| “ | There were capes with the sort of power where it didn’t matter what the fuck they were shooting, they’d put a hole in that something. [...] There were capes where it didn’t matter what the fuck was coming at ’em, they’d take the hit and stay in the fight, or do something equivalent. | ” |
'All-or-Nothings' is a threat-assessment term used by the PRT to refer to capes with highly potent powers.[1] Sometimes called "absolute"[2] or "perfect".[3]
All-or-Nothings specialized in directly dealing damage can be referred as Annihilators,[4][5] so there is some overlap with the old Nuker classification.
Examples[]
List of Confirmed Capes[]
- Ashley Stillons[6][7][8]
- Clockblocker[3][9]
- Contessa[3]
- Eidolon[6][10][11] (Depending on the powers he has at a given moment)
- Glaistig Uaine[6] (Depending on the shadows she has at a given moment)
- Gray Boy[6]
- Hookline[12][13]
- Scrub[6]
- Siberian[3][6][9]
- The Subway Cluster[14] (e.g., Flechette,[3][6] March[15][16])
- The (unnamed) Blaster from Lord of Loss's group[17]
- Torso[18]
List of Speculative Capes[]
- Birdbrain (Victoria believed this cape qualified, but Bluestocking disagreed[1])
- Chort (Mama Mathers believed his physical strength surpasses Alexandria;[19][6] however, he was still presumably defeated by members of the Mall Cluster[20])
- Clairvoyant (Doctor Mother believed he could see anyone/everyone,[21] but tinker devices from the Taught could block his sight[22])
- The (unnamed) lizard-demon Fallen (Victoria speculated this cape's immobile statue body was invincible after hitting it;[23] however, Swansong destroyed the statue body without issue[24])
List of Capes that are close but not All-or-Nothing[]
- Alexandria[25] (Vulnerable to Sleeper's storm,[2] did not pop the Siberian[26])
- Caryatid (Vulnerable to tractor beam weapons used by some Teacher thralls[27])
- Members of the Mall Cluster (Precipice hit Hookline's chains to no effect[28])
- Sleeper (Both offensive and defensive All-or-Nothing capes are countermeasures to his storm[2])
- The Ripple Shaker from the Taught (Hit Caryatid's Breaker form to no effect[29])
- Victoria Dallon[30] (The Ripple Shaker,[31] Precipice,[32] and Cradle[33] can use their powers to tear through her forcefield without stopping)
- Brandish[34][35][36] (Cradle's silver lines can slice through Brandish's Breaker form and force her out of it[37])
Details[]
All-or-nothing is not strictly linked to the general threat level of a parahuman, but denotes high quality, "hard counter" nature of the power itself. For example Clockblocker, Damsel of Distress and Torso all have very strong powers once applied, but are severely limited in that three of them have to use their own legs and wits to get to the target, which hurts their general threat levels. Contessa, on the other hand, is directly aided by her power to be in the right place in the right time, which solidly puts her into 12+ "do not expect to win" category of threat.[38][39]
Expanding on this, the parahumans showcased here 'break' the rules that other parahumans follow.[40] Part of what makes a parahuman an All-or-Nothing is the sheer violation of physics they accomplish,[41] that takes them a step beyond the consequences that other parahumans have to deal with.[42]
Some tinkers, such as Armsmaster,[43] are able to replicate these effects possibly even to block these abilities.[22]
Using All-or-Nothing powers are one of the few ways to kill an Endbringer[44][45] or an “unkillable” cape like Alexandria[6] or Gavel.[46]
Vulnerabilities[]
Powers that are unbeatable (e.g., defense that defends against all attacks without fail, attack that penetrates all defenses without fail) can beat an All-or-Nothing effect.[3][6]
Mutual Nullification[]
If an All-or-Nothing effect comes into tangible contact with another All-or-Nothing effect, they mutually nullify each other's effect:
- In her final fight against March, Foil's charged weapon conflicted with March's charged weapon. Both weapons lost their charge and became normal swords after contacting each other.[14]
- When Foil fired a charged bolt at the Blaster from Lord of Loss's group, his crystal conflicted with her bolt. Both objects mutually lost their effects and thus shattered from the force behind their collision.[17]
- Clockblocker's power conflicted with Hookline's chain. Clockblocker experienced some backlash after failing to apply his power; Hookline's chain lost its effect and became a normal chain.[13] Note that the chain regained its effect in short time.[47]
- Foil's power versus the Siberian is the classic scenario where an unstoppable force strikes an immovable object.[48] The Siberian touching an object frozen by Clockblocker is an identical scenario.[9] Their conflict causes the following to occur:
- If Foil's charged object theoretically comes into contact with Clockblocker's frozen object, they presumably nullify each other's effect so that their interaction effectively becomes a question on whether Foil's normal object can pierce Clockblocker's normal object.[50]
- If Ashley Stillons' blast theoretically comes into contact with the Siberian, the Siberian pops[7] and the All-or-Nothing effect of her blast is presumably nullified.
Power Negation[]
By cancelling out specific wavelengths, Scion can tune his Stilling attacks to negate an All-or-Nothing effect (e.g., Gray Boy's time loop,[51] the Siberian,[52][53] Foil's charged object[54]). Mantellum, a Shard awareness-power nullifier,[55][56][57] can block Contessa's power from seeing/accounting for things in his radius.[58][59] Jeanne Wynn believed she could use her power to cancel out an existing All-or-Nothing effect (i.e., Gray Boy's time loop).[60]
Power Immunity[]
The Manton Effect can grant a cape (or even their clones[61]) immunity to their own All-or-Nothing effect.[62][63] Usher can grant single-target power immunity to Ashley Stillons' blast.[64]
Oblique Workarounds[]
If an offensive All-or-Nothing effect is not inviolable before hitting its target, it is possible for powers to obliquely act on the vector of attack to prevent it from hitting. For example, Trickster,[65] Gray Boy,[66] and Vista[67][68] can obliquely act on objects charged by Foil's primary shard and redirect them before they make contact. King's power can obliquely redirect Gray Boy's time loops to other touched individuals.[69]
Preventing the cape from using their All-or-Nothing power in the first place is an obvious workaround. For example, Foil could not charge her projectiles when in Hatchet Face's radius.[70]
Without outside interference, Jack Slash's secondary power prevents parahumans with All-or-Nothing powers from killing him.[71][72][73]
History[]
Background[]
The only reason Humanity has a chance was because this came at the right time.[74]
Story Start[]
Was used multiple times against the Undersiders.
Their use was showcased against Leviathan.[75]
Post-Leviathan[]
The limitations of an All-or-nothing cape was shown against members of the Slaughterhouse Nine.
Post-Slaughterhouse Nine[]
A clothesline operation was important in turning the tide against Echidna and taking down Ignis Fatuus.
Post-Echidna[]
Several powers were used to great effect against Behemoth.
Post-Timeskip[]
Siberian and Clockblocker canceled each-other out.[9]
Gold Morning[]
Was intrinsic in ending the event once the enemies will to fight was broken.
Early-Ward[]
One such cape settled in Hollow Point.
Mathers Compound Assault[]
Three users, two from the same cluster were on the battle showcasing the dangers of this quality.
Post-Goddess' Takeover[]
Bluestocking gets a clarification on the PRT usage of the term versus the general one.[1]
The Ice Breaks[]
Several capes of this description were grouped as 'annihilators' by Antares, meaning those with the ability to seriously hurt Titans.[4] Some though, like Gundeck, Teem and Solarstare may not actually qualify for the All-or-Nothing.[76]
Clockblocker's power was used on Sveta to temporarily restrict the Simurgh's movements,[77] and produced a fumble with Hookline due to similar all-or-nothing quality.[13]
Trivia[]
- It is an obvious point of contention in the fandom as to which capes actually fit in this category. All examples on this page are properly cited.
- There was some early confusion in the fandom between those with this quality and the Breaker classification. Both break 'rules' but in different ways and in ways beyond that of the typical parahuman.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 “Birdbrain is the big threat. The muscle is second to that.”
“I’m flattered,” I heard Birdbrain’s ethereal voice.
“She’s halfway to being an all-or-nothing threat. Like Swansong with her blasts, but with aim.”
I saw Bluestocking turn her head, asking a question. Birdbrain answered, no doubt passing on what we were saying.
“You’re using that term wrong!” Bluestocking called out. “All-or-nothing isn’t right!”
Bitter Pill said something, annoyed. Too far away to be heard.
“If she aims she’s guaranteed a hit if her gun’s at the right point horizontally. Vertically, doesn’t matter. All-or-nothings are PRT terminology for anyone who’s strong enough that you can’t defend against their attack unless you defend against anything, can’t dodge unless you can dodge everything. She’s halfway there and that makes her a good enough shot we can’t afford to get in an engagement. Headshot every time.”
[...]
“The term applies, Blue. At least in part. She shoots, she kills,” I said, my voice pitched to carry. “Or…” - Excerpt from Blinding 11.1 - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Naphtha was striding down the hallway, coming in our direction. He stopped us. “Changers?”
“No changers in our team,” Tristan said. “Why?”
Naphtha getting close enough meant I felt the oil touch my skin, as it touched everything in a certain radius of Naphtha. He pulled it away from me as it touched me, but my skin crawled with the memory of the feel of it.
“Another crisis. Similar to the others. Going to announce it to the dining hall,” Naphtha explained. “I don’t suppose any of you feel brave enough to go up against Sleeper? Absolute invulnerability better than Alexandria’s, special brains, absolute annihilation powers?” - From Within 16.2 - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Torrieltar: How fast can Path to Victory react to unforeseen changes?
Wildbow: All changes are foreseen, as a rule. Can't cite anything, but there's a line that sorta appears in the story, where you run into the perfects (perfect defense, perfect offense) and stuff gets fucky - and the rule of thumb is that 'unless your ability beats -everything-, it doesn't beat this'. For processing power Contessa's ability would be on this level (as with Flechette's Sting, Clockblocker's inviolability, Siberian's invulnerability). - Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ 4.0 4.1 “Going to assist the annihilators,” I said. “I can get in close enough to help.”
“Annihilators,” Shortcut said, almost derisive.
“The people who can put actual, lasting holes in those Titans.” - Excerpt from Radiation 18.5 - ↑ Our capes who weren’t annihilators or ‘survive most things’ were on the ground, some using powers, some providing others a chance to get around.
No end to this slog in sight. - Excerpt from Radiation 18.6 - ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 Siberian, Damsel, Scrub, Flechette, and Grey Boy are Worm capes at the 'if anything can penetrate that defense, these guys penetrate that defense' level of attack. Eidolon and Glaistig Uaine have such attacks in their toolkits.
[...]
Alexandria is basically a superman expy with top tier (beaten only by people in the first paragraph) durability and a super brain that's picked up martial arts. - Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wildbow:
- i really doubt ashley can pop sibby
It's why she came up as a possible thing in relation to Sleeper
Ashley was named in a WoG a while back talking about the 'anything but' powers and stuff like Alexandria Invulnerability. - Comment by Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles - ↑ There were capes with the sort of power where it didn’t matter what the fuck they were shooting, they’d put a hole in that something. Damsel’s power was like that. So was Foil’s. - Excerpt from Radiation 18.6
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Clockblocker fired his threads from his gauntlet. They surrounded the cube-carrier, and he froze them.
Unstoppable force against an immovable object.
Which won?
Siberian made contact with the thread and flickered out of existence, and the thread went limp. The cube fell with a crash. - Excerpt from Sting 26.5 - ↑ Cvde: What power did Eidolon equip to defeat Alexandria's clone so quickly?
[...]
Wildbow: Something along the lines of a damsel, scrub, or foil shot, cede - Conversation with Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles - ↑ Phir Sē’s portal opened beneath Behemoth’s feet, aimed upward, and a plume of light speared into the sky, consuming Behemoth, covering him.
Eidolon’s power held. He’d had the situation explained, had been given time to let his power build up to full strength, and his passenger had supplied something with a durability on par with Clockblocker’s ability. Inviolable.
“That’ll do,” Imp said, quiet. The light continued to flow upward, a narrow column no more than fifty feet across, billowing out only slightly as it reached the top of Eidolon’s barrier, parting smoke and clouds in a circular ring, revealing the intensely blue sky above. The entire sky seemed to brighten as the light dissipated beyond our atmosphere.
Phir Sē’s light faded, and the barrier collapsed.
Dust continued to fill the area, plumes of it.
Behemoth lurched forward.
Not quite Behemoth, but a skeleton, something like a skeleton. Emaciated, a black-red frame dripping with ichor, it had all of the key features, the basic underlying structure with the horns and the gaping mouth, the claws and the way the shoulders were broad enough to host his bulky frame, but a good eighty percent of him had been torn away, shredded. A skeleton covered in a veneer of meat. - Excerpt from Crushed 24.4 - ↑ “He’s in the company of Hookline. Minor mover, has a hundred-foot long cable he telekinetically controls. It can’t be broken or damaged, short of some very select powers, and it will shake off or slip free of a lot of things that would snag or impede another weapon. Frost, hands that try to grab it. So don’t try. It moves faster and acts like a whip, so be super careful if a fight happens. There’s a hook on the end, and he’s most dangerous if you’re at or just inside that hundred foot limit of his range where the hook is flying around. Which brings me to my next point.” - Excerpt from Shade 4.5
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Clockblocker hurried to Hookline’s side. A non-living weapon that would serve the same purpose-
The effect as they made contact wasn’t the same purpose. Clockblocker winced, hand pulling away, and the chain went completely limp.
Power conflict. - Excerpt from Last 20.3 - ↑ 14.0 14.1 March was the first to move. A dash forward, weapon thrusting. Foil’s weapon shimmered before it met March’s. A small, localized explosion marked the conflict between the two powers, each nullifying the other. - Heavens 12.x
- ↑ “I’m invulnerable,” Caryatid growls.
“I blow up invulnerable people,” their March answers.
“She does,” Vista says. “Go. Run. Make sure everyone’s on the same page.” - Heavens 12.all - ↑ The likes of Scrub, Damsel, Foil, or March would be able to damage Alexandria. - Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Foil turned the spider-mounted crossbow around to fire, and the blaster threw something to their feet- crystal encased them, freezing them immobile within for less than a second. It was less than a second because Foil’s shot hit the crystal and both the bolt and the crystal shattered. - Excerpt from Blinding 11.7
- ↑ helljack666: Torso is an Armor+Negate+Immortal Brute by Weaverdice Logic, right?
Wildbow: I wouldn't normally mix three together.
Shield rather than armor, since it's partial protection only protecting against hits to certain parts.
Shield x Negate. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ “Come, look up at me,” she told Chevalier. She put a hand at his chin, and Chort helped her, forcing Chevalier’s head up until it couldn’t move any further. Chort wore a wolf pelt with goat horns over head and shoulders, and despite being only sixteen, was strong on a level that surpassed even heroes like Alexandria. When he moved, he did so with care. To him, Chevalier was like eggshell. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z II
- ↑ Then they saw Rain, with Love Lost and Colt. Colt was covered in dust. Chevalier and his team followed behind. - Interlude 15.z II
- ↑ One caveat to two-six-five’s ability to grant visions was that it left the recipient on bedrest for a week, dazed and weak. It was potent, capable of viewing wide areas or multiple things at once, viewing other universes, whole cities, anyone or everyone. - Interlude 28
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 I reached out to place a portal in Teacher’s camp, right behind him. I hit a barrier, a dead zone I couldn’t affect.
Some tinker device was blocking my clairvoyant, which was blocking Doormaker in turn.
[...]
The only real limitation was a set of blind spots, identical to the one that had hovered over Teacher’s base of operations. I could work around that. - Speck 30.3 - ↑ I twisted around, exerting force against the immobile obsidian statue, and she came to life, stumbling back, just as I saw the attacker behind me freeze.
One attacker, with two bodies. Whatever one wasn’t active was immobile and apparently invincible. Whichever one was active had enhanced speed and the strength that came with hitting things very fast.
[...]
The lizard-demon Fallen charged after me again, in lieu of answer. I lashed out, and she became statue. It was like hitting something Clockblocker-affected, from my hometown’s old Wards team. No result, nothing got through. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.4 - ↑ She used her power, and it tore through the statue, ripping it apart. Ashley was thrust away by the blast, and she landed not very far from where the lizard Fallen had dropped to the mud and grass, sitting there in shock.
Ashley hadn’t been lying when she’d suggested her power could hurt me. - Excerpt from Pitch 6.4 - ↑ More troubling were the Nine he couldn’t put down. The Siberian was untouchable, an immovable object, invincible in a way that even Alexandria wasn’t. - Interlude 11e
- ↑ Alexandria moved in close, hoping to stop Siberian, to catch her and slow her down, saw Siberian swing, pulled back out of the way.
Her visor fell free, clattering to the ground. Then she felt the blood.
Saw, in her one remaining good eye, the chunks of her own face that were falling to the ground around her, bouncing off her right breast, the spray of blood.
It had been so long since she’d felt pain.
Legend called out the order and buried her in containment foam, hiding her from sight. - Interlude 15.z - ↑ Caryatid made her way to me- I reached out with a hand that had blood on it from touching my wounded shoulder, supporting her as she hopped over a pile of needles. As the next flick-throw of the beam’s contents came our way, she put herself between me and the hail, going breaker.
Which was a temporary solution at best. The one at the corner took aim and fired. Dragging Caryatid. As she was pulled, she was no longer still enough to be invincible.
“Pull back on the Z!”
The pull increased in speed. Dragging her toward needles a few inches a second. - Dying 15.4 - ↑ A silver blade cut through the air. Precipice’s answer to Love Lost’s scream. It hit the chains that Hookline had made, but it drew no silver lines.
They’re protected by Hookline’s power, I thought. - Blinding 11.11 - ↑ I twisted in the air to watch the ripple. I could see more of Kenzie’s message appearing in my vision. My focus was on the others, though. Ashley blasted the ripple as it raced to her, like a car speeding down the highway. Caryatid took it head-on, breaker form active. A spike of it slipped through, but it didn’t look like anyone got clipped. - Dying 15.2
- ↑ There were capes where it didn’t matter what the fuck was coming at ’em, they’d take the hit and stay in the fight, or do something equivalent. I was one of those capes. Kind of. Our job was to protect the first group. - Excerpt from Radiation 18.6
- ↑ He threw out the power, and it webbed out to every nearby surface before lunging forward. Before, it had been rings, a pillar. Always with a way through.
This time, a wall, impassable.
I veered hard right, put my foot out, kicking the actual wall, just to stop my forward momentum, then reversed course to get away and get back. My forcefield was up as part of the kick into the wall, and I felt the wall make contact with an extremity.
I felt the forcefield tear. It didn’t die, but it remained in tatters, a body torn two, with limbs scattered.
[...]
Emboldened, I changed course, driving myself further up into the ceiling until the field finally died. The shaker’s wall passed beneath me. - Dying 15.2 - ↑ I didn’t want to drop the field, not when I needed it, not when it had eben damaged before and taken a minute to come back up, after being hit with Rain’s silver blade. When Cradle had hit it and knocked it out for a bit of time. I threw myself into the ceiling tiles, into lighting and wiring, carving a furrow. - Dying 15.2
- ↑ It wasn’t a bullet I had to worry about. I was flying, thinking I was safe, when lines began to appear. Silvery, but crisp, like slices in reality, reaching well over the building.
Not meant for me, but dangerous all the same. I flew past one, and the Wretch had a limb extended. I felt the Wretch get sliced, felt the dim sensation that was the Wretch’s extended being part. The forcefield didn’t collapse. It cut.
A gaping hole in my forcefield, now, where there had been a bit of torso and shoulder. - Heavens 12.7 - ↑ Our mother-host discarded the greater shape of her inviolable defense. - Heavens 12.all
- ↑ Brandish – Member of New Wave, mother of two. Wears a white costume with orange symbols. Can fashion weapons out of energy and transform herself into a nigh-invulnerable, sphere, but can’t move of her own volition while transformed. - Cast (Spoiler Free)
- ↑ Brandish, Carol Dallon – Flashbang’s wife. Civilian identity is that of a high profile lawyer. Has the ability to create weapons and martial shields out of hard light, and can condense herself into a bouncing sphere of hard light, being effectively invincible and untouchable at the cost of all mobility. Wears a costume of white and orange with a crossed-blade symbol. - Cast (In Depth)
- ↑ “Your mom,” she said.
I looked, I saw. Sveta had reached down- and was hauling the glowing sphere up and out of the rooftop, which had a whole chunk carved out of it.
Cradle’s line appeared, lancing up and out. I couldn’t see enough of Sveta to make out if she’d been cut, but I saw the orb intersect the light. It sliced through the orb, and broke the effect, leaving my mom tumbling through the air.
Sveta caught her with tendrils. - Heavens 12.7 - ↑ “What’s her classification?”
“Thinker. Don’t worry about the number. Just run.” - Excerpt from Drone 23.2 - ↑ Contessa and Glaistig Uaine were easily twelves or higher on the power-ratings scale, and I could look to others with powers in that neighborhood to figure out who she was referring to. - Excerpt from Extinction 27.4
- ↑ Flechette wasn’t a breaker, though her power came close. Technically, she was a striker, a cape with the ability to apply some effect by touch or at point-blank range. The striker classification could include certain breaker effects as they were applied to things other than the cape themselves, but not always.[...]
She infused the three-foot length of sharpened metal that was mounted in her arbalest with her power. The more power there was in it, the less it was affected by the natural laws of the universe. Focusing more power into an object meant gravity, air resistance and general physics held less and less sway over it. She could tune it, make the effect longer lived, shorter lived or bias the effects to allow for more of one element or less of another.
She could do other things, but the primary benefit, the easiest thing to do, was making her ammunition punch through anything. [emphasis added] - Excerpt from Sentinel 9.2 - ↑ Siberian was on the far side of the two-lane road that stood beside Amy’s hideout. She didn’t walk straight for Amy, but walked down the street with an almost casual slowness. She had one arm out, a hand tracing the side of the building she was walking by, as if to guide her through the effects Grue’s lightless world.
My swarm felt dust shower onto them in her wake. It was unexpected, and it demanded investigation. I moved them across the wall, and felt a gap. She wasn’t just putting her hand on the wall, but her hand and forearm through it. What did that mean?
My bugs felt more dust fall from above. A moth was bludgeoned by a rock that fell from above.
I felt realization hit me like a bucket of cold water.
Her hand was punching through the exterior wall of the building, but it was also tearing through the supports and load bearing areas. She’d made her way halfway through the ground floor. By the time she finished, part of the building was going to collapse and fall.
If the building tipped in the direction of the shattered area, it could easily fall on the mall where Amy was hiding. - Excerpt on Prey 14.2 - ↑ [Alexandria] walked across the empty building. By the time she reached the other end, she was floating, her feet not even touching the ground. She set her hands on the wall, dragged her fingertips through the concrete, then crushed it in her hands. It should have ruined her skin, left scrapes or torn her fingernails, short as they were, but it hadn’t.
[...]
Legend fired beam after beam at Siberian, but the striped woman didn’t even flinch. She was invincible on a level that surpassed even Alexandria.
[...]
Eidolon was trying to heal Hero, to teleport people out of danger when Alexandria and Legend proved unable, and changing up his abilities every few seconds to throw something new at Siberian in the hopes that something would affect her. She waded through zones of altered time, through lightning storms and force fields, tore through barricades of living wood and slapped aside a projectile so hyperdense that its gravitational field pulled cars behind it. - Excerpt from Interlude 15.z - ↑ Leviathan turned to run. Armsmaster sent out one blade like a grappling hook, circled the smaller of the Endbringer’s claws with the chain. Leviathan moved, oblivious or uncaring, and Armsmaster waited until the slack was out of the chain, pressed a button.
The chain and Halberd ceased moving, and even Leviathan’s strength ceased to move it. Rather than pull away, the Endbringer skidded, fell on his back, wrist still held by the chain.
[...]
“For the record, that last trick was a temporal stasis trigger, with thanks owed to the cooperation of a subordinate of mine. Drains my battery reserves, but you don’t understand that, do you?”
Leviathan lunged, and Armsmaster fired out the grappling hook, stopped it in mid air by freezing it in time. Leviathan ran himself through on the chain, the thing spearing deep into his neck and out the back of his torso. Uncaring, the Endbringer continued to charge at Armsmaster. - Excerpt from Extermination 8.4 - ↑ Nekron-akaMrSkeletal: I guess that works. I was actually wondering about sting. If Foil had been at the behemoth fight could she have finished behemoth when his core was exposed?
Wildbow: Yep. - Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ 8:47 PM <•Wildbow> If you have multiple effects in place and you trap the whole Endbringer, it'll count as dead. - Answer by Wildbow on IRC, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ 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? - Wildbow on Spacebattles
- ↑ Hookline and Disjoint were at the ready, Hookline grabbing Damsel and pulling her out of the way of the spikes, while Disjoint reached out with dismembered limbs and shoved capes out of the way. - Last 20.7
- ↑ Belial666: Harm is harm. Since there doesn’t seem to be a limit to what powers can actually do, think of an effect that could trump other effects. For example, a sword that cuts ANYthing is something that has occasionally appears in fantasy. Not the “absurdly sharp edge” version but the “name the object of objection and it’s cut” version.
Swing it at someone and you could cut off a limb. Or, you could cut off their will to fight. Or their strength. Or their ability to interact with the world. Or anything else of them you could name at all.
Wildbow: But if you’re talking in that respect, you might as well be asking what happens when the unstoppable force strikes the immovable object. You might be talking about exactly this if you’re referring to flechette’s arrows vs. Siberian. - Comment by Wildbow on Prey 14.2 - ↑ 49.0 49.1 Up until the moment Foil, still screaming, using her augmented sense of timing to measure the length of each scream, stepped around the monochrome field he’d cast just in front of her. She threw a handful of darts through the Siberian and Gray Boy’s head as his back was turned.
The Siberian flickered out of existence as Gray Boy collapsed.
Neither reappeared, healthy or otherwise. - Interlude 26b - ↑ [Spoilers Possible] Could one of Flechette's projectiles...
...pierce an object or person that's been Clockblocked?
gardenofjew: I'd guess yes because the following happens in the story:
time-frozen objects and Siberian will cancel each out-- Siberian 'pops', the object unfreezes. We see this in the S9000 arc.
A Foil! dart passes through a Siberian (and pops it) during the S9000 arc.
Since Foil>Siberian and Siberian=time-frozen, Foil>time-frozen
Wildbow: More or less. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ Scion equipped himself to be able to fight pretty much any threat. His big weapon is a very versatile 'stilling' ability, which lets him cancel out wavelengths, which can be applied in a variety of ways, defensive or offensive - it lets him counteract, manipulate, and cancel virtually any parahuman or human generated effect. He can cancel out heat, eliminate sound, break Grey Boy's ability, disintegrate molecular bonds, etc. He can do so with beams, thrown orbs/bullets, a light he emanates, and a personal forcefield, among a variety of other mechanisms. - Wildbow on Spacebattles
- ↑ The Siberian appeared beside us in the same instant. Manton spoke, “He finally took action and struck my Siberian.” - Venom 29.7
- ↑ Wildbow:
- would a golden blast still erase her?
- ↑ They stepped out of portals, one to my left, one to my right.
Cuff to shape a sheet of metal into a giant razor blade, Foil to rig it with her power, setting it in Scion’s way.
[...]
I banished Foil as well, sending Cuff and Canary after her. They’d keep Tattletale and the others company. I disconnected them from my control network, giving them free will once again.
[...]
It didn’t matter. His hand glowed as he struck the flat side of the razor, and it dissolved into a ruin of glowing fragments. - Speck 30.5 - ↑ Mantellum Case 53. Blocks out sensory aspects of powers progressively more with proximity. Irregulars - Parahuman List, bolded edit by Wildbow
- ↑ ReekRhymesWithWeak: Edit: Can we also have clarification on whether Mantellum could beat Cherish or not?
Wildbow: Mantellum operates in a different way than Hatchet Face, blocking all power use into or out of his radius. It becomes a contest of strength. Make your decision accordingly. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ Torrieltar: How do you nullify a power in Wormverse? Would any old power nullifier from another universe work, or does it need to be done in a specific way? Similarly, what would it take to duplicate a Wormverse power?
Wildbow: Depends, really. Mantellum was a power nullifier who basically blinded shards. He arguably wouldn't have any effect on a sensory power that wasn't a Worm power. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit - ↑ Fog approached. A wall of it, moving down the corridor. She could see normally, but the effect on her powers was absolute. It was impossible to make out any steps that moved within the fog.
[...]
She ducked. “-have a perception blocker, [...] They’ve got a thinker, I think, they planned this ahead of time, knowing I wouldn’t pick up on their presence.”
[...]
This ‘Mantellum’ had been close enough that he should have been able to block her power. He hadn’t.
Because he’d been on the other side of the portal. The power didn’t cross dimensional boundaries. - Excerpt from Interlude 29 - ↑ The only times her power isn't running is if the shard is disabled by outside interference (Lung's interlude in Worm, another active trigger event momentarily leaves her blindsided - she recovers immediately after, Mantellum blocks shards from seeing/accounting for things in his radius) or if she's actively suppressing the shard to make decisions on her own, at which point she has to pose questions - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ “The Wardens were looking into those effects, as well as the ongoing Gray Boy loops,” Jeanne said. “They researched it and decided no. The same people who petitioned the Wardens then petitioned the government. It crossed my desk, but I already had some faint knowledge of what it was about. I considered, researched, and came to the decision that yes, I know a way to undo the effect. No, I won’t actually do it.”
Using her power, I thought. She could free people from perpetual torment and she says no.
“Why no?” I asked. - Blinding 11.4 - ↑ Her counterpart reached up.
“Hands down,” the Patrol guard said.
“It’s fine,” Ashley said. “She won’t hurt me.”
[...]
It was reassuring to see the only other person left in existence that understood, that she couldn’t hurt with her power, should a freak accident happen. - Eclipse x.8 - ↑ “Any chance you could arm me with your spear?”
“Specially made bolts, yes, if I had any left. This? No. The power would conduct to the part you held, and you’d hurt yourself.” - Radiation 18.5 - ↑ She used her power, aiming at her own body. The shirt, still in her hand, was destroyed in the curls and waves of energy. As her power bucked and kicked, hurling her arm one way and the other, she was jerked into the sink. She didn’t have much padding, so the impact was sharp.
She hid the pain, which wasn’t hard, because she she was caught up in the moment. Her power washed over her body, destroying everything that wasn’t her. Sweat, dirt, lint, dust.
It washed over her face and her head, and she thought and saw white.
The hair that fell across her face was no longer dyed. The hair had been preserved, and the dye hadn’t. - Eclipse x.2 - ↑ Swansong severed the tongue, and then looked at Ingenue. A blast of her power saw her lunge ten feet forward, as her other hand reached out.
The blast consumed Ingenue, head to toe.
It cleared away. Swansong stood there, head bent, a glare in her eyes.
Ingenue was untouched. She turned her head and saw Usher. Usher could grant an invulnerability to powers. - Interlude 15.z II - ↑ Flechette moved to shoot, then reconsidered, threw a handful of darts at Trickster instead. The darts disappeared in midair, and splinters of wood and small stones dropped straight out of the air where they had been. - Excerpt from Sentinel 9.3
- ↑ Foil threw darts. Gray Boy froze them in mid-air. - Interlude 26b
- ↑ March doesn’t stop as the rapier points at the heart, continuing forward and using both hands to overcome the resistance of the hard breastplate. She presses forward until the hilt sits flush against Vista’s armor plate.
The face that focuses on the explosive fuse was what allowed the sword to slide into and through the material. Now it charges it, let the charge grow with every passing half second. - Heavens 12.all - ↑ “The batshit bunny stabbed me, right? I telescope her sword, so it barely punches past my breastplate, she doesn’t realize. But it does punch through. I concentrate the point that’s supposed to explode into a smaller area and pull it away from me- screws up my breastplate. But that part that did stab me… can’t do anything about that.” - Black 13.1
- ↑ King had a flimsy hold, Jack had a stronger hold. The former Gray Boy was closer to a Labyrinth in full-on powers mode than anything else. Using powers indiscriminately, staying within an area. King was effectively immune to him, and used this to introduce himself and start leading him around. - Wildbow on Spacebattles
- ↑ The camera images that Clockblocker and company wore shifted as they scrambled away. There was a shudder as a mass landed in their midst.
Hatchet Face, dropping down from a vantage point somewhere above them.
Rachel’s dogs went on the offensive, attacking him, but their flesh was already sloughing off, their connection to Rachel shut off, their bodies disintegrating.
Parian’s creations were already deflating.
More range than the Tyrant had possessed, and the power loss was immediate.
Foil shot her crossbow, but it did surprisingly little damage. Hatchet Face pulled the bolt from his shoulder with no difficulty. - Excerpt from Sting 26.5 - ↑ A) Broadcast would reach out to the shard well before the point of that other shard triggering. His very shard interacts with others to dissuade things that would target him. Parahumans don't kill Jack, as a firm rule. This isn't an arbitrary protection. It's an in-story protection that got a fair bit of time and focus in the narrative, toward the end. - Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ You can qualify, you can quibble, you can tack on extra powers, but Jack doesn't lose to parahumans. - Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles
- ↑ ReekRhymesWithWeak: He still gets wrecked by trumps like citrine, and there are some capes that just completely destroy him such as The Siberian, Grey Boy, Number Man (can dodge Jack's attacks), and so on
Wildbow: Jack beats Citrine, Siberian, Grey Boy (until interfered with by outside sources), Number Man and arguably Contessa. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit, archived on Spacebattles - ↑ Interlude 29
- ↑ Leviathan didn’t make noise. I kept expecting a roar, or hiss, or something, but Leviathan was dead silent. I somehow imagined a victorious howl as he broke through the barrier, crouched, and lunged into the crowd.
He stopped, and I thought he was using his afterimage, halting so it could rush forward, but even the watery echo stopped a second after it appeared, only the very edges of it continuing forward to crash violently against the sides of the alley.
For several long heartbeats, it was nearly quiet, but for the sound of rain, people’s noises of pain, mine included, and the sound of one of Kaiser’s iron columns ripping free of the wall and falling atop a pile of blades.
It took me a second to realize what had happened. Leviathan hung frozen mid-pounce, and his emerging afterimage similarly stood there, frozen in time. In the midst of the afterimage was Clockblocker, half-immersed in water. - Excerpt from Extermination 8.3 - ↑ Teem was the fifth of our six ‘annihilators’, though I was more of the opinion that Solarstare and Teem weren’t quite in that bracket. - Excerpt from Radiation 18.6
- ↑ Falling rubble stabbed directly down at Sveta. She unfolded, creating a hole in her midsection for it to stab through, unfolded her arm, and grabbed the Simurgh with a dozen tendrils.
Reaching back, she extended a limb toward the crowd, grabbing Clockblocker’s hand.
She was frozen, locked in place, with ten tendrils around the Simurgh’s head and two around one smaller wing. The Simurgh was positioned low to the ground. - Excerpt from Last 20.3