Shard

Welcome to Mega City [original universe w/superhumans...]

Anybody out there?!

-Ω

@Omega Man

Yes.

And I am bringing a friend.

↓

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

@RedVII

Nice to see you again!

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

I think "Warped Alternate Universe" might be a fitting description.

Same people might exist on an individual basis, but the circumstances of their existence are different.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 9:55 AM.
Streets, New York City.
Interactions - None.

With the passing of seconds, Nello was able to deduce that he no longer maintained a sense of import for the scene at hand. He had indeed been the catalyst, but once two massive minotaurs stepped onto the stage, attention was quick to shift. Where Nocturne watched the upcoming battle play out with glee clearly visible on his face, otherwise hidden beneath a hood, Nello stood sipping his drink, appearing less than amused.

This was what happened upon leaving Pricetown. On the border of 'Monsterville' as Nello had dubbed it, gang wars were prevalent, and he was caught up in the crossfire more often than he would like. Of course, he was somewhat biased, and maintained his loyalty to the less human side of the line. Even so, Nello had once been a human, and his father still retained the biology. They had recently moved into Pricetown for Nello's sake, to spare the boy hardships he would do better without. Nafir, his father, was treated well enough within the monstrous community, one might add. Others thought that he had adopted Nello, and the presumed gesture was enough to allow the man some semblance of appreciation. Equally so, Nafir had never shown an issue towards other species. His job as an antiques dealer put him in the position of dealing with other races, frequently. It was worth noting, however, that moving Nafir's years worth of gathered books into their new home was an ordeal in itself. A living room transformed upon their arrival.

As for Nello, the boy managed to pass as non-demon, as long as his eyes and horns were hidden. If they came into view, it could cause issues. Demons were not the most trusted sort, even among monsters, and found themselves on the very bottom of the list. Without these hellish features, he was frequently mistaken for a lizard, or more accurately, a kobold. The boy's size did manage to warrant a desire for protection from other beasts, as well, where they saw him as a young cub in need of assistance. It was what prompted situations like these, where Nello stood watching two large minotaurs beating three humans to an inch of their lives.

Despite knives in the possession of human hands, one would be foolish to exchange blows with a minotaur. A bull on two legs, they punched harder than any ordinary homosapian on their very best day.

The battle reached its conclusion within moments, where the human aggressors scurried away with bleeding noses and swollen limbs. Going further would lead to serious crimes committed, and the monstrous community did not need to have charges of murder hanging over their heads. "You okay, kid?" A minotaur asked, his eyes falling on Nello.

"Uhm, yeah," the demonic boy began, "thanks," he managed a soft smile, Nocturne laughing at his side. He found the fact that others thought Nello defenseless quite hilarious, but it was a wonderful cover. It meant that no one except Makaya and the boy's father knew that he was Raven. It was a name Nello had adopted due to simplicity and a lack of creativity. He had considered Calamity, the name of his sword, but it sounded far too dramatic, and he wanted to maintain a low profile. With a handle like Calamity, the hero would surely attract attention.

"Why are you out here alone, anyways? It's dangerous for kids." The other minotaur stated, raising a brow.

"Was going to my friend's house." Nello offered. It wasn't a lie, and he had been ironically truthful throughout the entire ordeal. Due to Nocturne's presence, or rather, his merging, Nello had grown to enjoy combat. He enjoyed the rush of battle, but exposing himself like that in bright daylight was stupid and foolish on several levels. One could also mention the consistent annoyance he was forced to deal with from above, as if fighting beneath a constant shower of acidic rain. Nello was additionally forced to find shade if he aimed to heal from any wounds he happened to suffer. All in all, it was not a calculated decision to raise his fists in his most immediate surrounding.

"Your friend a human?" The minotaur asked, motioning towards the border of Pricetown. He did not sound pleased by the notion, to be sure.

Pausing for a moment, Nello shifted his attention from one beastly man to the other. "Woo! Let's fuck up the barn!" Nocturne exclaimed, rising his fist into the air. The demon's lust for battle was inexhaustible. Remnants from his time before merging with Nello, surely. It was, understandibly, a part of his nature, as well.

"Yeah," Nello stated, cautiously. A short pause lingered, where one heard no more than the passing winter breeze which came to blow past the group

"Just be careful," came a grunt from the minotaur before he turned on his heels, and started in the opposite direction. It left Nello breathing a sigh of relief. So far, so good. Hopefully he wouldn't run into more issues, today. At least he was nearing Clio's home.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 9:50 AM.
Streets, New York City.
Interactions - None.

Sipping his drink, Nello exhaled a soft breath. Before he left the apartment, he had reached for a jacket and slipped into its confines. January wasn't exactly known for its warmth, which prompted the demonic boy to dress for the occasion. It was a rather thin piece of fabric, to be sure, which complimented a sweater worn beneath. His regeneration did not factor in more warmth than anyone else, sadly. In fact, he would consider himself lucky to be warm-blooded in the first place, considering his reptilian body. Being a demon managed to circumvent the cold-blooded nature of his apparent kin. Even so, the sun remained an issue, one which kept glaring at the boy's exposed tail, and his snout. Throughout the months, Nello and his father had managed to adapt the boy's clothes to a new physiology, and this involved a pair of fingerless leather gloves, allowing for comfort on his hands. Where Nello possessed three fingers and a thumb, it was a bit more difficult for him to find gloves in stores. One could claim that life had reached new heights of certain difficulties, once Nello donned the mantle of a non-human beast, but he would argue that without it, there was no life to speak of. He would have passed, by now, and that was assured unanimously among doctors. 

The difficult part of being a monster, however, came into blatant view once Nello heard someone call out for him. "Hey!" A voice struck, slicing through the gentle morning breeze. "The fuck are you doing here!?" It continued, embodied by a man no older than twenty by human standards. 

"Here we go," Nocturne rolled his eyes, already annoyed by the sun. "Just kill the fucker and move on."

Pausing in his stride, Nello looked out from below his hood, seeing the young man approaching with zealous intent. At the man's side, there were two others, where all three painted a picture quite stereotypical of alley thugs. "We're not gonna' let no monster piece of shit walk through our neighborhood, without paying a toll." 

Bursting out in laughter, Nocturne nudged Nello's side. "Can you believe this shit?" He asked, "They're not even trying to be original."

Clearing this throat, Nello rubbed the back of his head. "What's the toll?" The boy asked, seeing how his three new companions looked to one another, as if they weren't expecting that answer. Nello was being oddly compliant, if nothing else. 

"A broken arm," came an answer. It was getting exceedingly more obvious that a desire for misconduct was their main goal, as if that notion had not presented itself on the nose, before this confirmation. Attempting to think of a good come-back, Nello found himself stuck between a rock, and a very hard place. In an attempt to even the distance between his own home and Makaya's apartment building, Nello was forced to venture through the less populated areas of New York City, which had lead to outcomes like these more than once, in the past. 

"Uhm..," the boy tried, taking a short step back as the three men shortened the distance between themselves, and him. "No way we can come to a deal?" Nello tried, a small, sheepish smile forming on his lips. 

"What the fuck are you doing!?" Nocturne exclaimed, flailing as he pointed at the three hoodlums, "fuck a bitch up, already!"

Before the conversation could continue, Nello heard yet another voice which pierced the scene, where he turned to see two large, beastly minotaurs. Gulping, the boy's eyes widened. "What the fuck do you three think you're doing!?" One of the minotaurs exclaimed, rapidly walking towards Nello before stepping in front of him. "You want to pick on someone your own size?"

"How about you two cows fuck off?" One of the hoodlums returned, reaching for a knife under his coat. 

"Uh, guys..," Nello tried, but was ignored by all five. He was quickly brushed aside in lieu of the new conflict, the incredibly aggressive exchange now shared between two large minotaurs and three well-trained humans. 

"You think you humans can just mess with anyone you like, huh?" One of the minotaurs spoke, cracking his knuckles. 

"You freaks don't even belong here!" A hoodlum spat, brandishing his knife.

"Dudes, I don't think you need to..," Nello felt a hand on his shoulder before he was gently pushed behind one of the minotaurs, like a child pulled out of a conversation between adults. 

"Shut up, this will be fucking epic." Nocturne stated with gleeful intent as the trouble Nello had caused by virtue of his mere presence began boiling over. "A thousand on the hot ass barnyard!" The demon continued, slapping a hand onto Nello's shoulder where the boy stood, sighing as he watched the event unfold. Sipping his drink, quietly, the young demonic teen slumped his shoulders and listened to his attackers bickering with his beastly saviors. 

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

January 1st, 9:00 AM.
Nello's Home, New York City.
Interactions - None.

Buried in a gathering of pillows and blankets, one could hear a soft, muffled groan trickling between ever-shifting and folding fabric. It was in response to an alarm clock, the sound universally hated throughout the world. Indeed, Nello was willing to wager that the one commodity across the entirety of existence shared between every single individual, more so than anything else, was a silent agreement of combined hatred for that accursed sound. From the nexus of softness and comfort known as Nello's bed, a slender arm revealed itself, with snake-like scales glimmering ever so softly in the dim, morning light. He slid a clawed finger across the shape of his phone, and at the motion, the nightmarish sound came to an end. With a stretch, Nello slowly crawled out of his fortress of solitude, the confines of comfort binding him to a place he never wanted to leave. If only he could remain in that spot, in the warmth of a comfortable morning bed forever. In his case, this ludicrous notion was, in fact, a possibility. For a boy freed of the need to eat and nourish himself, this was, indeed, an option. However, his eternity had not quite reached the point yet, where Nello was willing to lock himself away and sleep for a hundred years. "Ugh," came a soft whimper as the demonic teenager revealed himself, dressed in a pair of boxer briefs. Attempting to shield himself from the morning light which caused irritation for both his skin and his eyes, the boy attempted to keep to the shadows.

True to his nature, Nello's body mimicked that of a bipedal reptilian, his frame covered in pale gray scales. They were soft, to the touch, and even warm, as might have been surprising for what was assumed to be a cold-blooded creature. A flat, scrawny stomach was bereft of both a belly button and nipples, all features which would have been an incredibly odd addition to what could be considered a lizard on two legs. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Nello rose to his feet. He padded towards the bedroom door, all the while feeling a pair of arms lazily draped around his neck. It was Nocturne, the weightless creature floating behind his host as he allowed Nello to absentmindedly drag him along. "I require energy..," the teen continued, in a dramatic fashion. He stepped through the living room, which had been turned into a gathering of books and artifacts throughout the years. It would not be far fetched to name the interior a library, due to the countless bookshelves rowing walls and open spaces alike, several boxes of trinkets gathered throughout. Amidst the organized clutter, Nello spotted his father where the man usually sat, at his desk, with stacks of books, scrolls, and other paraphernalia rowed up on the lacquered mahogany surface of his desk. 

The sound of a soft jazz based piano trickled into the atmosphere, making its way through Nello's raven black hair to gently caress his ears. It was a pleasant tune indeed, one often present as a background layer for his father's work. "Good morning, habibi," the man stated, looking up from his book, if for just a moment, before lowering his eyes to its contents, once more. 

"Hey, baba," Nello offered, in turn, his elbow nudging Nocturne as the creature finally let go, with a sigh. "I'm going to the magic show thing, later."

"Be careful," came a response from the human, "and don't cause any trouble," he continued, raising a brow at his son. Nafir knew that no matter how much he wanted to stress the statement, it wasn't going to help. Trouble was drawn to Nello like moths to a fire, or it was the other way around. "If you're going to live in my son, Nocturne," Nafir spoke, "you better keep him safe." 

"I always keep him safe!" Nocturne responded, seeing how Nello offered the statement onward. They both heard a small chuckle from the older man before he returned to reading the book in his hands. It was an old thing, clearly, something he had found in the ruins of the Western World, undoubtedly. Nello proceeded, his small, clawed, bare feet padding against the floor as he finally reached the destination he had been moving towards. The fridge. Pulling it open, the boy's slender fingers wrapped around the cold surface of a Monster Energy drink. Pipeline Punch, to be exact. It was difficult to find such a gathering of perfect layers, all wrapped in one. Monster Energy, the drink which this specific monster had grown ever so addicted to. Such a controversial name brought it notoriety, without fault, but Nello cared little for what the slur entailed. He had been called a monster countless times, and it didn't bother him, in the slightest. Perhaps it was because he was, in fact, born human, or the blade of insults harmlessly bounced off his pale scales. One could also make the claim that he had made the word his own, Monster, something which had been depowered through the use of jokes. The moment one was able to joke about an issue, was the moment it was brought to its knees, after all. It was when the seriousness of a slur was turned into little more than a chuckle. Either way, as he opened the drink, he was blissfully hit by that wondrous hissing sound which soda made. Bringing it to his mouth, Nello sipped the contents and finally exhaled a long, pleased sigh. This was going to be a good day. It was proceeded by a quick shower, and a change into the respectable choice of jeans and a hoodie, which so often found its way to Nello's shape. Draping a shoulder bag over himself, the boy started towards the door, inhaling a deep breath. A good day, perhaps, but stepping into the sunlit morning was not a preferred outcome.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

Nello now represents Monster Energy as a side job.



#takingbacktheword

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

@Mr Nim

I am starting in New York. @MsMorningstar and Nello already know each other. Tobias would also be able to fit into Nello's circle of acquaintances, and he approached me considering this, as well.

So for me, New York, with some potential relations.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

I added a Relationship Sheet for Nello, where he and Nocturne has a conversation about what he thinks about the rest of you freaks.

Try to make those yellow hearts green, you nerds.

Heroes Reborn: Prime Earth (Superhero/Urban Fantasy: OPEN)

K.