Duoya

《 H. E. R. O. 》

---

Lucky for Chad, neither Starbright nor the guard he was with noticed the inexperienced Hero's presence. They moved through the halls of the complex, Chad following as silently as possible for someone who could only hobble. It wasn't a long struggle for Chad, however - before long, the pair he had been tailing arrived at a dead end. Chad was initially confused, before seeing the guard level his gun at Starbright's head. Chad's mind took a few seconds to process what was happening, and he was too far away to hear anything very well. But if Chad was able to do anything well, it was move fast.

Chad ran towards the guard as fast as he could with his injury, vision and hearing dimming as his power intensified. Chad probably could have run a bit slower - but the situation really didn't let that thought cross his mind. As he ran, he misstepped, losing his grip on the wall - his injured foot landed on the ground, and the broken ankle once again reminded Chad it was there. Chad was able to react in time, however - while the misstep took him off his course towards the guard, Chad managed to throw his arm out in time, catching the guard in the skull as he fell. The blow on the guard made a disturbing whacking sound, similar to a baton. Chad didn't have time to worry too much, as he crashed into the floor from his run.

Chad pulled himself towards the wall, and located Starbright quickly - he appeared unharmed, so Chad must have not accidentally hit him while trying to save him. Totally intentional. Chad managed to stand by using the wall.

"You had to go and beat the guard up. I obviously had it under control. Honestly, it..."

Chad felt nervous as he looked at the guard - Chad didn't like using his power on normal people, and the guard effectively got hit by a high-speed Clothesline. He was still breathing, even if he was unconscious, but Chad was a recent high school dropout - he had no clue if the guard was internally bleeding or had any other injuries. If the situation was different, Chad probably wouldn't have hit as hard as he did...

"S-sorry Starbright, I was worried-"

Chad was cut off as Starbright pulled him in for a hug. Chad bit his lip slightly, being reminded of the burn on his back - he'd have to talk to ask the Shocker to apologize for that when this was all over.

"I'm just glad you're alive."

Chad returned the hug, cautious at first. It was a little weird, being so close to someone that you idolized from behind a screen for so long. It was nice though - Chad had been in more danger today than any other day in his life. Hell, he fell off a buidling. And despite the threat of death, Chad didn't really know if many people would care. Percy would, maybe Powers after he was found? Chad didn't really know most of the other heroes that well (or at all), and Pandora... Well, She didn't really seem like she'd lose any sleep if Chad died. And as for his parents...

It felt nice knowing that someone was happy Chad survived.

Eventually, Starbright broke the hug, turning to look over at Sea Serpent as he spoke.

"Oh, right, I probably shouldn't let her drop like that huh?"

He picked her up again and turned back to face Chad as he continued speaking.

"We have one more to take down, Seraph. He's at the top of this tower, we take him down and it will all start crumbling. If it isn't going down already, we need to hurry."

Chad nodded in agreement. Chad had seen some of the collateral damage that Heroes could cause, and while this building was fortified, Chad had no doubt that someone like Quake could bring it down if she wanted to. The sooner they found Powers and escaped, the better...

"You smashed it pretty hard in the fall then? Not to worry, I have three words for you, privatized HERO healthcare. I have the best medic in HERO on speed dial, he can patch that up good as new. We just... have to finish this first."

Chad looked down at his ankle as he continued after Starbright. Even with a boot and legging covering it, the damage was easy to see. Chad smile behind his mask - getting his leg healed would mean he wouldn't have to stop his training. Depending on how good Starbright's Healer was, maybe Chad would be able to get back to HERO work in a matter of days!

"I'm glad to hear that... Thanks, Starbright."

Chad's mind began to wander towards the others - Chad had gotten lucky being in the same minijet as Starbright since he was such a good pilot and took them to the top of the complex immediately. But the others might not have been so lucky - The minijet that saved Chad's life when he fell was abandoned other than a single guard, and the rumbling and shaking the building experienced was concerning, to say the least...

Chad tried to stop worrying about them. Grace could teleport, Pandora could just swim through the ground, and Quake was an S tier Hero. If things got bad, they would probably be fine. Besides, Chad had enough on his own plate right now - he glanced at the unconscious Sea Serpent, hoping she remained knocked out until they could reasonably restrain her. Chad had dropped Starbright's belt during the fall, otherwise he would have used that to at least bind her legs.

Not like that would have done much to stop her powers though. Chad was still soaking wet, so she wouldn't even need to look far for a water-

"Bullet, I'm not going to force you into this. I'm going up these stairs to confront Seraph and it may not turn out well. I'm giving you an out here, you can take it or you can stay. But that decision rests only on your shoulders alone."

Starbright broke Chad's train of thought - they were in front of the stairway to the next floor. Chad did his best to not be surprised at what Starbright had just said - Chad was being given a way out of the fight against Seraph. Normally, he'd probably leap on that opportunity - Chad didn't feel like he'd win against Seraph even if he wasn't injured. Seraph can freaking fly for God's sake. That alone pretty much made Chad worthless against him.

Chad followed close behind Starbright as they ascended the stairs, not bothering to respond to his statement. Running away wasn't an option this time around. Seraph killed dozens of people in Club 27, kidnapped Powers, framed Aria, and who knows what else. Even if Chad couldn't do anything to help, leaving just wasn't something he would do.

Besides - it wasn't like they were going to lose the fight. Starbright was here, he had Sea Serpent as a bargaining chip, and they were indoors - Seraph wouldn't be able to make much use of his flight because of that.

But Chad didn't think they were going to win for any of those reasons - no, the reason he thought they would win was that he didn't want to consider failing. Thinking about what you didn't want to happen meant it might be an option - so as long as Chad felt he and Starbright could win, they would!

Chad did his best to cling to this delusional belief as he limped up the stairs.

---

Seraph was drinking heavily from a dark bottle as they opened the door to confront him. Chad's eyes darted around the room as Starbright spoke, searching for anything that might give them an advantage - a weapon, or something to stop Seraph's wings. The opulent golden desk that Seraph stood at was too large and most likely too heavy to serve as a weapon, but maybe it could serve as cover from Seraph's feathers. Various paintings covered the walls, and while most of them were too large to make use of, there were a few plaques that Chad could throw. Potted plants? Too cumbersome.

Chad slowly lowered himself, kneeling down to pick up a sharp glass shard next to the door. Chad recognized it as soon as he saw it - broken wine glass. Nothing compared to Seraph's feathers, but it was sharp and might cause Seraph to start bleeding.

That was a lot better than punching Seraph. If Chad hit him too hard, Seraph might die from internal bleeding or something Chad couldn't recognize. At least with this, Chad could try and staunch Seraph's wounds when he was knocked unconscious-

"Yes...yes...yes....the POWER! I can feel it! The limitless power! It's...it's overwhelming! Yes! Yes! ARRRGH!”

Seraph was changing, dropping the bottle that he was drinking from as his flesh warped and bulged. His legs and torso seemed to elongate and pull themselves apart, and muscles began ballooning to monstrous proportions all across Seraph's body. His shirt burst as additional wings sprouted fully formed from his back, and his head almost seemed to warp and cave in on itself. His eyes bulged in their sockets from the pressure, and Chad feared that they might pop out of Seraph's skull and hang down near his cheek.

Chad immediately began questioning what the hell was happening - years of seeing Seraph on reality TV and other media have never prepared him for this. He had no reasonable explanation for this sudden change...

Suddenly, he remembered! Supernova! That was a drug that Supers could take to boost their powers! Chad shuddered as Seraph completed his transformation - it was no wonder his school told his Superpowered classmates to avoid the stuff, if this is what it caused.

”Now, let me unleash the power upon my enemies!”

Chad tightened his grip on the shard of glass, his mind racing to figure out what the hell he could do to stop this monster. Seraph threw his arms and wings out seemingly at random, swiping chairs and other pieces of furniture around the room with the same ease a toddler might throw a wooden block. But he was also clutching at his head and screaming...

As Seraph flailed around, he accidentally did something Chad had been fearing his entire time in this tower - he broke through a window. And while Seraph could usually fly, this monstrous form seemed too heavy for his wings to support himself.

”NOOO!”

Chad stared as Seraph fall into the ocean waves, water shooting up dozens of feet from where he crashed. Chad's grip on the glass shard loosened, and he let it fall limply to the floor - thanks to the window Seraph just broke, it joined the many other shards with a clinking sound. Was... Was that an Overdose?

Things turned out just like Chad expected - somehow, Seraph was even less difficult to fight than Sea Serpent. But despite winning against an A tier villain, Chad didn't feel very happy. If he had only been a little bit less lucky, if there wasn't something to break his fall only a few dozen minutes ago, Chad would be in the ocean alongside Seraph right now.

Luckily, they didn't need to kill Seraph directly. If Chad had to look directly at Seraph's body rather than the ocean, he probably would have been a bit more shaken than he already was.

"Oh... right, yes. I knew that was going to happen."

"Th... That's not a common thing... is it?"

If that was how most villains were taken care of, Chad felt it'd take a bit longer than expected to get used to the job. Starbright placed Sea Serpent down on an area of the floor that was relatively free of debris and glass from the short fight, before moving alongside Chad.

"This though, this just won't do. We can't have Seraph just die from going ghoul. Wheres the drama in that? Wheres the pizazz? There is no value in any of this."

"Lesson 2 Bullet, this ones important. Do you know the value of a story? What happened today will be remembered in history. We can't have it ruined by, well this." He gestured over to the hole. "Looking like a hero can be just as important as being one. Think about this, what criminal is going to want to fight the two who destroyed that monster in seconds? No conflict, no casualties, no collateral damage."

"You and I are the only ones who saw what happened here. We did this. We pulled out and new, never before seen, combo that finished Seraph in seconds. Who in their right mind would go up against something like that? ...I won't go through with saying that if you aren't on board with it. But if you do, I think there's going to be a big future for you coming up."

Chad turned away from Starbright when he finished speaking, gazing back at the large hole that Seraph had left in the wake of his rampage. Lying wasn't really a good thing to do - especially not for something this big and important. And not just that, but something really messed up happened with Seraph - his fans deserved to know what really happened to him, right?

Chad pushed down these bad feelings. Starbright was right, like usual - If villains thought that HERO had people who could take out someone like Seraph in seconds, than they would surrender the second a Hero showed up to fight them. Or even better, they just wouldn't commit crimes in the first place. People could sleep easier, knowing that there were heroes that could stop villains with a single blow.

And THE BULLET could be one of those Heroes.

"No, you're right... I-I think I can do this. I trust you, Starbright..."

Chad really hoped he was making the right decision. Even if it was for the right reasons, he could feel a stab of anxiety at the thought of lying to all of Castleburg.

The pair began moving, ready to meet up with the other heroes and bring Sea Serpent to Coldwater. Chad lingered a little bit longer than Starbright did, however.

On the ground, was a beautifully ornate bottle - somehow, the bottle that Seraph had drunk from survived his death throes, while his desk and many other pieces of furniture were reduced to splinters. A single crack marked the area near its ornamental leaf, and at the bottom of the otherwise untouched glass, were the stains left from Seraph's last drink.

Chad took the bottle without even stopping to consider it, the last dregs of liquid dripping from the crack as he did so.

After all - what would make a better souvenir for your first mission?

---

3 days later...

"Damn, wish I was on Starbright's payroll - the report said your injury would require an internal fixator and at least 2 months of rest, but you're walking as if nothing happened. The healer must have been something, huh?"

Chad scratched the back of his head, nervous about how to respond to the light conversation. He was in the office of Dr. Illin, the chief proctor of Chad's Aptitude Tests. Thankfully, it seemed like she was unphased by the recent events that had occurred - she was the same as always, even after EAGLES.

Things had been hectic the last few days, and they only seemed to get more intense by the day. Everyone bought Starbright's lie at face value, and HERO did little to fight against his telling of the events. Chad was lucky his costume concealed his identity fairly well - defeating Seraph and Starbright's praise had catapulted The Bullet to popularity that few new heroes ever experience, and if they knew his identity, Chad was worried they might actually find where he lived.

Several of the heroes that had raided Elmore Island were injured in some way, with Firebird apparently having gone crazy for a bit, and Quake being shot by Winterfall. Chad dropped off flowers he bought from Pandora, but he didn't stick around to talk with them... It would kind of be awkward to officially meet a coworker while they were in the hospital, wouldn't it?

"Anyways, here's the file - just be sure to hand it back before you leave, I'm already breaking rules just showing it to a greenhorn like you."

Chad was thankful to be here - it was like a small break from everything. He took the manilla folder that Dr. Illin had given him, opening the contents quickly.

Dozens of pictures, all in various positions and focusing on different body parts. Seraph's corpse had been in the water for an hour or two before they managed to find and dredge it up - not that Chad could really tell how waterlogged the body was. His vision swam slightly as he tried to read the text, moving the pictures out of his view.

'Extreme mutations across the body - muscle tears in several locations indicate high-speed growth.'

"Fall didn't kill him - that stuff he drank was good shit. He didn't have enough control over his body to tread water, so he drowned."

'Autopsy shows presence of Mutagenic Compound, presumed to be Leftover blood. Testing to determine the origin of the blood is still underway.'

Chad's eyes nearly glazed over as he continued reading the Forensic Report on Seraph. Apparently, his file was a bit larger than most heroes who die on the line of duty - most likely a result of his massively altered body.

'Blood adopted darker coloration and is highly viscous - possible clotting from substance?'

Chad closed the folder and held his hand to his mouth. He'd been relatively unscathed mentally the last few days - he didn't directly cause Seraph's death, and Chad didn't see him die. But looking at someone you always looked up to on TV, deformed and cut open and dead, made Chad feel like-

"If you're going to puke, you're going to be taking my trash out."

Dr. Illin was holding a small wastebasket towards Chad, who took it and breathed slowly. He didn't end up puking - Chad knew how to stop himself when he was feeling terrible. He kept breathing and closed his eyes till the nausea left him.

"Bullet? I know you're dressed and everything, but maybe you should take the chance to relax for a bit. You seem pretty out of it. Plus if you get injured again, I have to write it up, and I hate the paperwork."

"It's THE Bul... Nevermind. Sure thing, Dr. Illin, I'll take a few days off. Have a good day."

---

Chad came down from the sixth floor of HERO One after completing the Monkey Run for the second time - even after intense training in the gym, he was able to complete the course in just over a minute. Not too impressive for a Speedster considering his lack of dexterity, but Chad's time was much faster than most of the Heroes who had attempted the obstacle course. Of course, he still failed the course most of the time he tried it, but Chad decided to blame that on leftover nausea.

As the elevator opened to the third floor, Chad came face to face with The Shocker, the massive electric superhero. His popularity, while hardly exceptional before, was outright detrimental after his 'killing' of Starbright. Many fans of the more popular hero were demanding The Shocker to be fired immediately or to even be imprisoned.

He walked into the elevator, bumping Chad into the wall as he did so. Chad frowned from behind his damaged helmet - it was probably because he had been healed from his back wound and he got a new phone, but Chad felt bad for The Shocker's predicament. Even if he was misguided and attacked them before, he was still a Hero.

Chad decided to forgive The Shocker for injuring him earlier and planned to be nicer to him in the future. He could probably use a friend right now - maybe they'd go out to eat sometime! Starbright could come to, then their fight would just be a funny bonding story!

Chad moved over to the nearest silver booth, entering it casually. Apparently, it was possible to use an app to create patrols or apply for assignments, but Chad wasn't exactly a very tech-savvy individual. Chad planned on asking someone how to download and sign up for that later - Starbright had replaced the phone Chad lost a few days prior.

"Okay... What have we got today?"

Talking to himself, Chad went through the various job listings available to pick from. As usual, Chad pretty much signed up for everything below a certain level of difficulty - finding lost animals, a few Slime Cleanups, and busting drug dealers in Brookside.

Y'know, things that the police usually do. Or at most, something a Hero may do for the publicity.

Chad, obsessive about cheesy heroic fiction and cartoons, found these to be the perfect tasks for him. He didn't cause much property damage, and it allowed him to interact more closely with the people he was helping. Not to mention, the risk of ending up in a fight was pretty low - and while the Seraph Situation made Chad pretty confident most criminals wouldn't want to fight The Bullet, he didn't want to push his luck that much. Especially not today, after seeing those photos.

Of course, Chad wasn't going to be paid much for these lower-grade missions. That's why he took up a Patrol as well! He got to run around Watervale and Brookside, looking for crime as it happened - the old fashioned way of heroics! Not to mention, patrolling those areas paid a bit more than the other boroughs.

Chad didn't realize it yet, but there was a reason Brookside and Watervale were patrolled by very few heroes. They were hives of villainy, with the vast majority of gangs within Castleburg being based in one of the two Boroughs. Not to mention, with the recent EAGLES fiasco, even some of the normal citizens were becoming upset with heroes.

Finishing up, Chad decided to get to work fast - the sooner he finished up his jobs for the day, the sooner he could start his patrol.

His first mission: A Derek Jackson reported a lost Climber Cat somewhere in the East Flank.

"Shouldn't be too hard - those things are Leftovers. Can't be too many of them to look for..."

---

1 Week Later...

"You Nervous?"

Chad moved over slightly seeing his boss, Percy, standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Chad was nearly done dyeing his hair, and sitting on the edge of his bathtub.

"I guess. Yeah, I'm super nervous... I'm going to be on live television - that's pretty cool!"

Chad was ecstatic to see his name in The Castleburg Times, even if newspaper was kind of dead. Sometime in the last few days, however, Castleburg Today, one of the biggest talk shows on the East Coast, wanted to have him come in for an interview. Chad wasn't sure if this was purely from his role in the defeat of Seraph, or if Starbright had pulled any strings. Whatever the reason, Chad was still thrilled at the opportunity.

"I'm sure you'll do fine Chad. Just try and be yourself, that's all they can ask of you."

Chad nodded. He had already prepped some things to talk about during the interview! The correct pronunciation of his alias, the people he's met with the last week during his missions and patrols, the Climber Cat that took him 13 hours to find (WHY ARE THERE SO MANY OF THESE THINGS!?), and some of his hobbies. Yesterday The Shocker denied going out for lunch with Chad (and said some pretty mean words...), so Chad also wanted to try and mention him to help boost his popularity.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to recommend his blog to people currently - when he updated it a few days ago, it was taken down. Apparently, the web host thought that it was someone trying to bash on The Bullet, rather than Chad posting it himself! If it wasn't for his Hero work taking up so much time, it probably would have been back up by now...

Oh well! No sense in being upset about something else when there was good news to celebrate!

Percy left a few moments later - it was still business hours, and he needed to cover for Chad's absence. It didn't take long for Chad to finish his hair and shave (and he didn't even cut himself!), and looking at the mirror, he felt pretty happy with his appearance. It didn't fit Chad's personality whatsoever, but his ex was a big fan of the look, and it grew on him as time passed on. He especially liked the tattoo - while others called it lame, he thought it made him look super cool!

Chad's phone began to buzz beside him, displaying the cover of Starbright's newest album. Chad quickly answered it - Chad didn't want to assume things, especially since famous people don't seem to like clingy fans, but he was starting to think that Starbright and him were friends now!

"Bullet, how are you doing? Look remember you got that Castleburg Today interview coming up today. This will be the first time people get to hear from the man himself, no pressure. Anyway, I got some clothes for you to wear, just to help establish your image some more."

"Uh, scratch that actually, you can buy your own clothes. I'm sending you over some money for them. 5 grand should be enough right? Nah we will make it 10 grand to be safe. Anyway, yeah, knock yourself out. All I want to see when I look at you on that show is something that screams 'THIS IS THE BULLET'. I think you best know what that looks like. Oh and no Gucci stuff, thats all bargain bin trash anyway. Again no pressure, just a few million watching."

Chad could see himself pale in the mirror, blood rushing from his head as he heard the ridiculous amount that Starbright was giving him. He'd already bought Chad one of the most expensive phones on the market, but 10 grand was more than Chad had ever held in his life.

"A... Are you sure about giving me that much money? I don't think I'd be able to pay you back for a few months..."

More than a few months - Chad accidentally crashed through a building while running from a pack of M.W.E.s his last patrol, and his pay this week was cut pretty drastically as a result. Chad felt justified in his dislike of animals after that.

"Not that I don't appreciate it! I don't own many outfits, haha..."

The call ended shortly after, and Chad struggled to cope with his sudden influx of cash. People online talked about Heroes making a ton of money, but Starbright was able to throw around what most people made in months like it was nothing. Of course, Chad didn't consider that Starbright's money was supplemented by his massively famous singing career.

Chad went to his room, and quickly started rummaging through his closet for something to wear - eventually, he decided on polo shirt and khakis, one of his more common outfits. As he reached around, however, he accidentally dropped a shirt from its hanger. Behind it was a partially filled Helium tank, very out of place for the otherwise comfy bedroom Chad had made for himself. Chad quickly covered it again, heart racing as he closed the closet door. No time to think about that kind of stuff - Chad had a busy day ahead of him!

---

Chad knew exactly what to wear to an interview that would be seen by millions - a brand new costume! It'd have an air of mystique since his identity hadn't been revealed to the public yet, and superhero costumes were way cooler looking than a suit or something. And since Starbright had given him such a windfall, it was the perfect time to replace his damaged costume!

Of course, buying a complete costume was pretty difficult within such a short time frame. As a result, Chad had to rely on the same strategy he used to make his last suit - taking random pieces he found that looked cool, and slapping them together. This time though, instead of barely having a hundred or so dollars, he had 10 thousand...

Chad originally wanted to buy Riot gear and possibly avoid hurting as much from collisions or getting stabbed, but the nice officer he asked said that he needed government identification to purchase that. Chad wasn't sure if being a Hero counted, but he could always worry about it when he didn't have a deadline - his interview was only a few hours away. Instead, he bought an armored one-piece suit, like the motorcyclists and daredevils wore - that was still pretty cool!

Chad's purchases were fairly nonsensical and sporadic after that - a cool looking helmet from the same bike shop, ballistic plates from some shady guy Chad found in a gun shop, a bunch of zip-ties to capture bad guys, and some white steel-toed boots.

Chad paused as he continued his shopping, however. While buying all of these things was cool, Chad's mind flashed back to his fall and the broken leg he earned from it. He really lucked out - He could have died so easily if he missed the minijet, and even if he didn't miss it, he could have cut an artery or something and bled out.

The first aid kit that Chad bought was pretty expensive for Chad's taste, but it was compact and could save a life in an emergency. Not to mention it was less expensive more useful than a parachute. Next time he breaks his leg, Chad will have a splint!

Chad really hoped he wouldn't need to break his leg again...

After all of that, Chad hadn't made much of a dent in the funds that Starbright had given him - at least, not until he got to his final purchase. Chad could almost feel the looks of reproach as he arrived at one of the most high-end fashion store in Kingsdale. Chad was dressed in one of his better outfits, but considering he was a pizza delivery guy, he wasn't exactly blending in. Chad kept his head down and tried to avoid making eye contact with others as he started looking for the belts.

Starbright was the person that had helped Chad the most so far - heck, even over the last week, his interactions with the other heroes have been limited. Chad didn't think most of them even knew his name - not that it was their fault. He'd been pretty busy the last few days, but Chad probably should have tried a little harder to get to know his coworkers.

The one that Starbright wore obviously wasn't available - Starbright must have bought his belt from abroad, or maybe it was custom-made. But Chad picked the one that seemed most similar, and they looked close enough, right? Chad paused - after making sure it wasn't Gucci as per Starbright's request, Chad quickly made his purchase, questioning why a belt was worth more than the rest of his costume combined.

Chad shook the thought from his mind as he walked home. He didn't have a right to complain - after all, it wasn't his money. He'd pay Starbright back later

For only having a few hours to get ready, Chad had managed to fix up a pretty good looking costume. Sewing was one of the few things Chad felt confident in, and while he wasn't an expert, it was the best he could do with what he had available. He even managed to sew the plates into the suit! And the cape didn't turn out as bad as he thought it might have.

Of course, functionally, the thing was pretty pathetic. Chad effectively just threw together what he thought would look cool, not taking into account if it would actually help protect him in a fight or if it would fall apart the second he took a hit. Chad mostly just wanted it to look nice before being gawked at by millions - he could make it work well after he was done his interview.

Chad felt pretty confident as he left his home - this interview was going to be great!

---

Somehow Chad hadn't screwed himself over by thinking that. The interview actually did go pretty well.

Surprisingly, Chad's decision to wear his new costume had actually worked out - his desire to maintain a 'Secret Identity' wasn't common among most of HERO, at least not for the last few decades. That, combined with his loud and boisterous personality, had managed to make him stand out more than he expected.

"Let's get this out of the way right off the bat - how did you and Starbright manage to take down Seraph so fast? Starbright and some HERO officials said the confrontation was over in seconds!" "W-well, Starbright is really strong and cool and powerful and awesome, so it wasn't too bad... A-and I'm pretty fast, y'know? Haha..."

"How is HERO handling the loss of three A tier heroes? Seraph was a major face for HERO as an organization, and they haven't commented on his current situation. Could you tell us - is Seraph dead?" Chad's mind flashed to the pictures of Seraph's bloated and deformed corpse, and he was suddenly glad he was wearing a helmet - it meant no one could see the color drain from his face.

"I don't think I can talk about that, sorry..."

Eventually, the interviewer grew frustrated and started asking about other topics, and Chad visibly relaxed. The interview went much more smoothly when Chad began talking about how he was acclimating to HERO, and his actions in costume after EAGLES was disbanded.

The interviewer looked a little disturbed when Chad described smashing in one of the heads of a MWE, only to be bitten by another. And no one ever wanted to listen to a Slime Cleaning. But Chad's patrol route was what caused the most interest.

"I'm sorry, your patrol goes through Brookside?"

"And Watervale! I think I do a pretty good job too, I arrested some drug dealers already and the officer that came to get them let me use his Siren-"

Chad was incredibly lucky to not have faced any problems yet - few heroes interact with Brookside or Watervale in any capacity and both boroughs were filled with gangs and criminals, but the only injury Chad received so far was a bite from a Leftover.

Then again, Chad was probably one of the people in HERO who could avoid trouble on a patrol in Brookside. Even from a fairly short distance, his all-black costume looked just like a villain - along with the fact that Chad's patrols were done at relatively high speeds, he probably hadn't been attacked simply because he wasn't noticed fast enough. After making his patrol common knowledge during this interview, Chad had probably made things much more difficult for himself.

Not that Chad knew that of course - he was just answering questions as they came to him, ignorant of what consequences they would have.

As the interview came to a close, Chad made sure to give out his message to 'Stop bullying The Shocker' (Which was met with many confused looks from people who had no idea who that was), and he left the building, eager to tell Starbright how the interview had gone.

Who knows - maybe some of the other Heroes had watched it, and Chad could talk with them about it.

---

Chad shakily stepped out of the plane, doing his best to keep his three bags of luggage from falling into the water. He wasn't wearing his new costume - a benefit to this being a Superhero-only resort. Instead, Chad was wearing a button-down dress shirt, khakis, the belt he bought recently, and a pair of Oxfords that his father had gotten him for a school dance a year or two ago.

In short, not something you should wear to a resort. Chad felt a bit anxious as he saw that most of the others who had also come were dressed in far more casual clothing. He hadn't brought a swimsuit since he couldn't swim didn't like hanging out in the water, but he probably should have dressed down a bit more than he usually did...

No sense in being upset though! Chad was lucky to have come on the resort trip since he was so new, so being upset just cause he wasn't dressed properly was dumb. Chad had been working every day since the EAGLE incident, so he should try and get the most out of this vacation time.

As they arrived at the resort itself and were handed their brochures and villa keys, Chad smiled brightly. He'd never been on a vacation before, so this was all very exciting and new! He could go build a sandcastle on the beach, check out the gym they had here - maybe he could even ask some of the staff to teach him how to swim!

"Before you all go, I have reserved a late dinner at the Solaris, which is the resort's five-star restaurant. If you could join me there at 8:00 PM, that would be excellent. Until then, make sure you enjoy yourselves.”

Chad grinned, making an alarm on his phone (He learned how to put alarms on his phone! How cool was that!!!). Chad had never really eaten at a five-star restaurant, to so that sounded like something he wouldn't want to miss!

Chad quickly made his way to his villa, and after oohing and ahhing at his temporary accommodations, he unloaded his luggage and changed into his workout clothes.

Chad nodded his head to himself. First things first - 'Operation: Make Friends' was a go! A vacation was the perfect time to get to know your coworkers better, right? So he just needed to look around for people to hang out with! Unfortunately, Starbright hadn't won the drawing on who got to come on the vacation - if he had, Chad could have asked to been introduced to some of the others. Starbright was probably beloved by the other heroes, right?

Nodding to himself, Chad left his villa and started to look around the resort for the gym or someone to hang out with, whichever he found first. That's when he realized... He probably should have asked to hang out with someone before he left for his villa in the first place, huh? Chad groaned - stupid move. Oh well, he had 7 hours to find someone to hang out with. Worst case scenario, he could always make plans with someone over dinner tonight.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus

---

The security guard that Chad was talking to was clearly uncomfortable with his position and decided to leap at the opportunity to escape that the inexperienced hero offered. He bolted straight to his feet and ran towards the elevator - he could run as fast as he wanted since the traps that had originally lined the hallway were taken care of only a few minutes ago. Chad watched as the guard ran, following at a pace far too quick for a person with a broken leg.

Thankfully, Chad currently had a wall to lean on. If he didn't, Chad doubted he would be able to move safely, let alone use his power to keep up with the guard. Compared to what Chad was used to, it was pitifully slow - but Chad didn't feel comfortable using his power at higher levels right now. If he made a mistake as he did on the jet and accidentally used his injured leg, Chad would experience incredible pain. Even worse, he might fall - and getting up from a fall would cost Chad time he really didn't have.

When Chad caught up to the Guard, he was slamming on the call button to no avail. Looking at the display right above showed that the elevator was actually descending, rather than rising to the floor Chad was on. It wouldn't be long - maybe a minute, two at most until the elevator comes back up.

Chad immediately walked to the stairs, much to the confusion of the Guard. It took Chad a few seconds to realize what was really happening - if the elevator was going down, that clearly meant someone called for it. And while it might be someone who could help, it was just as likely that the person coming up was a member of the Wings of Law! Chad didn't consider it, but it also could have been a guard with a gun, which was just as dangerous as someone with a Power. Chad was not in the condition to fight someone on equal footing, and even if he managed to get into the elevator without conflict, there was no guarantee someone wouldn't call it back down.

Of course, the reality of the situation hadn't crossed Chad's mind at all - he was seeing Cora and Rumi's OMNI descend. It was to be expected Chad was feeling pretty paranoid right now, so the possibility that someone was leaving the floor rather than coming up hadn't occurred to him.

Chad sighed in relief as he came to the stairs, seeing that there was a firm metal railing along the side. If there wasn't anything to help him climb, Chad would have had to risk the elevator. Hopping on one foot, Chad climbed the steps to the next floor. Chad bit his lip hard as his left foot smacked against one of the steps - too low. Luckily, he didn't scream or fall down the stairs.

The last thing he needed was to break his other leg

---

15 Minutes Later

Chad was really hating himself right now.

WHY DID HE TAKE THE STAIRS!?!? At the time it seemed smart - avoiding an immediate confrontation that Chad might have lost, and not run the risk of being trapped in an elevator in enemy territory. As it turned out, going through the evil hideout crawling with henchman was a lot more risky and dangerous than taking a single elevator, which might have had an enemy inside.

It could have been worse, if we're being honest - Chad was able to mostly evade any Guards he saw. Although, that was less because Chad and his broken leg were amazing at stealth, and more because they were being invaded. It didn't help that most of them weren't exactly the best Security material out there, considering they were relying on Television ad recruitment. Really, one of the Guards even saw Chad, and purposefully ignored him in order to escape without having to deal with someone with a superpower.

Not that Chad knew, of course. In his mind, he was displaying a hidden talent for covert action that even James Bond would be impressed with. If he wasn't wracked in pain, Chad might have attributed his stealth skill to all the times he snuck snacks from his parent's pantry late at night, or how he managed to hide his face tattoo from his Mom for nearly 2 weeks.

Not important right now. Chad could feel the swelling in his boot - it had set on especially hard after he started climbing the stairs, and his ankle felt as though it were constricted with a vice. And though it was uncomfortable, Chad knew messing with his foot was the worst thing he could do right now. Chad had at least a few broken bones, and the first aid training he received at school was woefully ill-equipped to handle such an injury. No, the tightness of his boot probably served as a better splint than whatever Chad could fashion out of Table legs and duct tape, or whatever other materials he could manage to scavenge around here.

Not to mention it didn't take time. How long had it been - 10 minutes? 15? Chad hadn't seen any clocks yet, and even if his phone hadn't been destroyed by The Shocker, he wouldn't have been able to use it after getting drenched by Sea Serpent.

Chad grimaced slightly beneath his tarnished helmet. Things were not turning out as glamorous as he thought they would. It would take several weeks to heal his broken ankle, his costume would probably need to be completely recreated after all the damage it sustained, and there was a fair chance that Starbright had gotten injured because Chad got caught early in their fight. Heck, the fight might even be over already - Starbright probably won though, if it was over. He was really strong, after all.

And how come, despite all of that, the only thing Chad was focused on was that he was wet? It was stupid - it's the middle of July! He wasn't going to get sick from being a little damp in one of the warmest months of the year. Chad had broken many bones before - he had the scars to prove it, and Chad could even recall Percy lecturing him about safety with that light accent he had when he was concerned...

So why did none of those memories come back to him instead? All he could focus on was coming in after playing in the rain, many years ago. A scraped knee, covered in mud, soaking wet - much to the amusement of his parents, who seemed so much bigger back then. Chad could almost feel the soft cotton towel his mother used to dry him off back then-

"Starb-!"

It was instinctive. As Chad blinked away tears from something that had gotten in his eye, he saw his ideal walk from around the corner - and the fact he was accompanied by an unconscious Sea Serpent made it all the better! The only thing that stopped Chad from limping straight towards him was the fact that Starbright was accompanied by a guard. Chad cut off his scream (especially good, considering he was still in the middle of enemy territory), and threw himself behind the nearest corner.

Luckily, he caught himself on the corner of the wall before he fell to the ground. Chad didn't see if the guard was armed - but if he was, Chad wouldn't be able to help. While Chad might normally be able to move fast enough to charge someone before they could shoot their gun, there was no way he'd be able to do it with a broken leg. At best, he might be able to use his arms to keep himself from skidding across the floor at over a hundred miles per hour, and pray the guard was a bad shot or wouldn't expect him.

Chad made his plan in only a few seconds. He'd follow Starbright, and swoop in to destroy the guard (NONLETHALLY!!!) when he was distracted or Chad got close enough! And they'd begin searching for Mr.Powers!

It was pretty surprising, honestly - despite vastly overestimating Starbright's combat abilities, Chad didn't seem to consider the possibility that Starbright had already talked the Guard over to his side. Maybe cartoons and movies had rotted his brain? That or the pain and possible internal bleeding were messing with Chad's head.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman

---

Chad couldn't hear what Sea Serpent was saying to Starbright from within his bubble, but he could still see her raise her hand into the air. Chad was prepared to move the moment Starbright gave him an opening - maybe that was why he was so prepared. A sudden change in pressure overcame Chad, as the water lost all form and began to drop to the ground. Chad activated his power, pushing forwards with all his might - if he could reach the side of the ledge, he would be able to charge at Sea Serpent from this angle!

How does someone push themselves off of water and thin air? Chad was able to run on water, but swimming through it as it was falling just wasn't within his abilities. He missed the ledge by a dozen or two feet, only managing to slam headfirst into the side of the building. The plastic of his helmet screeching as his head collided with the wall. Chad forced his gaze downwards, ignoring the sudden impact - the minijet was still there. It looked a bit closer than it did when he was in the bubble, but that made sense - he was falling towards it. In his newly oxygenated and adrenaline-soaked mind, Chad realized his plan was a bit stupider than he probably gave it credit - Not only did he actually have to land on the minijet, it was pointing out of the wall of a concrete building and looked like it was far from the most stable of landing points.

It made Chad happy that he didn't take this path of his own volition, He would have felt like a scumbag if he left Starbright on his own against Sea Serpent, and then just ended up dying while he was running away.

2 Seconds. Chad tucked himself in, tried rolling, was using his power as he fell - anything to try and make the landing as smooth as possible. He even aimed for the green goo that coated the jet, believing it may soften his impact somewhat. Within his limited skills and knowledge, Chad managed to fall perfectly. But Chad was not used to falling off buildings.

A sharp, blinding pain shot through his left leg as he crashed into the minijet. The sound of metal screeching on concrete as the minijet absorbed the impact and pressed against the building. Chad displayed more agility than most uninjured Speedsters as he catapulted himself forwards, diving for the safety that the interior of the building presented.

Another pain - not instant and overwhelming, but more like a slowly growing ache in his left foot. A very distinctive crunching sound reached Chad's ears as he pushed off the same foot he injured less than a second earlier. Stupid mistakes from Chad. What a surprise.

Thankfully, the building was designed with defense in mind, and Chad had no time to accelerate. Chad smashed into the interior wall of the building at nearly a hundred miles per hour, and while the green goo that coated his (heavily damaged) armor helped to lessen the impact, Chad still groaned as he hit his right shoulder into the concrete.

He paused, breathing heavily. Chad was in extreme pain, but he was still very much alive - that was good. It meant he could still find the others and reach Starbright before Sea Serpent tries to kill him. Chad looked down at himself. He was safe for now, so finding what he had done to his body would be a smart idea.

His shoulder was completely fine - it would bruise later for sure, but compared to his other injuries it was a nonissue. His back hadn't been hit in the fall, but it did feel like the exertion might have torn the skin open. Staying wet for too long might lead to an infection. Chad knew what was wrong with his foot the instant he felt the pain - looking at it pointing an unnatural direction only confirmed his belief. He twisted his ankle pretty badly. Could still move his toes, but the pain involved in doing so made it hard to tell if there was a fracture. Chad tried touching it to the ground to support himself but pulled it back into the air the second he felt the pain.

Chad didn't like pain. But he was still alive, and he could still move - even if he needed a wall to lean against. That was a lot better than most people who jumped off buildings. Looking in the room he found himself in, Chad found it nearly discernable. An explosion had pushed a table against the wall and broken what Chad believed were once chairs, along with leaving those weird black marks that explosions leave all across the floor. Chad had no idea what an explosion did outside of look really cool in movies, so he didn't question its presence or the fact he didn't hear it.

Far more importantly, there was someone still in the room. They openly gaped at Chad, as most reasonable people would upon seeing someone fall into the side of a building. Chad managed a strained smile beneath his mask, which had most of its paint scratched off and was heavily damaged.

"A-are you okay? Sorry if I scared you, hehe. HERO is attacking right now, so you should probably, uh... leave. Do you mind taking me to the elevator?"

Chad noticed the gun in the room - it was pretty close, and lying on the floor. Why was a guard not holding his gun- Stupid question. Chad had to stop himself from cringing at the question he asked himself - it was obvious that whoever was in the minijet just tossed the gun aside. The guard couldn't go for the gun without passing Chad, and even if he tried because Chad was injured, the Hero's speed would let him take the gun instantly.

But approaching the situation with diplomacy rather than violence was how Starbright handled Sea Serpent, so that was probably how most heroes tried to handle bad guys. There was no need to grab the gun yet - not only because it would be a little scary for the guard, but also because Heroes didn't use guns!

"Oh, and can you just leave your gun here for now? I-I can get it for you later, I just don't want anyone from HERO to try and attack you cause you're armed..."

Chad didn't realize that having a gun would greatly assist him in his upcoming fight against Sea Serpent - she could control water, not survive getting shot. In Chad's mind, a hero using a gun was preposterous - that would make them an anti-hero at best.

Of course, he also didn't know how to turn the safety off, so maybe bringing the gun wouldn't be as useful as one would think.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus

---

Negotiations, unfortunately, did not turn out as planned. Chad nearly jumped as a wave of water flew from behind Sea Serpent, smashing into Starbright. As the wave shifted course towards Chad, the younger hero barely had time to start running - he didn't make it far before being caught up by the current, however. Whether it was because he was shocked by the sudden attack and didn't move fast enough, or the poor traction caused by the rain, it didn't really matter. Whatever the reason, he was now stuck in a giant ball of water - that's what mattered.

Chad, luckily, had the time to hold his breath before being submerged. If he hadn't, things would have been a bit worse for him. Of course, holding his breath didn't buy him much time. Even as an athlete who trained his lungs to help him run faster, Chad never held his breath longer than 3 minutes before, and the last time he got close to 3 minutes he nearly passed out and got yelled at by his mom-

Now wasn't the time to be thinking about pointless things. The sphere of water he was trapped within was moved over the edge of the helipad, hovering over open air. Chad displayed a surprisingly calm reaction as he realized the chance of him dying within the next few minutes were incredibly high. He expected the chances of him dying to be really high - that's what he was warned about several times, both in his Psychological evaluations as well as from actual heroes.

But dying right now, hovering over the side of a building while drowning... That was kinda lame, right? Even if it was Sea Serpent's Signature Move, Chad always imagined THE BULLET being killed in a blaze of sacrificial glory, and to later have a statue built after him in a park. And since this was his first official mission, he definitely wasn't going to get a cool statue after dying from this...

Maybe he was actually super freaked out by dying, and his coping mechanism was thinking about incredibly stupid crap? Chad was focused on something else now - How to escape. The Problem: He was hanging in a ball of water, controlled by one of the strongest Hydrokinetics in the country, and was hundreds of feet above the ground. His backup was Starbright, who while incredibly powerful, couldn't fly and save Chad from falling to his death. Chad was unable to swim, and not only that, everything Sea Serpent and Starbright were saying was distorted to the point Chad couldn't understand clearly.

Chad assessed his situation within 9 seconds. He lucked out in that regard - time was his biggest enemy right now. And it left time for the much harder part - finding a way to survive. Chad's vision was a little distorted by the water, but he could see decently enough. Starbright was saying something that Chad couldn't make out. Maybe he could use that as a distraction? Activating his power, Chad tried swinging his arms and legs as hard as he could to escape.

It was almost disheartening how pathetic his attempt was. Maybe if he actually knew how to swim and Sea Serpent wasn't so skilled Chad could have escaped so simply, but flailing like a toddler just ended up burning precious seconds of oxygen. Now Chad definitely wasn't going to last 3 minutes in here. It didn't cross Chad's mind, but it was probably for the best his escape failed - he would have ended up falling to his death, or grabbed onto the ledge of the helipad only to be trapped again. Chad continued to look around - if Sea Serpent noticed his failed escape attempt, he couldn't see her reaction. Chad was about to begin pretending that he was already drowning, if only to get Sea Serpent to skip her monologue (she's a villain now, and villains have to have monologues!) and show his 'corpse' off or something.

However, something caught his eye - one of the minijets was partially sticking out of the wall of the building. It was a pretty big distance to fall, and Chad would have to try really hard if he realistically wanted to land on it. But falling a few dozen feet was far better to falling hundreds - if Chad was lucky, he might even avoid breaking any bones. And even if he wasn't lucky, landing there at all would mean he was closer to allies, who would be able to help him if he lost consciousness from the fall. And Sea Serpent probably wouldn't expect Chad to try and swim towards his death - maybe she would even let him, thinking he was trying to kill himself? Objectively speaking, that was the best plan he had thought of thus far.

Chad didn't do it. He had no intention of doing it either, in fact. That would be running away - and while Tactical Retreats were perfectly fine for heroes, running away was only something villains did! Starbright hadn't left yet because he knew that, and leaving Chad alone against Sea Serpent wasn't something a hero would do. Chad wouldn't be able to race back to Starbright if he landed on the minijet - not only was there a high chance he'd break his leg, but he'd have to run through floors that almost certainly have guards.

It's been just over 30 seconds. Chad only had one option left open - or, at least only one he had managed to think of. He just had to survive long enough for Starbright to defeat or distract Sea Serpent. If given a chance, and he used his power well enough, he might be able to launch himself to the ledge of the helipad. Chad tried to slow down his racing mind - he overthought things when he was in a bad situation. And right now, the last thing he needed was to stress himself out. Chad could feel a slight strain in his chest begin to form. How much longer would his breath last - a minute and 30 seconds? Maybe two minutes, if he could slow his heart down. Chad would have to hope Starbright could somehow distract or defeat Sea Serpent.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus

---

"As for flying a minijet, well I have been driving fast sports cars since I was 16. I'm pretty sure it's the same thing, right? All you have to do is floor the gas pedal and steer out of the way of things."

Chad nodded to himself as Starbright spoke - he had no clue if Starbright was correct since Chad had never driven either a minijet or a Sports car before. However, Chad had watched some racing movies, and those always showed the driver pressing hard on the gas - Starbright couldn't be far off because of that.

The room they ended up in was a bit different from what Chad was expecting - he had never been in a hanger before, so even he wasn't really sure what he was expecting. Still, Chad was relieved to see that the minijets themselves were large enough to carry two passengers. Chad continued to follow Starbright - even with the quick guidance that he was given, Chad didn't feel confident in flying the jets in any real capacity. Considering they were going to be flying a sizable portion of the city, Chad really didn't want to run the risk of crashing.

And besides, of all the people that were present, Chad felt that the multimillionaire was probably the one who would know the most about flying a jet. Despite the small size of the jet and his rather large build, Chad managed to squeeze himself into his seat quite well. Once he was secured and Starbright started the plane, Chad was awestruck - they managed to outpace all the other jets within a few seconds, and Starbright had started climbing to a higher altitude as they approached Elmore Island. Chad couldn't really see that well when he ran at his max speed, so actually looking outside the jet as they flew was exhilarating.

"See I told you Chad, no different from driving a sports car. You want to have a spin on it? It's a fantastic time."

"Well we just passed Kingsdale, so I guess I could try for-"

Chad was cut off as an explosion rocked the plane from behind - Chad suddenly felt very nervous as the plane rapidly began to fall. Against all odds, the jet had been nearly above a tower before it was hit by blake's missile, and a strong updraft carried them almost directly on top of the helipad. Chad, surprisingly, was not left shocked by the crash or terrified about nearly dying.

"Wow Starbright, you're even better at flying than I thought!"

It probably helped that Chad thought Starbright landed the plane on purpose, rather than crash and get lucky.

"Ha ha ha, boy am I glad that the jelly stuff filled just the back. If it ruined my outfit, I would have been so annoyed."

It was only after Starbright mentioned this that Chad realized he was soaked in a strange green goo. It must have been part of the coolant or something, right? Chad never worked with a car let alone a jet, so he had no clue if it was even safe for him to be covered in the weird gel.

More importantly, it further ruined his costume, as if the lightning blast from The Shocker hadn't already left the torso portion of his suit ruined. Chad tried fruitlessly to shake his arms off as Starbright handed his belt over to the younger hero.

"Here, use this to restrain her when you get the chance. I'll do the talking, just do your best to back me up. Oh, and look as confident as possible. You know, puff out your chest and all that stuff. It will help with selling it."

Chad nearly said 'Restrain who?' when he looked up and saw Sea Serpent standing at the elevator. He almost immediately began to freak out, realizing that Starbright was asking him to restrain an A TIER HERO. With a belt.

Chad tried to calm himself as he tore the belt from Starbright's firm grip (it took a few tries) and the latter began to climb out of the jet. If it was a direct confrontation, Chad would have felt his chances of restraining Sea Serpent were near nonexistent - she was an insanely good hydrokinetic, and no matter how much people shitposted about them on forums, hydrokinetics were pretty good at stopping people from getting close to them. Being several stories in the air made Chad even more thankful that Starbright was with him - if anyone could defuse the situation, it would probably be him.

Chad followed after Starbright just as he started talking, and Chad did his best to appear more imposing than he really was. While his all-black outfit was normally somewhat intimidating on its own, the fact that it was half melted and covered in green goo really made him look quite silly. Still, Chad was pretty tall for most men, so that combined with his build helped to offset how stupid he looked. Chad tried to keep his body at an angle to Sea Serpent, hiding the belt Starbright had given him behind his leg.

"Another smooth landing as always, wouldn't you agree BULLET?"

"Definitely! Looks like we got here before the others too."

"Oh! Sea Serpent didn't expect to see you there. Are you happy to see me still alive? I can't imagine you do ha ha, have you heard what its like over there? I'm sorry to say, but EAGLES is fucked. They will eat you alive over there if you so much as step on the mainland again. It pains me to say it, but justice will arrive sooner or later."

"They've already gotten The Shocker, haven't they?"

Starbright began to approach Sea Serpent, causing Chad to cringe - which made Chad very thankful he was still wearing his mask. Chad followed Starbright's lead and began moving closer to Sea Serpent, but he was much slower in his approach.

"You did do all of that, right? And my dear friend THE BULLET also saw you stand aside and let us into the tower to bring an end to EAGLES."

Chad didn't speak out, but he did nod his head as Starbright said this. Chad was nervous that if he said the wrong thing, he'd ruin their plan or end up looking like an idiot. His grip on the belt tightened when Starbright reached his hand out, however - if she agreed it was great, considering both Chad and Starbright were injured and winning a fight against Sea Serpent would be very difficult. If she didn't, then Chad was lucky still very lucky - Sea Serpent was standing close to the elevator, so Chad had somewhere to crash into if he missed her.

Compared to The Shocker, she was physically a lot weaker. But because of this, she was also much easier to accidentally kill - Chad really hoped things didn't turn violent. If she wanted to fight, Sea Serpent would definitely have the advantage, considering they were on an island surrounded by water.

But if she did want to attack, she would probably attack Starbright first. That was Chad's blessing - out of everyone at Elmore Island, he was the one that EAGLES probably knew the least about. She'd think Chad needed a dozen or so seconds to close the distance, and so she'd attack the person within arms reach of her.

Of course, that was assuming she didn't read whatever file HERO might have on Chad, or that she didn't attack both Chad and Starbright at the same time. She definitely could attack them both, considering how much water she had at her disposal.

Chad tried to avoid that thought. If they were lucky, he was worrying about fighting for no reason - Starbright was a really persuasive guy, wasn't he? Sea Serpent probably knew by now that if she was attacked within only a few hours of EAGLES being publicly announced, the group probably wouldn't last to the end of the day and would jump at the chance for an out..

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus@KaijuBaragon@DarkRecon@canaryrose@Rabidporcupine@Scarifar

---

Luckily, The Shocker was stunned enough by Starbright that Chad actually managed to land his charge. Both of them smashed into the side of the elevator, leaving a sizeable dent in the wall. Chad recovered from the impact very quickly and started to run out of the elevator. He paused briefly as a memory came to the surface of thoughts, and Chad ran his hand across the lower level buttons. The ring around the buttons lit up, and Chad jogged out of the elevator at normal speeds, fearful that the giant of a man would be getting up soon.

As the door closed behind Chad with a dinging sound, he smiled beneath his mask. As he felt a burst of electricity behind him, throwing Chad to the ground with the force behind it, Chad's smile quickly vanished. Judging by the burnt hole defacing the wall in front of Chad, the blast didn't hit him directly - even then, the pain was excruciating. Chad hadn't even thought of the possible damage the attack could have done to his suit, a shocking difference from everything else he had experienced in his Hero career. Surprisingly, however, Chad hadn't screamed yet.

"aaaaAAAAHH!"

Upon realizing he hadn't screamed yet, presumably out of shock at actually being hit, Chad released a very unflattering shriek. Surprisingly, despite being close to the shock, Chad's actual injury was far from debilitating - his suit had insulated his body and taken most of the impact from the glancing blow, although the plastic was severely burned. It was mostly limited to first degree burns and some minor abrasions.

Still, having burnt plastic against your back was far from comfortable. Chad briefly thought about taking off his suit, but decided against it as he realized The Shocker was still present, and not traveling the first 6 floors of HERO One. Chad winced as he turned around, feeling the melted suit cut into his back as he moved to look at The Shocker. He was clearly very upset about having a man-sized (and fabulous) spotlight shined into his eyes, and being slamned into an elevator at nearly 100 mph. And he definitely showed the damage that he sustained - he was crawling out of the elevator, seemingly not having recovered yet from his blindness or the tackle.

Before Chad had a chance to stand and sprint away at top speeds, The Shockers giant frame smashed into the same spot in the elevator, deepening the dent and causing the lights to flicker once more.

Another Hero had come to their rescue! A man seemed to float into the elevator after The Shocker, before hitting one of the buttons and causing the elevator to begin descending once more - this time before the inhabitant could stop it again.

Chad's breathing slowed as the Hero-turned-villain left their floor, going from hyperventilation to near-hyperventilation.

"Oh god, oh god, oh crap... Holy crap that was scary..."

"Alright, he'll probably just come back up again, so we should get out of here."

Chad coughed, pulled himself to his feet, and did his best to sound nonchalant.

"Y-yeah... Sounds like a plan. Anyone know where the stairs are?"

Chad didn't really remember the floating man that saved them, but Grace was with him and he did just save Chad from being vaporized, so the man was probably a good guy.

The hall was beginning to grow pretty crowded as more people showed up - a weird machine that Chad couldn't recognize for the life of him was leading a weird pink monster, another tall guy that looked much less intimidating than the Shocker, and FREAKING QUAKE!

Chad was stunned that he was meeting and working with an actual S-tier hero in the middle of a mission like he was a real big deal or something. Although Starbright was obviously an S-tier that didn't recieve his proper ranking, Quake was officially recognized - and easily was Chad's second favorite hero. If he thought he could ask for an autograph without his voice cracking or sounding like he was in pain, he probably would have in that moment. Instead, he chose to stand still like a Goober, waiting for someone else to take the lead.

"I don't want to work with criminals, If we do, we're hardly any better than Seraph is, right?"

Chad looked to the ground and tried to avoid looking directly at the pink monster - Villains were bad news, so Chad felt goosebumps grow across his skin. For all Chad knew, she was an Empath or some kind of mind controller, and that was why Quake and the other new arrivals were working with her. Of course, that wouldn't explain why she looked even more mutated than The Shocker did...

But Chad trusted her. Not because he was an inherently trusting person and was gullible as hell (he was both of those), but because Quake vouched for her. Getting an S-tier's approval was pretty cool, so the pink lady couldn't be, like, a bad criminal. Well, not a really bad criminal - all criminals were bad, that's what criminal means, right?

Chad kept Alien Angel in his peripheral vision for the entire time Grace was speaking, but he did cringe at the mention of Mini-jets.

"Hey, Portal Girl, do we really need to use the jets? Aren't there any other options? Because I don't think I'll be able to fly one properly, an-"

Chad nodded his head as the taller man spoke. Chad was god awful at driving cars, so the thought of driving something that could move on an entirly new dimension was causing him some major anxiety...

Chad jumped as soon as he saw the smoke grenades fly into the hallway, eliciting a shot of pain from his back. The pain was a momentary distraction, but it held him up all the same - before Chad could run, the smoke easily passed through his mask and caused him to enter a coughing fit. He also saw something he clearly remembered from countless action movies - a red laser appeared through the smoke, aimed directly at his chest.

Chad felt it was possible he could outrun the shooter's trigger finger... but when he saw a dozen or two lasers appear pointed at all the others in the group, the thought of running left his mind. Even if he could escape and find stairs, the rest of the group would almost definetly be shot.

So Chad did what his father always recommended if someone was pointing a gun at him - he slowly raised his hands in the air and tried to look as nonthreatening as possible for a 6'2 powerlifter-esque man dressed in all black. He released a massive sigh as the lasers fell from the group, and a woman walked forwards to meet them.

Ether seemed pretty cool, from what Chad knew about her - even if her friends (FREAKING DIVISON X?!?! WHAT?!) pointed there guns at them, it was just a precaution, so Chad didn't feel it was too bad. She apparently knew some of the people in their group, and best yet, she confimed what Chad lied to himself knew about the entire time - Powers was still totally alive! Really, the only thing he didn't like was that Ether also wanted to use Minijets...

"I won't be able to fly one of those things on my own though..."

"I don't think I can either... A-are any of the jets two-seaters?"

While Chad could run across water, he really wanted to avoid charging Elmore Island - especially considering he would be the only one doing it. Even if the jets had autopilot like commercial planes, he didn't know how to turn that on, unless there was a big switch that was labelled 'autopilot' like in the movies or something.

Chad chose to shuffle slightly closer to Starbright as Alien Angel mentioned hurting them. Chad hadn't even held Isolene before, let alone have a cuff made of it, but he really didn't like the idea of 'having a new hole to breath out of'.

Chad followed the group to the roof of the building, grimacing as he passed the burnt reamins of his cellphone. He leaned over to whisper to Starbright, the person he was standing closest to.

"Do you know how to fly a freaking minijet?? And can you give me a crash course before I... crash?"

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus@KaijuBaragon

---

The man walking out of the elevator made Chad somewhat uncomfortable - it was rare for him to see a person taller than him, and even more than that, he had never been in the same room as someone with so many mutations. Chad shook the feeling quickly, recognizing the figure almost instantly based on their green skin and choice of attire. The Shocker lacked as much merchandise as some other Heroes had, with the only poster of the Hero displaying his name as 'Frankenstein'. Even if the posters printing was brief, Chad rarely saw people refer to The Shocker by the proper name.

Chad used to think it was pretty funny, but recently, he had started to sympathize. Chad didn't have much time to try a friendly approach however.

"Just die! How about that! Hah! Serves you right, you prettyboy piece of shit!"

Lighting shot forwards at Starbright, faster than Chad could react - if the attack had been aimed at him, he would have definitely been hit despite his super speed. Starbright, however, had much more experience as a Hero. Chad's mouth gaped open from behind his mask when he saw his Idol dodge the attack

Before Chad had a chance to congratulate Starbright, the Hero started to question The Shocker as he walked backwards.

'Bullet, quickly give me your phone and unlock it for me."

"S-sure thing."

Chad handed Starbright his phone, not even noticing the incredibly fast movements Starbright made.

"The Shocker! Noooooo! I can't believe EAGLES got to you too... Try to remember, we were friends back in HERO. How could you not remember that? How could you just attack me like this? You know I am innocent Shocker. What crime have I, Starbright, committed to be hunted down by EAGLES, huh? Answer me that."

Chad was confused as he moved out of frame of the camera - Starbright had just finished telling The Shocker that he didn't recognize him, but now he was recording him and saying they were close friends? The thought that Starbright was streaming hadn't even crossed Chad's mind, considering how briefly Starbright had his phone. Much more importantly - Starbright was brining up a good point. Despite being a Hero, The Shocker was attacking them for no reason at all.

"You haven't done anything, Starbright! We're just looking for our friend..."

No, Chad recognized what was going on. The Shocker joined EAGLES, just like Starbright said - he wasn't a Hero anymore, just like Seraph.

These feelings were reaffirmed when another blast of lighting erupted from The Shocker's gauntlets, blasting the phone from Starbright hands. Chad gaped as the smoking piece of melted plastic smashed into the ground, glass breaking off from the screen as it bounced several times. The Shocker was definitely not a nice person.

Chad heard the roaring of the crowd outside, at first unaware of it's origins. He was even more nervous when Starbright stumbled. As Starbright began explaining, however, it all began to make sense.

"Well good job... dumbass. You and your other ugly ass EAGLES buddies just killed Starbright on an international live stream. That just leaves one loose end."

Chad didn't have much time to appreciate Starbright's great idea, however. He posed and a blast of light beamed directly at The Shocker - and even when it wasn't aimed at him, it was bright enough that Chad was thankful his helmet was tinted.

"Take care of him please."

Finally seeing his chance to help out, Chad clenched his fist and started to run. Chad tried to keep low to the ground, planning to shoulder tackle The Shocker in the mid section, and back into the elevator he came out of. Chad always envisioned his first fight being a lot more... fair. But considering the phone that The Shocker just vaporized was only a few weeks old, he felt justified in being a little rough.

If Chad was lucky, The Shocker would be too busy covering his eyes to defend himself or attack. And if he was slightly less lucky, missing and slamming into the wall wouldn't give him a concussion, or send him through the wall and down the elevator shaft.

If he was unlucky, Chad would experience his first taste of real hero work.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Hitman@Jumbus

---

Chad gulped as he saw the portal appear next to Grace. He hadn't experienced it since his first time using it a week prior, but it was still a very, very uncomfortable experience when he did use those portals. The thought of simply running to HERO One crossed Chad's mind, but he shook the thought from his mind - even if it felt less uncomfortable, it wouldn't be very inconspicuous to run at a heavily fortified building.

"I think it's best that Chet comes with me...I have a sneaking suspicion he's going to have a negative reaction to corpses."

"Yeah, I don't like dead stuff. I've been to a few funerals, and the ones that were open casket I had to keep my eyes closed most of the time."

The others continued to talk among themselves for awhile, before Chad's brain mentally caught up with his mouth.

"Wait a minute, my name isn't Ch-"

But it was too late! Grace had already walked through her portal, vanishing somewhere at HERO One. Chad frowned beneath his mask - it seemed everyone was getting both his Hero name as well as his civilian one wrong. Well, he could always remind them sometime later - for now, finding Powers and putting Seraph in prison was much more important. Chad remembered to exhale completely, like Grace had instructed a week ago, and jumped after Grace.

The feeling wasn't nearly as unpleasant as last time, which Chad misattributed it to being better prepared for the sensation. He wasn't as prepared for coming out of the portal, however - he nearly fell onto the floor, having jumped into the portal rather than merely stepping through.

Chad had found himself in a room that he had never been in prior, but it definitely looked impressive. Kind of like the big boss rooms that all the good guys had in the movies.

"Starbright!"

Chad immediately twisted his neck, fast enough that it nearly elicited a cracking sound. Fumbling in the chair at the desk was the Hero Starbright!

"I can't believe it! It's Starbright!"

So that made much more sense! Grace had taken them to Starbright's office, to recruit the powerful hero's help! It made sense that someone as strong as Starbright had his own office at HERO One.

Chad's internal monologue had distracted him long enough to miss Grace identifying the true owner of the office, but even his thick skull didn't miss the incredible shrill sound going off around the office. Chad really didn't like loud noises - he attempted to cover his ears, but when his gloved hands hit the sides of his helmet, he grumbled uncomfortably.

"Shit, oh shit, oh shit, someone must have pulled the alarm."

Chad nodded. He couldn't see any obvious cameras in the office, but Seraph would have to be an idiot not to tap Starbright's Office if he had a chance.

"Figure something out. I’ll try and draw them away..”

Chad turned just in time to see Grace run down the hall. He hadn't really heard anything she'd said over the shrill sound of the alarm, but if Grace was acting as bait, then Chad would have to figure out where the Wings of Law were hiding, and if they knew where Powers-

"Why didn't you stop her Bullet. Who knows whats out there, lets stick together and catch up with her."

"I'm so sorry Mr. Starbright, sir! Sticking together is a great plan!"

Immediately, Chad relinquished control of the operation to the more experienced hero. Not only did Chad instantly give up on whatever task Grace assigned them, but he also didn't think of correcting Starbright for saying his name wrong.

Chad still felt overwhelmed by the alarm, so he focused on keeping close to the wall and trying to keep Stabright within his field of view. The shrill of the alarm remained just as loud, but there seemed to be an undertone that was now missing. Chad didn't have time to think about it before a bright light pierced the darkness. Starbright was posing in the middle of the hallway, standing over two unconscious bodies.

"Woah! I didn't even see you take these guys out! You're amazing Starbright!"

"Ok Bullet, EAGLES are here at the 14th floor. We are going to have to fight our way out. If we can get out to the front we will be safe, but I don't feel right leaving that portal lady behind."

"O-okay Starbright... I haven't gotten in many fights before, but I'll do my best to help!"

Chad had practiced fighting many times and had roughhoused and boxed with friends many times in the past. But when it came to all-out, no holds barred fighting? He only really did that at the Exams he did in this very building.

Chad looked down the hallway. At the end was an elevator! These unconscious guys must have come from there, before Starbright stopped them!

"I think these guys probably came from the elevator..."

Just as he finished speaking, the lights in the hallway came back on. Chad sighed in relief. Even with Starbright with him, the dark was pretty scary, especially when you could accidentally run through a window on the 14th floor. With the lights back on, it would be much easier to find Grace, find whatever they came here for, and get out of here.

Just as he finished that thought, however, the elevator opened. It seemed like the two unconscious people called in reinforcements.

Fate/Iliou Persis

Lancer

Class: Lancer

Team: Red Team

True Name: Goliath

Appearance

Lancer is massive, as befitting his True Name. He stands at 9'9, and weighs 533 lbs. Goliath is incredibly muscular, which is what allows him to wield his incredibly large weapons and heavy armor. His voice is as deep and guttural, and his eyes are like black voids.

Despite this incarnation being before Lancer fought David, he still bears a scar where David's stone struck him - this is because of how Lancer is known primarily because of this battle.

Sex: Male

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Attribute: Earth

History: Goliath was born in the city of Gath to a single mother, Orpah - he had 3 other brothers, who would grow to similar proportions as Goliath himself. Goliath never knew who his fathers were, and due to his mother's personality, was forced to grow up fast to take care of himself.

When he became an adult, Goliath stood taller than anyone else in Gath. With his natural size came great strength, and he decided to use this strength to join the Philistine army. He quickly rose through their ranks, developing impressive skill with his oversized weapons. He grew to be the greatest warrior of the Philistines, and was chosen as their champion during the war against the Israelites. One of his first acts was to steal the Ark of the Covenant, which he brought to the temple of Dagon, earning him his god's favor.

Not seeing the point to the bloodshed the war caused, Goliath sought to end it in a pragmatic manner - a one-on-one duel, which would decide the conflict. Every day, during the morning and evening prayers of the Israelites, Goliath would state his challenge to duel their champion. And every day, Goliath was answered with silence. As time went on, he began to hurl insults at the Israelites for their cowardice, denouncing their God and insulting King Saul - all in an attempt to incite the Israelites to end the war.

When a challenger finally came forward, Goliath was infuriated - it was a mere boy, rather than King Saul or even just a normal soldier. While Goliath was equipped with his spear and sword, as well as his incredible armor, the boy merely had a staff and sling. Goliath expressed his fury, cursing the Israelites and their god for sending a boy to fight him, before attempting to stab David with his spear. David launched 4 stones at Goliath's feet, with the fifth connecting with Goliath's skull, killing him instantly.

Personality: Lancer is the form that most embodies Goliath's devotion to the Philistines and his dark god, Dagon. As a result, Lancer is incredibly obedient to most masters, with this class being the 'easiest' one to manage out of Goliath's possible summonings. Lancer is efficient and pragmatic, preferring to end a conflict quickly rather than dragging it out, and being more than willing to use underhanded and cheap tactics in order to secure victory. He will obey most Masters and can mesh well with many different personalities - he views his summoning as a purely business relationship, obeying a Master because they have a Command Spell they could use on him rather than out of any kind of loyalty.

Lancer greatly detests the Judeo-Christians, viewing them as cowards who can't fight without their God's support. He doesn't see the hypocrisy in this belief. Out of all of his possible classes, his hatred for David is weakest when summoned as a Lancer - he can still complain about him for hours on end, but he won't fly into a rage at the man's name. Lancer does not work with Jews or Christians - if his Master believes in Yahweh, it is unlikely that Goliath will comply with their orders without the threat of a Command Spell.

Lancer has a soft spot for children, who remind him of his difficult childhood. While he is willing to do nearly any deplorable act for the slightest of advantages, he will never risk the life of a youth - one of the few reasons he is not as hateful towards David when summoned as a Lancer is because David was so young at the time of Lancer's death.

Lancer holds one being in reverence - Dagon. One of the few beings that Lancer feels has ever valued him for more than his size and strength, Lancer worships Dagon and praises him for the smallest of blessings. This can cause difficulties between Lancer and religious allies, as he will be very dismissive of their gods - and if they believe in Yahweh, Lancer will be openly hostile.

Armaments: While his sword is his most powerful and known weapon, Lancer was much more confident with his spear, having trained with it far longer than he had with his sword. His spear is heavier than most men can lift, let alone wield effectively, and is 13 feet long. Lancer also wields a single Javelin, which is more akin to what most men would use as a two-handed club. He can throw it with immense force thanks to his strength, but only relies on it when his enemies are out of reach or attempting to run. Lancer's shield, like most of his equipment, is ridiculously oversized - a needed quality in order to reasonably cover his body.

Most impressive of Lancer's armaments is his Armor - while some have described it as 60 tons or more, it was really a 'mere' 5 tons in weight. Lancer's '+' Modifier to Endurance is active while he wears his armor, but so is his '-' Modifier to Agility. The armor also limits his range of motion, and prevents him from moving in certain environments (he doesn't work well with wooden floors). This armor also does not protect his forehead, in the exact spot where David's stone hit him. Despite these inconveniences, Lancer's armor makes him incredibly difficult to harm.

Parameters:
Strength: A
Endurance: B+
Agility: C-
Mana: D
Luck: E

Class Skills:
Magic Resistance: B-
Magic Resistance capable of canceling spells with a chant below three verses, with even High Thaumaturgy greater rituals struggling to affect him. Despite being born in the Age of Gods, Lancer has had very little interaction with Magecraft as a whole. When summoned as a Saber, this is reflected in a much lower Rank - however, as a Lancer, his Magic Resistance is far higher because of his Heart and his god's protection.

This skill is far weaker against Holy Sacraments and Holy Magics, however, as the will of God is what resulted in Lancer's death.

Personal Skills:
Fish-god's Blessing: B
Lancer possesses the blessing of the god Dagon which allows him to breathe underwater as well as move and fight just as well as when he is on land, despite the immense weight of his body and equipment.

Terrifying Presence: C
While he waited to fight King Saul, Lancer taunted the Israelites near constantly. Despite demanding to fight a champion of the Israelites every morning and night for 40 days, everyone was too fearful to even think of challenging him. This skill causes anyone who sees Lancer and considers him an enemy to become fearful of him, making them much less willing to face him in a direct fight than they otherwise would, as well as somewhat weakening their melee offensive prowess.

The effect of this skill is a form of Mental Interference - as a result, it can be negated by skills that block Mental Interference (Bravery, Mental Pollution, etc.) of C rank or higher. Additionally, because of Lancer's legend, Divinity of C rank or higher will also allow this skill to be ignored, with only D rank Divinity being needed if the Servant is related to Jewish or Christian legends.

Of course, this skill is less effective on those who wish to take a ranged approach to fight Lancer. The effect fades rapidly upon leaving Goliath's presence.

Monstrous Strength: D+
A Skill granted from Lancer's Nephilim heritage and the connotations his name has with monsters. Lancer can temporarily boost his Strength by 1 rank, but only for short periods of time and causing significant damage to himself. While doing so, he appears to grow scales along his body. The damage he takes is less severe if used in the water.

This Skill can be used much longer and invokes much less damage while Lancer's Noble Phanasm is invoked, but Lancer will still take some damage if he is not submerged in water.

Protection of the Faith: C-
A skill born from a deep commitment to one's faith, rather than being gifted from a higher being. Lancer developed this from his fierce devotion to Dagon, which motivated many of his actions during life. Lancer can sacrifice his health in order to remove negative status effects, with the amount of health lost based on the severity of the status effect.

Negative Status Effects imposed on Lancer through 'Divine' means cannot be removed through this skill, regardless of their severity or source (A Skill, Holy Sacraments, an NP, etc).

---

Noble Phantasms:

Name: Dagon's Heart
Title: Image of the Deep One
Rank: B-
Type: Anti-Unit (Self)
Range: 0
Targets: 1
Description: The heart that beats in his chest is Lancer's Noble Phantasm - massive even for his already impressive size, Lancer's Heart is black and has the image of his God etched into its surface.

Even without invoking its True Name, the power of Lancer's heart is constantly beating. Lancer is able to control water that is within 5 meters without calling his Noble Phantasms True Name, and can use it to restrain and attack opponents. Water controlled by Lancer has immense force behind it, having strength comparable to a Servant with a D in Strength. Freshwater is much harder to control however, being one rank weaker. This ability is extremely useful in an aquatic environment, allowing Lancer to move more quickly as well as drown weaker opponents.

If Lancer actually invokes his Noble Phantasm and supplies it with Magical Energy, his control over water becomes far more potent - the strength of his water rises by one rank, and controlling saltwater is as dextrous as using his hands. In addition, the range Lancer can control water is doubled.

Lancer's improved hydrokinetic abilities are not the only result of using this Noble Phantasm, however. When Dagon's Heart is used, Lancer physically begins to adopt characteristics of his evil God - an unholy hybrid between a man and a fish. This comes with several advantages, mostly designed for improving Lancer's prowess in a body of water. The abilities Lancer gains in this form include:

• One rank up in Agility while submerged in Saltwater.
• A weak healing factor while submerged in Saltwater.
• Scales that grow across his entire body, acting similar to Scale Armor.
• Dead, fish-like eyes that have incredible night vision and can see through any mundane obscurement in water.
• Immunity to pressure changes and immense pressure from the water.

This Noble Phantasm comes along with a curse, however. Since Lancer's death, the term 'David and Goliath' has become synonymous with 'an underdog winning'. As a result, using this Noble Phantasm has developed an odd quirk - the more advantageous the situation Lancer finds himself in, the more likely he is to fail. Against an equally powerful servant, or multiple servants, Lancer will operate normally. But if he was already winning or is fighting alongside several allies against a single opponent, it will almost seem like fate itself is conspiring to make Lancer lose.

This doesn't make Lancer any weaker - it just makes his enemies much more effective at dealing with him. If Lancer tried using this Noble Phantasm against an enemy Master alone, it would be impossible for him to kill them - and even if they couldn't kill Lancer, they would easily be able to escape. This curse is always active since Lancer's Noble Phantasm is always active, but is significantly weaker and much less overt when the true name is not invoked.

Master

Name: Guo Min

Titles: N/A

Team: Red Team

Appearance

Sex: Male

Alignment: True Neutral

History: The Guo family is a very aged Magecraft Clan, originating in China during the 6th century. They were formed under the pretense of reaching the Root through the development of their Mystic Codes - which they hoped, in theory, would be far more efficient at finding a route to the Root than they would be. The family peaked in the 16th century before the family's oldest (and communal) Gu Jar was destroyed in a massive fire. Their Magic Crest was lost shortly after, a failed Transplant granting an enemy of the family enough time to kill the head and hide their body. The Guo family would leave their homeland of China in the mid 19th century, during the havoc caused by the Opium Wars. They now live in the Turkish city of Sivas.

Having been displaced from their homeland and losing the precious Magic Crest that so many Magi hold dear, the Guos underwent a similar degradation that occurred with the Makiri. While they managed to slow their falling Magic Circuit Quality by selling their resources to marry second and third children of other Mage Families, the Modern Guo has far weaker Circuits than what could be expected of such an ancient family.

Min was born with Circuits somewhat more potent than the average Guo, and as a result, was chosen to be the heir of the family. He looks forward to very little, with the Guo already having sold off the majority of their resources and holdings to continue existing.

The Guo family head had made a deal with members of the Clocktower - in exchange for assisting them in stopping a Great Ritual in their country, The Mage's Association would grant them the spiritual lands that the Guo family once called home, as well as the title of Second Owner in that region.

Personality: Min is the exact opposite of what one would expect from a Mage. He is kind, compassionate, and very caring towards those he holds dear. He tries to use his Families Magecraft for nonviolent purposes, such as scouting areas or cursing items and areas rather than people.

This is not an entirely honest reflection of his persona, however. Min acts in this way in order to manipulate others, trying to get other people to help and care for him. He does care for people and isn't lying when he helps others, but Min is quick to forget someone when they die or are of no use to him. If he stood to gain something that could benefit his family, he would betray and kill most people - and while this behavior is what most Mages would do, Min would have a smile on his face as he stabs his allies in the back.

In the Master-Servant Relationship, Min is very relaxed - He has been coddled and had his life dictated by his family for a long time, making him quite happy to just let his Servant act in whatever way they wish. Because of his family's financial situation and the fundamentally conservative nature of his Magecraft, Min is unwilling to use his Command Spells outside of the direst circumstances.

Min is extremely desperate to win the war since it is the only way he can stop his family's slow death. As such, he is not above sacrificing his own life if it would guarantee winning the war.

Magecraft:
Curses and Familiars

Quality of Circuits: C

Quantity of Circuits: C

Elemental Affinity: Water

Attribute: Concentrate

Magecraft:
Curses: The Guo family specializes in Curses. More specifically, they specialize in crafting familiars out of Curses. While Ming is capable of casting relatively weak curses on his own, he is far more potent when given time to prepare his curses. By utilizing a Mystic Code known as a Gu Jar, the Guo family can cause curses to fight and assimilate each other, growing stronger and more complex the more curses are introduced to the environment.

Familiars: After coalescing enough, Curses can possess the bodies of animals and act as familiars. While theoretically any animal can be made a familiar in this manner, most curses prefer the form of poisonous or venomous animals. They function best in the form of a Snake, Scorpion, Centipede, Toad, or Spider.

Transfer of Consciousness: Min is not old enough to have had advanced training in Magecraft. As a result, the only 'General Magecraft' that he has learned thus far is the ability to transfer one's consciousness to their familiars and utilize their senses.

Mystic Codes:
Gu Jar: The primary Magecraft of the Guo family relies on bonding with this specially made Mystic Code. Upon casting a curse at the Gu Jar, it will be absorbed into the Jar and contained within, so long as Magical Energy is periodically supplied to the Jar. Far more interestingly, the Gu Jar can store large quantities of curses, which will slowly consume one another over time. As they consume more curses within the jar, a Curse will grow stronger and more complex. In this manner, the Guo family has managed to artificially inflate the strength and versatility of their curses.

Min's Gu Jar specifically is around 10 pounds, and has 3 compartments - he typically uses two of them to maintain familiars, and uses the third compartment to develop new curses.

Non-Magecraft Abilities/Items:
Poisons: Min is decently learned in various poisons and toxins - both how to administer them, as well as diagnose their effects. Compared to older Guo family members and Mages that specialize in Poisons, however, Min's knowledge is quite limited.

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Zoey Boey@Hitman@canaryrose@DarkRecon

---

"...Bullet...that pizza delivery guy with the heroic blog...while your help is appreciated, this isn't like any of your super hero fanfictions or fighting some Saturday morning super villain...this is real...we could all get hurt or worse...you can leave now if you wish but...the choice is yours..."

Chad bit his cheek to stop himself from speaking too quickly. This guy was a cop, so accidentally insulting him or something because he was angry would be a very bad idea for Chad. After thinking for a few seconds, Chad spoke up.

"Well, uh... I'm glad that you checked out my blog, it's super cool and I worked pretty hard on it. And I'm also glad that you appreciate my help here, cause I'm staying. I know the risks involved - and I also know that innocent people are being hurt right now. Even if I don't know them, I can't just pretend it's not happening."

Chad's monologue led him to another thought - Heroes don't kill, so Patricia definitely didn't kill those people they showed on TV. Who the hell did, then? It didn't look waterlogged, and there was no damage on his body - That left out the main people in the Wings of Law. Did they hire a villain to carry it out?

Chad winced when Patricia mentioned Mind Controlling Alpha. That sure as heck wasn't a good idea - even if it was the smart thing to do, and there wasn't that big of a chance of people learning about it. Trust was a two-way street, and if anything, they should be the ones who were thankful that Alpha was willing to help them. After all, he was the guy who could rat them out at any moment, or put tracers on them, or whatever cool thing SWAT people do... If he wasn't going to help them, he would have called for backup the moment he confirmed Patricia was here.

Or, y'know, shoot them with a gun. Chad didn't think anyone present could survive a gun shot, and his reflexes were nowhere near fast to allow him to evade an actual bullet.

Oh no! Chad forgot to thank the guy for his help!

"Oh, and uh, we're REALLY thankful for the help! Just wanted to mention that, y'know? Yep."

Nailed it!

"Let's go upstairs. I have a plan...well, I have the fledglings of a plan, which I guess will be enough for the time being,"

Chad followed Grace up the stairs, eager to learn their super cool plan on taking down the villains. They didn't usually show the plans in Movies until they were already happening, so this was new territory! When he came up to the upper section of Pandora's Potts, Chad leaned against the wall, leaning and moving his head as Grace moved various plants.

Chad frowned as Grace talked about abandoning Elmore Island in the assault plans. Her reasoning was definitely sound, especially since Chad hadn't put any thought whatsoever into actually entering the structure on the island. But security couldn't be heavier then it would be at HERO One, and it would take a lot longer for police and other heroes to reach Elmore Island than Club 27.

Who was he kidding - the main reason was because Powers was probably there. He was so far the person Chad liked the most in HERO (excluding Starbright, or course), not to mention the only person who could help Chad keep his job at HERO.

Chad ended up dropping his resistance as Grace continued to speak, however. She was right about clearing Patricia's name by going to Club 27 - the bodies there had to have some kind of evidence on them that helped prove her innocence, something that Forensics either hadn't discovered yet... Or something they were paid off by Seraph to ignore. But Club 27 was crawling with police...

Nope! Screw that. Chad did not want to mess with the police - most of them didn't have any powers! If Chad messed up and a fight started, he might accidentally hurt someone! And just like his father always said - "The Police are the real Heroes!" Hurting them would be really, REALLY BAD!

Chad was distracted when Pandora picked up all the plants with one hand and kept them in the air, placing them back in their original spots. That... was definitely not something related to the ground. Telekinesis? Chad shook his head, trying to distract himself. Now was not the time to be gawking at super powers, no matter how fun that is. A sudden thought struck into Chad's head, stopping him instantly.

"Oh, I got something to add!"

Chad raised his hand and bounced on his toes, as if trying to be picked to answer a question by a teacher. He turned to Alpha before speaking.

"Can't Mr. Alpha just go to the police at Club 27? They'd probably let him see the scene, wouldn't they?"

Chad turned back to Grace, and looked at the others before speaking again.

"Also, if we're calling dibsies, I would like to go to HERO One."