System Supervillain, Chapter 95 (Patreon)

Chapter 95 – Adjustments

Once a private room was set up, the General was the first to take me up on my offer, just as he said he would be. The man had a few different disadvantages he wanted to rework. Namely, he wanted to get rid of a bad Reputation he had, and a Dependence that affected his powers.

The Reputation wasn’t widely known, but it was well-known to those who had access to the information. Apparently, there had been ‘issues’ with the General’s strict disciplinarian style in the army, and he’d received a dishonorable discharge because of it. Naturally, he wanted that to go away, if I could arrange it.

The Dependence, on the other hand, was interesting. Bloodmoon had something similar, where if she didn’t drink blood at least once per day, all her powers had an ‘activation roll’, meaning they only worked if she got an 11 or lower on a 3d6 dice roll with the System. The General, on the other hand, had a flat 30 active points knocked off all his powers for every six hours he didn’t light up some kind of tobacco, which was a fairly severe restriction.

Getting rid of those was simple enough, but finding something to replace them? That was the trick. After conferring with the General, I raised the silver Vulnerability he had in severity. Silver weapons would do double damage to him, in both BODY and STUN, where before they only did 1.5 times the normal STUN. The rest of the points needed to cover the changes gave him a Distinctive Feature of always wearing military-style clothes. Not a big sacrifice on his part, since that is what he did most of the time, anyways, but now the best he could do to blend in with a crowd would be hiding the uniform under a coat.

Party Girl was actually the next in line. Like the General, she already knew what she wanted taken off her status. She had a Susceptibility to Direct Sunlight that made it so she couldn’t go out in the daytime, and another Susceptibility to Holy Ground that damaged her every twelve seconds she was on it. She also had a Vulnerability to Holy attacks that she wanted to be rid of. Then, there was the Money disadvantage keeping her poor, and she wanted to reduce the severity of her Psychological Limitation to always keep partying. All told, that was 45 points of Disadvantages to change up.

Twenty points went to a Vulnerability causing the Seduction skill to have double its normal effect on her. That was a weakness, but a better one than having Holy attacks deal double damage. Fifteen points made it so she had the Distinctive Feature of always wearing clubbing or ‘slut’ outfits, wherever she went. No big loss there for her. And the last ten points went to a new Social Limitation, making her Famous. However, that change made her easier for the Superhuman Defense Initiative to find her, bumping that Hunted Disadvantage up five points. That let me reduce her Vulnerability to Silver to doing 1.5 times BODY damage instead of double, as a bonus.

To my surprise, Mistress Midnight was the third in line. I must have impressed her despite her dislike for me, if she was willing to metaphorically bare all to me. I wasn’t quite rewriting her mind like most mind controllers did with my ‘audit’ abilities, but it was close, after all.

“So, what kind of changes would you like done, Midnight?”

She took a breath, and said, “I have sixty points of Disadvantages that I want changed. Forty-five points worth of Rivalries, and a fifteen-point Psychological Limitation. I don’t like how these Disadvantages are clouding my thoughts, and keeping me from thinking clearly about different things.”

“The Psychological Limitations can be rough like that,” I nodded. “So that we have everything on record, do you consent to me looking at your detailed Status in the System?”

“Yes.”

Mistress Midnight’s Disadvantages

Cost

Disadvantage

15

Distinctive Features – Eyes are wholly Black (Concealable, Always noticed and causes major reaction, detectable by commonly-used senses)

Mistress Midnight’s demonic heritage shows through in her eyes, which are completely black, with no sign of even an iris.

15

Distinctive Features – Half Shadow-Demon (Not concealable, Extreme reaction, Detectable only by unusual senses)

While not obvious to most people, those with arcane senses can plainly see that Mistress Midnight is the half-blood daughter of a human woman and a shadow demon.

10

Hunted – Interpol, 8- (Less powerful, Non-combat influence, Harshly Punish/Capture)

Mistress Midnight’s string of thefts on the international stage have caused her to be wanted by Interpol, working with local law enforcement.

10

Hunted – Superhuman Defense Initiative 8- (Less Powerful, Non-combat influence, Harshly Punish/Capture)

Like all superhumans who are on the wrong side of the law, Mistress Midnight is hunted by the Superhuman Defense Initiative, hoping to capture or kill her.

15

Physical Limitation – Nocturnal (All the time, Slightly impairing)

As a creature of the night, Mistress Midnight is not used to being awake in the daylight, and suffers a -3 penalty to all actions during the hours of 08:00 to 20:00.

15

Psychological Limitation – Misandry (Common, Strong)

Due to her upbringing and heritage, Mistress Midnight has a deep-seated distrust bordering on hatred for men, which is difficult for her to ignore.

5

Rivalry – Professional (Brain Drain, Rival is less powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

Brain Drain’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

10

Rivalry – Professional (Dollmaker, Rival is as powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

Dollmaker’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

10

Rivalry – Professional (Iceblade, Rival is as powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

Iceblade’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

10

Rivalry – Professional (Puppetmaster, Rival is as powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

Puppetmaster’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

5

Rivalry – Professional (Stepford, Rival is less powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

Stepford’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

5

Rivalry – Professional (The Tamer, Rival is less powerful, Seeks to harm or kill rival, Rival aware of rivalry)

The Tamer’s conduct towards women and the way he uses his powers is offensive to Mistress Midnight, causing her to seek out opportunities to crush him with all her power.

15

Social Limitation – Secret Identity (Frequently, Major)

Lajaria Herring has gone to great lengths to keep her public persona separate from her costumed persona of Mistress Midnight, though this divide sometimes causes her trouble in her social life, and increases the danger if she is unmasked.

15

Social Limitation – Shy when not in costume (Frequently, Major)

Because of her upbringing and distinctive features, Lajaria is reticent and shy to people she doesn’t know when not hiding behind her mask.

10

Social Limitation – Unseemly Heritage (Occasionally, Severe, not limiting in some cultures)

While not all cultures care if someone is a literal demon spawn, there are plenty of religious groups in the world that would gladly see her killed due to the ‘tainted’ blood in her veins.

35

Suceptibility – Direct Sunlight, 3d6 damage per Phase (Very Common)

A part of her demonic heritage, the direct light of the sun is fatally hazardous to Mistress Midnight, and even a few seconds of exposure can leave her with grievous wounds.

I nodded slowly as I looked over the list. “All right, let me start by saying how impressed I am that you were able to overcome these Disadvantages enough to be alone with me and speak civilly. That is more than most people would be able to do in your situation, so you should take some pride in that. Now, a sixty-point swing of Disadvantages, like what you’re asking for, is not going to be easy to do.”

Midnight nodded, but when she spoke her tone was curt, evidence that she was still fighting against the System’s ‘suggestions’ to act out against me. “I understand. There’s a lot there. What would you suggest, that wouldn’t open me up to more of this kind of thing?”

I started manipulating my System Administrator interface, pulling out different Disadvantages to see what would work well with her current build, and not leave her too vulnerable to new effects. “Well, I can tell from your Status that the ‘demon’ part of your heritage hangs over you. I won’t ask about the details, since I’m guessing it is the common story of the demon taking what they wanted, and leaving your mother with the consequences. However, if you are willing to lean into that heritage somewhat, then I could rearrange things so that you can get rid of those troublesome Disadvantages with ones that are not going to cause you as much trouble, at least in these settings. Let me show you.”

Proposed Changes

Cost

Description

20

Vulnerability – 2x Effect Seduction (Common)

Freed from some of the baggage weighing her down, Mistress Midnight is now far more open to romantic liaisons than she was before.

5

Dependence – Sex, Powers gain 11- Activation Roll (Common, 1 day)

With her demonic heritage enhanced, Mistress Midnight must engage in sexual activity every day to maintain her powers at full strength.

10

Vulnerability – 2x BODY from Holy (Uncommon)

With her demonic heritage enhanced, sources of Holy damage are far more dangerous to her, dealing twice the normal BODY damage of such attacks.

10

Vulnerability – 2x STUN from Silver (Uncommon)

With her demonic heritage enhanced, sources of Silver damage are far more dangerous to her, dealing twice the normal STUN damage of such attacks.

15

Physical Limitation – Cannot Enter Holy Ground (Infrequently, Fully Impairing)

With her demonic heritage enhanced, Mistress Midnight can no longer enter holy ground on her own will, though others may force her onto such ground.

Midnight frowned as she looked these changes over. “You’re not just doing the seduction thing to get in my pants, right?”

I chuckled, and said, “The change won’t actually affect your sexuality. For instance, I am only attracted to women, so any man attempting to use Seduction on me would find me less than receptive. And convincing someone to go to bed with you is only one facet of the skill. It also includes gaining trust and friendship, amongst other things, and your EGO helps to resist it.”

Midnight shook her head, firmly. “I still don’t like it, I don’t want to be vulnerable to someone manipulating me like that.”

I wasn’t exactly surprised by that. Few villains cared for people being able to manipulate them, after all. “All right, what about a psychological limitation that keeps you from lying? Of course, just because you can’t lie doesn’t mean what you say has to be the truth that other people hear it as, and it doesn’t compel you to speak, either. If I give you that at a ‘Total’ intensity, that’ll be the same 20 points as the Vulnerability to Seduction.”

The shadowcaster nodded her head. “I can live with that. Means I’ll have to be smart, and watch what I say, which is good policy anyways. Go ahead and make the change.”

I finalized the changes, and saw Midnight double-checking her status. “I must admit, I’m surprised you didn’t try to slip something in, and bend me to your will. With you having access like this…”

“No,” I shook my head. “I wouldn’t do that, for a couple reasons. First, I have a limitation similar to the one I gave you. Lower in intensity, but there all the same. I need to make an active effort to outright lie to someone. And second, I have a reputation to uphold. Not in the System sense, but in the community. People know me as someone not to cross, but they also know I stick to my word, and hold to any deals I make. That is why you agreed to let me look at these disadvantages in the first place, right?”

Midnight nodded slowly. “Yes, but you also have the reputation of manipulating, enslaving, and impregnating most of the women you come across in the superhero community.”

“Well, I think that’s a bit exaggerated. I’ve only got a couple dozen women bound to my will, and almost all of them are ones I ran into in the course of business. And I am not so foolish as to think that no one will find a way to reverse what I’ve done, or overwrite it somehow. If that happens, dealing falsely with you, now, would make you a very dangerous enemy in the future, and that is something I’d rather avoid.”

I opened the ‘door’ from this private room to the main area where everyone was staying, only to find Web Mistress standing there. “What is it?”

The technomancer smiled at me. “Well, two things. First, none of the others are feeling trusting enough to take you up on your offer, or they are fine with how they’re set up already. Second, they’ve finished the interrogation of Maestro. As expected, he sold everyone at the party out for money, after figuring out that one of Hypnodomme’s pets was the sidekick of the Sword of the Faith. However, I think we have a nice target to counterattack with.”