My Superhero Legacy

Achilles Apóneró

Myrmidon I raises his hand. "Not sure if you guys heard of him, he's pretty low-key. Leonidas Apóneró, the first Myrmidon, possibly the coolest despite his less flashy powers." his eyes sparkle in delight, as Ifaista coughs "Bias." Achilles chuckles at that and nods. "Okay, I may be biased." he amends.

Akiyama Kozakura

"Wouldn't that make you misera-"

Kozakura gave Tae-hyun a look which said "Yes, exactly" before watching the hovering hero to be fall face first on the ground. She rose from her seat to help but he was already back on his feet by the time she stood. Putting a fist over her lips, Kozakura stifled a chuckle. "I'm here because, in spite of some things, I am still a hero." She accepted Tae-hyun's handshake, showing off her elaborate transformation watch as she did. "My name is Akiyama Kozakura. I go by Override Crimson these days."

Revolver Revenant, outside the Saint Foundation building

There were many things Giorgia Lanna hated. Here is a list of several of those things:

• Crowds.
• Loud noises.
• Small talk.
• Bureaucracy.
• Having to listen to some stuffy mediocre orator drone on about business for hours on end.
• Especially if that person was a bureaucrat addressing a babbling crowd.
• People who'd point and stare when they realised a firearm-toting masked zombie was pushing her way through them.
• ...people on the whole, honestly.

And here she was, on her way to experience every one of those things in a short space of time. Whoopee, joy to the world. She wouldn't have bothered to undergo this Saint Foundation orientation nonsense, if it was up to her, but sadly her body had three other occupants and they had all decided she really must go.

Trust me, Giorgia. The benefits of having superheroes on your side will vastly outweigh your short-term discomfort. There was Paolo, trying to play peacemaker, as usual. She wondered, not for the first time, if this was what it was like to have a dad.

"Sure." Add "people who'll wonder what's wrong with you when you start murmuring to yourself out of nowhere" to the long list of things Giorgia despised about social gatherings. Her upper body was utterly rigid, reflecting the primary brain's reluctance to move; it was the three previous Revenants who were joining wills to move her legs, leading to an awkward stiff gait. God knows the Foundation wouldn't think she was much of a physically adept heroine if they saw her hobbling like this.

Inside the Saint Foundation building

To Giorgia's shock, but also her relief, no busybodies appeared within the Saint Foundation's halls to strip her of her trusty revolver. Perhaps they understood that some heroes needed a good old-fashioned weapon at their side to be much use. Or perhaps they were afraid. It didn't matter to her which it was, so long as it meant she was left alone.

No more token resistance, she quickly decided. May as well get this over with. She ascended via elevator to the top floor as quickly as she could, barged into the lounge room, took whatever seat was furthest from the countless conversing heroes and sat in cold silence.

Someone was inevitably going to try and interact with her anyway. She could just tell.

Anna Gaines

Anna needed some way to try and avoid having to answer any more questions about her dad. Any way. She glanced around nervously... and her eyes landed on Giorgia, sitting far away from the others.

"Hey there!" Anna exclaimed, quickly walking over to her. "I don't think you introduced yourself! I'm Anna."

Tae-hyun

"Nice to meet you!" Tae-hyun chirped, eagerly shaking Kozakura's hand. His eyes were almost immediately drawn to her bracelet, and he peered at it with wide, curious eyes. "Woaaaah, is that a transformation trinket? I've never seen one of those for real!"

He then looked up at her and grinned. "I made a fake one for a costume, though!"

Then Giph addressed him, and his eyes lit up. "You fly too? Awesome! Flying buddies!"

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Oct 14th 2023 at 9:00:35 AM

Jay Beggs Fitzgerald - A bunch of things really

"Well, old sport," Jay said in response to Kyle, assuming that he directed that question to everyone in the room, as she slowly pulls out her spell book. "I have this fancy spell book that lets me do magic! I found it a few years ago and it's been my dear friend all of this time. Here, let me show you a spell."

Chanting under her breath, Jay fired a magic beam at a nearby wall. The beam left a rather noticeable hole in the wall with faint smoke coming out of it.

"And another one!"

Jay snapped her fingers and a violet-colored, see-through barrier made of magic manifested across everyone else, keeping them confined for a moment.

"Oh! And also this!"

Jay chanted again and this time, she began levitating and casually flew across the room, spinning and dancing along the way. She slowed down and floated near Tae-yung.

"Looks like you're not the only one who can fly, old sport! Granted, considering your superhero name, flight is probably your thing and thus you're better at it; this is a somewhat recent spell that I'm still practicing and I can only use it for a short time. My record was around 2 hours if I remember correctly."

As Jay floated, she took out her copy of The Great Gatsby from her handbag and read it, her eyes now glued to the page.

Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Oct 13th 2023 at 8:56:36 AM

Tasha

For the moment, Tasha merely took in the chatter around her. It was nice, seeing living proof that the world was still full of wonders. And the void beyond, as well, if the otherworldly being speaking into her mind was any indication.

She strode over to the punch bowl, taking a cup for herself to sate her thirst. She needed no confirmation that it was free of poison; her nose would have told her if anything in it was strong enough to harm her.

When the overly-dramatic girl continued to show off her power, however, Tasha's muzzle curled into a frown, and she stomped over to speak her mind.

"Magic is not a toy, child." She held up one paw, the one not holding her cup, and within her palm a chill wind began to swirl. Those with the sense for it would feel Tasha's magic thrumming under her skin, as mighty and cold as a snow-covered mountain. "It is the power to bend existence to your will. It can do great things..."

The wind coalesced into a snowflake, crystalline and beautiful.

"But without proper restraint, it can also bring untold ruin."

Tasha crushed the snowflake in her paw.

"Consider this a warning. Do not throw damaging spells about willy-nilly. Treat them as you would any weapon."

"HOLY...SHIIIIIIT!!!" Ryan belted out once the beams of magic started flying through the air - and thankfully none of them hit anyone or otherwise harmed someone or their belongings. Still, that was a shock to suddenly have happen, so in the heat of the moment Ryan had taken a step back, glanced around...and a few choice bright blue sparks danced across his body. The only hint of what otherwise remained under control.

"Hey, yeah like what Miss Bear—-uhh, Tasha said, yeah..." Ryan breathed, "That damn near scared the fuckin...blue outta my jeans! Or...green outta my costume. Whatever."

Glancing around, the jock figured it might be good to give a bit more of a less surprising show. Raising a hand, he concentrated - and at once more such sparks started flaring around his hand, followed by a crackling noise as a bright blue energetic flame danced up from his hand. It stayed within his hand, never moving outside of it.

Under control, never veering from his grip. "I don't really get all the sciencey stuff but my grandad says I'm...like, thermonuclear. Sum total of my energy is like—-uhhhhhh, a Hydrogen Bomb."

Edited by NickTheSwing on Oct 13th 2023 at 10:08:46 AM

The Big Meetup

Well with talk of magic being had, it was only natural that Al would drift on over and stand there awkwardly waiting for a chance to speak.

"You are quite correct, magic is a volatile thing when wielded without regard. Thus even though I am the Avatrix, I will refrain from even casual demonstrative usage in here. To stymie any... Accidents."

It was a lie, blatant but only because of what Al knew and what others didn't. He wasn't going to demonstrate because he didn't really have anything to demonstrate that likely wouldn't be immediately called out as fake...

Edited by Pentigan on Oct 14th 2023 at 4:24:53 AM

Myrmidon I

The armored hero whistles in appreciation at the display of magic, instinctively leaning backward when the fire bolt hit the wall. "That was awesome!" Achilles laughs, and Ifaista hums concernedly just as Tasha started reprimanding Jay, "An interesting display, to be sure, but dangerous in a closed room. I wonder how her magic works..."

Achilles then muted Ifaista as she began mumbling under her breath her theories as to how Jay did her magic.

Edited by Jules-Firenze on Oct 15th 2023 at 3:04:20 AM

Seymour Greene

Seymour jumped at the sudden sight of the beams of magic hitting the wall. He's heard of magic before, but hasn't actually seen it in action yet. He quickly composed himself.

"Wow, so that's what magic does. Haven't seen it in person before."

From seeing what the other heroes could do, Seymour felt at ease. He'd definitely be safe from any possible re-capture attempts with these heroes around.

Lasers and Punch(ing)

Abigail answered her own question with a shrug. "My dad had the same name and gifts as me, so that was nice. Much easier than trying to hide a secret identity from a kid who keeps wondering why you're not at her birthday party at the same time a giant mutated wombat is attacking the city." She paused. "Has a giant mutated wombat ever attacked a city? or did I dream that?" Still thinking, she scooped up a cup of punch and took a big gulp. "I'm getting kinda restless. Maybe a giant mutated wombat will attack this city, and we can go fight it?" She also cocked an eyebrow at the floating girl with the book. "Man, I could never do that. I'd get sick and just puke everywhere."

The beams made her jump for a moment, and a faint glow began to form around her before she calmed. "Let's not do that here, ok? Property damage insurance rates are super-high as is, and I doubt the Foundation would thank you." Muttering under her breath, "Magic. Never thought I'd see real magic. I thought alien monsters were bad enough."

Maxx - Saint Foundation

Maxx swivels his head around when he notices Abigail strutting over to him. He remains silent at first, not due to intimidation but because he had already guessed by her exaggerated manner that he wasn't supposed to take that seriously.

"Hmph. Luck only plays a small part. The rest is pure skill and intelligence. I'm not gonna get the inheritance I deserve if I don't work for it, after all," Maxx responds to Abigail unamusedly.

Then, Maxx watches as Jay attracts more attention. He doesn't think that that grimoire looks cheap, and from what he's heard magic users tend to have inventive ways of keeping their finances secure. In his mind, then, his own question from earlier is answered, and thinking out loud, he idly says "She's both property-damage rich and property-damage stupid."

Edited by TheGoldLeaf on Oct 14th 2023 at 3:57:43 PM

Shao Fei

"Mm... why not? Sure. Punch never hurt anybody. Well, the drink, at least..." Fei chortled, nodding to Gilgamesh in agreement. "So you drink strong stuff, huh? Can't say I... didn't expect that, but hey. No judgement. I don't mind a drink now and again either."

Uh oh. A sullen type came in, clearly not wanting socialisation. Naturally, they got it almost immediately. Fei could barely disguise her amusement as she cast her eyes over Giorga's form. She noted the undeath in her. It was clear as could be, but Fei didn't mind it. If this undead was here as a hero, their nature wouldn't matter.

It was Jay that actually alarmed Fei for a moment, when the flapper began throwing magic around. Thankfully not aimed at anyone, but Fei had frowned when the barrier had flashed up to encase her briefly—she didn't even wait for it to disperse before smacking her palm into it to try and shatter the thing preemptively. Either way, she decided to interject too.

"Yeah, yeah, magic's a bad thing indoors, etcetera. Everyone else said it, but...!" she suddenly hopped up onto the table, strolling over to Jay with her hands casually held behind her. "Neat tricks! I could learn some, since I'm a little magic too. Maybe sometime you could teach me? Unless all that was inherent... in which case I'm just gonna go and sit back down again—when the hell did I get up on the table?"

She blinked as if only just realising she was standing on it, before seeming to redden slightly in the face and quickly hop back down into her seat, fidgeting a little.

"...man, I'm real antsy. Huh..."

Jay Beggs Fitzgerald - Okay, yeah, in hindsight that was stupid of me

After Tasha, Ryan, Al and Abigail call her out for using her magic recklessly, Jay deactivated all of her active spells, leading to the barrier disappearing, the aura surrounding her body fading away, and her dropping onto the floor.

"Ouch!" Jay hastily got up, grabbing her Great Gatsby copy which had slipped from her hands.

She turned to face everyone else.

"And yes, those are very fair points, I apologize, old sports," She felt a tinge of Rejection Sensitivity but it wasn't too big of a deal, since she was being careless and she acknowledged that it was fair for people to point that out. "I can assure you I'm normally much more responsible with my magic."

Yeah, that was a bit mean of Max to say, but to not acknowledge the stupid part, Jay instead says: "And also yes, I consider myself decently well off."

And then, upon hearing Fei's request, Jay jumped up excitably and went over to her. She showed her the grimoire and flipped through its pages.

"Oh! I learned magic from this book! I can teach you all sorts of things from it, although I'm still learning myself, so you might have to take some lessons with a grain of salt or two. Now let's see what spell I can teach you..."

After going through several pages, she stopped at the page Ancestral Recall spell.

"Ohohoho, this one is a favorite of mine. It's the first spell I ever did and it's how I learned I was descended from the Fitzgeralds. Do you want to learn this one first?"

Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Oct 14th 2023 at 8:20:44 AM

Kyle took a step aside as the magic display started. He knew what would happen if anything touched him, but it was all pretty impressive, making him take a moment to admire what everyone was doing.

"Careful with the magic flung around" He said "Magic really doesn't agree with me"

He took some space from everyone and closed his eyes, his flesh started shifting, fur started to form, his teeth became sharp fangs. In place of the young man there was a huge wolf man standing, black sparks formed around him for a second, but vanished quickly.

"Well, this is what I do" He said, his voice a lot deeper and raspier.

Shao Fei

Fei immediately bounced in her seat with an expression of delight on her face, leaning over once Jay moved next to her so that she could scan the pages of the book. As Jay landed on the so-called 'Ancestral Recall' page, she nodded quickly and let her golden eyes flick across each and every word; taking in everything she could so that she could see the underlying principles within the text on the page.

"This is the best gift anyone's gotten me, you've got no idea," she said breathlessly, her gaze intense as she kept reading through the page. "Just keep showing me the page and I'll read it. I learn fast...!"

'Ancestral Recall'... I'll know for sure if Wukong's my true ancestor or not. If this spell gave this girl those powers too... maybe it'll help me unlock more of Wukong's...

"I don't wanna do something wrong—my eyes help but they don't tell me everything about what I'm looking at," she quickly informed Jay, by now onto the second page. "So tell me how this works, got it? 'Cause if this works how I think it's gonna work... this could be a real breakthrough for me...!"

Jay Beggs Fitzgerald - Today on the Maury Show... Are you the descendant?

"Very well," Jay says as she hands the grimoire over to Fei. "It's a chant with some elements of a ritual thrown in, you hold the book and close your eyes. Then, try to imagine big tree roots deep into the earth as you chant 'O' hollow earth, bring me closer to my roots, carry me through the ground.' Once you feel magic flowing through you and the vision of the roots becomes clearer, say 'O' my glorious ancestors, endow me with your stories, bless me with your knowledge.' and you should be getting memories of your ancestors by then. If it's your first time performing the spell, it'll take a while for them to manifest as they appear as blurry images that are hard to make off, but over the span of a minute or so, they should become clearer until you can figure out what's going on and who you're descended from. At that point, whisper their names and now you can control the memories at your viewing during the duration of the spell; you can pause, rewind, and fast forward like a movie. And if you want to use a certain skill from your ancestors, like say ballet, you'll focus on a memory of them using that skill, hone in on it and open your eyes; with that, now you can perform that skill like an expert for a limited time. You can retain that skill if you practice it without using the spell. Any more questions or are you ready to go?"

Edited by Cutegirl920fire on Oct 14th 2023 at 8:46:44 AM

Tasha

The girl seemed to understand, at least. Tasha narrowed her eyes a moment, but it seemed Jay was genuine in her apology. Nodding, she left Jay and the monkey warrior to discuss spellbooks, instead turning to another surge of magic. She watched a young man's flesh shift, until standing in his place was a mighty wolf.

Stepping closer to look him up and down, Tasha let out a rumble of approval. "Impressive." She smiled, admiring his physique. "Much more pleasing than your smaller form, if you don't mind me saying."

She offered him one large paw to shake. "Tasha. A pleasure to meet you, Kyle."

Kyle seemed surprised at the girl approaching him, but gave as much of a smile as he could with his current face.

Is she... hitting on me? Might as well see how it goes. He has been wrong in both directions before.

"Likewise" He said, extending his own clawed hand, "Let's get along well"

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh rose from her seat, hand over her hilt as she followed the monkey. It seemed the others had this matter in hand, but magic was something that should be abused. She had seen her share of mad sorcerers and wicked priests, but the girl didn't need further admonishing.

"I am glad to see this matter so swiftly resolved. Had it been left to me, I am afraid I would not have settled it so peacefully. "

The girl's magic intrigued her, but she was more interested in the wolfman. She looked towards Tasha and the shapeshifter, clapping her hands in applause.

"Splendid! Truly an impressive display! Had there been one such as you in my service, any dread brigands or mewling cultists with delusions of grandeur would have second thoughts! I would agree with the burly one as well, but far be it from me to judge!"

It was partly in jest. As the once and future king, nothing was stopping her from judging as she saw fit. But her compliments were sincere.

Saint Foundation — Assembly Room

Suddenly there was a clap, thunderous and loud. It filled the room, calling the heroes to attention. Standing in the remains of a doorway was a young man. He was strong and tall, hair slicked back and jaw chiselled, not a single inch of stubble on his handsome face. He dressed in silver and gold, body wrapped in spandex, a large 'S' plastered on his chest. He was the spitting image of the Saint, but the Saint was long gone.

His gaze travelled the room, settling on Jay and her trail of destruction. He didn't say a word. He marched through the room, stopping as he passed her. He gave her a look, but whether it was commendation or understanding, it was hard to say. He trudged to the other end of the room, hopping up on the podium, clearing his throat as he spoke.

"'Hero.' Funny word isn't it? These days, it's another term for 'Savior.'"

He couldn't help but chuckle. Most of the audience wouldn't get it. For most of them, it was before their time. But those who'd done their research could see the humour in his words.

"But it wasn't always that way. To the Greeks, a hero meant a man of accomplishments. Didn't matter the reason or intent. A hero was someone of great deeds, blessed with power or skill beyond measure. These days, some of those heroes would be no better than scoundrels. Bullies and murderers, their talents and power the only thing putting them ahead. But here in the 21st century, 'hero' has a lot more meaning."

He didn't speak with conviction. He was earnest and sincere. His words carried weight, calm and steady, a flowing river in a sea of chaos. But he sounded done. He pinched his brow, taking a breath as he remembered the script.

"In this day and age, power isn't enough. To be a hero, you need something more. Whether that's down to selflessness, conviction or a sense of justice is up to you. As the next Saint, it's a question I've always asked myself. But for him? It was all three. I've done my best to honour his legacy. Because it's a legacy worthy of remembrance. And it's the same with all of you. Each and every one of you who stands here carries a piece of history on your backs. Something worth preserving. Maybe you don't see it that way. Maybe your connection's paper thin at best. But they did what they did for a reason. So make it yours."

He took another breath. His speech was sound, but he wasn't the pinnacle of observation. His predecessor would have stomped the floor, wowing the masses with intensity and passion, unrelenting in his pursuit of justice! In that respect, he was lacking. He gave his best toothy grin, but he looked uneasy.

"Now, does anyone have something they want to say before we move on? Any burning questions or statements? If there's anything you want to get off your chest, now's the time."

Edited by kkhohoho on Oct 14th 2023 at 5:57:02 AM

Seymour Greene

Seymour saw the sudden appearance of what appeared to be the splitting image of the Saint. And not an imitator like with that one guy, but they seemed to be like the Saint, when Seymour heard of him. Then Seymour's mouth started flapping without him thinking.

"So, um, are you the Saint?"

Seymour's earlier bravado seemed to melt away, and he suddenly seemed a bit meek.

Tae-hyun

Tae-hyun gasped, eyes going wide. "Omigoshit'sstarting!" And then he was off like a bullet, speeding to the front of the room, so excited he'd lifted off the ground again. He could barely contain his squeal at the arrival of the second Saint, but he managed. Probably a bad idea to go into fanboy mode right now.

He hung onto every word with shining eyes, bobbing up and down as Saint spoke, nodding along with a wide smile. When the speech ended and Saint asked if anyone had questions—

Bshoom!

Tae-hyun shot up to him like a bullet, eagerly holding out his hand to shake it. "Hi! I'm Windwing! Really looking forward to working with you I have been a fan for ages are we gonna meet anyone else or is it just you I don't mind either way but meeting more heroes would be so cool!"

He seemed to have abnormally large lungs.

Perhaps it was an aerokinetic thing.

A Distinguished Guest

When the boom went off, she'd jumped to her feet, only to sit back down slowly as the man entered. Her eyes traveled up his costume in an appraising manner, as if measuring him against something in her mind. Then he started speaking, and she leaned back in her chair, taking him in with her eyes locked on his face and her body language focused on every word. A bomb could have gone off behind her and Abigail Courthope wouldn't have felt a thing.

As Windwing sped up to shake Saint II's hand, Abigail rolled her eyes in a good-natured show of exasperation. "So, Mr...Saint...sir? Can you give us more information about our future here? And will we be working alongside you?" She was still focused, but not in a negative way. More as if his answers would dictate what she did next. Her fists were clenched in excitement.

Giph

>I wouldn't go so far as to label us 'flying buddies' just yet. 'Flying colleagues' or perhaps 'flying casual acquaintances', Giph replied to Tae-Hyun. Excitable fellow. Reminded her a lot of Shelly. She could work with this, the excitable ones are often the most reliable... when they have a functioning brain to pair with it, anyway.

It was around this time that the apparently-anachronistic human decided to assault the wall and fly around haphazardly, which Giph didn't comment on - the other humans present did that for her - though she did note the comedic timing of her prior statement followed by that little incident.

>I can state with confidence that your floating skills are more moderated than the anachronism's, she continued. >Nevertheless, the offer to provide advice still stands. Though it may be of limited use - I have no use for magic, I rely only upon my people's innate psychokinesis.

As if to demonstrate, she projected a small, low-intensity anti-gravity field about three feet around her, causing two chairs (and her now-empty punch glass) to slowly float off into the air and 'orbit' around her.

It was then that two things happened, in rapid succession - first, she felt a psychic presence enter the room, a signature all too familiar to her, yet at the same time... somewhat guarded, prickly, unwilling to reach out. Giph's gaze snapped over at the new arrival... some form of walking corpse. Hmm, interesting. The Earth resonates far more strongly with once-thought-pseudosciences than she had anticipated. Not even Selene had prepared her for such.

Unfortunately, before she could ruminate on the implications, another presence entered the room. This one was strong, and commanded attention. As if tapping into it even at this distance, she felt compelled to obey, and looked at the stage. Even if she didn't want to, the childlike human certainly felt so and zoomed off. May as well follow suit, she thought, warping over to be next to him.

The Saint... two? Selene had told her of the Saint, of course. Saviour of all humanity. He would have been very helpful back on Luna, she almost broadcoasted aloud but thought better of it. That being said, there was something... off about him, but she couldn't quite pinpoint why. There was a certain edge to his words, and they reverberated with... something. Doubt? Regret? It'd be impossible to know for sure without linking minds, and Selene made her promise she wouldn't just go linking minds with everyone she met. Not without asking first, anyway.

>Greetings. On behalf of the peoples of Outer Space in general and the Planet [SNOWBALL] in particular, I look forward to working with you, Mr. Saint Mark II. May we produce a fruitful union of the minds.

She cringed slightly. That last bit was a saying she remembered from her old world. It... took on a different meaning now...

Edited by PresidentStalkeyes on Oct 14th 2023 at 12:32:58 PM