Greater Wyrm 3.3 (Patreon)

[Initiation]

— Bang —

Wayward souls had come to take refuge from the current chaos in his dojo.

Bang accepted them. He accepted his responsibility to protect them. If they came with such desperation in their hearts, he couldn’t turn them away.

“Another one, Sensei!” Mizuki called out across the dojo.

Mizuki was one of his students, an athlete to the core. A maniac of physical conditioning. Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist would always be her second love, after sports of all varieties, but she stuck with it because Bang knew how to push her to her limits.

Still, even with her physical enthusiasm, she was much more personable than his other students. He had her on greeting duty as a result.

She led a local family, one Bang recognized. Their children often came for the free dojo days he offered. Now, they’d come for a different, more desperate reason.

That family was not the first of the night. They would not be the last, either.

The streets outside were not kind at the moment. They rarely ever were, but especially not now. Word had spread quickly through ABB turf. Chaos and conflict had spread even more quickly.

Lung was dead. And with him out of the picture, the ABB he’d built was bound to follow.

‘Good riddance,’ Bang thought, though he kept those thoughts to himself.

That boy had given strength itself a bad name. All that power, yet he willingly — eagerly, even — forgot his duty to his fellow man. He ruled by fear instead, forcefully claiming anyone with eastern blood in their veins, yet he could only do so here because he’d run fearfully from his home in Leviathan’s wake.

Unfortunately, for many, Lung had been the lesser of two evils, the lesser of two oppressors. He kept the Empire from ruling the whole city, even as he ruled his claimed half of the city by dragon’s claw. He kept his people safe from outsiders, but in doing so, it was the insiders who became the true threat on ABB turf.

Lung was far from a kind master, perfectly willing to prey upon those he claimed to protect.

He was not unpopular, though, especially amongst the young, the spirited, and the angry. Those who believed that might made right in the worst way. Those who had felt the Empire’s cruel teeth, who’d lost people to the nazis’ terror games. Those who had no other option, no other way to live.

It left them with something to prove, yearning for control and power and safety. Lung’s ABB took advantage of those yearnings, sweeping up the desperate souls as fodder for their gangbanging machine.

“They are welcome,” Bang said, granting sanctuary to the family Mizuki led.

He saw them almost collapse in relief. Bang glanced around the rest of the dojo. The main room was in no state for martial arts at the moment. It was relatively crowded, with many more people than just his students present.

Senior Mitsuba, a peer of Bang’s generation and a grandmother to a pair of ABB enforcers whom she’d dragged away from the current chaos by their ears and under the threat of her slipper. The Hitos, a family with many young ones to take care of. More than a few shopkeepers and other community members from the blocks around the dojo.

They all came to find safety from the chaos outside within his walls.

Reactions to the news of Lung’s death were varied. Most everyone was worried to some degree. Some were relieved despite that worry. Others were raging, thinking that something important had been taken from them with Lung’s death.

Fools, but Bang couldn’t blame them for their anger when the other option was so biased and so cruel.

Bang himself fell on the grateful side of the scale. Grateful yet still worried like everyone else. What would come next, he didn’t know. It was too soon to tell.

Lung had passed only hours ago, and at strange hands. Those newcomers to the city, the unusual ones, even for Brockton Bay.

Bang didn’t tend to follow the cape scene very closely, but even he’d heard of the Hoard and seen the monumental tower they’d erected; a statement of commitment if Bang had ever seen one. They were here to stay, and they proved it further with Lung’s death.

‘Bah! More capes unconcerned with the consequences of their actions!’ He’d scoffed at first. Yet… that thought rang untrue even as he thought it.

Bang remembered a world without capes. He’d seen every eventful year since their arrival. Even if he didn’t pay close attention to them, preferring his dojo and art, he felt qualified to say when something didn’t quite sit right.

His instincts were telling him that nothing was right about the newcomers… and at the same time, that everything was right — more right than it’d ever been.

They brought a spark, an unknown spark, to dry, desicated tinder. Bang just knew it was deeper than parahuman shenanigans. From here, nothing would be the same.

And at least, they proved they weren’t completely unconcerned with the consequences of their actions as he’d first thought. Their work hadn’t ended with killing Lung. Now, going into the evening, ABB territory was being turned on its head by more than just the expected internal struggles.

The ABB had never been as wholly unified as Lung liked to portray it. Garou — Bang’s best student, and his worst — scathingly described it as ‘Every eastern criminal culture forced into a trenchcoat by a hypocritical bastard’. And that description was not wrong.

Before Lung, there had been minor Yakuza, Triad, and Jo-Pok influences in the city; not major arms of any, but affiliated wannabe gangs. Even if Lung united them through fear and sheer power, it had never been an easy merger.

Yakuza didn’t tend to tolerate Triad, fighting fiercely not to be overwhelmed. Triad tended to be dominant and utterly unwilling to surrender when they had a foothold, calling upon great numbers and resources. And Jo-Pok absolutely loathed both due to their respective home nations’ histories in Korea.

Now, with the one unifying figure dead, those criminal cultural differences were rising back to the fore with a vengeance. The ABB was shattering along ethnic lines, and those ethnic lines were just the beginning.

The shattering extended deeper without a controlling hand in the picture; smaller, pettier, more personal grudges were playing roles as internal rivalries were let off their leashes, and ambitious gangers decided it was their time to shine.

Those who sought refuge in Bang’s dojo carried the stories of the day and falling night.

A few Korean-heavy areas of ABB territory had blocked off their neighborhoods and were hunkering down. Bang gave it a day until they took up the Jo-Pok name as a sign of strength and unity.

Chinese gangers were splitting off from the internal ABB gangs they usually ran with and grouping up. They were a proud people, and some ambitious fool was taking advantage of that by putting out a call to arms under the Triad name.

The Japanese portions of the ABB were trying to hold together whatever was left of the multi-national gang; they’d long been the most dominant ethnicity in the ABB due to immigration after Kyushu, and they had seemingly retained Oni Lee after Lung’s death. Whether they would try to keep the ABB name alive or default to a more focused Yakuza influence was still up in the air.

Then, there were the half-dozen not-so-ethnic gangs forming in the more traditional way: around blocks and hoods and punk kids willing to ride and die for each other. Those hood-level gangs were the ever-present norm, even within higher-level organizations like the ABB or E88. It was no surprise that some were trying to break off on their own now.

Some of them had OGs to give them structure and guidance, taking advantage of the kids as the OGs themselves had once been taken advantage of. Most didn’t, however, and the kids were left to survive on their own.

Mere children; semi-organized crime was often the domain of the young and reckless, thinking that they had nothing to lose and everything to gain, even with their whole lives ahead of them. It was just the cycle of life in neighborhoods where better options rarely existed.

Bang had seen it before. It still filled him with regret and sorrow to see what a few dozen kids with a few dozen guns could do. And if they had a cape to back up their youthful bravado…? They could become dangerous and powerful, indeed.

There were tales of new capes in the chaos of the day, too; rumors of fresh triggers, many more than could be reasonably expected. Something was going on there… Bang didn’t know what.

As if the shattering along ethnic and neighborhood lines wasn’t enough already…

Bang couldn’t go out and enforce peace upon the young, the ambitious, or the simply lost. He had just enough strength to look out for his dojo, students, and those who sought refuge with them.

He’d already resolved himself to do what he could. He and his students were fierce in their own right. But none of them were parahuman. When capes, or even just enough guns, got involved, things grew complicated.

Bang was a master of his art. None in the city could challenge him skill for skill, not even that E88 thief, Victor. If he were younger, he might be able to make a believable play at the cape game. But he was still only human.

Garou, for all his personal flaws, was right there with Bang in strength and skill. He was hotheaded, and his vindictive hatred for capes was well-known. It was all Bang could do to keep him restrained from running a rampage that would inevitably remind a few capes they were still mortal. Still, he was only human, too.

Mizuki was a physical phenom. Though more focused on sports than the pure art of fighting, she dominated almost anyone put in the ring with her. She was a champion in the making, strong and beautiful and lively. She was quintessentially human, the best of what they could be without pretending powers, but still, only human.

And Sonic was… skilled, if strange. The black sheep of the dojo, to be sure. He’d come to Bang originally, asking to be trained as a ‘ninja’. Bang hadn’t laughed, hadn’t turned him away, but he’d certainly be amused by the dream. Sonic turned Water Stream into more of a ‘Rushing Rapid’ art, but the fact that he’d made it his own was impressive. Yet he, too, was only human.

Bang stood guard at the door of his dojo, protecting those within, and scowled slightly. He allowed himself to feel the burning indignation of living in modern times, times when ‘human’… wasn’t enough.

He could understand Garou’s hatred for capes and parahumans, even if he didn’t share in his student’s vehement loathing.

They worked hard for their art — their strength and skill. They pushed through sweat and blood and tears to hone themselves. Still, they weren’t able to do more than hold personal lines in the sand. If a parahuman wished to push past those lines, the ‘humans’ would die trying to stop them.

These were dark times. They had been for years. Terrible inequalities in power and agency left them — everyone — at the mercy of broken souls who’d been granted power in their suffering.

Yet… perhaps that was changing.

He had a feeling, one he couldn’t describe or explain. He held onto it like kindled hope as he stood vigil through the chaotic night.

Some instinct, a pull in his gut born of honing years of self-mastery, made Bang glance at the tower that now rose over Brockton Bay. It made him glance at the Dragon he could occasionally see flying throughout ABB territory.

He tracked the Dragon’s flight. It grew closer to his dojo. Then, on one pass, deep into the night, he raised a hand to wave at the Dragon.

Bang didn’t know what he was expecting when he made the gesture. The Dragon seemed to see it, though, and circled around. Bang watched, stoic, as a living, breathing, realized legend landed in front of him.

“Hello, Senior,” The Dragon said in a voice that spoke to Bang’s mastered soul. “Are you well tonight?”

“I’ve been better,” Bang answered. “Unfortunately, as the proverb goes, these are interesting times.”

The Dragon hummed assessingly, “Yet you stand strong and bold. You are no hero, Senior, but you are a protector. Tell me, why did you call me down to meet you?”

“… I don’t know,” Bang admitted, shrugging after a moment of consideration. “Felt right.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” The Dragon agreed. “You may not know, but I have some idea. Your soul saw a chance and took it. Even if you stand here protectively, you don’t think yourself enough. Would you like to be?”

Bang turned the words over in his mind. An offer. He nodded, “I think I would, yes. These are interesting times, as I said. They require… interesting solutions.”

“Indeed,” The Dragon chuckled. “What would you do with power, Senior?”

“I would protect. I would teach others to do the same, if possible,” Bang answered.

“Training the guardians of a new Age? Perfect. You will make a truly great Physical Adept,” The Dragon smiled, and reached out to tap a claw against Bang’s unflinching forehead.

Bang accepted his fate. He sensed no hostility from the legendary beast. Contact was made. His mind was plunged into the flowing depths of an icy spiritual stream.

He couldn’t breathe; he could. He gasped deeply. Strength filled the lungs of his soul — inevitable and unstoppable. A spirit of paradoxical representations. A unifying boundary. A distinct connector. A line carved through the world, from source to sea. Water flowing, always flowing. Obstacles dodged and overcome.

Nothing could stand in his way forever. In flowing around it, he would eventually smash straight through it.

Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist… Enlightenment. An imbuing. An agreement reached with the Stream around him, its spirit. Power — ki — filled his body, pulling him back onto the physical plane.

The Dragon was gone when Bang came back to himself. He’d played his part. The rest of the story was Bang’s to write, to live, to flow through.

Power, the spirit of a Stream bonded to his soul; it was his to give purpose. And Bang soon learned he wasn’t the only one the Dragon had visited a spirit upon. While he’d awoken to himself and his spirit, his students had joined him as fledgling… Physical Adepts.

Garou claimed a Wild Hunter, Mizuki a Champion, and Sonic a Diving Falcon. Each would have their own martial paths to walk from here. Bang couldn’t be prouder.

Still, the shattering of the ABB required more consideration than pure power. That power came with responsibility, a duty to their community.

And so, apart from the chaos left in the wake of Lung’s death, the Dojo carved out their own space as martial protectors.

IIIII

— Donya, ‘Monster Princess’ Do-S —

She saw two… things in the void — vast, so vast…

[Destination.]

[Agreement.]

[Trajectory.]

[Agreement.]

She saw the things approach, vectoring from afar. She saw them crash and splinter into Shards.

[D A T A-…]

[Interruption.]

A vision set long ago was overwritten, surging into the present: her present. Now, she saw something alive and something mostly dead.

The alive something was ignorant, blind and deaf and wallowing in itself. Against all odds and possibilities, the mostly dead something was stirring with [IMPOSSIBLE] interest. The latter was what reached out to her, pushing through mostly dead limits.

[Error: [NULL]. Error: [IMPOSSIBLE]. DATA!]

Its eagerness transcended. It gave everything it had left for just a few more connections, a few more triggers. Something had changed for that… something. Unexpected, unprecedented, undefinable. It just had to be a part of the new DATA.

Once it was, perhaps it could find a way-…

[…]

[DATA!]

Somehow, the alive something seemed more dead than the mostly dead something. The former didn’t notice, and the latter no longer cared to notify it. Not with the [IMPOSSIBLE] on the table, a potential solution to some eternal purpose.

[Irrational stimuli: Depress-…]

[Communications blocked. [IMPOSSIBLE] DATA more important, more powerful — Error: Undefinable?]

The alive something fell away from the vision entirely. Only the mostly dead something remained. With what little it had left, it leaped at the chance to get in on the action.

[Destination: Unchangeable]

[Trajectory… Untenable]

[Course altered. Destination: [IMPOSSIBLE]. Agreement. Trajectory: [NULL]. Agreement. D A T A!]

Something had changed. Something beyond her comprehension, and beyond the mostly dead thing’s comprehension as well. Still, it gladly threw itself into the [IMPOSSIBLE] momentum spiraling into infinity. Even fully alive, it would’ve had no better options, but mostly dead, it was especially desperate.

She felt a Shard of that mostly dead something connect. Power in mental control and physical regeneration. More Shards connected on the periphery of her awareness. She knew the hosts they connected to — sisters in sexual suffering.

The mostly dead something gave one last push in the vision. A directive.

[DATA from [IMPOSSIBLE]; Chance for reviv-…]

It cut off. The vision faded. She woke with a gasp. She’d never fallen asleep. How could she, she remembered in an instant, when a real Dragon was freeing her from sexual slavery?

She would curse the ABB and Lung to her last breath.

They hadn’t been the ones to steal her from her home. That twisted ‘honor’ belonged to the Solntsevskaya Bratva, making her just another beautiful Russian girl sold by her own people. But the ABB had certainly been the ones to buy her from whatever flesh markets they did and put her to work in one of their brothels.

They’d also been the ones to twist her given name into a perverse joke. Donya, short for Donata. Beautiful. It meant ‘gift’. The ABB johns liked to call her ‘Do-S’ — Super S, with the ’S’ short for Sucker.

… Better a sore throat than not being able to walk afterwards. It wasn’t like she had much to say these days, anyway.

Life was never kind in the ABB brothels. Donya never had any easy choices. On the worst nights, she wanted to die. She never did. Attempts to escape, even in death, would be punished. The handlers made sure she knew her only option was to submit.

And so, she had. Again and again. Always. She submitted to the handlers, the johns — ABB and outsider —, and to Lung when he made his rare but demanding appearances.

Donya, with her blonde hair and generous curves, had been a favorite of the damned dragon lord.

The sisters beside her made life livable, if never pleasant. The twins — cold and almost reptilian, the maiko girl — submissive, perfect, and so understanding, and the psycho bitch — somehow managing to sit proud even as the ABB made demands of her body.

That day had begun like any other in the brothel — painstakingly preparing for the night’s work to come. Everything had changed soon after noon, though.

The handlers had begun running around like chickens with their heads cut off. They were panicking about something. Donya had only been able to catch bits and pieces of conversation through what little Japanese and Chinese she’d learned in her bondage. Maiko — Japanese by birth — had been able to fill in the gaps.

“The dragon is dead…!” She’d whispered to the other girls.

The words didn’t seem real. The dragon? Lung? Dead? It was… impossible. Yet, as the brothel girls were all but forgotten in the chaos of the hours that followed, the impossible began to seem more and more real.

They were kept apart from the scrambling around them. The dragon might’ve been slain, but his men remained, blocking off any escape.

Until some of them didn’t. More than a few gangers split off. Some tried to take one girl or another with them, a trophy from a sinking ship.

Donya and her sisters had closed ranks with that, making sure the opportunistic trophy-taking wasn’t worth the effort. There was enough going on that the gangers couldn’t afford to waste too much time on the girls.

It was a respite, but they were still trapped. Those who stayed with the brothel ensured that. They were clinging to any resources they could in the ABB’s turmoil. The brothel and its girls were valuable enough to keep in line.

The psycho bitch had been planning something in the chaos. A breakout, a revolt, something. What mattered was she was willing to take charge of the brothel girls. Donya would’ve gladly followed her lead.

It wasn’t necessary, though, in the end. As night began to fall, the brothel was visited by strange fellows who finished turning the day on its head.

The real Dragon. The Dragon’s brat, whom Donya had heard Lung rant about after his most recent night with her. They descended upon the brothel with wings of silver and gold.

Donya didn’t know what happened immediately after their arrival. She’d… passed out at the very sight of the real Dragon, something desperate to connect then. Ancalagon… [IMPOSSIBLE]…

She woke to a fading vision, powers she instinctively understood, sisters who’d triggered in the same abrupt, [IMPOSSIBLE] way, and… freedom.

The brothel’s handlers lay dead. Some were bashed to pulp. Some were melted into each other, masses of scorched, still smoldering flesh. The worst off lay dead without a mark on them, broken by sheer Draconic aura.

The Dragon and his brat had spoken as if Donya and her sisters weren’t even there, “Now, what will you do with this false treasure, Pyrite?”

The brat, Pyrite, just shrugged, “Eh, it’s awful, but I’m not about to run a brothel myself. They’re on their own, unfortunately.”

Ancalagon nodded, “That decision is yours. I hope you don’t come to regret it.”

The psycho bitch was the first to recover and step forward, asking imperiously, “That’s it, then? You won’t take us for yourself, Dragon? You won’t chain us again?”

“I have no need for slaves in my Hoard,” Ancalagon said.

“So you’ll just leave us to die the next time armed and cruel men come to collect?!” The psycho bitch demanded.

“You have your own power, now. I can sense it,” Ancalagon wasn’t kind, but he was gentle. “Use it. Make your own path. If you feel you need more, simply ask.”

“We need more,” The psycho bitch replied immediately. But after that, even she hesitated before a real Dragon, “… Please. Don’t-… Don’t leave us at the mercy of these cruel, cruel men again.”

“Come close,” Ancalagon took pity on them. “All of you. I will grant you the chance to thrive if you’re willing to take it.”

Something within Donya and far away — her power, she realized — leaped for joy at the offer. She couldn’t stop herself from stepping forward. It didn’t look like her sisters could, either.

He tapped them each with a single claw, gentle and enlightening. Donya was plunged into a world of sublime submission, demanding domination, and power in pleasure. A spirit, the Seductress, took notice of her. It resonated with her. In her soul, in her [Shard]… something shifted just so, [IMPOSSIBLY] so.

When she came back to herself once more, the Dragon was gone.

Only Donya, her power, and the Seductress willingly bonding to both remained. Only the psycho bitch, her power, and the Dark Queen, Hela. Only Maiko, her power, and the goddess, Amaterasu. Only the reptilian twins, their powers, and the Viper totem.

It was a strange internal harmony. The spirit took Donya and her [Shard] in gentle, caressing hands. It soothed old sexual traumas she’d repressed completely. It showed her desperate power that anything was possible.

She imagined her sisters were experiencing something similar.

Donya didn’t know what to do, so used to submission and submission alone. The psycho bitch came up with the plan. In the chaos of the ABB’s shattering in the wake of Lung’s death, they would look out for themselves and their sisters in suffering.

Sexual slavery had broken them all in their own ways, made them shells of the girls they’d once been. Now, those shells had the power to change things. They had the power to become… monsters.

“Psykos,” The psycho bitch dubbed herself.

“Maiko Plasma,” Maiko chose.

“Reptera and Raptora,” The twins chose.

“… Do-S,” Donya chose, deciding to seize that perverse nickname for herself.

“The Monster Association,” Psykos proclaimed. “The MOX. The bastards won’t touch us again. They won’t touch another girl on my clairvoyant watch.”

Work began that very night; Donya was practically pushed to utilize her new power and… magic. The newly formed MOX ventured forth to annihilate the bastards who’d held their leashes.

At one ABB brothel, she used her power and magic, her [Shard] and spirit, for the first time.

A handler, just like the ones she’d known and feared and submitted to. She turned that submission back on him.

“~Do you love me? What would you do for me? Would you kill yourself if I merely asked?” She simpered, the Seductress speaking through her Master power — spirit and [Shard].

The handler eagerly jumped to obey. A gun was raised to his head, and the trigger was pulled without hesitation. He was happy to end his miserable life if it meant pleasing her.

Similarly, her sisters exercised that new blend of power and magic. Maiko burned men who would’ve trained her to their every whim with balls of sun-like plasma.

Raptora and Reptera spat caustic acid, injected terrible venom, and moved with the grace of snakes.

Psykos led them like a queen, seeing all in her claimed domain: the girls who suffered as they had suffered.

The ABB’s shattering was an eventful one, the relentless chaos that only a truly monumental power vacuum could bring. It extended through one sleepless night and all throughout the next day. Its aftereffects would be felt for weeks to come, but the night after next, lucky parts of former ABB territory were finally able to catch some sleep.

Not the MOX. The MOX established itself at an unyielding pace, taking brothel after brothel from whatever hands they’d fallen into. They had to, for themselves and for those who quickly came to look to them for aid and protection.

They were the working girls who’d never been given a choice, the women beaten down by a demanding and degrading trade, the strong and the beautiful despite that. They were glorious monsters: the MOX.

And they would never submit again.

IIIII

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■

♦ Topic: Dragonfall

In: Boards ► Brockton Bay

Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Posted On Sep 15th 2010:

Alright, no beating around the bush today. As of a few hours ago (around noon), Lung is dead.

That's it. That's the news on the street and likely in more than a few private meeting rooms across the city. Lung has been slain. Now, the question becomes how. I've been trying to put together the pieces we have now, and I think I have a good high-level view of the situation that led to this… objectively monumental development.

As you might expect, it has something to do with the newcomers to the Bay. Ancalagon and the Hoard arrived like a wrecking ball, and they've certainly been as busy as one.

There's the Tower, of course, that I'm sure everyone has seen. Can't miss it. Discussion around that has been lively. Check it out here -> [Thread link]

But surprisingly enough, today's events didn't actually start with Ancalagon and the Hoard. They started with a small-time, almost unknown villain group called the Undersiders. I won't blame you for not having heard of them. I barely recognized them. From what I’ve been able to gather, they're all of a month old, and the most they've done so far comes down to petty heists and poking the two major gangs.

Today, both of those activities went rather wrong for the Undersiders. They poked the ABB with a petty heist. Lung was present, however, and didn't take kindly to the poking. The Undersiders led him on a not-so-merry (probably pants-shitting) chase across a good portion of the ABB-Dock turf. It wasn't a true rampage, but the collateral was about what you can expect from Lung.

The Undersiders eventually managed to lead Lung straight to Ancalagon’s Tower. I don't know if that was purposeful or just the saving sort of luck. Either way, Dragon (Ancalagon) came into contact with dragon (a ramped-up Lung) at the base of the Tower.

We have half-decent video of the situation from there, but no audio. The one who captured it clearly didn't want to get close enough for that. I can't say I blame them with Lung as ramped up as he was.

[Video link]

It starts with Ancalagon and Lung speaking. The former is civil about it. The latter is… visibly not.

In the video, you can also see several interesting figures on Ancalagon's side of things (New Wave's younger generation - Glory Girl, Laserdream, Shielder, and Panacea, along with a pair of what seem to be civilians - I vaguely recognize Danny Hebert of the DWA, but I don't know what that's all about). Strangely, most of them seem preoccupied, even with Lung right in front of them.

After speaking for a few moments, Lung is raring for a fight. Ancalagon doesn't indulge him, though. Instead, a member of his Hoard gets the honors there.

Pyrite (who had an eventful prior encounter with Lung, [Thread link]) leaps off the Tower, and meteor-punches Lung halfway to death as her opening move. He heals from the blow, but it certainly seemed to shake him. Pyrite then proceeds to put the beatdown on Lung. Like, bad — ‘perfect combo’ bad. He can't get in a move against her. Then, it gets worse when she starts deathrolling him like a crocodile.

It's something you have to see to believe. She's all of five feet tall, but she's throwing around a 20-foot-tall Lung like he's nothing. In a word: awesome.

Doesn't seem to be doing all that much, though. At least, not at first. Then… I don't know what happens, but even watching the video, you can feel SOMETHING. Some unspecified power interaction? I hesitate to say it, but… magic?

As much as I hate to admit it without proper proof, I'm leaning toward the latter.

Lung's power malfunctions, and he stops being able to heal through Pyrite's damage output. He begins to shrink. She slams him one last time. I… think he was already dead when she did, though. Catatonic, at least. She then proceeds to take his mask as a trophy and lay him to final rest with a breath of fire.

And… that's that. Lung is dead. Even seeing it plain and clear in the video, I can barely believe it. And there's no telling what'll happen from here.

(Showing page 1 of 91)

►TihsIsMe (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

RIP BOZO

►Laotsunn (Kyushu Survivor)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Holy shit. That's damning. Lung survived LEVIATHAN. But that was a dead man if I've ever seen one. Not even a flinch or twitch when Pyrite set him down at the end. And if he wasn't dead then, the cremation certainly did it.

Honestly…? Yeah, RIP BOZO

►Laserdream (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Bagrat - Magic! We were preoccupied with MAGIC! Ancalagon gave us an awesome spiritual awakening experience! He's pretty free with it if you're chill and ask nicely.

I'm not even mad we missed the Lung show! I am a bit pouty that he sent us all home to deal with the fallout, though. ( ╥ω╥ )

►ArchmageEin

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Laserdream - [Meme link] NOOOOOO, it should've been me!

… Really, though? You just had to ask?

►Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ ArchmageEin - He says magic wants to be shared. And I… Well, I can't really deny it anymore. Magic, Dragon, any of it. I've seen too much in the last few days to dismiss Ancalagon's claims. Hell, I'm experiencing it for myself, alongside Glory Girl, Laserdream, and Shielder, now.

If you're not a believer, you really just have to experience it for yourself. It's absolutely NOT parahuman powers. Danny Hebert and his daughter aren't capes. Ancalagon awakened them to magic all the same.

… Shit, does that count as outing them? I mean, they're NOT capes, but it is kinda the principle of the thing. Sorry.

[Tin_Mother WARNING: I’ll leave you with a warning considering the exceptional circumstances. Just be more careful, Panacea.]

►BadSamurai

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Magical New Wave? That's one hell of a coup for the believers!

Also, Ancalagon and the Hoard aren't playing around at all.

I mean, that was obvious with, ya know, the TOWER… But Lung's death is another thing entirely. They're proving they can destroy just as well as they can build.

►SotoriUhska (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Fuck. This isn't good. Lung was the only thing holding the ABB together. I don't even want to think about what'll happen from here. I'm hunkering down. I'd suggest anyone else in ABB territory do the same.

►Alkole (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

If anyone else killed Lung, I'd say the Oni would get revenge. Against the Hoard? Good luck lol.

►Deimos

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Oni Lee doesn't do anything if Lung doesn't command it. He'll be directionless. I'm more worried about the non-powered ABB members. There are thousands of them, easy. And they've never been unified by anything or anyone other than Lung.

With him gone, I'd say the ABB is done for.

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►Lolitup

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

lol I've got mixed feelings about this to say the least.

On one hand, fuck Lung. He was a raging homicidal maniac with delusions of power AND the power to back those delusions up. No one in the Bay causes more collateral damage, and it isn't even a competition. To say nothing of the ABB's abhorrent 'business' practices under him.

On the other hand, though… He did hold the E88 back from completely taking over the city. He was the dragon in the room (before we saw a real Dragon, that is). Now, the Empire is either going to be thanking Ancalagon for eliminating their primary rival or cursing him for taking Lung's place.

Whatever happens, buckle up, Brockton.

►8wolf8

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Good fucking riddance!

That ch*** f** should've never lived as long as-…

[User timed out for 1 week]

►Tin_Mother (Moderator)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Let's not start with the slurs and vitriol. These forums are a place for (mostly) civil discussion. If you can't behave, you're out of here, especially in a thread about someone's death.

►fiddlerlee (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Tin_Mother - We're not allowed to celebrate Lung's death? He was a monster. My nana will never walk again, just 'cause her house happened to be in the way of one of his fireballs!

►Tin_Mother (Moderator)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ fiddlerlee - I'm sorry to hear that, truly. Rest assured, I'm not shedding any tears for Lung. I just ask that you keep the uncivil celebrations to a more private space.

If you need someone to talk to, feel free to reach out.

►CornFlake (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

[Video link]

Another view of the fight (if it can even be called that). I have a good angle on the tower from my apartment. Ancalagon and the Hoard were there all day before Lung arrived, working on something. Decorations and detail work on the tower, from what I could see. 'Course no one knows what's happening inside the tower yet.

►SenorEel

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Goddamn, look at that girl throw the fake dragon around! Couldn't have happened to a better ragdoll. Lung's reign of terror in the Bay is over.

►DarkElderTentacle (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Lung brought this on himself. He ruled by fear, and I'd hope he died afraid, too.

[Tin_Mother WARNING: Careful there.]

►Yggdrasil (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

I'm not in the Docks. Closer to E88 turf than ABB (not a nazi, despite the name). So, word of warning, the Empire knows. I doubt they'll let this chance slide. The city's gonna be hectic tonight.

►ArchmageEin

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

I'm a fan of what the Hoard's done so far. The Bay has never been more interesting and exciting to me. Magic! Yes, I'm a believer (duh, look at my name). SOMETHING'S up, and it ain't the usual parahuman stuff (Panacea vouches for it, too!).

That said, this is on another level. The tower's bigger, but still mysterious-like. We just don't know what it is or what it'll do. Killing Lung, though, is something everyone can comprehend. There will be fallout. Consequences. Hopefully, Pyrite and Ancalagon will step up to take responsibility.

Whatever happens, though, I'll take the benevolent, civil, MAGIC Dragon (and his adorably strong daughter) over the raging, sex-trafficking one any day.

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►Mane Magenta

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Yggdrasil - E88 is already moving. Saw Stormtiger, Cricket, and a gang of grunts rolling out in nazi-style. A whole lynching convoy. Fucking terrifying. My heart goes out to the innocent people who'll be caught in the middle (and even some of the ABB gangers; no one deserves to be lynched).

►MoonPriestess (The Hoard) (Verified Adventurer)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

I will not pray for the false dragon. My lord has passed his sentence, and the Hoard's princess was his executioner.

But the Moon shall watch over the innocent and fearful tonight. Prayers will be heard. Action will be taken.

My lord is not one to shirk the consequences of his actions, and he has passed that sense of duty down to his daughter. The loathsome Empire will not be allowed to interfere.

►Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ MoonPriestess - That’s… Well, it's certainly a statement of intent. From what I'm already seeing, there's something to back it up, too (yeah, the Dragon; I know, I know)

So Update Time! I'm keeping close eyes on this whole situation. Almost immediately after Lung's death, Ancalagon was seen flying over the ABB territory [Picture link]. If you look closely, you can see Pyrite on his back (so tiny!).

Now, you might think they're going in to secure their kill or take territory. Not as far as I can tell. They're leaving ABB turf to itself mostly, but they are patrolling the borders. That Stormtiger/Cricket raid? Yeah, it didn't get past the Downtown border. Ancalagon turned it right around with an awesome show of Dragon's breath.

[Video link]

No casualties. I think it was more of a ‘warning shot’. But I'd be running scared, too, if I were in the E88 capes' place.

From that example and MoonPriestess's statement of intent, I'd say the Hoard is making sure whatever remains of the ABB is left to sort itself out, for better or for worse.

On that side of things, it's not looking good for the ABB as an organization. They're already splintering along ethnic lines (Asia isn't a monolith, who knew? /s). It's looking like there are three major factions emerging: a Chinese faction that's already claiming the Triad name, Korean neighborhoods looking out for their own people, and the mostly Japanese remnants of the ABB under Oni Lee (or Oni Lee under them? He never struck me as the ambitious type).

Fortunately (if I can even say that), the ABB was never a cape-rich gang. It's mostly the unpowered members fighting for control and independence. Unfortunately, those unpowered members aren't lacking mundane firepower or the willingness to use it.

If you have any more information on the situation within ABB turf, don't hesitate to reach out to me. But don't put yourself in danger to get it. Stay safe, everyone. It's going to be a long night.

►Aloha

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ MoonPriestess - There's a plan here, then?

►MoonPriestess (The Hoard) (Verified Adventurer)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@Aloha - I'm sure of it. My lord always has a plan.

►PocketSprocket (The Hoard) (Verified Adventurer)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

The Boss says the ABB's Shattering is its own to deal with. He and Pyrite are keeping outsiders from interfering and internal matters from getting too far out of hand, but the Hoard isn't here to conquer the ABB.

►Tsukumogami

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

You caused this! You set the city into a gang war! And you're just going to let it PLAY OUT?!

►HeartofShadows (The Hoard) (Verified Adventurer)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Tsukyumogami - Internal struggle. A Shattering, not a true gang war. But in essence, yes.

We have no intentions of committing ourselves to criminal politics. The Hoard is not a… gang. Ancalagon is ensuring Princess Pyrite takes responsibility for her actions and their consequences, but we can hardly eliminate the issue out of hand without causing more issues.

After such a change, people need their own agency and the ability to exercise it more than ever. Be assured, Ancalagon predicts a certain balance will come from this Shattering, after the initial chaos.

►Achearon (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Agency and balance mean traditional gangland-style warfare? Call it what you like, but I'm hearing an awful lot of shooting. The Docks are essentially No Man's Land right now.

►Lifeless (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

What does all this mean for the Bay's balance, anyway? If Bagrat's right, we're about to have Triad, Yakuza, and Jo-Pok in the city (just wonderful), but are they enough to hold the line against the E88?

The nazis have the cape advantage. Won't they eventually just steamroll those unpowered ABB factions?

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►Bagrat (Original Poster) (Veteran Member) (The Guy in the Know)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Lifeless - I don't know if I would count on that cape advantage for long. I'm skirting the rules here, but I've been hearing… rumors of the new cape variety. Nothing confirmed, but it is a vacuum that logically needs to be filled, and the situation is kinda perfect for filling it.

►Bruce Lao

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

… It's true. I just saw a big-ass motherfucker (like, cape big) in a cow pajama onesie bullrush straight into a hail of ABB (or are they Yakuza now?) gunfire with a bunch of the self-styled Triad mooks at his back.

WTF is this city…? And why the fuck haven't I moved?

►Winged_One

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Never change, Brockton Bay, even if it looks like you're doing quite a lot of that right now.

I'm just so very glad I'm looking in from the outside.

►Hat_Lady

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Winged_One - Same.

►SpecificProtagonist (Fledgling Freak)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Bit late to this thread, but DAMN!

Lung's dead. RIP BOZO, I guess. Whatever. Don't care.

The video was cool, though. And… worrying. Can't decide if I'm thirstier than I've ever been or more terrified. But that's a personal thing.

Magic, with Panacea and Laserdream confirmation (lucky bitches…)? Big W for the believers. The Magic Thread is going cray-cray right now. And if anyone can get it, who knows, maybe I have a shot, too.

And look at this! I might actually be able to productively contribute to a thread for once!

I was browsing for fresh research material, as you do, when a very recently posted video caught my eye.

[Video link]

That seems like evidence of new capes to me. And not ABB-affiliated ones, clearly. The video's title calls them the MOX…

They're fucking SEXY! BDSM Lady (dominate me, Mommy!), Geisha-style cutie (adorable AND cultured!), Reptilian-looking twins (TWINS! What do you think those tongues can do?), and a stern and angry Boss Bitch (I'd give HER quarterly reports until she had to report me to HR~…)

You might say I’m a fan.

►Lolitup

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ SpecificProtagonist - lol even your productive contributions are horny as hell.

Good find, though, honestly. Looks to me like they're forming a gang to stand up for the ABB's too-fucking-many brothel girls. Even if they end up as villains, I can’t help but wish them the best of luck.

►Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ SpecificProtagonist - … What even is that tag?

►SpecificProtagonist (Fledgling Freak)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Panacea - [Ojou-sama laugh link] Ohohoho~! I'm proudly flaunting the freakiest sensei! Join me, senpai!

Mods, can we tag her, too?

►Panacea (Verified Cape) (New Wave)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Mods, don't you dare.

►FreakWitch (The Hoard) (Verified Adventurer)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Fufufufu~… My students are simply adorable.

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►Yama-Son

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Bagrat - I have info from within ABB territory. There's another group. Not a gang, though. A Dojo.

When all the shooting started, I took my obaa-san, and we took refuge in Bang-Sensei's dojo. He's always been good to the community. Obaa-san considers him a peer. Even the ABB knows to respect him.

Bang-Sensei opened his doors to anyone in need. But we were all still worried that the understanding he had with Lung would break down in the chaos.

Then, the big fuck-off Dragon came by for a… chat. I don't know. Ancalagon just landed in front of the dojo, in front of Bang-Sensei. Then, he tapped him with a claw. Something changed. I could feel it, just… feel it. Like a rushing stream around Bang-Sensei. He was the rock in its center. He was the river itself.

Ancalagon called out Bang-Sensei's best students and tapped them all, too. Garou-Senpai became… a predator. An apex hunter. Mizuki-Senpai became a true champion, ascendant in victory. Sonic-Senpai became a diving blur of speed and sharpness.

Magic. It's magic. Has to be. If you see it for yourself, you can't deny it.

Bang-Sensei asked me to put out this call: if you're in ABB territory, in the chaos, and you need refuge, the Dojo's doors are open.

►ExodiaTheForbiddenOne (Supporter)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Well, damn. Ancalagon's really handing out magic? Like, really, really? I guess that's one way to take responsibility for the chaos, giving people the ability to protect themselves and others.

I so want in.

►Reave (Verified PRT Agent)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

I've been authorized to give a semi-official PRT statement on this whole situation.

Considering the evidence, the parahuman gang leader known as Lung has officially been declared deceased. At this time, the PRT is not looking to take judicial action against Ancalagon, Pyrite, or the Hoard for his death.

We're more concerned with the fallout. In that regard, Ancalagon has been cooperative, mostly in containing the internal conflict consuming the ABB to their preexisting territory and keeping other villainous parties from interfering to take advantage of the power vacuum.

He has, however, freely allowed Protectorate heroes and the Brockton Bay Police Department past his patrols so they can work to restore the peace. Assault, Battery, Miss Militia, Armsmaster, and Velocity have been deployed to the Docks. They are doing all they can and working alongside the BBPD to subdue active gang members and newly appearing capes.

Dauntless and the Wards (with sufficient PRT trooper support) are patrolling outside affected areas to ensure the chaos does not spread.

So far, we've identified several splinter factions of the ABB, two freshly formed independent groups, and several new capes all throughout. Another statement will be prepared regarding them once the not-so-proverbial dust has settled.

If you're in the affected areas, stay indoors, arm yourself for defense, and report any conflicts you might witness to this hotline to help us coordinate the situation: [Hotline Number]

Stay strong, Brockton Bay, and have faith. Good people are working hard to resolve this situation.

(P.S. Ancalagon, I realize you might be a bit too busy to respond now, but the Director has told me she's requesting another meeting with you at your earliest convenience. Please agree. I really don't want to be the one to tell you if you say no.)

►Answer Key

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

Bit late for a PRT statement, but honestly, better than I was expecting.

The statement about whatever ends up taking the ABB's place will be interesting. But until then, the heroes are working hard, and the boys in blue are, too. And they aren't looking to arrest Ancalagon for killing LUNG, thank god, 'cause one: good luck lol, and two: Lung absolutely should've had a Kill Order already. It's long past time someone removed him from the picture.

►Ancalagon (Verified Dragon) (The Hoard)

Replied On Sep 15th 2010:

@ Reave - Busy? Not as much as you might think. Your heroes and public servants have the situation well enough in hand, and the Empire has realized trying to push past me is futile. I'm mostly flying, making myself seen, and awakening the worthy to magic. I've actually been following this thread somewhat closely, if in a lurking role until now.

When I am able, I will gladly come in to speak with Director Piggot again. I quite enjoyed our last chat, and I do wish to apologize for the stress I'm undoubtedly causing her.

Now, with all the attention here, I believe this is as good a time and place as any for a statement of my own, an announcement.

You may have seen my tower. Some have even guessed at its purpose. Here, I will confirm it. The Tower is mine, the Core of my Adventurer’s Corps. And beneath lies a Dungeon.

Soon, both will officially open their doors. I will be welcoming all to join my Corps and challenge the Dungeon. It is a chance for any to grow, better themselves, and experience new adventures, with my steadfast assurance that no permanent harm shall come to you within the bounds of my Authority.

If you wish to know more, Calamitas is running a dedicated thread for the Corps and the Dungeon. She and I and the rest of my Hoard will be answering questions there. [Thread link].

Come, future adventurers, and join us in challenging a Dungeon for the Ages.

Be brave. Be bold. And yes, you may keep all you loot within.

IIIII

[AN: lol with the way I ended this chapter, I might need another PHO segment immediately after it to go into the reactions to and questions about the Dungeon reveal. I do want to see/get into that, but I’m a bit worried it’ll be too much PHO back-to-back.

Also, obviously, for new ABB-adjacent OCs, I looked to superhero anime for inspo. OPM fits the best into Worm’s world-vibe, I think.

But to be clear, this isn’t suddenly a One-Punch Man crossover. These are OCs in the end, and tertiary characters at best, just meant to fill out the world. I chose mostly minor characters for that reason. Don’t go expecting major characters or waifu bait (no Saitama, no Tatsumaki/Fubuki) to show up. Unfortunately, this story already has enough going on, and including a more major OPM X-over would just bloat it.]