[center][u][h1]Chapter III[/h1][/u] [color=fff200][h2]Heroism Without Class[/h2][/color] In a city like Castleburg, with its large size and supervillain abundance, it's sometimes difficult to be able to make a splash in the world of heroism on your own. That's why HERO Official Groups began. HERO Official Groups, or HOGs, as they're affectionately called, are teams of heroes that are officially sanctioned by HERO to exist as a sort of microcosm of HERO. On the surface, joining a HOG doesn't offer too many tangible benefits, outside of being able to use their headquarters (normally a rented-out building somewhere in Castleburg) and having a team guaranteed to help you out on most missions. In truth, though, the greatest benefit of a HOG is the publicity. Joining a group allows you to join the group identity and bask in more media attention than many heroes will ever get while going solo. As Helen Keller once said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Indeed, joining with a group is a solid way to find more fame, and no group has mustered more fame than the Wings of Law. The Wings of Law are are the A-listers of the HERO community. They're the buzz on social media, television, the news, everywhere. The Wings of Law are almost undoubtedly the most famous organization in all of HERO, and its legendary Big Three- Seraph, Mr. Impressive, and Sea Serpent- are the crem de la crem. The organization started in 2013 by a young Seraph who had just taken down the A+ tier elusive megavillain, Darkshadow Punchmaster. After the powerful villain was taken down by a bold Seraph, he found himself basking in tons of media attention from the takedown, and used his fame to help form the Wings of Law. He recruited his then-girlfriend and fellow powerhouse Sea Serpent along with playboy Kingsdale hero Mr. Impressive to solidify the organization. The three of them demonstrated a remarkable synergy, and a few years and several high-profile defeats later, their fame had snowballed into becoming the most well-known organization in HERO. As the fame continued to grow, the power got to their heads. Mr. Impressive, a formerly flirtatious but fairly sane person, devolved into what can only be described as an oversexed nutball, albeit a rich, beloved one. Seraph used his looks and fame to begin a large number of infidelities, and Sea Serpent grew more distant, jealous, and cold because of this, watching helplessly as her once loving relationship deteriorated before her eyes into nothingness.. The organization, once an elite team of villain-busters, began to slowly become more and more about keeping media attention than actually fighting crime. The organization's headquarters is the exclusive Club 27, a Kingsdale club that is shrouded with secrecy for non-members and is one of the most sought-after locations in all of Castleburg. From this HQ, the Wings of Laws and their ranks of roughly 25 heroes, mostly high-tier and wealthy, engage in hedonism and bask in media affluence. The Wings of Law have some skeletons in their closet, though. People who do enough digging can find several shocking facts about the Wings of Law. The most notable example of this is the 2029 during the "Riptide Boy" case. According to the known facts of the case, Riptide Boy embarked on a job that had been "reserved" by the Wings of Law. Upon discovering this, Wings of Law senior member Rainbow Dancer brutally assaulted the boy and left him for dead in an Arachula nest. Despite testimony by Riptide Boy and some security footage, the Wings of Law's influence and some very good defense lawyers acquitted Rainbow Dancer, and he was reinstated to HERO. These types of actions, while not as severe, are quite commonplace in the Wings of Law. They resort to brutality and malice when all other options are exhausted. The slogan of the Wings of Law is "Heroism with Class," but it's clear to see that with the Wings of Law, they certainly don't abide by their own advice. [hr][hr][sub]July 4th, 2033[/sub] [sub]von Brandt Family Residence[/sub] [sub]Passenger Island, Castleburg[/sub] It was the Fourth of July, and Blake von Brandt was having the time of his life. Considering that it was a very festive, very important holiday in America, Blake wanted to do something [i]big[/i] this Independence Day. When he got a voicemail from is dad, saying that he would be upstate attending some sort of gathering with some old police friends at an old lodge, Blake wished his old man the best before immediately sending a text to everybody he thought might come, informing them that they'd be having a party at his dad's house. Blake did feel somewhat bad trashing his dad's house for every party they had, but his childhood home was a nice place and one of the few that Blake had access to that could accommodate a large number of people. Besides, he cleaned up after everybody the next morning, anyway. It was fine. A solid majority of the people that Blake had texted showed up that Fourth of July. He had extended the message to all of his good friends in HERO, along with the Destiny Knights, most of whom Blake got on with pretty well, as well as a few other miscellaneous heroes that he had thought of that Blake liked. The house was [i]packed[/i] as people flooded in. Beer cans were littered across the floor, large boxes full of craft beer placed throughout the house. Outside, some heroes were out in Roger's new pool, a few of the Water Hero Squad (Blake had only invited one of the older members, and obviously the rest had tagged along) playing with their abysmally weak water powers. Inside, most of Blake's friends along with the Destiny Knights and a few other heroes were all nursing drinks and talking. Grace emerged through a portal wheeling in several large boxes full of fireworks, firecrackers, and other sparklers. City of Castleburg strictly prohibited all of these items, but Blake had egged Grace to travel quickly to Pennsylvania and purchase the fireworks there. Grace had refused vehemently, insisting it was immoral and dangerous for her to travel so far with her powers, until Blake told her that Tom would think she was cool if she did so. She was gone moments later. As Grace unloaded the fireworks outside, Blake was inside, a Sam Adams lager in his hand. He had been a good boy for the past couple months, uncharacteristically so, and his collateral damage numbers had actually shrank significantly. Powers had even called him up to his office to [i]commend[/i] him, something that had never happened before. Now that it was the Fourth of July, though, he had chucked his morals straight out the window and had become completely and utterly wasted. He was laying on his dad's couch, bottle in hand, as he spoke to Overload, an electricity-based hero wearing a black-and-yellow metal suit who was in a similarly inebriated state. He rambled drunkenly, tripping over his words as he spoke. [color=CC5500]"America is [i]soooo[/i] fucking awesome. Founding Fathers were the [i]best.[/i] The British were being bitches and shit, so you know what we did? YOU KNOW WHAT WE DID, OVERLOAD?! We fucking [i]kicked[/i] their [i]asses![/i] [b]America![/b]"[/color] Blake exclaimed as he sank into the couch, before pressing the bottle to his face and guzzling some beer. He then began to loudly sing [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJlepw4VUus]"America, the Beautiful"[/url] in a very drunken manner. Blake was normally not a bad singer, but it was clear that alcohol affected the "pitch recognition" part of his brain as he belted through the patriotic hymn. Meanwhile, Grace was standing outside, sipping a Riesling pineapple spritz (courtesy of Soda Boy, the king of all parties) as she looked down at the teens splashing around in the pool. It was just past 9, meaning the sun had set a half-hour ago, and the kids currently looked like idiots. She sighed as she sipped her drink. She was fine with small groups, which was what she had expected when she showed up, but she was rather out of her element in this fairly crowded party, and her introverted self was on full display. She awkwardly shuffled into the corner, sipping her drink, as she watched the chaos outside. Meanwhile, Blake had vanished making a fool of himself and was now playing down on the couch, legs propped up, as he looked at the TV screen. The local news was currently focusing on outside shots of the swanky, elaborate Club 27 and the Fourth of July elite party that was going on over there. Blake groaned and turned off the TV. [color=CC5500]"Who the [i]fuck[/i] wants to go to a Wings of Law party? They probably eat olives with gold toothpicks or some shit. BORING! Captain Gizmo!"[/color] Blake yelled out as he stood from the couch, looking around. [color=CC5500]"Where the hell are you? Jesus, I'm drunk..."[/color] he muttered as he swayed slightly on his feet, looking around. [color=CC5500]"Gizmo?"[/color] he asked again, before turning around to see the tall hero, wearing his hero suit that was covered in machinery, a pair of thick green goggles over his eyes, his black hair sprouting out from under a party hat. Gizmo waved to Blake, who grinned back. [color=CC5500]"There you are, buddy! Hit us up with some music!"[/color] Gizmo nodded as he pressed a button on his suit. From his back, a device popped out and rolled across the room, before expanding into a futuristic-looking speaker. Club music began to pound out of the speaker as Blake grinned, taking another swig of his beer. [color=CC5500]"Now that's what I like! Music, booze, beautiful girlfriends...hey, muffin, where the hell did you go?"[/color] Blake staggered through the crowded living room, looking for his significant other, clearly having had way too much to drink so far. Grace, who was looking in through the glass sliding door, sighed and shook her head as she drank her watered-down cocktail. [color=DarkOrchid]"Wings of Law don't seem so bad after all..."[/color] she said quietly to herself as she looked down at her clear drink, shaking the liquid inside before finishing off the glass. She sighed. She should really try to find somebody to talk to. [hr][hr][/center]