Chapter 304: 2
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The Celestial Roulette by The Dark Wolf Shiro
Books » Worm Rated: M, English, Humor & Fantasy, Panacea, Words: 122k+, Favs: 3k+, Follows: 3k+, Published: May 23, 2024 Updated: Oct 11, 2024
1,727Chapter 2: Revelations
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; all other characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. I'm just playing with them.
Betad by Marethyu, Priapus, Beans, Mike God of Lore Malcolm tent, Old man of the mountain
The Celestial Roulette
Chapter 02: Revelations
– Felix Dallon –
Driving home, I pause as I feel something happening with my power.
[The Blades of Chaos] - 600cp
The Blades of Chaos were forged at the darkest depths of the Underworld by Ares himself. They are imbued with primordial fire, which allows them to ignite with every attack that the user performs. The Blades' chains stretch out for a set distance with each attack, allowing for fluid movement no matter who wields them. The chains of the blades are permanently seared onto the forearms of the wielder, which serve as a reminder of their oath to the God of War and can only be removed either by the God of War himself or when the wielder's time of servitude comes to an end.
Unable to purchase, 100cp banked. Lock, skip or reroll?
The image of a pair of blades attached to chains flashes in my mind, a very angry man with ashen white skin appearing as quickly as it vanishes. I can't afford these weapons, not even close. Locking them would stop me from rolling anything else until I could afford them, but as powerful as they seem, I think I'm better off rerolling.
I don't know how to use swords, even if I could ask my mom for help since she's spent a lot of time learning how to use her various weapons. I still think I should start easier than primordial blades of the God of War.
[Cake~!] - 100cp
You may use magical energies to summon any sort of pastry or cake you like into existence. You may summon this food to be up to the size of a small house, letting you potentially crush someone with sugary goodness.
Before I can blink, it locks in and takes my 'cp' away in exchange for… pastry powers.
Yeah, that makes as much sense as anything else I've seen so far. So, I can only skip or reroll on the first roll? That's good to know, if nothing else. Either way, I'm stuck with cake-summoning powers, which aren't exactly going to save me in a fight unless I drop a building-sized sponge cake on Lung. Yeah, that's bound to go well.
At least I've got something to do with my…. magic beyond the Tinker power; that's gonna take some getting used to.
Shaking my head, I focus on getting home safely as I plan out what I want to do next. I'm not coming out to my family, not yet. I don't want to get dragged into New Wave. I respect their decision to unmask, but Vicky and Amy have had much harder lives because Mom unmasked them. She took the choice out of their hands and that's not even mentioning how overworked Amy has been; she can't go out in public without someone bothering her for help.
I am going to be a cape, but I'll stay independent for now. I'm not naive enough to think I can just ignore my powers; other capes have tried, and it never works out. Plus, despite everything, Brockton Bay has always needed more heroes.
She isn't perfect, but Mom raised us to always do what is right and pretending I don't have powers when my city is suffering isn't that. I know my powers have near-limitless potential. I can feel the sheer depths of each of the four pools, and I'm only going to get stronger, even if I don't know what causes me to get more cp.
But, while I don't plan to join New Wave, that doesn't mean I'm keeping my powers completely secret. I considered who to tell about my powers, and first, I considered Vicky, we'd always been close.
I immediately changed my mind, though, because as much as I love Vicky, she can't keep a secret to save her life, and I'd be asking her to lie to Mom for me. Then I considered Crystal since she'd understand my desire to avoid joining New Wave. Crystal has complained to me about her identity being revealed for her, making her social life so much harder.
Aunt Sarah would understand as well, I think, but while I might tell them later, I know exactly who I want to tell first.
Arriving home, I grab my bag and head inside with some nervousness. Having a very successful lawyer for a Mother can be rather intimidating when you want to hide something from her.
"You're back. Has college broken for winter?" someone asks, making me turn and grin at the older man sitting in the living room.
"Yup, so I'll be back until January," I reply, making him nod. He pauses momentarily, and I can already tell he's not taken his pills today.
"It'll be good to have you around again, Felix," my dad says, giving me a small smile before he turns back to the TV.
"It's good to be home, where is everyone?" I ask, making him shrug.
"Amy is upstairs, Carol is in the kitchen. Vicky's gone on patrol," Dad explains, making me snort. Of course, she has; Vicky patrols more than the rest of New Wave combined. She truly loves being a hero.
"Thanks," I say, touching his shoulder as I walk past. I get a small nod from him as I head into the kitchen.
"Felix, you're back," Mom says, brightening as I enter the room. "I really wish you'd just stay home instead of living in that tiny dorm, it's not like it's a large commute."
"I like my tiny dorm. Do you know how nice it is to not have to fight Vicky for the bathroom every morning?" I ask, making her pause and laugh slightly, giving me a nod. Vicky spends more time on her hair than the rest of us do in the bathroom combined. I love my little sis, but she's kinda narcissistic.
"Fair enough, it'll be nice to have you around more for the holidays, at least. Have you eaten?" Mom asks, making me nod.
"I stopped by Fugly's on the way here," I answer, and she pauses, before giving me a disapproving look.
"Just because Amy can clear your arteries doesn't mean you should go out of your way to clog them with junk food. You had better have been eating properly at college," Mom warns, giving me an intense once-over. "Well, you look good, so you're not just eating junk food."
Memories of many nights in the campus gym make me hide a smile; my diet isn't what you'd call healthy.
"I'm going to put my stuff away and say hi to Amy," I say, making her nod as she moves closer and gives me a short hug. She's not big on physical intimacy, so I return it before she breaks it.
"Can you take Amy to the hospital later? Vicky was supposed to do it, but she forgot and went out on patrol without her phone again," Carol sighs, making me chuckle.
"Sure, I'll talk to her after I've put my stuff in my room," I agree, wondering if Vicky had truly forgotten. Vicky is one of the people pushing for Amy to take more time off 'work' harder than anyone, and she often 'forgets' to take Amy like this when she knows Mom will be too busy to take her.
We don't let Amy go alone, and while I couldn't exactly protect her from capes, I have been trained to protect myself all my life due to the very real possibility of one of New Wave's enemies targeting me. I also have a concealed carry permit, just in case.
Capes aren't really supposed to use guns, but I'm not a cape and as Skidmark can tell you, I'm a decent shot. He tried to kidnap Amy around a year ago. I shot him in the shoulder, and he ran away.
Not that he got far; Vicky was not happy.
Squealer makes some durable cars, but even they aren't that durable. They found Skidmark (and the van) on the top of the Medhall building when she was done with him.
Heading upstairs with a smile, I drop my bag off and head to Amy's room. I can grab the rest of my stuff from the car later.
Knocking briefly, I pause for a moment and let myself in when I hear her call back. Laying on her bed, she looks up from her phone, and her face brightens at the sight of me.
"Felix!" Amy says, a genuine smile on her face as I give her a grin. "How was college?"
"Same as always, classes, working out and picking Crystal up from whatever party she's gotten plastered at," I laugh, making her roll her eyes with a fond look. Crystal is very much a party girl, and she was heartbroken to find out that Amy either could not, or more likely would not, fix hangovers.
"It sounds more fun than high school," Amy says, making me chuckle as I sit on the edge of her bed. I ruffle her frizzy brown hair as she half-heartedly swipes at my hand.
"How've you been, Ames?" I ask, giving her a soft smile. Amy is good at hiding it, but the bags under her eyes betray her tiredness.
"Same as ever; school and the hospital keep me busy," Amy replies. "Are you taking me today?"
"Yeah, I told Mom I would; I need to talk to you anyway," I say, making her pause.
"You've knocked someone up, haven't you?" Amy asks, making me blink.
"What, no. Where did that come from- oh dammit, Vicky," I sigh, making Amy nod with a tired, annoyed look. "No, I don't require a Cape Contraceptive. I take it Vicky and Dean are back together?"
We both love Vicky, but she's reckless in many ways. She's definitely the problem child, even if Mom would never admit it. I wonder how many times Vicky has used Amy as her super-morning after pill. At least I know how to use a condom. The big brother part of me wants to blame Dean, but he's a gallant guy, and I know this is 100% Vicky's fault. I actually like the guy, but I think me and Amy are both sick of Vicky's relationship drama.
"I give it a week," Amy says with some acid in her tone. "So, what do you need to talk to me about?"
"I'll explain later, but you have to keep it a secret. From everyone," I say, my tone quiet as I glance at the slightly open door. Her eyes widen, realising that I'm keeping something secret from Mom and she gives me a serious nod.
Giving her a quick hug, I feel her freeze as our skin touches, a sharp intake of breath as she stares at me. I suspected Power Overwhelming had left some biological changes but her reaction proves it.
"You triggered," Amy whispers, shock and worry clear on her face. "What happened?"
"Absolutely fuck all," I say, making her furrow her brows cutely. "I had a weird dream and woke up with a bunch of weirder powers."
"That's it?" Amy asks, looking at me closely to see if I'm hiding something. "How weird are we talking? Because super strength doesn't seem that odd."
"That's it, and they're this weird," I say, focusing my mana as it rushes forward and gathers in my hand. In a flash of pink light, a cupcake appears.
"You got cupcake powers?" Amy asks, her lips twitching as she takes it. Blueberry; her favourite. "It's safe, right?"
"I think so?" I reply, watching her take a bite. "And it's not cupcake powers; I can summon any type of pastry or cake."
"Okay, cake summoning is pretty weird. Tastes great, though, and I'm almost certain it's just a normal cupcake," Amy admits, eating the rest with a smirk. "Villains should fear 'The Pâtissier," Amy teases with an exaggerated French accent as I roll my eyes.
"There's more, but we can talk later," I explain, making her nod easily. Amy won't tell Carol a single thing unless she has to. They don't really get along.
Placing a kiss on her forehead, she pouts at me, treating her like a child, but smiles up at me as I stand up.
"Sure, and I can see why you want to keep this secret. If Vicky finds out, you'll never have a moment of free time again," Amy jokes, making me snort. "And I'd have to constantly take the weight off her hips, more than I already do."
Giving her a grin, I ruffle her hair once more (and once more dodge her annoyed swipe). Saying goodbye, I head to my room and start unpacking. I still see Amy at least once a week or so, but I can't deny I'm happy to be home for the holidays.
– Amy Dallon – Later –
As her brother stopped his explanation, she stared at him in shock. Cake powers were funny, but suddenly, she wasn't so amused. She stroked the explosive bat carefully, her power examining every inch of the bizarre creature. That green sack it was carrying was more dangerous than any grenade she'd ever seen, and she was pretty sure she could recreate the extremely volatile fluid herself, but she quickly shook her head.
"And you're just getting more powers?" Amy asked, making him nod. That was big; if he was right, then he was a self-growth Trump with very little limit. "What are you planning on doing?"
"Becoming a hero, it runs in the family… but I don't want to join New Wave," Felix admitted, a frown on his face. She paused for a second before she nodded. He had some issues with being related to New Wave, but his life had been far calmer than theirs.
If he joined, he'd have to unmask, and she didn't blame him in the slightest for not wanting to do that. But still…
"So, you're going to stay independent as a Tinker who can reverse engineer other Tinkertech?" Amy pointed out, making him nod seriously. He knew all too well how much the gangs would want his powers, and she considered calling him stupid for not using New Wave's resources and connections but mentally shook her head. He'd made his choice, one that she wished she'd been able to make. "Good thing you told me because you're absolutely going to need a healer."
"Probably," Felix admitted, running a hand through his blonde hair. Giving her a sheepish smile, she tried not to blush. Felix looked almost exactly like a male Vicky and her sick tastes liked it.
She was flattered that she was the one he'd decided to tell, giving him a soft but worried smile as she pushed away her disgusting thoughts.
"So, how are you planning on going about this?" Amy asked, giving him a soft smile. "I'll help you in any way I can, obviously," Amy promised, making him smile at her again.
"I'm not entirely sure. I was considering the edgy vigilante act, but err… super cake powers," Felix admitted, making her snort. She could see why he'd consider that style; it was as far from New Wave as possible. "I suppose I could go for a Mouse Protector act, and Brockton Bay has no end of places to start my career."
"Just be careful, okay? This is going to end badly. Carol is going to find out eventually, and she'll see this as a betrayal," Amy pointed out, making him nod in agreement. Carol would be pissed that he didn't come clean immediately, and she really didn't like masks either. "I can contact Parian for you; I'll claim I healed a new hero and decided to help him get a proper costume," Amy offered, making him beam at her.
She wasn't going to try and stop Felix from becoming an independent hero, but she was damn well going to do her best to keep her big brother alive and safe. He was one of the few sane things she had in her life and probably was the reason she hadn't already snapped. His decision to move onto the college campus had been a rough time for her, if she was being honest. Carol hadn't taken it well.
Not that she blamed Felix for her actions, giving him another hug.
– Felix Dallon –
Returning Amy's hug, I give her a soft smile. She's not good at hiding her concerns, but it's entirely valid. Vicky has her forcefield, I don't have anything like that yet, and I'm entirely vulnerable despite my strength.
Feat Achieved: Acquire Panacea as a confidant/ally (100cp awarded)
Hmm, that's informative. Feats, I get cp through feats. I don't know what triggered me to get 100cp during the drive home, but this is far easier to understand.
[New Age Necromancer] - 600cp
Once upon a time, wizards were happy enough being able to raise undead, throw fireballs, and curse their enemies. Well, those were the old days, and this is now. You are a modern wizard; you know the value of a well-enchanted suit of armour. You know how to mix enchantments in such a way that things such as moving remote-piloted armour suits are a very real possibility that you can make a reality, magic-powered railroads and three-dimensional rune setups are simply child's play for you, and even something as complicated as creating a gold powered dungeon heart is eventually possible. Though most enchantments are powered by mana, you can offset this somewhat in two ways, either by instead binding the souls of the dead to your creations, lowering the mana cost considerably the more souls you bind to it or by burning gold to take the place of mana that would be spent if you are squeamish.
Once again, this is something I can't afford, even if I can't say I'm not interested. Not knowing how fast I can get 600cp, I'm hesitant to lock it in place despite its usefulness, so I'll reroll.
[Beniemiya] - 50cp
It might just be something in the water, both what you're drinking and what you serve to the guests who adore every meal you make. You're a savant when it comes to making meals, not just limited to Eastern dishes either. With a little experimentation, you can make almost anything into a mouth-watering feast for both the taste buds and the eyes. The real problem isn't making a good meal but keeping all these greedy pigs from eating you out of house and home. Don't even try making hamburgers around any blonde ladies; it never ends well. Now, while cooking good food is a prize well worth it, you do also have a more useful aspect here. By channelling magical energy into your tools and ingredients as you work, you're able to 'enchant' the meal with a variety of useful effects. A hearty beef stew that lets a warrior heal their wounds much faster than normal, sugary sweets that give people the speed of the wind, a mighty hamburger that temporarily bulges the muscles to greater heights. Even negative effects are possible if you want to taint your food that way. They only last for a temporary period, and the effects tend to be fairly weak without a lot of mana put in, but it makes your food all the more popular.
Purchased, 50cp remaining.
I'm a chef tinker; who can summon cakes? Man, my life made so much more sense yesterday. Still, Amy's question makes me pause as I consider my options.
How am I going to go about this?
— Quest Votes —
Winning Vote: Reveal your powers to a single person (Amy Dallon) and become an independent Cape.
Vote One: The Cape Type
Option One: The Rogue (selling services)
Option Two: The Edgy Vigilante
Option Three: The Shining Beacon
Option Four: The Joke Hero
Vote Two: Targets (if two, three or four win Vote One)
Option One: Start small, Uber and Leet
Option Two: Start small, The Undersiders
Option Three: Start small, the Merchants
Option Four: The ABB
Option Five: The Empire Eighty-Eight