Everyone else slapped their foreheads with me. “Someone has plenty of places to put all the Karma we’re going to earn for her,” Morgan muttered.
“Yeah, but that means no more Levels for us,” Nimue added with an elbow.
“All Dupe and Clone Karma goes toward the Eternal Ceiling!” Circe and Anning promptly chimed out together, giving me total shit-eating grins as they did so.
“You greedy opportunists!” I promptly protested, shaking my fist all around.
“A +10 to a Golden Child Stat will cost as much as breaking the Eternal Ceiling, if Sama is right,” Dealer pointed out. “That is a LOT of Karma the rest of us won’t benefit from.”
“I can’t help it if being the Prime means I’m potentially more awesome than the rest of you!” I sniffed.
“Says the woman with the limitations on spellcasting because of an unwanted Pact?” Nimue rolled her eyes.
“You’d all be Heavenbound if you could be, so quiet, you,” I shook my fist at her again. “The next time you’re Duped, it’s off Rank 17! See how you like being restricted!”
Her eyes flipped wide. “Blackmail!” she protested with a dramatic gasp at such overbearing treachery.
I cupped my ear to her. “What? You’re blackmailing me?” I snarked back. “No more arcane Faltine Fires then, either!”
Everyone was still laughing as Nimue evoked a force bolt and flagrantly sent me flying.
“Don’t forget about Ben and Alicia’s wedding!” Dealer waved at me as I went tumbling out of sight through space. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nimue had a really powerful force bolt. Wonder where she got that from?
------
DiDi and I dressed way down, following the principle of not outshining the bride on her wedding day. Reed Richards gave the toast, Anning supplied all the booze, and Dealer and Wong were in charge of the food with a small army of masked Sims handling everything.
It was the biggest gathering of heroes in the States since Reed and Sue were married, but Ben actually had more friends, including a few from the wrong side of the tracks courtesy of poker night at Mr. Hill’s. The Juggernaut was there, the Sandman too, and Emil Blonsky had wandered in from the Colosseum (currently six galaxies away), and together they set up an arm-wrestling table for all comers. Mr. Hill and the crew from Grimm Materials, the Titanic Girls, Crusher Creel, Thor, Sif, Brunhilda and the Warriors Three, the Slavic crew wandered in somehow, Hercules hosted them all, and Dragon Man was playing cards with all the kids over in the corner.
The whole Baxter Buddy crew had also shown up, naturally, and they’d brought friends to crash the place. Hells, Master Logan and the Hulk had shown up, and were drinking with Howard Stark and Doc Bronze over in the corner there.
There were members of a dozen alien races enjoying themselves, partly because Dealer and Wong actually made them custom platters they could enjoy. Notably, Skrulls didn’t seem to be one of them... but that didn’t stop anyone human passing by from thinking they’d just landed in the cafeteria upon LaGrange Station.
I tossed an eyebrow at Johnny’s newest girlfriend as I thumbed a bottle of Dealer’s Best.
During the whole Beyonder Secret War/Battleworld debacle, the Skrulls had made a move on Alicia Masters. That had been a bad idea. DiDi and Ursula were on top of them before they could take her down, as Alicia had somehow and miraculously acquired a pair of Ultraspecs whose default setting was invulnerability, naturally enough.
Oh, and she’d been trained in how to use it, too.
The spymaster had been reduced to ash, but the agent who was supposed to sub for Alicia was acquired by DiDi for questioning via Uni-Merge, and DiDi promptly went through all the female Skrull’s memories.
Then she Duplicated out the Skrull spy’s soul, complete with an empty Fire Core, and told her to go complete her mission, albeit now she was human, and potentially an amazingly powerful one.
Thus was born the spunky redhead Frankie Raye, who promptly went out and seduced Johnny Storm with no effort whatsoever, using the cover of being a college student to do so. Already attracted to him, she fell for him hard, and he’d already proposed to her privately. They were having a great time on the dance floor, the former Lyja having no problem with Terran customs with DiDi there to give her all the advice she wanted or needed.
DiDi was dancing with Mr. Willie Lumpkin right now, the old postman fantastically happy to be waltzing with a beautiful young woman.
I was running security, naturally enough.
I watched Frank Castle take down a sniper on a rooftop a half-mile away. His wife and kids took out the getaway driver and smoothly removed the evidence.
A missile came down out of the sky, and one of Fixer’s point-defense force fields took it on the chin. I tracked back the launch point, and a second later Felicia was there and people were starting to fall.
---
Seeing no guards outside, a certain quartet advanced towards the hall, thinking to make a mess of things.
A stroke of lightning thundered down right in front of them, blinding them and driving them back.
Lightning hissing over her Spear, which was glowing a crystalline red, Ursula just looked at the four of them, then waved her hand.
Plantman, the Trapster, the Vizard, and Hydro-man abruptly found themselves dressed in matching tuxes, all their gear gone. They all swallowed as she looked them up and down.
“Mr. Hill, that foursome you were expecting has shown up out front. You want to walk them in?” she said into her armored collar, her smile as cold as her blue eyes.
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There's some people I'd like to walk OUT, however...
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Mr. Hill rose right up out of the concrete next to her, dressed in a very nice tuxedo that fit him and his shoulders perfectly, with a very tall, muscular, and curvaceous redhead on his arm. “Wittman. Smithers. Petruski. Bench. Come on in. The Red Ghost and his monkeys are already here. Don’t make a fuss, as Dynamo is here, and you know how she loves you lot. The beer is awesome, so’s the food, and you might get to dance with some very attractive superwomen if you stay on good behavior,” he rumbled. “I don’t think I have to tell you how much of your brain matter is gonna be dribbling out your ears if you ruin the moment for that little blind lady on Grimm’s arm. You all shake their hands and have a good time tonight.”
The Vizard looked a little stiff, but he glanced at the hard-eyed High Priestess of the Church of Thor, Thundra smiling expectantly on Hill’s arm, and decided not to push things. “Of course! It would be our pleasure, Hill.”
---
“Excuse me.”
The four young men administering spray paint all over the gleaming Fantasi-car froze as the soft light bathed them all.
“AGH!” they all yelled together, and sprinted away in all directions in an obviously practiced maneuver... and fell flat on their faces as the glowing solid light on their feet anchored them to the parking lot.
“You are doing this wrong, non?” the tall, glowing blonde in white and gold asked them, as a gesture brought the bottles of spray paint up to her hand.
“Ohmigawd, it’s Sunstone!” whispered the eldest of the pranksters, gaping up at the gorgeous glowing blonde woman with the swirling golden hair.
“So it is!” she smiled at them, and abruptly all of them found themselves being lifted back to their feet. As they all blushed furiously, she tidied each of them up. “And if I am not mistaken, you are the famous members of the Yancy Street Gang, non?”
They blushed even more fiercely, wilting at her smile. “Uh, yah...” the toughest of them drooled, staring at her helplessly.
“You are doing this wrong!” she chided them. “Are you not artistes of the street? Did you forget your sense of style at this most important moment?” She turned them around and waved at the Fantiscar. “This, this is not a prank! This is just crude defilement. Pigeons could do better, non?” They all flushed as they looked at the lines of spray paint dribbled and drawn all over the vehicle in odd fashion, with no order to them.
“Come, come, now. We must do this properly. You know that Benjamin Grimm is a big burly man of a man, right? This, this will not do! You do not anger such a man on his wedding night, my infamous malefactors! You must embarrass him properly!”
She waved her hand at the Fantasicar, and they gaped as a wave of light stole over the blue and white and silver and swept all their paint jobs away, leaving everything shining happily.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Their jaws really dropped when she held up a can of spray paint, and shook it with great energy, holding up a painter’s card in her other hand.
Completely shocked, they watched as she held the card up to the side of the Fantasicar, and quickly and precisely sprayed a big pink set of lips onto the door.
“There now. You two, get the ribbons out of the bag, and tie them to the bumper. Quick, quick!” The two boys found their feet released, and hurried over to the paper sack sitting on the pavement nearby that she had pointed to. “You two, take the tooters out and attach them to the mufflers. Let proper farts trail him across the sky!” she smiled, and they almost fell over themselves to comply. “When you are done, we shall cover this fine vehicle in properly brightly-colored kisses and hearts and birdies and kittens, that such a manly man will pale to drive it!
“Also, we must jam the flight regulator, so that he must fly slooooowly, and all the city might see and hear him!” she added very seriously.
Unable to stop chortling, the members of the Yancy Street Gang got to work making Ben Grimm a truly suitable honeymoon ride with energy and glee under Sunstone’s polite and earnest instruction.
---
“Surprised the heck out of them, I see,” I told Briggs as he slid in across from me, his Disk discreetly opening up to take his weight. I slid over the Dealer’s Best, and he took it smoothly.
“The young men don’t think the old man can be so strong, and the millennia-old gods don’t think a mere mortal can be so strong,” he shrugged, but his pale violet eyes gleamed in satisfaction. Hercules was still massaging his wrist, and the Hulk was pouting in a corner. Thor and Juggernaut were having a make-up bout after being beaten by Briggs as well, while Mr. Hill looked satisfied that he’d just gotten a chance to arm-wrestle the Great Bear. “Hey, never told you, this is good beer.” He tilted it back in satisfaction.
“Thanks. Never asked, how do you and Sama make Karma, given how insane some of the pricing gets?”
His eyes wandered over to where Sama was dancing with the rather nervous groom, who was trying to forget who she was and stay human as they danced. “Killing time-shifters and things coming in from Outside Creation, mostly. They all tend to be either hugely powerful or commanding powerful forces, and the payoff is pretty big. Fairly constant, too. The universe is pretty big, lots of places for them to try things at, and they’ve got all of the timestream to play with.”
“You time-travel that much?” I was frankly astonished.
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There was a request for a list of Dynamo, her Dupes and Clones, and trying to keep everything straight. It ended up rather long, as I DO keep that list, for that exact reason.
Here it is.
Dynamo and Dupes
Dynamo (Prime) – Unknown type; General Core; Golden Child; Soul of Le Fey. Extremely fair skin (can’t tan naturally); Black hair turning red when channeling energy, green eyes; True Form of Golden Child with gleaming golden skin and full-pupil green eyes a full head taller (similar to an auburn-haired Kismet). Dynamo is the only one who regularly Copies Callie’s Mimic powers with Ur-Priest abilities, and usually has half the powers of Primus, Comet, and the Atom. She is also the only one with Sersi’s Eternal powers, or Golden Child abilities.
Dealer (Ex-Clone, now a Prime) – Balubedu Bloodline; Adventurer, Soul of Ororo Munroe; Arcane Core. Dark hair/Blue eyes/Fair-skinned when Masked, standard Balubedu when not.
Morgan (New Clone, 21) – Wizard, Arcane Core; Auburn hair, green eyes.
Nimue (Dupe/21) – Wizard, Arcane Core. Dark hair and green eyes.
Kwannon the Teacher(Soul of Kwannon): Dupe/21, Psionic Core. The Master Mindblade of Cynosure and partner of Cassandra Nova, Headmistress of the Academy. Purple hair and eyes, Oriental.
Felicia, the Black Cat – (Dupe/21, Soul of Lorelei) – Femme Fatale, Shadow/Hex/Chaos Core. Green eyes, platinum blonde. The most promiscuous of the Dupes.
Ursula, High Priestess of the Church of Asgard – Dupe/21, Soul of Amora; Divine/Lightning Core, Bearer of the Godstone. Brown hair, green eyes, looks like an Asgardian.
Sunny, the Sunstone Bearer – Dupe/21, Linked to Darkstar; Light/Radiant Core, works for Euroforce. Pale blue-eyed blonde.
Tatyana the Explorer, Dupe/20 – Dimensional Core, on the Alternity Watch. Brown-haired and blue-eyed, works in Russia.
Isabella Cartier the Architect, the Icy Belle of Brazil: Dupe/20, Brazilian Crimelord; Frost Core. Pursued by Bobby Drake. White hair and blue eyes, extremely fair, dresses in white.
DiDi the Leader; Dupe/21 (Soul of Karnilla); Lightning Core, runs the Baxter Foundation and Ferrus/Stark Enterprises, handling their legal, political, and financial matters, and the security of the Baxter Complex. Very dark red hair and green eyes, almost a twin of Dynamo’s original form.
Fedora the Detective: Dupe/21 (Soul of ??); Divination Core; hunts down (magical) criminals. Black hair and very pale green eyes. Extremely feared in magical circles, one of Dr. Strange’s favorite agents.
Maria the Singer: Dupe/20: Thunder Core: Brazilian pop singer/entertainer. Appears Latino, dark hair and eyes. Extraordinary voice.
Barb the Builder: Dupe/20: Lightning Core; Makes big techno things, works with the Pentad Alliance, sweet on Wrench. Blonde haired and blue-eyed.
Dealer Dupes: All are Balubedu bloodline in appearance.
Anning Munroe the Alchemist (Clone/21): Arcane Core; Does research work and teaches Alchemists. White hair. Specializes in brewing and vintner studies, controls all the ‘Dealer’s Best’ labels and production.
Storm Munroe, Queen of Wakanda (20): Storm/Divine Core. Burgeoning goddess of the Asgardian bloodline.
Circe Munroe the Witch (Dupe/21): Arcane Core: Wandering spellcaster seeking new magic. Lavender hair.
Chef Julia Munroe (Dupe/20) – Fire Core: Cooks on the Colosseum (red hair). She and Dealer are beloved of all ranks of the Colosseum, including its owner, Champion.
Curie Munroe the Researcher (Dupe/20) – designs production models for baseline tech and their rollouts based on advancing science. Consults everywhere. Black hair.
Neferi Munroe the Performer (Dupe/20): Actress and model in Los Angeles. Standard Core. White Hair. Has set up her own production company and modeling agency, own fashion line, beauty products, etc. The most beautiful of the Munroes.
Danica Munroe the Driver (Explorer) (Dupe/20): Drives The Road. Magenta hair. Known by a lot of Ghost Riders.
Medea Munroe the Adventurer (Dupe/20): Standard Core. Dead set on eradicating the Crux and Askar, basically a solo superheroine active in Africa, the Middle East, and around the Mediterranean. White hair. Rapidly became very famous in Northern Africa.
Royale Munroe the Femme Fatale (Dupe/20): Standard Core. Operates out of Great Britain and France. Social butterfly, works with Felicia setting up their intelligence network, involved in the fashion industry, and knows many nobles. White hair and very stylish.
Uhura the Manager (Dupe/20): Standard Core. Runs the Grimm Materials and production side of the Stark businesses, handling production, staffing, training, and job allocations for Grimm specifically. Very behind-the-scenes, doing the groundwork for expanding businesses. White hair, dresses as a business professional.
Haro Munroe the Captain (Dupe/20): Standard Core. Serving in the Pentad Ultra Corps and climbing the ranks fast, aiming for an Admiralship and her own vessel.
Cleo Munroe the Warlord (Dupe/21): (Soul of Sekhmet): Weather/Storm Core and effective Demigoddess. Has taken over and is running Madripoor. White hair. Works with Isabella frequently.
Freya Munroe the Farmer (Dupe/20): Natural/Druidic Core. Runs her own farms in the Tribal Lands, producing ungodly fine agricultural products of all sorts. White hair. Most powerful Druid on the planet, and technically the High Priestess of Gaia thereby.
Others
Frankie Raye/Firetop: Ex-Skrull Agent now in a base Duplicate body from DiDi, engaged to Johnny Storm. Fire Core. Red-haired and green-eyed.
Thundra is basically a Duplicate of Felicia with her own soul.
Darkstar is effectively a Duplicate of Sunny with her own soul.
There are Clone/Primes and Duplicates in: The Future of the Guardians of the Galaxy: the alternate Earth where Primus’ and Calli’s kids are; and scattered alternities as requested by Sama and Briggs of Tatyanna while she has been working for the Alternity Watch.
Simulacra (note: Sims do not have to look anything like their Casters!)
Most Sims are 12/12/12, which is still superhumanly skilled and competent by human standards, and thus are extremely good at mundane jobs, as they do not tire, sleep, or need to eat under normal circumstances. They use Extended Alter Self to appear fully human at all times. As they are technically Constructs made of Animated ice, they won’t trip filters/scanners for Shapechangers. Sims can be made to look like any being the Caster wants them to, but all of the Dupes use copies of their own personalities for all of them, whether they appear male or female.
They are artificial beings with neither souls nor free will, and thus cannot have true Marks, and so do not appear in the Markspace. Their Casters can exchange memories and update with them by exchanging a Valence VI, but do not gain Karma unless the Sim is directly under their supervision/control. Sims cannot effectively improve themselves either, save by acquiring gear, and cannot spend Karma or learn new Skills. Psychic Reformation can be used to reorganize their existing Skills and Levels to a new configuration if desired.
Felicia and Royale’s Sims are deployed worldwide to help manage their intelligence network and train their mostly female agents.
Dynamo’s Sims are mostly deployed in the news/reporting profession across the world. Several are renowned public news faces, or up and coming internet reporters, with many, many connections.
Curie and Anning’s Sims are deployed as researchers or technicians in various technology firms and organizations, sources of information and alternate avenues of research inside their rivals. Said firms would not be happy to know how many of their patents are actually controlled by the Munroes...
DiDi’s Sims are mostly deployed as support staff to help run the Baxter and Stark operations, handling and directing legal and financial matters with tireless competency.
Ursula’s Sims are scattered among the newer Churches to the Aesir that are going up, to protect, guide, and teach those who attend and worship.
Kwannon’s Sims are scattered across various Tribal lands and Allies to give them teachers, inspiration, and emergency access to a lot of spell power where normally they might have none. They are often the most powerful Powered around for some distance.
Sunny’s Sims work in government positions dealing with the arts or for musical troupes, orchestras, and the like as professional musicians, organizers, and performers, throughout all of Europe.
Fedora’s Sims work as private investigators and cold-case pursuers associated with police departments across the world, especially pursuing missing person and murder cases, and many are renowned in police circles and feared by criminals.
Chef Julia’s Sims form the core of the wait staff and cooks at Spicy Terran Food and its adjutants on the Colosseum.
Dealer’s Sims are usually deployed to help her run her parties, cook/serve at them, and keep events going smoothly. There’s always one around Mr. Hill’s house, too, keeping it spotless, fully-stocked, walking the dogs, and making sure he’s taken care of. Since Wong is frequently with Dealer or Chef Julia, too, she also maintains the Sanctum for him.
Isabella’s Sims generally work as the owners of high-class establishments, eateries, hotels, parks, stores, farms, ranches, and other business operations in her territories, frequently as cover for her less legal businesses.
Barb’s Sims largely work as technicians and engineers scattered across the Pentad areas in space, putting the future together one super-science project at a time.
Neferi and Maria’s Sims are scattered through the worldwide entertainment industry in various functions and helping turn it on its ear, keeping the two of them aware of ALL the gossip.
Freya’s Sims help maintain her farm and assist any of her neighbors who need help.
Uhura’s Sims work as her assistants in managing the production end of their sprawling business interests.
Tatyana’s Sims are mostly engaged in support functions for the Alternity Watch in Russia.
Danica’s Sims are a spread of pilots, truckers, drivers, racers, cyclists, hikers, boaters, and so forth engaged around Terra and Venus, always on the move.
Medea’s Sims are, amusingly enough, employed as secretaries and legal assistants at extremely high-powered and perhaps quasi-legal private banks, legal firms, and accounting offices all over the Middle East and the Mediterranean. She is often taking them over behind the scenes and using them to track a lot of suspicious movements by the wealthy and powerful, while also making a lot of money off of them.
Haro’s Sims work in the training and logistics division of the Pentad Corps, helping support its operations.
Cleo’s Sims form the heart of her intelligence organization and infiltration of criminal and murim organizations across the South Pacific, as well as organizational aides and trainers for her new recruits.