User blog:Addfire/The Plot Thickens

World: 418221411

Yami groaned inwardly. She was simply worn out, the day being long. And the new recruit, the highlight of her day — that sounded sad to even her, that a new recruit would be a highlight — had been Granted the ability to summon some character from a video game. Because the best way to defeat a multiverse-wide thread was to throw Mario at it.

Not for the first time, she looked at her surroundings and wondered how she had got here. This time, she was in a tavern, the clichéd dingy old place with just barely enough lighting to see your hand in front of your face.

"Addfire," she asked, "Could you be a dear and pour me some more Scotch?"

The bartender behind the counter looked up, just as clichéd as his workplace. The deer gut, bald spot, and way that he cleaned one glass constantly while ignoring the fact that his bar was basically a plague vector...

"Sure, anything for our glorious leader," he said, and slid a glass Yami's way. "Actually, from your expression, lemme give you another."

"Do I want to know where the actual owner of the bar is, or does your Grant consume whoever you replicate?" Yami was fed up with her life right now, and another lawsuit would put her over the brink.

Addfire chuckled, then reached below the counter, and yanked up what must have been his identical twin. The other bartender was unconscious, a nasty-sized lump protruding just above his right eyebrow.

"Moe here won't remember a thing, save for a pretty blue-haired teen who had found herself a baseball bat," Addfire commented as he stowed the bartender back under the table

"Yes, yes," Yami chided, "I'm so very proud of you for assault and identity theft." She took a long pull from her glass, looking off into the distance.

"Hey Yami," Addfire asked, "what was your name? You know, before you Chose Yami Riku?"

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," quipped Yami.

"Oh c'mon, you tell me and I'll tell you..."

"Tempting as it is, my little felon, I'm actually wanted on my home planet for... Illegal things. I honestly wouldn't tell you under torture."

"Fine, then riddle me this: why is it that every recruit is the only one of their kind? You're the leader, you must have some hints..."

"You mean, why it is that I won't ever find another Yami Riku? Why you won't find another Addfire? Why Jm here won't ever get to talk ethics with someone who actually understands him?"

Addfire yelped, looking at the demonic figure sitting next to Yami. "Damn, Jmskilz, didn't even see you in this light. God this place needs redesigning."

Jmskilz shifted his wings. ''If Desert was here, he'd chide you. And I agree with him, so I'll chide you. Language!''

"Jm," Addfire winced, pain showing through his taciturn face, "Couldja turn down the mental volume? Maybe exercise your mouth?"

''If you insist, I'll think softer. Yami, you never answered our mutual aggravation's question. You must have a theory or two.''

Yami signaled for another drink. "Yeah, I'm gonna need to be hammered for this... I hate talking philosophy. But honestly? I think it's chance. Nothing special about it, other than the fact that we have superpowers. Luck, pure and simple."

Jmskilz made a face, and noted, Luck doesn't account for the superpo-

The door to the bar swung open. A maroon-haired girl with an eyepatch stood in the doorway, panpipes attached to a belt around her waist and a brown cape over her shoulder.

Addfire hopped the counter, morphing into a teenaged girl with cropped blonde hair and lean muscles. Yami fluidly drew a pocket knife, twirling it in her hands as if it were a conductor's baton. Jmskilz extended his wings and channeled a bit of his aura, cloaking himself in a dark veil.

"I would suggest running," Yami offered, "Or rethinking all of your life choices."

World: 316

"Didja hear?" Gossiped Chengsha. "Yami, Addfire, and Jmskilz took down one of the Bards. A real green Minstrel, brand new or something. She was using flipping panpipes. What a sap..."

Playful nodded, not really focusing on the conversation. She had been planning a wedding in 541313 along with Addfire, who had left because of an appointment with Yami, Spicy, who needed to go to 0156050, and Eclipsa. Playful had decided to meet Cheng on a whim. The two had been good friends back during the early days of the Coalition, but then when the Bards formed and Chengsha got together with Desert... She changed. Playful was still happy for Cheng, of course she was! But... Playful didn't like the new Cheng.

If she was being honest with herself, she didn't like any of this. There were times when the whole 'being part of a secret multiverse-wide organization' thing was thrilling, sure. But most days? She wished she could just go back to being Felecia. Seeing William.

And she definitely didn't want to fight a multi-demensional war.

"... greenie who can summon video game characters or something," Chengsha was saying. "His name- or, his Chosen - is Ghosty. But enough about my life, how're you doing?"

"Me? Oh, I'm fine. Not much is happening, really. Just... You know."

Chengsha looked up suddenly. "Oh, is that the time? Well, I have to go. See ya!"

Her hands interlocked, separated, and reconnected, making whorls out of nothing. Then she deftly pushed her hand through the air and disappeared.

Playful sighed.

Some things never change, she lamented. Some things need to stop changing so fast.

World: 0156050

Spicy had just punched a man in the face. He ran a training camp. This world, conveniently enough, had undergone nuclear winter years ago, all humans having been wiped out. So Yami Riku, being the Glorious Leader that she was, decided to make use of the free world that had just fallen into the Coalition's collective maps. And now it was Spicy's training camp.

Or, not just Spicy's, Sondz was supposed to run it as well. But Sondz had been on Prime for the last couple months, and Spicy was beginning to think that Sondz had left for good. Maybe it was Spicy's proposal to Eclipsa that had set him off?

But either way, Spicy was getting worn thin. So when the latest new recruit, who Chose Ghosty of all names, arrived, and then immediately started a fight?

If Spicy wasn't restraining himself, than he probably would have broken Ghosty's nose.

"Wh- what the hell, man?" Demanded Ghosty. "You can't just punch me in the face!"

"Actually, if you check the bruise on your face, you'll see that I just did. The Coalition doesn't like troublemakers, kid. And I generally use my Grant on that which the Coalition doesn't like. You're lucky."

"Lucky my ass... Why'd I even join up with you dicks? You're all just-" Ghosty's triade was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder. Desert was there, arms crossed.

"Ghosty, language. Please. Go train, don't bother Spicy here. He's just tired, okay?"

Ghosty turned on his heel and stormed away.

Desert pulled a sympathetic face. "You must be tired, running this place all by yourself for months on end."

"Don't get me started, my friend. I can't wait until someone else takes over. I want to take a break from all this, just for a while. Maybe spend time with Eclipsa. Oh! That reminds me! Could you be best man at my wedding?"

Desert clapped a hand on Spicy's shoulder. "Anything for you. Now, how's about we spar, show these new recruits what for?"

Spicy cracked a grin. "Yeah, looking forward to getting my ass handed to m-"

"LANGUAGE!"

World: 5431313

Eclipsa waved goodbye to Playful. She let out a sigh, staring at the empty space where her friend had just inhabited. She felt stagnant, even while planning her wedding. In a way, it was almost a mercy that the werewolf attacked her.

It was easily twice as tall as her, with a frothing mouth and thick black fur. With a single swipe of its paw, the lithe Eclipsa was tossed all the way down the Victorian-era street. She rose, unsteadily, wiping away a little blood from her mouth. Then she grinned.

As the werewolf charged her with frightened villagers watching from the safety of their tatched-roof cottages, she formed two spears out of teal energy, hurling one after another at the beast. It wouldn't kill, she knew, but it would slow the monster down.

She waited as the werewolf got within ten feet of her, enraged now by the two new adornments in its chest. Then she propelled herself upwards, powerful leg muscles transporting her gracefully onto the back of the beast. Then she summoned two more spears and stabbed the werewolf through the eyes.

Now blind, it swatted its back in vain for its prey, succeeding only in scarring itself further. Eclipsa was already on the ground in front of it, waiting for it to catch her scent.

It did, head whipping towards her with bloody, sightless eyes locked on target. It drew back its fist to deliver a punishing blow.

And coughed up blood as a spear disemboweled it.

The villagers swarmed out of their houses, cheering their new hero. After all, a threat to their homes had been destroyed. Eclipsa took a bow, not a speck of blood on her.

A bald man with a goatee dyed bright yellow was hiding behind one of the houses, a violin strapped to his back, hidden by a brown cape. He took out a cellphone with a sticker of a banana on it.

"She killed it. Most definitely a threat. Any news, orders?"

He nodded, digesting the words of the person on the other side.

"Yessir," he agreed, "and may the music forever play."

World: Prime

"And may the music forever play indeed."

Sondz shut off the phone. He looked at it for a moment, pondering his decisions.

Then he put on a yellow hoodie. It was getting cold.