Worm Wiki
Register
Advertisement

When you decide the outcome first and results are virtually assured, then it’s inevitable that it’s reduced to these kinds of decisions. Always maddeningly hard ones, both good, both bad. This is how Cauldron operates.

Contessa to Sveta, Dying 15.7

Cauldron kind of doesn’t get to lay claim to saving the world when they created ten thousand problems and solved one. We don’t know if we would have been able to do it if they hadn’t caused the messes they had. If Gray Boy hadn’t killed heroes, if Eidolon hadn’t broken the Protectorate and Wards…

Sveta to Tattletale, Black 13.8

Cauldron is a secret immanent to the Parahumans setting.

Modus operandi[]

The ultimate goal of the organization was to kill Scion - the path to completing that goal involved building an army of parahumans able to combat him. In order to do this, long-term stability needed to be maintained, which meant shutting down certain threats before they became a problem[5][6] and ensuring that Earth Bet was welcoming to all parahumans and superhero culture.[7]

Cauldron was a capable organization due to the manufacture and development of the vials. This made numerous superpowers available to its members of "staff", but the unpredictable process and side effects also made them highly morally questionable. These powers included interdimensional transport and memory erasure.[8] It used this to keep its operations hidden.

Sales[]

Cauldron is constantly on the lookout for new customers, having landing/mock-up sites for those looking for power related technologies or services.[9] They favor motivated and skilled people. Strong social connections or a background in law enforcement are a plus.[10]

When selling powers to people they go out of their way to up the price of the vial, partially to weed out those who do not have sufficient commitment to a parahuman lifestyle and partially to get people into Cauldron's debt by agreeing to favors in exchange for a more powerful vial.[11]

If a client is having minor issues when trying to fulfill their part of the deal (e.g., having bad luck when trying to meet debts), Cauldron might approach the client and offer to adjust the contract (e.g., them doing a favor instead).[12]

Nemesis Program[]

For the goal of putting Cauldron-affiliated people into needed areas with high standing, Cauldron offers an incentive where a client can pay a good sum to have a Case 53 or Cauldron subject help improve their position and reputation. This Nemesis, a potentially powerful enemy, would be brainwashed with an auto-lose trigger (e.g., keyword or some other trick) to give the client easy wins.[13][14][15]

The Slug was primarily responsible for setting up these Nemesis weakpoints.[16]

Punishments[]

If clients willfully renege on their deal with Cauldron, although they could get a decisive visit from members such as Contessa or the Number Man, the organization would prefer more subtle countermeasures to heavily pressure these clients to stick to their deal.[17]

Cauldron can leverage other on-track clients to help pressure a wayward client into shaping up. This can range from a new recruit threatening their boss about being a potential Cauldron-endorsed replacement,[18] to Cauldron warning the client about some opposing out-of-town capes being Cauldron-affiliated and the possibility of more showing up.[19]

Doctor Mother claims to Battery that for moral reasons and to limit unwanted attention, Cauldron tries to avoid murder in their punishments. Instead, she states they have an in-house cape that can enact the worst case scenario of removing the client's powers should they try to expose Cauldron or fail to fulfill their part of the deal.[20][21] Wildbow speculates this countermeasure is very real because of the Slug.[16][22] For example, if a potential client is untrustworthy and/or did not have enough pre-existing strings to pull, Cauldron might use the Slug to implant a key phrase into them as a precautionary measure that permanently removes their power.[23] Cauldron can then use this as leverage when firmly reminding the wayward client to follow through with their commitments.[24]

Another countermeasure is the threat of discrediting the wayward client and driving them into hiding, especially if they try to expose Cauldron.[20] For example, the organization could secretly leak sensitive information such as where the client's operations are located, the client's large payment to an unknown source, or even witness reports about occasions where the client crossed the line.[25]

Social Engineering[]

They went out of their way to set up several powerful parahuman groups around the world,[26] to keep make sure there were united fronts.

Terminus Program[]

Based on projections everyone will eventually end up with powers.[citation needed] To preempt this Cauldron tried to set up precedents of good parahuman leadership to serve as an example for others.

They were ready to brainwash capes in order to do this.[27]

This was a high priority project[28] that outweighed many other concerns.[29]

Structure[]

Doctor Mother largely made decisions for the group, with advice from Contessa and others.[30] She acted as the spokesperson when talking with leaders of various groups.

Cauldron has many human and parahuman personnel in its internal staff, including parahumans that are effectively acting as tools, carrying out roles and functions like pieces of a greater machine.[31] This approach also applied when operating outside, when needed they would tap a decentralized network of agents to handle operations.[32]

PRT Response[]

Cauldron was largely ignored under Chief Director Costa-Brown's tenure. After she was replaced, given the circumstances of her stepping down, the policy changed. Cauldron capes in positions of leadership were removed and any heroes found to be doing business with Cauldron were effectively frozen from advancing in The Protectorate.[33]

Following revelations during S-Class threat action, the PRT took a more direct stand against Cauldron influence. Cauldron capes were removed from leadership positions.[34]

With the death of Alexandria the PRT started removing Cauldron connected capes more fastidiously.[33] What Case 53s that remained were not screened.[35]

Members[]

Name: Status:
Doctor Mother Deceased[36]
Contessa Left after Scion's death,[37] now deceased[38]
Number Man Joined Mortari,[39] now deceased[40]
William Manton Defected,[32] now deceased[41]
Balminder Defected,[32] unknown if he decided to join Mortari[39]
Eidolon Deceased[42]
Alexandria Deceased[43]
Hero Deceased[44]
Legend Joined the Wardens[45]
Doormaker Deceased[46]
The Clairvoyant Unknown, last seen alive[47]
Custodian Joined the Taught,[48] now deceased[49]
The Slug Deceased[50]
Pretender Deceased[51]

History[]

Background[]

Doctor Mother and Contessa formed Cauldron after Eden crash-landed near Contessa's home and was killed by Doctor Mother. They learned that the Entities' cycle would lead to the end of the human race and began formulating plans to defend humanity, including reducing conflict and maximizing the number of parahumans present for the final confrontation.[52]

By extracting and refining parts of Eden's corpse, Doctor Mother and Contessa were able to produce vials that granted powers. After Scion appeared on Earth Bet in 1982, they began to more widely test those vials on terminally ill patients. Hero and Doormaker both triggered in the founders' first batch of ten vials.[52] This process could also cure subjects of their illnesses, and Cauldron subsequently provided vials to Alexandria, Eidolon, and Legend.[53]

Cauldron expanded its operations throughout the 1980s and established a headquarters that spanned several dimensions. During the mid-1980s, it recruited the Number Man and William Manton as full-time staff. Alexandria stayed with them for two years after she gained powers and helped to implement Cauldron's plan for integrating parahumans into society by forming the Protectorate alongside Hero, Legend, and Eidolon.

William and Balminder's separate betrayals changed their operating protocol.[32]

Cauldron also created Gray Boy, and it allowed him to exist as he was the most viability as an anti-Scion contingency after Eidolon. When the Slaughterhouse Nine began killing more parahumans than Gray Boy was theoretically worth, they manipulated Glaistig Uaine into killing him and taking his power so it could be used later if needed.[54]

Cauldron was targeted by The Simurgh during her attack on Madison, Wisconsin in 2009. The Simurgh used Professor Haywire's technology to break into one of the dimensions Cauldron was located in, costing Cauldron a stock of formulas and releasing several Case 53s. The Travelers triggered using the lost formulas, and Noelle Meinhardt's rampage in Brockton Bay led to Cauldron being publicly outed and the creation of the Irregulars.[55]

Story Start[]

Was backing Coil and his work.

Post-Leviathan[]

Called in a favor with Battery to save the Siberian and Shatterbird.[56]

Post-Echidna[]

Their position was exposed and Contessa was tasked with suppressing the information. Contessa was later retasked to the security of the Cauldron Compound after several prison breaks.

Timeskip[]

Helped the formation of The Slaughterhouse Nine-Thousand.[57]

Post-Timeskip[]

Supported efforts against the same group.

Gold Morning[]

Many plans fell through.

Cauldron's headquarters were badly damaged in 2013 by Scion.

Ward[]

Cauldron is splintered into two notable rival factions – the one led by Teacher has occupied and fully staffed Cauldron's old facilities[58], while Number Man and Citrine maintain their own operations more focused on The City.

Trivia[]

  • In a note of ever present irony, Cauldron took Eden's position in the grand scheme of things,[59][60] however they intended to help humanity, whatever the final result, compared to the intentional destructive testing.[61]

References[]

  1. “We’ll go down in history as the villains,” Doctor Mother said. There wasn’t a trace of doubt or hesitation in her voice. “But it’s worth it if it means saving everyone.” - Scarab 25.5
  2. Doctor Mother – A dark-skinned, well spoken woman, well connected and knowledgeable about powers. Heads Cauldron. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/cast-spoiler-free Cast Page
  3. “A baby learns to trust. All she’s ever trusted is her power and the woman who ran Cauldron. That woman died. At your teammate’s hands, as a matter of fact.” - Sundown 17.10
  4. “Does she regret it?”

    “To answer that question, I think you have to start by asking how much was really by her design, when Doctor Mother made the choices and her power dictated the how.” - Sundown 17.10
  5. Not to mention other roles, like giving Parahumans a brand as a whole, managing public perceptions (even to the extent of media), keeping things interlinked with local & federal law enforcement, keeping politicians on the municipal and federal level in the loop, ensuring everything is on the up and up in economy and politics (watchdog being under PRT umbrella, with some team involvement), and investigating weird shit/putting down potential S-class threats before they become bigger threats. That bogeyman does tackle some of that last one, but still, sometimes the path says the most efficient way is to send a group of squaddies at the problem. - Wildbow on Reddit
  6. Wildbow:[...]In canon, the Doctor is pulling strings and seeding groups with cauldron capes, which provides a steady body of capes, and Contessa is devoting attention here and there to controlling crises and removing threats/dissent. Once you have that stable body, and you're handling all of the big problems (we see Cauldron discussing the fact that they have to stop doing just this around the time of Number Man's interlude), you have a stable organization that can survive the loss of two or three key members, and you only need to step in every couple of weeks/months to keep things more or less running smoothly. Then you've got bastions of strength for humanity and civilization.

    Without Cauldron, you run into problems where all it takes for your new organization to fall apart is one incident, one bit of drama, one nutball cape crossing a line. You lose trust, your faction fragments in half, and the individuals involved in this crisis are very powerful - your government or organization or whatever has to devote horrific amounts of resources to understanding, mediating and controlling the problem. And it keeps happening. The larger your group, the higher the rate of incidents. It's a struggle to get off the ground, and once you've actually made it, you're one disaster away from crumbling and having it all be for naught.

    By and large, big groups aren't so sustainable, without outside help and a strong example to show it's worth the effort. - Conversation on Spacebattles by Wildbow
  7. With the PRT, even ~more~ behind the scenes, you've got Cauldron. Cauldron doesn't want people going out and pulling this for many reasons - capes strong enough to warrant a sniper instead of a normal beatdown are capes Cauldron wants in the final confrontation. This is the sort of thing Contessa is regularly tackling - figuring out how to shut down elements like anti-parahuman hate groups and people who start using snipers.

    So people try to pull this and events conspire against them and they miss the shot. The incident gets reported, the target lives, the PRT cracks down on them, and the gang leader who put the money out there gets crucified, so to speak. - Excerpt from a comment by Wildbow on Reddit
  8. - Excerpt from Interlude 21.x
  9. “I’d have to check my notes. We have ways of finding interested parties. If I remember right, you were browsing websites, researching ways to acquire tinker-made armor and weapons?”

    Jamie nodded. “I was. So many were fakes or scams that I wasn’t willing to trust the ones that did look legit.”

    “We own several of those sites. All are fakes. That might have been where we first noticed your activity.”

    “That’s a little creepy.”

    “Creepiness is an unfortunate reality when you’re forced to operate covertly, without a steady customer base.” - Excerpt from Interlude 21.x
  10. Calvert did not trigger from the Nilbog attack - as suggested in his interlude, he's in debt to Cauldron because he bought his power. Cauldron often reaches out to the disaffected who are connected to law enforcement or otherwise dedicated and possessed of natural talents (Battery is a detective's daughter, Triumph was an athlete, Coil is an ex-PRT squaddie). - Wildbow on Reddit
  11. bramflakes:
    They don't need the money. The price they charge is an idiot filter, to weed out the ones who aren't serious about being a cape and keeping to Cauldron's terms. If a multi-millionaire applies, they'll ask for a billion.

    There's also likely a psychological element - in Battery's interlude, Doctor Mother starts out with a figure that she knows Battery can't pay, and then lets Battery haggle it down to something she can afford, in exchange for more favors. I suspect that Cauldron does this to nearly every applicant, in order to make them feel indebted to Cauldron before they even take the vial.
    edit:
    • As for why they don't hand out all the powerful formulas, several reasons:
    • Powerful formulas are more likely to result in Case 53s
      There's likely a limited supply of the very best vials, so they'll only make them available to people that meet the most stringent psychological requirements (to avoid repeats of Grey Boy)
    • Fighting Scion is the main goal, but to accomplish that they need to utilize natural triggers too. This means creating and/or maintaining large organizations that natural triggers can join, and coexist with first-world institutions without everything descending into parahuman feudalism. That way, when the final battle comes, they have a few dozen organizations to rely on (both hero and villain), rather than thousands of independent cape micro-states. That means they need weak and medium-strength capes to fill out the ranks of the Protectorate, the Elite, the Guild, the Suits, and so on. Number Man's interlude shows him shoring up these organizations when they're facing financial difficulties, and Accord seems to be able to get vials to boost his ranks pretty easily too.

    Wildbow: Nice post. Right on the mark.
    On the subject of why they don't always hand out powerful vials - they don't always know the power level of a given vial. They've got this landscape of Eden, they take pieces of it, make it into concoctions and feed them to people. One vial might have fantastic results in one situation and peter out or end up horrific in another.
    So they've spent the last 30 years figuring it out, trying to get as many vials to people as they can in the most constructive way they can. When they do get a set of powerful vials, they try to hold on to them and give them to the people they can make the most use out of. Often those are people in power (ie. the mayor of a town with a lot of capes, who then gives it to his son), people with access (an ex-PRT captain with the potential to be Director), or people with money.

    eSPiaLx: But why would doctor Mother have those special vials locked away in Cauldron's basement? Weren't those supposed to be really powerful? If Cauldron had given them out earlier, wouldn't there be a decent (or heck, crappy is fine too) chance there would be anothe Legend/Alexandria/Eidolon?

    Wildbow:Just as much of a chance of there being a Grey Boy. Of the person taking the vial and losing their mind.
    It's a last ditch measure. - Wildbow on Reddit
  12. At the outset, offering a bit of leeway to the player who isn’t engaging with the RP aspects at hand, or who has simply had bad luck with the risk-reward of trying to meet debts, the GM may have Cauldron approach the player, offering an adjustment of the contract. Did the player pick ‘Connections’, but isn’t enjoying the politics of trying to steer their family’s media empire to lean on local activists? Maybe Cauldron says they can do a favor instead, let that slide a bit. If the character is struggling with the debt, Cauldron might tell them they’ll consider the debts paid if the character can befriend certain individuals. - WD CAULDRON
  13. “There’s the Nemesis program, but you already have an opponent in mind, and I expect you’re more interested in a fair fight than having an opponent you’re guaranteed to succeed against when it counts.”

    “Yeah.” This Nemesis program… how many prominent heroes or villains were out there that had faked or staged confrontations like that? - Interlude 12.5
  14. Cauldron's habit was to take all of the human experiments that turned out well, brainwash them, and then place them in larger organizations to support said organizations, fighting the natural tendency for parahumans to seek conflict (and thus making forming large committed groups hard). Shamrock could well have been slated for the Protectorate, Red Gauntlet, the Suits, or even the Nemesis program (being brainwashed with an auto-lose trigger against one client who paid a good sum, so that client could get a better position and climb faster in rep). - Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles
  15. It would have gone somewhere if I'd gone more into depth with Faultline's Crew, giving them more of a spotlight. It was only an incentive to give people to get them formulas and push them to a higher standing when Cauldron needed people with good reputation in key areas (ie. to promote through the ranks of the PRT without too much interference). If you signed up, they'd release a case 53 or Cauldron subject with a bit of brainwashing, an implanted trigger that would cause them to lose. A keyword or other trick so the person who bought into the program could get easy wins against a potentially powerful enemy. - Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles
  16. 16.0 16.1 Wildbow: Reneging on Cauldron favors - probably a firm reminder. Very firm if it's ~that~ against the spirit of the deal. "What we gave you we can take away. There's a new cape in this city with a key word or phrase that will temporarily take away your connection to your power. They now have license to use it if they run into you, and they'll retain that license until you make it up to us. If you don't shape up and follow through on your commitments, you will lose those powers permanently, and we'll tell your enemies where you are, should you try to run."

    Jicker: harsh, but fair

    Forgery: Huh, I didn't expect their first response being an empty threat like "We can say a word and your power disappears".

    Wildbow: Empty?

    Forgery: Wait, can Cauldron powers be removed with a single word?

    Wildbow: If the person has been slugged.
    [...]
    Forgery: I thought Slug was just the amnesia maker?

    Wildbow: Slug edits brains. Took away memories, set in blocks, set up the Nemesis weakpoints... - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  17. When characters start willfully disengaging from the commitments made to Cauldron, then Cauldron is liable to start applying heavier pressure. They maintain the ability to drop the hammer on the player - a visit from Contessa or Number Man, but they would always prefer to get people back on course, instead. - WD CAULDRON
  18. An NPC joins the character’s team, and they seem to fit in well. They might even engage with the character, appearing friendly. Until they’re alone with the character, and they lean in close, whispering, “Cauldron would like you to keep in mind that you can be replaced. Step it up.” - WD CAULDRON
  19. Three capes come into town and immediately join up with the group the player is trying to deal with. Cauldron, in the midst of reminders about responsibilities, insinuates the capes are theirs and there may be more coming. - WD CAULDRON
  20. 20.0 20.1 “What kind of countermeasures? Would you kill me?”

    “We try to avoid murder in the course of doing business, not just because of the moral issues, but because it draws attention. For leaks, our usual procedure is to discredit the individual in question and deploy our in-house division of parahumans to drive them into hiding, remove their powers or both.”
    [...]
    “We’ll see. In terms of cost, Cauldron requires that the client pay two-thirds of the total amount in advance, and pay the rest over a six year period or default.”

    “Meaning you employ those countermeasures you talked about.”

    “Revoking your powers in the worst case scenario, yes.”

    “Is that revoking of powers a part of the process of however you give people the powers, or is it something that one of your in-house capes does?”

    The Doctor was typing on the computer. Without taking her eyes from the screen, she said, “The latter. You don’t need to worry about someone using a loophole or flaw in the process to take away your abilities.” - Interlude 12.5
  21. “I couldn’t tell you,” he said. “It’s one of the rules. If we say anything, they come after us, and take away what they gave.”

    I searched his expression, and I saw the regret, the hurt. How very hard it had been. - Last 20.11
  22. Jicker: if Cauldron is investing in these capes, it's better to get them back on track if possible

    Wildbow: It's better

    Jicker: at least, that was my line of thinking

    Wildbow: But if they're being total asshats with no sign of redemption, or if there's risk they blab, remove. - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  23. Forgery: So is there a word that can shut down c53s, given they were slugged? Are all cauldron capes slugged?
    Sorry about the questions, its just that this information feels like a huge revelation on how Cauldron capes work, if they can be shut down at Cauldron's digression.
    [...]
    Wildbow: I think it'd be specific to certain capes they weren't sure they could trust, Forg

    Inky || Hellraiser: Probably a lot of the more villainous leaning cauldron capes

    Wildbow: Probably ones where there weren't enough blatant, pre-existing strings to pull. If a player ended up going down that road, it might be that Cauldron predicted it as a possibility. - Conversation with Wildbow on Parahumans Discord
  24. “We always knew you would be hard to manage, so we took precautions,” the voice says on the phone. “While you were unconscious after getting your powers, we implanted a key phrase in your head. One of our agents in the city now has that phrase, and they can use it to turn off your power at an inopportune time. What we gave you we can take away.” The threat becomes one of the powers being turned off for good. - WD CAULDRON
  25. A steady trickle of information about the character starts getting leaked. Among that trickle might be the vast sums paid to Cauldron, who have covered their tracks enough to not have to worry. For those who haven’t tended to their secret identity or their out-of-costume relationships, this could be a final stroke of doubt that makes relationships implode. Authorities start finding the player’s headquarters, stashes of drugs, or getting witness reports about times heroes crossed the line in secret. - WD CAULDRON
  26. DoctorNobody: Absent Cauldron's meddling...
    Wildbow:Think bigger-scale.

    Absent Cauldron's meddling, there's no PRT for one thing. There's no Suits, no Red Gauntlet, no Elite Sentai group or whatever I called them, no Elite; all groups that Cauldron set up or supported.

    Non-parahumans in the West end up taking a more aggressive stance against parahumans, as certain voices aren't silenced, and without the Protectorate as an example, things are just more anti-parahuman around the world as a whole. Heroes are fewer and farther between than in conventional Worm - you've got an awful lot of shades of grey and people doing their damndest just to get by. The Chevaliers and Miss Militias of the world are staying right where they are, in small town X or Turkey-occupied Kurdistan, and they're helping their town/country and only their town/country. For the most part, parahumans are taking over where they can take over, and because the population is so hostile, they're forced to be a little ugly or harsh to quell dissent, or they're nice and constantly watching their back/focusing far too much on just keeping things functioning.

    Assuming that Cauldron's operatives maybe killed Eden but then just sat on their hands/died, the Endbringers don't exist, the cauldron vials aren't spread out, and there's less of the really powerful parahumans here and there who're capable of acting decisively. Gates to other worlds are left open, feeding into Cote D'Ivorie, spitting out more than a fair share of Case-53 like monsters, only in a very tightly occupied space. If West Africa survives, it's either as a world power or as a mutant-occupied area. If they find Eden's corpse, well, you've got a whole other mess, because they're going to be less careful and organized about it. Assuming they don't accidentally revive Eden, there's going to be a lot of failed doses.

    Further, the major threats that Contessa and Number Man deemed too dangerous to leave alone weren't necessarily eliminated (either because Contessa herself didn't pay a visit, or because Cauldron didn't contrive to have said parahuman put down), so there's more Ash Beasts, Blasphemies, Sleepers and the equivalent roaming around.

    There's no Parahuman Containment Center, so there's no place to put the really dangerous villains. What do you do with the villains who can't be killed, like Gavel? You maybe try to wrangle some giant-killers like Flechette/Foil, but how many of those guys are there, really?

    You're talking about infrastructure, but quite honestly, infrastructure wouldn't survive the 90's. By the mid-2000's, getting food from the agricultural states to the areas with the highest population density (ie. New york) is a struggle, because of bandits, threats, organized crime, disorganized crime and more. - Wildbow on Spacebattles
  27. If the Accord/Taylor/Coil types didn’t work out as leaders, they intended to brainwash -capes-. Probably capes in captivity. Thus ensuring they had cooperative leaders who would stay in bounds.. - Comment by Wildbow on Venom 29.4.
  28. “No, this means we simply need to step up our plans. If we’re going to go forward with the Terminus project, we need to advance the overall efforts with Cauldron. And we need the Protectorate effort to succeed on every count.” - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z
  29. shonkadice:I think that's the right answer, but why did they then allow Coil to have a whole squad of gunmen?

    Wildbow: Project Terminus. They were hands-off with Brockton Bay in a way they weren't elsewhere. - Conversation on Reddit
  30. “Okay. What if I made the decisions from here on out? You tell me if I’m going down the wrong path, give me direction where it’s needed. - Interlude 29
  31. PitaEnigma: So basically Contessa refused to talk to anyone other than Doctor Mother
    PitaEnigma: and people outside of Cauldron?
    Cyrix: eeeeh
    Cyrix: I am unsure how and why you jump to that conclusion
    Mishie: Uh
    PitaEnigm>: Because it's a funny mental image, mostly
    Mishie: Wat
    Cyrix: thats not a very good reason
    Wildbow: Not refused. Just wasn't necessary. The Triumvirate would've felt like their hands were being forced if Contessa got involved.
    Wildbow: Doctor Mother speaking is a little less threatening & a little more organic.
    abyssonym: that's right, they agreed to let her do most of the talking
    Wildbow: They're ~surrounded~ by mostly mute people acting as tools.
    Wildbow: The clairvoyant, doormaker, the custodian, countless deviants.
    Wildbow: The slug. - Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 [Citrine] had seen and worked out the state of Cauldron over the years, after taking over Accord’s position as head of the Ambassadors. She’d known it to be a very large place with very little staff. That much remained true now. When they needed it, as they did now, they could tap their scattered group and make things happen. It was the nature of their group and the people they collected that when they gathered together, they worked together like a perfectly engineered machine.
    [...]
    “Balminder,” Kurt said.

    The thief, Jeanne thought. The Dealer. He absconded with as many vials as he could take. Kurt had said that along with Manton’s defection, it was one of a series of betrayals that led to Cauldron keeping their roster small and disconnected. - Excerpt from Interlude 5x II
  33. 33.0 33.1 But what can you do in their shoes? What would you do differently?

    The info about what Alexandria is was inevitably going to leak, even before she died, and the death could readily be a catalyst for many people talking about it. Only Contessa was really holding them back (and Cauldron, behind the scenes, decided to stop protecting the Triumvirate: see number man’s interlude). So it was bound to get out somehow.

    Alexandria dies, and you have to tell the public -something-. Chevalier makes the call to tell the public about her shady background, with the caveat that he has to reassure the public that the Alexandria situation won’t recur. He promises to vet the leadership, makes it public so the ones in power know to step down while there’s still an excuse.

    But you get isolated cases like Pretender, who are too committed to their careers to leave, people who know they have immediate subordinates who are Cauldron Capes. Who find themselves between a rock and a hard place, in a situation where things were already strained at best (ie. Las Vegas). - Comment by Wildbow on Drone 23.2
  34. Worth stating that the PRT is outing Cauldron capes in positions of power. Team leaders, etc. - Comment by Wildbow on Drone 23.2
  35. They wouldn’t be getting screened.

    But it’s primarily capes in leadership positions who are getting attention, and Weld was the only one in a leadership position (up until he left).

    Some 53s stayed, like Hunch, but aren’t in a position to abuse their membership to the same degree a leader could. - Comment by Wildbow on Drone 23.2
  36. Sveta's tendrils continued to extend, stretching out.

    Each one chose the Doctor as the mark.

    "Had to pick someone," Sveta whispered. "Couldn't focus on him alone. I'm sorry, but you're the best choice."

    The tendrlis found points closer to the Doctor's midsection, crushing.

    The Doctor's screams became strangled.

    Sveta coiled around the Doctor, burying the woman beneath overlapping tendrils, until there was a cocoon and a girl's face, curled up on the stairs. Blood pooled beneath them. - Excerpt from Venom 29.7
  37. “This would be easier if we had Fortuna,” she said.

    “She gave her all to get us this far. It would be asking a lot, for her to give us the remainder of her years. We’ll see ourselves the rest of the way. She can live her life as she sees fit.”

    Jeanne privately disagreed, but she didn’t make a point with it. Not with Kurt’s younger selves in the car. - Excerpt from Interlude 5.x II
  38. “We’re getting word,” someone said. One of Eric’s colleagues that had come in with him. The voice was too loud, considering that maybe one in five people in the room were still sleeping. Others were at other windows, or were up at the roof. “The Queen Titan crumbled. Two others followed shortly after.”

    “What does that mean?” John Druck asked, and he was considerate with his volume.

    “It means she decided on her path,” Eric said. “She wanted the cycle to continue… and rather than fight us, us, every step of the way, the easiest way to do that is to let us carry on.”

    “It’s over?”

    “It should be. We should wake up our capes.” - Last 20.b
  39. 39.0 39.1 “You can come with us or you can go and keep your mouth shut,” she said. “We’re a splinter of Cauldron, but we could count it as you coming back into the fold.”

    “We were never upset,” Kurt said. “Not really.”

    Balminder frowned.

    “Think on it,” Jeanne said.

    She and Kurt walked a short distance away and let Balminder do his thinking. - Excerpt from Interlude 5.x II
  40. “What’s the worst case scenario? Why is this a weak point?” I asked.

    “That she asks the wrong questions, or hears the wrong things,” Five said.

    “Define wrong,” Sveta said.

    “Something that takes her off of the course she was on. Relative wrong, not moral wrong,” Five said, looking at her. “Sending one of my brothers to contact Citrine and the Number Man, not anticipating that her friend might be killed as a consequence, when there would have been other ways to distract Teacher.”

    Sveta nodded. - Infrared 19.8
  41. Colin stopped in his tracks. Dragon’s suit was posed with its head pointing toward the sky. The suit’s metal jaws were clamped around a body.

    Manton.

    “The Siberian is dead?”

    Gone would be a more appropriate word,” she said. “Manton is dead.”

    Colin nodded and exhaled slowly. “Good work.” - Interlude 19.x
  42. But he hadn’t. It dawned on Eidolon. He has Contessa’s power.

    How many years did it cost Scion to use it?

    Not enough, he was convinced. Scion had defeated him.

    Scion raised a hand, and Eidolon didn’t move. Glaistig Uaine was fleeing.

    Scion fired the lethal blast. - Interlude 27.x
  43. “I have some,” I said. “But no, you assholes knocked me out. I don’t know anything that’s been going on. I attacked Tagg and Alexandria-”

    “They’re dead,” Defiant said.

    Dead. I hadn’t believed Alexandria would die like that. She’d flown away. Surely there were methods. - Cell 22.5
  44. She nodded curtly. It hadn’t been. One could even suggest it was when things started to go bad. The loss of Hero, the first time a truly dangerous villain made an appearance. “What did you want to see me for?” - Interlude 13
  45. “The Wardens are cooperating with seven major cape teams and, last I checked, ten minor teams. We are not a monolithic entity. We are not an authority. We are not the bad guys, Julia.”
    [...]
    “People are worried. You have Legend as a second in command, and memories aren’t so short that we don’t remember the Alexandria fiasco.” - Flare 2.1
  46. I appeared right behind the faerie queen.

    I seized her, and I seized the portal man she'd killed and claimed for herself. - Speck 30.6
  47. I let the clairvoyant step through the portal, onto the shard I’d just abandoned. The forcefield woman held on to him, steadying him.

    I broke contact.

    The last thing I saw before I passed out was the door closing. - Speck 30.7
  48. “Once this facility has served its purposes, he will discard it. He will ask you to help him build something new somewhere else. You will be excited, initially. A fresh start, a new build. Then you will come to resent it. You will hate him. You will hate yourself.”

    There was only silence.

    “You will live for a very long time, Custodian. It will be a long time of hating yourself.” - Dying 15.7
  49. “What was it about? What was the point? The Titans collapsed, they could have kept going, or safeguarded things.”

    “There were power considerations, but… mostly they wanted to secure what they had.” - Last 20.end
  50. There were cheers. I looked at my phone, and I could see the weirdly pretty man. Chains stretched out from the armless, legless figure’s stumps, extending to the high ceiling and the floor, suspending him fifteen or so feet in the air. Dead, or close enough it barely mattered.

    I could also make out Mantellum, at the center of the crowd. He stood beneath the guy they’d strung up, blood running off of the shroud that seemed to flow from his back and the edges of his face. His expression was hard to read, but the fact that he seemed to be luxuriating in the blood rather than avoiding it… it didn’t put him in my good books.

    It looks like we’ve got a full-on riot here,” Imp commented. “Armless dude’s good as dead, they’re splitting up the crowd, so anyone that’s not inside the circle has a few guys who can deal with the ghost janitor.” - Venom 29.5
  51. Scion emerged from the other world, having broken down the barrier we’d set. Fragments of Alexandria’s body tumbled to the ground, more like a statue than flesh. He had to flex his hand and use his power to free it of the left side of her skull. - Speck 30.5
  52. 52.0 52.1 Interlude 29
  53. 27.x (Interlude, Eidolon)
  54. Cauldron permitted Gray Boy because he was the closest thing to a weapon they had against Scion since Eidolon. When the S9 started picking up and more parahumans started getting removed from the fiend{sic}(field) than Gray Boy was theoretically worth, they moved in. Maneuvering Glaistig Uaine into taking him over, so the power would still be in play. - Comment by Wildbow on Spacebattles
  55. Migration
  56. Interlude 12.5
  57. Interlude 25
  58. "[...] a guy who wears fucking sweaters is pulling at the threads that are holding everything together while maintaining and expanding the institution side of the old Cauldron. A handful of others are running the ideological end of Cauldron. Both of those groups are strong in their own way and yet they aren’t doing a tenth what Cauldron used to do in forestalling disasters and containing the most… unproductive capes and cape-related messes.”

    “They’re rebuilding Cauldron?” Sveta asked, horrified.

    “The day the Cauldron cracked, they were there moving in with what would be hundreds of employees. You were there at one point. You had to have seen the empty offices and rooms. Every last one of those offices have people now. Are they doing things on the level of what they did to you guys? No. But only because they lack the opportunity.” - Excerpt from Pitch 6.8
  59. Above all else, it is an incomplete future because this entity has only the most minimal role in things, and the shards it saw were all the Warrior’s.

    The fact that it did not is a part of that future. This entity will arrive at the destination, and it will deploy shards to complicate a situation and break stalemates. Losing sides will be granted reinforcements through maturing shards. A different sort of engagement, a different way of testing the shards.- Excerpt from Interlude 29
  60. At the end of the day, the very reason the entities have a Warrior and a Thinker is that they exist to forestall unknown factors. In the absence of the Thinker Eden, Cauldron did arise and while their end goals are different their ultimate functionality is very similar to Eden.

    Eden exists to forestall those scenarios where people might figure out what's going on, band together, and work around the problem (as happened in story, more or less). We see her doing this in the alternate history where Eden is around. She also does the finer tuning of processes and adjusting of experiment/shard-host interactions as required to manage everything. - Wildbow on Reddit
  61. Things come to resemble the theoretical Edenverse, but you don't have Eden shoring up the population by putting tinkers and capes capable of reviving areas anywhere particular (you also don't have her sabotaging). Scion ends up playing a pretty big role in keeping society alive, more than before, with keen attention to the biggest threats and only those threats. - Wildbow on Spacebattles

Site Navigation[]

Cauldron
Leader Doctor Mother 
Members Alexandria Balminder Contessa The Clairvoyant The Custodian Doormaker Eidolon Harbinger Clones  (Harbinger I Harbinger II  • Harbinger III Harbinger IV Harbinger V ) • Hero Legend William Manton The Number Man Pretender The Slug 
Advertisement