It was midday in downtown Odaiba, but it was anything but peaceful as large hulking humanoid creatures, standing between twelve and fifteen feet, bulging muscles covered their bodies as they rampaged through the area, smashing and destroying anything in their path.
And aside from their immense feats of strength, razor sharp fangs filled their dripping maws, using them to tear through even bare metal as one ripped the hood of a car off.
Above them, letting out an amused laugh, was a single figure in a full body black mech suit, with four pairs of energy wings coming out of his back and a long, mechanical tail, while having claw-like feet for boots and a V shaped head that looked almost like a dragon's.
His left arm had a claw like hand and an energy gun on it, while the right had a green energy blade on it.
This being was the mercenary villain named Kouki Tsubasa, better known as Black Wyvern, in honour of the prototype power suit he stole long ago, and used to his delight.
"Alright, now this is fun!" Kouki yelled with a dark grin behind his helmet, which grew as he heard sirens, seeing dozens of Odaiba PD vehicles heading their way, along with other police forces as he then thought. 'And it's about to get even more intense...'
With rising crime throughout the city over the years, especially when it came to criminals with super powers, the Odaiba Police Department realized that it was severely outgunned, and needed some reforms if they were to keep up with the rising threats to the city.
And so, under the direction of the Police Commissioner, Richard Sampson, and with the help of some heroes like Hitech, the Police introduced several new divisions to help fight crime, including a power armoured division and a robotic division, as evident as Black Wyvern saw the police unload a large, white and blue robot to help them fight his current employer's pets, along with several tech armoured officer.
"Stand down or we will use force." The sergeant in command ordered as the officers took positions to battle the mutant creatures, while Black Wyvern laughed as he replied. "Are you kidding? We're just getting started!"
Several ports opened on the mercenary's shoulders as dozens of rockets fired out, causing the cops to move back as their cars were destroyed, before the mutant creatures charged in at the cops, several of which jumped at the robot, which managed to knock one out, before it was ripped apart by their brute strength.
"That's it, kick their asses!" Black Wyvern yelled in an amused tone, watching the powered armoured cops fire shoulder rockets at the creatures, only for them not to be phased, before one of the beasts jumped at a group of cops, ready to rip them apart.
However, before it could land, the creature was hit in the side of his face by a powerful punch, one that sent it flying across the street, slamming into a wall and breaking it as its body collapsed on the ground, confusing Black Wyvern, before he looked and was shocked to see seven new arrivals now standing before the police force, who all cheered and saluted their backup.
Though the men and women of law were glad at the arrival of the group, Black Wyvern glared behind his helmet, annoyed to see who had shown up as he took in their forms, recognizing them as the StarCorps, the elite division of deputized heroes that were apart of the Odaiba PD, first recognizing Fighting Fury, also known to his fellow officers as Marcus Damon, at the front.
Fighting Fury was a hero who used his immense strength in battle over his wits, with the hero wearing a red and orange armoured suit over his chest, running up to his neck, while an orange visor covered his eyes, but allowing his auburn coloured hair and smirk to be shown.
And showing his devotion to the Odaiba police force, he wore an orange jacket that had the Odaiba PD logo upon the back, while set around his hands were a set of metal gauntlets.
By his side was a tall, shapely female, clad in a dark gray suit that covered her whole body, clinging to it like a second skin, while opening on the sides of her stomach, revealing her skin, as well as an opening on her chest, showing off her D sized breasts.
Wrapped around her thighs were two pistol holders with two high tech pistols inside of them, while strapped to her back were two metal tech batons.
A tech visor covered her eyes, but allowed her to see a flow of information about what she was around her.
Finally, over her top was a grey vest with the symbol of the Odaiba police department on it.
This was Quickshot, known to her team and peers as Yoshi Fujieda, a tech heroine who lived up to her heroine's name as one of the best marksman on the force.
Standing on Fighting Fury's other side was the hero, Cobalt Warrior, better known as Thomas Norstein, a master of swordsmanship and of great intellect.
He wore a tech armor that resembled a knight's armor, covering his entire being in a cobalt shine.
And like his allies, he too wore the Odaiba PD logo, though they were marked on each of his shoulders.
A long blue cape flowed down his back, leaving two swords strapped to his back and hidden behind his cape, allowing him both easy access to his weaponry and a small advantage for those who had yet to find his weapon of choice.
And just like Fighting Fury and Quickshot, a tech visor covered his eyes, allowing him to take in data on the events around him.
Joining the three and by Quickshot's side was the youngest member of the StarCorps, Midnight Raven, known also to his teammates as Keenan Crier, a master of ninjutsu, having studied the art for years and dedicated to using his abilities for the greater good.
The young ninja hero wore a black robe and a pair of black pants, keeping a small pouch attached to the side as to allow him access to his array of various ninja tools, while his mouth and nose were covered by a black face mask, while his eyes were covered by a tech visor as well.
Around his outfit, he wore a jacket similar to Fighting Fury's, only his was a lighter shade of black, but still held the Odaiba PD logo on it.
The last two members of the group were both females, dressed in similar outfits to Quickshot's, hugging and showing off their slender figures, only they did not have the same equipment that the gunslinging heroine had, where one was a raven haired beauty in a black version of the outfit, the other a blonde and dressed in white.
These were Shadow Walker and Starlight, known also as Miki Kurosaki and Megumi Shirakawa, who both controlled the elements of darkness and light respectively, even able to combine their powers to form dark matter.
The pair then clenched their hands, each glowing with a dark and light auras as the team of deputized heroes and heroines glared at Black Wyvern and the mutants, who glared back as the creatures began to circle the StarCorps.
"Alright, Attack Pattern Beta! We need to take them down fast." Cobalt Warrior said as he gave the code name for one of their team's attack plans, knowing one of his allies would be happy with it.
"No complaints here." Fighting Fury said back, quickly leaping into action as he charged at the closest creature he could find and began to let out his might, gathering an orange hue within his fists, before throwing a series of punches, each strike dealing a tremendous amount of damage to the creature, before delivering a powerful punch as he slammed his right fist into its face, sending it flying back and crashing into several cars, before collapsing face first onto the ground and into an unconscious state.
But not letting up, Fighting Fury charged ahead, finding more of the creatures, showing them the same wrath as he slammed his fists into their beings, his attacks relentless as he punched and smashed the creatures that got in his path.
Joining in on the action, but keeping her distance, Quickshot drew her pistols from her holsters and began to open fire, blasting the creatures with a series of pin point energy shots, continuing to fire as her actions drew the attention of some of the beasts, where they began to rush at her.
Managing to shoot down all but a handful, stunning the creatures with her blasts, Quickdraw set her pistols back and quickly withdrew her batons, using her speed and grace as she blocked each swing and lunging bite, before striking back, slamming her batons upon the figures, causing them great pain, as well as knocking out several fangs in the process as they fell unconscious to the ground.
Meanwhile, Cobalt Warrior withdrew his swords, which shone in the sunlight, before he rushed with incredible speed, circling around one of the mutants and cutting it down, before quickly turning and slashing another, causing it to cry out in pain, before delivering a swift kick to the beast's head, knocking it out as it fell to the floor.
Handling his own, Midnight Raven took on his on opposing creatures, keeping his distance as he fought his enemy, where he withdrew several shuriken from his hip pouch and threw them, each striking into the foreheads of the rampaging monsters and causing them to collapse from the lethal shots delivered.
While his back was turned, one tried to attack, bringing up its arms and was about to slam them down, only for the ninja hero to use another of his techniques, drawing and throwing a smoke bomb to the ground, concealing his form and causing the ground to shatter to bits where he had been standing as the abomination brought its gigantic arms down.
Feeling something on its back, the creature turned to see Midnight Raven upon its form, before watching as the ninja hero jumped back and lost his battle stance, where the rage within the creature grew, its mind thinking it was being mocked.
But before it could so much as take a step forward, hearing a slight hissing from its back, the creature turned its head, seeing its back imprinted with a handful of explosive paper seals, which then detonated, destroying the beast as it was consumed in a powerful blast.
Finally, Shadow Walker and Starlight were back to back as the remaining creatures surrounded them, where the pair were firing blasts of light and dark energy from their hands, moving in sync as they took out the creatures before they could get close to the pair, combining their power from time to time to cast out beams of dark matter, which disintegrated the oncoming hordes, a sight that angered Black Wyvern greatly.
"Damn you wannabe heroes!" The mercenary yelled as he pointed his left arm at Quickshot, where the gun built into it began to open fire, causing the gun slinging heroine to move, looking for cover as she returned fire, only for her shots to impact on what appeared to be an energy shield around the villain's suit.
"Gonna have to do better than that to get to me, cutie!" Black Wyvern mocked, hating Quickshot as a heroine, but from the way her suit held her figure, he liked her as a woman.
"Watch it, freak!" A voice yelled behind him, where the mercenary had no time to reach as, a powerful blow hit him from behind, causing him to crash into the ground.
And though his shield protected him from damage, the impact still annoyed him as he got up and saw Fighting Fury with Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven glaring at him as they got into fighting stances.
"I don't care who you are, no one messes with me!" Black Wyvern yelled as an energy blade grew out of his right arm, where his energy wings grew in power as he rushed at the trio of heroes, hoping to cut them down, only for them to move, where he saw Fighting Fury's right fist glow once again with the same orange energy, only now it was crackling with a further power.
Leaping at Black Wyvern, Fighting Fury delivered a powerful blow to the villain's side, cracking through his barrier and sending him flying into a nearby building.
Recovering from the attack and now angered, the merc slowly moved the rubble off of him, ready to fire his rockets at the heroes, only for Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven to be on him, with the bladed hero swinging his blades, cutting the gun off of Black Wyvern's left arm, while Midnight Raven threw several kunai, which made contact with Black Wyvern's right arm, damaging and disabling the circuitry within, thus disabling his energy arm, before Quickshot, Shadow Walker and Starlight unleashed a barrage of their respective forms of energy at the villain, damaging his suit as he saw warning signals within his helmet's display.
"Damn you!" Black Wyvern yelled as he activated his jets and took off, hoping to get back to the safety of his current employer.
"We're good here, go after him." The Sergeant said to the StarCorps as the other police officers rounded up the surviving mutants, restraining and handcuffing them, where the deputized heroes and heroines nodded and gave chase to the villain who led this attack.
-Several minutes later-
"Why did he have to lead us into the sewers?" Starlight asked with a whine as she looked around the area, disgusted by the smell as she held her right hand out, using her power and acting as a light source for her team as they followed the path Black Wyvern ran down.
"Seems fitting for a rat like Black Wyvern." Quickshot commented in reply, expressing her disdain for the mercenary.
"Wyvern's just the hired muscle, we need to find who he's working for, the one most likely is responsible for those creatures." Cobalt Warrior then added with a serious tone, chasing the others to nod in reply, before they heard the faint yelling of a heated argument ahead of them.
"You didn't say anything about those damn hero cops, my pay just tripled!" Black Wyvern yelled, before they heard another man yell back. "You should have anticipated such a threat."
"You have faced them before, so by now you should know their weaknesses and how to destroy each of them. I gave you my pets to do so!" The figure yelled, just as the StarCorps approached a door with light coming out of it, where they opened the door lightly to see Black Wyvern and another figure yelling at one another.
"Easier said than done, old man! And your 'pets' were just paperweights to them!" The merc yelled in anger, while the deputized heroes got a good look at the figure he was talking to, finding Black Wyvern was looking down and talking to an older man, who was wearing a lab coat.
He had short dark hair, spectacles that rested on his nose, alongside a dark and sinister vibe toward him, one that sent chills down Starlight and Shadow Walker's spines.
Pressing the side of her visor, Quickshot took a scan of the scientist's face, before the facial recognition system brought up the man's identification as she read quietly. "Akihiro Kurata, former lead bio-engineering scientist at Odaiba University, suspended for illegal experimentation."
"Which he's apparently continued." Fighting Fury then added with a growl as he saw the various test tubs all over the makeshift lab, seeing several unfinished versions of the mutants they fought above inside of the tanks.
Looking at one another and nodding, Fighting Fury kicked the door open, startling the two occupants as they saw the StarCorps enter the lab, with Quickshot pointing her guns at him, Shadow Walker and Starlight pointing their glowing fists, and the three males preparing to fight.
"You lead them here!" Kurata yelled at Black Wyvern, who looked at the older man and said back. "You're on your own, pal! Consider my contract over!"
Using what energy he had stored within his jet thrusters, the merc blasted himself through a nearby wall, ignoring the debris and quickly heading down a newly revealed tunnel.
"There is no way they'll catch..." Black Wyvern started to say, before something hit the back of his suit, sending out an electric current that knocked the merc unconscious, where several armed men surrounded him.
Back in the lab, the StarCorps decided to deal with Kurata first before going after Black Wyvern, where Cobalt Warrior said with authority. "Kurata, you are charged with illegal human experiments, causing chaos to the public and, though minor, damage to police equipment and personnel."
"In other words, you can come the easy way, or our way." Fighting Fury then added with a smirk as his slammed his right fist into his left palm as his body began to crackle with the orange energy again as Kurata looked at them fearfully, slowly walking back into his work station, where he gained a dark smirk as he grabbed a syringe with a black liquid inside of it.
"I think we'll do this MY way!" Kurata said back with an insane laugh as he plunged the syringe into his neck, causing the heroes to look on with worry, especially when the mad scientist began to cry out in pain as his body began to warp and twist itself.
Dropping the syringe and falling to his knees, Fighting Fury and the others watched with high alert as Kurata stopped his cries and began to snarl, watching as his small frame suddenly grew and intensified, his muscles expanding to the point they ripped through his lab coat.
Clenching his fingers into the ground, the others saw the skin around the tips rip open, turning into claws, alongside his feet as they burst through his shoes.
As his skin began to turn to a dark shade of brown, from his tailbone, a long tail extended, slithering around as it seemed to react and get used to being part of Kurata's body.
And as his pupils shrunk, his eyes turning a deep red, the scientist gave a feral roar as he rose, showing his transformation, revealing the animalistic rage in his expression.
"Ok... now he looks even creeper." Midnight Raven commented, before the StarCorps sprang into action, with Fighting Fury rushing in to deliver a punch, only to be quickly knocked to the side by the mutated Kurata's right arm.
"Fury!" Quickshot yelled in concern as she began to firing the electric shock blasts from her pistols at the beast's head, causing it to let out a roar of annoyance as Kurata then charged at her, causing her to barely be able to move out of the way.
At seeing two of their teammates in harm's way, Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven acted as one, both rushing at the abomination Kurata had become, Cobalt Warrior drawing his blade, Midnight Raven drawing a kunai, where the duo moved in, using their speed to deliver a series of deep cuts upon Kurata's being, causing him to roar at the pain.
However, Kurata retaliated, slamming his fists to the ground, tearing it up and causing a shockwave that threw the pair back, while causing the supports for the room to shake slightly.
Shadow Walker and Starlight, meanwhile, got in front of Quickshot, Cobalt Warrior and Midnight Raven, using their combined attacks to try and halt Kurata as he slowly marched towards them, ready to crush the heroes beneath his claws.
However, before he could move any further, the mutated villain felt something grab his tail, and grab it hard, where he was forcibly swung around and thrown into the nearby wall, letting out a roar as he got up, his red eyes widening to see Fighting Fury glaring at him, only now, the energy he emitted was now an aura around him, causing his hair to move with the energy as his eyes crackled with the orange power.
'He's going all out.' Cobalt Warrior thought, knowing that, while his friend was incredibly powerful like this, that he could not maintain this level of power for too long without harming himself in the process.
Reacting to the sight of Fighting Fury powering up, Kurata gave a fearsome roar before he lunged himself at the fighter hero, his claws drawn out as he prepared to tear Fighting Fury limb by limb.
But showing his power, Fighting Fury struck back, quickly closing the distance between him and Kurata as his foot slammed into the mutant's stomach so hard, that the beast was sent flying upwards, breaking right through the ceiling and up through the surface, where the mutated form that was Kurata was in slight shock to see itself mid-air above the streets.
Looking up, the mutant's eyes then widened to see Fighting Fury now above him, a look of pure determination and anger on his face as his right arm was brimming with energy, before the hero slammed his fist into Kurata's face, the sheer force and the impact of the attack sending the mutant crashing down and into the ground with a mighty uproar of dust and debris.
When the dust cleared and Fighting Fury landed, the energy around him dying as he tried to catch his breath, the hero saw Kurata, still in his mutated form, but now completely unconscious as his team came to up to check on him, where he gave the rest of the StarCorps a thumbs up as they heard sirens from nearby.
-Later-
After securing the mutated scientist and his experiments, hailing Kurata's still unconscious form to a high level prison, the StarCorps returned to their base at the main police station where, after reporting to the Commissioner on the events, a rather comical scene was playing out in the team's office.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to use your full power?! Last time you were in a body cast for a month!" Yoshi yelled in anger at Marcus, who laughed nervously at his teammate, and girlfriend's, anger.
"Look, I did what I had to. I did stop Kurata after all, right?" Marcus asked in reply, defending himself, but found Yoshi still glaring at him, her arms crossed as she remained in her annoyed mood.
"Hey guys, lets calm down, ok? We did good today, Kurata's behind bars along with what's left of his mutants, let's call it a win ok?" Miki cut in as she tried to keep the peace, where Marcus pumped his fist up and yelled. "You're right, lets celebrate! Drinks are on me!"
"I can't drink, remember?" Keenan replied with an annoyed look, where Marcus shrugged and added. "Fine, I'll ask Kristy to join in too. I know that will keep you busy."
Marcus grinned as he saw the younger member of the team blush a little, knowing that his younger sister had a crush on Keenan, and knew that he felt similar.
"Fine, but remember, you ARE paying!" Yoshi then said as she poked Marcus in the chest, as to prove her point, before walking out ahead of him, where a smile formed on her face, happy that her boyfriend was alright and that they did win today.
As they were leaving, however, Miki turned to see Thomas still at his desk, where she asked. "Aren't you coming, Thomas?"
"I'll catch up, I need to finish my report for today." The blond tactician of the group said in reply, causing Miki to nod as she chased down the hallway towards the rest of the StarCorps.
Seeing that he was now alone, Thomas took out his cellphone and hit speed dial on a number he had saved as he listened for the response.
Over at Odaiba High, Davis, who had just finished soccer practice, and was heading into the locker rooms to change and go have a meal with Kari, heard his phone ring, where he reached into his bag and pulled it out, seeing the familiar number as he answered. "Hey, Thomas."
"V-Force." Thomas merely replied on his end, having long ago deduced the hero's identity, but kept it a secret, as to form a mutual friendship between the police and the Protectors.
"If you have a moment, we need to talk." Thomas then added as he pulled out some files from his desk.
"Sure thing, Thomas. One sec." Davis replied, acting like it was a normal phone call to not arouse suspicions, before he entered an empty classroom and took a seat at one of the back desks, where he then said. "What's up? I heard you guys had quite a fight earlier. Sorry we couldn't be there to help."
"It's understandable, you guys need to keep up appearances as well. That's one of the reasons StarCorps was developed." Thomas replied, before adding as he rotated his neck a little. "And yes, it was quite a fight, but sadly Black Wyvern slipped away."
"He'll turn up when he gets his next paycheck." Davis replied, before adding. "But that's not what you wanted to talk about."
"No, it isn't. For the past three years, the crime rate in the city has slowly increased, and we both know why." Thomas said, while Davis frowned, knowing that it correlated with the Night Queen's debut.
"A Golden Age of Heroes, while an age of peace, is also an age of suppression. Every time a villain would rise up, the heroes would knock them down, and so criminals would rather stay in the shadows then risk the wrath of Heroes." Thomas went on as he pulled out the file he had on the Night Queen, which didn't have that much on her identity or her powers, just on what she's done so far.
"But since the Night Queen arrived, villains have been embolden, seeing her as a symbol to follow. Three years ago it was just her before Red Phoenix joined in a month after, then Fang a few months after that. Now three years later, her 'Dark Legion' numbers thirteen. Imagine what could happen in another year or two?" Thomas then added as he looked at the files on the other members of the Dark Legion, some with the villains real identities, some missing, as their real faces have never been seen before.
Davis, meanwhile, tried to block out the image that came to mind, seeing the Night Queen at the head of an army of villains as Odaiba burned around them.
"Somehow, I don't think building an army is her goal at the moment, not after the museum heist." Davis then said, which Thomas agreed with as he then added. "You are right, but we still need to find her and put a stop to her before the Legion can grow."
"Fortunately, it seems we're not alone in this fight." Thomas then added as he took out four folders and added. "We've been looking at a rather young group of new heroes calling themselves the 'Vigilant' for some time now."
"Yeah, I've heard their name a few times, but I haven't seen them or know too much about them." Davis said in reply, while Thomas looked at the photos of four young heroes, a few years younger than Davis he believed, but none of their true faces.
"They're been operating in the background recently, and they've been in contact with the vigilante, Infiltrator, for some time it seems." Thomas added as he looked at a blurred photo of a man in a black hoodie, narrowing his eyes at super hacker that seems to be a Robin Hood style kind of figure, but one who refused to work with law enforcement.
"I know he's a wild card, but he's done some good. I just hope he's not using the Vigilant to his own advantage." Davis added, liking the idea of the young heroes but not the idea that they might be being used.
"Yeah well, it's who the Vigilant has been targeting that's got me concerned, as well as the Commissioner..." Thomas then said with worry.
-Meanwhile-
After coming too, Kouki found himself tied to a chair in a dim lit room, his Black Wyvern tech suit a few feet from him as he thrashed and yelled in anger. "What the hell?! Let me out or I'll make you regret it!"
"Calm down. The ropes were a precaution." Someone in the dark said, causing the merc to look forward as another light came on, where he saw a figure sitting in a chair before him, drinking tea.
Looking at the figure before him, Kouki guessed he was a businessman, and quite successful one at that, due to the sharp black suit he wore.
The figure had short silver hair, shining purple eyes and kept a calm and stoic smile on his face, but knowing the type, Kouki knew that this person had a dark agenda, knowing there was far more to this suit than first perceived.
It took the merc a moment before he realized who this young man was, Knight Unryuji, the young billionaire and CEO of KnightCorps, the largest conglomerate in all of Odaiba.
"Now then, I do apologize for the... abrupt way you were brought here, but discretion was necessary." Knight said calmly, before adding. "Your last employer has been... detained, and so I believe you are looking for a new line of work."
"I've been having some problems of late, one I believe you are somewhat familiar working against, and I am offering you a place on KnightCorps' Elite Security Team. Not only will you be paid triple what Kurata was paying you, but your suit will be upgraded with some of the best tech money can buy." Knight then offered where, when he mentioned the security team, Kouki say three figures standing in the shadows behind the young CEO.
"Alright, I'm listening." Kouki said in reply with a smirk, looking forward to seeing what his new employer had planned.
