Baxter Peters
Considering Writing Again
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Moderator
Dungeon Master
Inner Sanctum Nobility
♔ Champion ♔
- Local time
- Today 2:00 AM
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- 2,843
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Staring at the chore wheel, Jackson felt his heart sink. He leaned forward and thumped his head slowly against the wall, once, twice, three times before a hand clapped him on the back.
Athena gave him a small smile, although there was a bit of mockery in her eyes as she advised in a serious tone, "Stay strong soldier. You've stared down gods and monsters, saved the world on countless occasions, and even returned from the dead twice. You can do this."
Jackson flipped off the goddess, then blinked and looked up at her. "Wait, can't you just magic it?" He didn't really understand her powers. Generally, she was a fierce, supernaturally strong warrior with a spear and amazing tactical acumen. However, occasionally she performed miracles.
"Of course I could," she replied, plucking an apple off the counter. "But it's not my week." She winked as she took a bite, the crunch having a definitive sound.
"How do we not have people for this? I don't mean to sound spoiled, but really, how? For goodness' sake, how has the Tinker not built robots for this?" Jackson was struggling, and those struggles rather amused Athena. The Greek goddess was not a nice person, even if she'd thrown in with the heroes. After all, her brother was a villain.
"Oh, he did. They gained sentience and committed suicide within two weeks. They attempted to destroy the base with all of us inside it. That happened a bit before you came onboard." She took another bite of the apple, then continued, "It was a whole thing. As far as people for that, who would you trust? More importantly, who would you doom to that service? I personally know cursed souls in the underworld who have better lives."
She was right, of course. Jackson nodded and squared his broad shoulders. "Wish me luck."
"You'll need it," Athena replied, notably not wishing him luck. Such a bitch.
Flipping her off again, Jackson made his way to the base's dark bowels, past the garage full of exotic vehicles, the armory full of confiscated weapons, and the trophy room, which had a full sized stuffed Kaiju. His footsteps echoed off the concrete floors. This was a sort of hazing, he was sure of it. While his telekinesis had been strong enough to correct the moon's orbit after the Nihilist's ploy to destroy the earth, it wasn't going to make this task much easier. Nano could do this in just an hour or two with his superspeed. Ajax didn't need to breath. Athena was… well, he'd already noted she could do this far easier.
Pausing in front of the door, Jackson crossed himself, then pressed his hand to the sensor plate.
"Identity Confirmed: Welcome, Kinetic. Please confirm you desire entry." The base's AI, Sasha, greeted him in her trademark monotone.
"I can't do that. I don't desire to go in there. I just need to."
"Acknowledged. I have scheduled a visit for you with the team therapist tomorrow at 11AM." Sasha replied.
"Let's hope I make it until then."
The door made various ominous noises as it's multitude of locks and seals released, finishing with a distinctive hiss as it finally swung open.
The smell hit him like a blow from Korath the Konqueror. He gagged, eyes immediately filling with tears as he fell to his knees. Instinctively, he threw up a force field around himself, filtering out the contaminants in the air until the stench of fetid sweat, blood, and latex was bearable. He should have checked out a spaceflight suit. Coughing, he staggered back to his feet and stretched from side to side. "Okay… okay. I can do this." Swallowing his rising gorge, he walked into the room as the door swung shut and sealed behind him.
Today was Laundry Day.
Athena gave him a small smile, although there was a bit of mockery in her eyes as she advised in a serious tone, "Stay strong soldier. You've stared down gods and monsters, saved the world on countless occasions, and even returned from the dead twice. You can do this."
Jackson flipped off the goddess, then blinked and looked up at her. "Wait, can't you just magic it?" He didn't really understand her powers. Generally, she was a fierce, supernaturally strong warrior with a spear and amazing tactical acumen. However, occasionally she performed miracles.
"Of course I could," she replied, plucking an apple off the counter. "But it's not my week." She winked as she took a bite, the crunch having a definitive sound.
"How do we not have people for this? I don't mean to sound spoiled, but really, how? For goodness' sake, how has the Tinker not built robots for this?" Jackson was struggling, and those struggles rather amused Athena. The Greek goddess was not a nice person, even if she'd thrown in with the heroes. After all, her brother was a villain.
"Oh, he did. They gained sentience and committed suicide within two weeks. They attempted to destroy the base with all of us inside it. That happened a bit before you came onboard." She took another bite of the apple, then continued, "It was a whole thing. As far as people for that, who would you trust? More importantly, who would you doom to that service? I personally know cursed souls in the underworld who have better lives."
She was right, of course. Jackson nodded and squared his broad shoulders. "Wish me luck."
"You'll need it," Athena replied, notably not wishing him luck. Such a bitch.
Flipping her off again, Jackson made his way to the base's dark bowels, past the garage full of exotic vehicles, the armory full of confiscated weapons, and the trophy room, which had a full sized stuffed Kaiju. His footsteps echoed off the concrete floors. This was a sort of hazing, he was sure of it. While his telekinesis had been strong enough to correct the moon's orbit after the Nihilist's ploy to destroy the earth, it wasn't going to make this task much easier. Nano could do this in just an hour or two with his superspeed. Ajax didn't need to breath. Athena was… well, he'd already noted she could do this far easier.
Pausing in front of the door, Jackson crossed himself, then pressed his hand to the sensor plate.
"Identity Confirmed: Welcome, Kinetic. Please confirm you desire entry." The base's AI, Sasha, greeted him in her trademark monotone.
"I can't do that. I don't desire to go in there. I just need to."
"Acknowledged. I have scheduled a visit for you with the team therapist tomorrow at 11AM." Sasha replied.
"Let's hope I make it until then."
The door made various ominous noises as it's multitude of locks and seals released, finishing with a distinctive hiss as it finally swung open.
The smell hit him like a blow from Korath the Konqueror. He gagged, eyes immediately filling with tears as he fell to his knees. Instinctively, he threw up a force field around himself, filtering out the contaminants in the air until the stench of fetid sweat, blood, and latex was bearable. He should have checked out a spaceflight suit. Coughing, he staggered back to his feet and stretched from side to side. "Okay… okay. I can do this." Swallowing his rising gorge, he walked into the room as the door swung shut and sealed behind him.
Today was Laundry Day.