Black or White, Never Grey - Hero's Awakening

Black or White, Never Grey - Hero's Awakening

Paragon City. You really don't know what to think, do you? Sounds like an ordinary city in an ordinary state in the ordinary USA. Well, you'd be wrong. Way wrong. Sure, it is in the USA, but it ain't ordinary. Thugs using magic for their crime, aliens abduct humans and mutate them in the sewers and they pretty much do what they want, when they want, wherever they want. The only thing stopping them are those comic-book superheroes you used to look up to as a kid, except these ones are the real deal. Heroes of flesh and blood that you can reach out ant touch, each with their own wild and wonderful origin storie they're just dying to tell. Of course, some are more willing to speak than others. But at least they all keep the city safe.
Speaking of Origin Stories, you could say mine is the strangest of all. Some guys grew up with them, others had accidents in science labs, some trained to that level naturally or maybe they made their own technologies to get super-powers. Me? Well, it's an odd one, I'll tell you that. I was dying for a vacation in the USA and finally found one cheap. I could spend a month in some place called Paragon City in New England and it wouldn't break the bank. Sounded like a dream come true. It was too good to be true.
Three weeks in Paragon City had changed my life forever.
"I got a delivery here for the occupant of room 723"
I looked up from the bowl of cornflakes that tasted like cheap plastic. Now I knew why this vacation was so cheap. The food was horrible in this hotel and crime was running rampant. The delivery boy stood at the door and looked around nervously, holding a large box in his hands.
"Just put it down there" I said, still groggy from waking up.
The kid left and closed the door. I couldn't throw out this cack they call breakfast when he was looking, so as soon as he left, it went straight down the waste disposal. Still, I couldn't think of who'd send me a package while I was on vacation. I thought nothing of it, for now, and went down to the local store to get me some proper food.
Thankfully, I found it and returned to my room as quick as I could. It's not a good idea to wander around in Paragon City. You could get mugged by the Hellions or have the life sucked out of you by the Circle of Thorns or worse. They make me sick. Anyway, I just went straight back to my room in the resort. I think it was somewhere on Talos Island, but it's been too long to remember. THat package still sat there, almost willing me to open it, but that may have been curiosity. If it was curiosity, then it got the better of me. I just wrenched that thing open like it was a christmas present and I was still a little kid. I didn't know what the hell it was at first, but then I found out what I had got.
It was armour and a Katana sword. My first thought was that I'd never be able to get that through UK customs. There was a bright red thing that looked like something a footballer would wear with red and white shoulderpads. on top of that was some (red and white) armoured gloves, red boots and a red helmet. THe onlything not red was the Katana, which was pretty plain. That and the white belt with the gold buckle. There was a note, too. I still remember what it said.
"You won't know who I am, but I know about you. You were always picked on when you were a kid. Now's your chance to get the last laugh. Those kids probably turned to crime, and you can use this to go fight crime. There are just a few things you need to know. As you grow more powerful, this armour will grow with your power. Also, the true benefits of the armour will only be given to a true Hero. Make sure you prove yourself. When you do get strong enough, I'll make sure to pop by for a 'visit'."
It was signed by someone calling themself "Your Biggest Fan". I didn't trust it at first and it lay on the sofa for about half an hour. After that, I decided to try it on and see how I looked. Once couldn't hurt after all.
How wrong I was.
I tried it on, and it fit me rather well. Almost too well, in fact. It was like it was made for me, somehow. I didn't have time to ponder about it. Some wierdoes decided to strike the hotel, starting with my floor. There was a smash and then gunfire. People started screaming as I hit the floor, forgetting I had a weapon to defend myself with. The Outcasts had arrived and wanted hostages.
"Down on the ground! All of you! NOW!" I heard one of the shout out. He must've been the ringleader.
I still lay there, watching them throw the other tourists around forcefully. That made me mad, but I thought I could do nothing. They hadn't noticed me (since I had hid behind a kitchen counter) and had left my room, probably rounding up the others. I walked towards the door to check what was going on, but I guess one of them heard me. He kicked the door open and aimed his gun right at me. I don't know why, but he looked half-scared and half determined to kill me. The only thing I could do was raise my fists. Of course, that wasn't what he wanted.
"You think a Hero like you can beat me?" He said, his voice shaking a little.
"Hero?"
"Don't act smart! I know what you are!"
"I'm a tourist, for crying out loud"
"You lie worse than you fight!"
He pulled the trigger on his gun, at that point. I barely had time to blink. The bullet hit, but bounced off my armour. You have no idea how releived I was at that point. The Outcast mook fired again and again, but the same happened. It was my turn to go offensive. I punched him on the side of his face, not expecting much damage to be done, but you could definately hear the thud it made. Sounded painful, really. A quick kick and he was over, landing on a table. It was only then I remembered about the Katana.
Knowing I had to defend myself somehow, I picked it up, and just in the nick of time. Another couple of Outcasts arrived, obviously having heard the commotion. These ones didn't look too good. One had orange skin and the other's was blue. I had seen them around on my trips through Steel Canyon, but I kept my distance from them.
"Hey, Do you smell that?" One said to the other.
"Yeah. Smells like spandex!"
The one with the orange skin raised his arms and somehow created fireballs that hit me. Normal people would've screamed in pain, here, but I didn't. It just felt uncomfortably hot rather than burning. Of course, I didn't take too well to that attack. I sliced the guy with the sword, then kicked him hard. He wasn't out for the count, but he was out of the way. I punched his buddy, sliced at him and even tried to trip him up, but he was pretty tough. He threw ice from outta nowhere at me, but it was just like the fire. Pretty damned uncomfortable.
The fire guy got back up and decided to go toe-to-toe with me. I was never good at fighting at all, and now I could dodge these punches like they were nothing. The anger of what these two and their buddies were doing got the better of me, and I just swiped my sword in a wide arc like crazy. One way, then the other, then back again. They fell down after the second or third hit. Not dead, but unconcious. I just left them there. The cops would pick them up. Maybe.
A little further down the hall didn't bode better than before. There were loads of these Outcasts. Ther were going on about getting some ransom money in return for the hostages. I managed to catch a few names, too. The fire guys were Scorchers, the ice guys were Coolers and was some guy calling himself "Tombstone". I didn't know who he was. Or cared. All the time I was listening there, I didn't realise that one of those Coolers had prepped his gun. I only realised once he pulled the trigger. He wasn't using a handgun, he was packing a 12-gauge. Damned thing hurt bad and knocked me over.
"Too easy! So much for Hero!" He gloated, reloading the gun.
Like I said before, I'm not one for fighting, but I just flipped back onto my feet like Bruce Lee. Quiet wierd, but at least I was back in the fight. He fired again, but this time, I dodged it. I just leapt over the guy and kicked him over, then hit him with the blunt edge of the Katana. He still got up for more, though, but a few slices and a kick sent him to La-La Land. When I turned back to thost hostages, I noticed most of the Outcasts were gone. Only a really dark brown guy and a few blue guys stood watch. I could take them on. If only I had known sooner.
"Nice entrance you guys made" I said, walking out into the open area. "Too bad you made it for all the wrong reasons"
"Who are you!?" shouted one of the blue guys.
"I was about to ask you the same thing"
The brown guy pushed his way past the blue guy and said "I'll tell you, only 'cos you're gonna die. I'm Tombstone and these guys are my trusty Shockers. You won't last long"
Suddenly, those shockers took flight. As in flying, flight. They just floated through the air like they were in water. Pretty darned freaky, I can tell you that. One of them was headed straight for me, so I grabbed hold of him and slammed him down on the ground. That probably hurt him, if I hadn't started hitting him with a chair leg. He was out in seconds, but his buddy retaliated. He shot electricity from his fingers that packed quite a sting. I couldn't move for a second while he hit me, but he was next on my list. The chair leg hit him hard when I threw it, but not hard enough. I just ran up and smacked him right in the face. Poor guy probably never felt so much pain, since even the other guys cringed in pain.
Speaking of the other guys, that Tombstone was on the move. I don't know how he did it, but he covered most of his body in a rock armour. A swipe of my sword only chipped a little off, so I ran back and concentrated on his last Shocker buddy. Swipe, swipe and swipe some more was the only plan I had. He fell after a few hits, leaving me with Tombstone to take down. I let out a sigh there, since he was probably too tough for me, but I had to try.
He swung a wild punch that connected with my side. The armour took most of the impact, but it didn't stop it from stinging. He swung again and knocked me clean over, this time. He tried to stomp on my head, but I rolled out of the way as quick as I could. I had to think of his weak point. He's big, but he's slow. That's all I could think of. Then I finally decided to do something I sould've done at the beginning. Aim at the unguarded parts. His armour didn't cover his head and parts of his arms. I'd hit there.
Yet again, I swiped with my sword, but he ducked down. I tried again, but he dodged. Damned guy was good, I'll give him that. I got tired of swiping and kicked him. It was like kicking off from a wall. I fell over and landed on my back. Before I could get up, Tombstone kicked me hard. I slammed into a wall, and sat there. The pain was pretty darn bad. It was only when Tombstone stood over me that I thought "oh crap".
"Newbie" he spat. "You're nothing but a newbie. A useless newbie Hero"
"Look, I don't know what you're ta-"
"Shut up! I'm gonna kill you right here and now!"
He raised some sort of rock mallet above his head. He was ready to swing it doen, but someone stopped him. I was never so grateful in my entire life. There was a whoosh and some sort of blue energy knocked him clean over. Looking over, I saw some guy decked out in blue armour holding out his hand, that somehow had launched that energy. Behind him were other people, one of which ran towards me. She wore a blue skirt and top with yellow gloves, boots hair and cape.
"You're gonna be fine" she said as she held out one hand.
As she did, a green mist surrounded me and my pain just disappeared. That big blue guy shot Tombstone again, knocking him back further. I got up and body-slammed Tombstone as soon as he got up. The other guys who came with the blue guy were taking on the rest of the Outcasts and untying the hostages. It was me and the blue bomber taking on Tombstone, with occasional help from that healing girl.
"You ready for round two?" I grinned, holding my Katana at the ready.
"Paragon City has no place for scum like you!" shouted the blue guy.
The blue guy shot first, then I ran in and slashed at Tombstone. His rock armour faded out when the shot hit, leaving me ready to hit him hard. A slash, a punch, another slash, a flip over him (don't ask how I did that, 'cos I don't know either) then a roundhouse kick. That put him out of comission. I think the last things he said before passing out was "ouch". If not, it should've been.
The blue guy came up to me after that. His team had freed the hostages and arrested the Outcast gang.
"Thanks for the help" he said. "I'm RT. You looked like you needed a hand"
"Yeah, I did. Thanks for showing up when you did"
"Seems like you took care of the rest of those Outcasts. What did you say your name was?"
My name? Well, having felt like Batman when taking down those Outcasts, I just had to joke around. I just said the first thing that came into my head.
"RW. Nice meeting you"
RW. The nickname I had used in gamer discussion boards and chat programs back when I was a kid in university.
"Nice job, RW. Say, you're not interested in joining a Supergroup, are you?"
"Supergroup?"
"You don't know what one is?"
"To tell you the truth, I'm only here on vacation and only tried this armour thing on"
This armour. I called it the Hero Armour after that incident, but it seemed to attract RT's attention.
"Hmm, that looks interesting. I wonder if you'd let us study it in combat environments"
"Sure. You want it now?"
I started to take it off, but RT stopped me.
"No, it doesn't work like that. I do want it now, but I'm afraid you're going to have to extend that vacation of yours. I can only see it in combat when you wear it. The scans show that it only works with one individual"
"And that's me, right?"
"Yup. I don't think you'd have your Hero Licence either, so we'll need to get you one of those. That is, if you're willing"
Extended vacation. If only it were a vacation.
"Sure, I guess it won't take too long"
Am I good for getting myself in trouble, or what. Yet again, a stupid decision changes my life.
"Great. Like I said, I'm RT and the girl that healed you is the Incomparable Hathor, or just Hathor for short. I'll introduce you to the rest of the team back at headquarters in Steel Canyon. Welcome aboard"
RT held out his hand, which I shook. I felt kinda proud of myself having beat those Outcasts into the ground, but also proud that I had found a new purpose. Fightimg crime. The whole armour thing still felt kinda wierd, since I don't know what it really is or who sent it, but as long as it works, I'm happy. After all, Paragon City is full of crime and it's up to us to clean up the streets, one thug at a time. We are Heroes, and that's our job.