is attacking the city.
➢ The Forerunner uses mind control devices and monsters to try to bring the city under his thumb. The mind control devices instill a sense of loyalty and devotion to the Forerunner.
➢ Those who are under his mind control will attack key infrastructure in the city, including hospitals. Players must defend themselves from a hoard of mind-controlled civilians, metas, and maybe even friends!
➢ This will last roughly one day before being brought under control. A heck of an entrance, though! In the aftermath, newbies will be brought to the DIADEM HOTEL.
➢ In Sunset Falls, the annual rituals to appease the Pumpkin King must be undertaken. The ritual involves showing him your truth. You must take a mask and put it on your face, and the mask's appearance will reflect your deepest truth.
➢ Two characters will be randomly paired together, and must share a truth about themselves. This can be any number of things, both possible and impossible, like the recovery of something long-lost (or gone forever), a short-term goal they're desperate to accomplish, or a lifelong dream they keep aspiring towards. Once done, the spirit is pleased and departs, allowing winter to come.
➢ In Excelsior, a scientist has made robots that are programmed to uphold the law! Unfortunately, he didn't specify which laws, and these robots are now trying to enforce some really weird ones.
➢ These robots are largely harmless. They're physically strong but mentally dim. They're mostly loud, bumbling, and doing their best. If caught, you'll be brought to the nearest authority - who can be anyone in a position of power, or who simply radiates authority.
➢ The easiest way to beat them is to break as many weird laws as possible. Team up and get creative. Or if you think you can take them head on, suit up and beat them up.
➢ Current Players are welcome to treat this as a bonus event. These events are canonically happening within the game but can be largely ignored if you'd prefer to use the month for personal plots. You can tag into the TDM, reference these prompts in network posts, or use them in your own logs.
WILDCARD.
Metaheroes takes inspiration from all walks of comics. Take a look at the CITIES to get an idea as to what day to day life is like in the other cities. Perhaps you've encountered a supervillain (or hero) who needs to be thwarted, or a metahuman with unusual powers creating bizarre effects. You can also take a look at the MISSION BOARD to get your start as a professional hero, villain, or vigilante.
no subject
[Bart sighs, his shoulders slumping a little as he waits for the rejection he expects is funny.]
Here? I'm living on a farm. Growing vegetables and keeping hens for eggs. Being able to take things slow for a change a lot of the time. Catch up on reading, not that there's always the same books here. Maybe I get called in to help with some disaster on the regular, but the rest of the time? I'm just me.
no subject
Talk of the farm doesn't seem to particularly move him as he continues to stubbornly glare off into the middle distance, and he lets an uncomfortable gap of silence settle between them before finally responding.]
...I don't know what I want for myself. Or rather, I do, but if I'm stuck here I have no way to act on it, and I don't know what I want beyond that.
[It's hard to accept the idea that he would have to live adrift on his own wants, when he'd never been allowed to want anything he wasn't told to. An idea that probably should have felt freeing instead felt suffocating.]
I do know one thing, though. Killing you would just give him what he wants, and right now I don't want to give him anything. So you're safe from me while we're here. At least for now.
no subject
Yeah, yeah, guilty. I can't think of myself in another uniform anymore. And that self-image helps sometimes. Doesn't mean Kid Flash isn't any less of a screw-up than Impulse was.
[A partial lie, but Thad probably will learn to read him pretty quickly. He always could. That was part of what made their rivalry so dangerous. Bart was an open book, but his counterpart? He really couldn't understand more than what had been driving Inertia, the need to prove himself the better copy, which apparently wasn't there for now.]
When you're up to it, maybe we can talk. I'd like to get to know you. I was probably just as caught up in that rivalry as you when last we saw each other. We are family, if you want to be
no subject
As Bart speaks, Thad watches him critically. Like he's trying to dissect his words and mannerisms for some greater meaning. But he doesn't catch on to Bart's partial lie, because that self-depreciation just bothers him. He wasn't even sure why exactly. Maybe it was because it felt like Bart was placating him, or maybe it was just because it was a trait that felt so off from the version of Bart he knew.
He curls a lip at the offer to talk and get to know him. What was that even supposed to mean? Bart already knew him. He very clearly recognized him when he saw him.
And he's just about to voice that when he hears the words "We are family", and it feels like someone shoving a knife back in a fresh wound and twisting it. The world goes white with anger, and he doesn't remember moving from behind the fallen monster or running up to Bart, but suddenly he's in front of him all the same.]
We are NOT family!
[Speedforce energy crackles off of him dangerously, as he screams in the other boy's face. As far as Thad was concerned, what Bart said was an attack. It didn't matter that he obviously hadn't meant it that way, it felt like one. And so fresh from their confrontation in the speedforce, he was in no place to rationalize it as anything else.]
Family love each other and you said love means you're willing to die for them or with them! Those are Your Words!
[A finger gets shoved at Bart's chest to emphasize that they came from him. In case he forgot. They were words Thad hadn't been able to get out of his head since they broke his chest.]
You got to have a family, I got spiteful ghosts and a man who treated me like a tool! How dare you just casually throw that at me like...like...[It's a struggle to put it into words, to conceptualize what this feels like, how much it hurts.] like some scrap of meat you're throwing to a starving stray!
[Stepping back, Thad's fists clench into fists, tears falling down his cheeks as he vibrates in place, glaring Bart down like he's on the verge of going back on his claim that he wouldn't kill him here.]
no subject
Do you know how I ended up with Max? He was the closest thing I've had to family, and he's gone now. Maybe he could come back, but apparently he's not interested. But it wasn't like anyone could have planned me ending up with the old man. I thought he was just some old fossil Wally dug up because he certainly couldn't be bothered training a sidekick.
[A pause, then he continues, the irritation clear in his voice.]
Yeah, that's right, my cousin, my actual family pawned me off on someone else like a puppy who overstayed his welcome. Grandpa Barry still vanishes almost every time we're in the same place for more than like five seconds, and he's the only reason I'm here and alive.
Having a family doesn't mean some wonderful thing that's full of picnics and presents. It's work. It's arguing and being angry and just...being there. I don't even get to see my best friends as often as I might like because they're unaffiliated.
It's not a scrap, and you're no stray. It's an offer. A chance to start over, more or less. Because I don't like where our story ended back home, and maybe we can write something different.
[Maybe one where they both live. It's a depressing thought, but Bart backs up, deciding maybe it's better if he just gives Thad his space.]
I'd rather not talk about dying right now. It's one of those things I wish I actually could forget.
no subject
But it’s all too easy to shake it off as Bart keeps talking. As he goes into explaining how being part of a family was work, how he'd been passed around and abandoned, and that Barry Allen came back, it only makes Thad bristle all the more. Furious, he looks just about ready to strike at him when Bart drops “I don't like where our story ended back home” like a lead weight at his feet.
Anger deflating, he looks searchingly at Bart with a mix of confusion and suspicion. Was that supposed to mean what it sounded like?
“I'd rather not talk about dying right now.” Seems to confirm it.]
So I do end up killing you…
[And it apparently doesn’t stick. Same as Barry. That’s a bitter thought. An underscore of how pointless this whole revenge scheme has been, and one he wasn’t up to thinking deeper into right now.
If Bart didn't want to talk about it further, he'd let him have that for now. He had too many questions he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer to.
Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he tried to reel in his remaining anger enough to speak clearly and calmly.]
I’ve seen your whole life play out over a thousand times, Allen. I know how you met Max, how West treated you, the countless arguments you had with Max over your time with him, how he almost gave up on you once, [A reminder he dredges up with a hint of cruel self-satisfaction.] and how things might have turn out for you if I didn’t interfere.
I told myself that’s why I was better off. I justified my solitude, by telling myself family was clearly nothing but a fleeting, pointless, distraction anyway. And any part of having a family that was appealing, I could try to have after I proved I was worthy of it.
But after I actually got to experience it, I didn’t want to let it go. Even the bad parts.
[Because the last month wasn’t all sunshine and roses. He’d chosen to be there for the worst part of Max’s decline. Something that, to his own shock, became harder to witness the closer he found himself getting to Max and Helen.]
I’m sorry your family hasn’t always been there for you the way you wanted or needed. [The words come out seething with spite, not sorry in the slightest.] But at least they were there. However brief it might have been. And you still have people who want to be there with you, even when they can’t be. You got to do that work, learn from that anger, have those arguments, and just be there with them.
Do you know what I had?
Recordings. Ghosts who will never know I existed.
I never even got to meet the man who made me. I had to earn that right. Prove I was worthy of being in the same room with him, even for five seconds.
And this thing you’re offering me, you’re not doing it because you want me in your life, or honestly see me as family. [Because Thad refused to believe that could be the case. Couldn’t fathom a reality where that was true, so of course, Bart must be lying. Playing him.] Acceptance of my intrusion is a price you’re willing to pay for self-preservation and a peaceful end to this. [He gestures between the two of them, giving crude shape to the deadly rivalry between them.]
So spare me your lectures on how being part of a family isn’t always easy.
[It felt condescending. Even though that clearly wasn’t what Bart had meant by it. His venting attempt to show that family was something you worked at, that they could be family if they worked at it, just felt like Bart was telling him he was making a fantasy out of a thing he’d already written off as unobtainable.]
no subject
[Because Impulse wasn't a reader. He'd read his school books, but he hadn't realized he liked reading until Deathstroke shot him. The night he became Kid Flash.]
I know I can't answer any of that kind of stuff about you, and it honestly bugs me. All I really ever knew is that you were raised to be the better version. Which totally sucks. I don't even think I can be a decent version of me half the time, which probably means you already are. Except for the part where we're not the same, and never will be.
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I know who you were, not who you are. You've changed too much.
[A fact he hates admitting. He has to grit his teeth through it.]
But I don't need to know who you are now to know you'd have to be a special kind of insane to invite me into your life without ulterior motives, knowing that eventually, I'm going to kill you. Or in your case, already did.
When you said you wanted us to write something different, did you mean that literally? That you want to rewrite your own past? See if you can prevent that from happening by playing nice with me?
[Well, so much for letting the whole death thing drop. At least he wasn't asking direct questions about the incident itself.]
And why do you keep talking about yourself like that? Is it some ploy to play to my ego?
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[He's serious, but...he doesn't get it.]
No ploy. I know my record. I'm hardly the best Flash. More like a Flash-in-the-pan.
As for the death thing, you more arranged it. The Rogues turned on you, too. So I think we're fairly even on that front.
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The idea that Bart had been able to go back and things had already been "weird" already was concerning, though.]
Weird how?
[Somehow the idea that Bart's persistent self-depiction isn't some attempt to ingratiate himself to him, just makes it more grating. But he can't distinguish why, so he forces himself to let it go. If Bart wanted to lambast himself, then fine. He'd leave him to it. There were more important things to concern himself with. For instance, Bart just blabbing out details about how he'd plotted to kill him.
Thad's jaw drops. Not just because Bart let him know part of how he'd gone about things or the consequences after the fact, but the fact that he had worked with The Rogues, and they'd actually went through with it. Every bit of info he had on The Rogues said they didn't kill kids. So how the sprock did that happen?!
He didn't want to know.
He wasn't supposed to know.
Grife Bart!]
Don't just tell me that! What's wrong with you?!
CW: suicidal ideation, attempted murder
[Bart shrugs, because, well, it's not something he's sure he could change, if he wanted to.]
I don't blame you, Thad. Even then I didn't. The only one to blame for my death is me. Because I knew what was going to happen, and I still did it.
[A part of him is pretty sure it was the inaccessibility of the Speed Force while it had been trapped that had pushed Inertia so far, but, well, he can't be totally certain. Nobody can.]
Whatever happens after this, if we get out of here, that's different. But here...well, if you want to do this without playing by either grandpa's rules, we can. Or I can just ignore the fact that you're here and just keep doing what I've been doing. But I'm not the only one from home who might remember you.
CW: suicidal ideation, attempted murder
The reminder that his murder of Bart was supposed to be a fixed point just made this all the more confusing. And so did the claim that Bart didn't blame him. How could he not blame him?! The part of him that wanted to be angry wanted to believe it was condescension, but it reeked of that same self-deprecating attitude he'd had most of their conversation. And that irritates him almost as much.]
How is it your fault if I kill you? Even if you knew I was going to kill you, that line of logic makes no sen-[Catching himself, he flinches, biting his tongue.] Wait! No! Nonono, I don't want to know. Don't tell me any more details about it. Just stop!
[Wasn't Bart the one who said he didn't want to talk about his death? So why did he keep talking about it?! Knowing you're own future was rarely a good thing, and the more Bart told him the less he wanted to know. It brought up too many questions, most of which he had no way to answer.
Taking a breath, he tries to calm down, and focus on the more important part of their conversation.]
If you know your death by my hands really is a fixed point, then I still don't understand why you're so eager to be closer to me. The offer to go our separate ways and ignore each other, live and let live, that I can get to some degree. But this "family" thing you were offering? [Yes, he does make a point of putting air quotes on the word 'family'.] Wouldn't getting closer to me just make the inevitable outcome worse?
And what about the people here who might remember me? Are they going to just be okay with that, too? Which version of me do they even remember? Me now, or me from the future?
[...Is Helen here? Half of him hopes she is, the other half desperately hopes she isn't.]
Re: CW: suicidal ideation, attempted murder
[A pause, and then wistfully he adds] I wish Max were here.
[Then he considers.]
It's complicated. This place is some kind of nexus point, but when people go back to the timeline they were pulled from, they usually don't remember being in a space like this. So on some level, it may not matter what happens here. Nobody's sure.
But I've had plenty of time to think about all the stupid, impulsive things I've done over the years, and one of them was never giving you a second thought beyond the bad guy label.
And if this place does affect things, who knows, maybe things could change. Even if I have to die, maybe it doesn't have to be the result of your actions.
CW: suicidal ideation, attempted murder
Robin and Superboy...
He couldn't imagine Bart's friends would be too happy to see him no matter what version of them showed up. That could be a problem for him. Maybe Superboy would "deal", but Robin was a Bat, and they didn't typically just sit on their hands. He was also one of the only Young Justice members whose civilian identity he didn't know, he wouldn't even recognize him if he ran into him out of costume. Robin could easily catch him by surprise if he wanted to. Not exactly comforting.
And if the two of them both refused to "deal" and worked together...big problem. ]
[The knowledge that whatever he did here wouldn't matter, that he would probably just forget all of it, was also not comforting. It made him feel hollowed out, with only a thin line of panic to take up the space. The idea that any memories he made here would just be stolen from him was a fresh new kind of hell on its own. But Bart trying to offer a chance at a real life, only to drop the fact that when he went home it would probably be ripped away. That he'd just be set blindly back on the path he was created for...It was almost cruel.
Maybe Bart had made his peace with dying, but Thad sure hadn't made peace with the idea that he was likely the cause. He'd only just made the decision to let Bart and Max go. To take control of his life, and confront his creator. And in a few hour time, Bart Allen had come sliding back into his life to smack those notions down and tell him that it didn't matter. And nothing he did here mattered. The tease that maybe that wouldn't be the case for them, felt like nothing more than a cold comfort.
The most likely outcome was that he would do what he was created to do. But it was all okay, because Bart was okay with dying, so why not make something of the pointless time he had here?
He tried to feel angry about it, grasped desperately for the feeling. Anger would be comforting right now. But he couldn't dredge it up. The hallow panic stubbornly persisted.]
This is...[A lot. Too much.]
I...I need to think. Away from you.
Re: CW: suicidal ideation, attempted murder
[Bart nods slightly, and turns, walking away as he heads back into the fray, gathering his scouts to clear more of the area.]