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While you remain trapped down in this irregular cave formation, you begin to experience a strange combination of sensory deprivation and acute muscle pain, all at the same time. After a few more seconds, your eyes start to adjust to the low light, and your sensitive ears are able to pick up the sounds of thundering footsteps up above. How far that is, though, you are entirely unsure.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this.” Red says, almost forcing himself to appear optimistic as he clambers along the cave walls. “No pun intended.” he adds. The more he moves around, the more you start to notice the subtle differences in his biology. The thin slits on his neck could possibly be gills. The pale pigmentation of his skin is most likely being caused by some sort of freak, genetic splicing incident. Same goes for the eyes. “Okay, starting to get a bit dizzy…” he groans, nearly retching in the process.

“That’s why I told you to sit still. We need to figure out what exactly is going on with you.” you declare.

At first, Red looks like he wants to respond, but instead, he shuts his mouth and squints at you. “Hold up…” he mumbles, right before dropping down to the ground and walking over to you.

“Red? What’s up?” you ask, backing away cautiously.

“Hold still for a sec. I think something’s wrong with your belt.” he observes.

“Well yeah, I kinda-” you begin saying, before Red reaches his hand out and pokes the Omnitrix symbol with his index finger. And all of a sudden, you return to your human form in a burst of golden light. “Wait, how did you-!?” you begin saying once more. However, Red isn’t giving you any time to ask questions. On another note, you’ve never felt so happy to be yourself.

Without any wasted movements, he twists the Omnitrix core and pops it right out of your belt. “Don’t worry, I brought my tools with me.” he reassures you as he reaches into his backpack and pulls out an assortment of miniature gadgets and instruments. He then gets fast to work on debugging your Omnitrix core, reverting any damage that you might have done on your last practice run.

And just then, the core creates a holographic projection above you and red, displaying the mess of jumbled code that you saw before when you had first meddled with it. “I...I think I see what the problem is.” Red proclaims.

“You do!?” you shout out of pure shock.

(Cont.)

“Yeah. The genetic sequencer is all out of whack. Just need to recalibrate it a bit, and…” he says while twisting a few of the core’s polygons ever so slightly. And while it didn’t look like much, the tiny adjustments that Red made seems to have reshaped the mess of code into a perfect double helix, constantly spiraling downward into the Omnitrix’s core. “There! That should do it.” Red declares. He then hands it to you, allowing you to slot it back into your belt with a gentle tap.

And as soon as you do, you feel a gentle buzzing sensation along your torso. It spreads throughout the rest of your body, reverberating in your head and making you feel mildly uncomfortable.

“Wade! I’m so glad that you’re alright.” Trixy rejoices. “Promise me that you’ll never do anything that dangerous ever again. At least, not without my supervision.” she says in a chastising tone. She sounds...different.

>”Boy, am I glad to hear your voice, Trix. Even if you’re nagging me.”
>”Hey Trixy, can you give Red’s DNA a quick scan for me?”
>”Trixy? Why are you using contractions all of a sudden?”
>”Remind me to practice on repairing this thing later. I never want to go through that ever again.”
>”I know you’re smart, but how did you manage to repair the Omnitrix without instructions?”
>”Sorry about that, Trixy. Do you feel okay?”
>Write-in.

>>4570085
>”I know you’re smart, but how did you manage to repair the Omnitrix without instructions?”

>>4570087
>”Boy, am I glad to hear your voice, Trix. Even if you’re nagging me.”
>”Sorry about that, Trixy. Do you feel okay?”

Trixy is A-OK!

Also just to cover the bases

>”Hey Trixy, can you give Red’s DNA a quick scan for me?”

Seeing as how we’ve got an extremely slow start, I’m going to post the candidates for the upcoming Vigilante side-story. Here we have:

>The Cowl: Billionaire philanthropist and esteemed psychiatrist, Quincy Morgan, has taken the world by storm with his innovative theories and unique methods. But when a new and dangerous villain rears their ugly head, Quincy is forced to question whether his nightly escapades will steer him down a path that will corrupt him to his very core. (Batman-esque)

>Birdie: Ever since her accident on that fateful day, Tamara Young has been possessed and protected by what she can only describe as a guardian angel named Birdie. Although she’s naive and whimsical, Tamara knows that Birdie has good intentions. But what happens when someone shows up on Birdie’s doorstep, claiming to know more about Birdie than Birdie does about herself!? (Hawkeye-esque)

>Flipsyde: Half-Incursean, half-human, this teenage hopping hero fights crime head-on! Now, if only they could manage to finish their calculus homework, make it work on time, or even find a date before the Spring Formal! Join us on this absolute mess of a thrill-ride, portraying a budding hero in the prime of their youth. (Spider-Man-esque)

>Captain Nemesis: Despite being filthy rich, Carl Nesmith finds it incredibly difficult to earn back the trust, respect and admiration of his peers. But even with the helpful distraction of a rogue terrorist cell attacking Bellwood, Carl finds that it is all too easy to slip back into bad habits. (Iron Man-esque)

>The Shape: You see it out of the corner of your eye. The dark-shifting terror that stretches across the boundaries of your limited imagination and racks your feeble psyche. It is always watching, lurking behind every corner and every shadow. It dwarfs your strength, speed and fortitude without question. You are no match for it. You are beneath it, prey waiting to be devoured, sharing the fate of evil men with blood soaked hands. But most importantly, it is right behind you. It is The Shape! (Man-Thing esque? It’s an action/thriller, okay?)

Let me know what you guys think, or if you have any suggestions.

>>4570087
>”Sorry about that, Trixy. Do you feel okay?”
>"Why are you using contractions all of a sudden?"
>"I'm going to guess you didn't know how to fix this before.... all of that."

>>4571965
What about a Wilderbee one? He's pretty cool, could make it a Booster Gold type of thing. I know he's an asshole because they messed with his brain, but maybe he has other reasons that no one knows, and he has to keep it up because something will happen if he doesn't, similar to Booster Gold.

>>4572011
That's a good idea. Was wondering if I should include him in the list. Feel free to vote for whomever you want to play as in the Vigilante special.

>Wilderbee: 1

>>4570197
>>4570341
I'll try to combine these, but I'm working at the moment, so the update will most likely be a late one. In the meantime, I'll be looking out for any other incoming votes.

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“Sorry about that, Trixy. Do you feel okay?” you ask out of concern.

“Why, yes. My systems are currently operating at maximum capacity. I don’t detect any inherent issues.” she reports.

“Then, why are you using contractions all of a sudden?” you inquire, feeling a bit weirded out by this new development.

“During the time in which we were unable to communicate, my connection to your social media account remained undisturbed. Without access to my primary functions, I took this opportunity to interact with each and every one of your followers in the comments section. It was a rather enlightening experience to say the least!” she gladly exclaims.

“All of them!?” you gasp dramatically.

“I thought it rude to ignore them.” Trixy retorts. If there was anyone that didn’t know your social media account was run by a bot, then they sure as hell do now. Either way, you don’t care enough to put a stop to it. A bit of online interaction should be good for Trixy.

“Well, I’m glad to hear your voice, at least.” you sigh.

“The feeling is mutual.” she agrees.

Now that you’ve put your concerns about Trixy to rest, you’ve got time to start worrying about your mutated companion.

“I’m going to guess you didn’t know how to fix this before...all of that.” you assume, while gesturing towards Red’s glaring genetic changes.

“I mean, I’ve done a bit of tinkering in my spare time, but I could never figure out exactly how the thing worked.” he admits as he stares down at his watch. “But this time was different. For some reason, everything kinda just ‘clicked’. I don’t know how to explain it.” he states with a certain level of uncertainty in his voice.

“Well just to be safe, we should give you a quick little DNA scan.” you propose. “Do you mind doing that, Trixy?” you ask.

“Right away.” she confirms, as a beam of orange light protrudes from your belt in a cone shape, carefully scanning Red’s whole body several times over. “It would seem that Red’s DNA has been spliced with Galvan DNA.”

“Well that much was obvious, right?” Red says in a sassy tone.

“Quite. But the method used in the process is unlike anything that I have stored in my archives. I do not believe my DNA repair function will be of any use to you without additional data.” Trixy explains.

“So...I’m stuck like this?” Red asks in a shaky voice, staring at his pale hands all the while.

(Cont.)

“Temporarily. There’s much that we don’t know about your condition. Such as whether it will affect your growth or organ function.” states. “Additional observation and study is required in order to create a valid hypothesis.”

“Okay...yeah, that makes sense.” Red suggests as he takes a moment to catch his breath.

(Cont.)

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“In the meantime, we should probably look for a way out of this cave.” you propose.

“That shouldn’t be too hard. I think we’re in the undeveloped lower levels of the base. The elevator should be right this way.” Red observes. Given that you don’t have much else to go off of, you’re left with no choice but to follow Red’s lead on this one. Thankfully, the cave’s pathways aren’t needlessly complex or labyrinthine. You manage to find your way out with relative ease, only needing to use your beetle drone once or twice to scout out your surroundings. Eventually, you reach a large pair of reinforced steel doors that block your path, along with some digging equipment that backs up Red’s explanation from before.

“Those doors are pretty thick. Do you wanna transform or-” Red suggests. But before he can finish his thought, you step forward with your sword drawn.

“Nah. I’ve got this.” you declare. And with a series of swift strikes, you manage to carve a roughly cut rectangular opening through the steel doors. It should be big enough for both of you to pass through one at a time.

“Whoa! Is that sword’s edge mono-molecular or something?” Red inquires, unleashing the brunt of his nerd-like curiosity. But you can’t say that you don’t relate to his enthusiasm when it comes to the unknown.

As the two of you step inside the facility once more, you notice that you’ve stumbled upon a factory of some sort. They must manufacture their parts in-house, rather than ordering them from an outside source.

“Huh? Is that Blue?” Red asks, drawing your attention to his masked comrade approaching you in total silence. And he isn’t alone. Walking alongside him is a man dressed in pure white spandex. “And...White? I thought you guys were on a top secret mission.” Red says with a confused expression.

But his questions are quickly answered when both Blue and White draw their weapons. “Oh, come on! Not you guys too!” Red shouts in frustration.

“What, you think I’d let some kid boss me around forever? As if.” Blue scoffs with a flourish of his lance.

“Times are changing, and this country’s future is solely dependent on Albedo’s wisdom. I am sorry, but this is what must be done.” White declares in a calm and apologetic tone as he raises his bulky gauntlet up to his face.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien. (Which one?)
>Use one of your Viral Forms. (Which one?)
>Use one of your new aliens. (Spit-Wad, Retrofit, Bug-byte)
>Infuse your sword with enchanted fire and engage Blue in martial combat.
>”Do you guys seriously think that Albedo has your best interests in mind? You’re just pawns to him.”
>”Red may be a kid, but at least he’s smart enough to know that Albedo’s promises aren’t worth anything.”
>”Think for a second. Why would an alien that you captured and tormented be interested in saving your country?”
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4573232
>”Do you guys seriously think that Albedo has your best interests in mind? You’re just pawns to him.”
>"As soon as you run your use your being thrown out."
>Infuse your sword with enchanted fire and engage Blue in martial combat.

>>4573232
>”Do you guys seriously think that Albedo has your best interests in mind? You’re just pawns to him.”
>"As soon as you run your use your being thrown out."
> Transform into Retrofit

>>4573232
>”Do you guys seriously think that Albedo has your best interests in mind? You’re just pawns to him.”
>"As soon as you run your use your being thrown out."
>Infuse your sword with enchanted fire and engage Blue in martial combat.

>>4573386
>>4574278
Roll 1d100, bo3!

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this man gets it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSvEaW36Ymc

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>4574284

Rolled 18 (1d100)

>>4574284

>>4574463
>>4574909
Taking these and writing...

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>92

“Do you guys seriously think that Albedo has your best interests in mind? You’re just pawns to him. And as soon as you’ve outlived your usefulness, you’ll just be tossed aside.” you argue.

“Will that be before or after you decide to spread your influence to China?” Blue accuses you while pointing the tip of his spear in your direction. “That’s right. We know about you ‘owning’ the planet. The other nations might bow to you and fall in line, but we won’t go down without a fight!” he declares. You're not sure if Albedo brainwashed him with propaganda or if was always this stubbornly paranoid. Clearly, your argument is falling deaf on Blue’s ears. However, White seems a little more hesitant.

But before you can think of what to say next, Blue lunges at you with his spear in hand, prepared to run you through without a hint of hesitation. His blind faith and boundless confidence is almost impressive. Almost.

With the slightest shift in weight, you lean back, allowing the tip of the spear to scrape against your breastplate as you grab his weapon’s shaft and toss him aside, greatly disrupting his balance and granting you time to prepare a counter-attack.

A hushed murmur escapes your lips. An invocation to request assistance from some obscure, minor spirit, and an incantation to specify the nature of your request. Suddenly, a swarm of embers begin swimming around you, latching onto your sword’s blade and erupting into a glorious, flickering flame with the slightest touch from your armor-clad finger. This fabulous display is only completed by a flashy flourish from twirling your sword in one hand and raising it up to your eye.

Clearly intimidated and angered by your performance, the hot headed Blue twirls his spear above his head, causing a shower of sparks to rain down over his head as both ends of his weapon become encased in crackling electricity. This flashy display is immediately followed by a moment of dead silence. Just you and your opponent appraising one another and planning out your attacks in advance. Out of the corner of your eye, you see White pouncing towards Red with the intent to harm him. You can’t say that you’re not worried, but you don’t exactly have the luxury to ignore your opponent right now. Especially since he’s making the first move!

With a diagonal slash, your attention is brought back to Blue as you narrowly avoid his strike. He then manages to combo this attack into a series of sweeping slashes and swift strikes. Seemingly, he’s learned his lesson from that first engagement, and is now consciously trying not to throw out any stabs or lunges. With every block and graze, you feel a tingle run along the surface of your armor. The insulated power dampeners in your Arc Launchers are absorbing most of it, but you’re starting to feel your arms going numb from this prolonged encounter. You should really end this soon.

(Cont.)

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Taking a few steps back, you lower your center of gravity and take a deep breath as you raise your sword over your head. You must feel the mana field in its entirety in order for this to work. You must sync the rhythm of your breathing with the Earth, and let its energies flow through you.

Upon seeing you take this odd stance, Blue’s immediate response is to rush towards you in an attempt to disrupt your posture. Surely, any amateur would think that you’re taking them lightly and openly telegraphing your next attack. And that’s exactly what you were counting on.

As soon as he’s within range, you bring your sword down on top of his head. The movement is so sudden and instinctual that it almost looks mechanical in nature. Like you were a machine made for the sole purpose of striking down your foe. Blue somehow senses this massive amount of pressure emanating from you and immediately raises his spear over his head in order to parry the attack. It is equivalent to a Venus flytrap shutting its jaws, enclosing its unsuspecting prey and filling them with dread. A kneejerk response from being put in an unfavorable position. However, you were expecting this reaction as well.

With little to no resistance, your blazing blade glides through the shaft of his spear like a hot knife through butter. Blue winces in anticipation of the scorching sword passing through his body as well, but to his surprise, the process is absolutely painless. There is no delayed reaction and no mental anguish. The blade, and the flame encasing it, simply phased through his body without harming him at all. This visibly confuses Blue, as he stops to check himself for injuries. And while he does so, you bring your heel up to the side of his cheek with a brutal roundhouse kick, sending him flying into one of the factory’s processors. He utters a weak grunt, before slumping to the ground and falling unconscious.

You might not like the guy, but you don’t have any real reason to do anything drastic, like taking his life. Thankfully, the Earth and Wood styles provided a great alternative in this situation.

Suddenly, White comes flying past you, slamming into a similar processing machine and creating a massive dent in the side of it. That should have knocked out any normal human, but his impressive physique seems to have kept him from conking out right away. However, you’re a bit concerned about the charred hole in the center of his suit.

Tracing back the trajectory of where White was thrown for, you’re met with yet another unexpected development. The smoldering hands of a large, red and yellow bat-like alien emerge from the smoke, clearly sharing in your confusion. “Whoa. Who’s this guy?” the bat creature asks. Is that...Red? How does he have Bat-A-Boom? Did he somehow get your aliens after that huge energy fluctuation? How does that even work?

(Cont.)

“Clearly...we were not meant to win this battle. Albedo must have known as much.” White groans as he pulls himself out of the dent that he made. “There might be some merit to what you were saying before-” White admits, right before being blasted in the back by a masked man wearing red and gold armor.

You take a defensive posture almost immediately, but the man decides to lower his hand in response. “Thank goodness, we made it in time.” he says in a processed voice. And when he slides up the black visor that blocks his face, you see that he is in fact Officer Woo! That must be the Nemesis prototype they made. “It is safe. You may come out now.” he confirms with a wave of his hand. Shortly afterwards, Red’s mom comes rushing into the room.

“Where is Ben!? Where is my son?” she frantically inquires.

“Uh...I'm right here, Mom.” Red speaks up as he walks towards her in alien form. And even after timing out in a burst of emerald light, it is quickly apparent that something is wrong with Red. His mom’s eyes go wide due to the initial shock, and she brings her hand up to her mouth with a gasp.

“W-what happened to you!?” she blurts out. Her harsh words cause Red to recoil in fear, and he attempts to hide his alien features out of embarrassment.

What will you say?

>”It’s my fault. I walked right into Albedo’s trap and led him straight to Red.”
>”He and Albedo swapped DNA during some freak accident. But don’t worry, I think it’s temporary.”
>”Don’t be like that. He might look different, but he’s still your son.”
>”You’ve got nothing to hide, Red. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
>”So I guess it’s safe to assume that Red’s teammates are on Albedo’s payroll too. I wonder how deep this conspiracy goes.”
>”We need a plan, and fast. Every second we waste, Albedo’s scheming to silence us before we can expose his little plot.”
>Write-in.

>>4575544
>”You’ve got nothing to hide, Red. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
>”He and Albedo swapped DNA during some freak accident. But don’t worry, I think it’s temporary.”
>”We need a plan, and fast. Every second we waste, Albedo’s scheming to silence us before we can expose his little plot.”

>>4575544
>>”You’ve got nothing to hide, Red. There’s nothing wrong with you.”
>>”He and Albedo swapped DNA during some freak accident. But don’t worry, I think it’s temporary.”
>>”We need a plan, and fast. Every second we waste, Albedo’s scheming to silence us before we can expose his little plot.”

>>4575634
>>4576281
Writing...

“You’ve got nothing to hide, Red. There’s nothing wrong with you.” you gingerly reassure him. Coming out of anyone else’s mouth, it might have sounded cheesy. But for you, the words flow naturally. Because it isn’t just some pep talk. It’s what you believe.

Still feeling unsure of himself, Red warily puts his arms down, but can’t bring himself to look his mother in the eye.

“He and Albedo swapped DNA during some freak accident. But don’t worry, I think it’s only temporary.” you explain.

“You ‘think’!?” Jing blurts out. “My son has been mutated, and you want me to go off of baseless assumptions?” she shouts.

“Getting angry won’t solve anything, Jing. Fighting each other is exactly what Albedo wants us to do.” Woo says.

“Then we need a plan. Every second we waste, Albedo’s scheming to silence us before we can expose his little plot.” you declare. Although, you haven’t the slightest idea of what that demented little toad could be planning.

Jing scrunches up her face and gives you a slight scowl, but it quickly falls apart when she glances at Red. “...Right, then.” she sighs heavily. “First, we must determine what it is that Albedo hopes to achieve from all this.” she proclaims.

“There is the main reactor on sub-level B4. Perhaps Albedo seeks to overload it. The resulting explosion would take out this entire facility, and a large chunk of Hong Kong.” Woo theorizes with a hand nested upon his chin.

“No, that’s just senseless violence.” Jing interrupts. “He would never needlessly waste the resources that he painstakingly worked to gain.” she declares. “However...we can’t deny the fact that he might intend to use it as a bargaining chip, should he run out of options.” she adds.

“I’d bet he’s gonna try and fix his watch.” Red announces. Upon hearing this, Jing and Woo’s eyes go wide.

“He has a Harmonitrix!?” his mother frantically inquires.

“Kinda, but it’s different. It looked...more advanced.” he says before pausing for a moment. “He said something about making the Harmonitrix inferior to his own design. But I think that energy surge must have scrambled the sequencer in his watch. Must be why he sent Blue and White over to keep us busy.” Red theorizes. He’s on a roll today!

“That...sounds plausible, but we cannot allow ourselves to lose sight of any other possibilities.” Jing says, seemingly impressed by her son's ingenuity.

“We have too many bases to cover on our own. There’s the armory, the command center, the research labs…” Woo laments.

“What’s in the research lab?” you ask.

“An experimental aircraft, designed from the parts we removed from Albedo’s space-faring vessel.” Jing explains.

(Cont.)

“You think he might try to hitch a ride home? Wouldn’t he have left by now if he wanted to do that?” Red questions her.

“Perhaps he is waiting for something. We do not know if Albedo is capable of signaling for support from beyond the stars.” Jing sighs.

“Speaking of which, we still have that signal booster in the common center. If he were going to call for help, it would be from there.” Woo adds.

“And let’s not forget that he probably has my Slingshot!” Red interrupts. “An evil genius having access to a Multiverse traversal tool isn’t ideal. It’s only a matter of time before he learns how to use it.”

There’s too many ideas flying around. You need to pick one and commit to it. Or maybe you might want to split up? But that didn’t work too well last time.

Wait!

"Does this facility have a prison?" you ask.

"Yes, but-" Woo begins to say. but thankfully, he catches on before you get a chance to correct him. "You wish to free the prisoners!?" he explodes.

"It would be a gamble, but we could certainly use more backup." Jing proclaims, clearly being more receptive to the idea.

What will you do?

>Storm the Command Center. The signal booster there might be able to let you get an SOS out to Charmy and Gwen.
>Head down to the research labs. You don’t think Albedo would try to cut and run, but he’s most certainly going to try and decrypt the Slingshot device.
>Break into the engineering lab. If Red’s guess is right, then Albedo could be building a bigger and badder Omnitrix rip-off.
>Secure the main reactor. You doubt that he’d blow the entire facility to smithereens, but that’s probably not a gamble that you should be taking.
>Free the prisoners!
>Send someone somewhere else. But who? (Red, Jing, Woo)
>Write-in.

This color-coded text is gonna be the death of me, I swear.

>>4576781
>Head down to the research labs. You don’t think Albedo would try to cut and run, but he’s most certainly going to try and decrypt the Slingshot device.
>Send Red to the Command Center.
>Send Jing and Woo to the engineering lab.

>>4576781
>>Head down to the research labs. You don’t think Albedo would try to cut and run, but he’s most certainly going to try and decrypt the Slingshot device.
>>Send Red to the Command Center.
>>Send Jing and Woo to the engineering lab.

>>4577012
>>4577892
Writing...

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“Jing, you and Woo head down to the engineering lab. Red, I need you to retake the Command Center. You might not know how to use them, but you’ve got some heavy hitters loaded onto that watch now. Try not to overthink things and just go with your gut if you get an alien that you aren’t familiar with.” you say in a commanding tone.

“Sounds like a plan. But you’ll need some directions if you want to make it to that lab.” Woo suggests. “I’ll draw up a map.” he adds.

As Woo pulls up a digital display of the facility’s blueprints. You can’t help but notice that Jing’s eyes are drifting to her son. “Are you sure that you’re fit for this assignment? Neglecting your health could ultimately jeopardize the mission.” she lectures him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“No, mom. I’m not sitting this one out.” he declares with a defiant glint in his eye. “Albedo used me and made fools out of us. I can’t let that go.” he growls with his fists clenched tightly.

“Do not allow your feelings to cloud your judgement. The moment you stop thinking, your enemy has already defeated you mentally.” Jing proclaims with that same stern glare from before. In it’s own way, her concern for Red is sort of touching. Red, on the other hand, simply rolls his vibrant crimson colored eyes and taps his foot impatiently.

Once Woo is done drawing the map, you and the others split up and head off to your respective destinations. You’re not exactly sure of what you’ll find, but you’re confident that your hunch is correct.

-------------

It’s slow going, but you eventually manage to sneak into the wing that Woo marked on your map without raising any alarms. The last thing you need is to be ambushed by more of Albedo’s goons. It’s actually kind of ridiculous to think that he somehow managed to get the majority of the staff on his payroll. You begin to wonder what he could have possibly said in order to win them over.

However, your train of thought is quickly interrupted when you run into a squad of guards stationed right in front of the door leading to the research lab. They notice you almost immediately and raise their guns to riddle you with holes.

“Might I suggest making use of your Biosovortian Repulsors?” Trixy proposes.

“You read my mind!” you shout internally as you raise your arm up, sending a mental command to your magnetic repulsors. And in an instant, a series of sturdy metal plates fly from your right arm and shoulder, forming a shifting, patchy barrier floating in front of you. Each individual blaster bolt is blocked or deflected by the plates, as they slide around in a seemingly unpredictable pattern. But you know better.

(Cont.)

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Thanks to your mental link, Trixy is able to take what you’re seeing and provide precise calculations based on the situation at hand. Just from observing the angle of the muzzles, the make and model of their weapons, and the posture of the shooter, Trixy can accurately guess where the blaster bolts will end up. This allows you to quickly close the distance between you and your assailants.

You then draw your sword from its sheath, lower your posture without losing any momentum, and channel the power granted to you by the nature spirits. With blinding speed, and without any wasted movements, you deliver punishing blows to the vital points of the guard’s bodies, all without causing so much as a scratch on them. One by one, they crumble and fall. Some try to use their own weapons as shields, only for your sword to slice through it and cleanly and reach their vulnerable weak points.

>Earth Stance + Water Stance: “Mudslide”!

Once they’d all been defeated, you recall your armor plates to your Techadon suit, which strangely fit back perfectly, despite being deformed by the heat and pressure of the plasma bolts that they blocked.

“Scans show that this door is locked.” Trixy reports.

“I’ll knock.” you declare, while raising your wrist and popping out a mini-rocket launcher. As it flies from your arm, you hear a sharp whistle, followed by a deafening boom and a bright flash of light. From beyond the smoking door frame, you can hear the warped slab of metal sliding across the door, creating a shower of sparks all the while.

“I think they might have heard us.” Trixy says, sounding very amused by your bold approach.

You walk through the veil, maintaining your composure and resisting the urge to beat Albedo senseless when you see him. You’ve never been inherently violent, but this little guy is getting on your very last nerve.

“That door was locked for a reason, you know.” says a familiar voice from inside the room.

“Red…?” you call out, almost instinctively. But as the smoke clears, you can see that you were in fact very wrong.

“No, you buffoon.” Albedo responds with a condescending scowl. His appearance, tone of voice and clothing is almost identical to Red’s. The only thing that throws off the whole act is the inverted color scheme. “I see that my guard detail was useless as ever. It’s no wonder that the Incurseans nearly obliterated their forces.” Albedo sighs while pinching the bridge of his nose. Now that you’re getting a better look, you can see that he is in fact working on the Slingshot. You wonder how much progress he could have made while you’ve been otherwise occupied.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>”I don’t get you. What’s your goal here? What could you possibly stand to gain from all of this?”
>”Get your slimy hands off of that fancy bracelet. It doesn’t belong to you.”
>”This doesn’t end well for you, man. I’ve got a pretty good track record when it comes to taking down megalomaniacal despots in an extremely embarrassing fashion.”
>Transform into an alien. (Which one?)
>Destroy the Slingshot with a fire spell. He can’t be allowed to learn its secrets.
>Create a mana barrier around his wrist to prevent him from using his watch.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4578933
>Create a mana barrier around his wrist to prevent him from using his watch.
>"Before either of us do anything drastic, let's have a moment to talk, cause last thing I'd want on either end is someone who's intelligent dying."
>>”I don’t get you. What’s your goal here? What could you possibly stand to gain from all of this, other than satisfying your ego?”

>>4578950
+1

>>4578950
>>4579070
Writing...

Now that Albedo looks like a familiar, mixed Chinese kid, your urge to beat him up has waned quite a bit. But more than that, you feel as if you should take a moment to understand him. Albedo might be a bad guy in most timelines, but that doesn’t necessarily apply for EVERY dimension. Even so, you probably take a couple of precautions.

With a wave of your hand, you manage to create a mana bubble around Albedo’s wrist. This should prevent him from using his watch, at least.

“Hmm. How peculiar…” Albedo ponders, seemingly amused by your magic trick. This might very well be the first time that he’s ever seen magic.

“Before either of us do anything drastic, let’s have a moment to talk. Because the last thing I’d want on either end is an intelligent person dying.” you proclaim.

“You? Intelligent?” Albedo questions you derisively. “You give yourself far too much credit, human. We are not in the same league.” Albedo states with absolute confidence. But then, his eyes drift down to your Omnitrix. “Although, it would seem that you’ve managed to repair the Omnitrix. That’s no easy feat.” he briefly considers. “Very well. Perhaps conversing with you will not be a complete and utter waste of my time.” he says as he swivels his chair around to face you. At least you have his full attention.

“I don’t get you. What’s your goal here? What could you possibly stand to gain from all this. Other than satisfying your own ego, I mean.” you ask.

“You’re asking the wrong questions, human.” Albedo states with a disappointed expression. “It’s not about what I stand to gain. It’s about what you and every other human stands to gain.” he declares.

“What do you mean?” you inquire.

“War is looming over the horizon. Not only on your planet, but for the entire galaxy. Very soon now, a conflict of insurmountable proportions will rock the very foundations of the Milky Way. And considering the position of your Earth, I suspect that your people will be deeply embroiled in this conflict.” Albedo explains.

“Wait a second. What’s this about a war!?” you exclaim. Could this be the war that Iden was talking about in that alternate future?

“I’m not surprised that you don’t know. Azmuth would have the galaxy believe that their ignorance is a blessing. Despite the fact that the Cerebro-Crustaceans have reformed their Think Tank, and the Fangs of Dominion have recently called a war council. I even hear that the Ghost of Khoros has resurfaced.” Albedo reports, listing off impending threat after impending threat.

“You’re pretty knowledgeable for someone who’s been in prison for the past few months.” you admit.

“Obtaining information is my profession. Before I was Azmuth’s assistant, I was an Intelligence Officer.” Albedo boasts, brimming with confidence.

(Cont.)

“So correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re trying to say that you’re doing all this to protect the Earth somehow?” you attempt to clarify.

“Not ‘somehow’. I am here to speed up the process of your planet’s technological advancement. You’re barely at Tech Level 3, and at the moment, you don’t stand a chance against any of the galaxy’s armies. You may thank me later.” Albedo says with a smug grin.

“Mhmm. And how do you intend to do that?” you inquire even further.

“Why, by puppeting your world’s governments, of course.” he simply declares. “Do you have any idea how detrimental your authority figures have been when it comes to technological advancement? They’d rather fight amongst themselves than collaborate on one key objective. Although, this problem is not unique to your Earth in any way.” Albedo elaborates.

“So you’re saying that you want to rule the world.” you clarify even further.

“It’s really not that simple. Ruling the world with an iron fist would create complete and utter chaos. We do not have time to fight a petty civil war or stamp out a rebellion. But if I can manipulate the nations of your Earth, then I am sure that you will enter another technological boom!” Albedo proudly proposes. He’s more crazy than you originally thought.

>”You know that I can’t let you do that, right? I mean, do you have any idea how insane that sounds?”
>”Thanks for the offer, but I think we’ll get by just fine without your help.”
>”I don’t feel comfortable with you manipulating the world’s leaders, but I’m fine with bringing you on as a consultant.”
>”If I let you do this, how do I know that you won’t try to screw us in any way?”
>”I feel like I should get a second opinion here. Forgive me if I don’t just take your word for it.”
>”Couldn’t you have led with this? Why’d you make me beat up all those guards before explaining yourself?”
>”So then what’re you doing with that Slingshot?”
>Write-in.

While we wait. Feel free to vote on whichever vigilante you wish to play as in the next thread.

So far we have:

>Wilderbee: 1

>Birdie: 0

>The Cowl: 0

>Captain Nemesis: 0

>Flipsyde: 0

>The Shape: 0

Feel free to provide suggestions for characters that you feel should be on this list.

>>4579162
>”Couldn’t you have led with this? Why’d you make me beat up all those guards before explaining yourself?”
>”So then what’re you doing with that Slingshot?”
>”I don’t feel comfortable with you manipulating the world’s leaders, but I’m fine with bringing you on as a consultant.”
>Wilderbee

>>4579331
+1

>>4579162
>”Couldn’t you have led with this? Why’d you make me beat up all those guards before explaining yourself?”
>”So then what’re you doing with that Slingshot?”
>”I don’t feel comfortable with you manipulating the world’s leaders, but I’m fine with bringing you on as a consultant.”
>"Cause while it might be messed up to force them to it, there's nothing wrong with making them want it, especially by making alternative seem way worse."
>"He'll, I have a name for it as well, the planetary self defense initiative. Could possibly get the plumbers in on it as well."
>Flipside

>>4579331
>>4579413
Writing...

File: 04e668d9c590a5d2427f948e1(...).jpg (62 KB, 540x654)

62 KB JPG

“Couldn’t you have just led with this? Why’d you make me beat up all of those guards before explaining yourself?” you ask.

“I needed time to assess your skills and personality. Despite carrying a lethal weapon, you never dealt a fatal blow to any of my soldiers. The same goes for the usage of your alien forms.” he observes. “I was also curious to see what kind of creature Azmuth entrusted the Omnitrix to. You’re certainly more proficient than the average ape.”

“Uh...thanks?” you reply with a shrug.

“You’re very welcome.” Albedo responds, seemingly unaware of your use of sarcasm.

“So, what are you doing with that Slingshot?” you inquire.

“After hearing the child bragging about it, I thought that I would take a moment to examine it. Though I suppose that will have to wait.” he sighs while running a finger across it’s sleek, silver casing. You really can’t tell if this Albedo is yanking your chain or not. He’s way too chill about all of this.

“I don’t really feel comfortable with you manipulating the world’s leaders, but I’m fine with bringing you on as a consultant.” you propose. The disappointment on Albedo’s face is immediately apparent.

“No, you don’t understand. Politics will only slow the process down. I’m aiming for the path of least resistance. If they realize that the orders are coming from me, then they’ll never approve any of my designs.” Albedo argues.

“On the contrary. I’ve been working hard to improve human and alien relations. So much so that they’ve begun to co-exist in urban environments.” you say with renewed enthusiasm. “I’m even trying to get aliens approved to enlist in human law enforcement.”

“Law enforcement is one thing, but what about leadership roles? Your species only recently made full contact with aliens about one year ago. That is not nearly enough time for them to entrust another species with dictating or managing their branches of government.” Albedo states.

It would seem that the two of you are at an impasse. Albedo seems like he means well, but he’s pretty misguided, and extremely impatient.

“I had hoped that you would be able to see things from my perspective. But if you’re insistent on remaining developmentally stagnant, then I will have no choice but to proceed without your approval.” he declares. You see him pull out a communicator of some kind, but he does not break eye contact for a single second. It looks like he’s trying to determine what your final answer will be.

(Cont.)

What will you say?

>”You can’t force progress, Albedo. Earth just had a huge leap in tech advancement. Any more, and it’ll create chaos. Give them some time to get used to things.”
>”I get that you want to help, but you need to learn how things work around here. If anyone finds out that you had a hand in influencing their decisions, then they’ll retaliate violently.”
>”We’re both fighting for the same cause, Albedo. I just need some time to get people used to the idea of an alien advising the world’s leaders.”
>”If you fight me on this, you’ll be throwing the world deeper into chaos. You’d become part of the problem.”
>”Okay, hold on! Let’s try and find the middle ground, here.”
>"You need to give humans a bit more credit, here. I'm sure they'll be more accepting if we explain the situation to them."
>Snatch the communicator out of his hand and destroy it.
>Write-in.

>>4580364
>”We’re both fighting for the same cause, Albedo. Going against each other is only going to slow down the progress you want, and cause trouble for me. Your smart enough to know that this would all be easier with us working together, so lets find a middle ground.

>>4580364
>>”We’re both fighting for the same cause, Albedo. Going against each other is only going to slow down the progress you want, and cause trouble for me. Your smart enough to know that this would all be easier with us working together, so lets find a middle ground.

>>4580592
>>4580794
Writing...

“We’re both fighting for the same cause, Albedo.” you declare outright. “Going against each other will only delay the progress that you want out of this deal. It’ll also cause a great deal of trouble for me.” you state. Albedo’s thumb is moving away from the red button on the communicator. It seems like you’re starting to get to him.

“You’re smart enough to know that this whole thing would be easier if we work together. So, let’s try to find a middle ground. A compromise, so to speak.” you propose. By this point, Albedo has set the communicator down on the table and is rubbing the tips of his fingers together. Must be part of some sort of contemplative ritual.

“...Well, you certainly seem more reasonable than Azmuth.” Albedo says while rubbing his chin. “Very well, human. I will give you a chance to make good on your promise. But if I notice that you’ve grown complacent in any way, then I shall proceed with my original plan.”

“I guess that’s a start…” you mutter to yourself as you extend a hand to the mutated Galvan. Albedo then grabs your hand with a small grin on his face and shakes it up and down. You didn’t know how this encounter would turn out, but you certainly weren’t expecting this outcome. If you can avoid making an enemy out of him, then the galaxy would become a much better place as a result.

After breaking the handshake, Albedo reaches for his communicator and presses his thumb against the big red button. “Good news, Sublimino. We may not need that backup plan of yours after all.” Albedo reports.

With a sharp crackle, a shallow voice breaches through the static. “...And why would that be, Albedo?” the man named Sublimino asks. For some reason, he sounds familiar.

“The Omnitrix boy, he has offered an alternative. One that won’t require your ‘unique’ skill set.” Albedo replies. This report is followed by a long silence over the radio frequency. It takes a minute before Sublimino responds again.

“...I see.” he briefly states. “How disappointing…” he adds after another pause.

“Sublimino?” Albedo calls out with a confused expression.

“I had hoped that beneath that condescending pity act, there existed a kindred spirit. But it would appear that I was sorely mistaken.” Sublimino sighs. You’re not liking the sound of this…

“No matter. I expected you to betray me at some point, so I included a contingency in my plans.” Sublimino reveals.

“What is the meaning of this!?” Albedo blurts out as he slams his hand down onto the table. His face is practically turning red out of sheer frustration.

“Farewell, Albedo. Enjoy what little there is left of your life.” Sublimino says with a dry chuckle. But before Albedo can respond, Sublimino hangs up, leaving the flustered Galvan with more than a few unanswered questions.

“That ungrateful worm!” Albedo shouts, his hand still gripping the communicator in anger.

“Wade, I have bad news.” Trixy announces.

“What’s up, Trix?” you respond. This little interaction draws Albedo’s attention, simultaneously piquing his interest and distracting him from the whole Sublimino situation.

“Our social media account has been banned!” she cries.

“Wha-!?” you shout out of complete and utter shock. Who would even bother to do something so pointless?

Wait. Did Trixy say “our” social media account?

Suddenly, your attention is brought back to the situation at hand due to Albedo loudly clearing his throat. “I don’t mean to interrupt your little conversation…” he begins to say. However, you begin to notice the shifting shadows that Albedo’s beady little eyes are glancing at in the corners of the room. “But it would appear that we have been surrounded.” he affirms.

The shadowy figures come out of hiding, one by one. The colors of their costumes are diverse and vibrant, and their weapons are just as varied. You see Purple, Yellow, Pink, Black, Green and Orange. The gang’s all here.

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien. (Which one?)
>Use one of your Viral Forms. (Which one?)
>Try out one of your new aliens. (Spit Wad, Retrofit, Bug Byte)
>Toss out your flashbangs and flee the lab!
>Unleash a hail of fireballs onto your masked assailants.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

Current Vigilante votes:

>Wilderbee: 3(or maybe 2? I assumed that another anon supported the vote.)

>Flipside: 1

>The Cowl: 0

>Birdie: 0

>Captain Nemesis: 0

>The Shape: 0

>>4581360
>Toss out your flashbangs and flee the lab!
>"And here I was thinking we were going to become buddies again."

>>4581360
>>Toss out your flashbangs and flee the lab!
>>"And here I was thinking we were going to become buddies again."

>>4581563
>>4581910
Writing...

File: mmpr_vol10_2.jpg (353 KB, 1500x1049)

353 KB JPG

Before any of them can fire off a shot or lunge at you with their dangerous looking weapons, you toss out a pair of flashbangs in opposite directions, so as to cover a greater area of the lab.

“Are those…?” Albedo gasps as he and the others watch them roll across the floor.

“Yep.” you simply reply. And less than a second later, the ovular devices erupt in a flash of blinding light, forcing everyone around you to cover their eyes and step back. Luckily, your lenses dampen the effects of the flash, allowing you to use this opportunity to slip out of the lab and into the hall.

You wonder if Albedo got your hint. Was that too much to guess from context?

“A little warning would be appreciated!” Albedo shouts, trailing right behind you with his stubby little legs. He already looks out of breath. “Curse this fleshy body’s weak constitution!” he cries out.

“And here I was thinking that we were going to be buddies again.” you say with a light chuckle. He does not look amused in the slightest.

“Whatever alternate counterpart of mine that you’ve been keeping company with, he’d be mad to continue associating with you!” Albedo exclaims in a frustrated huff.

“Oh, please. I’m a delight.” you retort. But all jokes aside, you should probably figure out a plan from here on out.

What will you do?

>Split up and separate these guys so that you and Albedo can pick them off.
>Lead Red’s team into one of Albedo’s traps. You know he’s got to have a few left lying around somewhere.
>Create a clone of your suit and send it off as a decoy.
>Meet back up with your friends. (Red or Jing/Woo?)
>Focus on busting out of this facility.
>”So, who’s your friend? He seems nice.”
>"Why are you following me, anyway?"
>”Any idea of what we can say to these guys to get them off our backs?”
>”You look like you’re having trouble keeping up. I could give you a piggyback ride if you want.”
>”Would it be crazy if I told you this wasn’t the first time that this happened to me today?”
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4582352
>Create a clone of your suit and send it off as a decoy.
>Lead Red’s team into one of Albedo’s traps. You know he’s got to have a few left lying around somewhere.
>Meet up with red so Albedo can apologize for what he did to him
>"So, this is like the third coup de gras I have to deal with, who's the guys that turn on you?"

>>4582664
+1

>>4582664
>>4584275
Writing...

File: 9ef4f71fbfac65681840a3eea(...).jpg (37 KB, 564x604)

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“I’ve got a plan. Hold on…” you say while removing one of your armor plates and molding it into the vague shape of a beetle. “Trixy, I need you to focus all of your attention on the Techadon Replicator.” you demand.

“I suppose you intend to use the drone to shake these guys off of our tail?” Trixy assumes with a strange mix of formal and informal speech. It might take you a minute to get used to this.

“You read my mind, Trix.” you laugh. The beetle then flaps its wings and flies from your hand. And right before your eyes, it grows to match your size in scale, forming an identical copy of your suit in mere seconds.

“Your suit is based on Techadon technology!?” Albedo shouts in disbelief. “However did you manage to obtain one from the Inspectors?” he asks.

“I’ve got my ways.” you teasingly respond. “But right now, I need you to tell me where you hid those traps. We sure could use one right about now.” you suggest. “C’mon. I know you’ve got more lying around here somewhere.”

After your insistent pestering, Albedo breathes a heavy sigh and squints his eyes. “There may be one that we can make use of.” he declares.

------------

Once Albedo briefs you on the plan, the two of you find someplace to hide so that Red’s team can follow your decoy instead. As far as you can tell, they seem to be falling for the bait.

Eventually, Trixy leads them into a wide hallway with a tall ceiling. One without any doors, and only two ways out. However, somewhere along the way, Red’s team split up in order to block both ends of the hallway. Seemingly, it’s the end of the line for her.

But all of a sudden, a series of glass panels drop down from the ceiling, trapping all of them inside. And as they desperately search for a way out, a pale blue gas floods the rectangular container, completely enveloping everyone inside. After about a minute, the glass panels rise once more and the smoke clears, revealing Trixy to be the only one left conscious amongst them.

“Knockout gas isn’t too effective when you don’t have to breathe.” you say with your hands on your waist. Soon afterwards, you command the cloned suit to deconstruct himself and return to being just a single armor plate.

“But it won’t last forever. We would do well to make ourselves scarce before it wears off.” Albedo proposes. “Now for our next move, we should-” he tries to add, before you interrupt him.

“No. We’re meeting up with Red. You owe him an apology.” you proclaim.

“The child?” Albedo asks, seemingly perplexed by your suggestion. “...Why?” he says with complete transparency. Does he not see that he’s done something wrong?

(Cont.)

File: 51457fe9ef401786d4e52e6b4(...).jpg (16 KB, 564x316)

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“Because you lied to him, manipulated him and his country’s government, indirectly injured his mom and mutated his DNA. This is all within the last hour, by the way.” you announce in an almost frustrated tone. “Need I say more?”

“Fine. I suppose my methods have been rather uncouth and unorthodox.” he admits while rubbing his head. “Very well. I will attempt to apologize to the boy.” he declares.

“Attempt?” you ask. But instead of answering you, Albedo storms off towards the Command Center. At least he knows exactly where Red is. You just hope the two of them don’t start a fight.

----------

On the way to the Command Center, you and Albedo are forced to plow through a few soldiers. Interestingly enough, they’re now trying to gun down Albedo as well.

“So, this is like the third coup that I’ve had to deal with so far. Who’s the guy that’s trying to take you out?” you ask.

“...His name is Sublimino.” Albedo groans with narrowed eyes. “I had come in contact with him when I had first been imprisoned in this militaristic tomb.”

“How’d you manage to do that?” you inquire.

“I stole a radio from one of the guards and modified it with parts from my own ship. Sublimino just so happened to tune into the channel that I was broadcasting to.” Albedo reveals. “From there, we supplied information to one another, and from him, I learned of the poor state of your planet. His contempt for humanity was obvious, but I had hoped to make use of his abilities in order to overturn the current world order.” he adds.

“Abilities? What kind of abilities?” you ask.

“From what I’ve seen, Sublimino is capable of manipulating the minds of living creatures through the use of hypnosis. His methods are invasive, but very effective.” Albedo admits with a scoff.

Hypnosis…

Kinda like that Richard Klein guy from that rally! Things are finally starting to add up.

“So that’s how you took over this base. You had Sublimino hypnotize them for you.” you assume.

“Correct.” Albedo nods. “We have been coordinating our efforts for quite some time. But it would appear that his intentions were far more sinister than I had originally thought.”

If Sublimino is working with Elena, then that means that his hypnotic influence could very well have spread throughout a good portion of the planet by now. And who’s to say that Elena herself isn’t being hypnotized? How deep does the rabbit hole go!?

Before you get a chance to finish your thought, you come to find that you’ve already arrived at the Command Center. And from where you stand, it looks like a bulldozer just came through here.

(Cont.)

The doors are crushed and bent at an awkward angle on the floor, and there are wires dangling from the ceiling, with sparks crackling at the ends of them. Numerous agents have been thoroughly pummeled and are currently strewn about in random locations. And at the very back of the room is Red, aggressively punching codes into the base’s supercomputer. It doesn’t take him long to catch you in his sight with his wide, rectangular pupils.

“X? What’re you…” he begins saying. But then, he notices the precocious albino kid standing right next to you. Even without context, Red catches on quick. There’s a righteous fire burning in his eyes, and he almost looks as if he could pounce at any given moment.

“Red, it’s okay! Albedo’s here to apologize.” you say in a soothing tone. But as you look to Albedo, you come to realize that something else is very wrong here. He seems uncomfortable and...unsure of himself?

Wait...oh god…

Does Albedo not know how to give an apology? He looks absolutely stuck right now.

What do you say?

>”Come on, man. It’s not that hard. Just say that you’re sorry.”
>”It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure that it comes from the heart.”
>”Are you serious!? You had so much time to think of this.”
>”Uh...just give him a minute. He’s new to this.”
>Create an earpiece for Albedo and have Trixy coach him through it.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>”It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure that it comes from the heart.”
>Red, while Albedo's methods are extreme, I belive it's worth to at least know why he did it.

>>4584497
>”It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure that it comes from the heart.”
>Red, while Albedo's methods are extreme, I belive it's worth to at least know why he did it. Cause he does have good intentions, just the way he tried to execute them is problematic

>>4584497
>”It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure that it comes from the heart.”
>Red, while Albedo's methods are extreme, I belive it's worth to at least know why he did it.

>>4584648
>>4585356
Writing...

File: 1200px-Hiro_Hamada_KHIII.png (1014 KB, 1200x1652)

1014 KB PNG

“It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just make sure that it comes from the heart.” you reassure him. But this only serves to confuse him even further.

“Are you nuts!? We came here to defeat him, not to make friends.” Red says in utter disbelief, seemingly inconsolable. “There’s a limit to how nice you can be, X.”

“Red…” you start off, in an attempt to diffuse the situation. “While Albedo’s methods are extreme, I believe that it’s worth it to at least understand why he did what he did.” you declare. And while he still looks pretty stressed out, you can tell that he’s willing to wait before he beats the tar out of Albedo.

“Fine...start talking.” Red grumbles with a frown.

“Well, I…” Albedo begins, stammering all over the place and stumbling over every other word. A gentle nudge from you is enough to get him back on track, though. Before continuing, he closes his eyes and clears his throat as a means of mentally preparing himself. “Benjamin, I sincerely apologize for my actions thus far. The hardships that I forced you to endure were far too strenuous for a boy your age.” Albedo admits in a surprisingly genuine and apologetic tone.

After hearing Albedo’s apology, Red’s expression softens a bit. “No...I get it. We kinda did kidnap you and force you to make weapons for us. Anyone would be pissed about that.” he says with a long, exasperated sigh.

“So you do understand, after all. I was beginning to think that-” Albedo says, right before Red cuts him off.

“I said that I understand. I didn’t say that I’d forgive you just yet.” Red corrects him.

“I beg your pardon!?” Albedo blurts out in an unfittingly clipped and posh accent. “What else do you want from me?” he asks.

“You have to apologize to X for having our guards attack him, and you have to apologize to my mom for letting her get hurt.” he proclaims.

“What about your Uncle? He might have gotten hurt too.” you remind him, almost enjoying putting Albedo through the wringer.

“Uncle Woo’s here too!?” Red shouts out of sheer shock.

“But that’s preposterous!” Albedo interrupts, bringing Red’s attention back to him.

“We apologize to others when we do something wrong, Albedo. That goes for both of us.” Red explains. “Once you can accept that, then we can talk about starting over.” he adds with a serious expression. Albedo glances up at you with a miserable look on his face, clearly looking for a way out of this. But all you do is give an approving nod to Red and return your gaze to him.

“...Very well.” Albedo sighs. “As soon as the opportunity presents itself, I shall give another apology to your loved ones.” he says, resigning himself to the simple task that you’ve given him. Why does this feel like pulling teeth?

(Cont.)

File: Charm_Ben.jpg (105 KB, 894x894)

105 KB JPG

“And while you think of an apology, I’ve got a few things to show to X.” Red states while pointing to the main computer. With a wave of his hand, he leads you over to it and continues punching a series of codes into the console. “I’ve managed to bypass the security systems and regain control of our communications. That’s the good news.”

“And the bad?” you warily inquire. With the push of a button, Red pulls up a series of hovering windows, all of them involving news reports centered around you.

“You’re a wanted man. Not just on Earth, but in the rest of the known universe too.” Red reveals as he pulls up a series of impressive looking bounties with your masked face plastered all over them. You’ve never seen a bounty this high before! “They’ve even got other vigilantes on the lookout for you.”

“You said I was wanted in the Milky Way too, right? Does that mean that the Plumbers are looking for me too?” you ask with your arms crossed over your chest.

“I’m afraid so.” Red responds while tapping away at the keyboard. “I don’t think we’re safe anywhere.”

Wait. We?

And before you even get the chance to ask him about it, you see an additional bounty for Red in the top left corner of the screen. The reward is sizable, but nothing compared to yours. And since Albedo has Red’s face, this probably applies to him too.

“What are we gonna do...?” Red nervously inquires. You can’t say that you blame him for being nervous, either. There’s a creeping feeling of butterflies fluttering around in your stomach, and your heart is racing a mile a minute. But you can’t tell him that. It would just make him even more worried.

Just then, a large blue portal opens up in the middle of the room, separating you and Red from Albedo. At first, you assume that you’re being attacked, and draw your sword in preparation. But out comes an even bigger surprise.

“Sorry we’re late! We just got your signal.” says the familiar voice of a young female preteen.

“What’d we miss?” asks the white haired girl with the hideous handbag and baggy hoodie.

It’s Gwen and Charmy! They finally showed up!

>”Your timing couldn’t be any better. I really need your help on this one.”
>”You just about missed everything, but we’re willing to summarize for you.”
>”What took you guys so long?”
>”Do either of you know someone named ‘Sublimino’?”
>Call someone.(K8-E, Olivia, Grandpa, Mom & Dad)
>Write-in.

>”Your timing couldn’t be any better. I really need your help on this one.”
>”Do either of you know someone named ‘Sublimino’?”
let's deal with the situation at hand after that we can call grandpa to see if he can help with the whole ,us being the number 1 target in the galaxie, problem.

>>4585656
>”Your timing couldn’t be any better. I really need your help on this one.”
>”Do either of you know someone named ‘Sublimino’?”

>>4585722
>>4585786
Writing...

File: Gwen_10.png (2.58 MB, 1920x1080)

2.58 MB PNG

“Your timing couldn’t be any better. I really need your help on this one.” you say while breathing a sigh of relief. You’d almost forgotten that you called them earlier.

“Well, considering the fact that you guys saved our skins when we sent out our beacons, I’d say that we’ve got more than a few debts to pay off.” Charmy casually remarks in a playful tone. Gwen, on the other hand, is getting increasingly curious about Red’s altered appearance, which he’s trying incredibly hard to hide at the moment. “What’s up with the kid?” Charmy asks.

“Which one?” Gwen quips, as her attention is now being drawn to Albedo.

“A trans-dimensional navigation device. How fascinating…” Albedo murmurs to himself with a devilish grin.

“I’ll tell you all about it in a bit. But first, do you guys know someone named ‘Sublimino’?” you ask. In response, Charmy squints her eyes and leans forward ever so slightly.

“...No? I don’t think so.” she answers, seeming very confused and lacking confidence in her memory.

“Wait. Do you mean that short little creep of a con-artist?” Gwen inquires. “Me, Ben and Grandpa fought him a while back, but he didn’t put up much of a fight.” she adds.

“Did he have the ability to hypnotize people?” you probe further.

“Yeah, he did it with a dusty old pocket watch. Real cliché stuff.” she laughs.

“Wait a minute. Is that who we’re fighting? He doesn’t sound too tough.” Charmy proclaims as she shoves her hands into her jacket pockets.

So in their dimensions, Sublimino was never that much of a problem. But that doesn’t mean that he won’t be a threat in yours.

“Just wait until you hear what I have to say, first.” you say with your hand raises up in front of you.

-------------

Over the next few minutes, you explain what went down before Gwen and Charmy showed up, as well as the current state of the galaxy.

“So...Sublimino’s hypnotized everyone to think that you’re public enemy #1?” Gwen summarizes.

“And this little look-alike is actually Albedo, but he’s a good guy this time.” Charmy follows up.

“Well, ‘good guy’ might be pushing it a bit.” Red pouts. That slight does not go unheard by Albedo, but he simply swallows his pride and puts up with it.

“Wouldn’t the goal here be to find Sublimino and beat the tar out of him? His hypnosis can’t last forever if he’s not there to maintain it.” Charmy suggests.

“It’s a bit straightforward, but Charmy’s got the right idea. It worked for me last time when I fought him.” Gwen agrees.

“That much is obvious, but the issue lies in locating Sublimino in the first place. He could be anywhere in the world.” Albedo reminds them.

(Cont.)

“Or the galaxy…” you sigh. There’s so many places that Sublimino can hunker down in. Plumber HQ immediately comes to mind. Up there, he would almost be untouchable with all of that base's defenses trained on you. But then again, back on Earth, Sublimino’s got the collective might of the Vigilante Corps, Time-Out and Providence on his side. Despite this being your home turf, you’re at a serious disadvantage here.

“Wade, I am receiving numerous reports from all over the world. Various strange creatures are surfacing in seemingly random locations, with the largest collection of them congregating in Paris, France” Trixy reports.

“Is it aliens?” you think to yourself.

“I cannot identify any of them on my database. There are rumors, however, of a few of them bearing a striking resemblance to Earth’s ‘mythical creatures’.” she adds.

So if they’re not aliens, could they be cryptids? This might be more up the Saturday’s alley.

Suddenly, a series of red, blinking lights pop up on the computer screen. “Oh no no no!” Red exclaims as he returns to the keyboard.

“What’s happening?” Gwen asks frantically.

“I don’t know! Something’s wreaking havoc in the city. Sublimino must know we’re here!” Red shouts.

So many targets, and so little time. It’s a good thing that you brought backup. What will you do?

>Head home and check on the situation in Bellwood. You bet Sublimino is waiting there patiently.
>Fly up and retake Plumber HQ. Sublimino can’t be allowed to hold onto their weapons and resources.
>Travel to Paris and see if you can figure out what’s going on over there.
>Investigate the trouble that’s brewing in Hong Kong.
>Send someone out. (Who and where?)
>Write-in.

>>4586723
>Investigate the trouble that’s brewing in Hong Kong.
We're already here, might as well handle this. I don't think sending people out would be the smartest, because if someone gets the drop on them they get hypnotized. Lets clean up Hong Kong and move from there.

>>4587246
+1

>>4586723
>Track the signal with either grey matter or upgrade

>>4587246
>>4588038
Writing...

File: 4c6c4ef86ef4edcaf26346e6a(...).jpg (102 KB, 564x679)

102 KB JPG

“Should we split up?” Red suggests.

“...No. We should stick together. Splitting up would only give Sublimino a chance to hypnotize us.” you simply state, without peeling your eyes away from the computer screen. “Either way, we should get down there and figure out what’s going on.”

“You guys go on ahead. I’ll stay here and try to get things under control.” Red declares. “My mom and uncle Woo are still here somewhere.”

“Alright, then me and Gwen will-” Charmy begins to say, shortly before Gwen interrupts her.

“I’m going with you.” she says while walking closer to Red.

“A-are you sure?” he asks, clearly becoming flustered by her decision.

“Of course. We’re a team, remember?” Gwen responds with absolute confidence. Red attempts to hide his bashful grin, mostly due to the fact that his teeth are a bit sharper than normal, on account of his sudden mutation.

“Then me and Charmy will check it out. We’ll meet back here afterwards.” you proclaim. And seeing as how you aren’t hearing any arguments, you figure that everyone’s on board with the plan.

------------

As you and Charmy leap from building to building, you find yourself inadvertently entranced by the wonder of the big city. Despite having seen alien ecosystems and bizarre biomes that few could only ever dream of, discovering new sides of the Earth never gets old. The big flashing lights, crowded streets and countless high-rise buildings kind of reminds you of New York. Now THAT was the perfect environment for rooftop travel! You’re beginning to understand why every Marvel superhero lives there.

That being said, you’re surprised that Charmy can keep up with you, considering the fact that she doesn’t have any sort of augmented armor. Must be using some sort of enhancement magic.

“How’re you holding up back there?” you shout back at her after vaulting over a billboard.

“Pretty good, actually.” Charmy says as she creates a portal in order to pass through the sign unobstructed. “I always thought that Charmcaster was a bit of a cardio-bunny, but I guess she can just naturally stay in good shape.” she explains while breaking into a roll the moment her feet touch the ground. “You wouldn’t believe how insanely jealous Gwen gets when I eat a plate full of chili fries and sleep it off.” she laughs.

“Which Gwen are we talking about here?” you ask.

“Both of them!” Charmy replies with a smug grin.

You were a bit worried that things would get awkward with just the two of you, but Charmy’s been pretty cool about the whole thing. It’s hard to believe that this girl frenched you a few days ago.

(Cont.)

Suddenly, a piercing shriek grabs your attention, somehow managing to break through the noise of blaring car horns and video wall advertisements. Without a word from either of you, a unanimous decision is reached to investigate the source of the cry. And upon reaching a high perch overlooking the area, you’re met with a rather unusual sight.

The streets have erupted into chaos, as its citizens verbally, and physically display their dissatisfaction with the police. For a while, they appear to be content with shouting slurs at one another and making threats. But once a random rioter tosses a molotov cocktail, all hell breaks loose. Both parties clash in a brutally violent fashion. Bullets, punches and tear gas canisters all fly through the air, painting a painfully clear picture of the civil unrest that’s been boiling over in Red’s country.

“We should get down there!” Charm exclaims as she tightly grips her magic staff. But before either of you gets a chance to move in, you spot a large collection of mechanical creatures descending from the sky. Despite being propelled by jets in their boots, they drop to the ground with an audible thud, fracturing the ground beneath them during their landing. Their armor plates are a shimmering golden color, and each of them are equipped with a massive sword and shield. As they rise from their kneeling positions, you can see and hear their gears shifting back into place, just beneath their tattered cloaks.

For a moment, everyone freezes in place and stares at the mechanical centurions in awe. Seems like they’re as lost as you are. But as soon as they draw their swords and approach the crowd, neither the rioters nor the police need any motivation to abandon their cause and flee the scene. You have no idea what these things are, but it has the Forever Knights name written all over it. Despite the fact that they look more like hoplites than knights.

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien. (Which one?)
>Use one of your Viral Forms. (Which one?)
>Try out one of your new aliens. (Spit Wad, Retrofit, Bug Byte)
>Leap from the building and descend upon the knights with your sword drawn.
>Team up with Charmy in order to create a massive fireball spell.
>Rip them apart with your Biosovortian Repulsors.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4588570
>Try out Bug Byte.

>>4588570
>>Try out Bug Byte.

>>4588580
>>4588718
Writing...

File: Bug Byte.jpg (305 KB, 1090x1500)

305 KB JPG

Now that the Omnitrix is working properly, you should try out the new guys that you unlocked by accident. Out of all of them, Bug Byte seemed to be the most interesting. Mostly because he sort of reminded you of Kilik.

“It’s Showtime!” you shout, before selecting Bug Byte’s icon and slamming your hand down onto the Omnitrix’s core. And in a bright flash of violet light, your body undergoes a series of drastic changes!

Your legs bend backwards, your skeleton dissolves into a viscous liquid, and your flesh is replaced by an armor-like chitin. A hard, compound lens grows over your soft-squishy eyes, and a pair of large insect wings sprout from your back. You’ve become Bug Byte!

Once the burst of light dissipates, you find that you’ve grown noticeably taller. Taller than Kilik at least. More muscular too. Also, you can see everything! That traffic light, that hobo across the street and even the way Charmy looks creeped out by your new alien form! Well, you’re kind of seeing a thousand images of her at the same time, but you’re starting to get used to it somehow.

“Eww, gross…” Charmy groans.

“More like ‘awesome’!” you retort in a tremulous and resonant voice. Feels weird coming out of your mouth.

You begin to wonder if these legs are sturdy enough to absorb the shock from a fall at this height. But just then, your wings shoot out of your back, flapping a few times for good measure. And with only the faintest bit of focus, you manage to command your wings to beat at incredible speeds, allowing you to lift your heavy body into the air.

And without further delay, you dive down and land in front of the mechanical knights, separating them from the rioters and cops behind you. And judging by their behavior, it doesn’t take long for the robots to realize that they’ll need to mow you down in order to get to the people behind you.

What will you do?

>Carve through them with your razor sharp mantis blades.
>Send out your insect swarm and command them to consume the robots.
>Pop out your shield and cover the civilian’s escape while Charmy picks them off in the back.
>Grab a nearby light pole, tear it out of the ground and use it as a blunt weapon.
>Slice one open and see if you can spot any weak points that you can exploit.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4588956
>Pop out your shield and cover the civilian’s escape while Charmy picks them off in the back.
When I saw Byte I was thinking of some sort of techy alien, but something like Kilik is cool too.

>>4588997
The "byte" in the name comes from the mini-bugs in his head that make up large portion of his consciousness. Retrofit is the tech alien.

>>4588956
>Pop out your shield and cover the civilian’s escape while Charmy picks them off in the back.

>>4589021
I figured it was between the two of them.

Just a heads up >>4589238
Is me mobile, but when we get to Sublimino are we gonna give him a taste of his own medicine via Rad-el Snake? Thought of the idea but I'd like to see what others think of it.

>>4588997
>>4589238
Roll 1d100, bo3!

File: Scaramouche.jpg (100 KB, 1400x788)

100 KB JPG

>>4589468
I like the way you think, anon.

Rolled 61 (1d100)

>>4589497

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>4589497

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>4589497

>>4589547
>>4589623
>>4589912
Writing...

File: Pink Goop.jpg (93 KB, 345x599)

93 KB JPG

>61

While you mentally prepare yourself to be engaged by these hulking, metallic brutes, you instinctually flex your arms, causing a scythe-like bladed weapon to pop out of your right hand, and a triangular shield to pop out of your left arm. But despite having your deadly natural weapons, you feel as if these robots could easily overwhelm you with their superior bulk and numbers.

Thankfully, Charmy joins you on the ground, transforming into a female version of Goop on the way down. Her squishy body impacts the asphalt with an audible splat, drawing the attention of the knights surrounding her. Without hesitation, they attempt to cleave through her viscous physical form with their considerably large greatswords. And while they are successful in cutting straight through her, they do not manage to inflict any lasting wounds, as she quickly reforms her body afterwards. “It’s a good thing you guys are clueless about aliens, huh.” she mockingly teases them, before blasting them with a torrent of purple acid from her hands. The force from the blast sends a few of them flying, while others just slip and fall over onto their backs. You notice her corrosive goop eating away at their armor, internal circuitry and the tower shields that they’d been carrying.

But despite being distracted by Charmy’s impressive display, your compound eyes allow you to notice the knights flanking you from the side. You manage to react accordingly, parrying the swing of the first night, while plunging your scythe deep into the chest of the night directly behind you. And in the blink of an eye, you rip the scythe out and swing it at the first knight’s neck, severing his head cleanly. In a shower of sparks and synthetic blood, the two of them collapse to the ground with a metallic clang. The next wave of knights share similar fates. Your movements are simply too fast for them to keep up with.

For a while, you manage to hold them at bay while the cops and civilians flee from the scene, but this does not last long. Eventually, Charmy is caught off guard when she enters the body of a nearby knight and rapidly expands inside of him, causing the machine to implode. Before she can properly reform herself, one of the knights manages to knock away her UFO with a lucky swing, causing her to lose control of Goop.

Immediately afterwards, the majority of the knights turn their attention to you and charge you all at once. If you didn’t have anyone to protect, then you might be able to make use of your superior mobility. But sadly, that isn’t the case right now.

You’re only able to hold them back for a moment, but eventually, you’re knocked to the ground and trampled by the knight squad, while a few of them remain on top of you, relentlessly hammering away at your shield in an effort to execute you. All you can do is watch helplessly as the knights march towards the fleeing civilians.

(Cont.)

At first, you think that they’re too far to be caught by these sluggish juggernauts. But that quickly changes once a cavalier knight arrives at the scene, cutting them off at the end of the street and pushing them back into the path of the marching knights from before. They’re trapped! You’ve got to do something!

As your chitin shield begins to crack under the weight of their thunderous blows, you struggle to come up with a plan that might turn the tables in this dire situation. Even the cops and rioters are getting desperate, using the weapons and tools at their disposal in an attempt to hurt the knights, but all of it is in vain. You need a miracle here…

Just then, you sense a powerful gust of wind rushing past you, along with a blue blur crossing your line of sight for only a fraction of a second. Next thing you know, the knights are thrown off of you and sent flying, as well as the ones who’d been attacking the fleeing civilians. All of them have been knocked to the ground. All except the massive knight cavalier from before. His elongated lance has been driven through his chest, with the blade exiting through the underside of his mechanical steed.

And what’s even weirder, you notice that Charmy’s UFO has been politely placed on top of her purple slime pile. You didn’t even see her travel over there. What just happened?

>Take this moment to properly dismantle the remaining knights with your mantis blades.
>Grab the elongated lance from the cavalier and impale the immobilized knights onto it.
>Command your locust swarm to consume the remaining knights in their entirety.
>Search the area for your mysterious savior.
>Check on the condition of the civilians.
>Write-in.

>>4589934
>>Take this moment to properly dismantle the remaining knights with your mantis blades.
>Command your locust swarm to consume the remaining knights in their entirety.

>>4589934
>Command your locust swarm to consume the remaining knights in their entirety.
>Search the area for your mysterious savior with a few locust.

>>4589955
+1

>>4589955
>>4590328
Writing...

Now that you aren’t getting wailed on, it’s probably a good time to press the advantage. With but a thought, you command the swarm of alien locusts buzzing around in your skull to consume the remaining knights, and search for your mysterious savior on the side.

Pouring out by the thousands, the locust swarm is practically bursting out from their containment space as they fill the air around you within seconds. Upon seeing the plague of locusts buzzing towards them, the civilians reflexively swat at them and seek shelter. But to their surprise, the bugs zoom past them and instead set their sights on the knights. You watch with indescribable delight as your children eat away at the unusual alloy that comprises the knight’s armor.

As for your second team, it would appear that they’ve located a Kineceleran watching the situation unfold from a distance. They’re wearing a black and white skin-tight suit with a tiny, purple scarf wrapped around their neck. You can’t tell what their gender is from here, but from their build, you can at least infer that this particular Kineceleran is fairly young. Why’d they disappear so quickly after rushing in to save you?

Just then, the Kineceleran’s head snaps towards the direction of your scout flies. Your main body tenses up for reasons that you can’t explain. And in the blink of an eye, they’re gone. Without a trace or a warning. You’ll have to leave this alone for now.

After commanding the scout flies to return, you approach the injured civilians from before. “Is everyone alright?” you ask.

“Monster!” one of them shouts in terror, followed by a torrent of insults. And it looks like the feeling is mutual among the crowd’s majority. The look of terror in their eyes is genuine. The cops are the only ones who seem somewhat adjusted to seeing alien creatures such as yourself. Their reaction is fairly tame compared to that of the rioters. “Freak!” shouts one of the cops as they run off into the night, screaming all the while. Well...some of them are, at least.

“Well, that was rude…” Charmy scoffs as she pops up on your right. In a flash of golden light, she returns to human form, her hands now shoved into her hoodie pocket.

“From what I’ve learned, humans are unusually intolerant.” Trixy agrees.

“Give them time. They’ll come around.” you encourage them. Shortly afterwards, you time out as well. Just in time to notice the police officers from before approaching you with their weapons holstered.

“Thank you for saving us.” one of them speaks up.

“See?” you say while gesturing towards the cop.

“I thought you were a wanted criminal all over the world. Don’t you find it weird that these guys are getting so chummy?” Charmy asks with a skeptical glare.

“Perhaps Sublimino’s reach does not extend as far as he suspects.” Trixy suggests.

(Cont.)

“Maybe so. We still don’t know how Sublimino is hypnotizing so many people at once.” you ponder thoughtfully. All the while, the cops are exchanging queer glances with one another. They appear to be completely lost.

What will you say or do?

>”Why’s everyone going crazy out on the streets?”
>”Do you have any idea where these robots might have come from?”
>”You won’t hurt these things with those guns. Focus on damage control for now.”
>”Find someplace to hide. We’ll handle things from here.”
>Flee the scene with Charmy. You don’t know if you can trust these guys just yet.
>Write-in.

>>4591047

>Can you get these people to safety? I have no idea why everyone’s rioting or where those robots came from. If you have any information about that, it would help get things under control.

>>4591053 this one +
>”You won’t hurt these things with those guns. Focus on damage control for now.”

>>4591047
Supporting
>>4591053
>>4591082

>>4591053
>>4591082
>>4591319
Writing...

“Can you get these people to safety? I have no idea why everyone’s rioting or where those robots come from. If you have any information on that, it would really help to get things under control.” you state with impressive clarity. Even the cops are caught off guard by that list of orders.

“We can get these people to safety, but we do not know why or how the riots started.” they admit. “As for the robots, we might have an idea of where they came from.” he adds.

“Great. Now if you could just point the way and-” Charmy says, before being interrupted by an intense rumbling sensation that shakes the very ground beneath your feet. Upon scanning the area through your mask’s lenses, you manage to spot a castle tower peeking over the rooftops and moving though the city, toppling buildings and flattening cars in its path.

“They came from there...we think.” one of them says with much uncertainty.

“Nah, that’s a pretty solid guess.” Charmy sarcastically states with a panicked expression.

“X, are you seeing what I’m seeing?” Red asks as his processed voice crackles to life in your helmet’s speakers.

“I don’t know. Are you seeing a giant castle moving through the city?” you rhetorically inquire.

“It’s tearing up Hong Kong! Do you think you can stop it?” he requests over the radio.

“How about some backup first!?” Charmy shouts in your ear, causing you to wince in pain.

“Me, Gwen and Uncle Woo are on our way. Until then, try to stall it.” Red demands.

“How do we stop a castle?” you retort.

“It’s got tank treads, so there must be some sort of power source inside. I don’t know, get creative!” he angrily suggests, before hanging up.

“Man...he sounds super tense.” Charmy notices.

Before responding, you take a moment to observe your surroundings, and your heart fills with sorrow at the mere sight of witnessing Red’s people suffer during this crisis. “I mean, can you blame him?” you say with a heavy heart. The little guy is having a hell of a day.

Upon noticing that the cops are still there staring in awe at the moving castle, you turn to address them. “You won’t hurt these things with guns.” you proclaim while pointing at the robot’s remains. “Focus on damage control for now.”

They nod in response, before running off into the streets with the intention of diving straight back into the fray.

“Let’s move.” you say to Charmy. Together, the two of you take flight on a mana platform that Charmy created beneath you.

-----------------

As you surf through the skies on Charmy’s rectangular, transparent light construct, you manage to get a better look at the moving castle. It’s visibly taller than the buildings near it, and extremely wide, as it takes up most of the space in the streets.

“So it’s gotta be the Forever Knights, right?” Charmy chirps up. “I mean, who else would-” she drones on, but you stop listening as soon as the castle pops out a series of large cannons and aims them in your direction.

“Look out!” you scream as you grab Charmy’s hand and pull it to the side, forcing her mana construct to quickly veer out of the way. Unfortunately, this throws you off of the light panel, sending you hurtling towards the ground at a high velocity. However, there’s two good things that came out of this. You and Charmy narrowly avoided being blasted out of the sky, and...you brought your hoverboard!

With a single fluid movement, you whip out your board and hop on top, just in time to avoid being splattered across the pavement.

You need a way to take down this castle, or at least immobilize it.

What will you do?

>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
>Use one of your Viral Forms.(Which one?)
>Test out one of your new aliens. (Spit Wad, Retrofit)
>Melt the cannon’s barrels with a fire spell.
>Drop on top of the castle and infiltrate it from above.
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

Also, I apologize for taking so damn long on this update. Got extremely held up last night.

Here's where the Vigilante vote currently stands:

>Wilderbee: 3

>Flipside: 1

>The Cowl: 0

>Birdie: 0

>Captain Nemesis: 0

>The Shape: 0

>>4592244
Voting for a Captain Nemesis Omake.

>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
Retrofit

Say, since it was hinted at him being somewhat similar to upgrade, we could probably make some use out of whatever Forever Knights tech is laying around, maybe one of the robots inside the castle? We could quite easily find a section to cut into with our sword if we get close.

>>4592244
>>Transform into an alien.(Which one?)
Retrofit, Eruptile, or Knuckle duster

>>4592409
>>4592715
Writing...

File: Retrofit.png (15 KB, 317x564)

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Might as well try out one of your new aliens while you're at it. If your memory serves correctly, Retrofit was a tech based alien of some sort. He’d probably be pretty useful right about now.

And with that decided, you slide open your belt’s faceplate, turn the dial until you locate Retrofit’s icon, and slam your hand down upon the Omnitrx’s core once you've selected the alien. And in a bright purple flash of light, your body undergoes a series of major changes!

Your flesh becomes red and black armor plates, your skeleton is replaced by an adaptable metal framework, and your internal processes are morphed into a highly complex techno-organic circulatory system. You’ve become Retrofit!

Once the light dissipates, you find that your mind is being flooded by memories. No...schematics of designs that you’d witnessed sometime during your past. Even this hoverboard that you’re riding on, you think you should be able to adapt its technology. With only a mere glance, you’re able to perform an in-depth analysis on the board.

“X’s Hoverboard.” you involuntarily announce in a processed and staticky voice. Shortly afterwards, the board retreats back into your Matter Storage unit, leaving you to hover above the ground on your own.

Wait. You’re hovering? How? Unless...you managed to adapt the board’s anti-grav generators! So instead of upgrading technology, this guy becomes it!

You wonder what else he can do.

>Adapt Talpaedan drills and tunnel through the castle walls.
>Adapt Rex’s Bad Axes in order to destroy the castle’s tank treads.
>Adapt Malware’s Deresolution Cannon in order to disable the castle’s cannons.
>Adapt Captain Nemesis’ repulsor gauntlets and use them to blast through the castle’s front gate.
>Write-in.

>>4593573
>Adapt Rex’s Bad Axes in order to destroy the castle’s tank treads.

>>4593573
>Adapt Rex’s Bad Axes in order to destroy the castle’s tank treads.
Getting it stationary would be smartest thing to do.

>>4593589
>>4593666
Writing...

File: Astrodactyl.png (319 KB, 1020x1150)

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First things first, you need to immobilize this castle. If it keeps tearing through the city, there might not be a city to repair once this is all over.

“Rex Salazar’s Bad Axes.” you say out loud, causing your arms to take on the form and function of your mutant friend’s heavy, bladed weapons, each one almost as large as your entire body. But despite all this, you still somehow manage to maintain your speed and altitude. Miraculously, you’ve somehow managed to slightly increase the efficiency of the anti-grav generators. Perhaps their increased size in relation to yours somehow plays a part in this. Nevertheless, you’ve got a castle to catch.

Noticing your approach, the castle’s cannons concentrate all their fire on you. Projectiles the size of your torso come flying towards you with incredible speed. You just barely manage to avoid them in time, but upon witnessing the cannon shells obliterate the surrounding structures and vehicles, you can’t help but shudder at the sight of their sheer destructive power. And they’re getting closer and closer with each shot.

But all of sudden, the castle is forced to divert its attention from you when a series of plasma bolts explode against its sturdy walls. Tracing the trajectory of the shots, you spot a pterodactyl alien with a jetpack flying overhead.

“Oh no you don’t!” it screeches. Judging by the color scheme, you assume that this is one of Charmy’s transformations. You’re grateful that she’s providing some air support, but more importantly, that jetpack of hers is giving you some ideas.

“Charmy’s jetpack.” you declare, before adapting her alien technology into your own. Within seconds, you manage to perfectly replicate it with only a glance.

Now that you’ve picked up some speed, you’re quickly closing in on the castle! And with a mighty swing, you sever the link between the tank treads, causing the entire castle to lean precariously towards one side. But for good measure, you continue to hack away at the mechanism until you’re entirely sure that it cannot be salvaged. And due to the length of the cannons barrels, they seem to be unable to attack you at this close of a range.

It isn’t until you destroy the treads on the other side that the castle stops moving entirely.

“Observation: ‘Structure immobilized.’” you observe.

However, your victory is short lived, as the castle gates come crashing down, allowing an army of robot knights to come marching through the streets.

“Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.” Charmy sarcastically remarks as she flies alongside you.

(Cont.)

What will you do?

>Replicate a miniaturized version of the Chimerian Hammer’s Primary Ignition cannon and fire it straight into the mouth of the castle.
>Replicate the Geochelone Aerio’s fan arms and blow them back into the castle.
>Mimic Charmy’s energy weaponry and meet the robots head on.
>Replicate Fourcast’s weather drones and have them create a powerful twister to sweep the robots away!
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4594648
>>Replicate a miniaturized version of the Chimerian Hammer’s Primary Ignition cannon and fire it straight into the mouth of the castle.

>>4594648
>Replicate a miniaturized version of the Chimerian Hammer’s Primary Ignition cannon and fire it straight into the mouth of the castle.

>>4594650
>>4595394
Roll 1d100, bo3!

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>4595533

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>4595533

Rolled 26 (1d100)

>>4595533

>>4595548
>>4596064
>>4596412
Writing...

File: Chimerian_hammer_ov.png (780 KB, 1280x720)

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>41

“Replicate: Chimerian Hammer’s Primary Ignition Cannon.” you declare as you fuse your arms together to form a two-pronged fork-like protrusion, with thick and heavy cables running out of your back and into the gun. With each passing second, the cannon builds up charge, causing the air to swell around you while crimson energy crackles along the surface of your armor.

“Uh, what is that?” Charmy questions you in a shaky voice.

“Recommendation: Run.” you simply suggest before digging your feet into the ground. Fortunately, Charmy does just so and flies off to a safe distance. And as soon as you’ve confirmed that she’s far enough away, you fire your cannon at full power!

The resulting blast is blinding, and practically takes up the whole city street as it engulfs every single knight in your line of sight. Within mere milliseconds, the beam punches through the castle gates and easily tears through its stone walls. However, it doesn’t take you long to realize that you’ve made a miscalculation somewhere along the way.

“Observation: Stability dampeners failing. Recoil reduction countermeasures insufficient.” you think out loud.

You severely underestimated the recoil of this weapon. It’s a minor error, but it’s big enough to throw you off balance and send you flying backwards. In an effort to tame this wild weapon, you incidentally bring the weapon up, tearing through the castle’s towers all the while, dealing an insurmountable amount of damage to both the fortress and any surrounding structures. Eventually, you’re forced to cut your losses and cut the power to the gun. By now, you’re on your back, staring at the night sky and running through multiple mental simulations in order to correct this error in your judgement.

At the very least, that castle is toast. But so is a huge chunk of this city’s district. Well, at least Red isn’t here to see this.

And with that comforting thought, you notice that Red, Gwen and Woo have arrived at the scene with bewildered expressions.

“What happened here?” Gwen asks.

You remain on your back for a few seconds, staring at them with an inverted perspective, before timing out in a burst of golden light. “New alien. I’ll explain later…” you groan, while struggling to pick yourself up. Your muscles are practically screaming right now. You’re not sure if it's from that beatdown you took as Bug Byte, or from the recoil, or both, but your body isn’t exactly agreeing with your reckless behavior.

“Yeah, I know. I think you gave him to me too.” Red says as he glances at his watch.

(Cont.)

What do you say?

>”Where’s Albedo? I thought he was coming with you.”
>”How’re you liking my aliens so far? I can give you some pointers if you’d like.”
>”I think it’s safe to say that the Forever Knights are in cahoots with Sublimino.”
>”Sorry about the collateral. I can help with repairs once this whole situation dies down.”
>”Have you noticed any movement from Evo-Corps' labs? I’d bet you a million taydens that they’re somehow involved in all this.”
>”What’s the situation like in the city? Any idea on how we can put a stop to these riots?
>Write-in.

GM Note: Also, I will be swapping out the third mystery alien with another one called "Battery Ram". Spit Wad will have to be put back in the vault for a little while longer.

>>4596583
>”Where’s Albedo? I thought he was coming with you.”
>”How’re you liking my aliens so far? I can give you some pointers if you’d like.”
>”Have you noticed any movement from Evo-Corps' labs? I’d bet you a million taydens that they’re somehow involved in all this.”
>”I think it’s safe to say that the Forever Knights are in cahoots with Sublimino. We could salvage some of their communication, change into either grey matter or upgrade to track him”
>"I'll help out with repairs after words"

Looks like traffic's really slowed down.

Current Vigilante vote is looking like this:

>Wilderbee: 3

>Flipside: 1

>Captain Nemesis: 1

>Birdie: 0

>The Cowl: 0

>The Shape: 0

Be sure to vote if you haven't already!

>>4596583
>”How’re you liking my aliens so far? I can give you some pointers if you’d like.”

>>4596583
>”Where’s Albedo? I thought he was coming with you.”
>”How’re you liking my aliens so far? I can give you some pointers if you’d like.”
>”Have you noticed any movement from Evo-Corps' labs? I’d bet you a million taydens that they’re somehow involved in all this.”
>”I think it’s safe to say that the Forever Knights are in cahoots with Sublimino. We could salvage some of their communication, change into either grey matter or upgrade to track him”
>"I'll help out with repairs after words"

>>4596583
>”Sorry about the collateral. I can help with repairs once this whole situation dies down.”

>>4596583
>”Where’s Albedo? I thought he was coming with you.”
>”How’re you liking my aliens so far? I can give you some pointers if you’d like.”
>”Have you noticed any movement from Evo-Corps' labs? I’d bet you a million taydens that they’re somehow involved in all this.”
>”I think it’s safe to say that the Forever Knights are in cahoots with Sublimino. We could salvage some of their communication, change into either grey matter or upgrade to track him”
>"I'll help out with repairs after words"

>>4596592
>>4602575
>>4602576
>>4602578
>>4602580
Finally got some votes in! Writing...

File: DropkickRed.png (3.46 MB, 3592x3195)

3.46 MB PNG

After you get up and dust yourself off, you realize that Albedo is absent from this party. “Where’s Albedo? I thought he was coming with you.” you inquire.

“We left him back at HQ with Jing. They’re trying to figure out exactly what’s going on here.” Woo speaks up after raising his face shield. Why do other heroes always publicly unmask like this!?

Upon letting your eyes wander to Red, you can tell that he’s more worried about Albedo being alone with Albedo than he is about the Forever Knights. It’s like he’s entirely here at the moment.

“How’re you liking my aliens so far?” you ask to get his attention.

“Huh? What?” he responds with a startled expression.

“I can give you some pointers if you’d like.” you suggest, carrying on with your previous statement.

“Uh, well...I can’t figure out what to do with the big bird, the megazord or the goat.” he admits while squinting at his Harmonitrix.

“Oh, that’s easy. You see, Dropkick relies heavily on momentum, but don’t forget that he can use his arms to attack and quickly change direction. With Amalgamech, it’s best to have an idea in mind before you separate. It makes micromanaging a whole lot easier. And for Vertigoat, you should…!” you say, gushing about your alien transformations in an informative rant. However, you quickly stop once you realize that everyone’s looking at you with wide grins on their faces. “What?” you ask.

“Nah, nothing. I just thought this whole scene was pretty cute.” Charmy states with a shrug.

“Yeah, you’d make a pretty good teacher. It took me a little while to learn how to use my aliens properly.” Gwen admits with her hands placed on her hips.

“My little nephew has a superhero mentor! They grow up so fast…” Woo says while mockingly wiping his eye.

Red lets out a frustrated growl, but he doesn’t seem to be upset at all. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to remember that.” he says, turning his attention back to you.

“Sure. And if you ever need anymore tips, I’m only a phone call away.” you offer. “Oh, and I’ll help with repairs after this is all over, too.” you add. Red nods in response, and you return your gaze to his uncle. “Have you noticed any movement from Evo-Corps’ labs? I’d bet you a million taydens that they’re somehow involved in this.” you proclaim with your arms folded across your chest.

“No movement at all. That’s the weird part.” Woo shakes his head. “So I decided to do some digging. Turns out, they cleared out their warehouses a few hours back. They’re long gone.” Woo reveals.

“So they decided to cut their losses and run away? What good does that do them?” Gwen questions Woo.

“Beats me.” he shrugs. “Maybe they got what they came here for.”

(Cont.)

File: Purple_Upgrade.png (3.44 MB, 1920x1080)

3.44 MB PNG

“Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that the Forever Knights are in cahoots with Sublimino. We’re gonna have to track them down.” you declare.

“And how’re we supposed to pull that off? They could be anywhere.” Charmy states.

“With a little brainpower, of course.” you say with a smug grin, before slamming your hand down upon the Omnitrix’s core. And in a burst of violet light, you transform into...Upgrade? “Huh. I was kinda going for Grey Matter there.”

“Given the situation at hand, this one’s better.” Trixy voices her opinion.

Well, this works too.

You then proceed to merge with one of the Knight bots encompassing his entire body with your techno-organic, gelatinous flesh, until its circuit board pattern covers it entirely. Slowly, you force the damaged robot to get up as you access its systems. Just need to find something useful in here...

“Aha! These things are outfitted with receivers and transmitters. They aren’t utilizing any form of virtual intelligence.” you announce.

“So, they’re receiving orders from somewhere. Can you trace the signal back to its point of origin?” Red suggests.

“I’ll try.” you respond with a nod.

“That’s a great idea.” Gwen encourages Red. All he can do is awkwardly laugh as a response. At least he’s not shy about his temporary mutation anymore.

“I’ve got a lock. Should be able to find their base, or at least some sort of transmitter.” you say while launching a tendril at Woo and integrating with his suit’s tech. “Sending you the info now.”

“What the-!” he blurts out, before seeing the stream of information flooding onto his screen. “Wait. This signal...we should be able to cancel it out from here!” Woo deduces.

“Kinda like a counter frequency, right?” Charmy adds, seemingly pleased that she could contribute to the conversation.

“Bingo.” you respond, before unbonding from both Woo and the robot.

“I’ll send this information to Jing. She and Albedo should be able to cook up a counter signal from the Command Center at HQ.” Woo reports.

So, what will you do from here?

>Follow the signal and storm the Forever Knights’ base of operations.
>Merge with the ruined castle and turn it into a high-tech siege machine!
>Stay and disable the remaining robots. (Or have someone else stay?)
>Send someone to further inspect those Evo-Corp warehouses.(Who?)
>Tell someone to keep an eye on Albedo back at HQ.(Who?)
>Write-in.

Aliens Unlocked:
https://pastebin.com/JVq4NM2t

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

Top 10:
>Big Chill
>Diamondhead
>Zipmunk
>Bloodrush
>XLR8
>Fourcast
>Thriller Whale
>Knuckle Duster
>Hack N’ Slash
>Snapdragon

>>4602656
>Stay and disable the remaining robots.
>Transform into XLR8.
Let's wrap everything up in Hong Kong for now. I'm still against splitting people up, just seems like that's how we lose someone, and give the other team a big boost in power.

>>4602672
>>Stay and disable the remaining robots.
>>Transform into XLR8.

>>4602672
>>4602744
Writing...

File: XLR8.png (438 KB, 1110x1139)

438 KB PNG

As much as you’d love to follow up on those leads, you think splitting up would be detrimental at this point in time. With the scope of Sublimino’s power being unknown, it probably isn’t worth risking the loss of one of your teammates. Especially when almost all of them have Omnitrices.

“For now, let’s sweep the area and clear out these robots. There’s bound to be more out there.” you declare.

“Sounds like a plan.” Woo agrees as he flips his face shield back down.

“No arguments here.” Charmy proclaims while fiddling with her watch.

“Ditto.” Red and Gwen say simultaneously. It’s almost uncanny. Even they're weirded out by their twin moment.

And with that declaration, the five of you spring into action, with you leading the charge as XLR8!

-----------

Through your combined strength, it doesn’t take long to clean up the streets of Hong Kong. Rioters are quickly repelled by the knight’s presence, and the robot knights are terminated by you and your friends on sight. There’s a certain, unspoken coordination between all of you. No one steps on anyone’s toes, and everyone follows up when they’re meant to. Woo’s lagging behind a bit, though.

You’ve experienced this sort of thing before. Every now and again, you’ll have a superhero team-up where you really feel like you’ve developed a deep understanding of your allies intentions, allowing you to plan and time your movements accordingly. This is the sort of thing that leads to the creation of superhero teams. Even you’ve felt the temptation to accept one of the many offers that you’ve gotten this past year. But then you remember that you’ve got your own team, and they’ll always have your back.

------------

After trouncing a few hundred robots, everyone’s Omnitrices finally give out, forcing you and them to revert back to your meager human forms.

“Aww, man! This sucks.” Red pouts. But as he looks up, he notices that his allies are still standing strong, making use of their natural gifts and talents, even without their advanced alien technology.

“Pfft. For you, maybe.” Charmy retorts, her hands and eyes aglow with pulsating, amber energy. Gwen takes a combat ready stance, fully confident in her ability to take down a robot three times her size. And you stand in front, blade drawn and poised to strike.

Standing before you is a seemingly endless army of robots, relentless in their assault and tireless in their march as they move to surround you.

“How long before they can get that signal out?” Gwen asks with a troubled expression. You can tell that she’s freaking out right now, but she’s doing a well to keep a lid on it. Everyone must be feeling pretty anxious at this point.

“They just need a few more minutes.” Woo replies with his palms outstretched. His suit’s energy levels must be getting low.

(Cont.)

“A few minutes, huh...?” you mutter under heavy breath. “That shouldn’t be too hard…” you grunt as you adjust your posture.

What will you do?

>Switch to your Fire stance and tear through the horde with a flurry of blinding attacks.
>Switch to your Water stance and focus on fighting defensively.
>Combine your Wood stance with a fire spell and obliterate a large number of robots at once.
>Create a clone of your suit, mold it into a giant throwing star and use your magnetic repulsors to send him flying.
>Send out your armor plates as a concentrated flechette storm.
>Write-in.

Skills, Stats and Inventory:
https://pastebin.com/iEYrGZS1

>>4603995
>>Combine your Wood stance with a fire spell and obliterate a large number of robots at once.

>>4603995
>Combine your Wood stance with a fire spell and obliterate a large number of robots at once.

>>4604551
>>4604751
Roll 1d100+10, bo3!

Rolled 59 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4604767

Rolled 11 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4604767

Rolled 93 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4604767
DADDY NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

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765 KB GIF

>>4607515
Holy based!

>>4605081
>>4605440
Gonna try to crank out an update before the thread closes out. I fi can't, then I'll see you all in the Wilderbee omake!

File: eedb722945e289b571538e55f(...).jpg (102 KB, 564x809)

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>103!

“Everyone, step back.” you demand with a hand resting on your sword’s hilt. “I’ve got this.” you proudly declare as you calmly walk towards the horde of knights marching towards you.

“What’s he doing!?” Gwen asks with an arched eyebrow.

“How should I know?” Charmy shrugs, with a tinge of amusement emerging from her expression as the corners of her lips begin to curl upwards.

“He’s not really planning to take all of them by himself, is he?” Woo looks to Red.

“I don’t know what kind of ace he’s got up his sleeve, but he hasn’t disappointed me yet.” Red responds with utmost confidence.

You’re not sure if they know that you can hear everything that they’re saying, but you appreciate the vote of confidence. Once you draw your sword, you can tell that the knight bots have slightly raised their shields in anticipation of your next attack. But you really don’t think that they’re ready for what you’re about to pull out.

Slowly and carefully, you lower your head, and rest the dull end of your blade on your hip and forearm, preparing to slash at anything that gets within your range. To the untrained eye, it would seem like your plan is a simple and straightforward one. But judging from the look on Charmy’s face, she seems to know better.

Spreading from your blade, to the structures and vehicles around you are a series of razor-thin wires made out of mana. With but the slightest movement, you should be able to decimate a good chunk of these robots all at once. However, you’re going for something a bit more clever here.

If you channel a fire spell through your mana constructs, then you should be able to greatly increase the damage from this attack. At the very least, it should make it easier to carve through the knight’s thick armor.

“Wade, they’re within range.” Trixy reports. And without a moment of hesitation, you swing your sword out, simultaneously pulling on the mana wires attached to it, and creating a web of destruction amidst the robots as they dig into their armor and immobilize them. But you’re not done yet!

With a short chant, you channel your mystical flames through the mana constructs, effectively melting the outer layers of their armor and greatly damaging their circuitry. But you know that this won’t cut it. You need more firepower!

“Hoh-ho? ‘More power’ you say?” asks an ominous voice in your head. What the hell was that!?

“Very well. I shall grant it to you, mortal. Don’t disappoint me now.” the voice says in a verbose, yet slightly amused tone. And shortly afterwards, you feel a wave of energy sweeping over you. A burning sensation spreads throughout your veins, and your muscles quiver from the heat radiating off of your skin. It’s overwhelming, but invigorating at the same time!

(Cont.)

“Don’t bother holding back. Release it!” the voice commands you. And you have no intention of making him wait any longer. With a fierce roar, you unleash a torrent of hellfire, incinerating every enemy in your line of sight and consuming the very earth and sky as it stretches out in every direction. And before you know it, you’re left standing before a field of ashes, scrap and molten metal.

In a panic, you quickly turn to check on your friends, only to see that the flames have not harmed them in the slightest, despite Charmy and Gwen hastily erecting a barrier to protect the team.

“X…?” Gwen mutters with a dumbfounded look.

At first, you don’t understand her confusion, but once you take a look at your hand, it becomes all too clear to you.

Your body has become entirely enveloped in flame. It dances along the surface of your armor without corrupting its integrity or your personal safety. Out of curiosity, you attempt to create a simple mana construct, only for it to come out as an unrefined, malleable flash of heat. It sort of looks like a lava lamp.

What’s going on?

(To be continued...)

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And that'll be all for this thread. Traffic was a bit slower this time around, but I hope that it picks up a bit more later. I won't ask for feedback since this thread will most likely be dead by the time anyone sees this update. The Wilderbee omake will be up sometime later tomorrow, so be sure to expect it. There's also a part of me that wishes I could do multiple side-stories, but we simply wouldn't have the time to pull that off.

As always, thanks for playing, and I hope to see you guys next time. If you've got any questions, feel free to message me on twitter. I love interacting with you guys.

The Show's Over!

>>4607599
I think traffic was bit slower because of the holidays, but I still enjoyed it. Keep up the good work.