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The Guild of Gamers: The Game Master by The Dark Wolf Shiro

Game X-overs & Worm Xover Rated: M, English, Fantasy & Supernatural, Words: 71k+, Favs: 3k+, Follows: 3k+, Published: Sep 11, 2023 Updated: Jun 25

1,030Chapter 5: Round One, Fight!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works; if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise, it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old Man of the Mountain, TheDonFluffles, Malcolm Tent, Mike, God of Lore and Beans

The Guild of Gamers: The Game Master

Chapter 05: Round one, Fight!

— Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) —

Azuth was a mystery to Cauldron; if it weren't for his own 'Blank' preventing Contessa from reading him, she'd not have thought much of his bold claims.

But he was offering to hand out power-ups, including Blank, which would be a disaster. If Azuth could do what he claimed and started passing out Blank, Contessa's paths would become much less reliable, with Azuth whimsically creating new blindspots wherever he pleased.

That was why she was forced to take his claims so seriously, even beyond his hints at more Endbringers awakening and 'the true foe'.

What did Azuth know? Did he have a Thinker power that bypassed the enemy's resistance? Had he seen the truth behind Scion? What did he know of the future Endbringers? These were all questions she needed the answers to.

Of course, seeing the PRT taking his claims seriously also made the villains and independent heroes take things much more seriously, and led to there being a far larger gathering than his unproven claim would normally have caused.

As they reached the other side of the portal, she looked around calmly, not showing her confusion at the almost Roman-style arena they found themselves gathered in.

Four stone pillars were placed around the arena, with enough stands to hold tens of thousands of spectators.

The sky was purple, telling her she wasn't in Brockton Bay anymore, and Azuth himself stood in a stand looking over the gathered capes, like an emperor of old as he imperiously stared down at them.

"Welcome, Brave Challengers, to the Kahn's Arena!" Azuth started, getting their attention as the portal behind them closed. Some capes had hesitated for too long and been left behind, but the majority had followed behind after she and Eidolon entered.

Eidolon couldn't be kept away, not when there was a slim possibility that Azuth could fix his failing power; it was a desperate look that she didn't approve of, but Eidolon wouldn't ignore any chance at regaining his former power.

'The Kahn'? She didn't understand what Azuth was talking about, but that was just par for the course when he was involved.

"I must confess, we gathered rather a larger number of contestants than I originally expected, given the fact that I made it clear that only a single prize was up for grabs, but given the crowd, I've made a slight change to my plans," Azuth explained, watching the crowd. "Firstly, let's separate our lucky challengers into their separate factions."

Before anyone could respond, the crowd found themselves teleported into smaller groups.

Looking around, she saw that she was with Eidolon, Weld (brought to test Azuth's claims about Case 53s), Armsmaster, Solarflare, Miss Militia and, surprisingly, Shadow Stalker.

She ignored the way the three Brockton Bay heroes started to interrogate the shocked Ward, who definitely shouldn't be here. She'd obviously snuck in because all the Wards were supposed to have been kept away.

Looking around, she noticed that there were eight groups in total.

The Protectorate, New Wave, The Empire Eighty-Eight, The Sons of Samedi, The Westside Rollerz, Faultline's crew, a group of Independent Heroes, and a final group of Independent Villains.

"Now, while I originally planned to hand out only a single boon this day, the grand reception to my first game has inspired me to make this a true spectacle," Azuth said as he gestured flamboyantly with his hands. "So, instead, we shall be making this game a little more interesting. I originally planned to pick two people at random from the Challengers to take part. However, as thanks for the considerable response to my challenge, I will be picking someone from each group at random. They will represent their faction in the upcoming tournament."

Suddenly, bringing Weld didn't seem as smart, and she joined Armsmaster in glaring at Shadow Stalker. Still, that meant he was capable of giving out a considerable amount of powers at once. They were fairly sure that Azuth had some kind of limitation or cost on his Trump power, but this muddied the waters somewhat.

"With eight groups, there shall be four fights to begin. Those who win those fights will be granted one of the boons I offered and move on to the next round. Should they win that battle, they will be granted a boon of greater power and move on to the final, winning a chance at the grand prize. In total, I will be granting seven boons this day. I'm sure none of you have any complaints about this change," Azuth said with a smile, excitement growing among the capes gathered. "Now, to pick the champions. I'm afraid it's too late to send away your less experienced fighters; by entering the portal, you all agreed to participate in this event."

That was very much directed at them, glaring at Shadow Stalker or maybe the Empire, who seemed to regret bringing Othala, who couldn't fight for herself.

"Future games may be less combat-oriented, but this is a true tournament, a test of might between the defenders of this world. Now, the champion from the Protectorate will be~" Azuth paused, looking at a strange device to his side. Another teleport moved her to the stands with most of her 'faction.' "Shadow Stalker!"

Oh, god damn it.

Eidolon was practically vibrating with anger, and Armsmaster wasn't far behind as they looked down at the Ward, who had snuck in and stole their chance at empowerment.

She didn't miss the relieved looks on the various villains' faces at her and Eidolon being sent away, and as Eidolon tried to re-enter the arena, a forcefield kept them in the stands.

"I'm afraid there will be no rerolls, Eidolon. Young Shadow Stalker will represent your faction; such are the whims of fate. Do not attempt to interfere with the selection unless you wish to be blacklisted from future games, along with your faction."

Azuth's warning made her grab David and force him to take a seat, not wanting to have the entire Protectorate blacklisted from the games.

In truth, this worked out. If Shadow Stalker won, they could afford to risk her if Azuth's boons had any side effects. She had hoped to use her position to talk to Azuth before the games started, to prevent Blank from getting spread around, but Azuth was smartly keeping a distance from them.

"Moving on, the Champion for the Empire Eighty-Eight will be…" Azuth paused again, checking the device. "Fenja!"

The selections continued, watching as Fleur was selected for New Wave, Moxxi was chosen for the Rollerz, Uber found herself the representative of the Independent Villains, much to Circus' annoyance, and Mouse Protector became the champion of the Independent Heroes.

Finally, Bitch and Sister Calypso became the champions for Faultline and the Sons of Samedi, leaving the eight chosen standing in the arena.

Then, once more, the champions were teleported, six finding themselves in a 'VIP' part of the stands, leaving only two standing in the arena, facing each other down.

"Our first contenders, representing New Wave, we have the ever-blooming Fleur, and representing the Sons of Samedi is the fearsome Sister Calpyso," Azuth declared as the hero and villain stared each other down.

The voodoo priestess glared at the hero, her face hardly hidden by her half-skull mask. In truth, Sister Calpyso, or Celia Laborn, made a token effort to hide her identity but clearly didn't care about her civilian life anymore after her son's death.

The advantage of a perfect memory meant she could instantly recall the details of any cape; she made sure to keep up to date on new triggers since she just had to skim their files to commit them to memory.

Celia's only remaining family was her daughter, Aisha, or Rougarou as she now preferred; the mother and daughter duo had joined the Sons after they triggered from Brian Laborn's execution.

This was a bad match-up. Sister Calpyso wasn't useless in a fight, but she was more like Othala than an outright fighter. Despite her age, Aisha would have been a better choice for champion, but hardly any group had their best fighter chosen. Was it truly random, or was Azuth playing games?

– Jessica (Fleur) –

Despite having been around since before the Sons arrived, she realised that she'd never actually fought their Stranger as she stood opposite the dark-skinned woman, barely covered by her blood-stained off-white dress.

As Azuth declared the fight had begun, she sprung into action and started to create her flowers around her, unsurprised when a thin black mist started to cover the arena and Sister Calypso vanished.

That was her opponent's power, to create a mist that she could use to turn anyone within it invisible, but Fleur had dealt with strangers before. Controlling three orbs, she planted them in the ground and created another, watching as the three planted orbs started to bloom and grow.

The final orb she kept with her, making it spin around her slowly as she closed her eyes and focused. The flowers surrounding her made approaching dangerous; touching one of them would cause them to erupt, so Calypso had to be careful unless she wanted to get blown up, especially as two more orbs joined the one circling her, speeding up and moving erratically.

She might be invisible, but that didn't mean she couldn't be heard.

Sister Calypso wasn't a fighter; she usually just made her daughter and the Samedi thugs invisible and stayed out of the fight herself, so it wasn't any real surprise when Fleur's eyes shot open and, with a gesture, sent three spinning orbs in a certain direction.

Sister Calypso dove away, only noticeable thanks to the sound of a body hitting the floor, but as she landed, she clipped the edge of one of the planted flowers.

With a flash of multicoloured light, the mist was blown away as Sister Calypso reappeared, flying backwards. This was never going to go her way. Fleur had been at this for too long, and both Calypso and Rougarou were fairly new triggers.

Still, she didn't hesitate to toss the three orbs towards the downed villain, not willing to risk letting her pull a comeback and get empowered by the mad wizard who had arranged this entire game.

All three struck true before Calypso could rise, a myriad of lights flashing as the Stranger was repeatedly blasted. Her flowers weren't that strong, on the lower end of blasters, so she didn't need to worry about accidentally killing the older woman.

"The victory goes to Fleur," Azuth declared, waving his hand as the mist and planted flowers vanished, causing a murmur amongst the crowd. Calypso glared at her, bloodied from the blasts, but to both of their surprise, Azuth simply waved his hand a second time, and the wounds healed.

Before she could speak, Calypso was teleported over to the other Sons, Mr Sunshine not looking happy as he glared at both her and Azuth, while Rougarou rushed over to her mother's side, also glaring at Fleur.

Being teleported herself, she found herself standing in Azuth's box before the game host himself.

"So, champion, tell me, have you decided what boon you desire?" Azuth asked, making her pause. In truth, New Wave had planned to put Glory Girl forward as their fighter.

"Can I give my boon to someone else?" Fleur asked, making him pause for a moment before he shook his head.

"I am afraid not," Azuth decided as she took a moment to consider her answer. She'd seen the list of 'boons' he was offering, and after a moment, she made her decision.

"Then I'd like the Shadow-Touched boon," Fleur decided. New Wave had an excess of damage dealers but no real recon options; being able to go invisible would make things easier. She also didn't really trust Azuth to mess with her power, not before seeing what he could do first.

"So it shall be," Azuth proclaimed, raising his hand and touching her forehead as she felt a rush of power flood her veins, knowledge of how to use her two new powers entering her mind. "I have chosen the spell Colour Spray as your bonus spell; it matches your theme."

He wasn't wrong; she could now cause an array of flashing multicoloured lights to leave her hands, temporarily blinding those caught up in it.

"Now, onto the next round," Azuth said, tapping her on the shoulder as she found herself next to Brandish. Unable to stop herself, she focused for a moment and vanished from sight as she heard the gasps of those who saw her disappear.

Reappearing, she felt her power go on a 'cool-down', but she'd be able to use it again in short order. Giving Brandish and Glory Girl a grin, she turned and looked down into the arena as Fenja and Shadow Stalker appeared within it.

– Sophia Hess (Shadow Stalker) –

Admittedly, this hadn't been her best plan, and she was going to get ripped a new asshole once this was over, given the way fucking Eidolon had been glaring at her.

She had hoped to slip in and get the boon in the chaos. She'd be able to get to Azuth quickly with her power, and once she had it, the PRT wouldn't risk losing her when she was even stronger.

But then Azuth went and invited everyone into his little arena, and she had to stand there as Armsmaster and Eidolon glared at her, but fuck those old assholes. She'd been chosen as the Champion, not them, and they could kiss her perky black ass if they didn't like it.

Once she took home the grand prize, they'd have to let her off the hook for sneaking in instead of staying with the other losers.

Not being able to use her real bolts with the fucking Triumvirate staring down at her was a bit of a problem, but all she had to do was phase a tranq bolt through Fenja's armour, and the oversized nazi would be down for the count.

The moment the fight started, she went into her shadow form and slipped into the ground; yeah, she was gonna put this fucking nazi bitch in her place.

– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –

Watching Shadow Stalker attempt the most obvious ambush in history; she resisted the urge to face-palm as Shadow Stalker reappeared behind Fenja and went solid just long enough to take aim…

Only to get hit in the face with a shield, with Fenja not even bothering to turn around or grow in size as she just clobbered Shadow Stalker over the head with her metal shield, sending the younger girl tumbling to the ground, dazed.

The second blow came from Fenja's armoured metal boot as the Empire capes cheered and mocked them. Shadow Stalker didn't rise, her mask providing little defence against the heavy metal of Fenja's shield.

Fenja snorted in amusement, kicking Shadow Stalker lightly to see if the Ward was playing dead, but the declaration of Fenja's victory made the Valkyrie laugh at how easily the PRT had been eliminated from this competition,

Eidolon and Armsmaster were both seething as they watched Shadow Stalker be healed and teleported into the PRT section of the stands, the Ward looking around in confusion before she spotted the genuine anger of basically everyone around her. Even Weld seemed angry, having seemingly lost her chance to possibly have her power 'fixed' because Shadow Stalker decided to invite herself to the games.

"You have a lot to answer for once we get out of here," Armsmaster growled, glaring at the Ward. She mentally reminded herself that Armsmaster was supposedly in charge of the Wards in Brockton Bay. If he couldn't control an edgy vigilante, then maybe that should be changed.

Miss Militia or Elasti-girl would do a better job, less focused on themselves; perhaps it might even be worth demoting Armsmaster from his position as the leader of the Brockton Bay Protectorate, given his inability to control his charges. Clearly, this city needed more attention if it was going to be where Azuth based himself.

Still, as rebellious as Shadow Stalker might have been, even she found it hard to argue with them all staring at her.

– Jessica Biermann (Fenja) –

Standing in front of Azuth, she smiled victoriously. No matter what else happened today, she'd represented the Empire and ruined the PRT's chances of gaining Azuth's boon.

"Have you decided which boon you desire?" Azuth asked, and they'd all heard him refuse to allow Fleur to give her boon to another member of New Wave, so she didn't even bother asking as she smiled.

They had hoped to get the invisibility boon for either Victor or Othala, but it was for the best that Othala didn't get picked because she'd certainly have lost against any of the opponents, but their leader had a few ideas of what she wanted from the mysterious Azuth.

"You said you were open to suggestions before, so tell me… do you have any magic items to give out to your champions? That's a wizardy thing to do, isn't it?" Jessica asked, making sure to angle herself to give the probably teenage boy a good long look at her cleavage, her armour pushing her breasts together nicely.

"Hm, I do believe I can work something out, though the nature of the item would be at my discretion, of course," Azuth warned, making her nod as his eyes went out of focus for a moment. "So be it; if it is enchanted gear you desire, it is enchanted gear you will have. I have two items that could benefit you: armour to better protect you and an item that will prove a powerful tool in battle. Make your choice."

She paused for a moment before nodding to herself. She had two more chances to win more boons from him, but she needed to win first, and armour would be helpful.

"The armour," Fenja answered, making Azuth nod as he clicked his fingers.

Her armour vanished, appearing in a pile beside her as it was immediately replaced by her new armour, an aura of cold coming from her body as she looked down at it. It was forged in much the same style as her Valkyrie armour, though made from a metal she could not recognise and clearly of much higher quality.

Silvered armour clad her body, with icy blue accents that hummed with power, her shield being equally replaced. The temperature around her grew cold enough for Azuth's breath to be visible, but she didn't feel even slightly chilly as she admired her gear.

"This is the Armour of the Frost Maiden, imbued with the breath of a frost dragon. Those who strike you will find themselves facing an icy rebuttal, and while wearing it, you can unleash the breath of a frost dragon upon your foes," Azuth explained, and she could feel it. In the back of her throat, an icy blizzard just waiting to be unleashed on whoever she pleased.

"Won't it break when I grow?" Jessica asked, making him shake his head.

"Magical equipment always fits perfectly, whether you are six foot or sixty," Azuth swore, making her pause as she called on her powers, just enough so her head hit the roof of Azuth's box.

True to his claim, the armour grew with her, the blizzard within growing as well.

"I take it you are satisfied, noble Valkyrie?" Azuth asked, making her grin as she shrunk again.

"Keep giving me gifts like this, and you'll be the one satisfied," Jessica flirted, making him chuckle.

"I do not give gifts; I only reward those who succeed in my games and quests, but I will take that as a yes. Enjoy the fruits of your victory; for now, the next match must begin," Azuth said, nodding as she was teleported back to her sister's side.

"You did well, Fenja," Iron Rain said, giving her a proud nod. Shadow Stalker had been a plague on the Empire before she was forced into the Wards, and if she hadn't been grabbed by the PRT, then she'd have met the same fate as Blackout.

It was good to put the little bitch in her place; she definitely wasn't white under that full-body suit; Jess would put money on it. Looking over at the PRT section, she gave them a smug smirk even as she thanked Azuth that she didn't end up fighting fucking Eidolon or Alexandria.

But for now, she settled in, seeing the next round start. It wasn't going to be that interesting. Mad Moxxi preferred to lead from the back, and Uber was, well, Uber. A slut and some nerdy chick wasn't exactly the fight of the century.

– Maxine Hodunk (Mad Moxxi) –

"Come on, hun, let's talk about this," Moxxi tried, watching the other woman charge her with a cocky smirk.

Her power was actually pretty useful outside of combat.

Unfortunately, she was a lover and not a fighter and the fit younger woman rushed her, Uber switching her skill to some martial art, making Moxxi yelp as she was tossed over Uber's shoulder, slamming into the ground.

It wasn't that she didn't put up a fight; she'd grown up with a rough bunch and knew how to bloody some noses, but this was just an unfortunate match-up for her as she fought the supernaturally-talented girl, quickly losing ground as Uber danced around her blows.

But then, how was being able to find out the probability of something happening supposed to help in a fight? Her power helpfully told her that the probability of her power helping her in this fight was 2.53%.

It couldn't be used often enough to count as a combat thinker skill, but even as Uber pinned her, Moxxi shrugged playfully, tapping out. She just came to see what all the fuss was about and to get a look at Azuth.

Probability of Azuth being willing to partner up for her next Thunderdome? Her power remained stubbornly silent as she gave Uber a playful pat on the backside, making the younger girl jump.

Guess she'd have to do this the hard way, but then, she was never one to shy away from a little… hardness. Azuth was a man behind his flamboyant act, and from one actor to another, she did recognise it for what it was, and most men were pretty simple.

Blowing a kiss to their host, she smiled as she got sent back to her girls, Overdrive giving her a questioning look, making Moxxi shake her head. They weren't really fighters, but Azuth had said future games might not be as combat-focused; this wasn't the end. Probability of future games involving racing?

Figures, stupid power.

– Samantha (Uber) –

She'd hoped to get Leet a power modification, Leet had been obsessed with the idea of Azuth 'fixing' her power ever since he'd mentioned that he could modify powers on PHO, but at the very least she could thank God, Buddha, Allah, Scion (because some people took cape worship that far) that she ended up fighting someone she could handle in a tournament with Iron Rain (you know, miss 'skewers people with iron swords bigger than their bodies'), Alexandria and fucking Eidolon.

"I want Fey-Touched," Sam answered, making Azuth nod calmly. "Misty Step OP, do not nerf."

"Indeed," Azuth agreed as they shared a momentary acknowledgment from one nerd to another. "So it shall be. I have chosen Bless as your bonus spell."

Ooh, Bless was a good one. +1d4 to any attack roll and saving throw. Azuth tapped her forehead as she felt herself being empowered, the knowledge of how to use her new powers coming to the forefront of her mind.

"So, I don't suppose you're hiring? I mean, a Wizard, a Bard/Fighter and an Artificer isn't the best party comp, but we definitely are for hire and will totally take payment in magical items or boons," Sam tried, making Azuth chuckle. "If not, are you down for joining a show? We could make something great with your powers."

"We shall see, but for now, I must focus on the matter at hand," Azuth replied, and that wasn't a no.

"Heh, got it," Sam said, getting teleported back to Leet and Circus. Circus glared at them, but she/he was ignored; it sucks to suck and all that.

"So, you can Misty Step?" Leet asked, making Uber nod as she vanished in a poof of mist, reappearing at the other side of the box. It had a short cooldown, but some teleportation was better than none.

Azuth interrupted, declaring the last qualifying round as Bitch (and her three dogs) appeared at one side, Mouse Protector appearing at the other.

"Ufufufu," Mouse Protector laughed, making Bitch blink in confusion as her dogs grew in size. "Don't you know it's the terrible felines that are the mouse's arch-enemy, not these cuddly puppies?"

…cuddly?

Looking at the van-sized monstrous dogs, Uber briefly wondered if Mouse Protector was dropped on the head as a child before shaking her head.

"...you think they're cuddly?" Bitch asked, making Mouse Protector nod as she posed grandly.

"Of course, who could ever be intimidated by something so adorable," Mouse Protector announced as three giant hounds approached her, drooling as they bared their teeth. "But cuteness alone will not help you best the defender of rodents, for I must… well, honestly, I just thought this sounded like fun."

"You're smart, but I gotta beat you. I wanna be able to talk to my dogs," Bitch announced, giving Mousey a surprisingly respectful nod. "Hurt."

"Oh-Ho!" Mouse Protector cheered, unalarmed by the three monstrous hounds as they charged her.

– The Marvelous Mouse Protector –

Tossing her sword into the air, she waited until all three hounds had lunged at her to teleport to it, laughing as the two of them hit each other. Well, that wasn't very nice of them, was it? She just wanted to pat their fuzzy heads, and they tried to eat her.

The silly girl had accidentally sent all her hounds to the wrong side of the arena, and it would be disrespectful to not take advantage of that as Mouse Protector took aim with her slingshot and fired a small ball bearing at Bitch.

The ball struck true, years of experience showing itself as Bitch's head snapped back in confusion, which was made worse by the Big Cheese teleporting to the ball, delivering her Rodent Roundhouse Kick (trademark pending) to the young mercenary's side.

Such was the folly of youth, you should always hold something back to protect yourself, but the young one would live to learn from her mistake; her sword, Whisker (trademark rejected, but screw those stuffy PRT lawyers) would not claim her head today (or any day, she didn't kill kids, even villainous ones. She preferred abject humiliation for the naughtiest ones, and a light spanking for the merely mischievous ones).

The hounds rushed to protect their master, but their size meant they turned slowly, and Bitch might be a brawler, but against this defender of the small, she was far too inexperienced. Ufufufu.

– Solomon White (Azuth) –

The randomness means that fair fights are going to be unlikely, but god damn, do I almost feel sorry for Rachel as Mouse Protector (why is she even here) just toys with her. That said, watching Shadow Stalker get her shit rocked was worth giving magical gear to a neo-nazi.

Did I fix the games a little? Maybe. All I did was remove Eidolon and Alexandria from the running because fuck that. They're both too strong for this. They'd sweep without any challenge.

The winner of this fight is clear from the start, Mouse Protector is one of the OG Wards; she's been in this business for a long time and has a lot of wins under her belt, compared to Bitch, who only joined Faultline a few months ago from my research.

Basically, it's a one-sided ass whooping, with Mousey dancing around the dogs with ease, always out of reach. She's playing hit and run, teleporting in, getting a good hit off, then running away again as she leads the dogs on a wild mouse chase around the large arena.

It isn't long until Rachel is knocked out, Mousey stopping to laugh (in a very over-the-top way) and not even stopping as one of the dogs continues to charge her, making me teleport her out of the ring and heal Rachel. She is obviously angry and disappointed as I send her back to Faultline; I'm not surprised that the Palanquin crew showed up, given Faultline's interest in Case 53s.

I can't heal that effectively anywhere but here, but in this world I've made, I'm God. I could bring back the dead as long as they died in my arena; such is the power I possess. I cannot be killed here; hell, I can't be affected by anything as long as I'm in this place. Eidolon and Alexandria could attack me together, and I'd win. I've also made sure that I alone possess the power to decide who comes and goes from this place. Doormaker can't help them here.

It was expensive, but my recklessness left me with so many points to spare, enough to hand out boons like candy and still have enough to go around that I can accelerate my future plans.

"And what does the Big Cheese desire as her prize?" I ask, making Mousey turn around to face me from where she'd still been laughing. Well, I say 'laughing'; she was literally just saying 'Ufufufu'.

"Hm? Oh, I haven't got a clue. Why don't you pick something," Mousey says, utterly carefree as I blink before I shrug. Her funeral.

Skimming through my choices, I get an idea as I craft a new boon, made to grant a single spell.

"So be it, then I have made my decision. All true knights need a mount, and what better mount for such a cheesy knight than this," I say, granting her a modified Find Greater Steed, her eyes going out of focus for a moment as she immediately activates her new power.

I'm glad this box is so large, as a horse-sized Dire Rat appears next to her, chittering as she squeals in pleasure, immediately fussing her new steed.

"I shall name you… the Biggest Cheese," Mousey swears, fussing over the monster as I chuckle.

It has the stat-block of a Dire Wolf, just flavoured to be a giant rat; I almost pity her future enemies… though, now that I think about it, she dies to the Nine, does she not? I might have to do something about that; the world is brighter with her in it.

"I'm sure you and Biggest Cheese will be great partners, but the games must continue," I say, teleporting her over to the Independent Heroes, where Sere takes an awkward step away from the massive rodent. "And now, brave contenders, we move onto the semi-finals. Our next fight… Fleur vs Uber!"

Which means the Valkyrie and the newly-mounted Knight will soon cross swords; that'll be a fun fight.

Even as the two contenders find themselves in the arena, I go through my choices with a hidden smile. The influx of points means I can start the next step of my plans, the infiltration of every faction worth mentioning.

I can summon heroes and villains and alter their history to make them fit in this world. If I spend enough, I could summon someone and have them have been members of any group since before I arrived in Brockton, before Azuth first arrived.

I thought long and hard about which group to infiltrate first and made my decision. As the fight begins, I summon my next hero unit and make it permanent. The PRT are always in need of more capes; after all, I'm just helping out.

— Bonus Scene — Katherine Cha (Dupli-Kate)

Sitting with the other Wards, she felt years of memories enter her mind, though she showed no sign of them. It wasn't that they were fake; her memories of this world were as real as her memories of her time in the Guardians of the Globe.

Solomon's plans entered her mind as she watched Chris and Dennis play some fighting game, and she silently agreed to do her part. Being an infiltrator felt a little wrong after finding out that Omni-man was an infiltrator for the Viltrumite Empire, but it didn't show on her face.

It couldn't, and with Blank, no thinker would find anything except what Solomon wanted them to find.

This world needed saving; that much was clear, and so did hers. Serving Solomon meant her world would survive the Viltrumite invasion, so any doubts she had were quickly pushed aside.

Besides, her entire part in this was just to do exactly what she already was doing back home, just in a new place and with a new team, who she already felt some camaraderie with thanks to her new memories. Same shit, different world.

Author's Note: Fun fact: almost this entire tournament was chosen by dice rolls. The champions, who fought who, and who won each fight (with some modifiers when I thought one competitor had an advantage) were all decided by rolling dice on the discord server. I picked seven Discord users to represent each champion (I got Sister Calypso and lost immediately).

That's right, we did this Wildbow style.

And yes, I gave Moxxi Dinah's pow. Dinah gets a happy ending here by virtue of just not getting powers, which is about as close to winning as you can get in canon Worm, now that I think about it.

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I'll probably write faster.

I have a Discord server with a bunch of other authors and a load of porn. So much porn.

Here's the link for that: discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

If it says it's expired, it is probably your account being unable to join NSFW servers, and you'll need to fix that. If you fix that and it still says it's expired, add me (ThePumpkinKing), and I'll invite you myself.

I've finally started to use my Pat reon for something. I've added some discord integration so that my patrons can read early previews of chapters. It won't affect regular posting, but if you want to read my works a day or two early, then consider checking it out.

Chapter 762 - 5