The Blessed, Ch06: Cool It

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Beans, Old man of the mountain, Malcolmt Tent, Marethyu

Author's Note: So, I just wanted to clear something up due to the complaints from the last chapter. I do not decide the luck of the characters; I'm not screwing Arthur over for fun; he just rolls worse. 

He has the exact same system as Sett, the same odds and Gacha list. All that's different is that Arthur constantly rolls poorly. 

The Guild of Gamers: The Blessed

Chapter 06: Cool It

– Arthur King –

Bobby doesn't waste any time, sending a wave of ice at me the second the fight begins. Not that I can be caught off guard by such a predictable attack, blinking away as I toss a fireball at his back, although a second wall of ice springs up behind him.

"Sorry, I've had to deal with Nightcrawler and his teleporting too much to fall for that," Bobby laughs, the ice around him shifting as his features get coated in ice. "You're going to have to try a little harder."

"Don't worry, icicle, I'm just getting started," I say, my features changing as he freezes (no pun intended). "What's the matter, afraid of a mirror match?" 

Bobby goes to respond, staring at his own face as I copy his trick and coat myself in ice, but I don't give him a chance as I stamp on the ground, sending a wave of ice towards him, which rapidly grows sharp icicles trying to stab his feet.

He defends with another wall of ice, but I don't let up as I teleport right in front of him, between the wall he formed and him, kneeing him in the stomach as he yelps in surprise, forcing him to his knees slightly before he tries to blast me back.

The problem here is that he's immune to sub-zero temperatures, and right now, I have the same immunity, the blast of ice barely inconveniencing me as I summon a Revenant Dagger and slash at his chest, leaving a gash in the ice.

He goes to attack, but I'm already gone as I blink away from him. I could use Seeing Double instead, but it is more tiring than just using Blink. Winning this fight isn't difficult; the moment I copied his powers, he effectively lost, but the issue is how do I humiliate him?

I want that bonus power, and he already doesn't like me since I stole his crush. It's not like I can make things worse between us; he challenged me, after all. 

– Jean Grey (Marvel Girl) –

Arthur's power was definitely interesting, she noted as he shifted over to steal Scott's powers and unleashed a laser beam directly at Bobby, who once again tried to defend himself with more ice.

Arthur got him this time, once again teleporting over to the side, Cyclops' beam striking Bobby in the side as Arthur shifted back to his true appearance. She didn't miss Scott's frown at the sight of Arthur copying his powers, picking up on Scott's mental complaint that Arthur could use his power without the drawbacks of needing the glasses.

Bobby was getting overwhelmed; Arthur was very hard to actually hit and seemed to have access to all their powers; switching to Rogue as he teleported next to Bobby and placed a hand on his chest, Bobby gasping as Arthur started to drain him, a cocky smirk on his face that was out of place on Rogue's face.

Bobby let out a burst of ice, but once more, Arthur's reaction time proved too good as he teleported away, leaving Bobby to slowly, tiredly rise to his feet. He was clearly affected by Arthur using Rogue's power to drain him, looking worse for wear as she considered calling this fight to an end.

Neither would accept it. Bobby was trying to show Arthur up to get back at him for 'stealing' Rogue. Arthur didn't seem the type to take her interfering kindly either, running to attack Bobby again as he summoned a pair of daggers.

Leaping, he teleported again to get closer as Bobby futilely tried to ward him off with another wall of ice. With a grin, Arthur shifted again, taking Kitty's face as he moved through the ice before he became tangible again and kicked Bobby in the face; a second Kitty appeared behind Bobby and stabbed him in the leg with one of the daggers as the first Kitty burst into ash.

"What the hell is Arthur's power supposed to be?" Scott asked, watching the downright bullying that was going on, Arthur changing powers constantly to keep Bobby on guard.

Anytime Bobby tried to use an attack, Arthur just retook his form and used his own resistance against him, but after a moment, she paused. Why did he never take her powers? He'd not taken her powers or Kurt's, but she could understand his decision not to use Kurt's power when he could already teleport.

So why did he avoid using her form?

"I have no idea," Jean admitted, mentally tallying all the powers she'd seen him use. One of his powers was obviously to take the form and powers of other people, but that didn't explain the invisibility, the translucent weapons or his teleporting and cloning. "I can certainly see why multiple groups want him; he's very powerful."

She ignored Scott's burst of jealousy at her words, rolling her eyes mentally at his insecurities.

"This is just unfair; I'm putting a stop to this," Scott said, frowning as they watched Bobby get kicked in the back, only to be knocked into an uppercut. "You two, that's enough," Scott announced over the speaker, making them pause as Bobby turned to them with a look of embarrassed frustration.

"Keep out of this," Bobby spat back, looking at the smug Arthur, who was casually flipping a translucent purple dagger in one hand, now looking like himself again.

"Nah, you heard the man. This is going nowhere, let's be honest… if I weren't holding back, you'd already be dead," Arthur said with a shrug. "You can't hurt me; no shame in admitting when you're outmatched."

The soothing tone Arthur had didn't hide the mockery in his words. Arthur was enjoying this, and Bobby's frustration and anger grew as he started walking towards them, turning his back to Bobby.

She saw Bobby's intentions before he made a single move but was too slow to stop him as Bobby sent a surge of icicles towards the seemingly-inattentive Arthur, large icy shards bursting from the ground as they rushed towards Arthur. 

Much to their horror, they actually hit the smug blonde, whose eyes widened as they impaled him from behind, coming out of his stomach. Even Bobby froze, seemingly not having expected his attack to actually hit the slippery teleporter. 

Then Arthur burst into ash, and Rogue appeared behind Bobby. Grabbing him from behind, Arthur wrapped both hands around Bobby's throat from behind, Bobby's eyes widening as his icy form faded from the energy drain. 

And yet, Arthur didn't let go as he used Bobby's weakened state and his surprise to throw Bobby to the ground, mounting him as Arthur once more started to choke Bobby, kneeling over Bobby, who was on his back.

It almost looked intimate, with Bobby lying on his back with Rogue mounting him. Or it would have, but the grip on Bobby's throat was anything but gentle and the look on 'her' face was best described as wrathful as 'she' choked the struggling Bobby out.

"Arthur, that's enough; you've won," Jean shouted, seeing Bobby's struggles weakening. But Arthur flat-out ignored her as he continued to choke Bobby before he suddenly blinked, seeming surprised. 

Letting go of Bobby's throat, he sat up and looked down at where he was sitting on Bobby's crotch, frowning for a moment before his cocky smirk returned.

"Really, Icicle? This is what gets you off?" Arthur asked, looking down at Bobby's crotch, the implication clear. "Well, I suppose this is as close as you'll ever get to Rogue."

With a mocking laugh, Arthur teleported away, leaving Bobby gasping for air. She could feel Bobby's shame and humiliation as Arthur walked away with an almost seductive strut to his walk, Rogue's hips swaying before he dropped the look and changed back to himself.

"An easy win, and here I thought I'd have to try to beat one of the 'X-Men'," Arthur said cockily, but she could see the mixed emotions he was trying to hide, his hand touching his stomach where the icicles had pierced his clone. 

"You went way too far," Scott immediately started, but Arthur just laughed.

"He's alive, isn't he? I was downright merciful," Arthur shot back. "Given that he tried to skewer me over his hurt pride, I took him down with no lasting damage. I could have just returned the favour," Arthur pointed out, summoning a translucent spear for a moment before he banished it.

"Rogue's power is far too dangerous for you to play around with; you could have killed him, assuming you didn't strangle him first," Scott shot back. "You are far too reck-"

She could see why Scott was being such a hardass. Scott was intimidated and jealous of Arthur. He'd heard many girls talking about Arthur's good looks and bad-boy attitude, and now Arthur was displaying that he could probably beat Scott easily. 

Plus, Scott took his position as one of the leaders of the new generation of X-men seriously. He hated that one of his team had just got beaten badly; even now Bobby was struggling to stand as Kurt helped him.

"What part of 'I'm not one of your little team' do you find confusing, one-eye? You don't get to lecture me when one of your little team of 'heroes' just almost killed me to soothe his wounded pride. So back off," Arthur shot back, his stance changing as he stared at Scott challengingly. "Or you'll get to see firsthand how dangerous I can be."

"It's no wonder you went with Magneto; you must have fit in just fine with his little group of extremists," Scott said, also puffing up his chest as the pair glared at each other. "But that's not how we do things here. You aren't as powerful as you think you are. One win doesn't make you invincible."

"Oh, I know I'm not invincible, but I'm stronger than you. That's the advantage of being able to tell everyone's powers at a glance. The only one here who might be able to take me down is Red over there. Eyebeams you can't even control aren't exactly intimidating when I could just steal your stupid glasses," Arthur snorted. 

"You think you'd be able to just-" Scott started, before his visor was pulled off his head by a telekinetic force, Arthur teleporting to the side to avoid the uncontrollable beam as Scott quickly shut his eyes. 

"Yes, obviously. Like I said, you aren't a threat to me," Arthur said, mockingly tossing Scott's visor into the air and catching it. "Remember that the next time you decide to mouth off at me because a member of your team fucked around and found out."

Tossing the visor back to the pale Scott, Arthur turned around and walked away. Storming out of the Danger room with a scowl on his face. This wasn't good; she knew Professor Xavier and Munroe were hoping that Arthur would stay here and not go back to the Brotherhood, so this was a particularly bad start to that. 

Bobby had been humiliated, Scott was intimidated and angry, Rogue was worried that Arthur was going to leave right now and never come back, and Kitty was… turned on? Oh, she had a thing for bad boys.

Scott tried to get everyone to move on, trying to take charge, but his attempts fell on mostly deaf ears. Scott had undeniably made things worse; Bobby was angry at him for interfering, Rogue was angry at him for messing things up with Arthur, and Kurt was angry at him for trying to make Kurt fight Arthur instead of her.

Hell, she was mad at him for trying to stop her from sparring with Arthur. Things could have gone much better if Scott hadn't gotten involved. Kitty alone wasn't annoyed at him, but her image of the wanna-be leader had taken a blow from how badly he'd come out of his argument with Arthur.

The training session continued, but she was rather unsurprised when she and Scott got a mental summon from Xavier right afterwards.

Still, Arthur had said that she was the only one who could possibly beat him… so he thought she was powerful. This left her asking the same question she had during the fight: why did he never take on her form or powers?

– Arthur King –

Walking around the grounds, I take some deep breaths to calm myself. I almost lost control of my latest curse during that fight. I wanted to watch the life leave Bobby's eyes as I drained him of all he was worth.

Bhaal hungers, and Bobby was almost the first soul sent to the Lord of Murder. Even now, I can feel his anger at being denied, but I am not a mindless killer. Bobby is a dumb teenager who lost his temper because he was shown up in front of his crush. He doesn't deserve death. Not to mention, it would ruin things for me here if I killed a student on day one.

Yes, he went too far with the attempt to impale me, but he had no reason to think I wouldn't dodge it like I had everything else. Scott didn't help matters by jumping down my throat with his delusions of leadership when I was trying to calm down my Dark Urge, but he's just a prick.

It was lucky that I'd placed my Scrying Mark on Rogue; with her watching the fight, I could use her sight to teleport behind Bobby, since I can only blink where I can see. 

I don't know whether Scott's actually dating Jean or just has a massive thing for her, but he just screams insecurity. 

Quest Complete 

[Iced]

Objective: Defeat Bobby Drake (Complete)

Optional Objective: Humiliate Bobby (Complete)

Reward: One Roll

Optional Reward: [Stark Winter - Epic Power]

Bobby didn't actually get hard by being choked by Rogue, but the implication was enough to shame him and get me the bonus objective. It's good to know this wasn't a complete shitshow.

[Stark Winter] - Epic

You can turn water and even the air around you into ice, which can spread rapidly to engulf entire areas in ice, which you can control.

Rolling.

Results: Mythical Perk

[Curse Master]

You are a natural when it comes to cleansing your curses, making all curse quests easier. In addition, completing a curse quest will grant an extra roll and pity points from curses are doubled. Enables special quests upon curse cleansing.

…I hate that this might be the most valuable thing I've gotten so far.

[Cleanse Your Mana]

Objective: Reach Expert level in any magic affinity.

Objective: Discover and perform the ritual to cleanse your magic.

Reward: Curse of Mana Corruption evolves into a Perk. 

[Mana Master]

Objective: Develop Mana Control to Master level.

Reward: Curse of Mana Leak evolves into a perk

[Identity Crisis]

Path A: Create a new civilian identity and remain undiscovered for one month.

Path B: Embrace your revealed status, becoming a renowned celebrity as a public cape. 

Reward: Varies based on your path.

[Face your Foe]

Objective: Kill or otherwise Neutralise your foe (Victor Von Doom).

Reward: ???

[Feed your Gluttony]

Objectives: Feast until your hunger is satisfied (5/50), eat meals made by a master chef (0/5), eat rare types of food (0/5)

Reward: Minor Curse of Gluttony transforms into a perk

[Survive a single night with Raven]

Objective: Use the keystone and summon Raven, survive six hours with her.

Reward: 5 Pulls, ???, Perk

[Outfox the Operative]

Objective: Find and neutralise the Operative (Ophelia Sarkissian) before they can kill you.

Reward: Curse of the Operative removed, Perk granted

[Tame the Dommy Mommy]

Turn the tables on the Dommy Mommy (Emma Frost); either convince her you aren't the child she sees you as or make her your sub.

Path 1 Objective: Convince her that you know better than her and that you don't need her guidance

Path 2: Objective: Sexually break your dommy mommy, making her submit to you.

Reward: Varies based on the path taken

[The Dark Urge]

Objective A: Earn enough of his favour to become the Champion of Bhaal.

Objective B: Summon an Avatar of Bhaal and defeat it, breaking his hold upon your soul.

Objective C: Become the Avatar of another divine being and have them free you from Bhaal's grasp.

Rewards: Varies based upon the path taken.

Victor von Doom. Is that his real name? It can't be, right?

On the bright side, I know the names of those that I need to avoid until I'm ready to deal with them. Emma Frost, Victor Von Doom and Ophelia Sarkissian. Still, I can't deny the fact that my enemy being called fucking 'Von Doom' doesn't fill me with confidence and I pause.

I wanted to save up my pity points and get a Divine Power, but maybe I should spend some of them to get a Power now to make sure I live long enough to use them. Can't be buried with my points, after all. I don't want to blow them all, but I'll settle for an Epic power to help me out.

[Offscreen Travel]

While unobserved, you can teleport to any other unobserved location within a large radius. You have an instinctive sense of every location that is currently unobserved within your range.

…I have so many ways to teleport; it's getting a little obscene at this point. Still, this is better for long-range teleportation, so I'll take it. Trying to use it, I roll my eyes as it fails. Of course, I'm being followed, but I can fix that.

Teleporting, I leave an ash clone behind and reappear behind a tree, immediately cloaking as I'm out of sight of whoever is watching me. I can't see anyone with [Target Acquisition], but I'm guessing there are cameras I can't see.

I have stuff I need to do and don't need these guys following me around. I'll be back later, and using my new power for the first time, I smile at the sheer range of this power. 'Large range' is one hell of an understatement because I could reappear in Boston from here.

It's not country-wide, but it's still a massive range, and multiple consecutive teleports could have me travel across America in short order. Staying cloaked as I come out of my teleport, I stand on a rooftop in New York City with a small smile as I look around curiously.

I have work to do.

I want my Masquerade quest completed, so I have some mischief to get up to.

[Masquerade Upgrade Quest]

Objective: Convince ten people you are their loved ones (0/10), frame five people for crimes they didn't commit (0/5), defeat three capes with their own powers (1/3)

Reward: Unbreakable Masquerade

I beat Bobby using his powers, which is a good start, but I still have a long way to go.

Now, who deserves to have their reputation take a bit of a hit? Well, New York has no lack of villains from my searches, and I would feel far less guilty about framing a criminal for more crimes.

Now, where to start? Oh, the Kingpin escaped the Raft? Well, isn't that interesting?

– Peter Parker (Spider-Man) –

…the Kingpin was a very dangerous crime lord, hence the name. He was a genius who managed to absorb dozens of smaller gangs, had his fat fingers in every pie imaginable, and was a surprisingly good fighter for such a big guy.

Staring at his phone, he wondered if he was hallucinating as he watched the Kingpin streak through the streets of New York, his fat body on full display as his manhood swung freely in the wind. That was an image he would never forget, and he didn't want to fight a naked Kingpin. 

As he arrived at the Kingpin's last known location, he was somewhat relieved but equally confused to find out that the massive man had somehow vanished off the face of the earth, having run into an alleyway with the very confused police reluctant to chase such a large naked man into a dead end, and disappeared.

Something was fishy here, listening to the police radio as he tried to work out what was going on.

…did the police just say Vulture had done a dine-and-dash?

– Arthur King –

I get the feeling Xavier wouldn't approve of my current mischief, but what can you do? I haven't just framed major villains. One of the Kingpin's lieutenants is now wanted for a snatch and grab, stealing some college girl's purse and running away.

My dine and dash even helped me make some progress towards the Gluttony quest; I ran up a very expensive bill in some crazy old man's name.

It's really easy to find criminals' pictures since they're wanted men, and they've had their names and faces put out there so the civilians can call in if they see them. That means I have an entire buffet of pictures I can use for alibis.

[Masquerade Upgrade Quest]

Objective: Convince ten people you are their loved ones (0/10), frame five people for crimes they didn't commit (5/5), defeat three capes with their own powers (1/3)

Reward: Unbreakable Masquerade

Nice and easy; it barely took me a couple of hours. Now, onto the next one. Convincing people that I'm their loved one will be a little harder since I don't get the target's memories, but it doesn't say I have to trick them for long. 

Stepping into the shadows, I vanish again, leaving a confused New York behind as I jump cities. I don't want to make things too easy for people, and I can move around the eastern seaboard easily enough with Off-Screen Travel. 

I'll trick one person per city, and then I move on before anyone can look into me. I'm not taking any chances with this operative hunting me. Well, any unnecessary chances since leaving the mansion was a risk in and of itself.

But that's the way it is; I can't just hide away and expect to grow stronger from play fights. I didn't miss that I didn't get a feat for beating Bobby in a spar, which means that those silly playfights might not count.

Or it doesn't count because the others interrupted before he was unconscious or surrendered; if so, I'm going to kick Cyclops in the balls and steal Jean's underwear. I don't wanna hit a girl (when she's the living embodiment of the Phoenix). 

Heading off, I smile to myself as I Cloak up and hunt for a target. Spotting a pair out on a date, I silently listen to them as I trail them invisibly and wait for my moment. The girlfriend leaves to go to the toilet, and I leave the bathroom before she can.

Time to put those acting skills to the test.

– Anna-Marie (Rogue) –

After their training session, she'd immediately tried to track down Arthur, who wasn't answering his phone. She couldn't deny she felt a shard of ice stab into her heart when she couldn't find him anywhere.

Asking around, someone had seen him taking a walk on the grounds from a classroom, but he didn't seem to be out there now, not that anyone would be able to find him if he didn't want to be found.

Kitty had even checked his room, finding some of his stuff and his cat, which made her relax. She didn't even know he had a cat, but the cute white cat was just sleeping on his bed, so he clearly wasn't planning to be gone forever. 

She wasn't naive or blind enough to not see that Arthur had some anger issues; he wasn't perfect, but he was her only chance at a normal life. Plus, seeing the clone get skewered by Bobby's tantrum had made her genuinely terrified for a moment. She'd truly believed that Bobby had killed him or at least gravely wounded him. 

So she couldn't hold Arthur's vengeance against him, nor did she blame him for mouthing off at Scott since he could be a prick at times anyway. Especially when Jean was involved, Scott got territorial, which was dumb considering Jean had never shown any romantic interest in the dickhead. Hell, she could remember Jean dating two other guys while she'd been at Xavier's, all while Scott followed her around like a beaten puppy.

Still, she needed Arthur to stay at the mansion because as much as she enjoyed spending time with Kitty, Arthur was the only person she could ever truly relax with. She didn't have to worry about her clothes slipping slightly; she could touch him without leaving him in a fucking coma.

Bobby was being stupid. Yes, she knew he had a crush on her, but how did he see that going? She could admit she found him attractive, though Arthur had him heavily beaten in that area, but how could they have a relationship where they could never touch?

Plus, whatever affection she might have been harbouring for him vanished the moment he skewered Arthur, all over losing a spar. It literally didn't matter; it was just a practice fight with no stakes, but Bobby got so butthurt over being embarrassed by the scarily strong new guy that he'd almost killed Arthur over it.

Jumping as her phone vibrated, she felt her heart pound as she saw Arthur's name on the screen. 

'Sorry for the late reply. Had to take care of some shit and didn't want to deal with the boy scout or iceprick. I'll be back sometime tonight, might be super late tho.'

Letting out a sigh of relief, she sent a quick response, embarrassed at how many messages she'd sent him. God, she was needy.

"He's coming back, then?" Kitty asked, seeing her light up. The surety in Kitty's tone made her blush as she nodded.

"He had some stuff to take care of, but he says he'll be back late tonight," Rogue agreed, glancing over at where a subdued Bobby was sitting with Kurt. Scott and Jean got called away shortly after they finished training, probably over this entire shitshow.

"Isn't he… you know, wanted?" Kitty asked, making Rogue pause before she shrugged.

"He can teleport and shapeshift; I doubt he's at risk of getting grabbed by the police," Rogue reasoned, Kitty nodding after a moment of thought. "I doubt he'll get into any trouble."

– Arthur King –

You know, the funny thing about being able to be invisible and intangible? You see so much that other people would never do with prying eyes. It's amazing how different people can be when they think they're alone.

Teleporting as the gun is turned towards me, I watch my clone burst into ash as a bullet rips through his skull, my blade slashing out as the offending arm falls to the ground in one swift strike.

The thug lets out a horrified scream, shouting something about muties as his arm hits the floor, but I don't let up as I kick him in the stomach, knocking him against the alleyway wall before he falls to his hand and knees.

The girl, who I watched him drag into this shitty alleyway, freezes, clothes displaced, but I just nod my head towards the alleyway entrance and watch her nod in response, fixing her pulled-up shirt and yanked down jeans before she takes my advice and makes a run from it as the thug loses his breakfast.

"W-who the fuck are-" the nobody starts, his eyes widening as my foot connects with his face. I waited until I was sure of his intentions before I struck. Honestly, I'd been considering borrowing the girl's face for a while before she'd been grabbed.

I don't know who this guy is, I don't know what gang he's from (if any), and I've only been in Philadelphia for like thirty minutes, but what I do know is that this guy is trash. Watching him roll onto his back, clutching at his severed stump as he cries, I just stand over him and watch him whimper and cry with indifferent eyes.

Opening the portal to my astral plane, I grab him by the scruff of his top and drag him through it; he tries to put up a fight, but what chance does he have when I'm in peak human condition and he's some drug-addled thug missing a limb.

Arriving in the desert, I toss him onto the hot sands as I stare at him in disdain. The portal closing behind me seals his fate; this scum is going nowhere. 

"W-what the fuck do you want? I've got mone-" he starts, watching as I calmly summon a dagger, his eyes widening.

"Money won't help you here," I say simply, giving him a cold look. "What's the matter? You seemed so fond of unwanted penetration a few minutes ago," I say, mockingly flipping the dagger with a smile. 

"Y-you're fucking crazy," he spits out, scrambling to his feet as his face pales with blood loss. "Fucking Mutie."

As he bravely insults me, he starts to try and make a run for it but he's made a mistake. I managed to repress my Urge against Bobby, but here? Here, I don't want to suppress it. 

This nobody is going to help me, because as long as I send one soul to Bhaal, I won't have to deal with his displeasure for a week. Nobody said it had to be a good soul; the Lord of Murder just wants bloodshed.

A soul is a soul; a soul foreign to Bhaal's plane is always going to be a worthy prize for the Dread Lord. 

As for why I'm letting him run? Bhaal likes it when his sacrifices suffer, and this guy deserves it. I saw the entire thing. His attack wasn't premeditated; he just happened to see an attractive stranger, didn't see anyone else around and decided to grab her. For the terrible mistake of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, he was going to ruin a teenage girl's life. I don't know why she was walking around so late, but I doubt she was even as old as Kitty and Rogue.

Unfortunately for him, I was in the right place at the right time. 

Watching him look back at me as he tries to run on the uneven sands, I start walking after him with a casual pace. He's not going anywhere, and I can catch up with him in an instant, so I don't need to rush.

– Later –

Shirtless, I run a hand through my hair and pause as I stop and look at it, wincing at the red, sticky blood coating it.

That's going to be a bitch and a half to get out; I might need to take a trip to the tropical island and take advantage of all the water to get the blood off my body.

Looking down at the mutilated corpse at my feet, I have to admit I'm slightly disturbed about how undisturbed I am by the sight. He deserved this, but I can't remember doing most of this; I remember hunting him through the deserts, but at some point, I blacked out, and now I have several questions.

Not least of which is where is my shirt? I was definitely wearing a top when I started this. 

Stepping back, I give the corpse one last look before I wave my hand and watch the desert shift to obey my will, the body vanishing beneath a wave of sand as I teleport away and reappear on the beach of my island.

Using the water to wash as much of the blood off my body as I can, I can feel my Urge satiated by the sacrifice, the wanton violence satisfying that particular need. This world has an excess of supervillains who treat prison like a short vacation, killers and scum who get a slap on the wrist for their crimes.

Bhaal wants souls; I don't want to deal with the Curse punishing me for not complying, and this world has people who nobody will miss. It's a match made in heaven. 

I won't kill indiscriminately on the orders of someone who calls themselves 'the Lord of Murder', but I can use criminals to buy myself time to grow strong enough to summon the Avatar of Bhaal and defeat it. 

Feat Achieved: Sacrifice a Soul to Bhaal.

Reward: Boon from Bhaal, Advantage Roll

[Lord of Murder's Gift: Minor]

When you strike an unaware target, you deal massively increased damage and have a small chance of slaying them instantly. These kills count as sacrifices to Bhaal.

Rolling: Uncommon Power

[Tinker Speciality: Detection and Analysis]

You can create things that detect, find, or analyse other things.

You know, I've always wondered why Batman doesn't just kill Joker or, hell, have a cop just shoot the mad bastard who is very vulnerable to bullets. I get that there's the lore reason and actual reason (Joker sells too many comics to kill), but watching the same villains come back over and over again always annoyed me.

I didn't hesitate to blow up the base or magdump that Nazi fuck; why should this be any different? The only difference between killing some opportunistic rapist and the Nazis was I got paid for this one.

And, oh boy, I like getting paid. 

I know that better souls are worth more, so I have to wonder how much the soul of an infamous supervillain would be worth. Certainly more than Mr Nobody, whose name I never bothered to learn. 

As I said, this world has an excess of villains. 

For now.