10: Very, Very [Angy]

[Feat: Officially make your official cape debut official! +100P, 200P total.]

"Hmm~?"

The alert from the System got Edgar's attention. There wasn't much else of note within the dreary Seattle coffee shop. As a group, Edgar and company were currently relegated to the idleness of logistics as Fortuna waited all too eagerly for her order. Ciara had ordered herself a beverage as well — a fanciful hot chocolate of some kind —, but she needed it much less urgently than the stressed and frustrated 'hat-lady' of their number. If Fortuna didn't get her 'blessed caffeine' soon, Edgar was half-worried that she might just explode where she stood.

Dragon and Eve obviously didn't need to indulge in such earthly necessities. Edgar himself hadn't ordered anything. But that didn't mean he couldn't appreciate the fascinating treats on offer. The coffee shop's menu was extensive and the smells were marvelous to Edgar's fae senses. Honestly, humans could be so creative. While nothing he could find on Earth Bet would likely compare to Fae food, the sheer variety offered was a suitable substitute. He did wish to indulge himself in humanity's cuisine at some point, but the dreary, tucked-away coffee shop didn't appeal to him enough to start that undertaking now.

Besides~… the looks and reactions their little group was garnering were a filling fair in their own way. Why, it was as if the people around them couldn't believe their eyes. The stares of staff and customers alike fed Edgar's Fae soul — their shock, confusion, awe, and anxiety acting as the finest of emotional snacks. Wide eyes and gaping mouths and forgotten manners, oh my~!

Dragon and her suit received the most attention. She stood out decently well in the muted coffee shop. Gleaming green and gold steel popped against soothing browns, grays, and off-color whites. While her current suit was designed with a humanoid form factor, mostly for socialization and appearances rather than combat effectiveness, she was still a hero. Her image was meant to inspire and draw the eye. In an otherwise unassuming coffee shop, it more than succeeded at that task.

Whispers abounded, and pictures were taken from afar, but no one mustered the courage to approach Dragon for themselves. That reality might've had something to do with the rest of them. For such a famous hero, none of her companions were very recognizable at all. But the sight of them all together was enough to stick in anyone's memory. A blonde waif of a girl, an utterly normal woman in a fashionable hat, a dark and handsome man with pointed ears and raven feathers, and an… adorable baby who didn't seem to mind being made completely of some strange living crystal…

The general mood within the coffee shop had turned into one of tension. Not hostility, but more stunned awe and no small amount of confusion. Dragon's presence was an unshakable reassurance to everyone who saw her. The world's greatest tinker wouldn't let anything bad happen without a fight. Of course, the mood was helped by the fact that Ciara's appearance wasn't widely known (or especially unique without her court of shadows), and Fortuna's was even less so. If the truth of their identities were laid bare, it was unlikely that the mood would remain so stable.

Edgar and Eve — by comparison — were simply… strange. But then, most things about capes were strange, both to the masses and to other capes. In the present day, one either learned to deal with the strangeness, or they didn't get outside much. Adapt or avoid, the world would go on regardless. And it certainly helped matters that the strange, unknown capes (and baby…?) were with Dragon. That helped assuage even the most paranoid worries, and so, no bigger deal was made of the strangeness…

None, that is, until the whole building began to shake with everyone still inside it. Edgar looked up at the ceiling and through it. He looked down at the floor, piercing past the physical facade again. He blinked at the many, many little… things… he saw that likely shouldn't have been there.

"Huh. Neat."

"Dammit, Edgar," Fortuna groaned. "Why did my Path to Coffee just put itself on indefinite hiatus?!"

"I'm sure I couldn't tell you," Edgar waved dismissively. "But perhaps it has something to do with the fact that there won't be a coffee shop here in a few moments."

"What?!" Dragon leaped to attention.

Edgar didn't bother explaining. The evidence of what he meant was clear enough for anyone with eyes to see. Around them, the coffee shop began to dissolve. Brick, mortar, plaster, steel, and everything else used in its construction disappeared like dust in the wind. They did so in a spectacularly entertaining (at least, by Edgar's reckoning) fashion as well. The construction was unceremoniously rendered into geometric shapes that quickly collapsed in on themselves, seemingly infinite in their recursion. Fractal patterns emerged in the process — shapes that gave way to similar shapes in a semblance of structure to the madness that Edgar was sure few others had the stability of mind to recognize.

The culprits were also relatively quick to make themselves known. A hundred different buzzes pierced the dissolving walls. The cacophony resonated with itself, buzz building on buzz building on buzz until the noise was deafening. First one. Then, another. And so on and so on as the strange drones 'introduced' themselves.

A distant will directed them to do its enigmatic bidding, echoing over unseen airwaves and bouncing between them so that its signal was never lost. Thus, the drones acted in a strange sense of synchronization. They resembled no life that Edgar had ever seen, yet no machine, either. The inspiration behind their design was wholly geometric, and the drones mirrored that.

They were uniform in shape and size. None was larger than Edgar's forearm. On the surface, their form factor was one of a pyramid. And yet… the form was twisted. As if there was a fourth dimension to their geometry that emerged from within each of them. The faces and edges of the pyramids shifted and overlapped as they both moved and didn't move at all. Over and over, an identical recursion of the geometric drones was brought forth from within, usurping the physical, only to be inevitably and infinitely usurped in turn.

The nonsensical visual paradox almost hurt to look at, but Edgar didn't want to look away. The drones were utterly fascinating in their uniqueness. Floating effortlessly through the air, they emerged through the walls, ceiling, and floor of the building. As they did, great swaths were carved through physical matter. An odd, recursive field of energy was emitted from each drone. It collapsed the world into patterns of so much fractal geometry — 2-D figures made real before they were absorbed into the drones for unknown purposes.

"Oh my," Ciara blinked, expressing her surprise aloud. "What a psychedelic scene…"

"Indeed~," Edgar hummed. "Why, have you ever seen such a novel sight~?"

"Mabubuu~?" Eve babbled, watching the scene with just as much curiosity as her [Creator-Father] and [Big Sissy-Keeper of the Dead].

As they exchanged their interest, the drones were hard at work around them. They made quick work of the structures they came through. Every atom of solid matter was dutifully deconstructed and absorbed. Stored away for later, as far as Edgar could see. Notably, they avoided everything with a pulse. Venturing into the coffee shop, they roamed and grazed like a herd of free-range livestock. Chairs were dissolved right out from beneath people. Ordered beverages were stolen from holding hands without a trace. Only clothes, flesh, and personal effects were spared.

Then, as quickly as they came, the herd of drones continued on their way, taking their deafening, busy buzz with them. On and on they went, seeking more physical matter to feed their strange geometry. In seconds, the building was deconstructed around them. Absolutely no one was harmed. Merely left outside under an overcast sky by the sudden and complete dismantling of their shelter by building-grazing drone livestock.

As the swarming herd moved onto the neighboring building, Edgar took notice of the reactions from now-former coffee shop patrons. Once the initial panic had passed, they simply seemed… resigned. It was as if such a strange scene of pseudo-grazing was common in Seattle. Many merely sighed, collected their things, and moved on with their days in slight disappointment. Others — mostly the customers who were waiting for their orders — swore to themselves and set about finding another source of caffeine. But no one truly raged. Fascinating~…

Fortuna, however, was not nearly so used to such a strange occurrence. She glared loathsomely at the space where the coffee shop's counter just was, "Fucking-! Goddamn-! Mother of a son of a-! Path-wrecking, day-ruining, coffee-stealing-…! Cunts!"

"Beautifully put," Edgar chuckled.

She whirled her glare onto him, "You! My Path didn't predict-… predict any of that! There are only two suspects who could disrupt it like that! And you're far and away at the top of my list, Fae! I want my quintuple-shot, double-vanilla, frothed soy milk latte!"

"And you're not even going to consider Eve?" Edgar asked, quirking an amused eyebrow.

"Never," Fortuna gave a harsh, dismissive wave. "Eve's an angel. She'd never do something so cruel to her mother."

"Ayah~?" Within her pod in Ciara's arms, Eve cocked her little crystal head curiously.

Despite being accused, Edgar couldn't help his grin at Fortuna openly and easily claiming their daughter, "Oh, I do agree~. Our perfect heiress can do no wrong. Unfortunately, I can't accept the blame either. I certainly didn't do any of this on purpose."

"But you're still the cause…" Fortuna noted with a grumble.

"In the same way that a lightning rod is the cause of lightning, perhaps," Edgar shrugged.

"You've got to be the most egregious lightning rod the universe has ever seen."

"Thank you. I try."

"You shouldn't."

"Your words wound, my Fortuna~. Worry not, I'm still relatively new to this whole adventuring business. I'm sure I'll improve in time."

"… Path help us all."

Unfortunately, Dragon felt the need to snap them out of their enjoyable back and forth, "We should be doing something about this. No one was harmed but the property damage caused is ruinous. I've summoned my second suit from the RV. It's standing by approximately 100 meters to our northeast in case we need it. Edgar? Ciara? I hate to do this, but as your Guild superior, I'll need you two to lend your hands."

Edgar put on a dramatic sigh that he didn't truly feel, "Oh, very well. I suppose I have agreed to act heroically in times of need. I do think I'll mostly stay back to support the real stars this time though. Ciara?"

"To battle or to a wintery grave, I will follow my Raven Prince. Always," Ciara declared resolutely.

Fortuna eyed the path of destruction and deconstruction that the herd of drones had begun to lay through the city block. Here and there, buildings still stood. But the slim majority of buildings were already missing from where they once stood. Once a target was chosen, the building was deconstructed in seconds. But the drones took their sweet time getting to that point, seemingly deliberating with a certain intelligence to them. She noticed the pattern at work, though. Shops and offices but no apartments. The drones were avoiding private domiciles.

"Path to Not Having to Deal With This Shit…?" She sighed, muttering to herself before freezing at the answer she got. "Oh. Oh, God. Why is the first fucking step to give the baby a magical battle mech?!"

Edgar perked up "Oh~? What a capital idea, Fortuna~!"

"No, no, no, no! Wait, wait, wait, wait-!" It was already too late to stop the Path she'd set in motion…

*CLAAAANG!*

Edgar called the [Dwarven Centurion] into existence. While the sudden deconstruction of the building didn't garner much of a reaction, the newest dramatic change to the immediate area most certainly did. The customers who'd lingered — down to an individual — jumped. Shock quickly became some panic and much excitement. Those who stayed were very much the types to enjoy cape fights. With Dragon in attendance, they'd been expecting a good one — phones and cameras already out and recording for PHO and free internet points. They had no idea just how lucky they'd gotten, being in just the right place at just the right time to witness and record a historic Guild debut…

There was no pop or great flash of light. A behemoth of gleaming bronze simply appeared between one instant and the next. It sprang into existence from thin air, looming easily twice as tall as any man and standing still as death. The Centurion was shaped like a warrior, and armored in the same way, complete with cuirass, greaves, and helmet. The only apparent weak spot was its distinctly pinched waist, supported by a thick beam of bronze to act as its spine and nothing more. Below the bronze helmet and proud-standing metal mane, a detailed face was carved into a permanently placid expression. One of its arms ended in a hefty warhammer. The other ended in a wicked, cleaving axe.

A noise like a ringing bell tolled as all of its parts settled into a state of existence for the first time. The Centurion had no history to call its own, Edgar could sense. The story he read from its burnished bronze said it'd been summoned from Magic, and to Magic, it would return. Others of its kind might've had legends and feats woven into their being. But Edgar's — Eve's — Centurion was the Legend itself. It was every story of its kind and none at all. But one common purpose resonated throughout the whole: the Centurion was a weapon. And so long as it was called upon, it would defend its charge. It would fight until the last wisp of powering steam died in its heart.

Edgar nodded in satisfaction, acknowledging the legendary weapon even if it couldn't acknowledge him back, "Yes, you'll do perfectly for my little Eve."

Dragon's suit fanned itself unnecessarily, "O-Oh my~…"

"Art thou so taken by my Prince's masterpiece?" Ciara asked.

"S-Something like that…"

"Edgar…" Fortuna said slowly. "We. Are not. Giving. Our daughter. A. Giant. Magic. Battle. Mech!"

Edgar didn't respond for a moment, pointedly ignoring her and her indignation. As he did, he took the magical control rod that'd come with the [Dwarven Centurion] and passed it through Eve's pod and straight into her tiny grasping hands. Only once she had it secure in her grip did Edgar turn back to Fortuna.

"Hmm? What was that? I'm afraid I was a touch busy giving our daughter the reins to a giant magic battle mech."

"Pipipya~!" Eve exclaimed in excitement, waving her new magic wand.

The comparison was rather apt, Edgar noted with amusement. The control rod was a simple bronze shaft. What it lacked in form, it more than made up in function. Eve waved her wand, and magic happened. With great gusts of steam, the Centurion came alive. Its movements were jerky and stilted for a moment before Eve quickly adjusted to the magical interface of the control rod. Once she bit down into it, she took to it like she was born to the bronze automata. A touch of Shard levitation later, and Eve had attached herself to her Centurion's chest, making it look like the most comical baby carrier to ever exist.

Fortuna glared, "… You do this solely to vex me."

"Was that an invitation~?"

"No."

"It sounded like an invitation to my ears~."

"Path-fucking-! Dammit, Fae!"

"Ah, sweet music to my ears~," Edgar grinned wickedly. "Now, Dragon dear~? Would you care to shed light on what we're actually dealing with here~?"

Before Dragon could answer, an unfamiliar, surprisingly peppy voice intruded on the scene, "We might be able to help there!"

Edgar turned to the intruding party with an eyebrow raised. Not truly surprised, but willing to humor the attempt at an interesting entrance. He was greeted by three odd-looking people. Heroes, they could only be. Capes, at the very least. The first — the one who spoke — stood in bulky, almost snubnosed armor. Yet even mostly covered up, she carried herself with an undeniably likable energy.

"Snubnose. Seattle Protectorate. Hiya!" She volunteered freely.

"… Fume," The second hero followed her lead with a single grunt. The gas mask she wore with costume hid any distinguishing features but her voice identified her as female. She was noticeably less social than her leading comrade, even just by that one-word interaction.

"Gasconade," The third hero nodded. "Always a pleasure to see you, Dragon."

He was by far the strangest of the trio. For one, he wore no mask. Instead, his features were 'hidden' by his unique state of being. He looked as if he was drawn into being. A pattern of drawings covered every inch of his body, forming an odd, interlocking, and fragmented silhouette of a man. Instead of flesh and blood, he looked to be made of paper and charcoal.

Still, Dragon nodded back to him, seemingly familiar with the drawn man, "Likewise, Gasconade. Apologies for not letting you know we were coming to town. We didn't intend to stay for long. But, well… duty always calls."

"It's no trouble," Gasconade waved agreeably. "Since you're here, you might be able to help us with our recurring problem."

"Was that a pun?" Edgar asked, genuinely curious.

Snubnose giggled and Gasconade sighed, "No, but given the recursive nature of the Mandelbots, I can see why you'd think so."

"Name?" Fume grunted curtly.

She was much more brusque than her colleagues, but Edgar couldn't completely hate that trait. It set the three of them apart quite well in his mind. At the very least, the Seattle Protectorate was interesting enough that Edgar didn't feel the need to antagonize them straight away. Before he set out on his own, that sort of instinctive animosity had become a worryingly common occurrence to be directed toward his Fae peers in the Winter Court…

[Feat: Meet the Seattle Protectorate. And you didn't even smite them on sight! Congratulations!… +100P, 300P total.]

Edgar could practically taste his System's sarcasm, but it only bolstered his good mood further.

"But, of course~!" He sketched a bow and smiled. "You may call me Edgar, Raven Prince of the Fae. I don't much care for the typical masquerade you capes abide by~. The darling little girl with the magical automata is my daughter Eve. Her mother in the fetching hat is Fortuna."

"Wait," Snubnose interrupted, asking curiously. "The baby is actually your daughter…? How does that work? She, uh… doesn't look much like either of you."

"Don't ask. We're still trying to figure it out ourselves," Fortuna deadpanned.

"It's simple, truly," Edgar drawled. "We love her and she loves us. We have pledged ourselves to watch over her, to guide her through the world. What more is there to it? Besides, sharing physical blood is largely irrelevant when she has my magic flowing through her veins."

"That's… the second time you've mentioned 'magic'," Gasconade noted. His tone wasn't hostile, or even particularly disbelieving. Simply… politely concerned. "Are you sure-…?"

"I'm sure we don't have time to be discussing a truth you won't readily accept," Edgar cut him off, quirking a damning brow. "May I finish my introduction?"

Again, the drawn man proved his amiable demeanor, "Ah, of course. My apologies. Perhaps we could have a more in-depth discussion at a later date."

"We shall see," Edgar waved. "Now, last but most certainly not least, I'd like to present my most leal and steadfast companion. I'm completely confident that she will never leave my side or otherwise let me down."

Ciara swelled with pride where she stood, confirming, "Never. Commit my devotion to memory, mortals. The Faerie Maiden shall always stand with her Raven Prince."

It took a moment, but that name and its implications filtered into the heroes' minds. Gasconade inhaled sharply. Snubnose gasped and took an unconscious step backward. Fume twitched and stiffened, her expression unreadable beneath her gas mask. The rest of her reaction wasn't so elusive. She raised her hands to the ready, a light dusting of rotten-egg-smelling gas drifting from them. Ciara didn't even look her way, instantly dismissing the gas-masked hero as a threat.

Fortuna rolled her eyes at the sudden hostility, "Oh, get over yourself. She's standing next to Dragon. Standing peacefully, at that. Do you really think something hasn't changed about her situation?"

Though still stiff and tense, Fortuna's statement of the obvious succeeded in preventing open hostility from breaking out. The heroes continued to eye Ciara suspiciously. Ciara didn't even flinch. In fact, she barely glanced at the trio, seemingly deeming them beneath her notice or concern. The same couldn't be said for Eve…

In her mind, the [bad] [dumb] [prejudiced] [gassy] [Sulpher Shard] dared to threaten her favorite [Big Sissy-Keeper of the Dead]! [Not koshishi]! A fierce frown overtook her crystal features. With a wave of her new wand, Eve's Centurion began to move. It stepped up with heavy clangs to stand behind Ciara. Making it cross its weapon-arms was trickier for Eve, but she managed that as well. The end result was a bronze behemoth — nearly three times as tall as Ciara — casting a shadow on the heroes as it glared them down with its permanently placid visage.

Before either side could make an inciting action, Dragon thankfully contributed reassurance as well, breaking the majority of the remaining tension amongst the heroes, "Faerie Maiden is a new but valued member of the Guild. A hero. None of you have anything to fear from her."

"Debatable…" Fume scoffed but lowered her arm.

"I've turned over a new leaf," Ciara declared flippantly. "You may thank my Prince for that."

Eve was a bit harder to make stand down but Dragon eventually succeeded there as well after she resorted to uncharacteristic cooing, "C-Coochie… coochie coo~…?"

"Yipaipa…" Eve still pouted slightly but she lowered the menacing weapons of her Centurion.

"Wonderful," Edgar drawled with lazy, sarcastic amusement. "I'm glad you've been made to see reason. Now, the matter at hand?"

"…" Gasconade was stuck straight up staring for a moment before his mind forced itself to catch up. "What? Oh! Oh, right. The Mandelbots. Seattle's been dealing with them for quite some time now. Really, as far as villains go, they're more of a nuisance than anything else. They avoid bodily harm and even private property damage most of the time."

"But stopping them from devouring buildings out from around people would still be nice!" Snubnose added, noticeably forcing herself to regain her peppy cheer.

"Mandelbots?" Edgar inquired.

Snubnose nodded, "The Mandelbots of the tinker Mandelbrot. Honestly, we all think he's a little mad."

"Oh," Dragon muttered in realization. "Oh, that's so good it hurts. A tinker with a fractal-themed power named himself after Benoit Mandelbrot, the father of fractals. And he managed to sneak a banger of a pun into his invention! I hate to say it but… nice."

"I've certainly heard worse villain names," Fortuna snarked. "Bastard stole my coffee though, so he won't get any passes from me."

"With Dragon here, we were hoping that we could take care of him for good," Gasconade said.

"Yeah, he's only got about $12 million worth of property damage to answer for," Snubnose joked. "It'll be best if we get him before he runs up the bill any further."

"A task we're failing at rather handily for the moment," Edgar pointed out, smirking.

Indeed, they were. While introductions were being exchanged — hostilities raised and diverted —, the Mandelbots had just about moved on to the next city block. With their meticulous choice of each target, they didn't move fast. But it was still more than fast enough to 'outrun' the stationary group.

"Shit!" Snubnose swore. "Halt, public nuisance!"

Without waiting to coordinate with the rest of them, the hero took off after the 'fleeing' Mandelbots. She moved surprisingly quickly, Edgar noted. Much more quickly than her bulky armor should have allowed. The reason for her mobility quickly became clear as Shard-powered, not-quite sparks radiated out from her body. Everything the sparks touched found itself devoid of weight, slipping through gravity's fingers.

Gasconade sighed at his colleague's enthusiasm, "Ha… I suppose the plan now is to make it up as we go."

"The cheery idiot is good for something at least," Fume grunted. "'Nough pussyfootin' around."

Edgar quirked a brow, marveling to himself, "What a delightfully human turn of phrase…"

Dragon, by comparison, got right down to business, asking Gasconade, "They're drones, right? Not some unique breaker state?"

"That's… correct," He confirmed warily.

"Good," Something within Dragon's suit whirred as she nodded. "I've recently come to despise limiting myself when I don't have to."

The whirring within Dragon's suit ended with several ports across it opening up. A blast of force kicked up dust and whipped the air to stiff peaks as Dragon burst into motion, taking flight straight into the action. Gasconade was left staring after her with a strangely troubled expression drawn on his face.

"I… feel like there was a lot more to unpack in that statement than just what was on the surface."

"More than you could possibly know," Edgar chuckled to himself.

Fume was the next to follow, not wanting to be completely left out of the fun and fighting. Her departure was much less dramatic. Ciara summoned one of her Shard shadows and had it carry her along. She looked adorably regal like that, Edgar decided. As if she wouldn't even countenance letting her feet touch the ground. Edgar pointedly didn't mention the way Gasconade flinched as if struck by the sight of such infamous shades.

Fortuna quickly and efficiently clambered up the back of Eve's Centurion, saying, "Eve darling? Be a dear and help your mother get revenge for her lost coffee, will you?"

"Yamama~!" Eve was all too enthusiastic to comply with the request.

In the end, Gasconade and Edgar were left standing there. One feeling rather stunned, and the other simply reveling in the entertainment on offer. Which was which would've been obvious to the witnesses of the scene, still recording dutifully so that the internet might see the strangeness coming to pass. It was likely fair to say that they were just as baffled and bemused as Gasconade.

"Shall we join them~?" Edgar asked his newest human friend.

"Huh…?" Gasconade blinked. "Oh. Yes, I suppose we should. My powers won't be much use to the current situation though."

"Hmm~," Edgar hummed in polite interest as they began following after the others at a more sedate pace. "And why do you say that?"

Gasconade chuckled, "Well, I can't actually break anything. Everything I interact with reverts to its prior state after a certain period of time. Great for non-lethal takedowns, less so for destroying a swarm of Mandelbots."

Edgar nodded, "I see. How wonderfully curious."

"And you?"

"I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific~."

"Your… magic…?"

"I speak only truths, good man. Nary a lie has ever passed my lips."

"Oh… Well, I won't press then. I know better than most the need to cope with our powers in our own ways."

"Indeed? And how do you find yourself coping?"

"By helping others. Not in the traditional heroics sense of the phrase. I like to contribute where I can by offering counseling to disturbed parahumans. I've put more than my fair share of hours in at Asylum West."

"A noble pastime. I hope that you may continue doing your fair share of good in the world, friend."

"I-… Thank you. That honestly might be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

[Wait, you can be nice?… I honestly feel like I should be giving out points to encourage this development.]

Edgar ignored his System with an untouchable smile. He didn't even roll his eyes. He and Gasconade did lapse into silence for the rest of their trek to the 'front lines' though. It did nothing to deny the subtle glow that the hero was now carrying himself with.

In front of them, Dragon and Snubnose had engaged the Mandelbots. Snubnose was lashing out left and right with fists and anti-grav sparks. They were almost stunningly ineffective. Dragon didn't have nearly the same issue. It turned out that sharp blades and live rounds were more than enough to tear apart glorified geometry. Edgar was honestly impressed that Dragon had managed to implement such destructive weapons into the slim, unassuming arms of her suit. Then, a port on the chest of her suit opened up to deliver a staggering energy blast that vaporized three of the pyramid-shaped drones at once. Edgar found himself grinning along with the visceral glee that Dragon must've been experiencing.

The drones were numerous but even under attack, they didn't fight back. The directive against bodily harm ruled supreme within whatever passed for their minds, it seemed. Whoever directed them hardly seemed like much of a villain. After only a few drones fell, Edgar found himself feeling almost sorry for them. Then, Fortuna and Eve hit the swarm with a vengeance, and Edgar truly knew pity.

Magical bronze was brought to bear upon fractal geometry. The Centurion's axe cleaved and its hammer fell. Bouts of steam punctuated every movement. Eve stomped into battle atop a great mecha stead, carrying her mother along to exact revenge for the most grievous of crimes. Truly, the Mandelbots never stood a chance against such righteous rage.

A baby's excitement could be heard along with the destruction, contrasting in a delightfully unique way, "Eibaba~! Wawapap~! Hyayahya~!"

The babyish battle cries might just have been the final straw for the Mandelbots, for they began to flee. Eve and Fortuna pursued relentlessly. Dragon, Fume, Snubnose, and Ciara didn't help matters either. Dragon and Fume harried the drones with bullets of lead and brimstone respectively. Snubnose didn't do much in truth, but her enthusiasm was irreplaceable. And Ciara… Ciara summoned a shadow of her court that created a maze of mirrors to funnel the drones right back into Eve and Fortuna.

Panic seemed to grip the buzzing drones. Pressed and cornered as they were, they displayed a new ability. Phantom copies sprung from each drone, growing smaller and smaller as their numbers increased. Much like a fractal pattern, they were unending. And the Mandelbots were quick to sacrifice their fractal ghosts for the 60 or so originals that remained.

Like that, they managed to slip even Ciara's containment. Once they did, they fled like pyramid-shaped bees in the wind. The heroes gave chase, following the fleeing swarm for several city blocks until they reached the Seattle harbor. The entire way, the Mandelbots kept sacrificing fractal copies of themselves to avoid the vengeful Centurion. It was a merry chase to Edgar's eyes. But… only for one side of things.

Edgar couldn't help but feel bad. Truly, unusually sad for the odd and oddly charming drones. They couldn't fight back, merely run for their mechanical lives. This was no pitched battle. It was a slaughter. And while Edgar wouldn't deprive his daughter of her first good, wholesome slaughter, he did feel the need to do something.

He and Gasconade caught up to their heroic allies and stood to watch. Behind them, bystanders followed to continue recording the official debut of the Guild's newest sponsored members. Edgar disregarded them, stepping forward slightly and throwing his mind to the winds of chance. Impossible probability answered him eagerly, the odds practically tripping over themselves to put themselves in the proverbial hands of his magic. Raising his arms like an orchestra's conductor, Edgar let his Fae Luck sing.

"Poobopbopoob~!" Eve 'roared' her enjoyment and babyish fury.

As she did, billowing steam poured forth from her Centurion like flames from a dragon's maw. With her quarry trapped between the land and the sea, her steam struck the water just so. Steam beget steam, and in seconds, the immediate area was overtaken by a thick, clinging mist. As they were, the obstacle only added to Eve's excitement. The Mandelbots took to hiding within it, turning wholesale slaughter into a true hunt.

A bronze behemoth stalked through a mist of her own making. And since it was sourced from magical steam, Eve couldn't simply peer through it so effortlessly. She rejoiced at the challenge. With a simple twist of fate, Edgar had increased his daughter's enjoyment threefold, and given the Mandelbots something of a chance at the same time.

From outside the semi-magical mist, glints of gleaming bronze showed wherever Eve passed. So while the battlefield was suddenly obscured, those watching and recording still had a surprisingly good view of the action. A flash of perfectly reflected sunlight split the mist, showing a swinging warhammer as it smashed through fractal copies and their origin. Another showed a stout bronze leg kicking out with impossible agility to punt a separate drone like a ball in play. For a single moment, Eve was visible in all of her glory, and even from where he stood, Edgar could see her beaming crystal smile — as bright as the noon summer sun.

Through the mist, one of Ciara's Shard shadows began to shine like a beacon. It pushed back the mundane mist, attempting to assert its order over the world. But a mere nameless Shard couldn't so easily push back the magical portion of the environmental hazard. By itself, it may have made some headway, but Edgar wouldn't even allow that much. Another twist of magic forced half of the mist to stay where it was, preserving little Eve's enjoyable challenge and hunt.

To keep Ciara satisfied, Edgar directed a few of the Mandelbots her way. They stumbled upon her beneath her beacon shadow. Following the events through the flows of luck, Edgar watched Ciara sniff dismissively at their presence. He watched the Mandelbots immediately devolve into surprisingly intelligent panic as well. A veritable wave of fractal ghosts poured forth to distract Ciara. A new shade was chosen to carry the Faerie Maiden, this one commanding ribbons of water and mist for its mistress. An exotic water dance began then, as Ciara and her shade tediously dismantled the fractal ghosts.

"What… exactly are you doing?" Gasconade asked from beside Edgar.

Edgar answered easily and, as always, truthfully, "Conducting coincidence and chance. A twist here, a shift there, and luck becomes what I make of it."

"Ah," Gasconade nodded, left with no other choice than to accept Edgar's explanation, no matter how preposterous it might have seemed. "Making probability your bitch. Okay. Why not?"

"Why not, indeed~," Edgar chuckled, his outstretched fingers dancing in the air as if across unseen piano keys.

With Ciara's beacon shadow shining overhead, most of the field became clear once more. The magical mist that remained clung to Eve and her Centurion, maintaining her challenge as Edgar directed. For the rest of the heroes and Mandelbots, the veil was lifted. The mechanical slaughter resumed almost instantly. But at the very least, Eve and Fortuna were removed from the greater culling. That was the most consolation Edgar could give the Mandelbots.

But, of course, the drones still had to deal with the others. Most terrifyingly, Dragon and Ciara. Fume and Snubnose contributed very little, in truth. The attention Edgar spared them was mostly focused on keeping them out of the way. Dragon and Ciara, however, put the fear of god into the supposedly mindless drones.

Blades emerged from the elbows of Dragon's suit. They were sharp enough to slice through the Mandelbots as if they were made of butter. She wielded them with seemingly instinctive skill and instantaneous calculation, carving through 'bot after 'bot. The fractal ghosts sent her way to distract her were dispatched with ruthless efficiency. Dragon spent only a single bullet on each of them.

The Mandelbots had been fighting a losing battle from the start. They didn't retaliate at all, only fleeing their inevitable destruction in futile hopes of self-preservation. Yet, before Eve's overwhelming force, Ciara's inexhaustible versatility, and Dragon's calculated efficiency, their numbers couldn't do anything but dwindle and dwindle. There was no escape for the 'bots as they continued to fall until only a few remained.

Edgar controlled the flow of the field for some time before simply sighing to himself. There was only so much luck could do when the Mandelbots never had a chance in the first place. After a certain point, continuing to prolong their destruction would only be cruel on his part. Yet, as he let his control over probability fall to the wayside, Edgar felt an unlikely, intriguing twinge. Curiously, he latched onto the sensation and began to pull. It came loose like thread from a weave.

The Mandelbots were drones that did nothing more than follow the commands and directives given to them. They needed an outside mind and will to function at all. But as it turned out, the directing influence behind the drones wasn't nearly as distant as it was assumed to be. No, Edgar realized, the call was coming from inside the house, so to speak.

As Edgar pulled at the loose string of fate, he found his focus drawn… elsewhere. A place that was both within each of the Mandelbots and set apart from every one of them by a whole geometric dimension. Within that space, Edgar found a man. And continuing to pull the loose string, Edgar watched the man come to a most interesting and fortuitous decision.

Finally, the thread Edgar was pulling came completely loose. As it did, the remaining Mandelbots came together. They began to shine and shimmer with that strange geometric energy of theirs. But instead of consuming matter, they began to emit it. 2-D shapes were projected onto the 3-D world. The shapes quickly gained substance and weight. And soon enough, a man scrambled into existence from 2-D to 3-D.

He landed in a shaky stance and hurried to his feet. A white lab coat hung loosely from his frame. Shockingly white hair stood up from his head in every direction. A pair of thick goggles covered his eyes and the upper half of his face. No matter the angle, they seemed to glint with light in such a way that his eyes were always concealed. Edgar honestly found himself appreciating the man's eccentric style.

The man held up his hands in surrender as the few remaining Mandelbots seemed to hide behind him, "Wait, wait, wait! Don't destroy them all! I surrender! Mercy! Mercy for my fractal boys and girls!"

The sudden shift stunned the heroes into hesitation. Edgar finally let the magical mist clinging to Eve and her Centurion fade. He could practically feel his daughter pouting that her hunt had come to an early end. Still, she and Fortuna came over to join the parley. Edgar and Gasconade began making their way over as well.

For a few tense moments, the man and heroes simply stared at each other. Then, Snubnose cocked her head like a curious puppy, "You assigned them genders…?"

"But, of course!" The man exclaimed, sounding somewhat offended by the thought that he wouldn't.

Ciara nodded in satisfaction and acknowledgment, "Anyone who cares so deeply for their underlings can be no mere villain."

Dragon sighed, "Mandelbrot, I assume?"

"The very same! It's an honor for a fellow scientist to acknowledge my work!" Mandelbrot declared.

"Maybe if you didn't steal another scientist's name, you wouldn't have that problem…" Dragon muttered to herself before shaking her suit's head. "But never mind that for the moment. You do realize you'll have to pay for your crimes, correct?"

"Ah… Yes, quite…" Mandelbrot seemed to deflate on the spot. "B-But I've never hurt anyone! It's not in the scientist code!"

"It very much is," Fortuna deadpanned. "If anything, you and most modern scientists are the exceptions to the historic norm."

"Damned Nazis… Ruining everything for everyone…" Mandelbrot grumbled. "Still, surely, there is some leniency to be had in my case…?"

"What's the bill at now?" Fume grunted a half-rhetorical question.

Dragon answered it sincerely, "According to the Seattle PRT Department, Mandelbrot's property damage has cost the city and its people $12,376,507 and 24 cents. After this most recent spree, it's likely closer to 13 and a half million."

Mandelbrot paled at the figure levied against him, and even his 'bots seemed to cower behind him, "O-Oh my… That, uh… I did not realize things had gotten so out of hand."

"At the very least, you'll have to pay restitution in full, and likely fined compensation or time served on top of that," Dragon pointed out.

"…" Mandelbrot looked around in distress before an idea seemed to occur to him. He raised a dramatic hand, "Eureka! I plead… insanity!"

"None of us are judges, and that's hardly a valid defense outside of movies," Fortuna deadpanned.

"Now, now," Edgar chuckled. "Can't we hear the charming madman out~?"

Fortuna gritted and bore her teeth in an almost feral snarl, "Did the 'charming madman' hear my coffee out? Did he?!"

"Booboo boouu~!" *CLANG* Eve perfectly matched her mother's energy, even going so far as to clap her Centurion's weapons together for emphasis.

Gasconade raised placating open hands, "Cape mental illness is no small matter. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it is a valid defense. What sort of insanity are you pleading, Mandelbrot?"

"Ahaha…" Mandelbrot sheepishly scratched his head. "Well, I've got the compulsion, ya see? I've gotta make more of my fractal boys and girls. Fractals, they want to replicate. They want to continue the pattern. And it takes raw material to do so. Much more than you'd think, only it doesn't matter what the material used is."

"Yet you didn't just — oh, I don't know — start a quarry?!" Fortuna fumed.

Mandelbrot raised a finger to protest before pausing, "I-…! Oh. Oh, that would've been much more efficient. Yet… I kind of hate the idea of it."

"I think we can safely chalk that up to the parahuman conflict drive," Gasconade said, continuing to play the mediator. "And parahuman compulsion is a pretty decent basis for an insanity plea. You're also being surprisingly reasonable and peaceful now that contact has been established. And as you said, you haven't hurt anyone. I don't think leniency is out of the question for your case."

"Dragon~?" Edgar hummed curiously. "Do you care enough to try and poach him?"

Mandelbrot perked up at the idea, looking all too much like a mad scientist puppy. Dragon inspected him and pondered the suggestion for a few moments, "… I suppose a fractal-themed tinker could be useful to have on the Guild's staff. I wouldn't mind studying the geometric conversion tinkertech that the 'bots demonstrated. Maybe I can finally crack the hammerspace problem with its help…"

"I would be honored to work with one of your caliber, Dragon!" Mandelbrot exclaimed in excitement.

"As you should," Ciara sniffed imperiously.

"You'll still have to pay back the city of Seattle for the damages you inflicted," Dragon warned. "But perhaps the rest of your sentence can be served in service of the Guild."

"That's entirely fair!" Mandelbrot eagerly agreed. "Where do I sign?!"

As Dragon took care of Mandelbrot's initial recruitment, Edgar turned to Gasconade with a raised eyebrow, "You don't mind us stealing your villain, do you?"

Gasconade shook his head, "No, I'm just glad to see a case of cape mental illness that doesn't end in trauma, blood, and explosions."

"Don't speak so soon~," Edgar teased ominously. "His end is hardly set in stone just yet~."

Gasconade barked a laugh, "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't jinx him or myself. Might be a good idea for me to start seeing him for counseling on a regular basis once he settles into the Guild."

"I don't foresee Dragon or Narwhal objecting to such precautions. It's a good idea," Edgar encouraged. "I'm happy to have contributed to the good you do for the world, my sketched friend."

With that, the situation seemed to be coming to a close. It was a surprisingly peaceful resolution, especially by this world's standards, Edgar imagined. He was rather satisfied and entertained by how the events of their visit to Seattle had come to pass.

[Feat: Give a good showing in your official debut while still resolving it without any deaths-…]

Just then, Fortuna seemed to realize something, "Wait just a minute! Your 'bots don't destroy anything! They just deconstruct it into shapes and store it away wherever the fuck for later use!"

Mandelbrot blinked, "Y-Yes…? So?"

"So~…" Fortuna grinned a feral grin that just about stole Edgar's Fae heart. "Where. Is. My. Coffee?!"

[Uh… Perhaps I spoke too soon… Still, +100P, 400P total.]

"N-Now, hold on…!" Mandelbrot panicked. "I-I'm sure I can find it! J-Just-! Just give me some time-! Ack~!"

"Yaaahahahyooo~!" Eve's baby battle cry resumed, cutting off his futile excuses and pitifully mortal pleas for time. The booming steps of her bronze behemoth said one thing and one thing alone: [Creator-Mother] would get her [sugary caffeinated drink]… or Eve would be very, very [angy].

And until that moment, Edgar never knew he could feel such pride.