173 My SI Stash #73 - Escapist by Pef (Worm)
-Same author as "Gaia's little helper"~ A completed Worm fic with an awesome SI Thinker, check it out!
Sypnosis: ???
Rated: M
Words: 170K
Posted: https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/escapist.10343/ (Pef)
PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)
-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)
Chapter 1
You know all those idiots who dream to escape the real world and enter a fictional one?
They are called escapists. Because they want to escape, you see?
And who are you to stop them? Are you their jailer? Mind police? The Inquisition?
Well, perhaps...
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Pef woke up in a new world, wearing his mountain climbing gear, including a heavy rucksack and safety helmet.
Some say dreaming of falling is a mental unconscious desire to fly...and land somewhere else.
Luckily his climbing cord hit a snag and slowed the descent.
And it was a good thing, because drop in CYOAs were nasty and would literally drop you into action.
Hitting a few aerial cables and poles on the way down, Pef landed harshly, feeling everything inside hurt, like a bitch.
"The hell?" he asked himself, nursing burns and scrapes on his fingers. Finger-less gloves weren't that great at preventing rope burns.
He crawled to the edge of the roof, trying to find out where he was. The building was in shambles. It smelled like the sea, and like poverty.
In the distance, a small dragon exploded into flames, fighting a swarm of bees and spiders. Wasn't that a scene from...Lung?
"Nevermind then. I'd guess it's Brockton Bay..." Pef mused thoughtfully.
Playing with online CYOAs had always carried the risk of being sucked inside.
Now, the only question was, did he get any powers?
Of course, he wasn't simply meditating. His hands were already tying a cord line for rappelling down the building.
He couldn't stay on the roof, especially in a place with frequent violent flying humans with mental problems. Plus that fight was his ticket to the big leagues.
A minute later, he was running towards the fight.
Taylor was in fact correct. Beating up a big villain was a great way to make your debut in the parahuman circles.
She only failed to see it through, and capitalize on her win. He wouldn't fail.
Boots slapping on the wet pavement, as it had rained sooner, Pef ran as fast as he could.
Various locals passed in the opposite direction, running away from the fight. It wouldn't help them in long term anyway. This was Earth Bet. It will end in fire anyway.
Deal harshly with the danger, or simply postpone your demise.
As he got nearer to the dragon and the fireballs, his mind started producing schematics for counters and defenses, all tailored on this danger. 'How would a trash can full of scraps and a microwave produce a coil rifle? ' Pef wondered as passed through an alley filled with refuse and trash.
'So, I'm likely a Tinker. Or as they say here, a magic engineer, producing improbable tech that shouldn't work.'
With a sudden break, he entered the tiny plaza where the ABB were gathered. Even the mooks had bandannas over their faces, to protect their identities.
'Right, a disguise!'
Searching his pockets, he found an old wool sock. Ten seconds later, Pef had a smelly mask around his mouth, tied to his helmet.
The ABB gangsters were mostly out, bitten by insects or burned by their own leader, with his pyrokinetic flames.
Lung himself was slowly reverting to human size, most likely due to thousands of insect bites, including recluse spiders. Most of the insects targeted the genitals...which overextended his regenerating powers. Quite clever, the future queen.
"Lung! You're under arrest!" Pef yelled loudly, and managed to kick the AZN leader in the ear, right before Lung fell down on his own.
A victory song resounded in his brain. Checkpoint achieved.
Scrapes of shoes and a cloud of insects buzzing angrily drew his attention. A skinny girl with a creepy costume slid down a fire escape stair.
"You! The Master with the bugs. You're the one who attacked these citizens?" Pef asked daringly, pointing at the downed ABB gangsters.
"They were going to kill kids!" a scared and trembling voice responded, as Pef kicked the fainted Lung in the head again, just to make sure the dragon stayed down.
"Okay then! Wear a helmet next time, idiot! Your brain is your only weapon as a Master!" Pef yelled at the silk wearing heroine, since she only wore a mask and her hair was slightly singed.
The spiders and other insects fell silent. Was it too much? Oh well, Taylor probably won't listen anyway...
A powerful engine thrummed, moving closer and closer. The plot was closing fast, on a Tron-like blue motorcycle.
Soon, a futuristic motorcycle appeared, with a power armored hero riding it. Still, the Tinker had no closed helmet, his beard flowing in the breeze.
"That's Armsmaster!" the young girl gushed with admiration in her voice.
"Oh, the autistic Tinker with a savior complex?" Pef asked himself, in a fake whisper.
Taylor choked a bit, while Armsmaster unfolded a tall polearm and pointed it at them.
"Surrender, villains!" he exclaimed in a commanding tone.
Pef looked around for any villains. The halberd stood pointed at him.
Hmm, Armsmaster had the same idea, climb on the fainted horse, and ride it to glory. Not on his watch though.
"I'll deal with the idiot Tinker. You go home sweetie, it's surely late for a school day." Pef whispered towards Taylor, while kicking Lung again.
Scrambling his brains might help keep him down. Perhaps shake loose some morality?
"Oh! Right, my dad might notice..." Taylor replied in embarrassment, then hobbled away.
"Surrender, Villain!" Pef demanded loudly, pointing his smallest finger at Armsmaster.
"I'm a hero. The Leader of the Protectorate in Brockton Bay!" the man argued back, waving his polearm menacingly.
"So you say, villain. But you just pointed a lethal weapon at two innocents, and accused them of being villains. That implies you wished us harm, either at your own hands or by those you can influence. Abuse of official powers is also a crime!" Pef yelled at the armored hero.
He pointed that accusation with another kick to Lung's ear. Just making sure.
"Are you going to fight me?" Armsmaster asked belligerently.
"No, but I might record this conversation and have you expelled from the PRT. Murdering new heroes under false accusations, that won't go well with the press and the public..." Pef explained loudly.
A few crocodiles jumped from a nearby building and sped away. Not the time to deal with Coil and his minions, yet.
A minute of silence occurred, and Pef kicked Lung in the head again.
"What is your name?" Armsmaster asked more politely.
"Escapist, Tinker extraordinaire!" Pef proclaimed to the skies.
Made sense to escape this place, somehow.
Armsmaster measured him cautiously. "There's not a bit of Tinkertech on you."
Pef examined himself for a few seconds. "That's good news. Trackers are hard to get rid of." he exclaimed in fake relief. Only truth, in case the Tinker had a lie detector...
"You have captured Lung. But if news spread..." Armsmaster began his own speech.
"I could become famous you say? Maybe get a reward from the PRT? Sell interviews to the media?" Pef asked curious, and kicked Lung's metal mask, for a cool sound effect.
"Units from PRT are en route to secure the site and transport Lung into custody." Armsmaster announced after a minute.
Pef nodded politely, then tapped his ear. "So, how much is the PRT willing to pay me?"
"What?" the man asked in confusion.
"Considering Lung is in my custody, how much?" He explained, smashing his heel on Lung's face again.
Then he turned the tattooed parahuman on his back, and began tying his arms and legs with climbing cord. Establishing possession, much easier to sell something if you had it in a bag. Or strung up like meat for market.
"The PRT Director say 3000 dollars" Armsmaster replied after a minute.
Pef chuckled amused. "Nah. I bet I can chop off some arms and legs and sell them for more. Plenty labs will want samples of Lung flesh."
"That's illegal. It would be mutilation." Armsmaster argued back.
"Nah. Mutilation is something permanent. Lung regenerates!" Pef explained while slamming his heel on Lung head and crushing a few teeth on the pavement. He collected them for research, not even trying to hide it.
"Why do you keep kicking him?" Armsmaster wondered while coming closer.
"To keep Lung sedated, of course. He'll be fine, don't worry. Leviathan hits much harder than me..." Pef explained politely. Also truth.
Leviathan could sink islands. Which were mountains peaking over sea level. If Lung could take hits from that, his boots were mere sounds effects. Still awesome though.
The first vans blinking with green and white lights, and full of PRT troopers began to arrive, and load the stung gangsters for processing.
Pef just stood there, boot heavy on Lung's head, and presenting an imposing figure.
"We can give you 12 thousand dollars!" Armsmaster said after Pef waved off a few troopers attempting to take Lung.
"And introduce me to Dragon. I have a few designs that could help her." Pef allowed after a minute of fake contemplation.
Soon, he was riding the van on top of Lung's body, boot smashing into the slaver's head every minute. It wasn't personal though. Just making sure Lung slept longer.
As the PRT van began crossing the holographic bridge towards the Rig, in the middle of the Bay, Pef realized at last, his own Tinker specialty.
Halo technology. From the same game.
