baraquiel

Palingenesia - A Modern Greek Gods Saga

Posting my cs here. Let me if there's anything I need to edit ^-^

Dionysus

---

---

Titles: Lord of the Vines / Bromius / Eleutherius / The Masked God / The Mad God
Appearance:

Described as a 'beautiful man', Dionysus has an olive tone complextion and wavy brown hair with violet-colored tips. He wears both female and male presenting clothes whenever he wishes, and his eyes are a deep color of pure concentrated wine. When he uses his powers to inflict madness, his eyes look like multi-colored paint sifting through water. He is always seen in public weilding his thyrsus.

During his ceremonies and in war, he wears the mask of an old bearded man and a cloak that his entire body. He can shapeshift under his cloak in whatever form he wishes, never constricting himself to just one form.

Character Type:

God

Divine Domain (Source of Magic):

Wine, Vegetation, Religious Ecstacy, Festivity, and Madness

Powers:

Dionysus is god of many things but he is first and foremost, a nature god. He may not he as powerful as Demeter and her side of the family, he still holds sway to vegetation. As a nature god, he has the power to harness plants to use both offensively and productively, using his influence over nature to create the highest calibre of wine, mead, and other alcoholic drinks. Being a nature god also means he has a close connection to the nature elementals: nymphs, naiads, satyrs, and more.

Speaking of alcohol, he has complete control over wines, beers, mead, and other drinks of the same kind. He even has some form of influence over drugs and other substances. As long as it has the capability of altering someone's mindest and consciousness, it's highly possible it falls under Dionysus' jurisdiction.

His most fearsome power is to induce insanity to those who deserve it, and even those who crave it. The mind is as fragile as a mirror. One tiny little crack and the whole thing will shatter. It may not be now, but inevitably, it will. Not even the gods were immune to breaking.

Assets:

His alcoholic business ventures are always in demand. Many men and women, even gods, would want to drink their sorrows away especially after the terrible war. He owns numerous clubs and bars worldwide (he's still in talks with Hades on building a club at his domain).

All of his temples are located deep within forests in the home of the elementals. Those temples are reserved only for his followers: satyrs, other nature spirits, and his Maenads. Although anyone can wish to join in the ceremonies if they want, their practices are not for the faint of heart.

Even so, there are still parades and festivals celebrated in his name that are held in streets. While these might be tamer, they are still loud, bright, colorful, and joyful. These are more accessible to the public, letting his followers and the general mortals to celebrate not just his worship but also to celebrate the freedom of expressing their authentic selves. Dionysus is not named as The Liberator for nothing.

The Lord of the Vines also owns many theatres that showcase the artistry and craft of telling stories and ways of worship through song and motion.

Primary Location/Areas of Influence:

Eleutherius (located in what was once Bordeux, France, the wine capital of the modern world)

Biography:

Dionysus was the child of the King of the Gods and Semele, daughter of the king of Cadmus. When Hera knew of her husband's infedility, blah blah blah. Everyone already knew he was the twice-born god, the only Olympian originally born as a demigod and when he emerged from Zeus' thigh, he became 100% a deity.

He may have a seat at the council but he spent most of his time in the mortal world. Probably because he had a mortal parent but compared to his uncles and aunts, Dionysus probably had one of the strongest connections to humans if not the strongest. He was fascinated by them; they were beings of the earth, spent their entire lives trekking on the soil, yet their spiritualities, ideologies, and capabilities rose higher than the skies.

As such, he was disappointed when humanity brought itself to near exctinction again but Dionysus couldn't truly be mad at them. There's beauty in their tragedy, as they would always continue on living no matter the disaster they've experienced. Like a phoenix, they always rose from the ashes of the past to build themselves a better future. A never-ending cycle of destruction and restoration, death and rebirth, was a concept Dionysus was all too familiar with.

Not even long after, the gods were at war with each other, competing for more dominions to expand their influence and gather more power. Dionysus did fight for what was rightfully his, but he spent majority of his time protecting his followers. In the war of the gods, Dionysus chose to side with the mortals, saving as much as he could to prevent further collateral damage. The war ended with Zeus' death and they have all signed the Accord to maintain peace and prosperity to gods, mortals, and every being in-between and beyond.

Still, the death of the Sky God left a tremendous mark on every one. If the King of Olympus himself was dead, what chance do the others have? Dionysus could only put on so many masks, and the wine will soon turn foul. Zeus' death was only the beginning, a chapter of a tragic mystery already set in motion and they all had a part to play in it.

For once, Dionysus wasn't excited to know what will happen next.

Palingenesia - A Modern Greek Gods Saga

Hello! Would love to throw in my interest in this as well. Will post my character when I can ^-^

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

_{Current Location: Peterson Estates, Passenger Island, Castleburg
Current Teammates: Blast @Hitman, Wireframe @Silver Carrot, Gematria @Scarifar, Alchemist @Duoya, Bastion @Infinite Cosmos Stray @Rabidporcupine}

---

---

Eva nodded in agreement. She faced the doorway, hands alight in green as she was preparing her paralyzing toxin to shoot at the army of guards that was about to go their way. Surprisingly, it was just a singular man.

"Jo... Joseph? W-What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at HERO Three with the others?" Eva asked in confusion and surprise, clearly not expecting him of all people to show up now that she and Jake were just about to go into the secret room.

Jake just accepted it pretty quickly, so Eva guessed she had to too. Not that she had any choice anyway. She nodded again in agreement to Jake as he went first into the darkness. She was about to follow him too before she heard Madison through the comms.

"Peterson's not the mastermind? But how does Toreador know?" She asked back in confusion at Madison. So far, tonight had only given them more questions than answers. "Okay okay. Go help out Rupa and Gematria. Me, Jake, and... Joseph found a secret passageway here in the cellar. Will update you all when we found clues. Over."

Eva then glared at Joseph. "I don't know what game you're playing at here. You were supposed to be following orders, not finding a loophole around them. If you somehow mess this up..." Eva paused to take a quick breath before continuing. "We were each given our own assignments. Don't go mess up ours just because you're bored with yours." She angrily said to him as she followed Jake to the passageway.

Like the others, she found herself in the quintessential villain's secret room. "This looks like a workshop or something, and it probably is too." Eva replied, looking at the scraps and heaps of metal on the tables. "Do any of you have a camera or something like that? We need to record all thi-"

She jumped in surprise when the metal door where they came from shut loudly on its own. The 'garage' door then opened and out came these weird-looking robots. Just the way their red eyes contrast against their emotionless faced and wirey bodies made them look extra creepy to Eva. This had got to be the work of another villain, one who's specialty was making evil robots to try and take over the world.

"Gholem." Eva said in annoyance. What did he have to do with Peterson? No, based from what Madison said if it was indeed true, someone else must be backing the mad scientist up. Before she could demand more information out of him, Jake swiftly knocked him out cold.

"I... Okay." She said in a defeated tone. First the toxin she wasted in putting into the guards and guests' bodies, then the camera, then Joseph's surprise appearance, then this. She made a mental note to ask Powers to let her do more solo missions, beg even if she had to.

The robots started blasting away and Eva pushed a table forward, letting the metal fall on the floor as she used the table as a shield. "Blast, Stray! Don't go near me!" She warned her teammates, not wanting them to get accidentally affected by her toxin. Some of the robots kept blasting at the table so she tossed her faux fur coat up in the air, hoping they'll get distracted by it. If it worked, they would've blasted the coat into ashes and she'll emerge from the side, blasting them with acid that will melt them down.

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

_{Current Location: Peterson Estates, Passenger Island, Castleburg
Current Teammates: Blast @Hitman, Wireframe @Silver Carrot, Gematria @Scarifar, Alchemist @Duoya, Bastion @Infinite Cosmos}

---

---

"Let's see about that." Eva teased back at Jake, hiding the contempt and anxiousness she's been feeling ever since he offered her to dance. She was hoping to any god out there that her teammate must have even an ounce of sense of movement and rhythm. Judging with how things were going on in her life so far, Jake would either be a really good dancer or a really bad one. Eva's hoping for the first.

The wife of Peterson, Ada, stood on the stage to announce the start of the competition as the musicians prepared their instruments as well. A quick look around her and Eva managed to spot Madison pairing up with Toreador, with who she believed to be the Junker Society's chairman. What he's doing at an event like this was any of their guesses as they weren't brief about his presence here. On the other hand, it would make sense for him to be in an extravagant and decadent place like this, but did he know it was hosted by a shady businessman?

Eva's thoughts were brought back to reality when the musicians played their music, signalling the start of the competition. The music was surprisingly fast and thank goodness for ALISA guiding her throughout the competition that she managed to pull through. It's probably also the same directions Jake was getting but on his end though... Wow.

The next time people tell Eva they're good on their feet, she'll genuinely believe them. It's already a huge advantage for Jake to have superspeed for a superpower, this fast-paced tune must be a slow-burner jam for him. She did have [*]some[/*] dancing lessons courtesy of her mother to help entice their targets, but she was still much thankful for Jake and ALISA.

Eventually, the other pairs got picked off from the competition, leaving only Eva with Jake and Madison with Toreador. What's she even doing with him anyway? It's none of Eva's business to know whatever they're talking about, but this was a high-stakes mission. They couldn't afford to get distracted especially when they're in the enemy's homecourt.

Eventually, the win was given to Jake and Eva. "Yeah. Sure." She replied to him in a bit of an unenthusiastic tone. As she tried her best to keep her beating heart and panting breath still, she swore she'll never dance with another speedster again.

Ada approached and congratulated them, mentioning that they could now go down to the wine cellar to claim their price. Eva simply smiled and curtsied, still a bit tired to reply properly as the pair made their way to the cellar. Eva managed to steal one last glance back at Madison who # still with the chairman of the Junker Society, before they're fully gone from her view.

Once they're alone, Eva simply smiled at Jake when he said his objectives before Alisa had to tell the truth to him. The expression on Eva's face turned serious and even unimpressed as Jake processed the truth. "Work on your people-deducting skills, Blast. There are some things that not even your superspeed could handle." She replied to him as she's now starting to look over the area.

Of course the cellar was spacious. Every rack was filled with bottles and bottles of wine, one more expensive than the rest. "Just start looking for clues." She replied to him again. While Jake's going around, Eva's doing her own thing too. She picked up some of the bottles she could reach, each one having foreign brands she couldn't pronounce. She'd even touch the walls at the back of the wine racks to see if it could work but no such luck.

Eva thought about melting some of them, perhaps it could trigger something? She decided to go to the very back and try one more time, then noticed one of the bottles looked like everything else yet it was heavy as stone. She pulled it towards her and it made a click sound.

"Found something!" Eva called out to Jake. Seconds later, the wall of wine racks to her left opened up, making that classic sound whenever a secret wall was discovered in those TV shows."Team, we found a secret door here in the cellar. We don't know where it leads yet. Me and- Oh crud." Eva sighed in annoyance, not realizing the cellar had CCTV and one of them was conveniently facing her and Jake's direction.

Knowing the jig was up, Eva smiled at the camera and blew a kiss, blowing a mist of green acid that melted the camera in seconds. "Blast, we're about to get some company soon. Let's go and find out where this passageway leads before we get pelted with bullets." She said before going to the main door of the cellar to close it, melting the hinges and edges to hopefully buy themselves time before the guards come closing in on them. Eva then returned to her partner and looked at the darkness before them.

"Ready?"

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

_{Current Location: Peterson Estates, Passenger Island, Castleburg
Current Teammates: Blast @Hitman, Wireframe @Silver Carrot, Gematria @Scarifar, Alchemist @Duoya, Bastion @Infinite Cosmos}

---

---

"Oh my, and what does it do?" Eva faked interest at a rich man's spiels, laughing and chiming in when need be. She's been talking from one rich bloke to another in the hopes of getting any valuable information, but no such luck. These snooty men loved talking about themselves more than talking about another man, and she would've gotten something from them if they weren't distracted by their business partners and whatnot.

When she realized she won't get anything from this group, she quietly slid away from the conversation. She took little sips of her drink as her eyes wandered the ball, making sure her hands brushed against another guest's to spread her toxin. She flirted a little with the guards too, giving them an extra dose each time she caressed their cheeks and hands teasingly.

She could feel some people were keeping an eye at her, but she's uncertain whether it's because they found her intriguing or they're unto her disguise. Eva looked around for a bit to spot her teammates; she could currently see Madison going around and talking with the people, putting a hand on a waitress' shoulder. Wait, was that Rupa?

Before she could think about it any further, the whole ballroom was quiet as the main star of the show had arrived. Peterson welcomed everyone, much to the delight of the guests, as he also announced a dance competition. Eva rolled her eyes as he told everyone the prize of the winning pair. It was almost too convenient, but they'll take any chance they could get.

However, Eva was surprised when he had to leave suddenly. This was her chance. She'll get close to Peterson, seduce him enough to convince him to take her to a private room, then she'll imbue him with her toxin. The hallucinogenic type might do the trick. That way, she could get whatever information the team needed so they could leave as quickly as possible.

At least, that's what she would like her plan to roll out. As she was about to chase after Peterson, freaking Jake of all people offered to be her dance partner.

"What the @#%!" She yelled in her head, eyes widening in surprise before she collected herself again. This was why she preferred to do solo missions. She understood that Jake may not recognise Eva and, she had to admit she was at fault too since she didn't inform anyone about her taking a disguise. From her POV, she opted to be unrecognisable in case any villains might catch her teammates, so she could come in and save them since they never would've suspected Eva to be a hero too.

Alas, she had no choice but to adapt to the situation at hand. Rejecting Jake might raise red flags towards both of them, and she couldn't out herself to him either. Judging from how he just straight-forward ask her about the shady business Peterson was into, there's no way he could act like they didn't know each other. Plus, she wanted to see how long he'll realize before he's dancing with another hero.

Eva having fun? During a mission? She really needed to get out into the field more before she became like that lazy guy.

"Why, that's an awful thing to insinuate about our very generous host!" Eva acted scandalous, gripping Jake's hand a little too tightly before getting closer to him with all the gracefulness of a lethal viper going in for the kill.

"You intrigue me, mister. Just as luck would have it, I'm fascinated by Mr. Peterson too and I think our goals align in a way. How about this... Help me win the dance competition and I'll tell you everything you want to hear. I bet you have a way with your... feet." She teased, running her heel along Jake's leg and glancing at some boys Eva and Jake's age who looked envious at her partner before returning her gaze back at her clueless teammate, whispering to his ear. "Do we have a deal, mister?"

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

_{Date & Time: October 10, 2029, 7:19 PM
Current Location: Peterson Estates, Passenger Island, Castleburg
Current Teammates: Blast @Hitman, Wireframe @Silver Carrot, Bastion @Infinite Cosmos, Gematria @Scarifar, Alchemist @Duoya}

---

---

"This is Dahlia. I'm five minutes away from location. Over." Evangeline said over their team comms.

It had been a month since the attack of the Fiendish Five on the festivities on Castleburg and their headquarters at Hero One. While they were successful in defeating the villain group, Professor Gholem managed to escape. Eva believed the other heroes were tasked to locate the whereabouts of the villain while the rest were given the chance to rest, regroup, and go on to do their own thing for the time being. For Eva, she of course would've chosen to do more missions but as per doctor's orders, she was required to fulfill a different mission: get some much needed rest.

She spent a good amount of time at the hospital, having her wound being treated while observing it for other kinds of infection just in case. She then spent the remainder of the month in at base, mostly staying in her room. Thankfully, the blade only managed to pierce her flesh and not the bone. She had taken the prescribed amount of anti-pain medications, but she was told a little pain here and there was normal. Sometimes it still hurt to raise her arm even. She just regretted that she wasn't able to join the pizza party her other peers organized, and worried about Rupa's well-being. It was her first time formally meeting her at the orientation, but Eva could get a slight idea about her personality. Eva hated the idea of Rupa blaming herself for what happened, she didn't even have the chance to meet with her again through the whole month. When she learned they were both in this covert mission together, Eva hoped this will be their chance to properly talk again since the incident.

Eva took in a deep breath and exhaled, psyching herself up. This was not the proper time to be nervous and worry about people. Like the others, Eva was chosen specifically due to the nature of this mission. They were going to a party hosted by a filthy rich man named Samuel Peterson who supposedly had ties to various criminal organizations. It was mostly an intelligence gathering type of mission: collect any vital piece of information that could connect Peterson to the Fiendish Five and any other villain group if there are and that could also prove he had a hand in the disappearance of several of his staff. Also, there's the other objective of not letting ICOSA find out about this.

Throughout her time in her own family's villain group the Death Boquet, most if not all their targets were men who garnered vast amount of riches and fortune through unethical methods. They wouldn't share that kind of information with anyone of course, but one would be surprised how open and relaxed these men would be after just a couple of drinks with the company of a beautiful woman who feigned interest in their pathetic miserable lives. The money they managed to steal from those men were pocket change compared to what they make in a year and her family cared less about what they did to reap all those ill-gotten riches. Her mom and sisters would even dress themselves up in various wigs, make-ups, and dresses, each look vastly different than the last to avoid getting identified. They even changed the way they acted as well, analyzing what type of woman their target wants and creating a persona with an accent and mannerisms to fit that ideal type for them. Sometimes, Eva felt guilty especially when their target was just plain lonely and genuinely looked for company. Still, Eva didn't think that what she did for a life of crime would later be used to help save the day too.

She opened her purse to check out her kit she got for the mission: the invitation printed out by Alisa for the heroes participating in this mission, a poison lipstick, a few bits of make-up here and there, and a special transparent toxin in a small vial that will knock out a grown man unconscious for at least half an hour. She took out her compact mirror to see if her make-up's smudged and fixed her outfit to make sure she looked the part, not that there's anything to fix anyway. Eva had on a deep V-neck black dress with a thigh-high slit, a white faux fur coat to help hide the healing scar on her arm, and a pair of black stilettos. She even put on brown-colored contact lenses to hide her very obvious bright green eyes and put on a brown wavy-haired wig with a side part. With her current get-up, it was definitely a drastic change from her usual look. It's also to help hide her identity if there's a chance any of her current victims were at the party.

Once the car stopped in front of a massive mansion, Eva thanked the chauffeur and got out. She got in line just as the rest of Peterson's guests, all of which looked like they used their toilets were made of gold. When it was her turn, she gave her invitation to the doorman. "Thank you." She quietly said to him with a wink, her fingers brushing against his as she took her invitation back. That short physical contact allowed Eva to impart her toxin into the doorman's bloodstream. It's only dormant for now but when it came to it, she can activate the toxin for it to paralyze the doorman's muscles like she did to Albino.

She did the same to a few other people she could make physical contact with her hand and arm as she walked past them. The guests along with Eva were then guided towards the ballroom where it was every bit of opulent as she imagined it to be. Guests were wearing the finest tuxedos and dresses ever made, each piece of clothing probably worth more than a normal human being's life savings. The air was filled with music from the quartet along with the hollow conversations and fake laughter being exchanged between the guests.

"Team, this is Dahlia. I'm in the building. Just waiting for the others. Over."

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

---

---

"Annoying?" Eva asked in confusion, feeling appalled as she was never called annoying before. A cold-hearted bitch, sure, but never annoying. She wanted to kick Albino in the balls for being rude if she weren't held hostage right now.

She could feel the sharp blade pressing on her neck as Albino grabbed her and slowly moved away from the forming group of newbie heroes. The Mire looked like they came straight out of a sci-fi movie with how they formed out of the ground and was absorbing the pale-skinned villain down to the earth with them. Stray let out a dialogue worthy of that of an experienced hero (if only that reflected through his work ethic) and while she assumed everyone was listening to him, Eva secreted a special acid through her neck that slowly corroded Albino's knife.

Eva gave Crane a reassuring smile, letting her know everything's going to be okay. At least she had Miss Duff in her hands, away from danger. That way, the heroes could go all out on the villains without harming the Assistant Director. Eva had to work fast though. This island will not survive knowing what these young heroes were capable of.

Another monster came into view. Another Leftover? It didn't seem like it. Eva did remember another white-haired girl approaching the group and she was the last to join their orientation. Eva hadn't fully caught up on reading everyone's bio. Was this monster her? She let out a little sigh of relief when she saw Freakshow didn't hurt anyone so that meant she's on the good side. Phew.

What Eva didn't like was what Fallout might do. At least Gematria managed to render Jellyfish useless with her powers. "Nobody do... anything drastic..." She slowly said to everyone while looking at him.

All that's left now was Albino who's chances of living were getting slimmer with each passing second. With so many people showcasing their powers, every single one convincing these villains by threatening the two of them, it's making her head hurt

As if things couldn't get anyworse, Eva was surprised when she was turned around forcefully and felt a sharp pain on her shoulder. Her bright green eyes widened as she saw Alchemist, then she looked down at the blade she made with her powers stab her arm. The red spot around the blade grew bigger on her white coat as blood seeped through her clothes.

Eva failed to blink away the tears from her eyes as she reached up to grab Albino's face, grunting through the intense sharp pain. The others could see how the paralyzing venom was spreading throughout his body by how his veins turned green like watching a lightning strike in slow motion. It'll render Albino unable to move a muscle of his body, his veins now turned into a network of green webs through his pale white skin.

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

---

---

"Um... Me?" Eva said in confusion as Rupa went off and challenged Stray and the others on a race to find the most number of pyramids first. This was supposed to be just a simple, easy icebreaker activity but contests between people were inevitable, especially if said people had superhuman abilities. Perhaps, in more ways than one, they could really gauge out each other's capabilities here. Eva's not a fan of competitions but if it meant getting along with everyone, so be it.

As Rupa asked her what her name was, Eva looked at her with warmth. "My name is Evangeline, you may call me Eva. My chosen hero name is Dahlia." She introduced herself to the group, focusing more on Rupa as she gave the girl a little bow as showmanship of respect. "I admire your bravery, Alchemist. I shall help you win this so we can get pizza. The best food there is."

She then listened to the Mire's reply, picking up on the Leftover's clear disdain on what was done to them prior to coming to Savior Island. Eva sympathised with the Mire. While she's no Leftover, she knew what it was like having most of your life taken away from you, making you look out to the world in a glass box so you had the illusion of freedom. As the Mire melted down to the ground and melding with the earth, she could only hope their time here at Hero One would be fruitful for them.

As for Stray, he wasted no time putting his powers into action. He already created a charmed coin that quickly flew away, no doubt blessed by his runic magic to find those pyramids. Crane then proclaimed she saw one already and was moving towards it, and Eva was really impressed.

"Well, we don't want to lose them now, do we?" Eva turned to Rupa as she took off her gloves and put them back in her coat. "Let's see if there's anything we can find here first. Come on, everyone. This is a team effort." She announced to those that remained in behalf of Miss Duff who went away for a bit.

After a bit of looking, Eva still hadn't found any pyramids. Others already found them as quickly as Miss Duff announced it, perhaps she just sucked at finding stuff. Either way, that mood plant thing seemed interesting enough to-

Wait. Eva turned her attention to where Crane was, her voice full of worry. It's hard not to hear a large girl like her so Eva quickly made her way to where she was looking. Even Fallout was there too.

"What's going on... Eva's voice trailed off as she finally saw what the newbie heroes were looking at. Miss Duff laid unconscious between two men: a man with pale white skin and another man with weird jelly-like skin and tendrils coming from his back. They did seemed familiar and indeed, Eva remembered seeing them in the villains glossary.

Eva quickly stepped in front of Fallout and stuck her right hand out to the pair. "Step away from her! Crane, Fallout, alert the others! We're under attack by the Fiendish Five!" Eva shouted at the top of her lungs as she blasted a gloop of bright green toxin from her hand, aiming at the villain closest to her.

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

---

---

"Thank you, Miss Emily" Eva said. She felt cold so she was taking out black leather gloves from one of the many pockets of her trench coat and putting them on as she sat down at the seat Miss Duff propped up for her. She was also genuinely surprised to see another heroine attend the orientation for new heroes. Miss Duff called her Megumi and welcomed her in as she propped up another chair for her. She didn't seem like the talkative type and Eva let out a small sigh of relief, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted.

More and more heroes were making their presence known until it's hard for Eva to keep track on all of them, but she did her best to get a good look-over at each of them. The most memorable one would have to be the walking mushroom Leftover. She didn't really like the sound of that term when describing the mushroom humanoid's kind, making them look like scraps or seem unimportant to the rest of the superpowered humans. They were all affected by that meteor, it didn't make anyone lesser or more than the other whether they're human or not. That being said, she wondered where this one even came from?

After them was a giantess, and a young one at that too. It seemed that Ting Feng's still a teenager, so bright and full of wonder and excitement. Eva imagined she would be a lot like Crane if she wasn't subjected to a life of villainry that started the moment her powers manifested. She could only hope Crane would stay that way even with all the challenges and troubles the world threw at her.

Eva jumped a bit in her seat when the next hero made her introduction. This one was even more excitable, a small bundle of pure energy just zipping and zapping all over. She introduced herself as Rupa, hero name Alchemist, and she was also a little familiar to the green-eyed young woman. She would've definitely remembered meeting someone as memorable as her, but this was their first time formally meeting each other as far as Eva knew. Weird, but that also meant they could make proper introductions later when things simmered down.

The next one was... Oh, it's just Stray.

After him was another hero, Fallout as the records called him. She was very impressed with his powers the first time she knew about him, though he did seem to be the stereotypical moody, disinterested teenager which was a complete opposite of Crane and Alchemist. Still, Eva hoped she was also the type to be warm and friendly the more they could get to know him. Time will only tell.

With that, it seemed that their group was complete and it was definitely an interesting collection they got here right now. Eva was a little concerned with how these new heroes would react when they're out on a real mission. She already thought of a lot of different ways things could get awry but she gave them the benefit of the doubt. She did a lot of mistakes during her first missions as a hero too. Experience will help them to be the kind of hero they aspired to be someday. Eh, as long as they did their duties and responsibilities.

Miss Emily formally started the orientation once it seemed they were complete and it was a... A scavenger hunt? That's interesting, to say the least. Eva would've preferred the speech really but if this exercise helped build camaraderie which would improve chances of successful group missions in the future, so be it.

Unsurprisingly, not all of them were enthusiastic about it. Eva's instincts made her reach down to almost remove her gloves when the mushroom-man became angry; she was then a little disappointed that she caught herself in her own prejudice. With Fallout's words not helping, Eva sighed and stood up to adress the mushroom man.

"The true nature of activities like these is to help us get a better chance to know one another. It aids in building camaraderie, friendships, gives us a better understanding on how each of us tackle challenges and how we can pick up on where the others lack." Eva explained, her deep green eyes focusing on the space on Mire's head where she thought their face would be.

"We understand your apprehension. It is easy to feel guilty that we are here, talking about the mundane while knowing there are people out there who are in desperate need of our help. It is how doctors, police, firemen, and other frontlines feel. It is also important to realize we are hu-, ahem. We are all beings who deserve the chance to take a breather so we can be in our optimal state to help out those in need. After all, how can you save others when you can't even save yourself?" She further said, completely aware how ironic she sounded to herself when she's always out in the field.

She glanced at Miss Duff, hoping that what Eva did was right before clearing her throat and turning to the rest."Apologies for the wordy explanation. I believe we have little pyramids to go get our hands on, yes? Afterwards, perhaps we can go get pizza."

《 Super H.E.R.O. 》

---

---

Evangeline looked outside through her window. Seeing the vast blue seas had a calming effect on her ever since she first moved into H.E.R.O. One. The past few months passed by like a blur as well. She was too busy doing as much as she could, doing missions left and right, helping out at HERO whenever she could. She thought that if she did a lot of good stuff for the organization, maybe they'll be enough to compensate for all the bad things she did.

She looked over at a vase of flowers on her desk, a bouquet of peonies and carnations given to her by HERO for the Director giving her his stamp of approval to become a full-fledged hero. She'd like to believe she'd done a great job taking care of them all this time, but the edges of their petals were starting to wilt. She watched as a petal peeled off from the carnation and slowly fell to the desk, the first of many that will eventually come.

At the television screen, it showed reporters showing live scenes of festivities at New Athens. So many people were there to celebrate the festival. The TV was muted but she could imagine the people's cheers and laughter filled the air along with loud joyful music.

Just watching them made Eva tired. She wanted to join the others there but she wasn't really a fan of crowds, especially when everything was televised and her previous victims might recognise her. She wasn't the flashy type of superhero either, she's fine working on the sidelines and giving everybody else the spotlight. She didn't become a hero to be famous after all, she did it to atone for everything she and her family had done.

Just then, Eva noticed a message was sent through her HERO smartwatch where a hologram of the Director made a message:

"Attention, heroes. I need a group of you to assist me at the Johnstone Convention Center. If you are available, please come and meet behind the stage. You will be rewarded for your time."

She sighed, thinking that there's no turning away from facing what she dreaded. She stood up and gave herself a final lookover at her tall mirror. Since September's pretty chilly, Eva was wearing a bone white trench coat with matching pants, and a black turtleneck underneath. The sleeves of her turtleneck could be tore off in case she needed more open skin to generate more poison in an emergency. Hopefully she wouldn't have to.

Eva was then making her way towards their transport system to be with the others at the convention center when she noticed the Assistant Director outside near the waters, trying to catch all the papers being blown away from her arms by the wind. Eva managed to catch one as she approached her.

"Let me help you with these, Miss Duff." Eva said, leaning low to get the scattered papers Emily couldn't get. "Oh I remember, there's also going to be an orientation for the new heroes. Is that why you're not with the others at New Athens?" She asked, looking around nervously before asking Emily again. "If you don't mind, I believe I'll be a bigger help here than at Castleburg. Crowds aren't really my thing and with the event being televised, I would probably get recognised by my... previous victims." Eva asked with a stoic expression on her face as usual, unsure if even the Assistant Director knew the extent of Eva's past crime life.