Grrl Power #53 – Florence Nightingale she ain’t
Maxima’s job is to protect the public… from physical harm. She doesn’t care if anyone’s feelings get hurt, and she was just trying to set up a checking account, and these two jerks got in the way of her errand, and yeah there was that amusing girl with the weird bangs, but then that dick in the parking lot and that reporter and now these guys and the next person who gets in her way is going to get it!
At least, that’s sort of her train of thought at this point.
I wanted more fanfare for the debut of Max’s pistol but it seemed appropriate for her to use it here. I’ll show it in more detail later obviously but the quick version of it is that it’s a custom weapon that fires a massive round so out of practicality is a break action single shot pistol. I thought about making it a 2 or 3 shot revolver but with her speed, reloading it is trivial. This guy on the stretcher might have regeneration or armor of some kind, but that gun was made to be intimidating looking, so he’s probably second guessing his abilities right now.
By the way, don’t question that it’s a 2 patient ambulance. That’s… just how they make them in this part of town. :P
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Regarding Maxima’s gun, why does it have to be any sort of normal technology? Here are a few possibilities;
1) The gun is made of inch-thick tungsten, supported by a graphene matrix (a carbon nanocomposite). That makes it a few dozen times more durable than steel. It is loaded with a 2-bore tungsten round weighing 5 pounds, propelled by 2 pounds of high explosive. This kind of tech is borderline doable with our level of manufacturing and the result will be an antitank gun with far too much recoil for any human to fire. Maxima has no such problem.
2) The gun is a fairly normal gun firing a tiny 1-mm projectile that’s a fullerene matrix with antiprotons suspended in it. Upon impact the matrix in the bullet shatters and the antiprotons are unleashed, leading to a matter-antimatter reaction unleashing the energy equivalent of several tons of TNT.
why douse it have to be special?
Of course, you can use a super-tech gun if you want, but it seems much easier and just as effective to use existing technology, with any mods mainly applied to the munitions. Given the level of her powers, it seems Max mainly uses it for intimidation (as a gun is more physically scary than the knowledge that she could do more damage with her bare hands), with the occasional actual use of specialised ammunition dependent on the opponent. Since tolerances for firearms can be rather fine, it’s probably easier for your armourer if he (or she) can use a standard munitions size as reference – and given the array of 12-gauge specials already available, it looks like as good a place as any to start.
I would consider the W-gun, and particularly the AM-gun, to be overkill, just as dangerous to Maxima’s allies as to her opponents. An anti-tank gun still gives anti-tank levels of momentum to buffer; even if Max is physically strong enough not to break she’ll need something suitable to brace against or risk going flying backwards. The AM-gun just seems irresponsible: setting aside the problems of confining antimatter to withstand the forces of being in a Super’s holster while still being able to break the confinement on impact (you really don’t want a misfire in your armpit), the blast radius and attendant shrapnel would probably not be all that healthy for the team. Maybe as a sniper round for taking out a Super-strong bunker, but not for general use.
My first thought?
“It’s a trick. Get an axe.”
Looks like a fancy sawed off single shot shotgun. Hmm maybe loaded with a non lethal beanbag or tazer round. Max is already lethal enough without the added tech. Or maybe she’s just a poor shot…..that would be a funny running gag as she’s in the military.
The gun kind of reminds me of Kiritsugu’s Contender from Fate/Zero — a mundane weapon, with mundane modifications, that can fire super-powered bullets. Of course, it would probably have to be reinforced or just made of much sterner stuff than regular guns (Belial’s idea #1 could work), so she could hold it and not risk crushing it, or traverse it without having to slow herself down (if she can move fast enough to catch bullets, she can swing a normal gun fast enough to break it just from the acceleration). But the properties of the gun itself, especially as a single-shot firearm, would be incidental to what it fires.
If I were to design it (note to all readers: never let me design a gun, the world will break), I’d make it a coilgun or railgun (no wasting ammo space with propellant), with the ability (thanks to the super-durable materials) to use conventional (i.e., gunpowder-based) ammunition in a pinch (say there’s a zombie apocalypse and she can’t recharge whatever powers the electromagnets).
And if you’re going to all that trouble to make a single-shot firearm, you might as well whip up some equally impressive Depleted Phlebotinum Shells. Belial’s idea #2 (have you been reading Schlock Mercenary?) makes me especially happy.
Who needs a recharge when you use a superconducting ring that disconnects till it is ready to discharge? Without resistance in a protective chamber it can loop energy forever till it is tapped for the explosive burp of energy to set the electro-plasma going. Though any small amount of energy can build up in the ring, and how it is used to send off the projectiles. Though a Rail Gun is really more for heavy duty hitting targets than mere heads. Unless you have a back up friction, hand crank, generator for the gun. Then there is question of ammunition.
You know, Maxima has kind of a terrible attitude, at least when she’s impatient. I guess she’s pretty nice to her friends/coworkers (even dabbler, comparatively). They really shod try to keep her away from the public though.
Yeah, that paramedic was just doing his duty. Maxima can be a bit of a bully sometimes.