Charles took a step back as Perry stood.

The surrounding crowd parted as Paradox walked forward, every stride of his matched by a tiny flinching shuffle backwards from his uncle.

Perry lightly pushed off the ground with his toe and floated upward the exact four and a half feet he needed to land his next foot on the edge of the stage without missing a beat.

A moment later, Perry stopped right in front of Charles, who had gone a little green in the gills.

“Yo Charles, I’m really happy for you.” Perry said, unable to suppress a wicked smile as his fingers clasped the microphone, drawing it towards him. “I’mma let you finish, but first, I’d like to make an announcement:”

Perry turned his gaze to the surrounding Manitian nobility, the microphone slipping out of his uncle’s weak grasp.

“I think it’s only appropriate on this, the day of giving, that I give my people a gift. First of all: Gorm is dead. I killed it. In a matter of weeks, the scourge of Manita will cease to exist in our chunk of spacetime as its clones wither on the vine. Second, Chicago is now home to a stabilized portal to the Manitian Royal Capital.

And third: In less than a month, engineers will connect Franklin City and Washington City to Chicago via the inter-city train.”

Perry gave them a moment to digest that.

“You heard that right. We are retaking Manita. It’s no longer a vague promise. It’s happening. Next year, our generation will begin the process of retaking our homeland. That place that your parents went on and on about. I’ve been there. It’s magical…but dangerous. Those of you who have something good here, keep doing what you’re doing. We’ll need people on this side of the portal to represent us.”

Perry scanned the audience hanging on his every word.

“But if you feel like this world doesn’t fit you…if the light of the sun is too cold, if the nights don’t sing, if the stories your grandparents told fascinate you…If there’s nothing for you on Earth…Come to Chicago. We’re going to start with the former capital, and bring an entire planet to heel!”

“Our generation will achieve a level of prosperity and freedom never conceived of!”

The crowd cheered.

“…Except for these guys.” Perry said, thumbing towards Charles Frepon.

BiblicalRevenge.EXE

The drones outside the mansion began 3-D printing the massive magical ritual outside.

“The Frepon family have disappointed all of us on multiple occasions,” Perry said, glancing back at Charles. “So I thought I’d give them a present this christmas.”

His uncle shook his head, face pale, eyes wide.

Perry nodded, waggling his brows.

“What the hell are you talking about Perry?” George asked, raising his voice above the murmur of the crowd as he pushed to the front of the crowd, along with his brothers and sisters.

For a brief moment, Perry studied his youngest cousins, who doubtlessly didn’t do anything to deserve what was coming their way. For a brief moment, Perry considered not going through with it.

Eh, They’ll still be rich for a couple generations.

…

“I curse you.” Perry spat, the ritual circle he’d placed outside crushing the mansion’s magical barrier like an egg.

“Charles Frepon,” Perry said, turning to face his uncle as overwhelming waves of pure essence began crashing into the mansion under extreme pressure, like the water miles beneath the surface of the ocean. “You will never go home. Your children will never go to Manita. You will not perceive Manita. You will not remember Manita. Knowledge of, and thoughts pertaining to Manita will slip from your mind. Portals to Manita will not work for you. You will not understand the words when people mention Manita. You will not understand the words when you read about Manita.

Your children will share this curse to the seventh generation. They will be unable to benefit from the retaking of your homeland, or the interplanetary trade that will spring up as a result, falling behind while a new aristocracy takes your place. The legacy you have made so many mistakes in service of will dwindle to NOTHING.

Your wealth will spread thin, diluted by time and progeny, crowded out by the lack of opportunity they face on Earth, until nothing is left of the Frepon family but a mass of disconnected, starving, uneducated peasants working their hands to the bone for minimum wage.

Then, they will have paid for your sins.”

“Best of all, none of you will remember this curse, nor be able to discuss it with others, perceive its effects, or come to the conclusion that you are cursed.”

Perry took a deep breath.

“Stop him!” Some rando, maybe George, shouted. Perry vaguely felt a spell fizzle out behind him, unable to form inside the sheer density of Essence crowding out every other kind of magic.

“Frepon family. You are Exiled. With the gods themselves as my witnesses, you are banished from Manita, along with all the wealth and prosperity therin and thereof.”

The density of Essence around his uncle, primed by the ritual, crystalized into a Curse, originating inside the Wernicke’s Area of Charles Frepon. Perry watched as the overwhelming density of Essence was absorbed, drawn into his body and further crystalized, spreading through his brain with malignant ease before leaping to his next of kin, spreading and erasing the last thirty or so seconds of their memories.

Charles blinked, shaking off a blank stare.

I wonder if a maniacal laugh is on the list of killable offenses? Perry wondered, glancing at his Plug Pullers, who, while not attacking him, did not look particularly pleased.

Better not risk it.

“W-what happened?” he asked.

“I cursed you to never return to Manita.” Perry said, covering the mic with his hand.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t…quite understand what you said.” Charles said.

“I know.” Perry said, handing Charles his mic back.

A moment later, pure power hit Perry like a truck.

Congratulations! You have reached level 15!

Paradox Zauberer (Perry Z.)

Class: Garage Tinker

Level 15

HP: 16

Body: 41

Stability: 62

Nerve: 46

Attunement: 99

Free Points: 228

XP to next level: 28421

Spells: Paradox’s Pernicious Prison (6/6) Light (5/5), Dragor’s Kinesis (3/3), Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation (1/1)

Perks: Sliding Stats 6, Multi-tool 2, Aerosolized, Blueprint 1, Cross-Class (Dimensional Fork), Mat-Spec (carbon).

The room seemed to bend around Paradox, bowing inward as though an astronomical mass had suddenly been added to him, distorting reality itself.

Every eye was fixed on him as he absorbed the Frepon family’s mutilated future and broke through level fifteen.

Perry staggered in place as the Stability circlet on his brow gave a nearly inaudible creak, stressed nearly to its breaking point.

I think we should hurry this along, Perry thought, his blood turning cold.

Every five levels, you may purchase Perks using your free points.

Perry brushed the message aside as he climbed offstage.

He didn’t need an audience for this next part.

“Whoah, there. Did I just see you curse children?” Freddy steel asked, putting a gloved hand on Perry’s chest. He glanced over at Chemestro. “Is that on the list?”

“You didn’t read the list either?” Perry asked, cocking his head.

“No.” Chemestro said, shaking his head. “The behaviors listed were only ones indicating a complete absence of rationality. Trying to ascend to a higher state of being, screaming incessently while bleeding from the eyes, fugue states, et. cetera. Exploiting children for power is highly rational.”

“Well I don’t like it,” Freddy steel said, looking back at Perry.

Freddy Steel looked like an action figure from the eighties. Thick black mustache, sunglasses, fingerless gloves, toothpick.

Perry wasn’t sure what his superpower was, but the hand pressed against his chest was seemingly immoveable.

“Can we discuss this later?” Perry asked. “I still haven’t accomplished the goal of fixing myself.”

“I think we’ll discuss this now.” Freddy Steel said, shoving Perry back.

Perry glanced around the room. Nocturne was leaning against a nearby wall, in a relaxed posture.

It was a ruse.

Guile was nowhere to be seen.

Chemestro actually looked relaxed, but he liked violence, so that didn’t mean shit.

Truthslayer was standing directly behind Perry.

Is this a test? Perry thought, his brain working at blazing speed to cut through the bullshit.

It seemed like some kind of test, because Perry had shared his plan with Solaris, and he was under the impression that Solaris had passed it on along to his babysitters.

But what kind of test was it?

If Solaris passed on the details and they were still pushing his buttons, the test was likely to be how well he could keep his calm while people were trying to tilt him.

If Solaris didn’t pass the details, then… He wanted to see how he could handle a pissed off Anchor?

Best try the diplomatic approach.

“Yes, I cursed his entire family, but they are very rich, and they will continue to be very rich for at least half a century. Those kids won’t have any problems.” Perry said.

This didn’t seem to make Freddy Steel’s mood any better, if anything, the scowl that tugged down his toothpick grew even more pronounced.

“You think that makes it better?”

“What, making his great grandkids just like everyone else?” Perry asked. “I fail to see the problem.”

“Using permanent mind control on children to their detriment in a non-combat scenario.” Freddy Steel gritted out.

I guess that makes me objectively the bad guy. Perry thought.

Perry’s eyes widened fractionally as he realized what was going on. He’d never, ever, seen Freddy steel in a morally grey situation. The man always appeared to be fighting the worst kind of scum as the champion of goodness, and beating them handily.

It was a wildcard power, likely linked to either the law or subjective morality. If someone was the ‘bad guy’, Freddy Steel would automatically win, like those Saturday morning cartoons that he seemed to base his look on.

Truthslayer behind him, probably had a power that triggered based on whether someone told the truth or not. From what Perry knew about Wildcards, it would be something along the lines of killing or severely disabling someone who told a lie.

Hurting someone for telling the truth didn’t have the right feel for a Wildcard.

As a side effect, she would always know if someone was lying.

Which meant if Perry told a lie trying to manage public perception of his conflict with Freddy Steel in order to weaken the Wildcard’s ‘justification’, Truthslayer would be on him like white on rice.

Oooh, interesting tag-team.

Nocturne presumably had an instrument concealed inside his Anubis mask, a harmonica or slide whistle. Whatever, as long as it could make music it could kill him instantly by stealing his consciousness away from his body. Permanently if he chose.

Chemestro had his disintegration trick, and Perry wasn’t wearing the right clothes to resist it.

Guile was…somewhere.

In short, Perry was fucked…if he was alone.

“Hey, if you’ve already made up your mind, just do what you’re gonna do.” Perry said with a shrug.

“I think I will,” Freddy said, taking a step forward and reaching up toward Perry’s neck. “You’re coming with-“

“Why do you want to stop us from going home!?” Perry demanded at the top of his lungs.

Truthslayer tensed for an instant. “Shit,” She muttered. Perry wasn’t lying…just asking a SUPER leading question. She knew he knew.

“He’s trying to arrest me!” Perry shouted, his voice echoing across the ballroom stuffed to the gills with mages and magical creatures. “Is Nexus trying to stop us from retaking Manita!? Do they want it for themselves!?”

Freddy Steel glanced away from Perry at the rapidly hardening expressions of the Manitians.

“Freddy Steel is trying to arrest the prince who is working to bring your homeworld back!” Perry shouted. “Whaddya gonna do about it!?”

“Fuck,” Freddy let go of him, torn away by angry hands.

Perry saw Nocturne’s chest twitch so he hardened the air around his ears.

A cone-shaped swath of the people between Perry and Nocturne slumped over, unconscious, save for Freddy Steel and Truthslayer, who were also inside the field of effect.

He’s probably using a pre-determined wavelength of sound and they’re using specialized earpieces to block that specific sound. Neat teamwork.

“Did you say something!?” Perry asked, pointing to his ears and shaking his head. “I can’t hear!”

‘You’, Freddy mouthed, ‘are’ ‘under’ ‘arrest’.

Arrest in Franklin City was…a fluid thing.

If you disagreed strongly enough, that could change. There were plenty of supervillains who made themselves too expensive to arrest.

Like dad.

Perry intended to disagree very strongly.

But first he needed a couple seconds of time to think.

“Can you repeat that?” Perry asked.

‘You’ Freddy mouthed - Perry ignored Freddy Steel’s slowly moving mouth and focused his attention inward.

Some Perks may not be affected by Attunement. These perks are indicated with an Asterisk (*).

Some Perks may require additional costs to implement in the form of HP, Body, Stability, Nerve, or Attunement. These perks are indicated with (HP,B,S,N,A).

Available Perks:

Sliding Stats (Variable Cost)*

Spend a number of free points to gain the ability to slide an equal number of stat points between different attributes.

Example: With the 3-point version, User may move 3 points in any stat to any other stat until further notice. Does not affect free points received upon level-up as a result of modified Attunement, but will affect Perks used while Attunement is modified.

The stats may be moved in any combination, to a maximum number indicated by the amount of free points invested in the Sliding Stats Perk.

More points may be invested in Sliding Stats whenever Perks are offered.

Adaptive HP (3HP 1B)

User’s HP will selectively engage based on whether the force can inflict damage on the user’s body comparable to that of a boxer’s punch and above.

I.E. an unpowered boxer’s punch against a Body of 10 will not trigger HP loss, because the comparable damage to the user’s system-enhanced body will be less.

Sheathed Organs (3B)

User’s organs and major arteries grow resistant linings that allow them to resist cutting, shearing and bludgeoning, causing most stab, bludgeoning and slashing wounds to become non-lethal.

Blueprint (3) or (3N)*

User may create a Blueprint charged with their Perks. If another uses the Blueprint to create the object detailed therein, all the User’s applicable perks apply to the creation.

Only one Blueprint may exist per instance of the Blueprint Perk. If a new Blueprint is created above the limit, the oldest Blueprint becomes mundane and loses its properties.

Summon Garments (1,3,5)

(1) Summon mundane clothes onto the User to combat exposure or indecency. 1/day

(3) Summon common Hyperweave for excellent protection from attacks to combat conventional threats. 1/day

(5) Mentally mark a User-created armor: User may summon that armor onto themself 1/day. User may change the subject of the mark 1/day.

Higher tiers may be purchased whenever Perks are offered.

Multi-tool (1,3,5)

(1) At will, summon a tool. The tool may have an internal motor and battery system, and weigh no more than 2 kilograms. This includes everything from a wrench or spade to a handheld angle grinder or cutting tool. Only one tool may be present at any time.

(3) The tool may have an internal reservoir of material or objects that remain after it is used, such as a welding device, nail gun, caulk gun, or glue gun.

(5) The maximum mass of the summoned tool increases to 50 kg.

Higher tiers may be purchased whenever Perks are offered.

Weapons do not count as tools for the purpose of this Perk. However, tools may be used as improvised weapons.

Scent (3)

User may determine an object’s constituent ingredients and gain some insight into its manufacturing method by sniffing it.

Material Specialization (1)

Pick a material affected by your Spendthrift Perk. It is treated as significantly less expensive when altered by the perk, further boosting its effectiveness. This perk may be chosen multiple times, applying to a different material each time.

Loot! (5, 10, 20, 50)

When The User defeats an enemy, it drops rewards based on the XP generated. Higher levels grant more valuable, rarer loot.

Perk grown from Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation. Generates items the defeated enemy might’ve had.

The heck is that? Perry thought, inspecting the perk. Grown for Gretchen’s Idyllic Manifestation? It was interesting, but there wasn’t anything he needed it for right them. Perry wasn’t banking on defeating people at a high enough rate that the perk would pay itself off.

Moving on:

Underestimated (1,3,5,10,20)

The User’s experience with the unknowable has been assimilated. If the make or material of User’s armor is viewed with disdain, ridicule, or pity by an enemy, that emotional reaction opens the door for an embedded cognitohazard to infect their mind. The cognitohazard inflicts a scaling debuff that impairs the enemy’s ability to damage User’s armor, and by extension, the User inside.

Example: Wearing a trash bag as armor may subtly weaken an enemy’s limbs, causing the power of their strikes or accuracy of their gunfire to be diminished, indirectly boosting the armor’s effectiveness.

Higher tiers inflict more powerful debuffs, which may prove lethal to infirm or unhealthy enemies. Higher tiers may be purchased whenever Perks are offered.

Offered by Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit.

Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit Integration: A series of upgrades and integrations that allow the System to more fluidly and safely accommodate Claudette’s Hippie Bullshit while maintaining the Prime Directive…because User seems to determined to kill themselves rather than obey the Secondary Directive. Primarily costs Attunement.

HP integration: (3HP), (3A)

HP may now be spent to ward against hostile Hippie Bullshit, including, but not limited to, Transmogrification, Curses, Mind-effecting effects, Metaphysical Damage.

Unprimed Essence Filter (1, 3, 5, 10…A)

An Unprimed Essence Filter with storage and connecting infrastructure is automatically developed in the soul in a safe amount of time, but needs a sample of Essence provided by the user to begin functioning. Output and storage are dictated by amount spent on filter. Prevents soul damage from repeated surgery. Upgradeable.

Extra Spell Slots: (Var. Attunement)

User may increase the capacity of spell storage for a specific spell by paying Attunement relative to the spell’s complexity.

Sampler (5A)

User may sample Hippie Bullshit through physical contact, temporarily store it, then run it through any integrated hardware inside the User’s metaphysical body, to test, deconstruct, or prime a filter.

Requires Integrated HP, uses HP as the storage medium. When HP returns, storage expires.

Cross-Class (20)(5A)

For twenty free points, and five points from Attunement, you may choose a Perk from another Tinker specialization.

Space Tinker

Industrial Tinker

Geo-Tinker

Bio-Tinker

Ray Tinker

Submersible Tinker

Sonic Tinker

Dimensional Tinker

Dramatic Tinker

Micro-Tinker

…

Perry processed the new Perks in a fraction of a second, scanning down to his pre-selected list of Perks

Perry pulled up the description for Battery Tinker, Dimensional Tinker, and Bioprint Tinker, three specializations that he knew he wanted to facilitate the creation and storage of original Essences.

Battery Tinker:

Super-Capacitor: Storage devices you create have increased capacity, efficiency, charge and discharge rates.

Atypical Battery: You may create devices that store and release on command any kind of intangible force without changing its form, such as heat, cold, motivation, light, maternal disapproval, magnetism, chemical potential, kinetic energy and more.

Dimensional Tinker

Dimensional Fork: Tinker is naturally more in tune with, and adept at creating/modifying objects and structures that exist in, and interact with higher dimensions, beginning with advanced compasses and monitoring equipment, graduating to spatial distortion, and portal technology.

Big D Energy: Tinker is more easily and efficiently able to translate mass and energies across dimensions, and more resistant to negative effects of inter-dimensional energy and mass.

Bioprint Tinker:

Design: more easily design living bodies that work, including organs, anatomy, chemistry, genetics. Tinker has more complete, precise control over the created creature’s tangible and intangible attributes, such as intelligence, loyalty, longevity etc, and may alter these traits as he/she sees fit.

Creation: Tinker receives a boost when creating living creatures, as well as producing the machines and materials required to create said creatures. To be viable, each creature created must have a ‘base imprint’ that conforms to the shape and design of the creature in question.

I choose Big D energy, Super capacitor, Atypical Battery, Design, and Creation.

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Hedge Spatial Tinker

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Potent Dimensional Tinker

Alert: completing a sub-class has altered your Primary Class.

You are now a Potent Thaumaturge.

Attunement: 99 -> 74

Free Points: 228 -> 128

As his stats rebalanced, repressed emotions punched Perry in the face.

The horrors of being betrayed, nearly melted dozens of times, The claustrophobia of being encased in crystal, buried at the bottom of the ocean, stranded, torn apart, dragged into the fourth dimension…all caught up with him at once, at the exact wrong time.

Perry slowly sat down, cradled his head in his hands and started ugly crying, in front of the entire party, God, and everyone else.

“This is why I didn’t wanna do this in public,” Perry mewled, dropping the hardened air around his ears.

Freddy steel frowned, glancing at Perry, then back to Truthslayer.

She shrugged.

This was supposed to be an epic achievement. The culmination of everything he’d worked for up until now: breaking out of the ‘Tinker’ assignment and getting some serious traction. The power to protect his family and surpass Tyrannus.

But instead he felt like hot garbage.

“Like I was saying,” Freddy said, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as he leaned down and grabbed Perry’s wrists. “We’re glad we didn’t have to kill you, but you still committed some pretty cut and dry crimes just now, so why don’t you follow us to Nexus and we can-“

“This was supposed to be awesome!” Perry bawled, snot running down his face as he gasped for breath between heaving sobs. “But it’s noooot!”

“Aw, there there, Perry,” Natalie said, arriving beside him and engulfing his shoulder in a hug. For the first time in a long time, Perry felt the warmth coming from her. Small comfort in the ocean of overpowering emotion.

“Miss, please step away from-“

“Oh, sorry, of course, Mr. Steel- Whoops!”

Nat ‘accidentally’ knocked the Stability circlet off Perry’s head.

Stability 78 -> 61

Perry lashed out, kicking Freddy Steel in the nuts.