Venom (Final Rose AU Snippet)

Grandma Farron had finally gotten used to having Strangles around. She wasn’t particularly fond of snakes, but the grass snake was friendly enough. All he really did has follow Diana around, bask on rocks, and munch on the occasional frog. He’d learned to keep his distance, and he seemed to realise that making enough noise for her to notice him was a good idea after almost getting whacked by her broom after startling her.

The same could not be said of the snake currently eyeing her menacingly. She couldn’t be completely sure, but it looked an awful lot like one of the venomous snakes she’d read about in the newspaper recently. The weather had been unseasonably warm as of late, so these snakes had been found wandering through people’s gardens in search of somewhere cool.

“Hey, grandma!” Diana cried as she skipped across the grass toward Grandma Farron. “What are you staring at? Is it something interesting?”

“Careful!” Grandma Farron cried. “There’s a snake there! I think it might be venomous.”

Diana stopped and looked at the snake. Strangles poked his head out of the pouch she carried him in and hissed. “I think you’re right grandma. That looks like a Vale brown viper. Strangles doesn’t like him either, so he’s probably a bad snake.”

“We should call someone,” Grandma Farron said. “Vale brown vipers are supposed to be extremely deadly, right?”

Diana nodded. “They’re one of the deadliest snakes in the world. If you get bitten, you’ll definitely die if you don’t go to a hospital or something.” A frown crossed her face. “We should call someone, but what if it wanders off before the animal control people get here?”

That was a good point. The last thing Grandma Farron wanted was for the snake to bite one of her neighbours. “I’ll call your mother. She should be able to handle it.”

“It’s okay. I can do it.” Diana put the pouch holding Strangles down on the ground and then walked toward the snake. “It’ll only take a second.”

“Diana, watch out!”

The snake took one look at Diana and lunged. With startling speed, it closed the distance and latched its fangs onto Diana’s arm. Even a single bite from a Vale brown viper could kill a grown man several times over, and its venom was often used as a poison for assassinations due to how deadly it was. A little kid like Diana would normally have succumbed within a matters of minutes, long before an ambulance could reach her.

Of course, Diana wasn’t a normal kid.

“Are you done?” Diana asked as the viper bit her over and over again. It was supposed to be super venomous, but she couldn’t really feel anything. Finally, the snake stopped biting her. It was completely exhausted and out of venom. “Okay. I think it’s safe now, grandma. Go call the animal control people.” Diana reached for the spare pouch she usually carried, just in case she found anything interesting while she was down at the creek with Strangles. “I’ll just put this guy in my other pouch.”

In no time at all, Diana had stuffed the viper into her other pouch. The confused animal could only hiss helplessly as it tried to comprehend what had just happened.

“Are you okay?” Grandma Farron asked. “You… you have Ragnarok, but it bit you a lot and…”

“I’ll be fine, grandma.” Diana smiled sunnily. “Snakes venom and stuff doesn’t work on me.” She held up her arm. The marks from the fangs had already healed, and there was no sign she’d ever been bitten at all.

“I… that’s good.” Grandma Farron breathed a sigh of relief.

“So if you see anything else weird, you can ask me to help.” Diana flexed her bicep, which was less than impressive. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing to fear when I’m around.” The viper in the bag hissed. “Oh, be quiet,” Diana told it. “Because of you, I have to wait around until the animal people get here. I could be down at the creek with Strangles. The frogs better still be there when we get there, or I’m not going to be happy.”

SCP-5155: The Plush Toy (Final Empire)

Item
#: SCP-5155

Object
Class: Safe

Special
Containment Procedure: SCP-5155 primarily resides
in a 9.1 m x 9.1 m (30 ft x 30 ft) room in Minimal Security Site 21. It is to
be afforded full access to any items that it requests, and it is to be provided
with contact with on-site personnel at its convenience. Contact with the
children of on-site personnel is to take place on at least a weekly basis at
[redacted]. Children are to be instructed according to Document 5155-A or
5155-B depending on their age and level of cognitive development.

SCP-5155 is to be kept informed of any and all
events deemed relevant as outlined and discussed in Document 5155-C. In the
event of major containment failure at any of [redacted], SCP-5155 is to be
informed immediately and its schedule altered to allow for immediate deployment
and mobilization. Anyone attempting to impede SCP-5155 from deploying may be
subject to immediate termination.

In addition to its personal quarters, SCP-5155 is to
be allowed access to the research facilities available on site, as well as any
additional research facilities noted in Document 5155-D. Research personnel are
expected to cooperate with SCP-5155 and to seek out its advice in any of the
matters relating to [redacted]. Time is to be set aside each day for Foundation
researchers to consult with SCP-5155 on other matters. This time should not be
less than one hour each day unless SCP-5155 is currently deployed.

SCP-5155 is to be kept appraised of the deployments
of [redacted], [redacted], and [redacted]. Furthermore, weekly training
sessions are to be organised with the aforementioned parties at a time and site
of SCP-5155’s choosing. The primary objectives of each training session are up
to SCP-5155 but are to serve the broader goal of improving the training,
expertise, tactics, strategies, and overall effectiveness of Foundation
operatives in the field.

Should SCP-5155 be required in the field, [redacted]
and [redacted] are to accompany it whenever practicable. Personnel in the field
are expected to obey its commands and directives, and SCP-5155 should be
treated as the senior officer in any and all field engagements with the
exception of [redacted]. SCP-5155 should not, under any circumstances, be
allowed unapproved or unsupervised contact with hostile Keter Class Threats, as
it will almost certainly attempt – and most likely succeed – to terminate them
with extreme prejudice, regardless of the level of collateral damage involved
(see e.g., Document 5155-E for a summary of several such incidents).

At no time should any personnel attempt to remove or
alter the decorations in SCP-5155’s personal quarters. Of particular importance
is the symbol on the far wall, which depicts what appears to be a snowflake
with a rose in the middle. Any attempt to remove, alter, or deface the symbol
has been met with extreme hostility. If personnel attempt to interfere with the
decorations, SCP-5155 may become hostile and refuse to cooperate with
Foundation personnel in any way shape or form for a period of not less than 24
hours.

Under no circumstances should personnel harm, or
allow harm to befall, a child while SCP-5155 is present. SCP-5155 has
demonstrated a willingness to use extreme force to secure the safety of
children and others it considers innocent of wrongdoing.

Description:
SCP-5155 is a plush toy roughly 30 cm (1 ft) in
height. Although its appearance is heavily stylised, it seems to have been made
in the image of a pink-haired woman with blue eyes who wears a white outfit and
has a red cape. SCP-5155’s usual expression is a scowl or a glare although it
has occasionally be seen to smile, most often in the presence of children.

SCP-5155 is extremely intelligent. It claims to have
assimilated the contents of the entire Internet in a matter of minutes, and it
has demonstrated an immense level of understanding in a range of different
fields from science and technology to art and psychology. It has the ability to
design and construct devices that utilise technology far beyond current human
capabilities. Present estimates of its computing power suggest that it has
abilities exceeding the combined computing power of the world by at least
several orders of magnitude. SCP-5155 is capable of interfacing with any and
all currently known computer systems. Furthermore, it can access any and all
existing networks, regardless of security or location. In practice, it has
access to any information currently stored in a digital format within its
range. Its maximum range is currently unknown, but it is at least large enough
to encompass the entire planet.

Although SCP-5155 appears to be extremely cuddly, it
is actually composed of a substance with highly variable properties. Testing
has revealed that SCP-5155 seems to be completely impervious to all presently
known forms of physical, chemical, biological, and energy-based attack. Tests
using reality-warping or psychic SCPs suggest that it has similar levels of
immunity to those vectors of attack as well.

Apart from being able to alter its body into various
other shapes (e.g., turning its arms into blades), SCP-5155 has access to a
subspace pocket of unknown size. Contained within this pocket are a tremendous
variety of weapons. During testing and fieldwork, SCP-5155 has shown no
hesitation in naming and explaining the approximate properties of its weapons,
claiming that humans lack the technology to reproduce them.

The current list of weapons known to be available to
SCP-5155 is as follows:

• Plasma weapons
• Rail guns
• Ballistic
  firearms
• Warp weapons
• Matter
  decomposition weapons
• Photonic-kinetic
  weapons
• Fusion weapons
• Anti-matter
  weapons
• Singularity
  weaponry
• EM weaponry
• False vacuum
  weaponry
• Hyperdimensional
  weaponry
• Reality
  altering weaponry

In addition to its immense durability (SCP-5155 has
yet to be observed taking damage), SCP-5155 also has access to a broad variety
of defensive measures, many of which can be deployed from its subspace pocket.
These defensive measures appear to be counterparts to its offensive weaponry,
and SCP-5155 has stated that despite its formidable arsenal of weapons, it is
actually more adept at defence. These claims were verified when it shielded the
entire planet from a bombardment launched by SCP-2399 before destroying the
other SCP with its retaliatory strike. Of particular note is that SCP-5155 was
able to do this while sitting on the lap of a child and showing no visible
signs of effort or strain.

Based on data derived from the aforementioned incident
and other field and laboratory tests, it is difficult to ascertain the true
scale of SCP-5155’s strength. Suffice it to say, it could easily wipe out humanity
if it was so inclined. Following the incident with SCP-2399, SCP-5155 was
briefed on [redacted]. [redacted], and [redacted], and it agreed to intervene
should any of those occur. It has also agreed to help in containing SCP-682
should it ever escape containment.

SCP-5155 is capable of speech although it seldom talks
unless necessary. It is also capable of flight as well as teleportation (range
currently unknown), and it can move through any medium (e.g., water, mud,
concrete) with equal ease. Although it has yet to demonstrate, SCP-5155 claims
to be capable of superluminal travel. When not otherwise engaged, SCP-5155 will
typically commandeer the lap of nearby personnel for at least 15 minutes.
SCP-5155 shows a preference for the laps of women or children. SCP-5155 may
also ask to be carried around like a regular plush toy, and personnel are
advised to comply. 

Document 5155-F: SCP-5155 was discovered after preventing
the kidnapping of a child by an instance of SCP-1788-1. Foundation personnel
approached SCP-5155, and it proved amenable to communication, explaining its
situation and acting as though it had full knowledge of the Foundation’s
purpose and objectives. Given what is now known about its abilities, it is
entirely possible that was the case.

After agreeing to accompany Foundation personnel to an
interview, SCP-5155 provided more details regarding its situation. It claimed
to have been created by a multiverse-spanning empire of unparalleled might and
glory, which it referred to as the ‘Grand Empire Alliance’. 

According to SCP-5155, it was in transit when it
encountered a massive dimensional anomaly that left it stranded not far from
the park. It further claimed that it was already familiar with Earth, albeit
not this version of Earth. Upon further questioning, it elaborated, stating
that the Grand Empire Alliance encountered its first version of earth thousands
of years ago before encountering other versions of Earth during its expansion throughout
the multiverse. However, SCP-5155 claimed that this particular version of Earth
was not currently mapped or known to its creators.

After a demonstration of its abilities and consultation
with the O5 Council, the decision was made to broker a deal to secure the
assistance of SCP-5155. Although SCP-5155 claimed to be able to open a portal
back to its home dimension, it stated that it could not do so for moral reasons
since opening such a portal would lead to the destruction of our universe. Instead,
SCP-5155 would help the Foundation in exchange for help in acquiring the
resources it required to construct a less dangerous portal.

Of particular interest was the reason SCP-5155 gave
for why its portal would do so much damage. It suggested that the fabric of our
universe had already suffered substantial damage due to the intervention of
several higher-dimensional beings. Although SCP-5155 could not name these beings,
it was able to provide descriptions of their abilities based on the damage its
scans had detected. The descriptions it provided matched almost perfectly with
[redacted], [redacted], and [redacted].

After being informed that some of these beings were still present, SCP-5155
calmly stated that it would rectify that before leaving. To date, SCP-5155 has
already eliminated a number of existential threats and has developed plans to
deal with more.  

With finals season fast approaching for those of us who are in college, I’m wondering how our thesis papers and certification exams stack up against Beacon’s version of finals? Are there any similarities?

Beacon’s finals can be split into two main categories:

• Theoretical
• Practical

As you might imagine, theoretical exams are usually written exams that test a student’s knowledge and understanding of important theories and principles across a range of areas (e.g., engineering, Grimm biology, etc.).

Practical exams require students to apply their knowledge and understanding in practical ways. The most famous exams are the combat exams. However, there are also exams related to other subjects (e.g., an engineering practical might ask students to build something under time pressure using a limit set of components and materials).

Furthermore, apart from individual exams, there are also team exams, and these are undertaken by students in their teams (e.g., Team RWBY would do the team exams together).

An Amusing Thought…

I’m not sure how many of you are aware of the SCP Foundation. It’s basically a fictional universe in which the SCP Foundation deals with a variety of paranormal/abnormal/fantastical threats to humanity and civilisation. These can range from the vaguely irritating to entities and devices capable of obliterating the world or even the universe.

It occurred to me, then, that since the Grand Empire Alliance (GEA) are a multiverse-spanning civilisation that perhaps some things from the GEA might occasionally end up in strange places, some might even end up found by the SCP Foundation.

In particular, I thought it would be funny if a plush toy from the GEA found its way to the Foundation. Now, this wouldn’t be any old plush toy. It would be a sentient combat model whose purpose was to not only provide cuddles and comfort but also protection. As a mid-range model, it would have access to technology and weaponry so far beyond the Foundation (which is basically set in our version of Earth) as to seem miraculous.

Since the plush toy was never actually bought (it was lost at some point after manufacture but before purchase), it would run according to one of the key directives in its coding. One of these is to activate a distress beacon, which would, in theory, allow its manufacturers (Dia Technologies) to find it. Another would be to protect any humans/sentients nearby from harm from forces it deems as dangerous.

You would then have the rather amusing sight of a plush toy helping the Foundation with its various endeavours because it identifies them as a powerful, stabilising force worthy of its aid until it is found by the GEA. Whether its eldritch beings, super plagues, or weird entities from other dimensions, the plush toy would be appropriately armed or at least have advice on how to deal with things (due to the massive database the GEA has on such entities and how to handle them).

The interviews with it and the people assigned to work with it would be hilarious, as well as the reports written regarding its origin, conduct, appearance, and so on.

Now that Tumblr is Deus Vult-ing everything aside from the most squeaky clean, Christian Minecraft server friendly material, do you have a back-up plan in the event you get got?

Hmmm…

I currently have a wordpress that has everything up until mid October mirrored. However, I think that I am probably going to be okay. The restrictions apply primarily to images, photos, etc, rather than text. 

Still, I can’t help but feel that they’re basically committing suicide here. Child pornography is a terrible thing, and it ought to be stopped. However, simply nuking all adult content is going to do some serious damage to Tumblr, given how many communities focus on that or, at the least, have posts on that frequently.

Lightning Style (Final Rose)

Lightning didn’t consider herself much of a fashionista. However, she had a very particular sense of style, and she also looked good in almost everything. That wasn’t to say that she didn’t occasional splurge on clothes, but she wasn’t nearly as concerned with clothing and fashion as Serah or Lumina. 

Yet the fashion range she’d been asked to model for had piqued her interest. It combined simplicity and sophistication with practicality and utility. Everything from the clothing to the accessories was designed to be both stunning and functional. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea, but she’d agreed to model for the ad campaign.

It was a huge mistake.

She’d arrived home shortly after the first ads had begun to air to find Diana and Averia mimicking the strut Lightning had used in one of the ads to perfection. Neither of her children had said a word. They hadn’t needed to. And Fang?

The other woman had smiled, sat down next to Lightning, and then turned, as though looking into a camera, before doing her best impression of the expression Lightning had worn throughout each ad. It was combination of aloof regality and cool composure. It was a look of utmost sophistication and control. It was, now that Lightning had a chance to look at it from someone else’s perspective, absolute ridiculous.

But there was worse to come.

Summer finally had her chance for revenge. The woman had arrived at their next mission together decked out in the exact same outfit Lightning had worn in the most popular ad. She had all but stalked into the meeting room before throwing her arm out to one side and then doing a series of flips and tumbles before finally landing in a crouch, her gaze locked onto Lightning.

Lightning was honestly thankful that she could use Saviour’s emotional suppression to tamp down on her embarrassment.

And then Summer had pulled out the handbag.

Yes, a handbag.

In one of the ads, Lightning had promoted a handbag. It was, in Lightning’s opinion, an excellent handbag. However, the ad had involved Lightning doing all sorts of stunts with the handbag to demonstrate how rugged and reliable it was.

Summer completed the mission using the handbag as her weapon before wordlessly handing it to Lightning at the end of the mission with a small smile.

Shots fired.

The situation would have escalated if not for the release of a new ad campaign. It featured Sazh and Chirpy.

Suddenly, Lightning’s ad campaign was no longer the most bizarre thing in the hunting community. Instead, they were all treated to the glorious sight of one of the greatest trainers in history riding a chocobo shirtless while promoting deodorant.

Still, Lightning wasn’t one to just forget. She kept the handbag, and she practiced every day. She was going to spar Summer with the handbag. And she was going to beat her.

X     X     X

Edit: Props to @seol-raeyuri​ for correctly identifying what this snippet is a reference to. For anyone who missed it, you can find the ad in question below. Now… can anyone tell me what the Sazh and Chirpy ad is a reference to?

Invasion (Final Gate)

The Saderan Empire was not used to being invaded. On the contrary, they were usually the ones doing the invading. Alas, they had made a grave mistake. The Grand Empire Alliance was not fond of people who tried to invade it, and it could be very good at invasion if it put its mind to it…

X     X     X

“Prepare yourselves for battle, brothers and sisters!” the Dia-Farron roared as she leapt atop her war hamster and shook her fist at the gate in front of them that led to another world. “These fools have dared to set foot upon the sacred soil of our glorious empire. We must teach them the folly of their actions. We must bring them fire, thunder, and ruin! We will boil their seas and burn their skies! We will crush the ashes of their devastated lands beneath our boots and sow their ruined fields with salt! They will rue the day that they -”

Natalia Dia-Farron coughed and tapped her cousin on the shoulder. “Actually, this isn’t an extermination mission.”

Aurelia Dia-Farron turned. “Wait… what? I thought we had clearance to annihilate everything.” She pointed at the weapons mounted on her war hamster. “I’ve even got Professor Cuddlebaxter kitted out with obliterator cannons and everything.”

The war hamster nodded, and the aforementioned obliterator cannons swivelled in their mountings. Natalia sighed. The use of obliterator cannons was highly restricted due to their tendency to, well, obliterate stuff on a colossal scale. A single blast could simply erase entire cities from the very fabric of reality.

“No, we are not authorised to annihilate everything.” Natalia sighed. “We will be doing some conquering, but not a lot of annihilation, at least, assuming they see sense.”

Aurelia made a face. “So… you’re saying I can’t use the obliterator cannons?”

“Nope.”

“Damn it. Fine.” Aurelia rubbed her chin. “I suppose I can stick with warp cannons instead.”

“I’ll be the lead on this mission, and my orders were clear. We’re sticking with low-tier weapons unless something bigger is required. We don’t want to give too much away.”

“Seriously?” Aurelia threw her hands up in the air. “You’re asking me to use plasma cannons like some kind of barbarian?”

“Plasma cannons have a long and storied history.”

“I suppose they do scale up rather well.”

“There will also be restrictions on maximum weapons output.”

Aurelia glared. “You’re sucking all of the fun out of conquest.”

“Look,” Natalia said. “I’ll be setting up a hive for my Imperial Zerg. If you want, you can be the field commander for my frontline forces.”

“Hmm…” Aurelia eyed some of the nearby Imperial Zerg thoughtfully. “The thought of commanding an army of ravening, bloodthirsty creatures designed specifically to massacre our enemies does have its appeal. Okay. I accept.”

X     X     X

The Saderan army encamped around the gate was completely annihilated in a little over twenty minutes.

In keeping with Aurelia’s approach to combat, the first person through the gate was Tiberius, one of the titanolisks under Natalia’s command. The mighty Imperial Zerg simply trampled everyone foolish enough to get in his way as he unfolded the vast armoured plates on his body to shield those behind him.

Volleys of arrows, stones, magic, and metal bolts clattered into him. They might as well have been throwing confetti. Tiberius had been designed to survive orbital bombardment from civilisations that could tear apart entire star systems with their weaponry. The only thing he felt was satisfaction that his opponents were so easily crushed underfoot and delight that his kin would be able to wreak havoc upon the enemies of the Empire.

Right behind Tiberius, waves of cyberlisks poured out of the gate. Much like the hydralisks, they were primarily ranged combatants. But by combining the wonders of Zerg physiology with cybernetic engineering, they didn’t shoot spines. No, they were basically living rail guns that fired volleys of shrapnel at unbelievable speeds.

Against people clad mostly in leather, cloth, and steel, the results were devastating. Each volley reduced entire ranks of the enemy into clouds of gore, which provided the more melee oriented Imperial Zerg the perfect chance to shatter the tattered Saderan formations.

Zerglings streamed forward. Since they were the first to enter melee combat with the enemy, Aurelia had chosen specimens with slightly lower speed but greater durability than the standard configuration. They tore into the Saderans with the single-minded ferocity the Imperial Zerg were famous for, ripping and tearing anything they could reach.

Behind them, the cyberlisks had switched from firing volleys of shrapnel to firing lances of hardened material. This allowed them to continue attacking without putting the Zerglings at risk. Besides, with the enemy in full retreat, long-ranged attacks were more efficient anyway.

As the Saderan army’s retreat broke into a disorganised rout, the first of the Imperial Zerg fliers entered the fray. Swift and deadly, they strafed the retreating Saderans over and over again. 

And just like that it was over.

Aurelia and Professor Cuddlebaxter advanced. Neither of them had fired a single shot.

“Hmm…” Aurelia patted Tiberius on the side as the gigantic creature lumbered forward, ready to put himself between her and any possible threat at a moment’s notice. “Good work.” She activated her communicator. “Gate is secure, Natalia. You can start setting up your hive now.”

A moment later, drones and other Imperial Zerg began to file through the gate. Unlike the combat types that Aurelia had commanded, these ones were suited for construction. Soon, dozens of structures were morphing, and the beginnings of creep had begun to spread. Further back, Imperial scientists, soldiers, and construction workers had also begun to exit the gate.

The Imperial Zerg had provided the beachhead. It would be up to the rest of the Empire’s forces to make the most of it. Aurelia looked across the battlefield and gave the order for the Zerglings to begin collecting the bodies. Natalia liked to be economical, so it wouldn’t be long before she had a conversion pit up and running. They might as well make use of the organic material they had on hand.

Summer Style (Final Rose)

Summer was in the middle of making dinner when Ruby and Yang leapt into the kitchen and struck identical poses.

“When it’s hot…” Yang began as she put one hand on her hip and smirked.

“You need…” Ruby copied Yang’s pose and then winked.

“Summer style!” the two of them said together.

“…” Summer’s eye twitched. “Where did you hear that?” she asked quietly, dreading the answer.

“Oh, I might have shown them an old television ad on my scroll,” Raven drawled as she ambled into the kitchen. “After they saw it they just had to come here and show off.”

Summer covered her face with her hands. “Why did you do that?”

“Relax, Summer mom,” Yang said. “I thought the ad was pretty cool, and you looked great in those clothes.”

“Yeah,” Ruby said. “And those sunglasses looked awesome too. You just looked so cool and everything.” She pulled out her scroll. “See?”

Summer cringed as the old ad began to play on Ruby’s scroll. It was something she’d done shortly after leaving Beacon academy. A fashion company had asked her to do an ad campaign for them. She’d liked the clothes, and the pay had been good, so she hadn’t seen any reason to refuse.

Naturally, her teammates had been absolutely awful about it.

Qrow, Raven, and Taiyang had all taken to striking poses from the ads and even saying her lines. But it didn’t stop there. In typical fashion, the rest of her friend had gotten involved too. She’d once arrived to a mission with Team SYLV to find the entire team had donned clothes from the ad campaign.

But the worst thing?

She’d arrived to one mission briefing to find Lightning wearing a different pair of sunglasses. Instead of her usual pair, the other woman was wearing the exact same pair of sunglasses as Summer had in the most popular ad. Lightning hadn’t said a word about the ad campaign or the glasses right up until the end.

And then she’d struck a pose and told Summer that she’d be leading the first team into the mission zone in true ‘Summer style’. Summer had almost died of embarrassment, and Lightning had given her that small, secretive smile of hers that let Summer know that she wasn’t done quite yet.

For some reason, the team of students that Summer had been tasked with leading had all arrived decked out in clothing from the ad campaign. She would have strangled Lightning if not for the fact that the other woman was practically invincible.

Eventually, the whole thing had died down… until now.

“Raven,” Summer said with deceptive calm. “We’re going to talk about this later.”

“It’s a pity that I’ll be leaving on a mission this afternoon,” Raven said.

“How about I go with you. You know, just to make sure you’re okay.”

Raven’s smile slipped a fraction. “I guess you could come although it is with Team JNPR.”

“I can manage.”

X     X     X

“Who’s idea was this?” Summer hissed.

Jaune cringed. When Professor Farron had called to suggest they dress up – she’d even offered to pay – in clothing from the old Summer style ad campaign since the famous huntress had apparently decided to join their mission with Raven, he’d assumed that Summer would find it funny. On the contrary, however, she looked a lot like she wanted to strangle them.

“That would be me,” Lightning drawled.

“You…” Not for the first time, Summer cursed the fact that she was shorter than Lightning, which prevented her from glowering down at the other woman. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Raven snickering. Well, she might not be able to strangle Lightning, but she might have more success strangling Raven. “Let’s just go,” Summer growled.

“Enjoy your trip,” Lightning said, reaching into her pocket and putting on a familiar pair of sunglasses. “Summer.”

What is the voice in Lightnings head like towards the kids once they’re older?

Still basically a troll.

It also chants [Oblivious idiot] at Averia a lot and wonders if the version of Saviour that Averia has is defective because of how oblivious she is. Diana is occasionally designated Individual:LittleBigDaughter due to her height increase.

Much to Lightning’s dismay, Victoria (Diana’s daughter) is designated as Individual:FangJrJr. 

Fury is Individual:GrumpyBird.

Surprisingly enough, Saviour finds Taren fascinating since he bears such a strong resemblance to Lightning’s father. Saviour also finds it amusing that he inherited one of the ‘pieces’ related to space manipulation and suggests all number of pranks he could pull with it.

Analysis (Final Rose)

Lightning twitched. Her control over some aspects of Saviour had been on the fritz lately. It was likely a result of a few experiments she’d running with new techniques and the like. To reduce the mental strain, she’d been forced to hand over more control than she was completely comfortable with to the more automated parts of her Semblance.

Like the voice in her head.

[Spawn of Ragnarok identified.]

“Mom, why are you staring at me like that?” Diana asked as she climbed onto Lightning’s lap. “Do I have something on my face? I thought I wiped off all the ice cream already.”

[Analysing… analysing…]

Lightning prepared to shut down every iota of her Semblance if it recommended anything even vaguely related to harming Diana.

[Analysis complete. Result verified. Adorable. Recommended action: cuddle.]

Without thinking, Lightning’s arms came up and wrapped around Diana. The little girl immediately snuggled up to her.

[Analysing cuddle factor…]

Lightning wanted to believe that her Semblance was joking, but it wasn’t. Saviour had, at least in theory, full access to all of her memories for the purposes of analysis and prediction. It could thus compare exactly how cuddly Diana was to everyone else that Lightning had ever met.

[Analysis inconclusive. Obtain further data.]

Diana giggled as Lightning continued to hug her. Lightning could have stopped her Semblance, but she’d learned it was often better to just let Saviour run whatever analyses it wanted to if no one was in danger. Otherwise, she’d have to put up with a nagging voice in her head all day.

[Analysis still inconclusive. Acquire other spawn for up to date comparison.]

Averia picked the worst possible moment to walk into the room. In short order, a very grumpy pink-haired girl was on the receiving end of a cuddle.

“What are you doing, mom?” Averia hissed.

“Just humour me. Saviour is trying to determine which one of you is cuddlier.”

“It has to be me!” Diana cried. “I’m at least 78% cuddlier than Averia.”

“That is a very exact number,” Lightning said.

[Analysis complete. Younger spawn is precisely 78.291732489% cuddlier than older spawn.]

“And you’re pretty much right,” Lightning replied.

Averia glared. “What? Am I not cuddly enough or something?”

Lightning raised one eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t like being cuddly.”

“I also don’t like losing. What does Saviour say?”

[Older spawn is sufficiently cuddly. However, younger spawn is extremely cuddly.]

Lightning repeated Saviour’s words verbatim, her voice completely flat and emotionless.

“Mom turned into a robot!” Diana said. 

“Mom isn’t a robot. She’s just letting Saviour talk,” Averia replied. “Does Saviour not like me or something?”

“Saviour likes you. You’re just not as cuddly as Diana.” Lightning sighed. “If it helps, Saviour rates you as at least 54% less troublesome than Diana.”

“Hey!” Diana cried. “I am not that troublesome.”

“You are,” Lightning replied. “But that’s just part of your charm.”

“I guess I am charming,” Diana murmured. 

Fang walked into the living room. She must have just come back from training if her clothing was anything to go by.

[Recommending course of action: foist spawn on sibling. Capture spouse.]

Lightning looked heavenward. Saviour was basically suggesting that she send Averia and Diana next door, so she and Fang could have some alone time. While the suggestion was certainly appealing, the kids would definitely ask questions unless he could come up with a suitable plan…

[RunningSimulation: Convince children to go next door…]