17 - Fics I Read 2.0 - LIGHTREADER

FanFiction.Net

Just In

Community

Forum

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 17: Snake

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, Marethyu, Mike God of Lore, Old man of the mountain

The Celestial Roulette

Chapter 17: Snake

– Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush) –

100cp granted, 100cp total.

Watching my family get used to their new strength, I chuckle to myself as my power once again decides it's time for more points.

"So, what are you planning to do next? Mom asks, making me frown.

"I'm opening a cafe and clinic on the Boardwalk soon; Alexandria and Chief Director Costa-Brown are arranging everything for me as payment for something I did for them," I explain, frowning slightly. "But it's time Brockton Bay finally started to push out the villains. The gangs have been permitted to exist for far too long."

Mom sits next to me, a thoughtful frown on her face.

"It's been tried before; any gang that's taken down will just be replaced," Mom warns, making me smile.

"I've just become faster than Velocity, with a sixth sense for people in need, and I don't need to sleep. I could single-handedly stop every crime in the city, but it wouldn't solve the baseline problems," I agree, seeing her eyes widen. "Coil. He's my first target; he's far more dangerous than people realise, and unlike the others, his defeat won't leave any openings for other gangs to move into. After that? The Merchants are already on their final legs, Skidmark has been moved out of the city and Mush is no leader."

"Then leave them to New Wave," Mom suggests, making me pause. "With the power boost from you, we could easily take down the Merchants and establish a patrol route with the PRT to stop anyone else from moving into the Boat Graveyard once they're done. You don't have to do everything alone, Felix," she reminds me, placing her hand on my thigh as I chuckle, sending a couple of quick messages.

"Overwatch can help you; she's a powerful Thinker. I know you don't trust her, but trust that I know what I'm doing. Sherrel says she knows some high-value targets you can hit; she has no issue spitting on Skidmark's 'legacy' now that she's free," I say, making Mom hesitate before she nods.

As we speak, my [Spirit Attendants] are mass-producing Gremlins for Lisa to use for scouting, as well as working on making more of my baked goods. Having access to several hundred pairs of hands makes the work trivial. [Data Khala] is connecting all my Gremlins to a single hub, which Lisa can use to guide them all.

"Fine, I can't say I love the idea of your team being entirely made up of villains, but I suppose they deserve a second chance. Just promise me that you'll be careful, okay?" Mom asks, making me nod.

"Of course, I'm not naive," I say, briefly reaching out and touching Rachel, Sherrel and Lisa's minds with my own. No signs of betrayal.

"I really am proud of you, Felix. I wish you'd told me earlier, but you have done amazing work," Mom says after a moment, giving me a one-armed hug as I smile.

"Thanks, Mom," I say simply, watching Amy pin Eric down with a smug look on her face.

[Gravity Jail] - 400cp, 300cp needed

Sometimes, people just weigh you down. Good thing you can return the favour. This Sacred Gear manifests within your eyes and allows you to adjust the personal gravity of anything within your line of sight. This lets you crush someone with bone-smashing gravitational force or make them float helplessly in the air - just mind the 'need line of sight' thing.

Locked in, but I don't mind having the power to control gravity. Plus, I sense that I would be able to grant someone else this 'Sacred Gear' if I wanted, so it would be nice to have that choice.

– Later –

"It's time, then?" Lisa asks, making me nod as she grins. "I still don't know where-"

"I can find him," I say simply, the sheer confidence in my tone making her pause, but she has learnt to roll with the weirdness around me. I can sense her indecision in her mind; she wants to point out that giving her an apple would increase her intelligence and make her power more effective, but she also doesn't want to risk annoying me. "Will you be ready to disarm whatever little surprises he's left behind?"

"Of course, I've been planning this since the moment he grabbed me," Lisa scoffs, watching as I reach into nothing and pluck an apple out of thin air, her eyes widening.

"You realise that if I give you this, you're mine. Once Coil is gone, you could leave Candyland as it stands now. I wouldn't hold it against you if you decided to go independent. But this? This means you are a part of my team for life," I warn. Lisa made sure Vicky didn't die during Behemoth, and while I can tell she's only really loyal to herself, I still do trust her, oddly enough. She's a selfish, arrogant little vixen, but she's not a bad person.

Lisa hesitates before she laughs, taking the offered apple.

"For life has a different meaning with these, doesn't it? I'm in it for the long haul, boss," Lisa admits.

'If Coil paid this well, I might not have cared that he had a gun to my head. Immortality is a long time; I'm sure I can convince him to let me 'retire' down the line. Worst case, I seduce him and get him to knock me up when I want out, then retire to be a 'full-time' Mom. Felix is so family-focused, he'd definitely go for it.'

I hide my smirk at her words, her private thoughts exposed.

Taking the apple, she admires it as I feel her power going wild, taking a bite before moaning in pleasure at the taste. I keep a poker face as her inner thoughts betray her, and I feel her power going crazy as they both gain the increased Wisdom.

Feat Achieved: Gain Lisa Wilbourne's Loyalty (100cp). 100cp gained, 200cp needed for [Gravity Jail].

"I'll connect a Gremlin to Coil's systems. Be ready to take control," I say, making her nod with wide eyes, her mind racing and her thoughts set on vengeance against Coil.

"Will do. Trust me, I've been ready for this for a long time," Lisa says with a dangerous smirk on her lips. "Good hunting, Boss-man."

– Later –

With my Stranger power, [Arcane] active, I stand on the top of the Medhall building with a small frown. [I Need a Hero!] has been going off constantly, showing just how terrible the crime rate in Brockton Bay really is.

With [Crossing Arcadia], I can dash to any crime and stop it in an instant, with Lisa reporting on every crime I stop to the PRT, leaving criminals bound in sticky pudding, but it is disheartening to know just how bad things really are.

There are so many people who need help; even with my speed, it feels impossible to keep up, and that's just in Brockton Bay. [I Need a Hero!] is even triggering in other cities since my speed means that I can reasonably make it.

I've stopped a dozen muggings, attempted murders, gang shoot-outs, and rapes and still, I barely feel like I've made a dent. What I have done is made one hell of a reputation as I appear all over the city, stopping crimes in all three gang territories at seemingly the same time.

The PRT response has been impressive, but I get the feeling they have orders from up top to prioritise working with me as much as possible. I've definitely kept them busy tonight.

Feat Achieved: Break the record for most crimes solved in a single night (100cp), 100cp needed for [Gravity Jail].

I've only been out an hour, but I guess I have done a lot. I can feel the awe coming from those I saved, the BBPD and the PRT agents, and already there's a thread about it on PHO, trying to keep track of how much I've done in a single night. They're currently guessing that I have a new teleportation power, but they correctly guessed that I had a Thinker power to help me locate crimes. I've played into the fame, taking selfies at the crime scenes with the captured thugs.

Oddly enough, no capes yet. I think Kaiser has heard that I'm out in force and pulled back his actual capes for now because while I've captured a lot of the Empire mooks, I have seen neither hide nor hair of a single Empire cape.

Pausing my patrols, I get to work on what I'm really here for. My mind expands, touching thousands of minds as I skim each one before moving on, witnessing thousands of private moments and reading countless minds before I come to a stop.

Hello there.

A set of minds makes me smile, locating Coil's base deep underground from the boredom of one of his mercenaries, wondering why Coil hasn't sent him on any jobs for a while. Scouring the base, my smile grows dangerous as I find a single mind away from the others as a middle-aged man in a rather silly costume sits behind his desk.

Thomas Calvert, PRT Consultant, and now Supervillain. Delving into his mind, my smile turns into a frown as I see the depths of his corruption and crimes. His deep infiltration of the local PRT, the twelve-year-old girl he has locked up, her death faked during the chaos of the Endbringer attack since his original plans were ruined by Lisa going rogue.

I am exposed to his power, and his memories of the other timelines are sickening. The man has a God complex, convinced he can do whatever he wants to whoever he wants, and his memories of the other timelines are sickening. The man has a God complex, convinced he can do whatever he wants to whoever he wants, inside his little split timelines.

I dig deeper, treating his mind with the same respect he treated the PRT systems, pausing as I come across something.

Cauldron. That mysterious group mentioned in my achievements.

Coil bought his power, his meeting with a Cauldron cape called Contessa coming up as she commands him to send the remaining Undersiders and Travellers after me. I see him making those plans, but he hasn't had the chance to do anything with them yet.

I witness his memories of his alternate timelines, the torture, rape and murder of Lisa after she annoyed him, and the abuse of Dinah, who he has addicted to his designer drugs. After I find a particular abandoned timeline, my frown turns to a fierce scowl.

Vicky interfered with one of his missions in a timeline, making him abandon it entirely, replanning to avoid her presence. In another timeline, he took his revenge, blackmailing and raping my sister before he ended her life, then the timeline.

It didn't happen. My sister was never raped, she was never hurt, but he remembers it perfectly. I can feel his smugness at how he can do anything he desires to whoever he wants, with the sole exception of Contessa, who he fears above all else.

With a single thought, my rage manifests in his mind.

– Thomas Calvert (Coil) –

Sitting in his office, he watched the reports of Sugar Rush solving crime after crime with a fierce scowl; how was he supposed to follow her orders when Sugar Rush was so damn strong?

He paused, his hands moving on his computer against his will as he handed over control of his systems to someone, his mind screaming as something compelled his body into action before his heart started racing and his blood ran cold as he opened his desk drawer and pulled out his gun.

Placing it against the temple of his skull, he tried to scream for help as he split the timelines, but in two separate timelines, the gun was still pulled to his head, and his mouth remained closed.

'You're no God, Calvert. Just a pathetic little worm.'

The words boomed through his head so loud they hurt, but Coil could do nothing but mentally scream,

'Who are you?' he thought in one timeline. 'What do you want?' he begged in the other timeline.

'Your end.'

The answer came in both timelines at once, making him whimper mentally as he pulled the trigger.

– Felix Dallon (Sugar Rush) –

As I feel Coil die, my scowl fades slightly.

"You doing okay, boss?" Lisa asks, seeing it happen on the base cameras. I can hear her concern, knowing that Coil would never kill himself.

"If you saw what I saw in his mind, you'd have wanted him dead as well," I say, sitting down with a deep frown.

"I already wanted him dead. I saved the video of him blowing his brains out to watch again later," Lisa replies. "You really are terrifyingly strong, aren't you?"

"And I'm only going to get stronger," I agree, taking a deep breath to steady myself. I just killed a man. No, I forced him to kill himself, like the tall tales they tell you about why Masters are so scary.

But I don't feel bad about it at all.

"Traps disarmed. I'm opening up his base, do your stuff. Coil's legacy ends tonight," Lisa says, making me nod as I zoom through the city. His mercenaries don't stand a chance, a whirlwind flying through the base as they see their allies be abducted right before their eyes. Each one is disarmed and bound outside the base as they scream and panic.

Several dozen mercenaries, one sick doctor… less than a minute. That's how long it took me from start to finish to dismantle Coil's operation. [Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex] prevents me from damaging them despite the high-speed abductions, leaving them dazed and terrified but otherwise fine.

Arriving at the cell, Lisa remotely unlocks the door as I enter, and the pre-teen girl looks at me. She's not been here for long, but she already looks a mess, the drug running through her veins.

"Eat this; it'll make the candy go away," I promise, kneeling down and giving her a Cleansing Croissant. "The bad man is gone; he'll never hurt you again, Dinah. You'll be back with your family soon."

Moments later, I have a crying twelve-year-old girl clinging to me as I carry her out of the base, my mind going back to the corpse currently lying on his own desk, his grey matter coating the wall of his office.

The world is a better place without him in it; I'll not mourn for him.

The PRT, as fast as they are to react to Lisa's message, still take several minutes to arrive, by which time Dinah is giggling and munching on a cinnamon bun, listening to me regaling her with stories of the more embarrassing parts of Vicky gaining her powers.

"Dinah!"

We both look up as Triumph rushes forward, taking off his mask despite the less-than-private surroundings as Dinah perks up.

"We thought- I saw your-" Triumph starts, his mind going back to not eight hours ago when he learnt of Dinah's death, the tragic accident that devastated the Alcott family.

"I'm fine, Rory; Sugar Rush saved me," Dinah says, hugging her cousin tightly.

Rory Christner gives me a look that tells me I've made a friend for life as he tightly returns her hug.

"Coil grabbed her because she triggered with a powerful precognitive ability. My newest Thinker power led me to her," I explain, making Rory scowl deeply.

"And Coil, I don't see him here," Rory says, making me smile grimly.

"Chose to end things on his own terms over the Birdcage," I explain, making Rory's eyes widen. "He's broken damn-near every Unwritten Rule and had backdoors into your systems. His name was Thomas Calvert, PRT Consultant. He knew there was only one sentence for him, given just how much confidential information he knew, including Protectorate Hero identities," I lie, using Moondragon to make him accept it.

It still shocks him, but his shock is focused on the revelation that Coil was one of them, a villainous PRT employee.

"Overwatch took control of his systems. She can help you find the moles and backdoors in your systems," I say, and Rory nods before he laughs.

"This is laughably beyond my pay grade," Rory admits, making me snort.

"The important part is that he's finished. His plans died with him," I say, making him nod.

Which leaves me with one question. What do I do about Grue and Regent? The Travellers are still in Boston, with no reason to come this way since I stopped Coil before he could call for them,

With Coil's memories, I know about their situations. Alec is just running from Heartbreaker, his abusive father. The guy is a borderline sociopath, broken by his time with Heartbreaker.

Grue is an idiot. He believed Coil would help him get custody of his teenage sister, but Coil never planned to fulfil his end of the bargain. Lisa recruited Grue into villainy, leading him on when she knew that Coil wouldn't help. And besides, Grue doesn't know how to look after a teenage girl either; he just thinks he'd be better.

He could have gone to the PRT and joined up, and Aisha would be out of her abusive household already, but his stubbornness prevented him from doing the one thing that could truly help his sister. Instead, he decided to play minion for a Supervillain.

My main issue with them is simple. They took part in Dinah's kidnapping, along with Circus, who Coil hired to temporarily replace Lisa. Brian knowingly kidnapped a twelve-year-old girl and helped fake her death, handing her over to a villain he knows nothing about in the hopes of it helping him get custody of his own little sister.

He has an easy way to get what he wants, but his fear that the Wards would limit what he could do and mistrust of authority figures means he'd rather hand a girl his sister's age to a supervillain on some misguided belief that it would help him.

Lisa holds some of the blame, having been the devil on his shoulder and guiding him into villainy to suit her own ends, but there's a limit to how naive someone can be.

Feats Achieved: Dismantle Coil's Operations (100cp), Kill Coil (Epic Feat: 200cp), Expose Coil's Infiltration of the PRT (100cp), Save Dinah Alcott (100cp), Take control of Coil's Operations (100cp). 600cp granted. 200cp was spent unlocking [Gravity Jail]. 400cp remaining.

[Flight] - Free, 400cp remaining

You can fly, a power that is nigh-universal in Gensokyo. Flying as fast as you can walk is simple, and you can push yourself to fly faster, up to how fast you can run, which will tire you proportionately.

Heh, 'as fast as I can run' means something a little different to me. I could do a quick jaunt around the equator, and it would barely take me five minutes. Now, I can do the same while flying.

[Paladin] - Free, 400cp remaining

Paladins specialise in close-range combat, just like Warriors. However, through long hours of spiritual training, paladins have acquired the ability to cast White Magic spells, making them even more valuable on the battlefield. Through the use of Shield Mastery and the ability to wear heavy armour, a Paladin fills the role of protector of those around them.

Another freebie? A bunch of spells enter my mind: Cure, Haste, Protect, Reflect, and Esuna. I had better healing already, but the buffs are very nice.

[Red Hoodies make great bandages] - 300cp, 100cp remaining

You're rather harder to beat than you look... to the point that even fatal wounds won't slow you down for a while, even if they will stop you eventually. You don't stop until you drop, though, and even then, you might be able to get back up with some healing. You're not supernaturally tough; you just make people worry about how you're still standing and if they can drop you before you drop them.

Hey, guess who can heal themselves basically instantly? Yeah, being able to stay standing just a little longer means I can heal myself and just keep fighting forever.

[Persistent Casting] - 100cp

You're skilled at pushing the duration of your spells as far as they can go. Your spells don't take any less energy to start up, but they are incredibly efficient once they get rolling. Minute-long spells last hours, and hour-long workings can last days when it comes to your spellcraft. With enough planning and preparation, you could even construct a spell so solidly that it would last until dispelled.

And now all the buffs I can cast with [Paladin] can last far, far longer.

A good haul, all things considered.

As I talk with the PRT, with Lisa helping identify the mercs along with what crimes they had committed since Coil kept evidence to keep his minions under control, I occasionally zip away to stop another crime. One night, one threat dealt with.

I trust that New Wave is going to smash the Merchants, which will leave the ABB and the Empire. It might be worth taking a break to ensure that nobody moves into the Merchant turf, but their days are numbered.

Brockton Bay will be free of gangs sooner rather than later.

— Quest Section — VOTING CONCLUDED

What should Felix do about Grue?

Arrest him; not every villain needs to be recruited.

Tell the PRT about him and wash his hands of the mess.

Give him a chance to leave Brockton Bay; he's not welcome here anymore.

Recruit him into Candyland.

What should Felix do about Regent?

Arrest him; not every villain needs to be recruited.

Tell the PRT about him and wash his hands of the mess.

Give him a chance to leave Brockton Bay; he's not welcome here anymore.

Recruit him into Candyland and take out Heartbreaker

Take out Heartbreaker, then let Alec go his own way

Author's Note:

Beans Note: He forgor ?

Priapus' note: I know that this is futile, but I'mma vote for a Candyland member without tits that isn't Felix. Regent is chill and a bro in a way that Grue isn't.

[X] Grue

-[X] Tell the PRT about him and wash your hands of the mess

[X] Regent

-[X] Recruit him into Candyland and take out Heartbreaker

Old man's note: You know what I'm gonna go with Priapus vote.

[X] Grue

-[X] Tell the PRT about him and wash your hands of the mess

[X] Regent

-[X] Recruit him into Candyland and take out Heartbreaker

Written: 19/07/2024

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.

I have a Patreo n, where my supporters can vote on which fics get bonus chapters each cycle and have access to advance chapters, up to ten chapters ahead of the public release. Patreo n is also five chapters ahead and plat/diamond tier have voting rights for my Quest. Feel free to check it out.

I also set up a Subscribe Star as well, more or less just as a backup/test to see which I prefer. The chapters are available on Discord if you're a Patreo n and on the site directly on Subscribe Star due to the different site rules, so if you don't use Discord or have issues finding the chapters, Subscribe Star is the better choice.

The Advance Chapters

Diamond: The Celestial Professor Ch03, The Game Master Ch08. Celestial Remnant Ch08, Celestial Professor Ch02

Plat: The Blessed Ch07, The Warlord Ch14, The Nightmare Ch13

Gold: The Supervillain Ch27, The Celestial Professor Ch01 (snippet)

Basic: New Game Plus Ch08

Quest: The Celestial Roulette Ch18-22

Links:

Patreo n. com (slash) TheDarkWolfShiro

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

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/DarkWolfShiro

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 (DarkWolfShiro), and I'll invite you myself.

Chapter 970 - 17