I grimaced despite myself. “You would have to ask me that personally,” I mumbled, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Oh?” She sounded more amused than anything.

“Yes. Anyone else it probably wouldn’t be a problem.” I looked around, and noted that all of the techs nearby had somehow found a reason to not be there anymore.

“Is this one of those things I’m not going to want to hear, or something?” Pointedly, she seemed totally relaxed, arms folded across her nothing-to-see chest, not worried in the slightest.

“Not at all.” That arched her eyebrow even further. “You’re seeking Alignment verification.”

“Correct,” she nodded. “If you were a Core-user, I could just request you manifest your Mindblade.”

I flicked my hand, and three white Darts coalesced above my fingers.

Her eyes narrowed sharply. They stayed that way as Sacred Auras and Lights wound themselves around the Darts with casual ease.

The Sacred Metas couldn’t be used by anyone not standing in the grace of Heaven, i.e., of Good Alignment. It simply wasn’t possible, as you needed to be of the right Alignment to resonate and gather the energies, especially with all the different aspects of them.

They were a Cantrip, but they shimmered and chimed there like angelic weapons, ready to be flung forth and punish those of Evil.

She studied them for a long minute, her heavens-blue eyes still narrowed. She could have been impassive, but didn’t bother to hide her interest and intrigue at the display and everything it told her.

“You weren’t drawing on the manafield,” she said after a minute, raising her eyes to mine.

“Correct.” Just a twitch to prompt me to keep talking. “Underweb Sorceress.”

She blinked slowly, and looked at the chiming Darts again. “With a Heavenly connection like this?”

“The Weavers in the Web are powerful, but not powerful enough to defy the Alignments.”

That earned me another twitch. She slowly reached out and placed her hand over the Darts.

I could feel her Null. More to the point, nothing happened to the Darts in her Null field.

She stared at them for a long moment, but they didn’t waver in the slightest.

Her fingers came down, golden razors suddenly visible on them, and pierced the Darts. Her breath hissed out as there was resistance from my magic, and then she closed her fist and they finally shattered.

She regarded them, and then me. “That is a very impressive Caster Level...” she said, very intent on me now.

“Yes, it is. Shards-centered, of course. It’s not as impressive with random spells.”

“Were you intent on challenging Briggs and I?” she asked directly, her voice extremely calm.

“Not at all.”

It was her turn to tilt her head and give me an odd look. “Your Shards can endure in a Null of 83,” she stated without worry. “I can spit in Odin’s eye and laugh at the Odinpower with my Null there. What in all the bloody Hells are you doing with a Caster Level that high at your age?”

“Optimizing?” I replied quietly.

“Optim...” It was her turn to put her hand to her forehead. “Mithar and his mighty mutt,” she cursed to nobody in particular, and her eyes fell on my Gorget, and one of the Amulets attached to it in particular.

She stared at it for a long moment, tilting her head. “I know that symbol,” she stated firmly, looking at the black blade on grey. “Is that a variant Mitharn symbol?” her voice rose in disbelief.

“No. The default Mitharn symbol is a straight silver sword raised inside a shield,” I reminded her with a sigh. “It can be crossed with another weapon, but it is always silver.”

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Her breath hissed out, her eyes snapping up. “Mithar is not worshipped here.”

“Nor is Loyal, but you’re invoking his dog anyways,” I pointed out helpfully.

“Briggs!” she called out, waving her hand.

The air split next to her, and a big fellow stepped through.

His Source burst past me like a disruptive warm sun, just as strong as her Null, maybe stronger. The Destiny of all of Humanity slewed through with it, and even the power of the M’Kraan Stone pulled back before the combination of them.

Probably why the Phoenix Force talked to them.

The Neanderthalic virtual ruler of the world didn’t have his armor on, and actually looked like he was coming off a shift at a forge. He was dressed in a leather apron and breeches, with a Hammer in his hand and a metallic air about him. His tanned skin and pale violet eyes seemed to be a mountain waiting to move as he stood there.

He looked at Sama, looked at me, then around at the area as the slit in the air was washed away. “That sounded pretty imperative, you old Hag.”

His voice hummed in the ground and the bones and ALL the important parts. Bloody Nuava...

“Go ahead,” Sama nodded at me slowly.

I sighed, and popped up my Darts, humming softly in my throat.

He absolutely stared as they came up, and I wound the Sacred Metas around them as if his Sun wasn’t there.

“Well, well, well,” he murmured, staring at them. “Dynamo, correct?” I nodded once to him. “Very impressive...”

Erp. My heart skipped at the compliment. Couldn’t help it.

Sama pointed at my throat. “What is that symbol, Fuzzy?”

He turned his pale violet eyes on it, and frowned deeply, a very expressive thing on his Neanderthalic face. He stared at it for a long minute, peeling back long layers of memories and symbols and looking for a match.

By the look on his face, he had to go way, way back, but I saw the match, because he blinked and flinched. “The Hell...” he muttered, snapping his eyes back up to me. “Are you from the Game?” he asked in disbelief.

Sama twitched, her eyes snapped down, and she suddenly recognized it, too. Yeah, they had to go back into those memories!

“Commander Briggs of Redshore, Captain Rantha of the Intrepid, pleased to make your acquaintance. Are you offering discounts to Coralost yet, Captain?” I asked her.

“I don’t give discounts to anyone,” she replied automatically, and twitched again. “Fuuuuuuck!” she announced to the world, throwing up her arms as I caught her again. “That’s the symbol of The Steel! Who the Hell were you there?!”

“I’m a shard cut off the soul of Aelryinth the Ringlord to escape a death giant demi-lich’s Death Curse, caught by the Widow in the Web and brought here,” I replied with a sigh.

They kind of looked at me, I looked back at them, and we all threw our hands up in resignation.

“Comic book universe,” Briggs swore.

“Fucking tropes!” Sama muttered to nobody.

“And one of us three can’t cut free from Fate, yay!” I cheered myself, looking at the two of them. “So, uh, not wanting to step on your toes, trying to stay under the radar and enjoy the fun while it lasts. Have no interest in taking over from you, or sponging off you for anything. Just doing my part as I Level up...”

“You’re able to Cast a Shards spell at 83+!” snapped Sama, pointing at me accusingly, and I winced back.

“Hey, hey, base Caster Level is only 50...”

“FIFTY!” both of them blurted out at me, and palmed their faces in unison.

“Optimizer,” Sama swore.

“Power gamer,” agreed Briggs.

“Kettle and Pot calling the frying pan black,” I huffed, lifting up my nose. “Seriously, an 83 Null?! And there was +11 Girding in that...”

“There is no mortal on the whole bloody planet who can Cast at a 50!” Briggs stated unequivocally.

I steepled my fingers, looking away, and did not meet his eyes.

Sama leaned forward threateningly. “There are more of you gamers here?” she asked dangerously.

“Us gamers, you mean?” I replied to that, and her face scrunched up again. “Uh, no, and yes. There’s... more of me around...”

Both of them rolled their eyes in unison again. So cute. “I shudder to ask,” Briggs rumbled in his deep, educated bass.

“I’ve got a Clone and four Duplicates running around, too.”

Briggs looked down at Sama. “And you wonder why we didn’t try a lot harder to bring in Power of Ten magic...” he said heavily.

She gave his broad chest a shove, which did nothing at all. “Yes, yes, yes...” She sighed as she stared at me, her expression very complicated now. “Do we know them?”

“Well, Kwannon is already sworn under you...”

Her jaw dropped, rose, dropped, rose again. She turned silently to Briggs, and pointed at me in disbelief.

“You know she’s basically married to Cassandra, right?” Briggs sighed.

“So she inferred to me. Dealer is my Clone, and does all the magic stuff for us.”

“I, but...” Sama started to protest.

“Nom de Guerre.”

She facepalmed again, and Briggs just groaned.

“The others would prefer to remain unknown to do what they like doing. They’re basically like Madrox Dupes, you know. Aspects of my personality, with their own likes, dislikes, and preferences...”

“And so, nothing like you.” She gestured up and down at me.

I put my hands on my hips, and tilted my head. “I have an enforced Pact to the Widow of the Web. I’m a Spider Totem Warlock. I’m also the only one of us with the Pact, but none of them can take the Heavenbound Pact I would dearly love to have because of it. I would really love to be the open Caster and Sorceress, but I’m the Pact Holder, so I act according to the dictates of a Pact Holder.

“That, and an Underweb Sorceress would terrify a lot of sorcerers if they heard about one. All the records of Casters messing around with the Web end up in catastrophe for somewhere and somewhen. So, Alchemy, Weird Science, lots of Pact energy, and I pretend to be a lightning-charged hero.” I spread my hands and shrugged. “The others promptly Psychic Reformation all the useless Warlock stuff away and pursue their own interests.”