Opening Notes: One thing I completely forgot to mention in my last chapter for this is that, I know Dion is canonically gay. I myself however don't believe I could write an M/M relationship near well enough to be comfortable posting it, and M/M just doesn't really interest me anyway. Even so, I fully support such things, and if that's your speed, all the more power to ya, but it's just not a thing I like is all. 'Shrugs'. That aside though, the gimmick that'll hopefully be interesting that our dragon prince has at his fingertips will eventually be revealed, but first, let's get through this next bit.
Chapter 2
Light and Magic
New York, Hell's Kitchen
August 27th, 2007, 3:11 PM…
Predictably, the Protectorate didn't take long to send people to his location once someone in the apartment building called them. Even so, despite having jumped to lethal force as quickly as he had, he'd tried to be reasonable and to dissuade the gangers from getting in his way. Yet he had still killed another person with little provocation, even if that same person had made his intentions quite clear when he'd prepared to fight Dion. All told, he might've protected himself, but he knew he'd also taken things too far much too quickly, and there would likely be a price to pay for that. If not now, then certainly later, likely from the other members of the same gang prowling the neighborhood since he seriously doubted those three had been the only ones.
The PRT squad cars, three in all, spearheaded by an armored, Tinker enhanced van that disgorged a number of troopers in full combat gear, pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building. Dion was careful to keep his gauntleted hands up and away from anything that might be mistaken for a weapon, only for a sonic boom in the distance to catch his attention just before a young man in a sky blue skin tight costume began to slowly descend upon the scene. Murmurs of 'It's Legend!' from those few passing civilians in the area reached Dion's ears, while the blue and silvery white masked young man alighted on the sidewalk just in front of the Dragoon, his dark green eyes quick to sweep over his armored form in turn.
"I feel like I should call you 'sir', given your obvious knightly appearance." Legend said with a warm, inviting smile and a nod of approval quick to follow.
"That's not quite what I was going for," Dion admitted as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head a little, "but rather I wished to put people at ease by presenting a noble visage. I'll freely admit that I was inspired by stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table when I was a child however."
"I can see that." Legend replied, before holding out a hand that Dion clasped firmly. "Still, it's nice to meet another hero, even if from what I've heard, you escalated a bit quickly."
"I admit I did indeed use more force than was strictly necessary," Dion sighed, looking away slightly as he did, "but while it's hardly an excuse, it took me some time to get here. Tired and weary as I am, my patience was quite thin, so being accosted by those who would've taken what little I had for themselves was the last straw. I assure you however, I'm normally more restrained than this."
"It's alright," Dion blinked, taken aback by Legend's retort, "while we'd ask that you do a better job of only escalating if there's no other choice in the matter, if you plan to stay, you'll come to realize that everything in New York is bigger, the gangs included. Samwell Bryson, a.k.a. Silverstrike, had been charged with multiple counts of assault and battery, petty theft, and two counts of first degree murder. Taken all together, he would've ended up in the Birdcage for sure, but given the nature of his power, actually capturing him had proven to be pretty difficult."
"I see." And Dion did as he stroked the bottom of his chin. "So what happens now, Legend?"
"Well…" Legend trailed off then, and blinked owlishly before all but slapping a hand against his forehead with a groan. "And now I feel like an idiot since I never asked for your name."
Dion chuckled warmly this time before waving off his apology with a smile. "You meant no offense, and there were more important matters to discuss upon your arrival, sir. But my name is no secret, it's Dion Lesage, freshly arrived to this city as of an hour and a half ago."
"Huh, talk about a New York welcome then, still it's good to have another friendly face around, Dion." He dropped his inviting tone for one more appropriate for official business as his smile also turned into a neutral visage. "On that note, would you be willing to come down to the PRT headquarters to give an official statement? I understand you've been on the road all day, but it shouldn't take long. That and it'll give me time to give you the recruitment spiel on the way."
Dion smiled wryly at the man's joke at the end even if he knew Legend wasn't entirely kidding on that part. It was no secret that the heroes were sorely outnumbered by the villains everywhere one cared to look, and while they did alright for the most part, they needed every able bodied heroic Cape they could get to stem the tide. "Of course. I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll tell you what I can if it'll put minds at ease." So it was Dion found himself in the van, sitting across from Legend as they made their way back to the PRT base. True to his expectations, Legend gave him the recruitment pitch before they began to talk of more mundane, inconsequential things.
Internally though, Stephen wasn't sure if he wanted to join the PRT, or anyone for that reason. For one he knew more than enough about this world to know that the PRT had a serious problem no thanks to Cauldron's shadowy influence, an organization that was willing to do anything they deemed necessary to destroy Scion and the other Entities. That included human experimentation, assassinations, blackmail, extortion, and worse besides. While very few people actually knew what the Entities were, and what they wanted, Cauldron knew, and while they simply wanted to save as many people as they could, that they had so many tendrils in so many parts of the world made them more akin to HYDRA outta Marvel than anything truly good. Sure, their unseen influence might've also ensured the world's various nations and governments hadn't already collapsed thanks to such threats as the Endbringers or the Slaughterhouse Nine as two quick examples, but the good Cauldron did was heavily outweighed by the evil they committed at every turn.
Then there was the PRT itself, which, at least from what he'd read online, had earned the 'PR' in their initials due to the fact they were more concerned with looking good for the public over actually being heroes. While he doubted it was as bad as some had made them sound on the forums he'd once frequented, he did remember enough of the canon story to know that those harsh remarks hadn't been entirely without merit either. That the PRT made sure their newer people's patrols were in more crime free areas of their respective cities, both for PR purposes, but to also keep their new recruits out of harm's way or so, again, commenters had said. He wasn't sure if he agreed with them or not, and he didn't know enough to judge in any event, so for now he was willing to wait and see for himself.
Pulling up to the PRT headquarters at last, Dion couldn't help but think the gray, concrete building looked more akin to a fortress with the number of Tinker-tech and more mundane defenses he could make out. Forcefield generators, automated and manned turret emplacements, PRT troopers like the ones that were inside the van and the accompanying two vehicles which were similarly equipped with Tinker-tech enhanced weaponry, including the mandatory containment foam launchers that were supposed to spit out foam strong enough to stop highly rated Brutes in their tracks from what he could recall. There was more he was sure, but he didn't get a chance to look before they'd driven into an underground parking garage, though not before the PRT trooper in the driver's seat flashed an ID to the gate guards at the same time Legend stuck his head into the front of the van so those same guards could scan his retinas. Only once they were satisfied did the guards allow them to proceed into the building proper.
It was a little overkill in Dion's opinion, but considering the threats they habitually faced, it wasn't a surprise by any means either. And to be perfectly honest, when you had foes able to casually level entire cities, any amount of protection to put people's minds at ease was likely all the more important in the long run. That wasn't even getting into Capes that could manipulate people's mental states simply by being near them for too long. On that note, Dion had no idea how a Master like Heartbreaker would compare to someone like him, whether he'd be able to control the Dragoon or Bahamut, but he wasn't in a hurry to find out either.
"Sorry for all the trouble, Dion." Legend chimed in, pulling his focus back on the present just as the van finally pulled to a stop. "It's simply SOP when a new Cape like you appears."
"I assure you it's fine. As I said, if it helps to put hearts and minds at ease, I'll do what I can to do exactly that." Dion assured the veteran hero, even if he didn't look much older than Dion himself. Yet for all of his youthful vigor and handsome visage behind the mask, it didn't take a genius to see Legend's time as head of the Protectorate's most powerful team had taken its toll, even if the signs of said toll were hard to see if one didn't know what to look for. Dion had the unfair advantage of having a fair amount of metaknowledge however, but he was wise enough not to bring it up just yet. For one they didn't know each other nearly well enough, and for another, Dion doubted he'd appreciate a random person bringing it up in any event. Not to mention depending on how he responded, Legend or his superiors might wonder how he even knew in the first place, prompting a lot more questions.
Regardless, he followed after the young man as he led the way into the building proper, where dozens of PRT troopers, other heroes, and the base's support staff walked the halls on their various errands. Dion nodded politely to those that took note of his presence, but otherwise kept pace with Legend as he headed for a bank of elevators down a brightly lit hallway that was painted a comfortable shade of white with a fairly comfortable red carpet stretching out in either direction. Despite the otherwise official looking interior, there was something almost warm and inviting about this place that spoke to Stephen.
Legend saw as much and flashed him a brief smile over his shoulder as the elevator doors opened, allowing him to lead the way to a conference room. "Wait here. I need to report to my superiors before going from there."
"Of course." Dion said with a nod of his head as he pulled his pack off before setting it down on the floor beside his feet before gently placing his lance against the table and his pack so it wouldn't fall to the ground, allowing him to sit without issue. Having had to take it off his back just to get into the van earlier had been a little annoying, but he hadn't been about to hand it over to just anyone, so he'd had to leave it lying across his lap. If not for Legend, he doubted he'd have been allowed to do even that. That aside, he gave himself a few minutes to just sit and process everything that'd transpired since his arrival. To be perfectly honest, things were moving much more quickly than he would've expected, but then again, he hadn't exactly kept a low profile, jumping about and taking down a random criminal in broad daylight as he had. Still, it said a lot of good things about the PRT that they had such a quick response time he supposed, even if he wasn't a threat to the good people of this world. Didn't mean he trusted them of course, but Legend at least had seemed genuine and sincere in his dealings with him thus far. Now he just had to hope the rest of Legend's allies treated him half as well as he got settled into his new life here.
"We're ready for you." Legend said the moment he returned about ten minutes later.
Gathering his things, Dion followed after him, though he didn't do so silently. "You never quite explained what it is your superiors wanted to know about me."
"Mainly the type and strength of your power or abilities. The rest our Thinkers have already looked into, although I'm sorry I didn't warn you ahead of time that they'd be under orders to invade your privacy." Legend explained, rubbing the back of his neck while looking away from Dion's gaze.
Dion though only smiled and said, "The PRT works closely with the governments of the world. I knew what to expect the moment I made the decision to become a hero, albeit after I did my due diligence in preparing for the long and arduous road that lay ahead of me."
Legend visibly perked up and relaxed at that, no doubt silently grateful he hadn't responded negatively to the news. "That's good to know, but still, you'd be surprised how often new recruits, regardless if they sign on officially or work as independents, seem taken aback if not outright offended by our standard operating procedures. But with how many Capes we have just here in New York, with Masters being a constant concern on either side of the moral divide, precautions must be taken so we don't accidentally allow sleeper agents or worse into our ranks."
"An understandable response then. Has that happened often?" He wondered.
"Thankfully no." Legend replied as Dion soon enough found himself in another elevator. Hitting a button simply marked B, he assumed for the basement, the elevator began its slow descent into the depths of the building. "We have a Tinker-tech testing ground so we can try new weapons, train up new recruits, or on occasion, see what someone like you is capable of. The testing area…it was created by Hero, so since his passing, it's affectionately been renamed as Hero's Playroom."
"I see." And Dion did see as he put a comforting hand on Legend's shoulder since, even several years after his passing, it was clear his loss was still keenly felt by those who'd once known him. A quick, grateful look was all he got in response, but that was enough for Dion as the elevator eventually came to a stop a few moments later. What lay beyond was something straight out of a sci-fi film in Stephen's opinion as his gaze fell upon holographic interfaces projected against glass surfaces which displayed live feeds of the large chamber's center as well as other vital information, hard-light control consoles where more mundane keyboards and the like would normally reside, and the testing ground itself beyond the heavily reinforced glass and energy protected perimeter looked more akin to an arena straight out of the ancient Roman Colosseum given the fact there were bench seating for anyone wishing to watch the trainees.
As for the arena itself, he was reminded of the Danger Room from X-Men mixed with the holosuites from Star Trek with how the environment within the arena's center could apparently be altered and changed for the combatants already inside. The technicians working the controls were adept at manipulating the various hard-light traps and obstacles, providing a rewarding if difficult challenge for the heroes from what Dion could see, but the training session must've been nearing its end because it wasn't long before an alarm sounded, and the holograms and hard-light constructs were quickly dismissed, revealing a plain metallic floor where before there'd been a fully fledged cityscape, albeit one that'd been in a state of smoldering ruin.
"A truly impressive set up." Dion complimented the room's occupants as a whole. "Though I shouldn't be surprised given how successful the PRT here has been as a whole."
"We do our best." Legend humbly replied, though there was no hiding the pleased look on his face as he gestured for Dion to go ahead down the stairs once the airlock styled door had opened, allowing the two trainees that'd been inside to exit, both looking exhausted but in good spirits. That said, the girl that had white star patterns against a sparkling black bodysuit took one look at him, and quickly looked away, a light blush appearing on her masked face as she made to leave moments later. Dion merely smiled at the girl's obvious attraction to him even if she was a bit too young for his liking, especially since he was sixteen again and she barely looked to be fourteen at his rough estimate. "Astrologer, she's not the most social of people around, but she's a powerful Blaster in her own right. Some would argue she focuses too much on the job at hand, but that's not always a bad thing in our line of work."
Dion didn't respond save to nod slightly, entering the airlock before he was allowed into the arena proper once the doors had been cycled accordingly. A quick walk down the stairs after that saw him standing in the middle of the arena floor soon after, his lance in his right hand soon after. "Alright Dion, the rules are simple here. Show us what you're capable of. If you can't control your full power, just do the best you can with what control you currently possess. We don't want to needlessly risk your health for a simple demonstration exercise, although avoiding having to rebuild the Playroom would also be appreciated." Legend teased, earning a light laugh from Dion in response.
"I'll do my best not to destroy this place then." He promised, ready for whatever they might think to throw at him. "Out of curiosity, can I request a particular set of opponent types by chance?"
"...No one's thought to ask, but if it's programmed into the database, we can certainly oblige." Legend informed him after conferring with his compatriots for a moment.
"Monsters from Final Fantasy then, if you have them." There was an audible chuckle over the arena's speaker system from one of the techs he'd wager, but Dion merely rubbed the back of his head, a bit embarrassed as he added, "Yes, I was a gamer as a child, and while we might've lost most of Japan to Leviathan, the old FF series will always hold a special place in my heart as some of you can no doubt agree."
Legend's smile was audible as he replied. "It would seem some of our techs would at that. Prepare yourself Dion, the test is about to begin."
Dion brought his lance into a ready position with a firm nod as the holoprojectors and hard light emitters began to power up with an audible thrum filling the air around him. Once they'd reached a sufficient charge, the entire chamber was plunged into darkness before the room brightened once more a few moments later, and in its place, a grassy field stretched out in every direction. "Call me Bahamut."
No sooner had the words left his mouth before a Wyvern materialized, the dragonoid easily longer than he was tall at sixteen feet from elongated snout to its spine covered tail. With a screech, the draconic lizard began to gather flames within its chest before a fireball raced from its toothy maw, but Dion was already on the move, having jumped out of the way before bringing his lance down upon the winged creature's scaly back. Digital blood splashed from the neat little hole he'd torn through its flesh as the tip of his lance erupted from its chest, the creature dead long before it hit the ground, but by then Dion had jumped again, landing behind the dying beast.
"Did you see that?!" One of the techs exclaimed.
"So he plays at being a dragoon. Let's see how he handles this then." Another of the techs stated, audibly unimpressed by his performance so far, while Legend silently watched on from the control room's observation deck. Not that Dion got to focus on them for more than a few moments as a new enemy appeared, this one a fair bit bigger than the last. Worse yet, it was in the vague shape of a humanoid being, except the Iron Giant that now towered over him was literally made of metal and carried a sword that was bigger than Dion's entire body in one hand with ease. Despite its massive size, the Iron Giant was deceptively quick and light footed as it leaped at him, sword held in both of its large hands before slamming it down in an explosion of dirt and what would've been magical energy had this been the real deal.
Not that it changed the outcome, nor Dion's response as he darted to the side in a burst of light that propelled him not unlike a rocket engine, aiding his dodge and ensuring he was just out of reach of the Iron Giant's overhead strike that could've easily killed a dozen men had it landed. Even a glancing shot could've put him out of the fight. While he understood the PRT needed to ensure their heroes and troopers were up to the task of protecting their homes, this seemed a little much. He shook off his wandering thoughts though, and it was just as well as the Iron Giant took another swing at him with its free hand, hoping to cave his head in. Dion was ready for it though, and darted aside once more, another burst of white light seeming to leave a quick to fade afterimage of himself behind that took the punch while leaving Dion to appear to the right of the construct, lance already poised to slash across its exposed side.
Iron Giants were literally constructs made out of the same material to such a thickness that their defenses were formidable even for veteran FF characters, but they weren't unbeatable. The same was true here as his lance tore a deep gouge into its armored hide, jumping away as the Giant slashed at him with its sword once more. Landing perfectly on the dull edge, Dion ran along the length of its large blade, leaped for the eye slit in its helmeted head, and rode the Giant down with his lance buried in its glowing yellow right eye, the beast dead long before it completely fell with a deafening series of metallic clangs.
"Jesus! This guy is good!" The first technician exclaimed.
"He won't last against Audrey!" Dion didn't get to ask who 'Audrey' was before the tech he was growing increasingly convinced was out to humiliate him, sent in a new holo-creature for him to fight. He realized when he saw the Marlborowhy it was called 'Audrey' as the plant-like monster wasted no time in trying to eat him, dozens of tentacles lashing out to try and pin him down as it leaped at him, acidic drool and a mouthful of razor-like teeth opened wide to swallow him whole. His instinctual reaction to the Little Shop of Horrors knockoff was the only thing that likely saved him from said defeat because when the Marlboro was within striking distance, its teeth mere inches from his face, Dion summoned forth his power in a new way. Wings in the shape of a true dragon rather than that pretender of a wyvern's, majestic and mighty in their scale, appeared in a flash of bright, holy light, repelling the Marlboro away as if it'd hit an electrified steel wall.
He was far from done there however as Dion charged forward, lance poised to sink deep into the Marlboro's writhing mass of tendrils as a powerful flap of his draconic wings and his light shot him towards the beast while it was still airborne. The Marlboro retaliated as best it could, inhaling a large breath before spewing forth a sickly green cloud of the most noxious gas one could imagine. Dion was barely fast enough to avoid taking a face full of its aptly named Bad Breath attack, his wings hurtling him towards the ceiling before he just as quickly descended much as he had with the wyvern, his lance's long blade sinking deep into the front of the plant monster's head, right between where the eyes on a regular beast would reside. It had the same effect as it too fell before his lance and his god-like speed.
"Send in the horde." Legend's order was obeyed, with the one tech that'd been out to get Dion audibly grinding his teeth in frustration as he and his fellow tech rapidly tapped out a series of commands in their respective control consoles. The grassy green fields soon enough disappeared before they were replaced with a sprawling cityscape, an all too familiar metal plate high above his head which housed more of a futuristic city he knew all too well from FF 7 and the Remake respectively. Midgar then, and that meant the 'horde' would be a swarm of Shinra troopers and their elite SOLDIERs and robotic units.
True to form, that was exactly what began to pour out of the woodwork as automatic weapons and energy weapons were primed and pointed at the Warden of Light. Dion responded in kind, summoning forth several orbs made of the same gold and black draconic scaly hide as his wings, and darted aside as the first of the machine gun fire was unleashed in his direction. His summoned orbs meanwhile unleashed their own fire, beams of bluish white energy lancing out, tearing through the Shinra men and women without fail while their more resilient robotic soldiers proved to be only slightly harder to put down. His lance all the while tore through those targets his own constructs had yet to put down, his speed, enhanced both by his power and his wings, putting him a step above even the SOLDIERs among the regular rank and file.
"Damn it! This guy is gonna make me lose the bet at this rate!" Legend wasn't the only one to give the technician a curious look as Dion too whirled to face the man in the booth, who seemed oblivious to the fact he'd spoken aloud. "Fuck it, I'm sending in the Airbuster."
"That particular enemy's reserved for potential Triumvirate members, are you trying to kill him?!" Legend shouted back, alarm easy to hear in every word.
"I can handle it." Dion stated, barely feeling winded despite how hard he'd fought thus far. "This wouldn't be a test if it were easy, sir."
"...If you're sure." Legend didn't sound convinced, but that he was willing to let this continue spoke of his confidence in his abilities already. "Do it, but the moment it looks like he's being overwhelmed, terminate the routine, do I make myself clear Technical Officer Daniel?"
"Yes sir." Daniel replied before a new enemy began to appear in the distance above the city's 'skyline'.
Dion wasted no time in slamming the butt of his lance into the ground at his feet before spreading his arms out wide to either side. "You tread upon my dominion now. Your superiority of the sky ends today!" With that declaration, Dion's body began to glow and roil with Bahamut's holy light. "I am the Warden of Light, Dominant of Bahamut, and you shall reign over this place no longer!" His voice boomed and echoed with every word, and while this was only a partial Primed state, it would be more than enough as the Airbuster began to rain down fiery death and destruction in the form of laser beams from its fingers while a large shell erupted from a cannon on its back. Worse yet, the robotic titan's hands popped off before beginning to fly on their own power, allowing it to not only shoot yet more lasers from their respective knuckles, but by removing its hands, the Airbuster revealed a pair of gatling guns.
All in all, it was a war machine with enough weaponry to level a city if it were aiming to do just that. Fortunately it was only aiming at him, but Dion still intended to end this quickly to minimize the damage even if all of this was just a simulated fight rather than a real one. Because real or not, later it most likely would be a real fight, and ending the battle quickly would mean the difference between lives lost or saved. So off he went, his wings propelling towards the closer of the two robotic hands while he weaved through the laser and gunfire as best he could. A few of the thing's shots pinged off his wings and armor alike, but they barely slowed him down as his lance sank into the center of one of the robot's mechanical limbs, right through the palm where yet another energy emitter resided. Pushing off it as it exploded behind him, he went for the next just as it clenched its fingers into a fist to try and punch him out of the air.
Dion simply flapped and twisted his winged body aside of the blow, his lance carving a deep slash into the hand as it passed, its own rocket propelled momentum aiding in its own destruction as it too fell before exploding long before it hit the ground. He didn't rest on his laurels though, having since launched himself off the side of a building that'd been just behind the robotic hand he'd just trashed, and shot himself towards the Airbuster proper, his orb constructs flying up to match his pace with ease. On an unspoken command, the orbs began to feed power into the tip of his lance, the blade glowing a pure white as the Airbuster prepared to fire its primary laser beam from its chest as the rest of its guns went silent. Instead of dodging out of its path, Dion met the beam head on when it burst from its chest, his lance's light outclassing the destructive power being leveled upon him as the beam was dispersed in every direction around his lance's tip, leaving him completely unharmed.
With a roar of defiance, the partially Primed Eikon of Light burst through the Airbuster, the explosion as its own beam was forced right back into its chest enough to rip it clean in half while Dion hovered several feet above another rooftop behind it, his wings spread wide as he slowly turned to regard the destroyed machine as it too fell, disappearing as did the rest of the simulated city of Midgar. Only after the city was gone did Dion allow himself to land, wiping an armored gauntlet across his slightly sweaty forehead with a smile. "Tell me sir, how did I acquit myself?"
"I don't believe it." Danial gaped quietly before letting out a defeated cry. "I'm out a hundred bucks!" Legend and the other technicians in the booth merely laughed at Daniel's misfortune, but the proud, if visibly impressed smile on Legend's face was answer enough.
End Notes: You know, I was actually torn on that last fight. I kept flipping between doing the Airbuster as I have here, or having him go up against Terra while she was still wearing her Slave Crown from FF 6, making the last fight more of a puzzle for our boy to solve since Terra was a victim of her world's empire, mind controlled by that Slave Crown into being a mindless puppet so long as that thing was on her head, meaning in order to win, he wouldn't have had to defeat or kill her but rather free her of her Master's control by removing the Slave Crown, but while I might do something similar, either as another test or in an actual Master hostage situation of some kind, I like Terra too much to do something like that to her, even if it wouldn't actually be her given the simulated nature of the fights and all. That aside though, I hope you all enjoyed folks after getting a glimpse of just what our boy can do, and I'll see you all next time.
EDIT: Real quick before I forget, but if anyone wants to do PHO posts once he becomes known to the public at large, feel free to do so. I'll try to get them all gathered up in an Index threadmark or something once I get enough of them to make it worth the effort.