Hey guys, I have 46 written but after reviewing it I wasn't happy with how it turned out. On top of not feeling 100% the past weekend I've decided to delay it briefly to rework it today. I'll have it up as soon as I can. Enjoy the latest Broker chapter!
DerelictPresence
Verdict was the blade, its mithril edge curved and wicked. She could feel it trembling in her grip, its wrath untameable. The blade had been something that represented who she had been in the past and who she was now. The style that Set had taught her and the tool of survival from the apocalypse. It had been crafted by a dear friend, and she could feel the love he had put into it. Now it was something far more than the sum of its parts, a weapon fit for someone beyond the threshold.
Vol...
2025-06-09 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostThere was no magic to protect them, what little fabric they’d managed to tear from the ratty beds the undead made them use were all they had to keep themselves warm. The elderly members of their group struggled through the forced march, but it was some small hope of the tiniest improvement compared to their previous treatment that kept them going. The chill was biting, worse outside of the garden. Beval kept his chin up as they walked, his eyes fixed on the back of the figure marching...
2025-06-07 12:00:10 +0000 UTC View PostTwo streaks of black smoke and debris exploded from the roof of the warehouse, hurtling into the air and swirling around one another. One da
Two streaks of black smoke and debris exploded from the roof of the warehouse, hurtling into the air and swirling around one another. One darted in close to the other as it spun out of the way. They rose higher and higher into the sky, weaving a coiling trail until they reached the clouds. They collided - a flicker of light and a crack of sound bro...
2025-06-06 16:00:21 +0000 UTC View PostSonya could have cast her gaze throughout the city; she did briefly at the beginning for the light show, but that was ultimately the problem. It was a little too obvious she was watching that way. With her eye having vanished from the sky, it would make her enemies wonder more than feel relieved. Especially with Amos getting ready to make his move. She could already feel whatever he had cooked up taking shape far away as she sat languidly on a sofa made of hard light. Thrones were nice...
2025-06-05 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostAnna wasn’t sure how long it took for her to beat through his defenses. He didn’t put up much of a fight, which she found to be kinda weird, but to be honest she couldn’t muster up the desire to care. Pummeling his nearly indestructible skull until it had flattened completely under her knuckles had been… satisfying. She panted as she sat up, it was a good taste of what she was hoping for when she finished off the skeletal champion.
“Your health and stamina are probably l...
2025-06-05 12:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostSonya popped a piece of candy into her mouth with a chuckle, swaying her feet back and forth atop the catwalk in the small warehouse she’d found to lay low in until her sister and Charon arrived. She hummed the song they’d been playing in the car while she chewed and turned to grab her phone. Hanging above her were half a dozen well-armed men with wide, terrified eyes. They were trussed up in pale white vines, flowers sprouting from their hair. She plucked another piece of candy out of th...
2025-06-04 16:00:15 +0000 UTC View PostWhat’s wrong with not wanting to be bored?
Qilin swayed with each step, her eyes fixed on the door at the end of the hall. Her head felt heavy, her chest creaked, and her mind was a confusing mix of emotion and rage. Memories of another person’s life battled against her own. A life lived from another perspective, a life filled with challenges and dangers, nightmares made manifest. It seemed so exciting to her. It wasn’t fair. How could she not live that kind of life? Ever...
2025-06-03 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostStealth was not Anna’s thing. She had her heritage and the stealth skill to at least help it along but truth be told she preferred a straight-up fight. Even so, she was not stupid enough to dismiss the value of a bit of subterfuge. Trickery and hedging bets had gotten her through most of her tussles so far and she wasn’t opposed to using it again. The Undead could not see her with their wraithsight alone. It wasn’t something she could wield against everyone, but if it worked, i...
2025-06-03 12:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe Supervillain floated in the air, her ankles crossed and her back straight. She held her chin high while she grinned down at Nietz and his team. Sparks of electricity danced across her fingertips in playful arcs. Her gray hair, highlighted with purple, fluttered around her face as the wind seemed to pick up more and more. The storm above them was brewing, and Nietz had a bad feeling that she was in her element.
Even so, whatever she and Kingshark had cooked up with the water th...
2025-06-02 16:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostAnna moved slowly through the snow, she’d left Catherine behind far enough away to stay out of the range of their wraithsight. The two of them had agreed to take a good look at the defenses of the large building before initiating any form of attack. There appeared to be relatively few undead actually guarding the structure, just a couple skeletons holding what appeared to be crossbows on raised platforms at the corners. Other than them, the sole undead capable of speech remained outside onl...
2025-05-31 12:00:13 +0000 UTC View PostThe creature looked like one of the salamanders from Dharan, but it was bigger and its blood-red scales were far harder. Nietz threw up his
The creature looked like one of the salamanders from Dharan, but it was bigger and its blood-red scales were far harder. Nietz threw up his arms as it dove at him and its teeth clamped down. He planted his feet and opened his hands, grabbing both parts of its jaw and yanking it apart with a roar. A croaking snarl drew his attention, and he turned fr...
2025-05-30 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View PostThe Major hit the gas, the van picking up speed as the gaudy sports car whipped out of the parking garage. It slid across two lanes before righting itself and accelerating. She scowled and jerked her chin towards the man sitting on her right. He pulled the cloth covering his mouth down and took a deep breath of air, holding his hands out and making a grabbing motion. The road cracked ahead of them, and he pulled back. Asphalt rose, and the lights on the rear of their target brightened. <...
2025-05-29 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostNote from DerelictPresence: Made some updates to chapter 40, specifically the final conversation with Anna and Cat to make it more in character and just generally improve the chapter.
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Anna pressed her mouth to her palm and exhaled, squinting at the engraving in front of her. She’d spent nearly a day on the damn thing and it was beginning to give her a headache. She’d been tireless in her pursuit of her profession after stirring her bloodline and coming to what amounted to a...
2025-05-29 12:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” Jay shouted, running his hands through his hair as the car pulled into the alley. The reporter had shut off his phone, leaning forward and holding his head in the back seat with Marta and Colin. Sonya glanced over her shoulder at him and chuckled while her two compatriots gave the little man sidelong looks. When it occurred to her that the man was sitting between Mephisto and The Companion, she couldn’t help herself and barked out a laugh. He dropped ...
2025-05-28 16:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostVillains: Y'all were supposed to get this Amos Side Story yesterday. Here it is, my bad x'D
Sonya twirled the knife between her fingers. It was a long blade made of mithril, the bluish-white blade slightly curved to vaguely imitate the function of a khopesh. It wasn’t enough to be obvious, but it served its purpose. The edge itself was odd, though. It was made of a darker material, and her skin crawled a little when she looked at it for too long. Amos claimed it was made from the axe of one of those zombies in the backrooms. She really wanted to know how he pulled that off. All th...
2025-05-27 16:00:11 +0000 UTC View Post“Oz-ha!”
The voice shook the air. A command, a demand, an order. Down below, a legion stood. His legion. Each of them clad in armor made of blood-red metal. Their eyes burned with molten fire as they raised their fists up into the air and then down again in a sweep like the swing of an axe. They bellowed their sharp refrain and he tilted his chin up with pride.
“HA-ZA MOL!”
He crossed his arms behind his back and turned to his brother. They had risen together through...
2025-05-27 12:00:12 +0000 UTC View PostExtravagant was a grotesque understatement. The wall molding had gold plating. Sonya’s eye twitched as she walked past another marble statue in the hallway. She liked nice things, but this was a bit much. Fortunately for her, even ultra-upscale hotels like this had a vending machine. It was in the employee lounge, but that was beside the point. She really didn’t want to have to call room service to satisfy her cravings. She grumbled and tossed her head back. Not needing to sleep is gr...
2025-05-26 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostAnna was in her armor by the time she hit the top of the stairs. She slid to a stop and turned, barreling through the doors to the lobby and towards the source of the noise. Raspy roars and hisses of fury carried through the walls as shadows danced against the light of the setting sun. She reached the doors and hesitated only long enough to yank them open rather than crash right on through-the last thing she wanted was to damage the only thing separating them from the cold outside.
On t...
2025-05-24 12:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post“This is a really bad idea,” Cursor said, tugging on his costume. It wasn’t fitting right today. Maybe he was gaining weight. He frowned down at himself and looked up at the others. There were six of them in all, crooks, thieves, and lowlives who had made a small name for themselves as a team. They definitely didn’t rank anywhere near the title of supervillain, but they were somebody. Mostly thanks to my plans. If it weren’t for me, we wouldn’t have pulled off that job after g...
2025-05-23 16:03:01 +0000 UTC View Post