Omega Man

the Alliance of Liberty City

Several weeks had gone by, and over the course of several weekends the young heroes learned the ins and outs of superhero'ing. This last day was essentially registering your superhero name with law enforcement, swearing an oath, yada yada. There wasn't a big ceremony or anything like that. It was more like sitting at the DMV waiting to get your license. Supercop was there, but it was more for show than anything. There were secretaries or rather just regular office workers taking care of the individual heroes. Two of the guys didn't make it, Switchblade and Fire Fist. Switchblade didn't really carry himself well enough, and barely passed the mental exam. That's what was rumored anyway. Fire Fist was just too reckless and couldn't contain his own powers, which he channeled into a large metal gauntlet. Switchblade didn't even bother showing up, however Fire Fist left minutes earlier cussing and acting like a male Karen. He was told to quit playing hero or he'd be locked up for property damage.

"Just think, even if you just get a permit, we're all legit now. My Uncle and I have been working on this secret HQ under our apartment complex the last few weeks since we started the academy and everything." Son of Liberty said quietly to his two allies, Spellbound and Interference.

Throughout the course of their training, Eileen had been wearing a silly-looking hyottoko mask she had picked up at an Asian food festival due to the fact that recording equipment had been banned from the hero training center, and all of Eileen's equipment, including her mask, were technically recording equipment, and she didn't want to give away her identity to every other trainee. As if aligning with the silliness of the mask, Eileen had carried herself through training with an almost lackadaisical irreverence, thinly veiling her distrust of the very institution of policing, but when it came to exams and assessments, her genius and determination helped her lock in. She demonstrated a fine and nuanced control of her abilities without revealing the full extent of her power, mitigating the worry that she could go out of control. She played with light and sound in clever ways, did better with devices augmenting her, and preferred being in the backline, at least, that was as much as she was willing to reveal to the trainers.

She had tried to build rapport with Son of Liberty and Spellbound and they had become closer, practically ready to form a team as soon as they graduated. Son of Liberty had infrastructure and pedigree; even now he was talking about a secret base they could use. Spellbound was young and had access to magic, something Eileen wanted desperately to understand and learn more about. Though she understood the reasoning behind giving Spellbound a provisional license, she also understood his frustrations with it.* "Hey, as long as we're in the same team, I'll make sure no one treats you like a kid," Eileen reassured the magic user, then turned her attention to Son of Liberty, "A base would be nice. There's only so much I can build in a garage without the right tools. I'd love to understand how your powers work and come up with equipment to augment your strengths while covering over your weaknesses. Together, I think we'll be unstoppable."

Eli had been fidgeting with his sleeve, a nervous habit he hadn’t quite grown out of. He looked up at Eileen when she spoke. “Really?” he asked, his eyes went wide. “Thanks. That… actually means a lot. “I mean… I get why they’ve got the rules. I do. It’s just… kind of hard not to feel like a sidekick… But I’m sure this will be great!”

He turned to Judah. “A base sounds amazing. Magic is cool, but even I haven’t quite gotten a handle on how half of it works. So if you’re serious about helping me figure all this out… I’m in. I think we’ll make a pretty good team.”

The trio as well as four other heroes managed to pass the tests. Fire Fist, on his way out of the building while still cussing at anyone who would listen, was drowned in liquified earth between the parking lot and the entrance by an unknown adversary. Pitbull, a smaller feral hero, went down in the same manner but went down fighting after seeing the other guy sink into the ground. Panic ensued into the rest of the building, and while the heroes were on their way out... Supercop yelled.

"The Academy building is under attack from an unknown superhuman! Painkiller and King Bee are already on their way to try and do what they can to save lives. I need the four of you to help me with this tech. It basically shuts down superhuman abilities short term like an EMP does to electronics. I just hope her powers aren't mystic or alien in nature..." Supercop began to say.

"What kind of attack are we dealing with, Supercop?" Liberty Son asked readying his weaponized Torch.

"She's a reality warper, that's all I know. Now, LISTEN UP!! For this to work I need two of these on the roof and two here on the bottom floor on opposite ends of the building." Supercop exclaimed handing the Son of Liberty and his two friends devices that looked like old boomboxes.

The last of the devices was handed to the only other hero from the academy that passed the tests to become a deputy. Stampede was a large man in his early thirties, husky some would say, with enhanced speed and durability. Once he got his momentum up he was nearly unstoppable. He mentioned one weekend he almost chose the name Wrecking Ball but decided against it because of some country singer's daughter having a song by the same name.

"People's lives depend on us right now. Are you ready for this, big guy?" Supercop asked the large hero in leathery looking clothing.

"Let's ****ing GO!" Stampede yelled running towards the far side of the academy building.

Collab with @Stern Algorithm & @Crimson Flame

the Alliance of Liberty City

Their first weekend was half over, and the second day had just begun. It was a Sunday, and hot outside. The previous day they went over the short schedule. Four weekends in a month's time, between sixty-five to eighty hours depending on how long the training goes each day. The class size, as the group was told by Supercop, was on the smaller side. The written mental exam was the previous day, however there were no problems with the class of nine would-be-deputies. They also had to trust Supercop with their secret identities, however some of them were skeptical about who had access to the information. Judah and one other hero were both in the military, which gave them an advantage in most situations.

The CPR class went by in roughly an hour or so. Basic hand to hand training lasted roughly three hours before the group broke for lunch. The group were told the remainder of the day would be spent exploring their powers and putting them in power classes in case they're needed for specific situations. "A hero with healing powers may be called on in the event of an EMS shortage..." was the example Supercop used.

Supercop, aka Alexander Murphy, was a former officer in the Liberty City PD who served the city for nine years. After a terrible explosion mangled his body, experimental technology was used to restore his bodily functions and to make him more than just a cop reborn. Now a man fused with machine, he's a one man precinct that still serves the city to this day performing regular patrols as well as running the Superhuman Deputy Law Enforcement Program. And to his displeasure, the Son of Liberty was taken back by how much of a fan of Lady Liberty this Supercop was. The young man just wanted to eat his lunch and get the day over with...

"I never got the chance to serve with your mom on the Alliance, but we helped each other a time or two here in the city..." Supercop went on as the Son of Liberty was attempting to eat some kind of meat and cheese snack from one of the vending machines.

He looked around hoping that someone would come over and bail him out. The group of young heroes weren't allowed to have their phones during Academy hours so Judah couldn't use the phone call excuse to dip out of the situation.

"Growing up I actually wasn't my mom's biggest fan. It was awesome having a superhero mom, but I couldn't tell anybody about it." Judah finally said before finishing off the snack and standing up. "I'm gonna go grab another drink real quick before we get back out in the field..."

the Alliance of Liberty City

Two and a half miles from where the adventure at the bank began, both Son of Liberty and Spellbound seemed surprised when a drone began commenting on the situation. It was the same drone from before, but to Judah at least he didn't immediately trust somebody that had yet to be seen in person. However the female hero mentioned forming a team, which is part of the reason Son of Liberty was doing the superhero thing. Weeks after his mother's death and he was still no closer to finding the culprit behind her murder.

"What do you say, Spellbound? I was actually gonna try and form a New Alliance without any of the UN shenanigans in honor of my mom..." Son of Liberty asked while dropping the hint about who his mom was.

Eli’s eyes went wide when he heard the hint. “Wait… was your mom was Lady Liberty?” he asked. “Like… THE Lady Liberty?” He took a beat before continuing. “I guess that should have been obvious. That explains the torch thing.”

He gave a nervous chuckle. “Wow. Okay. No pressure or anything.” Then, more seriously, “Yeah. I’m in. I don’t know what I’m doing yet, but… I want to do something good with what I’ve got. And I think your mom would’ve liked that. So… yeah. Let’s build something better.” He held out a hand for a shake.

Judah went in for a handshake and knew the kid likely didn't have the greatest grip. He wasn't gonna try and squeeze the guy's hand and be THAT guy, but something firm with eye contact was important in the military in some circles. As the two heroes parted ways along with the drone the Son of Liberty got a call on his ear piece while super leaping back to Bayside.

"Not gonna believe what I found. Your mom was working on something down in the old parking garage. It's likely the reason she bought that parking lot across the street..." said Judah's uncle Sam.

Back at the apartment complex in Bayside the uncle was still wearing his tool belt and standing in what could only be described as the most patriotic headquarters anyone had ever seen. It was that odd seafoam green kinda color.

Two weeks later....

Just as they had planned, the three heroes met up at the police funded Superhero Academy. Essentially the three heroes would spend several weekends learning the do's and don'ts of being a deputy. There were others in the class, nobody that Judah could really get a read on. As the tech powered Supercop continued on about this and that, something he said definitely got Spellbound's attention.

"...and I hate to break it to anyone here under the age of eighteen. While you'll be a deputy if you pass this class, you will only receive a permit until you're old enough to be on-call twenty-four seven. That means you can ONLY operate with other licensed superhuman deputies on the scene." Supercop explained in the small classroom.

He continued explaining what the class was going to put the group through. Basic EMT training, testing the limits of the students' powers, civilian crowd control, etc. was all on the menu for the foreseeable future. The Son of Liberty could tell his younger friend was already feeling some type of way about only being issued a permit.

"We're forming a team. Don't sweat it, bro." Liberty Son said under his breath to Spellbound who was sitting in a desk to his immediate left.

Logically Eli should have figured they wouldn’t let him be a hero full time. He was still in high school after all. That didn’t stop him from sulking about it. “Bro, I seriously need a learner’s permit to fight crime?” He whispered back to Judah with a dramatic sigh. “Do you know how embarrassing it’s going to be to tell villains, ‘Hold on, I need an adult present’?”

Despite the sarcasm, Eli was still grateful to even be there. “But… Thanks. Seriously.”

Elsewhere in Liberty City...

Abby Blavatsky arrived at her apartment. She didn't realize somebody had let themselves in already. Judy Juggernaut, still wearing the spiked helmet of Megaplex, was waiting for her.

"You were harder to find than I expected." the nearly seven feet tall powerhouse stated dramatically. "An acquaintance of mine is putting a team together. It's easier to do with a telepath."

Abby stood in the doorway looking like a statue. Slowly she closed the door behind her, taking a few steps forward. She didn't know how this woman found her apartment, nor finding out she was a telepath.

The blonde stared at her for a few moments before a smile of sinister glee was on her face. "I'm listening."

@Stern Algorithm @EvilEdd1984 @Crimson Flame @Scarifar

the Alliance of Liberty City

I've been mulling over my post for a while, and I have no idea what to post.

Also, I missed the discord link and it expired. Could I get another one, please?

@Scarifar

discord.gg/hT42bGQ9

the Alliance of Liberty City

As all of the newer heroes introduced themselves the last of the civilians inside of the bank exited safely. The flames had all been extinguished and just as the words fell from Judah's mouth "I'm the Son of Liberty..." the miniature hero Little Guy made a quick interjection.

"Listen guy's, unless you've been deputized by the local law enforcement you can't be here." Little Guy stated.

"There someplace we can go to do that? My mom never mentioned..." Son of Liberty began to say before the micro hero put two and two together.

"Listen there's no time for me to explain. Just search 'Supercop' on the internet and something about a superhero deputy class should come up. Now you three GTFO before the cops walk through those doors!" Little Guy exclaimed as the police began to make way to the doors to clear the area. The drone would likely have an easier time getting away but the seasoned hero wasn't sure about the other two.

"You make magic portals or you need me to super leap us BOTH out of here, Spellbound?" asked the Son of Liberty.

Eli blinked at Son of Liberty. “Oh! Uh… no portals yet. Still working on that. I tried and it didn’t go so well… All I ended up doing was making a hole in my closet…” He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “So, uh… yeah. If you don’t mind the extra weight… I’m down for the leap.”

As the red clad Little Guy leaped towards the door to greet the local police, Liberty Son tucked the Torch into a carrying case strapped to his waist and lifted the teen hero with ease. Super strength provided by the weapon wasn't needed for anything besides the super leap. Once up through the broken sky light. And then four additional leaps in a zig zag pattern to avoid any potential tails. They were roughly two and a half miles from where they were moments earlier at the bank.

"I've only been at this a couple weeks myself, sorry if the ride was awkward. You gonna check out that Supercop guy and get deputized?"

Elsewhere....

"Sister Shadow died in a plane crash three years ago. That only leaves YOU." exclaimed the unseen enemy attacking the older heroes.

"Listen girl, I helped you on your little revenge quest but I'm not like those other two. I'm not some blonde American who made your dad question his marriage to your mum. And I'm not some slob with a helmet that gives you more powers sitting around on his counter. I still have access to resources you couldn't imagine. The UN took nearly everything from me when I lost my seat on the Alliance. The superhero community let you and your family down. We can make them all pay..." Leopold explained to a large woman clad in red wearing the helmet of Megaplex.

She shrunk back down from twelve feet tall back to her standard six foot eight inches. The spiked helmet was removed and revealed the long white hair of Judy Juggernaut was no more. Her hair was now as short as her temper.

"What are you suggesting, fleabag?"

@Crimson Flame @Stern Algorithm

the Alliance of Liberty City

I'm gonna work on a post off and on today while I've got time and try to get responses to a few of you on Discord and here in DMs. Might go ahead and reveal who's killing the older heroes.

ALSO! I might get ahold of one or two of you for collaborations, just to make everything flow a bit easier here and there.

the Alliance of Liberty City

Made a Discord for anybody that wants to chat in real time. I'm usually around doing something... LOL

discord.gg/acDkmnUT

the Alliance of Liberty City

Two more before I pass out... Little Guy up close as well as Spellbound without his hood....





More to come!

the Alliance of Liberty City

I'll have one for Interference as soon as I figure out the helmet/mask she wears. LMK if you've got something in mind specific @Stern Algorithm

the Alliance of Liberty City

@Eviledd1984 I'll shoot you a PM when I get some time later!

@Lucian Indeed we still are! I've also been talking with @rocketrobie2 and @WXer on Discord about potential characters as well as a couple people in PMs here on the Guild!

I should also have a few micros done by the end of the night. I'll get those posted as soon as I get them finished...