Bastard Son

{{#if:Bastard Son to a 'potential' recruitWD Oakland|

“	I'd be more worried about the subordinates than about the Elite capes, hehehe. Question is, are you going to surrender right now, will you run, or are you going to fight and maybe get killed in the process? Don't answer too quickly. From all the 'kill me's that my previous catches have given me, I don't think they're too happy in my employ.	”
{{#if:Bastard Son to a 'potential' recruit| —Bastard Son to a 'potential' recruit{{#if:WD Oakland|, WD Oakland}} }} }}

<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Bastard Son</default></title>

<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>

<label>Status</label><format>

Unknown

</format>

<label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox> Bastard Son is a high-ranking member of the Elite.

Personality

Audacious and disrespectful of all authority save his own, and possibly those of his peers, other leaders of the Elite. He is willing to give advice to those who pique his interest however.<ref name="WD2.2">"You're new," he says. "Heh. You did the right thing, announcing yourself. But you forgot to announce your intent." - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref>

He keeps up a veneer of sophistication but is more than willing to order people's deaths for annoying him.<ref name="WD2.3">"Well, if you're going to be rude, I'm hanging up," he says. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> He has a verbal tic where he says 'Heh' at the ends of his sentences.<ref name="R2" />

Methodology

Bastard Son's subgroup of the Elite likes the bad side of business.<ref name="WD1.1">"I like the bad side of business," Bastard Son says. "It's more my element, heh." - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> He practices an opposite methodology to Uppercrust or Agnes Court as his subgroup does not focus on establishing legit or good businesses in an area.<ref name="SB1">Not a lot to say. She [Agnes Court] was a heavy hitter with a really legit front. Closer to being Bastard Son's counterpoint in her overall methodology. Do good business, recruit good people, and periodically, if villains are infringing on her turf or not respecting the local peace, take on a role as a prominent figure in a corporate hero team under the Elite's umbrella (not as team leader, even though she technically managed the company that managed the team) and go stomp them out.

PRT knew her greater income flow came from illicit business (the broader Elite) but it's really hard to justify leveling the necessary heavy guns against her to bring her to justice for those shady dealings - so it comes down to watchdog & the IRS, and she was circumspect enough to tie them up in loose ends and goose chases, so she could continue operating in the meantime.

Uppercrust would be on the very far end of that sliding scale of legit, justified business and helping out. He's at '1' on the 1-10 scale. Agnes would be like, 2-3.

Bastard Son would be closer to 10. - Conversation with Wildbow on Discord, archived on Spacebattles</ref> Forgiveness is not his methodology.<ref>The voice has a slight rasp to it. "I'd ask for forgiveness, about us doing things these ways, but forgiveness isn't really my methodology."

There's a bit of a chuckle, drawn out just a fraction too long, so it's uncomfortable and weird.

"We have a deal with the Digital Boys. Or my predecessor did, and it carries over now that I'm taking the helm. Heh. We leave them alone, and they give us first pick of anyone looking for a team to join." - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref>

Bastard Son is instead more of an attack dog<ref name="R2" /> as his methodology is to effectively wipe the slate clean for Elite intervention. Almost always going up against villainous opposition, he systematically crushes or slaughters any villain and rogue who dares resist being beholden to him. For example, after an indebted villain gang in his Oakland territory met a new skill thief who wanted to join their team, they betrayed her by informing Bastard Son who immediately sends over at least one sniper, two Elite capes, and three of his subjects to seize her alive or dead.<ref name="WD eSeize" /><ref>"They told me your weaknesses, Apex. A few hundred feet of range. I've got one sniper in place, with more on the way, ready to set up. Two capes on standby, along with three of, heh, my subordinates. I'd be more worried about the subordinates than about the Elite capes, hehehe."

"Question is, are you going to surrender right now, will you run, or are you going to fight and maybe get killed in the process? Don't answer too quickly. From all the 'kill me's that my previous catches have given me, I don't think they're too happy in my employ."

Bastard Son's chuckles can be heard on the phone. - Summary from WD Oakland</ref> Once he has firmly established control over an area, the Elite sends other members over to settle in. His subgroup then moves on to a different area, where he repeats the process all over again.<ref name="R1" /><ref>The Elite expect villains and groups to be beholden to the Elite and nobody else, Rogues are folded into the organization, and resistance is systematically crushed. Once an area is firmly under control, these resources are leveraged to expand elsewhere. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Files</ref><ref name="quest eVegas">She laughs, almost out of surprise. "My supporters are doing what they can to give me the Director's chair there. My enemies are trying even harder. I overheard someone when the topic of Vegas first came up. I made a joke of it: Be a Director in Brockton Bay if you feel like your life's too long. Go to Vegas if you feel like Brockton Bay's too easy."

You two cross the street. You pass a small crowd of employees at the door, heading out for lunch.

When you're not at risk of being overheard, you say, "The Elite are in Vegas."

"I know. The Gentleman, I'm fairly sure, and Bastard Son, if the Elite don't have him placed elsewhere. I'll be in touch when I'm established," she tells you. "Collaboration can't hurt." - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread ii - Page 94</ref>

Reputation

An experienced cape, Bastard Son earned his high-ranking position in the Elite.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /> He has a deserved reputation for cruelty and ruthlessness; the PRT considered his gang to be very nearly as bad as the Slaughterhouse Nine.<ref name="PRT82">"What about rules? If I were to cooperate, or leave them be..."​

"Exactly what it says in the files. Varies from case to case. Bastard Son's gang is very nearly as bad as the Slaughterhouse Nine. Uppercrust are strictly business, with no villainous activity we can detect. Others fit in at different points along the spectrum. I would recommend you do some investigation, get a sense for how this particular group operates, and then get in touch with me when you've decided what you're doing. You can call in a favor, I won't hold it against you, given the situation, you just need to decide what that favor will be. A permanent increase to your roster, building, staff, addition to a department? Or even a serious strike squad, if you think you have a good battle plan."​​ - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread ii - Page 83</ref> His subgroup gained this reputation by being the Elite's go-to strike team when softening up a new area for their expansion,<ref name="R1">They remain in play because they, by and large, keep the peace. The most dangerous elements of the Elite (ie. Bastard Son) go up against the most dangerous opposition, which is almost always villainous, they win, and then the more dangerous Elite move on to bloodier pastures and things become stable or mostly stable in the wake of their departure, as other members of the Elite are settled into place there. Not as good as the PRT taking that ground, but better than the slaughter continuing. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> or being sent to an area where the Elite's hold is in question.<ref name="R2" /><ref>"We are the Elite. Oakland has traditionally been in Uppercrust's domain, but he's feeling unwell, and with the local champion missing in action, I'm stepping in to make sure that the Elite gets the slice of the pie that it's used to getting elsewhere. I'll introduce myself as Bastard Son. Heh." - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref>

Appearance

Bastard Son usually has his hair styled in a wild fashion<ref name="WD1.1x">Bastard Son has stubble on his chin, and his suit has no tie, he has rings on his fingers and in one ear, and his mask is a mocking sneer, his hair styled to look messy. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> while dressing in respectable highly tailored suits, along with adornments like an earring and rings. Confirming his status as a cape, he wears interchangeable masks that have things like leering smirks and mocking sneers cut into them.<ref name="WD2.1">You've done your research. You know who you're dealing with. Uppercrust is gone, and Bastard Son is the one that remains. He stands on the railing-bordered half-floor that overlooks the room below. Wild hair, a suit that one could wear among billionaires, and a mask with a leering smirk on it. He changes the masks with regularity. With so many villains present, he's got his enhanced bodyguards with him. Most remain in the shadows up on the second floor, but there are no less than twelve. Two other parahumans stand by, Elite brought in from elsewhere. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> He has a distinctive voice that is easily recognizable even over a phone,<ref name="WD3">"I'll put you on."
There's no music or anything as the line hangs. The background noise picks up as you're taken off hold, presumably at another location.
"Director," Bastard Son replies. His voice is distinctive. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> along with the propensity to chuckle out a 'Heh'.

Abilities and Powers

Bastard Son has a Teacher-like power where he can turn a person into a specialist by granting them extraordinary and inhuman levels of skill in an unconventional thing/tool/weapon.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /><ref name="R2" /> For example, a subject skilled with yo-yos could use one outside a building to ascend from the ground floor to the second floor,<ref>The phone rings as you make your way to the second floor. Fingernails and Bat enter the lobby, while Yo-yo stands outside. A moment passes, and Yo-yo lunges up to the outside of the second floor. Glancing over your shoulder, you can see the individual's shadow cast through the exterior window, the open door, and touching the wall of the brightly lit hallway, ten feet away. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> while a subject skilled with baseball bats could use one to parry bullets, albeit not perfectly.<ref name="WD eParryBullets">The man with the gun swings his bat as you pop out of hiding. It grazes the first bullet, knocking it off course, where it strikes through his side, bounces off, and hits the second bullet, pinging it away.

He looks odd, as people go, with his way of holding his head and body, his hair is long, and he has scruff on his cheeks, but his clothes are nice. More like someone incapable of taking care of themselves, with a benefactor.

The look he gives you as he meets your eyes is a hollow one. You're dealing with something closer to a zombie than a man, and the thought crosses your mind that he's probably going to do a lot of damage to you when he gets closer, and his bat has more reach than your fingernails do.
[...]
You fire your three shots, while making your way around him. Twice, he parries your bullets, but the last swing is slow, and costs him a precious hundredth of a second, and your bullet punches into his lower thigh.
[...]
The bullets are deflected, but the man with the bat deigns not to follow you, after two very close calls, almost missing the bullets completely. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> Bastard Son and the recipient of his power do not get to choose which skill is granted as it is completely random.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /><ref name="Reddit ePowerDetails">Zoanzon: Does Bastard Son get to choose what god-tier skill is given, the recipient, or is it random? Does the skill have to be weaponized or is that just the logical ending for those he's gifting these considering they're probably his, as you said, attack dogs? Does the gifting strip the sanity and volition, or is that like Teacher where he can strip it like Teacher strips free will: at choice? Is the power gifting for a duration, as long as Bastard Son wants, or till death, and does the sanity issue continue after power-loss if they don't fade only on death?

Sorry for the barrage of questions; Bastard Son's power is a favorite of mine and I just wanna take the opportunity to find out more about it.

(Also since you're seeing this, thank you so much for letting us experience this wonderful setting, and for partaking in the community as much as you do!)

Wildbow: No, no, yes, yes, yes, yes, you're welcome. - Conversation with Wildbow on Reddit</ref> Other known examples of granted skills include roller skates, glass shards, ribbons, paper, ball peen hammers, darts, and fingernails.<ref name="R2" /> Wildbow speculates some other examples could include spoons, paper airplanes, and tape.<ref>Examples included fingernails, a yoyo, a baseball bat/baseball combo, a spoon, paper airplanes and tape. - Comment by Wildbow on Parahumans Discord</ref>

However, the subject also appears to permanently<ref name="Reddit ePowerDetails" /> lose their mind in the process.<ref name="IRC eExperience" /> His power takes away sanity and volition from the recipient, leaving them highly suggestible so that he can effectively use them as attack dogs.<ref name="R2">Bastard Son appears in my Weaverdice stuff on occasion. A predisposition for one note laughs (heh), a teacher-like ability where he awakens god-tier skill levels in use of seemingly random tools and improvised weapons (roller skates, glass shards, ribbons, paper, ball peen hammers, darts) and strips away sanity and volition from the recipients. He's an attack dog with a whole contingent of attack dogs at his disposal.

In Oakland, three such attack dogs cornered a skill-thief thinker with the ability to have the skills and talents of everyone within a one-hundred foot radius. Said skill-thief was capable of using the three attack dogs' skills (yo-yo, baseball bat, fingernails) but didn't have said weapons at their disposal, exactly, and was too panicked to improvise. Casey-at-the-Bat swatted bullets out of the air with their aluminum bat, just to give you a sense of what was in play. The player used their 'I can unleash my powers for incredible effect, but only once' perk, gaining the skills and capabilities of everyone within 5 city blocks, and still wound up shooting themselves in the head (using their enhanced skill to ensure it worked) to avoid letting Bastard Son have them.

(That might sound like bad GMing, but it was an auction bid for powers and the player took 'maximum difficulty first session' in exchange for more points. There were ways out, and getting within swing range of Casey-at-the-bat wasn't one of them.)

The Elite position him where their hold is in question. They know what he's like and they work around it. - Comment by Wildbow on Reddit</ref> Bastard Son's subjects are more zombie than human and look like people who are incapable of taking care of themselves without human assistance.<ref name="WD eParryBullets" />

Bastard Son is known to enhance non-parahumans<ref>You're ignored, and there are few opportunities to talk before things get underway. Bastard Son makes his way down the stairs, joined by two capes and two of his enhanced normals, while the others stand near the railing, overlooking the scene. One rocks in place, and another is singing softly to herself. It's an ominous backdrop for this particular scene.
It's clear from the outset that he's merciless. The leader of the Elite launches straight into the running of the city, and you get the impression that he's crafting every statement in a way that makes things harder on the new people. You're only barely able to keep up. - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref> and has used his power to have a whole contingent of subjects at his disposal.<ref name="R2" /> When meeting with other villains in Oakland, he brought a dozen enhanced bodyguards with him.<ref name="WD2.1" /> In one incident, Bastard Son sent three of his subjects to seize a skill thief, alive or dead.<ref name="WD eSeize">With a great deal of personal wealth and the ability to acquire all skills from nearby individuals, Apex began researching gangs to insert herself into, and came across a website that tipped off the Digital Boys. They accepted her offer for a meet and invited her to a small office building. At the actual meeting, she found a largely abandoned building, still under construction, and was met by four parahumans, who heard her out on her offer. After the initial discussion, which was somewhat awkward, they stepped out of the room to make a call, and promptly teleported off the premises. Apex received a phone call, this time from Bastard Son, one of the Elite. With Poe gone, Bastard Son is working to put the Elite on the map, and as it happens, the Digital Boys have a standing arrangement with the Elite, giving them first dibs on new members. Bastard Son has heard about Apex, who divulged her strengths and weaknesses to the Digital Boys, and sends his people to seize her, alive or dead. - Summary from WD Oakland</ref>

The powers of some skill thieves or copiers can work against his subjects.<ref>As you head up the stairs, you pick up new skills. Three individuals are approaching from the front, and what you're picking up feels... exceedingly wrong.

The skills you're grasping are needlessly specific, the full applications beyond even your understanding... relating to baseball? Yo-yos? Fingernails? - Excerpt from WD Oakland</ref><ref name="R2" />

History

Background

Became a major player among the Elite, gaining experience and a reputation. He functioned as the 'tip of the spear' or enforcer, for the elite. Brought to the fore when the group was moving into an area or in conflict with another villain group.

Post-Echidna

With the failing health of Uppercrust, Bastard Son was one of several high-level members who were jockeying for a higher position within the organization.<ref>“A little bit. Depends on who you’re talking to, and where you find them. Different subsidiaries, different branches, each led by one of the head members. The Gentleman, Agnes Court, Blueblood, Regis Rex, Bastard Son… and the others, a bit of shuffling in the works, while we decide what happens when Uppercrust passes. Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Each group has their own style, and that’s alright, so long as it doesn’t interfere with the rest of us.” - Department Sixty Four,PRT Quest thread ii - Page 82</ref>

Trivia

• Debuted by Wildbow in WD Oakland.

References

<references/>