Continuing the origins of Corrigan Easton. Hope that this chapter comes out better than the last...
DISCLAIMER: I do not own CoH. I never have and never will. So there.
Chapter 3: Sensei
The rebuilding went smoothly. After the Rikti, people were closer than ever, with the though of shared humanity in their minds. Soon enough, Paragon City was fully rebuilt.
Then the problems began springing up. In the wake of the terrible devastation, the police were practically gone and the Heroes of Paragon were all but destroyed. This huge opening attracted crime of all shapes and sizes. Gangs, cults, evil corporations... they all came rushing in to capitalize. That was when some of the citizens of Paragon banded together and formed the Vigilantes, a group that lasted only a short while but filled the law enforcement void.
Cor was one of them. They took it upon themselves to deal with the new enemies. Many died in service to Paragon. Few were remembered. Not everyone in the Vigilantes knew everyone else, but nonetheless they shared the common bond of strength.
The Vigilantes were disbanded after most of them joined the reformed Paragon City Police Department, but their legacy was not so short-lived. A few of them still fought crime on their terms. Many of them would become Superheroes.
Cor was one of the ones who kept fighting.
Cor felt the Ice leave him as he stood slowly up. He stepped over the unconscious body draped in fire-red clothes, and reached down to pick up his bat. He wiped the blood off it on the Hellion's shirt, and then stuck it back on his belt.
"Thanks for your help," he said, turning to the man beside him. "If you hadn't shown up, I probably would have been toasted. Name's Corrigan."
The man sheathed his sword, and then made a small bow. "I am Hikari Ryujin. You surprise me; you wield that bat with a grace far more than that of a baseball player. Nonetheless, you may have bit off more than you could chew here, hmm?"
Cor looked around, counting fourteen bodies around him. "Well, I didn't see most of them... yeah, that could have been dangerous." He gave Ryujin a goofy smile and a small bow, and then turned to go.
"Corrigan-san," Ryujin said, "If you continue to fight so poorly, you will surely perish. You cannot be as much a fool as that, I am sure."
Cor turned around, his smile gone. "Hey, don't you rip me, old man! If you think you can do better, why not show me, huh? C'mon, let's go!"
Ryujin smiled widely, and replied, "Perhaps I should do just that, hmm? Maybe I should show you how to fight. Perhaps you might learn something."
Cor's anger dissipated as the statement sunk in. "You in the market for a student, ol—Ryujin-san?"
Ryujin looked him over, and sat in thought for a long time. Then, with another tight smile, he bowed. Cor bowed back.
"I am ready to learn, Ryujin-Sensei."