Okay, yes, very fun! I definitely didn’t have Masteries in the webslinging stuff, so I admitted I didn’t look as polished or graceful at this as the other Spiders did... although the parts where I wasn’t swinging in the air, just running or leaping, I probably looked better since I actually had lightfoot, and my Repulse meant my land-and-jumping was potentially twice as good or better than theirs.
Doing this in a city, with all the straight lines, would naturally be a different exercise in geometry, but since I didn’t want to blare out to the world that I was a Totem, not something I could practice readily... unless I wanted to imitate one of the girls.
Huh. I should ask about that. I could certainly pull off looking like Gwen, as she used artificial web-shooters. Well, I could Cindy, too, but then the guys would wonder how I was popping off weblines from my fingers.
Decisions, decisions... and definitely something I was going to do in the future. No need to let anyone know Silk or Spider-Woman went on vacation, right?
In any event, the few miles to the temple tumbled past as I worked on this stuff. I naturally had plenty of time in the past viewing the others bouncing around so much, so trying out the moves myself wasn’t that hard. I literally flicked up the images on my Visual File and let my insane Dexterity do all the hard work, just like they did.
Um, making sure not to spread voltage around as misdirection this time, yep.
I could feel the looming aura to the Temple as I hopped through some jungle giants, off a cliff-side, zipped around some vines, and then bounced and tumbled from a ten-story fall, ending up on the ground literally in front of an ancient building’s steps.
The design was old-old, before civilization. I could sense a timelessness and power about it of primeval energy, the same stuff that was making sure nothing bigger than a rat was sticking around this area, sensing a massive predator and not wanting to be the prey. The moss-covered stone was yet suspiciously clear of weathering, the steps looked like they were swept on a regular basis, and that dark opening there was sized for something twenty feet tall and twice that wide.
It also had a feeling of harsh familiarity, and a general lack of welcome, yet acknowledgement.
Yeah, whatever was inside knew I was here, what I was... and while it wasn’t an enemy, it certainly wasn’t a friend.
I sat down there on the rough stones of the small plaza, and opened up my view of the Underweb, something I only did very carefully.
I could touch on it when Singing the Chord, something I didn’t do often, but here, the slightest note and the Underweb exploded into existence around me, countless threads of Fate and Magic and just plain power converging on this location.
They were rippling and glowing as if alive, shifting back and forth with universal powers growing through them, decisions made and events passing, energies redistributing at levels of exploding suns in tiny flashes and pauses.
And there was something there in the middle of this intersection point.
Eight golden eyes sort of looked my way without turning, the multiple legs never ceasing their weaving and plucking. Energies woven from the forward impetus of Time itself gathered, forming new strings that extended out through multiple infinities, carrying on the work of the Web, the underlying support of Reality.
“Ah, good evening, Grandfather!” I piped up, bowing low to the Entity.
His attention swirled around me, and I could tell he had heard me. He was definitely paying attention to the humming and mental playing of the ley lines around me, and how the Web was echoing them.
Most Curious, he finally mused, his work not stopping. Why Are You Here, Little One?, he asked coolly. The Women Of The Widow Are Not Often Welcome At My Temple.
“Oh.” I just blinked at that. “Well, I came to get a Teleport lock on this area in case it was needed, and to pay my respects to Grandfather Spider since I was close by. I ask your forgiveness if I was being disrespectful or impertinent.” I bowed again to the massive spider sitting there spinning webs into reality.
Respect, From One of the Widow’s Own? He seemed even more amused. Why Did She Pick You, Little One?, he asked further, some of the underlying hostility easing.
“In all honesty, Grandfather, I have absolutely no insight into my Patron’s reasons. I had precious little choice in the matter, and if I had the opportunity, I would prefer to keep my loyalty to Heaven.” I turned my head and sort of eyed my Totem Tat on my back. “Such a thing wasn’t permitted, and She seems quite smug about it all.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Oh, Most Interesting! She Has Always Been An Opportunist, As Is The Way Of A Hunter, the huge old thing mused. Plucking A Servant Of Heaven, Bold Even For Her. Are You Worth Her Risk?
“I don’t know, Grandfather. Perhaps I have a surplus of competency...”
I could sense a certain predatory amusement coming from him. Well, You Are Her Champion, And Not One Of Mine, So I Have No Right To Call Upon You. The Widow Keeps Her Own Council, Although Showing You Off To Me Is Exactly Something She Would Do.
I was getting the idea that my Totem was something of a proud bitch. “Well, if you do need some help, I personally don’t mind helping any of the other Spider Totems. I know three personally, and they’re all good people.”
I Shall Keep That In Mind. You May Be Needed To Help Soon.
If I was right, that meant the Morlun family had a potential presence here. I just nodded, making my own plans for those bastards.
“I’ll be available.” Which I would, one way or another. “Is there anything I need help Grandfather with? If not, I shall depart and leave you to your tasks, Elder!”
There was a moment of consideration. Not At This Moment, No, But Soon...
I bowed, and murmured the words to the Teleport. Most Arcane Casters of this world had problems with point-to-point Teleportation, being much better at crossing into other planes than transpositioning. I, however, did not have the problem.
Time to head home! Yay!
-------
Which was why when I popped back up in England, I was a little irked that Britannia had reached out and tweaked my Teleport. Why was I back here again? I looked around, and backed up a couple steps.
He was a big fellow in red and a full-face mask that was more illusion than real, blond hair, a big scepter in his hand, and he was looking down at me. A very curvaceous and tall blonde woman with obvious Fey ancestry was standing next to him, and both of them were staring at me in total surprise.
“Um, hello?” I asked, looking around again, cursing myself silently for not being in my Dealer duds, but they weren’t really made for experimental webslinging. “Um, you look like Captain Britain...”
“Good morning,” the big fellow replied warily, crossing his arms firmly. “I am indeed Captain Britain. May I ask what you are doing here?”
“Well, one minute I was working on my Bite Bracelets here, and the next...” I waved around me. “Oh, I’m Dynamo. I was in New York City...” over a day ago, but he didn’t need to know that.
“That was definitely magic bringing her here,” the blonde with supernatural hair told the big guy carefully.
He sighed at me. “It seems you have been brought here to help me out, Dynamo.”
“Uh-huh...” Well, stating the obvious. “What’s the situation, Captain?” I asked forthrightly, sighing inside. I was going to have to be much more careful with my Teleports in the future. Damn, was I going to have to rely on Lived-Lining so the Motherlands didn’t grab me like they could Mr. Hill?
“An outside force has taken control of the Convergence of All Realities, which has an outlet in the lighthouse I operate from. Forces inside and outside are barring me from the path.” His fists creaked on his big magical Scepter, and I followed his gaze down to the lighthouse down the hill about a half-mile away.
“Knock it over?” I hazarded, making a swinging motion.
“While that would be marvelously appropriate, the consequences are not small. The Convergence being disrupted might be... unpleasant, and where it reconverges would be unknown.”
“Oh. I gather this place is bigger on the inside than the outside?”
“Very much so.”
“So, what happens if you Interdict the entire place at once?” I questioned him.
“Uhhh... I don’t know?” he replied hesitantly.
“Well, what normally happens is all the extradimensional stuff stays there, and all the native stuff gets shunted out into reality. It tends to be rather disruptive.”
The two looked at one another, and smiled slightly. “Can you do this?” the Captain asked.
I flipped an E-brass Orb out of my Masspack. “What, you don’t carry Interdiction items on you?” I asked suspiciously. “Are you sure you are used to dealing with magical stuff?”
He had the grace to look somewhat embarrassed. “So, how do you apply it?”
“Toss it in the door?”
------
Actually, Meggan tugged open the ground door, while the Captain hovered up by the balcony on the second floor out of sight. I tossed the Interdiction Orb into the opening to the sound of many weapons clicking.
There was a very loud WOOOP, and then there were a whole bunch of curses and cries, and a slew of explosions went off inside the room there and drowned them all out.
I strolled inside through the heat and smoke, finding something like two dozen guys in shiny metal armor and bearing outsized ranged weapons sprawled around in bits and pieces, and the basic furnishings to the ground floor blasted to heck by what looked like several missiles or incendiaries going off at close range.
The stone of the building itself wasn’t hurt at all, of course.
I let my voltage dance over the corpses, and vivic fire ignited on all of the bits of them readily. Meggan looked a bit upset at all of the dead people, but got over it rather quickly as vivus started burning and taking care of the smell and scattered blood, covering it all in mistflame.
Something similar had occured above on the second floor. The Captain came down the stairs lightly a moment later, took a look at the white flame devouring the bodies, and sighed. “Could you do that upstairs?” he asked politely.
“Yeah, the clean-up for the blood is a pain, I know.” I hopped past him, basically three-stepping around the spiral staircase to the edge of the next floor, looked at the totally eradicated sitting room there, and the blackened and torn corpses scattered everywhere.
I strafed the room with crackling shots, and soon the vivus was off to the races.
My IntOrb was off in one corner, a small dent in it from being smashed against the wall, but otherwise unharmed. I picked it up, moved back to the middle of the room, and after a glance at the ready duo there, turned it off.