Nitoichi - Future Imperfect (Story)
By
Bindweed,
Posted on: 2008-11-10 10:00 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
.. Okay... that was... confusing! Poor Ellie! 
You're a big meanie, Birdy! A big old meanie! A good writer, true, but still a meanie! 
*Plots his own future tense story with nasty things for Annette*
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I thought it was a compliment... Ellie survived longest.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
Oh it wasn't the killing her... It was that crack about being as bright as a bag of spanners! Meanie!
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Have to say I enjoyed that, even if I don't know who all the characters are 
As I said, excellent work! Now to get my story finished, which is a bit more of a brighter future than some of the ones portayed here.
I'd just like to point out that some of my futures wern't nasty...
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
But aren't futures always nasty...otherwise they're Happy Ever Afters
Well at least that's what the movies would say
Absolutely love it, Birdy.
Very well written, quite disturbing, and very moving.
Huge thumbs up (you know, like the ones we get in-game )
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise ; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
.. You had me gasping in horror a lot!
Well done!
CoH Fan-Art Sale still several slots open!
Read my in-game stories and check out my DeviantART page.
- coXso - It was a memorable time filled with art!
Read my in-game stories and check out my DeviantART page.
- coXso - It was a memorable time filled with art!
Excellent stuff indeed!
Very worrying for Libby, though, in as much as she dies horribly in 3 different futures... 
I did think of doing a Ni funeral scene with Libby giving the oration, but I thought:
a. If she's dead, she wouldn't be there to see it.
b. Two funeral scenes was a bit much.
And thanks, DD. I hope that most of the stuff in there is reasonable extrapolation, just often given a malign twist by the Stone.
Ha! I'd have thought Libby would be more worried about becoming a parent.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
[ QUOTE ]
Ha! I'd have thought Libby would be more worried about becoming a parent.
[/ QUOTE ]
Naah - kids are great - you get to watch Basil Brush and Chucklevision and realise they're funny, and buy DVDs of all the shows you loved when you were a kid, and pretend they're for Junior. You get to go to the Panto at Christmas and you can go see Kung Fu Panda without feeling embarrassed 
It's all win!
Good stuff.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Holy [censored]! That was spectacular! And incredibly angsty. Elie's death got to me more than Richard as they happened with him going 'wrong'.
That was really good. Good, but depressing. I need to submerge myself in something cheerful now.
[ QUOTE ]
Holy [censored]! That was spectacular! And incredibly angsty. Elie's death got to me more than Richard as they happened with him going 'wrong'.
[/ QUOTE ]
Got to me too! Especially as I didn't know about it!
@FloatingFatMan
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Ravenswing also points at Zortel's story, for it is FTW. And Schway. Whatever that means.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
[ QUOTE ]
Holy [censored]! That was spectacular! And incredibly angsty. Elie's death got to me more than Richard as they happened with him going 'wrong'.
That was really good. Good, but depressing. I need to submerge myself in something cheerful now.
[/ QUOTE ]
^ this
Was greatly written, hated most of it purely on contents...
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
[ QUOTE ]
Ha! I'd have thought Libby would be more worried about becoming a parent.
[/ QUOTE ]I'd have thought it would be the who/how for Ni getting pregnant in the first place. Did make me wonder if a regen could have children at all or if they'd regenerate their flesh too much.
Actually most of it got me to thinking about future events too. Nice story, Birdy.
Tyger (50), Mutation-Controller Mind/FF - oldest Mind/FF on Union
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Dispari
I don't know why Dink thinks she's not as sexy as Jay was. In 5 posts she's already upstaged his entire career.
|
Zorielle has the technology for that. Genetic engineering, combination into a suitable fertalized zygot, IVF implantation.
Yep, I was assuming the turkey baster method had been employed. Ni and Libby would both be well aware that that's how Zoielle and tessa got their kids.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Holy [censored]! That was spectacular! And incredibly angsty. Elie's death got to me more than Richard as they happened with him going 'wrong'.
That was really good. Good, but depressing. I need to submerge myself in something cheerful now.
[/ QUOTE ]
^ this
Was greatly written, hated most of it purely on contents...
[/ QUOTE ]
My work here is done.
I am going to wait for the noise to die down and post some comments about some of the scenes and see if people noticed some things. Might even have to be after various RP events have panned out. Could take a while.
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
I am curious - wonder what was Libby's "moment of weakness"...?
Some stuff to say before the actual story gets posted.
First off, this story exists because Zortel was kind enough to let me see something she was writing, and it sparked the idea. I think she should be posting hers first, but she says I should. Whatever, just remember it's kind of her idea.
Second, the list of other people's characters who appear in this is pretty long. I've sought permission from most of them, I think it's only FFM and Cass I didn't ask, and I think they'll cope with what happens to their characters. However, credit where credit's due, so:
Zorielle Rolando/Zortel, Dinah Ewers, Cindersnap/Ryan Andrews: Zortel
Richard Huntington/Shadowe, Samantha Huntington, Andrew Martin: Shadowe
Ellie/Tiger White: FloatingFatMan
Amelia Bourne/Cassandra. Zero: Cass_
and, of course...
Linda Lee/Liberty Girl: Happy_Dan
Third, for those who have already seen this, I added some extra bits, so you're just going to have to read it again.
Now, without further ado...
-----------------------------------------------------
Future Imperfect
The pain was worse than being hit by hit by a Rikti heavy assault suit. It took all of Annette's years of training to block even half of it. She screamed at the top of her lungs. "How did I ever agree to this?!"
"It's okay, love," Linda said, dabbing at Annette's sweating forehead with a damp towel.
Annette grabbed the front of the the scrubs Linda was wearing, yanked her close, and screamed into her face. "This... is nothing like... okay!"
"One more time, Annette," BODICIA told her.
"That's what you said the last two tiiiieeeee!" The contraction hit her like a steam train and she doubled over, pulling Linda with her. There was a moment where she felt she was going to split in half, and then sudden, massive relief. She fell back onto the bed, releasing Linda as she concentrated on controlling her breathing and flooding her system with endorphins.
It's a girl, Ni said from inside her mind. Oh, and Linda's fainted.
-----
The darkness inside the bar took a moment to get used to after the bright light outside. Ryan took off his sunglasses and took the moment. Several of the patrons looked up from their drinks, but went rapidly back to them as Ryan's gaze swept over them.
His gaze fell on one table, near the back, and he made his way to it, stopping beside a spare chair. "This seat taken?" he asked, grinning.
"Get lost, Ryan." Ni looked up and it took all Ryan's control to keep the grin on his face. Ni smirked. "Yeah, I'm quite somethin', ain't I?" It wasn't so much the pale skin, or the long scar that split her face from her right brow down to her lip, it was the look in her eyes; dead, cold, lifeless. And the fact that she looked no more than twenty when he knew she was forty. Someone like that should not have the eyes of a dead woman.
Ryan slipped into the seat anyway. "I thought those herbs..."
"Yeah, well, supplies are rather limited these days, and they can only do so much." She barked a short laugh. "Should've seen the other guy." She poured herself a shot from a half-empty bottle of unlabelled alcohol and sank it in one. "Look, I'm here to get drunk, Ryan, not to discuss my decline. Get to the point, or get out."
"Annette, I..." Ryan began, but she cut him off.
"Ni. It's Ni, Ryan. Annette's not been here since..." She stopped, poured another glass, and then drank it.
"Since Linda died," Ryan finished for her.
"Since she was murdered." It come out as a hiss.
"Yeah... yeah, sorry. Look, Zorielle's managed to put something together we think can stop him. We're..."
"Zorielle!" Ni spat the name out. "She bloody encouraged him. 'You can bring order to the world?' 'It's for their own good.' If she wants him gone it's so she can take over from him ruling his nice, controlled populace."
"She's... changed." Ryan looked down at the table.
"Oh, what could have changed the Ice Queen? Did he steal one of her capacitors." Ni sank another drink, a look of malicious glee on her face.
"He killed Tessa... and the kids."
Ni's face fell, but she said, "serves the scheming witch right." Ryan looked up, angry, and his eyes glowed orange. Ni moved and there was a curved Red Cap dagger at his throat. "You're fast, Cinders, but I don't think you're that fast. Now, why do you need me? I'm no use to man nor beast."
"You're the only one who can get near him. Those wards of yours. He knows about the power in the Club and he knows you're the key to it. If he attacks you, he goes up against the wards." Ryan looked back at the table. "And..."
"C'mon, Ryan, spit it out."
"He... still holds a candle for you. He'll let you get close, a-and you'll need to be close. Zori, she adapted a pair of Talsorian swords..."
Ni nodded. "Rikti technology. He always hated it." She poured and drank two shots of rotgut in quick succession. "Alright, Ryan, I'll do it. I'll assassinate Richard, but you get this and you get it good. I'm not doing it for you, or damn Unity Girl. I'm doing this because that man killed Linda."
-----
"Have you thought of a name yet?" Dinah held the baby securely but delicately. Her own son was playing with a plush Rikti toy by her side. Annette was pleased to see that, at the moment, Torsten seemed to want to bite its head off.
"That's one of the reasons we came," Linda said, smiling brightly. "We were hoping that it would be okay with you if we named her 'Dinah.'"
"Oh, but..."
"My mother's name is out," Annette interrupted, "and Lin's family are long gone. You've done so much for us. It's either that or Zorielle, and my apologies to Zori, but I'm not saddling my kid with that mouthful."
Dinah looked down at the child in her arms, who looked back, gurgled and reached up to try to touch Dinah's face. She smiled. "I'd be honoured," she said.
-----
"Linda Lee was probably the truest hero I ever met." Annette looked down from the podium she was standing on at the assembled crowd. Richard was there, Samantha beside him, grown old unlike her brother. Zorielle, still mourning her own loss, and the children, all grown. Dinah, still as lovely as ever and Torsten beside her. Jason, who had become her tower of strength in the last months, the one who gave her hope. The good and the powerful, friends and extended family, gathered to grieve for the loss of one of their own.
"The first day I met her, we talked about how our skirts got in the way of fighting. I never did live down that joke about me getting her out of her skirt." There was a slightly uncomfortable rumble of laughter from the crowd. "But even then, even after I learned more about her and got to know the darker side of Liberty Girl, she was always my hero. The one I looked up to. She was a hero because it was right to be. Not for revenge, or to prove something, but because she had powers and knew she had to use them to help people. And she did. Hundreds of them. Whole worlds are safe because of Linda Lee, and half of them don't even know who she is."
Annette paused, gathering herself for the next bit. She could feel Ni in the back of her mind, encouraging her. Ni had taken Linda's death a lot harder than Annette had expected, but she had been there when she was needed, holding Annette up when she fell. "When Zorielle told me about the cancer, I couldn't believe it. Her own body was attacking her. It couldn't be happening. But it was, and I watched her go from a powerhouse to an old woman in a few months. All of you have helped me get through this, and I'd like to thank you. All of you, I love you.
"And now we have to go on without her. Except... Well, both Ryan and Jason assure me that there really is a Heaven," she nodded to the two men in the audience, who nodded back, Jason smiling slightly. "And I have to think that Linda's up there looking down on us, because, quite frankly, anything else is too hard to contemplate." She choked on the last word and had to stop to compose herself. She looked down at concerned faces. Jason rising slightly in his seat to come forward. She held out a hand and straightened herself. "Goodbye, Lin. I'll see you again soon, I promise."
-----
The sound of the heavy metal door closing behind Ellie rang in her ears and she spun around in time to hear the latches lock shut. A familiar face looked at her through the viewing aperture. Annette smiled. "Hey, Ellie."
"A-Annette, it was you?" Ellie ran to the door, clawing at it. Her kheldian energy claws ripped into the metal, but it was going to take time and Ellie did not think she had any.
"Yeah, yeah it was me. I killed all of them. Ryan, Zorielle, Dinah. Even Jessica," she paused and thought about it, "both of them."
"Why? What the hell reason did you have?" Ellie yanked a panel of metal off the door and began attacking the struts that held the latches in place.
"You didn't figure it out? Always said you were about as bright as a bag of spanners. I've been working for the Shadow Council for years." She reached out and slapped her hand onto a button beside the door. The chamber filled with quantum resonance energy. Ellie barely had time to scream.
-----
Annette blinked a couple of times and swayed on her feet. Why was she on her feet, and why was she standing in front of a door. The last thing she remembered was being in bed...
The door opened and Ryan was standing there. "Hello, who... Oh no, not again!"
Annette blinked again and looked down. She was quite naked. A soft giggle resonated through her mind. "Nitoichi!" she yelled. "I am going to throttle you for this!"
-----
The battle was not going well. Cindersnap was down and half the others did not trust Zortel enough to listen to her commands. Richard was winning. Ni had cut him in half at the waist, but his torso had stayed there, suspended in mid-air while he threw out some kind of gravitational blast. Ni had sailed through three plate glass windows before hitting the ground and it had taken her several long seconds to get back into the throne room. She was now hiding behind an overturned desk while what once was the Unity Vigil was being torn apart.
She risked a look. Richard's lower body was already reforming, energy streams twisting in and coalescing into the familiar, black clad armour. Ni had a doubt that there was anything in the armour any more. He was hanging at the foot of the steps leading up to the enormous throne he had crafted of Impervium. Beside it stood the two stasis tanks so familiar from his broadcasts to 'the people.' In one was the body of Andrew Martin, surrounded by wires and energy fields rigged to feed energy into Richard, doubling his strength. In the other was the body of Amelia Bourne, the woman Linda had died defending. Ni ducked back and clutched her swords. Now or never.
There was a sudden rush in Ni's head and she was reeling backwards into the darkness of her own mind. My turn, said a voice she had not heard in years. Annette tossed the swords aside and swung herself into a standing position.
Richard spotted her and fired a blast of... something at her. It hit a wall a few feet from her and splashed like water over the surface of some invisible sphere. Annette walked forward slowly, ignoring the energy dancing around her. Gunfire and energy blasts from Zorielle's team had stopped entirely now; this was a matter between Richard and Ni.
She stopped, a bare few feet from him and raised her hand. A gleaming sword of white light appeared in her hand and she looked at it and then up at Richard, her face contorting into pure hatred. "Why don't you just die!" she yelled at him and drove the shining sword into his chest.
Richard screamed...
-----
"Annette, you can't do this, come back with me," Linda pleaded.
"Annette is dead and gone, you killed her, now get lost or I'll finish the job." Ni stood over the fallen form of her ex-girlfriend, energy swords glowing at her sides. Linda was a mess, deep gashes across her body were already healing, the nanoweave suit Annette had given her beginning to reknit over the wounds.
"Please, love, come back to me. It was a moment of weakness, I..."
"Go to hell," Ni said and swung her right-hand sword at Linda's neck.
-----
"It's time," Jason said. "Richard's ready, we can begin the move as soon as you say."
Annette looked up at him with weary eyes. "I'm so tired, Jason. You're sure we can't just..." Her head turned and looked up into the sky. Above them hung the huge, bloated form of the Sun, swollen into a mass of gasses barely hot enough to sustain the reactions going on within them. The star that had served Earth for billions of years had finally reached the end of its life and was dying.
"We can't risk it," Jason replied. "The thing you've got trapped in there..."
Annette nodded sadly. "It might manage to escape when the wards... when I finally give out." She looked around at what had once been London, so long in the past that not even a memory remained. The atmosphere had boiled away months ago and life had become unable to support itself years before that. The only thing keeping this tiny part of the world alive was Annette and the Barrington Club wards. She took in a deep breath and composed herself "Alright, let's do this."
Jason reached out and gently stroked her hair, and turned to nod at the black-clad figure of Richard Huntington who stood nearby. Richard nodded in return, and raised his hands. Annette felt the wards strain as he began to exert force. She adapted them, changed them, strengthening them to maintain their integrity as Richard excavated the entire Club from the bare rock. It took almost an hour to pull the entire structure free and then Richard lifted from the planet and began to tow the Club and its two remaining occupants across space to find another place to set down. To keep the thing in the Archives locked up for another few billion years...
-----
"Oh, don't touch that." Annette blinked and looked around at the girl who was now the head librarian for the Archive at the Barrington Club. Jason had found her, apparently, working in the British Library.
"Sorry, Sam, what?"
"That stone," Samantha said, "don't touch it. Jason warned me about it." Annette looked down at the smooth, black rock under her hand. It seemed to look back at her, and it seemed to be smiling. "The Stone of Corathus. If you're a skilled psychic, you can use it to show the future, but it's supposed to be really tricky."
"And if you're not a trained psychic?" Annette slowly moved her hand away from the stone.
"You get... flashes of lots of different possible futures. The thing has a mind of its own, tends to show you things you won't like a lot. Supposedly, with a strong will, you can see good things." Samantha frowned at Annette. "You didn't touch it, did you?"
Shaking her head, Annette started out of the room. "Maybe you should... put that thing somewhere out of the way though," she said. "I don't think people should know what could happen to them." She looked back at the rock. "No... you shouldn't know the future..."
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.