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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

1,732Chapter 12: There Can Be Only One!

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 Beans, Priapus, Mike God of Lore, Old man of the mountain

The Celestial Roulette

Chapter 12: There can be only one

– Theresa Richter (Dragon) –

Sugar Rush had rapidly risen on the list of essential Capes, a somewhat secret list that the PRT had of capes (both heroes and villains) whose power was deemed too important for them to lose access to. Often, people who could successfully drive back Endbringers or Tinkers who were irreplaceable, such as Uppercrust.

"Do they do what Sugar Rush claims?" Costa-Brown asked, straight to the point as ever, as Dragon nodded.

"His Radaway Ricciarellis work as advertised. Once eaten, they provide a major resistance to any form of radiation for a full twenty-four hours. The resistance is far more effective than our current radiation pills by around 80%," Dragon agreed. "As for his Clear Mind Cookies, once again, they do exactly what he believed they'd do. While testing with PRT-associated masters, people who ate one greatly boosted resistance against master effects. In many cases, the test subject was able to throw off or outright resist the effect, though in some cases, the Master was still able to take control to a more limited degree. It's hard to say without testing, but it should allow people to fight the Simurgh for longer than usual, though we obviously have no way to know for certain when it comes to the Simurgh."

"I see. Were the test subjects still able to be affected by Precognition?" the Chief Director asked, making Dragon nod.

"Whatever he did to himself and Panacea that made them blank spots, it was not either of these edible buffs," Dragon confirmed. The PRT Watchdog Thinkers weren't thrilled when they suddenly couldn't see Sugar Rush in their predictions.

"I see. WEDGDG still believes that he is a Trump, one that is growing at an alarming rate. His heroic inclinations are a good sign, but the idea of an independent cape in Brockton Bay growing stronger every day is not one I find enjoyable. That place isn't known for producing mentally stable capes," Costa-Brown continued, making her tilt her head slightly. It wasn't really fair, but Colin's city had gotten its reputation for a reason. "WEDGDG believed that his power doesn't have an upper limit before he found a way to prevent precognitive powers from modelling him, and in time, he'll likely reach Triumvirate level. I'll tell Piggot to push for recruitment harder, but for now, we'll put in a large order for both new items. Whichever Endbringer attacks next, I'd like to have enough for all the key capes, at the very least."

"Understood; Sugar has deliberately made all orders relating to Endbringer preparations considerably cheaper, practically free for his two newest orders, though he did put a cap on how large orders can be as he has to handle them all personally," Dragon explained, getting a nod. "What is the plan for Squealer?"

"Squealer is irrelevant, the perfect example of a minor villain. Her cars have been involved in a lot of crimes, but we can push them onto Skidmark, who kidnapped her. I'll arrange a pardon; she's not worth us alienating Sugar Rush over, and if she falls back into her old habits, we can use it to pressure Sugar into giving up some control to the PRT in the event we can't recruit him outright," Costa-Brown explained, the cold logistics of the woman who lead the largest Cape organisation in the world hard at work. "Do we have any idea which Endbringer it will be next?"

"Most likely, Behemoth. We've sensed some tremors consistent with his burrowing, and the Simurgh is currently inactive. I wouldn't be surprised if she attacked, but all signs point to Behemoth being next," Dragon admitted. You never could tell when it came to the Simurgh.

"We'll prioritise a large order of… Radaway Ricciarellis, then," Costa-Brown agreed, her lips twitching slightly at the name Sugar Rush used. "You still can't reverse engineer his goods?"

"No. I could give you the exact recipe for the cookies, but if you placed a regular Ricciarelli in front of me and one of Sugar's, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference without someone eating them. I could bake my own Ricciarelli cookies and get the taste almost identical, but clearly, there's a part of the process I don't understand," Dragon replied. Ricciarelli were just an Italian almond biscuit, and she couldn't find any trace of whatever made their effects work. This was one thing she couldn't reverse engineer.

"Very well, good work with the testing. Continue maintaining contact with his new assistant; Sugar Rush has to be tied to the PRT as tightly as possible. If the only method we have so far is sales contracts, I don't care how much it costs us. His goods are worth the price, anyway," Costa-Brown replied, giving her a nod as she ended the call.

She wasn't wrong. Trump-powers in a biscuit were a very valuable thing; even the healing alone made him incredibly useful for both capes and PRT troopers. Parahuman healing was rare, one of the rarest powers of all, actually, and they'd seen not a single side effect to any of his snacks so far.

She just wished she was able to use them herself because they were apparently extremely tasty.

– Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush) –

100cp gained, [Moondragon] Purchased, 0cp remaining.

[Moondragon] - 200cp

Through years of intense training and the unlocking of your natural abilities, you have become a telepath of incredible skill and talent. You are capable of powerful mental attacks, mentally controlling even the strong-willed over large distances, memory modification, and even communicating with others across star systems. This psionic ability will increase through training and practice.

It came out of nowhere after almost three days of silence from my power. I've been busy balancing my civilian life, warding off a flirty Vicky, and mass-producing my goods for our store.

My mind expands, and I'm grateful that I'm currently in my dimension as I only pick up two minds. Sherrel, tinkering away on the bike she's grown so attached to, and Lisa, who is in her room typing away.

Lisa has been irreplaceably useful as she is easily able to handle the negotiations with the PRT for me. Within a few hours of me asking her to handle it, she arranged for the testing, and the results were impressive. Whether Behemoth or the Simurgh shows up next, I've prepared a large stockpile to try and tilt the odds in my favour.

I can sense her smug pride at having so many groups come to her for access to me, that same greed and ambition that pushed her toward villainy, even if she blames Coil. What I don't feel is any treachery; she isn't loyal to me, but she sees me as a way for her to get the easy life at the top she thinks she deserves.

For just a moment, my power whispers about how easily I could fix that. Her mind is so simple, and I could easily bend it to my will with ease. I even see the girl whose powers I've unknowingly copied floating above a planet, taking control of every mind of a warring people and forcing them to stop fighting and worship her.

I could make Lisa love me, willing to die for my approval, but I slam it down and pull out of her mind, leaving her none-the-wiser to my intrusion.

Feat Achieved: Become Indispensable to the PRT (100cp), 100cp total

Huh, guess they really like my goods.

[Earthbones] - 400cp, locked. 300cp required.

For as much as creation stole your divinity and much of your power, you are still connected to the world, and that has some benefits. Through exerting your own willpower, you may reinforce or lessen the laws of reality in your area. This area will grow in scope the more you practice the ability, as well as how much you can affect these laws.

Divinity? The ability to warp the very laws of reality, bending them to my will in a small area? Don't mind if I do. I don't mind that getting locked in, at all. But after a moment, I shake my head and get back to increasing my stockpile.

– Thomas Calvert (Coil) –

"Cancel the operation, fall back," Coil ordered, pulling his mercenaries back. He had hoped to get his hand on one of Sugar Rush's deliveries. His Tattletale thought she was clever, running away with the target, but she'd just confirmed how powerful Sugar Rush was because Lisa wouldn't take a chance on someone she thought could be taken down.

Getting the transport schedule for the order was easy; his moles found the plans. The large batch was being sent to several different locations, so he planned to grab one of them, which was due for New York.

The woman with the Fedora sitting opposite him stared him down, pistol in her hand still aimed at him. She was completely casual, unconcerned about being in a heavily secured supervillain's lair, but then why would she fear anyone?

"Will that be all?" Coil asked, staring down the boogeyman herself. There were few that could cause him to back down utterly, but she was one of them. If Cauldron wanted Sugar Rush, he didn't plan to go anywhere near the newest cape. Lisa could go free, she wasn't worth this. Bitch was equally replaceable.

"You will not interfere with Sugar Rush's shipments. You will send the Undersiders and Travellers after him," Contessa ordered, making him blink. "He grows through conflict; I can't path him anymore, neither can you, but that hasn't changed. You are to ensure he gets as much conflict as possible."

"Won't that interfere with his shipments?" Coil asked, seeing the slight issue with her command. "He can't keep making his goods if I'm harassing him at every turn."

"I don't expect you to win," Contessa said plainly, his pride raging as he stayed quiet. "You will continue to aid his growth. Eventually, he will take you down. You'll be replaced with a body double and relocated elsewhere. You'll get your city to rule; it just won't be Brockton Bay."

He calmed down, eyes narrowing in thought. It wasn't ideal, but it also didn't have Contessa murder him in cold blood and throw his body into a ditch where it would never be found.

"And then my debt is paid?" Coil asked, making her nod simply. She didn't wait for him to agree, but then he suspected she already knew his answer before she even portalled into his inner sanctum.

Leaning back in his chair, he looked at the image of Sugar Rush. How important must he be for Contessa to be so invested in his growth?

– Fortuna (Contessa) –

Felix was now a blind spot, and she knew how he'd managed it. She could path him right up until he took a bite from that apple. Clairvoyant could still see him, but Precognitive powers struggled to understand divinity.

And yet, she knew enough. He wasn't simply a Trump; he was the Trump, and his rapidly growing powers made him a potential silver bullet. For that, she was happy to remove the Bay from her paths and work around Felix instead. She was used to working around Eidolon anyway, and as long as she didn't try to path him or Panacea directly, her power was still reliable.

She considered using Doormaker to acquire some of his Heart Shaped Herbs or a Golden Apple, but she'd found that while Clairvoyant could see into his castle, Doormaker could not get her inside.

Her paths were unchanged; the best way to prepare for the final battle was to ensure that Felix was frequently challenged so he would continue growing stronger. Coil would serve them well as a test for Felix because while she couldn't use her Paths to track his growth, she wasn't entirely useless without them.

If his power continued to grow without hitting any limits, then she'd know she was doing the right thing. Coil was utterly expendable; the Brockton Bay experiment could be held elsewhere.

If nothing else, Sugar Rush was useful because his Energy Eclairs were working to slowly restore Eidolon's powers. Though they only ordered a small selection of them for the first batch, most of which the glutton had already eaten. He would grow fat if he kept this up.

He was a blind spot, so 'Path to Putting Eidolon on a Diet' failed to return anything at all. It did make her smile, ever so briefly, however.

– Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush –

Telepathy came with some unexpected side effects. I grabbed some painkillers as soon as I returned home as my powers picked up far too many minds. My range, when I'm not even trying, is city-wide; if I push myself, I can sense millions of minds, and I'm not even at my full potential yet.

Pulling my powers in, I still feel the minds of everyone in my neighbourhood, and it is going to take time and practice to get my powers fully under control. It isn't long before the temptation strikes me again, feeling the void that is my father's emotions. He mechanically eats his dinner, every emotion muted and his memories feeling so dark.

I could brighten them up and heighten his emotions, and I had to force myself to stop. Vicky gives me a smug look, getting a confused look back as I find my second temptation. I could make some minor adjustments to her memories and remove her suspicions that I'm Sugar Rush, redirect her elsewhere.

Amy is the brightest spot at the table, but I can sense the depression she has been feeling until rather recently. Her apathy towards healing, her boredom and the neglect she's felt from Mom. I can also feel that her lust towards me isn't just aimed at me, her emotions going wild at the sight of Vicky.

I get distracted mid-meal, feeling one of my neighbours fucking, their lust being broadcasted into my mind. There's a married couple currently screaming at each other down the street, rage and bitterness flooding them; the wife caught her husband cheating. She's cheating, too. She was cheating first, actually, before they were even married. He started cheating after his long work hours caused a divide between them.

"Are you okay, Felix? You look pained," Mom asks, making me smile.

"It's just a headache, nothing to be done about it. Already popped some painkillers," I reply, getting a soft smile from her.

They just won't shut up; their bile broadcasted to my new telepathic powers, and in a moment of annoyance, I accidentally use my power for the first time. The wife admits to her infidelity, both of them freezing in shock. The wife at 'her' decision to throw her long-standing affair in her husband's face, his at the confession. I just wanted them to shut up, but as I feel her husband's intentions, I have to act.

He pauses, having been storming towards his gun safe, and instead storms out of the house. The wife makes a panicked call to her attorney, messaging her sister for a place to stay. She saw where he was headed, fearing for her life. My powers are immense; a stray thought pushed the wife to act without ever realising that someone else made that decision for her.

I think I understand why these powers were so cheap… they come with an immense amount of power, but until I can get control of them, every stray thought I have is a liability. Another Golden Apple should be able to increase my Wisdom, which might be able to help me.

Slowly expanding my telepathy, I freeze as I sense dread coming from somewhere deeper in the city. A black woman, cornered by two skinheads on her way back from work. They're on the edge of Empire territory but close enough for them to take offence to her being in their turf. I can sense their intentions; they didn't target her because of her skin colour but because of her curves.

On one hand, I need to get better control of my powers, but on the other? I'm not going to sit here and pretend I don't sense the rape and murder these two scumbags are planning. They don't want her pointing fingers when they're done, but unfortunately for them, they've already been caught.

I take a bite of my burger, enjoying my own cooking, as one of them clutches their head and lets out a scream of pain, making his friend jump. My mind is laughably stronger than theirs, and with a single thought, I ignite every single one of his pain receptors.

Chatting with Mom, mostly small talk, I hide my smile as the thug passes out and his friend wisely tries to run. The woman flees, fixing her clothes and grabbing her purse as she escapes, but the other man? He makes it all of three steps before he's on the floor, writhing in pain as his cock feels like being sliced with a thousand tiny blades. Erectile dysfunction by a thousand papercuts. I have zero pity for him, pushing a passerby to call the police and report what they saw.

I go back to my dinner, a job well done without ever needing to leave the house. Well, I do need practice, and anyone dumb enough to join the Empire doesn't have much up there to lose anyway.

It's unlikely they'll get charged with anything, unfortunately, but maybe they'll learn to fear the unknown cape that just struck. Me? I'm just the funny cake man.

After dinner, Vicky drags Amy and me to watch some sappy romance movie with her, complaining that we don't spend time together anymore (which isn't wrong, and it's no hard thing to spend some time with my sisters).

Of course, I catch Vicky sending messages and glancing my way, but I don't react. My phone is on silent mode and in my room, so she's wasting her time. The movie is exactly as cheesy as I feared, but the girls seem to like it, and I use the time to continue my new training exercise. It isn't hard to find trouble in Brockton Bay; just look for the darkest emotions, and you'll find something.

A robbery, several muggings, one attempted murder, and an attempted rape are all stopped by the new mystery cape, leaving no trace as they inflict pain upon the guilty. I'm making it seem like there's a stranger who can cause localised pain because everyone knows telepathy isn't real.

Turning in for the night, I get changed for bed and check my phone (finding several lewd messages from Vicky), and my desire to never back down strikes as I send her a shirtless picture back (from my castle, not my bedroom), because I've become ripped lately, and still wear baggier clothing to hide my new physique.

Basically, the shirtless man looks like he's getting ready for the Olympics, not just some college kid who hits the gym sometimes.

I sense her confusion as she gets my message and a brief burst of arousal.

It's rapidly overshadowed as I sense a wave of dread and terror, already knowing the source as I hear the sounds of a siren. Listening closely, I feel the wave of relief as it is confirmed that it isn't here.

Leaving my room, I see Amy already in her Panacea outfit.

"Where is it?" Amy asks, already seeing Carol heading upstairs. She's pleased to see Amy is already dressed for action. "And which one?"

"Behemoth, in Egypt," Carol says, or I suppose Brandish would be more appropriate, as I felt a shiver of dread. Egypt. Of course, it is hitting somewhere in Africa. Somehow, I blame the Simurgh.

Not that I would have backed down either way, but it means I'm bound by my promise to Bastet.

"Strider will be coming to collect the Brockton Bay capes soon; we're heading to the Rig," Brandish orders, getting a surprisingly calm nod. "Felix, we'll be home later. Don't look so worried; we're going to be protecting the medical tents since Amy will be there. We'll be fine," Mom promises, but I can feel the doubt. She knows it's never that simple.

Meanwhile, guilt is eating at me because if I'd been honest with my family, they'd all be going with Golden Apple and Heart-shaped Herb buffs.

"Be careful, okay?" I ask, getting a soft smile from her before she straightens up.

I see Vicky give me a worried look; she suspects I'm going to go myself.

Well, she's not wrong. I send a couple of messages to Lisa and Sherrel as I watch my family leave me behind. Bastet, care to give a guy a lift?

'You got it, Sugar. Be careful, yeah? I quite like my cute little champion; I'd rather not lose you.'

Heart pounding, I feel Bastet teleport me. Well, I always wanted to see more of the world, reappearing just a short distance from where the capes are gathering.

– Rebecca Costa-Brown (Alexandria) –

She was well aware of Sugar Rush's real identity; as such, she couldn't deny that she was slightly surprised when he appeared almost an hour before the Brockton Bay capes would be delivered by Strider. A new teleportation power? He had certainly beat his family here.

"Sugar Rush, a pleasure to meet you in person. I'm going to assign you to the medical tents if that's alright with you? I don't think sticky puddings or giant cakes are going to help in battle," Legend said immediately, and she caught Sugar's confusion at being recognised by the Triumvirate.

She could see other capes wondering why two of the Triumvirate were paying attention to some nobody dressed in such a flamboyant outfit, but she ignored them.

"That's fine with me," Felix agreed, his voice cracking slightly. "But I do think I can help against Behemoth itself. How much do you know about my powers?"

"A fair amount, from Armsmaster's reports and your testing mostly," Alexandria cut in.

"Do you know about my Grapplehawk?" Felix asked, clicking his fingers as the metal bird appeared on his shoulder. "My power gives me summons, and one of them might be very useful here. It absorbs radiation, so I was thinking I could summon it and have it take part while I focus on healing."

He was hiding something, but he seemed honest in his desire to help, so after a moment, she nodded.

"Very well, if you can command it without needing to be in the kill zone yourself. Did you manage to prepare your Radaway Ricciarelli in time?" Alexandria asked, making him nod.

"I've spoken to my team; they're preparing a large amount of my stockpile for transport. Free of charge, of course, call it a 100% Endbringer special discount," Felix joked, not quite hiding his fear.

"Will there be Energy Eclairs?" Eidolon asked, cutting in without hesitation as Felix paused.

"Not many, but I can change that," Felix offered, making Eidolon nod immediately.

"I can't tell you why, but my power is greatly boosted by your Energy Eclairs. If you could supply as many as you possibly can, that would be of great help," Eidolon agreed, and Felix just pulled out his phone, sending another message.

"Done; they're loading up the transport now. Shouldn't be long," Felix agreed, getting a grateful smile from Legend.

"Behemoth is inbound, moving faster than expected," Dragon reported as Felix put on the offered armband.

"If I may, it might be best if I send in my B- summon before the main fight begins. He's rather large," Felix suggested hesitantly, and Legend gave him another soft smile.

"The fight has already begun; our blasters have been trying to slow him down to little avail. If you have an idea, we're happy to try just about anything," Legend chuckled darkly.

"Right, here goes… please don't attack my summon, it won't hurt anyone unless I order it to," Felix said, and as he held out his hand, she decided she needed to have a word with him about understatements.

A summon like his Grapplehawk that was rather large. She figured it would be the size of an elephant at the most, but the ground shook as the creature appeared behind Behemoth, towering over the Endbringer that stopped dead in its tracks in sheer bafflement at suddenly being in the shade.

Behemoth was around thirty metres tall, and as it turned, she did the calculations in sheer bafflement as Behemoth strained its neck to look at the giant tusked creature that was now charging it. Three hundred and fifty metres tall, at least, the mammoth-like beast galloped with speeds nothing that large should ever be able to reach, its front legs resembling the limbs of a gorilla as its giant knuckles pounded into the ground. Behemoth launched some of its deadly lightning from its claws, and they all watched as it struck the thick, furry hide of the giant monster and barely even slowed it as the mammoth reached the Endbringer and grabbed it with its gorilla-like hands, lifting the Endbringer with a deafening bellow.

Then, it turned around and threw the Endbringer further away from them, sending the Hero Killer soaring through the air, the gathered heroes watching in bafflement as the Endbringer was treated like a baseball, launched through the air away from the city.

"Sugar Rush…" Alexandria started, turning to the new hero, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Surprise!" Felix said, gesturing to his giant monster. "Turns out I can summon more than cake… sorry?"

"I… think any questions can wait until later, but perhaps we should get to work?" Legend suggested, his voice clearly baffled, carrying some awe.

"We will be talking about this later, but Legend is right. Is that thing safe to approach?" Alexandria asked, making him nod. "And what is it called?"

"It is; it absorbs radiation and uses it to either heal or for reforestation. It won't hurt anyone deliberately, but it is so big that you're basically ants to it. It might step on you by accident… and its name? Its name is Behemoth, don't ask, my power named it, not me," Felix defended.

— Quest Options —

Who should be the POV?

[Brandish]

[Glory Girl]

[Panacea]

[Alexandira]

[Eidolon]

Author's Note: I suppose it was inevitable; Behemoth vs Behemoth is a go. Felix is pretty nervous; this is his first Endbringer fight, and much like Vicky, he doesn't always think about what he's doing. Vicky acts without thinking, Felix talks without thinking (and summons a Kaiju).

Beans' Note: It's probably for the best that his "massive fuck-off summons" were debuted with Behemoth and not the Carnifex. The selfie of a surprisingly ripped Sugar in a place that's not their house, plus him travelling to and from Africa faster than them's sure to trip Vicky up for a bit. I vote for her PoV.

Written: 15/06/2024

I am entirely motivated by praise and interaction, so leave a review, and I'll probably write faster. I do read every review/comment, because it gives me the happy brain chemicals and motivates me to write more. My body is a machine that turns positive reviews into new chapters.

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The Advance Chapters

Diamond: The Blessed Ch07, The Warlord Ch14, The Nightmare Ch13, The Supervillain Ch27

Plat: The Celestial Professor Ch01 (snippet), New Game Plus Ch08, The Occult Ch08

Gold: Guide to Necromancy Ch09, The Nightmare Ch12.5

Basic: The Celestial Remnant Ch07

The Celestial Remnant Ch06

Quest: The Celestial Roulette Ch13-17

Links:

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Subscribe star. com (slash) the-dark-wolf-shiro

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Chapter 965 - 12