Kevin the Bored
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41 It's Important to Watch the News
🕑 Added 2024-08-14 21:59:27 +0000 UTCApril 24th
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"-As of now, the exact cause is still unknown beyond the parahuman known as Bakuda being the likely suspect. Our sources say that it is likely Bakuda had had a dead man's switch connected to all of her creations that was set off when the city's Villains teamed up to put an end to her bombing spree."
Deep underground, sequestered away in an abandoned Endbringer shelter underneath Brockton Bay, Jester hums to herself as she listens with half an ear to the news. Her attention however, is mainly focused on the object in her hands.
With a long and thin main body wriggling like a snake of undulating red liquid-like flesh, it has a further six identical, if smaller, tentacles grasping out from it's upper-middle in three pairs, looking almost like it is trying to hug the air.
"It is unconfirmed who exactly fired the shot that caused this tragedy, as many of those involved have not been seen since. However, there is speculation that the minor Villain known as L33T is the suspect. That being said, please to keep in mind that this is merely an unsubstantiated rumour without any hard evidence beyond questionable individual testimonies."
Holding the object by the 'head', a far smaller part of the main body sticking out above the 'arms', Jester trails a finger down it's body, the flesh rippling and the 'arms' scrunching and coiling as if it's ticklish.
"Oh~, aren't you just adorable, my cute little parasite~," Jester coos, chuckling slightly even as she focuses on senses no human should possess so she can modify the parasite ever so slightly.
"As of this moment, the confirmed casualty count is nearing ten thousand, with over ten times that number showing injuries of varying severity. The exact toll that was extracted on the twenty-second is still unknown, but experts are estimating anywhere from fifteen thousand to thirty-five thousand fatalities."
These things are not easy to make, so she really doesn't want to break it. Hence why she is being very careful in making her minor changes. It's not like she's changing a lot, so it's not too difficult for her.
Some muffled words distract her from her work, but she was basically done anyway, so she turns her attention to her 'employer', Coil.
They are inside of his office in his bunker. Plain concrete walls, no paintings or personal effects, just one big desk in the centre of the room with two monitors, some paperwork, office supplies and a real Bond villain style chair behind it.
"As for the economical cost of this tragedy, that is much harder to calculate but our specialists are saying the damage suffered by Brockton Bay could even be in excess of thirty billion dollars. This is, without a doubt, a tragedy comparable to that of an Endbringer attack."
A chair that Coil has found himself tied to, his own costume serving as the rope constraining him. He wasn't wearing anything under his costume than underwear, so his anorexic dark skinned body is clear to see, Thomas Calvert's face glaring at her even as his own mask gags him from speaking.
"However, it is in the face of this tragedy that the CEO of Esterella Corporation, Gabriella Vargas, has made a public commitment to helping Brockton Bay get back on its feet and stronger than ever. Providing not just generous donations, but also essential supplies for those who have lost their homes and honest work for those that have lost their livelihoods, stating that in times of need that we, as fellow Americans should each do our part to help."
"Hmm~?" Jester mockingly smiles at him, her own mask long removed, revealing a face painted white with glossy black lipstick that extends her smile from the edges of her lips in a thin line. The tip of her nose is also painted black and two long lines of black shoot from her eyes down her cheeks in a facsimile of tears. "Did you want to say something~?"
Flicking her long brown hear behind her with attitude, Jester hops down from where she was sitting on his desk and moves to straddle the bound man, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning in close until their noses are almost touching.
"Are you mad at me~?" She whispers, sounding incredibly distraught by the possibility of his disapproval. A convincing act. Then she abruptly shoots up, sitting straight and pushing her chest out a little bit right in front of his face.
"Aha! I see! You probably just don't like this channel, right? That's gotta be it, no way you'd ever be mad at me after all~." Saying that, Jester twists around, grabs a remote and flicks to another channel.
"-Have not yet released a statement on Falcone's actions, but our insider source believes that the paperwork proclaiming her no longer a member of the Protectorate but a Vigilante is currently being processed, so we can expect an official statement on that subject soon."
Turning back to Coil, or rather, Thomas, since he's not wearing his costume. Though, she supposes he is kind of wearing his costume, for all that you can be considered to 'wear' bondage gear.
Hmm. is it accurate to say you 'wear' your bindings when you're tied up or would that be a misnomer? Tommy-Boy's grunting and struggling brings her attention back to the room.
"Now now, Tom-Tom, no need to be so rowdy~. If you really have something to say, then I will take off the gag, but it's going to cost you a kiss~." Jester smirks at him and runs her free hand down the side of her body flirtatiously.
Timothy doesn't seem to appreciate the view, as he just keeps struggling and muffling. She decides violent shaking and muffled screams is close enough to consent and rips the gag off before immediately catching his lips in a chaste, high school-virgin nervous kiss.
"Oh my~!" Jester exclaims, leaning back and covering her lips daintily with one hand, "So forward~! Kissing on the first date~! Why, I'm not sure I'm ready for such rapid intimacy, but.. if it's you..." She trails off and looks down with a shy expression, twiddling her fingers.
"For those just tuning in that are wondering why a Heroine is being called a Vigilante, I will explain the situation to the best of our understanding. It seems that Falcone went against orders and joined with the Villains in their disastrous attempt to put an end to Bakuda's madness."
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU TRAITOROUS BITCH!" Thompson screams at her, not that she seems to notice, continuing to look at him like a schoolgirl with her first crush. "Untie me immediately!!! We have a contract you whore!!!"
Jester forces some comically large tears to well up in her eyes, something that is actually a really complex application of her power and incredibly difficult to do, and looks up through her lashes at him, a pitiful whine leaving her. "A-are you mad at me?" She sniffs sadly. "I thought we had something special- uh, um.. Toby?" Her voice peters off into a question, then she stops faking her expression entirely and gives him a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I totally forgot your name just now, teehee~."
Theodore takes a deep breath and speaks calmly through gritted teeth. "Do you think this betrayal will end well for you? I am not someone easily crossed. I have countless backup plans and contingencies. Whatever it is you're planning, it won't work. And even then, betraying me will have consequences for you beyond earning my own animosity, do you truly believe you can survive the repercussions?"
Now, that last threat does bring her up short. She obviously expected his grandstanding, but she finds herself genuinely puzzled as to what repercussions could exist beyond his own feeble attempts.
"Was that a bluff?" She asks, curious. "Because I can't think of any consequences I'll be suffering any time soon?" Maybe he just means bad karma?
"Now, in the aftermath of Bakuda's final attack, the likely former Hero Falcone has been seen patrolling the former ABB controlled streets, even reportedly coordinating with some of the remnants of the ABB's rank and file in order to push back against any E88 marches. Already there has been at least five shootouts along the borders of the Asian dominated areas of the city. Falcone has been present at three of these events and one separate clash against a force of E88 Capes including Rune, Purity and Blitzel, which she successfully repelled."
"We have a contract." T-Bone states as if that's an answer, sounding ever so slightly smug, which is far too smug for a man half naked tied to a chair and being sat on by an insane killer Clown.
"...So?" She's not sure he understands what it means to be insane.
Taimanin gives her a look like she's a particularly slow eight year old and speaks slowly in that way stupid people do to foreigners thinking it will make them suddenly understand English. "So, even a single breach in contract will forever tarnish someone's reputation as untrustworthy."
When she raises an unimpressed eyebrow she can practically hear Tetanus' blood pressure increase. "I am aware that there was no 'Jester' among the founding line-up with you Clowns, so allow me to educate you."
She almost bursts out laughing then and there, but she can tell this is just going to get even funnier so she holds herself back and lets him keep going.
"Since their founding, The Clowns have been hired for many jobs, and while they haven't all succeeded and plenty have had unfortunate collaterals, there has never once been a breach of contract. I believe it was The First herself decreed that contracts should not be broken. Because for all her insanity, her business acumen was not to be ignored, and she knew that if her Clowns kept breaking contracts then no one would hire them, and if no one hires you then you can hardly have your fun, can you? So tell me, do you think your fellow Clowns will simply let you be as you ignore the rules of their beloved Founder? Even I have heard of how highly the original Clowns think of Her after all, do you believe they will simply let you off the hook to do as you please?"
She tries. She really does. But she can't hold out forever, and in the face of his smug, expectant glare, she laughs. She laughs harder than she has in years. A proper belly laugh that has her clutching her sides and falling backwards onto the desk, her elbow hitting the discarded remote and changing the channel again.
Not that she notices, to busy trying desperately to breathe through her hysterical laughter.
"-Tentative sources have listed the following as the likely parahuman casualties. Know that this list is in no way definitive and subject to change. Among the city's Villains, Frenja, Stormtiger, Oni Lee, Bakuda, L33T and Newter are all officially listed as deceased, with Alabaster, Crusader, Menja, Kleinoch and Über as potential additional fatalities."
It takes her almost six whole minutes to calm herself down, his words were just too funny, and the confidence with which he spoke them! Just, mwauh! Chef's kiss! Holy fuck that was funny.
Wiping a genuine tear from her eye, Jester suddenly feels a bout of irrational anger that this- this.. peon would dare speak of her beloved Clowns as if he knows them better as an outsider than she does as a member.
Luckily, the anger fades away as quickly as it came before she could act on it. It would really screw with her plans if she punched a hole through him after all. Remembering why she got angry brings her mind back to his words, and the amusement quickly returns full force.
"I think you have some kind of serious misunderstanding of not only how The Clowns function, but also of the Founder's character~." Shaking her head, Jester slips out of his lap and struts around his chair until she can drape herself over his suddenly less confident shoulders.
"First of all, that whole thing about not breaking contracts was just some advice she gave, it's not a law or anything~. Secondly, there are only two rules for us Clowns. One, we must have something to offer, and two, we must enjoy ourselves. That's it~. Literally not a single Clown will care about me breaking any contracts, except for maybe Negante, but he's become something of a stickler for rules these days, for some reason."
She sounds genuinely confused and somewhat disappointed at the end of her statement, having always found rules to be distasteful on principle. Hence why being a Clown is so attractive.
"Honestly though, this whole conversation seems kind of pointless. I feel like we're not on the same page here. After all, it's not like I'm technically going to be breaking our contract in the first place~."
"Bullshit," Coil immediately interjects, making Jester pout. "You've tied me up and stopped anyone from interfering with us. Not to mention that thing in your hand. You were hired to protect me, not harm me!"
"Bleh~" Jeter sticks her tongue out at him and then giggles for some reason. "Don't worry, this little cutie won't kill you, and it will only hurt for a little bit~."
"What even is it?" He asks, and she is happy to oblige.
"They doesn't really have a name, I just call them parasites~." She pauses for a moment as she thinks about how to explain it. Getting into the technical details would probably just confuse him since they're so complex, so she explains as simply as she can.
"It's basically like a control mechanism I guess. It gets inserted into the body and this part," she runs a finger down the main body, "Attaches itself to the spine, while these parts," a gesture to the 'arms', "Will fuse with the main ribs, and finally and most importantly, this part," she lightly flicks the 'head', "Will fuse itself to your brainstem."
Coil starts shaking. She doesn't notice.
"Fatal casualties among the Heroes include Dauntless, Dovetail, Lady Photon and the Wards Gallant and Browbeat. Additionally, Glory Girl and Lung have both been separately found in what appears to be bubbles of frozen time. It is unknown is their mind is also frozen of if they are conscious but unable to move, either way, one has to wonder what kind of madwoman would even deign to build weapons that are seemingly based off of Greyboy's infamous power."
Feeling excitement at the parasite, Jester ignores Coil's increasingly horrified expression as she happily continues. "Once it has finished bonding, the parasite will latch onto the nervous system and start spreading throughout the body, replacing all of your nerves with itself so that it can then regulate how your body receives and transmits electrical impulses."
"The end result is that the parasite will replace your nerves and gain complete control over your body. Of course, you have to program how you want the parasite to behave beforehand. For instance, if you want to completely take control of a body, then there is that option. But trust me on this, manually controlling two bodies at the same time is super fucking difficult."
Her excitement is palpable as her volume increases, a maniacal fervour edging into her tone. The only flaw is that it's basically impossible for to parasite to make use of its host's power if they possess one.
"Which is why that isn't what this little guy is going to do. Instead, it's just going to, I guess, edit? You a little bit. Don't worry, you'll mostly be the same person, but you won't remember much of today. Truthfully, this is mostly just out of caution on my part, even without it things will probably still go the same. I just don't want you fucking anything up."
Nodding once, she feels satisfied with her explanation. She'd have liked to have gone into more detail, but she doubts he even knows what a medulla oblongata is, so she doesn't see much point.
Shrugging to herself, she turns her face back to Coil with a friendly smile. "So yeah, in short, it's basically just a master effect that can't get detected or countered by a Trump. Hmm, I guess that actually is a breach of contract then, huh?" Sticking her tongue out, Jester taps her head, "Hehe, my bad~."
"Y-you're insane," Coil whispers, looking her right in the eye with undisguised terror.
"No duh, Silly~." She rolls her eyes. "Now hold still, this will only hurt more if you struggle."
Ignoring his protests, Jester grabs him by his hair and pushes his face onto the table, exposing his near skeletal back. Honestly, his anorexia will probably make this less painful, so good for him, she guesses.
Shrugging to herself, she carefully lines the bottom of the parasite up with the bottom of his spine, and once some tiny tendrils latch out and lock it in place, she equally carefully lines the rest of the parasite up with his spine.
Once done, the ribs attach themselves and Jester gives Coil a pat on the head. "This is the part where it starts to hurt by the way~."
She barely finishes speaking before Coil screams like a dying pig as the parasite starts digging into his flesh and then further into his bones, carving and replacing everything in it's way.
The process isn't a short one, and by the minute mark Jester is swaying slightly on the spot, rubbing her thighs together and biting her lip. All this screaming is getting her in the mood. Unfortunately, it's getting her in the mood to get fucked, so raping Coil won't really satisfy the urger properly.
Truly, her life is so difficult sometimes. There's some saying about God giving his toughest warriors the toughest challenges, and she can't help but feel like that's true for her right now.
Looking for something to distract herself from Coil's delightful screams, Jester picks up the remote again and flicks it to a new channel.
"-Already a number of major incidences of open warfare between various armed forces have occurred throughout the city. It seems that whatever temporary truce the villainous organisations agreed to has run its course as they do not seem to have any interest in giving the city any time to recover."
Heh, yeah. Really, what did they expect? They have to make up for lost time after all~. She recalls that Coil sent some mercs to murk Max Anders, the CEO of Medhall and secretly also Kaiser.
Thinking about him, she's pretty sure he tried to get some nice PR for Medhall by making a bunch of donations and stuff to help the freshly destitute Brocktonites have safe access to food and medicine and stuff, but he's been completely overshadowed by Estrella Corp. who have done the same but just with much, much greater generosity.
That must have stung for him, wasting resources like that. But really, it's not like Medhall can compete with an international company when it isn't even interstate.
Besides, she's also pretty sure that Estrella is sponsored by The Clowns, and it is The Clowns sponsoring them, not a Clown. It's an important distinction, since The Clowns has a collective fund for 'business expenses'. Realistically, any of them can access the fund, but it is ostensibly for the sole purpose of generating more money.
Gotta spend money to make money after all. That said, plenty of Clowns, herself included, just use the business fund as a personal piggy bank whenever they feel like it.
Coil lets out another particularly desperate scream and Jester has to bite her lip to stop a hand from moving south.
Shaking her head, she flicks the channel again.
"-Don't really know, it all just happened so fast. One moment I was just watching TV and the next half my house was missing and I could see inside my neighbour's living room three doors down."
She snickers, but it's not really distracting enough so she flicks to the next channel.
"-Sending the Heroes Sere and Adamant to Brockton Bay to help restore order to the city. Additionally, the former inaugural Ward and now independent Hero Mouse Protector has stated that she might visit the city to offer some additional assistance. The PRT-"
More Heroes, she doubts it'll change anything in her plans. Next channel.
"-Question is, why hasn't the national guard been called in yet!? This incident over in Brockton may not have been an Endbringer, but the damage is similar enough that-"
Boring. Next.
"-Shakey footage shows the local leader of the Red Heart gang carrying an injured woman who might be Falcone, possibly to allow the Red Heart Villain known as 'Kleus' to heal-"
Next.
"If all guilty parties are already dead then who is going to be held responsible!? And who is going to pay for all the damages!? Estrella!? Are we going to allow a single corporation to effectively buy a city!? It's like-"
Who gives a fuck?
"-As a temporary solution, a number of medial tents have been set up in and around the Harrington Park. It's not a proper replacement for the destroyed hospitals but-"
Neeext.
"-My sister wanted to look outside and I said it was a bad idea and then-"
Next.
"-It's just so creamy and melts in your mouth-"
Next.
"-A memorial is being consid-"
Wait a minute, what was that? Back one.
She flicks back and an Italian man and an English woman appear on the screen. The man is sweating and shaking at the woman who is moaning lightly and has a white cream on her lips.
"-The crème brûlée feels almost like it was made to be paired with-"
Tch, it's just a cooking show, lame. At least it isn't the news, they've just been repeating the same stuff basically since the bombs went off.
It's been two days! Where are the cartoons!
Shitty TV people. Is there anyone she can kill to bring the cartoons back?
Sighing to herself, Jester resigns herself to shitty TV and does her best not to get any hornier while watching the cooking show.
She ends up learning a new cannelloni recipe that she will probably never cook by the time the parasite finishes bonding.
Turning the monitor off, Jester regards Coil curiously as he finally stops screaming and slowly seems to come to himself. His eyes are slightly glassy, but they quickly begin clearing up.
His eyes meet her own and there is a brief expression of confusion that quickly fades away into a professional, if somewhat informal, placid expression.
"I'm afraid I am rather worn out, so if you want to go another round, you will have to seek out someone else. And if there isn't anything else you need to bring to my attention, I do have work to do." He gives her a little, smirk that is just ever so slightly condescending and Jester quickly returns a mocking salute and escapes before she can start laughing again.
She knew fucking her 'boss' was a good idea! Granted, she didn't do it with this in mind, but she totally knew something good would come of it.
After all, when there are gaps in one's memory, the brain likes to fill them in, even if it has to completely fabricate memories based on logical assumptions.
So, considering that they have fucked a few times already, mostly because she finds it fun that he thinks he can control her with his dick, what is his brain to think when there is a gap of time that ends with him sweaty, lightly aching and mostly naked?
Naturally, it will just assume they banged, and totally nothing sinister happened at all~.
The moral of the story is that sex is the real Hero. She almost sheds a tear in pride of sex, it's just so good~.
Laughing to herself, she ignores the looks she gets from passing mercenaries as she leaves the underground base and makes her way back to her home.
Once there, the first thing she does is skip down to the basement and flick on the lights. Her basement is mostly normal at first glance. A small, mostly empty room with just an ice box, a table, a chair and a couple cardboard boxes full of assorted stuff.
The only thing that stands out is the thick metal door against the far wall that has a deep red long dried stain splattering the floor right at the entrance.
First moving to the ice box, Jeter opens it to find it full of red meat and grabs a slab before hopping over to the door and spinning the submarine-style door's lock so she can unceremoniously kick the door open with a bang!
Inside is something of a personal project of hers.
The room itself is pitch dark, the only light streaming in from the now open door to reveal a barren room painted by stains of blood old and new.
The only things inside the room, is a radio softly playing static, and a figure at the opposite end from the door where the light from the open door barely reaches.
Jester breathes in deeply through her nose, savouring the smell before flicking a switch by the door, causing the single lightbulb dangling from the centre of the room to light up with a dull glow.
With more light, the figure becomes more visible. At first glance, they look human enough, but upon closer inspection you can see how her legs split at the calves, a second pair of legs growing out from just below the back of the knees.
Further up, just above the hip, the body splits again, twisting in opposite directions as the upper torso turns into a pair of torsos facing slightly away from each other with two arms jutting out of both sides and a third set of arms sticking out from the back over the shoulder.
In the centre, where the chest should be, there is a gaping hole lined with teeth, within which is a heart-like organ suspended by strips of bleeding flesh.
Finally, topping it off is the head of a teenage girl, or is she a young adult now? Jester isn't sure, she doesn't know when her birthday is. And throughout it all, every inch of skin is a stark, alabaster white.
"Natalie~!" Jester cheerfully greets, "it's so good to see you~! How are you~? Fine thank you~!" As she answers her own question without giving Natalie a chance too, Jester takes two steps closer and then pauses.
Just in time as Natalie lunches forward with enough speed she would be a blur to a normal human. But right before Natalie reaches her, she snaps to a stop with a loud clang of metal as the chains attaching her manacles to the wall reach their limit.
"I'm happy to see you too~," Jester giggles, at the feral face of Natalie, poking her forehead playfully.
She would have poked her nose, but poor Natalie doesn't have a nose anymore. Or cheeks for that matter. Her teeth have grown into true fangs and are entirely visible, from molar to molar. Similarly, her nose is completely missing, only the two small holes remaining and the back of her head has a giant lump like she's got an extra large brain. Frankly, the only skin she really has left on her face is on her forehead.
Jester is going to try and figure out how to give Natalie hair again at some point.
Taking a step back, Jester brings the slab of meet up and waves it in front of Natalie's snarling face. "I brought din-dins~! Who's a hungry girl~? Oh yes you are~, you're a hungry girl~. Go eat~."
Jester chucks the meat across the room behind Natalie, and she immediately spins around and lunges after it, tearing into the meat like a starving animal. She supposes that's a pretty accurate description though.
Jester watches until Natalie finishes her meal. Then she continues to watch as Natalie crawls back to her spot underneath her shackles and curls up into a ball and starts sobbing.
"Bleh, you're still crying?" Jester whines like a petulant child.
"Fuck you." Jester almost doesn't hear the insult it was so quiet, and she watches on with interest as Natalie spins around enough to sit down with her back against the wall, her legs carelessly splayed out.
"Maybe later, I haven't installed any sexual organs on you yet, so it wouldn't be very satisfying~." Jester jokes. Natalie doesn't laugh. Jester frowns. "What's wrong? You seem pissy, are you mad about something?"
The sound of Natalie's teeth grinding fills the room as the girl glares at her with such pure hatred in her eyes that Jester find herself smiling without even realising it.
"What's wrong?" Natalie repeats, her rough, scratchy voice barely above a whisper. "What's wrong? You kidnapped me. You've been torturing me for years. Tearing me apart and turning me into this fucking monster and you ask 'what's wrong'? Are you an idiot, or are you just that delusional?"
Jester laughs. "Technically, it hasn't been years. It's only been like a year and a half~. But if you're really feeling that down, then perhaps you'd like some company~? If I'm not mistaken, you still have that cute little brother of your-"
The reaction is instant. The moment her brother is mentioned there is a sharp intake of air and then Natalie lunges forward again, faster this time.
Unlike last time where her shackles brought her to a stop, this time the right chain snaps in the middle and wings in a perfect arc for Jester's throat, who calmly backsteps it with a raised brow. Those are not fragile chains.
Interesting.
Jester finds herself smiling even as Natalie forces her other hand through the closed manacle, shattering every bone below the wrist but not seeming to notice as she glares at Jester.
"You mutilated your own hand?" Jester asks.
Natalie doesn't seem to hear her. "YOU LEAVE THAT BOY ALONE!! IF YOU HARM A SINGLE HAIR ON HIS HEAD I WILL-"
Natalie never gets to finish as Jester's fist smashes into her face with enough force to send her careening into the wall.
"That's the way, Natalie~. I hope you can keep that spirit up~. You're almost complete~."
With her piece said and her pet fed, Jester spins on her heel and strolls out of the room.
And as the door closes on her and the company darkness returns, Natalie's pure white skin flickers, and both her hands clench into fists.
///
A/N: He~llo! Dear readers!
Was gonna do Mary waking up under Kleus' tender care and have a little convo there, but I couldn't think of what they'd say so I just skipped it.
And since I didn't know what to write, I just went with the ol' reliable of torturing teenagers again. It worked so well last time after all. poor natalie. sucks to be her.
Also, I think I'm finally past the point of having to write shit I don't particularly care about just so I can get to the plot I do care about properly now, so, bearing in mind that I've been telling myself this for like months now, hopefully I will start actually writing more than one chapter a week and I can have a good reason to start promoting my patre0n again. That'd be nice.
Also, I did a lot of cut pasting to fit the paragraphs between the news with some reasonable spacing, and I'm kind of just hoping that I didn't accidentally away a paragraph or two lol.
Comments
Mitzee
If any paragraphs are MIA, I didn't notice. It definitively feels like we are at some sort of transition point in the story. As always I'm excited for more.
