A Deadly Hand.
The world has seen it's fair share of heroes through the years. Noble people who puts their lives at risk time and time again to protect the innocent. But there is a question many people wonder, but never bothers to ask: What is a hero, without a villain? Would the world even need heroes if there wasn't someone unjust to fight? And what about the villains themselves? How often does anyone stop and ask what their motives are? And are they really as evil as they may appear? Or do they simply do what they because they have something they believe in? Is the difference between heroes and villains really that black and white?
The truth is, even villains have their motives, and it's not as sinister as it may appear at first. Which brings us to a man who is not a hero, but while the world views him as a ruthless villain, his motives and strive to achieve his goals are just as strong as any hero. His name, Was Darius, The Hand of Strength. During the Omnic Crisis, A younger Darius was a front line soldier who fought bravely against the hostile Omnics. He quickly became known for his strength in battle, as he refused to use any type of firearms- Instead, while wearing something called the Dreadnova armor, and using something that looked like a cross between an battle ax and a chainsaw, allowing him to bring the battle to the omnics up close and personal.
However, despite his strength, Darius was forced to be under the command of an incompetent leader. Time and time again he would order them to fight omnics which would result in the deaths of many good soldiers. Casualties were always unavoidable in war, but needless casualties where something Darius had no patience for. Every time they had the chance to beat the omnics back and gain some ground, the commander would order an retreat for the dumbest of reasons. Darius knew why, the commander was scared of having to fight himself, but if to many soldiers dies, he would be forced to join the battle himself, so he would rather order a needless retreat and make all the soldier's deaths pointless, just to save his own skin. This would also allow the Omnics to replenish their forces, and there by forcing Darius and his men in to the same battle over and over again.
Darius put up with it for a while. But he grew more and more frustrated with his commander by the day. Sometimes Darius wouldn't even be informed of the retreat and left to die in the middle of a battle field, where he had to watch true soldiers die because of the failure of their commander. However, Darius would always survive and return with new scars. It didn't take long for the other soldiers to respect Darius more than their commander, and even felt Darius was more worthy of command than anyone else. This was something that reached the commander, who was not above to let any soldier steal his rank and would order Darius assault an enemy base on his own, a clear ploy to get rid of him. That was the last straw, and Darius would finally grab the head of his commander and with his strong hand, he crushed the commander's head like rotten fruit.
Darius' act would be seen as treason. But to his men, it was a sign that the time of cowardly leaders were over and they quickly rallied behind Darius, who would finally lead them to victory against the Omnics. But obviously, killing a superior officer wasn't something the higher ups were just going to let slide, and Darius along with his men were deemed traitors and would be arrested and punished for their crimes... but it did not go so well. Darius and his men had earned a lot of battle experience from their time on the front line, sharpening their skills and instincts far beyond that of any average soldier. Anyone who came after them, never returned.
Darius defiance would inspire many more soldiers to join his cause. And they vowed to create a world where no weakling cowards would ever be in charge again and offer anyone strong enough to stand up a chance to become something more. Thanks to Darius' loyalty to those who fought alongside him, and willingness to enter the battle himself. He would ultimately gather a small army. An small army, but made out of the strongest soldiers in the world.
They needed the name. Darius decided on a simple name that would make it easy for the world to understand just what kind of force they are. They were called: The Forever Strong.
This leads us to the present day. With the whispers another omnic crisis being on it's way, Darius needed to make sure the world was ready for it. Which involved removing the weak, so the omnics would only face strong resistance.
The Forever strong were attacking a large factory, which just so happened to have it's own privet army. However, said army were mostly made up of hired guns who had never experience war before. Despite possessing the superior technology, the factory defense force where simply outmatched by their enemies' experience.
As Forever Strong soldiers where firing at their enemies, Darius himself calmly walked passed his soldiers, a few bullets gracing his armor. The enemy front line needed to be broken, and Darius was more than willing to be the one to do it.
With his trusty ax in hand Darius charged his enemies like a raging rhino. The enemies fired at him, but their bullets did little to his armor as she shattered the barrier they had built. He swung his ax several times, sending his enemies flying with each strike, even their own body armors didn't help much. Being forced to switch to melee weapons, the enemies tried to fight Darius up close, but his insane strength and combat skills allowed him to easier gain the upper hand on his enemies. Sending broken bodies in to walls, and even grabbed one by the neck, headbutting him before using him as a living shield against another hail of bullets before he scattered the group of gunmen.
But after he did that, he grunts as electrified batons where jammed in to his sides, high voltage ripping through both his armor and body. He was forced on a knee, with more and more enemies piling on to him, trying to shock him to death. Prolonged exposure to even one of those batons could kill a ordinary human. But Darius was no ordinary man, and with a battle cry, he stood up, throwing the enemy soldiers through the air. Severa crashed in to walls, but the few that was still close wouldn't fair much better. Darius grabbed one by the leg, before slamming him on top of another with enough force to break several of their bones. The chainsaw on Darius' ax turned on as he struck the last remaning enemy, sending him flying with blood shooting out of his chest.
Darius looked around at his fallen enemies before one of his soldiers walked up to him "Sir, that's the last of them. No one left to protect the CEO".
"Then let's remove him from office" Darius declared as he and some of his men walked up to the door leading to the CEO's office.
Inside his office, the CEO was worried that the battle outside had gone deathly quiet... suddenly the doors were blown open and Darius stepped in with two of his soldiers. Darius handed his ax over to one of his soldiers before he approached the CEO, who was slowly reaching for a gun.
"So many dead. And for what? To protect you? I am very familiar with your business. I know where your labor comes from. You take advantage of people who are desperate for a job, putting them in horrendous working conditions. And while you earn millions of money every day, your workers don't even earn enough for a small sandwich" Darius said calmly, but clear disgust.
"This is absurd! I am a highly respected business man who sells quality products! You have no proof of these outlandish accusations!" The CEO said, trying to look brave, but failing miserably.
"I am aware. You have strong connections, allowing you to shift the blame on someone else, making it impossible for the justice system to give you the punishment you deserve" Darius said as he got closer. The CEO pulled his gun and was about to shoot... but Darius grabbed his hand and crushed the gun "But I am not bound by laws of corrupt justice systems. I am the judge, jury and executioner. You have been judged, and now your punishment has finally come".
"You can't do this! You will be hunted for this! Your life will be over!" The CEO said in panic.
Darius lifted him by the neck and began walking towards the window of his office "You understand so little. Most of the world wants me dead. Time and time again they've been trying to kill me. Trying to silence me. Trying put an end to my goals to make a world where no weaklings will ever be allowed to decide the future of anything. But each and everyone of them have failed, because The Forever Strong will never die. Our ideal will live on forever" Darius slammed the CEO against his glass, outside it showed the workers who had been forced to work in such a dangerous environment, all looking half dead already "People suffer while you prosper of their pain. You don't deserve justice. Only death".
With that, Darius launched the CEO through the window, sending him plummeting to his death. The workers starred at the CEO's dead body in shock before looking up to see Darius watching over them.
"You have all been treated unjustly! All of you have been forced to give your lives to someone who did not deserve it! Your suffering was his gain! His weakness, became your pain! You all have been working yourself to death and gained nothing from it, while that man was living a good life! The corruption and weakness of the people who claim to uphold justice, yet they did nothing as you all were forced to rott away in the dirt! But all this will change! The Forever Strong, will change the world! No more weak Leaders, no more corruption, no more pointless suffering! Join us, and you will share in the glory! But unlike the corrupt leaders, The Forever strong believes in choice. You all have a choice now, to either walk away and start your lives over, non of us will hold it against you, and you will be free to leave. But if you want to make a difference, if you want to create a world where people will be able to stand up and claim what they truly deserve. Then join The Forever Strong! Race, gender, heritage, it makes no difference as long as your will is strong. Your corrupt leaders want you to lay down and be silent! We want you all to stand up and shout to the world! WE DESERVE A BETTER WORLD!" Darius shouts to the crowd.
The silence did not even last a second as a girl stepped forward "I want to join! I want to make a better world! A stronger world!".
It didn't take long for the rest of the workers to join in, all being eager to join Darius' cause. Darius smiled, today, The Forever strong, became evens stronger.
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There you have it. A chapter where a villain takes center stage. If you want to call him a villain that is. In this, Darius has his Dreadnova skin. I was tempted to make him a member of Talon, but I figured it would be to simple and that there was more that could be done with Darius.
For those who may not know. I lore, Darius is an complete and utter badass! Who values strength above all else. And as shown in his animated short, he is willing to offer others a chance for glory, as long as they earn it. I needed to change Darius a bit to fit the story, but I wanted to stay as true to his character as I could, since the expansions to his lore made me develop a high opinion on the character. A character who is more than worthy of respect.
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Tell me what you think.