Duoya

《 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."

《 H. E. R. O. 》

@Zoey Boey@Hitman@canaryrose@DarkRecon

---

“Y-you look familiar. ...Chase, maybe? Anyways, Chase… it’s… don’t bother. Doesn’t matter anymore. I’m gonna go see if Grace is puking up her guts or just crying. You can browse around on my laptop if you want, I don’t mind. But if I catch you snooping, I will end you.”

Chad felt the need to correct Patti and tell her his actual name, but he still had at least some common sense. Now sure as hell wasn't the time to comment on someone getting his name wrong, considering the person who got it wrong was being chased by supervillain cops from all across the city - Patti had enough on her plate. Besides, she didn't get his Hero Name wrong, so she probably wasn't a troll. The thought of browsing Patti's laptop briefly crossed Chad's mind, but he quickly decided against it. Even with permission, Chad never felt comfortable using other people's things - he had a nasty habit of accidentally breaking things, which his power has only exasperated.

Chad heard voices coming from behind him in the bathroom, causing him to move to the wall on the opposite side of the room. He might accidentally hear something he wasn't supposed to if he stayed over there, and Chad had always been taught that eavesdropping was wrong. Instead, Chad continued to browse the internet and examine his GPS, looking for routes to HERO One and Elmore Island. HERO One was pretty easy from Pandora's Potts, almost a straight shot really - Chad was starting to think that it would almost be better to search there first, rather than the much cooler alternative.

He quickly excised these thoughts. Elmore Island lacked many of the fortifications that made HERO One a bastion, not to mention the fact it was far less conspicuous to assault than the alternative. That wasn't even including the fact that there were most likely few innocent heroes at Elmore Island, and they probably had a lot fewer resources over there as well based on the size difference of the structures.

Of course, Elmore Island was also the most likely location that Powers would be kept, if he was kidnapped rather than killed retired. It'd be hard to keep the previous director locked up in his own headquarters, right?

"Really! Crying!? Fuck's sake!"

Chad's head snapped up when he heard Pandora call out. He quickly closed the various tabs he had looked up while waiting and slid his phone back into his pocket. Chad turned to the bathroom door, but still hearing talking from behind it, he chose to not interrupt. They probably heard Pandora, she yelled kind of loud...

Chad tensed, muscles straining against his improvised suit. This was it - he was about to enter real, actual combat... Not the fake stuff that he had gone through in tests, but a real bad guy this time...

Chad slowly made his way to the staircase, continuing to amp himself up for the imminent (and imaginary) fight. That was when Pandora called out again.

"Bypass? Aria? Bullet? This cops on our team. He's a traitor."

Chad sighed in relief. Normally traitors were bad, but since they were helping a falsely accused fugitive, they were good! ...Right? Whatever the case, Chad's mind almost immediately shifted from relief to agitation, and he briskly marched down the stairs.

"C'mon, I keep saying it's THE BULLET, you have to say it w-"

Chad stopped mid-sentence and jumped back as he reached the bottom of the stairwell, seeing that Grace had already appeared on the ground floor. Chad mentally reminded himself that, yeah, everyone here had FREAKING SUPERPOWERS!!! Chad wouldn't have taken the stairs either if he could be cool and just fall to the lower floor! Chad's fascination with superpowers made him forget that he was freaking out over his name again.

"What do you want?"

Chad winced beneath his mask. It made sense that she wasn't in a good mood, since she was a fugitive, but being aggressive with a cop was probably not the best idea at the moment. Of course, Chad didn't think about how only a minute ago he was ready to fight the cop as well. Giving Alpha time to respond, Chad spoke up a greeting.

"It's, uh, really nice of you to help us out! Since you're not here to beat us up, it'd probably be a good idea to introduce ourselves. I'm THE BULLET!"

Normally Chad would have worked in some epithet or metaphor to really emphasize his name... But it really didn't seem like the right atmosphere for it. A young woman was crying only a few minutes earlier, and everyone in the store seemed to be upset in some way. Not to mention, those funny little add-ons to his name were usually easier to make up when Chad was in a good mood, and so far today had sucked pretty hard.

Chad leaned in slightly, miming a football huddle as he spoke again, this time addressing the group as a whole.

"Oh yeah, before I forget - what's our plan so far?"

Magokoro (SMT Nocturne x Kingdom Hearts x Alt History loosely based Post Apocalyptic adventure)

Not very familiar with Kingdom Hearts, but I love SMT - very interested if you'll have me!

Kairelith: Waking Up To Another World (Isekai Themed)

Hey there, just wanted to pop in instead of ghosting - this is a bit different from what I was initially expecting when I first joined, so I think I'm going to drop out.

Sorry it took me so long just to drop out lol. You guys can keep my char around as an NPC if you want, I don't mind. I hope you guys have a fun time!