At Leone Middle School, Manny Rivera is in a room along with five other students; all of them working on a math test. Eventually, the bell rang and that signaled them to put down their pencils and hand in their papers to vice Principal Chakal, who was filling in for the math teacher. As students were leaving the classroom, Manny stopped to talk to Chakal and gave him a letter.
"Vice Principal Chakal, I have my excused absence letter for you."
Chakal took the letter and examined it before saying "Everything appears to be in order, Rivera. See you next week.".
"Thank you sir. Manny said before he left the classroom. He went to his locker to grab a few books before leaving the school. As soon as he closed his locker, his closest friend, Frida Suarez, was right there.
"Manny." Frida said while holding law books in front of her.
Manny said "Hey Frida."
Noticing that he has almost all of his books, she said "So, I heard that you're going to be gone for a full week."
"Yep. It's a family vacation."
Frida asked "A normal vacation or "super" vacation?".
Manny said "The latter but if we manage to get it done then it might become a normal one. Although, I'm not really sure I'm going to get to do much in terms of fighting; might just be a learning experience overall but that's just as good."
Frida said "Usually that's all we can get from teens our age but it's beneficial in the long run for our futures; me being a lawyer then judge like my mom and you being a hero just like your entire family..
"Yeah." Manny noticed what time it was and said "I have to go. See you next week, Frida." before leaving the scene.
As soon as Manny was gone, she whispered to herself before leaving "See you later, mi amour.".
Manny went into the library and went into one of the study rooms. He made sure that no one was around, closed the blinds to the room, pressed his watch and was teleported out of the room. He found himself in what appears to be a living room. However, he was actually in a heavily motorized blimp that was leaving Miracle City.
"I'm home. Hope I wasn't keeping everyone."
"Don't worry, Manny. The pre-meeting hasn't started yet." Manny's father, Rodolfo Rivera, said to him while he and his mom, Maria Rivera, were sitting on the couch together. The two of them got up and gave their son a hug.
Maria asked "How was school?".
Manny said "It was fine. Although the math test I just finished was really challenging, I think I did a good job. The extra-extra tutoring you gave me really helped, mom."
"I'm glad it helped, mijo." Maria said, patting her son on his head.
"Attention familia, we'll be arriving at the rendezvous point in six hours; reminder that there's going to be a pre meeting in a couple of minutes to discuss what we're going to be doing as soon as we arrive in Brazil. Also, in Miracle City Local News Chief Suarez managed to get the evidence needed to arrest the Mustache Mafia family members including Don Baffi.
"That's good to know." Rodolfo said as Maria nodded in agreement.
"By the way, which outfit should I wear: The Classic Age Gown or the Silver Age Gown?" Jorge said holding up two judges' gowns; the first one is black with a huge puma on the right side; the second one is silver with the words "Justice '' on it with two pumas underneath it.
Rodolfo said "I would go with the classic gown, father."
Maria said "I agree."
Manny asked "What about your Golden Age Gown, Papi?"
Jorge said "I donated that to the Miracle City Law School; they said they wanted to have it for the new wing of the Law Library. Also, an old friend of mine convinced me that it was best to have it there to inspire the new law school students. And if I'm being honest, that outfit doesn't fit with my exoskeleton armor anymore.
Manny said with his eyebrow raised "Exoskeleton armor? I thought you only used that when you fight against younger villains that have vendettas against you for putting their relatives, space travel, and giant monsters that you've never seen before."
Jorge explained "In this case, our mission is likely going to involve giant monsters and something more."
Rodolfo asked "What do you mean, father?"
Jorge said "I'm not sure yet. Once I get the reports and we actually get there then I can tell you what I think is going on. Right now, I don't want to say something that sounds too concerning when it could be nothing. Are the members of Justica Eternia ready?"
Maria said "They are. Flama Dama is going to be acting as a representative for them."
"However, they'll only be at fifty percent strength due to the rest of the members and the Junior Justica Eternia, except Manny, will be staying behind to make sure Miracle City stays safe while we're away."
Jorge said "Excellent. "
An alert went off on a nearby flat screen tv. Maria said "It's time, familia.". The entire family nodded.
Jorge placed his hand out and a golden hammer arrived in his hand. He then put on his Classic Gown and shouted "Judge Puma!"
Rodolfo tore off his gray suit, revealing his white suit and put on his mask. He shouted "White Pantera!"
Maria put on her silver glove with a skull on it, which got her in costume. She shouted"Plata Peligrosa!"
Manny spinned his belt buckle, and transformed into his hero costume "El Tigre!"
My name is Manny Rivera. I'm also known as El Tigre; although, I'm considered the second El Tigre since I'm the only Rivera that the belt works for since the original. I come from a long line of superheroes; that or my family has worked in law enforcement or public service. While I'm not an official hero due to not being eighteen, I do have a provisional hero license that lets me do hero work if there are no other heroes around or I'm attacked by a villain first. However, I mostly work with my dad and grandpapi often than I do the other hero kids Miracle City.
My Grandpapi, Judge Puma, started out as a prosecutor until some of his and other DA cases were being thrown out by corrupt judges and politicians started letting major crime bosses and violent offenders who were starting to uses mystical items of power or simply gaining superpowers; this was where the "Birth of Superheroes" began. Papi united all the clean judges, police officers, DA's, average citizens, and clean politicians to create a secret court that put these criminals away along with gathering evidence that could bring down the corrupt system in Miracle City. Grandpapi describes it as one of the "dark times" for heroes to be born in Miracle City but it helped pave the way for future heroes to work legally and convict criminals without corruption within the system holding them back. He also uses a mystical item called the Silver Gavel of Justice; it can give him enhanced strength (but not like before since he's older now), create mountains when it hits the ground, and it can determine the innocence or guilt of a person depending on their line of answers based off any question.
My Dad, White Pantera, runs his own superhero team called Justica Eternia; he formed it in college during what's known as "The War of Skulls and Flesh", which involved zombies and skeletons fighting against each other for control for a map that could lead to an ancient artifact called The Heart of Miracles. He, my mom(Plata Peligrosa), Titanium Titan, Mr. Goma, Silver Sombrero, The Industrialist, Iron Piñata, Cosmic Cleopatra, Flame Dama, La Sombra, Trueno Coyote, Fantástica, Eagle Knight, Lampara Dorado, and Queen Aquaria. It was thanks to their teamwork that the zombie and skeleton forces were taken down along with their leaders, Sartana of the Dead and General Chapuza. Sadly, La Sombra, Fantastica, The Industrialist, and Titanium Titan, who was my dad's closest friend, died in this war. My dad has expanded the team since then and leads it occasionally sometimes but not like he used to; after he and my mom got married and had me they limited their hero work to take care of me. When I chose to become El Tigre, he started training me while also being a little more active as a hero since a new wave of villains started to appear. His mystical item is the Bronze Boots of Truth; it can make him run, jump, and fight with super speed and strength, and whomever is touched by the boots is forced to tell the truth; he said that there's another power that it has but he would only tell me about it once I inherited the boots.
My Mom, Plata Peligrosa, only works part time as a member of Justica Eternia now. She works as a therapist for retired superheroes, police officers, and regular civilians; she sometimes gives psych evaluations for criminals pleading insanity to determine if they're competent to stand trial. She also acts as the supervisory hero for me and the Junior Justica Eternia members; they consist of Albino Burrito, Sheriff Silverstar, Cactus Kid, Princess Aquaria, Iron Pinata Jr., Digital Diver, and Blue Robin. Her mystical item is called the Glover of Danger; it can shoot a fist laser, give her enhanced durability and strength, her cape can turn into a shield, and she can create a mini earthquake when it hits the ground but she's only ever done that twice in her life; there is a twin glove out there like hers but she hasn't been able to find it since it was lost in a Mystical Item Smuggling Ring that she and my dad took down years ago.
With everyone in costume, the pre meeting began. Including the Rivera Family and Justica Eternia, there were a total of 55 different superhero teams on call with their representatives at the forefront of the monitors; Judge Puma was acting as the representative for their team while Flama Dama was representing Justica Eternia. According to reports, a huge portal that (supposedly) leads to another dimension and strange monsters are coming out of it in Sao Paulo, Brazil and 20 other small towns near it. An attempt to send a probe inside of the portal to see what they're dealing with but it couldn't go through it; only organic material can enter. The plan is to send one team in to see if the portal can be closed from the inside by any means necessary; another team will be fighting the monsters coming out of the portal; a third team will focus on saving civilians that are still trapped; the fourth team will be guarding the evacuation shelter and providing any aid possible. El Tigre, Plata Peligrosa, half of the heroes that have healing powers, and all the young heroes under the age of 18 would take care of the evacuation shelter; White Pantera would be working with the team that evacuates civilians; Judge Puma would join the team that will fight the monsters coming out of the portal. There are other hero teams close by
In the Ancestor room, El Tigre is looking at the Rivera Family Tree. While the tree contains all the family members, the ones that were heroes all have golden stars surrounding their pictures; this included his mother and anyone who were heroes that married into the Rivera family. However, he was looking at his family's direct line of Riveras that he is related to: El Tigre I, Light Leopard,Golden Leon, Mighty Cheetah, Justice Jaguar, his grandpapi, and his father. His picture is there too but it's not as fully decorated as the others since he's still young and hasn't been a hero that long.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Maria said as she walked into the ancestor room.
"Mom. How did you know I was here?" Manny asked.
Maria said as she sat down next to her son. She said "You always come here whenever you're nervous about a test, a big operation with the members of Justica Eternia, or whenever you try to confess to Frida that you love her but you can't. You're my son, Manny, I've already picked up on your reactions by now. Tell me what's wrong."
Manny said "I guess I'm nervous about making sure that all those people will get out of the town safely. While I prefer fighting the monsters, I know protecting civilians is just as if not more important than fighting but it's almost out of my element since I've only been able to unlock the offensive parts of my powers."
Maria said, placing her hand on his head"You feel mismatched in this assignment. Manny, you have no idea how many times I felt like that when it came to my powers.".
Manny said "Really. But whenever I see you go into battle you and dad go into battle you always know what you're doing; that's both when I'm with either one of you or when I have to watch you two from home."
Maria giggled at first but she then said "That's because you've only seen us with our mystical items at their full power. When your father and I got started as heroes, it took us a while to get a full grasp of our own powers; what's worse is we had to learn them in a war-like setting which wasn't really the best way to learn how to control them. There were times when we felt that we wished we could do more with the powers we had but couldn't; this applied even further in our careers after the undead war. However, we focused on what we were able to do and worked from there; over time we did improve our powers and did more. It's just a matter of patience, mijo.
"Ok, mom."Manny said before her mom gave him a hug.
"Your time to shine will come. I know it can be aggravating but it will happen. And when it does, everyone will know who you really are and what you can do. Besides, I'm sure Frida is still not ready to share you with the world yet." Maria said with a sly smile on her face.
"Frida is just my friend." Manny said, as his face turned red.
Maria said "If you say so, mijo.".
In the driver seats of the blimp, Rodolfo and Jorge are talking to each other about the upcoming mission.
Rodolfo said "Father. I've been going over these reports on the monsters and it's concerning."
Jorge said "Reports on hostile monsters are always going to be concerning, Rodolfo."
"That's not what I'm talking about. The energy signatures coming from each of these monsters have a similar energy signature to the El Tigre belt."
Jorge put the blimp on autopilot for a second to get up from his seat. He went to the side and grabbed a huge file titled "Brazil Monster Incident". He said to Rodolfo "I saw that in the reports too. I didn't want to worry you, Maria, or Manny about anything in case the reports were wrong. I may not be going into the portal but fighting the monsters close up but once I start fighting one in our world then I'll tell you if it's something you need to worry about.".
Rodolfo asked "What's your opinion about it?"
Jorge said "Given that the original El Tigre was here one time, I wouldn't throw out the possibility it has something to do with him since the journal said he and 8 others fought a great evil there."
"Will this mean Manny is our last hope against this evil?" Rodolfo asked, worried that his son would be put in unnecessary danger.
Jorge said "I'm making sure that's not the case. While Manny has been growing stronger since beginning as El Tigre, we both know he's not ready yet; that's why I'm glad that he'll be in the back protecting civilians instead of fighting."
Rodolfo said with a worried tone of voice "But Manny wants to fight; he wants to prove himself to the wider hero community. It would be wrong to make him feel that he's not doing more than what he thinks he can do, nor is it right to keep him in the dark about this whole scenario possibly relating to him."
Jorge placed his hand on his son's shoulder and said "Rodolfo. The hero community…...doesn't always have the best interest in all the heroes that work for them, especially when you take into account if we're serving the people or politicians first. Our family has always focused on the people. That's why I suggested in our meeting we focus on people before fighting the monsters; it might be politically beneficial for them if we do nothing but fight. I may have paved the way for heroes like you, Maria, and even Manny to rise but that doesn't mean there aren't forces who will find a way to take advantage of this." He then gave Rodolfo a keychain that contained a picture of his mother.
Rodolfo said"This is the fifth time in my life that you've given me this.".
Jorge said firmly "And I'll continue to give it to you whenever our family gets into these situations. I like to cover all my bases and this is how I do it; I've done that for all your brothers and your sister."
Rodolfo said "But I could die too."
Jorge said "We all could. But I know you won't because you made a promise to Maria about being careful in a fight and you've never gone back on your word since you've two got married; you reinforced that the day Manny was born too."
"I know. But papi, he looks up to you too. He needs you just as much as he needs me and Maria. It doesn't matter how old you are." Rodolfo said before showing Jorge a picture of him, Rodolfo, Maria, and Manny when he was a baby.
Jorge said "Alright."
A few hours later, the Rivera Family arrived at the rendezvous point where all the heroes and civilians are and immediately got started with their respective duties. While Plata Peligrosa was dealing with the crowds inside, El Tigre was dealing with the crowds outside. Civilian control was chaotic for a bit but it calmed down as the number of civilians were coming in and were evacuated; a hero team known as Space Frontiersmen had a fleet of ships that could evacuate up to 3000 people at a time. A few stray monsters did arrive in the area of the evacuation zone but they were quickly defeated by all the heroes around; even El Tigre managed to get a few claw strikes at flying monsters that breached the perimeter.
Later in the day, the portal closed with a total of thirty heroes trapped on the other side. While they couldn't contact the other heroes to determine if they're alive or not, the portal closing did manage to make all the monsters that didn't make it inside to disintegrate. This helped with civilian control as the heroes that were left behind could help with civilian evacuation too and the process itself could go faster without any monsters breaching the perimeter.
El Tigre then got a call from his Rivera Family cell phone; it was his mom and he chose to answer it."Hello."
Plata Peligrosa asked "Mijo, is your perimeter secure?"
El Tigre said "Yes, mom"
Plata Peligrosa said "Excellent. I need you to meet me at these coordinates. Papi needs to talk to us about something important. Don't worry about your post, I'm sending someone to relieve you.
"Ok." El Tigre hung up and ran as fast as he could to the coordinates that his mother mentioned. Once he arrived, he waited for her and his grandfather
He gave his son a hug and said "Manny, I got your distress call and ran here as fast as possible. Are you alright?"
"I never sent a distress call." El Tigre said with a confused look on his face.
White Pantera asked "Then what are you doing here?".
El Tigre said "Mom called me; she said that Grandpapi needed to talk to us.".
Plata Peligros flew down in front of El Tigre and White Pantera. She said "Rodolfo, I'm here. Where's Azura Sky?". She turned toward El Tigre. "Manny, what are you doing here?"
El Tigre said to his mother "You told me that Grandpapi needed to see us."
Plata Peligrosa said "No I didn't" She turned toward White Pantera and said . "And you didn't call me about Azura Sky suffering a panic attack, did you?"
White Pantera said "That wouldn't make sense since Azura Sky went back to sweep for any extra civilians; I just saw her a few minutes ago.".
A voice said "I guess some things never change; you'll always respond to each other when one of you needs help.". The Rivera family turned around where the voice was talking to them; much Plata Peligrosa and White Pantera's surprise it was Sartana of the Dead
"Sartana!" Plata and Pantera shouted at the same time. White Pantera got in front of his family to protect them while Plata Peligrosa grabbed El Tigre to protect him.
"It's been a long time, Plata Peligrosa and White Pantera. And it's a pleasure to meet you, El Tigre."
"What are you doing here? Is this all you're doing?" White Pantera said with a menacing tone of voice.
Sartana said "No, no, this is not my doing. This is a natural phenomenon that happens here every 5,000 years. However, my family uses this chance to gain a certain ore for their evil schemes. But that's not the only reason I'm here." She then threw three envelopes toward them and they grabbed them.
"What are these?" Plata Peligrosa asked.
Sartana said "Four months from now I'm going to be hosting a tournament in Miracle City; these invitations are your right to enter the tournament with your own teams along with instructions."
White Pantera said "Why would we participate in one of your tournaments?"
"Because my sponsors want the Rivera family to participate. But if I had to give you an actual reason to participate it would be this." Sartana opened a portal and showed them a chained Judge Puma in his underwear, beaten and bruised.
The family shouted "Grandpapi!"
White Pantera shouted "Where is he?!"
"He's safe. If you ever want to see him again, you'll participate; if you don't, I can guarantee my grandson won't kill Judge Puma. Goodbye." Sartana said before she disappeared into thin air.
I didn't know it then but this would be the true start on my adventure into becoming a hero.
Since I did a fanfic where the entire Rivera family are villains it was only natural that I did one where they were heroes too. I'm proud that I managed to actually give a full chapter this time around even if it is meant to be a one shot that gives you an idea of what this AU can be.