Opening File: Team SEKR(Seeker)
Even the greatest of Huntsmen have had to work with others in times of great peril, facing off against enemies they could not defeat alone and the famous Scotty Blake is no different. While having never attended a Huntsmen academy, notably SkyFall, the head of Clan Blake would eventually gather his own Huntsmen Team that was quick to make a name for itself, known as Team SEKR.
Led by Scotty Blake, the first to join was actually more of a scientist than an actual Huntsman but was nonetheless skilled and knew how to defend himself. He is known to the scientific community as Professor Extor. Seen somewhat as a nutty man Extor is actually extremely clever, having created a set of power gauntlets to enhance his strength to the point he actually rivaled Scotty Blake himself. He has worked alongside Dexter Senior but chooses to work mostly for himself instead of any top science institutes.
The next to join was a man named Keanu Grier inspired by the ways of the samurai, calling himself Da Samurai Huntsman. Despite his habit of showing off he has proven to be skilled enough to earn Scotty Blake's respect as a Huntsman and a teammate, having demonstrated an impressive level of physical strength, speed, agility and sword-fighting skills. Da Samurai Huntsman has taken down many Grimm and bandits before buying and running his own bar in the middle of a deep forest. Da Samurai Huntsman keeps his skills sharp and has been a source of information for many passing Hunters who come to his bar.
And the final member of the team is a former thief turned Hunter when Scotty saved his life known only as Rino. His love of money is only rivaled by his skills as an expert thief. Despite his avarice however, he seems to hold some form of honor to his credit as he agreed to be part of Scotty Blake's team, albeit with the promise of bringing in lots of money. While being a skilled fighter in his own right Rino's true skills lies in his ability to get through many highly secured areas without any problem thanks to his tools, including his suitcase, a set of grappling hooks that can link together into a zip line, infrared goggles, explosives, hacking devices, and an apparent teleportation Semblance.
Together these four have taken on Grimm, rogues and even Fallen, earning their reputation as one of the top Huntsmen teams on the planet. Eventually though the team would split apart, not because of friendship breaking down but for simple reasons with the members promising to stay in contact if the need for them to come back together ever came.
That day would come very soon.
Close File
Xxx
(Dreamscape)
'Hey kids, good to see ya! Don't mind me, just filling in for bobble head this time around. Other people got advice to give too, ya know.' Bill Cipher laughed, cutting into the Toonami channel and taking control of the broadcast. 'So, many of you might be wondering as to how good old Bill was able to enhance the Semblance of those Blind Eye stooges. Well let me show you!'
Bill snapped his fingers and a chalkboard appeared behind him with a drawing of him underneath the name of the lesson: BILL'S LESSON ON GETTING SUPER POWERS!
'Lesson one: You all know what a Semblance is right? Of course you do!' Bill held up a stick as the drawing of a person appeared. 'It's a power created by the inner desires of meat bags manifested through the Aura of their souls. That's where part one of my brilliant work comes into play. Since Semblances are created by the inner desires lurking in one's mind all I have to do is come along and make a deal.'
Bill's drawing of himself moved next to the person and offered his hand lit on fire which the person shook. 'Once a deal is made I can slip into their minds at any time, having complete access to mind, body and soul. Now comes phase two: the Aura!'
A drawing of the Aura appeared around the person now.
'Once their minds are linked with me I can do anything I want to them in dreamscape. But in this I simply link to their powers through our deal to insert a little piece of Formula Me into that power that allows me to alter and even enhance their own personal Semblances. This works great for me since it allows me to stretch more of myself into the physical plane of existence.' Bill said as his eye appeared on the person's forehead. 'Meaning with myself as part of their Aura I can do a lot more than I could have done if I was simply possessing someone.'
The person then began to change into some sort of armored monster.
'I can use that person's own Aura to manipulate and alter their minds, bodies and souls into almost anything I want. In short: I am pretty much like a certain wizard guy who likes turning people into birds.' Bill laughed. 'I can even force them to change into anything I want which makes this job even more fun for me! Well that's it for this lesson folks so keep on reading and you might see more of 'Bill's Lessons' and remember: I'M ALWAYS WATCHING!'
Xxx
"Man I hate that guy." TOM said when Bill Cipher finally finished his lesson and ceased controlling the broadcast. "What does it take to keep him out of our systems?"
Xxx
'Great. It just had to be raining.'
Raven was glad she had enough of her powers to erect a shield around herself as she followed Scotty Blake through the wet forest, coming upon a local tavern. The reason they were here was to find a member of Scotty's old team: Team SEKR.
Raven took the time to think over what she knew of how teams were formed in this world. Apparently Huntsmen and Huntresses usually operated in teams of four, making sure each member always had a partner and then were assigned a team name based on the first letters of their names. A unique approach to team naming given that the teams in her world were given names to showcase their status as super heroes.
Her team and her closest friends: the Teen Titans.
Then Titans of Steel City: the Titans East
The super hero group that Beast Boy had once been part of: the Doom Patrol.
Or the largest group of heroes in her world: the Justice League.
Of course fancy team naming wasn't limited to just heroes given her encounters with the HIVE and the Brotherhood of Evil.
A whole bunch of groups with names centering around heroes and villains that made them stand out across the globe. But here there were many teams, almost all of them working together without any real secret identities.
"HEY CLOSE THE DOOR! YOU'RE LETTING IN THE COLD!"
Raven watched as Scotty kicked open the doors and quickly followed him in, watching as all kinds of shady looking characters turn their heads to look at her and Scotty. 'Oh boy.'
Scotty glared back, causing a few to recoil as he walked up to the counter. "I am looking for Keanu Grier!"
Everyone stared for a second…and then started laughing.
"You looking for Da Samurai Huntsman?!" One man asked.
"You look tough but you don't wanna mess with him." A man covered in armor said, taking off his helmet to reveal dozens of scars across his face. "He did this to my face!"
"That's nothing!" A bull Faunas with long horns and covered in bandages spoke. "After my last fight with him these bandages are all that's keeping me together."
"He broke my arm!" A tattooed muscular man with a cast around his right arm shouted.
"He punched me in the nose!" A man with a bandaged nose yelled.
"He busted me eye!" Shouted another man dressed like a sailor.
"O-kay." Raven muttered quietly as other people in the bar kept on complaining about how this guy they were looking for beat them all up.
Standing off to the side allowed her to notice something peculiar about the bar tender…for one, that his long grey beard seemed to clash with the excessive amounts of muscles, colorful clothing and gold jewelry he wore.
Clearly, Scotty had noticed this too, because while the patrons were still in the midst of detailing Da Samurai Huntsman's actions against them he walked over and ripped the beard off, exposing a man close to his age with dark skin, a thin goatee and dark hair tied back. Seeing that he'd been revealed this man chuckled sheepishly and set down the mug that he had been cleaning ever since Scotty and Raven stepped in.
"Um…closing time?" Da Samurai Huntsman offered.
"THAT'S HIM!"
"There's the jerk!"
"Get him!"
Scotty glowered at Da Samurai Huntsman as exorbitant amounts of blades, hammers, guns and other miscellaneous instruments of death were pulled into view. "What. Did you do. This time?" He growled.
"Uh…could I answer that in five minutes?" Da Samurai Huntsman asked, peering around Scotty's bulk to see the crowd of enraged patrons.
"Shoot him!"
"Scalp him!"
"Shoot him then scalp him, then shoot the scalp." Scotty deadpanned. "But only after I've concluded me business with him!"
Raven, in the meantime, just did her best to remain out of sight. This was not the kind of fight she wanted to be caught up in, especially in her condition. She found a table and waved down a waitress. "Do you happen to serve tea here?"
"Why of course, dear!" The waitress smiled…before pumping a shotgun which she aimed towards the bar counter. "Right after I kill that lying pervert."
Xxx
"This is unbelievable, Sebben. You knew that two of the Elementals were in GrimmFall yet you did not tell us."
Sebben narrowed one eye at one of several images on wall view screen in his office. "That is not true, Feral. Master Splinter was informed and I informed you that three of the Elementals had awakened their powers."
"But you did not say where they were and now because of that Sammael knows where they are. They must be removed and taken to a safe place immediately."
"No. That is the same kind of thing that Epsilon and his people had planned and I will not have it. I will not force them to become weapons."
"I agree." Next to the image of the one called Feral, the image of Master Splinter nodded. "We cannot force them to be weapons or our only resort of defense. True, they need training to properly utilize their powers but who can actually train them?"
"Even if we can't train their powers we can still train them as any Huntsman." Feral argued. "They are too dangerous and valuable to be left alone."
"And yet they survived an attack by the Grey Agency and even by Sammael." Another image pointed out calmly.
"Only because Sammael wasn't interested in going through Major Glory, Sebben and whoever else was there at the time. We won't be so lucky next time." Feral retorted. "And there is still the matter of the Fire Elemental. If the other three are awake the fourth one should also be by now."
"There was a suspect but they disappeared." Sebben said honestly. "No one knows who they were or if they were even a real Elemental. That matters little right now. Our pressing matter is dealing Epsilon and the Grey Agency. They attacked citizens of my city without provocation and that was what got Sammael and likely other Fallen's attention with the intention of training them to be weapons for whatever agenda they have."
"What is their condition?"
"Epsilon is detained in police headquarters under Commissioner Fizz's watch while his 'son' is currently in a medical bay under strict guard. Not even they could get out of there thanks to the security that building has even if their 'people' decide to come and get them."
"And the Elementals?"
"They and their friends are currently guests in the headquarters of the Justice Friends for the moment while their families are on the way."
"And how are they handling it?"
"I imagine as well as anyone after an event like the one they just witnessed."
Xxx
"This. Is. AWESOME!" Wally's voice echoed throughout the headquarters of the Justice Friends.
The chance to be in the headquarters of the greatest super hero team in America, nay the entire world was like a dream come true for the boy who aspires to one day be the greatest Huntsman in the entire world.
Clearly he was adjusting very well.
The same could be said for his friends as well.
"I got to admit, they got some nice digs around here." Marceline said, lounging on the nice chair in the room they had been given.
Kenny was nearby, seemingly napping on the couch.
Nigel had been only partly paying attention, more concerned about Abby who had been quiet ever since the fiasco in the park. He knew she had been looking straight at the portal while his Elemental senses had forced him to wake up just in time to see the portal right it closed but he was sure he knew what had happened.
Abby had seen Sammael.
A dark figure watching with blazing red eyes as an entire kingdom burned.
Nigel shook his head, remembering how Abby had been after Drago had attacked them. It had been hard enough to get her to even smile, let alone talk. But now he felt his best friend was feeling even worse than before and not to mention he somehow knew she had tapped into the powers of the Candy Elemental and used it against those freaks that had attacked them. If it had been any other time he thought they would be celebrating that she had tapped into the full power of the element she controlled.
Only Abby didn't look like she felt like celebrating.
In fact she looked like she was brooding which wasn't something she normally did. She was normally calm, laid back and reliable even if she was reluctant to talk about her past.
She lost her parents.
She lost her brother.
Her sister had seemingly abandoned her.
She was the target of bad guys and demons, kind of like he was. How she remained sane through it all that was amazing. But it came with a cost.
Now it seemed like that cost might be catching up with her.
"Hey Abby." Wally walked up to his fellow Faunus who was sitting at the window. "Come on, we got to explore around here. Why not help us sneak out of here with your Semblance?"
"Not now." Abby said quietly.
"Come on, why don't-"
"I said not now!" Abby barked a bit, making Wally step back.
Marceline put a hand on Wally's shoulder. "Come on, I think I saw a soda machine nearby."
She led the blond away while Nigel remained, watching his friend sulk at the window, patting him on the shoulder. "Good luck."
Nigel nodded back, knowing he would need all the luck in the world. Kenny was still apparently napping on the couch but Nigel paid him no mind as he walked up and sat down on a chair next to the window, looking at Abby who was facing away from him. He was glad that he was able to stay so calm most of the time, believing that his own ice powers or Semblance seemed to help him from developing a burning temper like his dad said most Unos with the Flame did. His Semblance however was powered by more positive emotions and helped him keep a literal 'cool' head most of the time.
Considering Abby was known to have a sweet tooth he wondered if it was because she was the Candy Elemental or it was just the way she was.
"Nigel, please. I don't want to get into this right now." Abby finally spoke.
Nigel shrugged. "I am not really doing anything important right now."
Abby stiffened but seemed to relax.
"You saw him." Nigel spoke so simply and quietly. "He was there, standing right in front of us. I know how it must have felt. My own Elemental powers woke me up, making me want to run as far away as I could. You were awake, watching him-"
"It's not him!" Abby spun around, her eyes flashing gold while flames colored white and red flared from them. "I stood up to those Grey people and showed them I wasn't afraid. I looked at that portal to show him I wasn't afraid…No matter how terrified I was on the inside. He said he was coming for us and…I plan to be ready but it's not him that's bugging me right now."
Nigel simply listened.
"What if…What if I told you we both met someone when we were little and we forgot about him?"
Xxx
"I am sorry to ask this but I have to know. What happened between Major Glory and Sammael?"
Tina was actually all to glad to be in the headquarters of the Justice Friends, if only because that batter in the park was now over. Right now though she had a little problem in the form of Major Glory who locked himself in his room and Tina knew she needed to find some answers so she went and asked the nearest Justice Friend she could find which turned out to be Valhallen.
The Viking God of Rock was unusually silent, leaning against the door to his room as he considered Tina's request before relenting. "You know of Major Glory's Uncle Sam?"
Tina shook her head at the question so he continued. "Well he was the previous holder of the spirit that creates heroes like Glory. They both are part of line of heroes that have helped protect this country since the time of the Founding Fathers. His uncle took him under his wing, having chosen him to be his successor one day. One day they got word of a secret cult that had found a way to create new Fallen which was bad news for everyone since in those days the only kind of Fallen to be born were the ones with Fallen 'gene'."
"I heard of it. They say this Fallen gene was created by ancestors of the Fallen after the Cataclysm at the end of the Forgotten Age." Tina spoke up.
Valhallen nodded. "There had only been a maximum of thirteen Fallen for some reason back then with some people having the theory that it corresponded to the number of Fallen originally born in ancient times. When a Fallen dies, a new one is born or maybe even 'reformed' as some people like to call it with a new Fallen simply being a new version of the previous one through the Fallen gene they share. It was really rare for other Fallen to be created differently but eventually a way was found."
"So this ability to reform is like a twisted form of reincarnation." Tina noted darkly.
"You can call it that. Glory and his uncle investigated this lead, determined to stop them from producing an entire army of Fallen." Valhallen continued, grimacing. "Sammael was there. He was the one in charge of the operation. Sam fought against him and they both seemed equal at first. We thought Sam was going to win but Sammael…He made Sam choose between bringing down the bad guy or save his nephew when the cultists unleashed their pack of wild Fallen on him.
"Sammael kept Sam on the ropes and when it looked like Glory was about to be killed…Sam relinquished the American spirit, giving it over to his nephew through the link that was forged when Glory signed his name on the source of the spirit: the Declaration of Independence. With his power gone Sam could not fight anymore because the spirit leaving him drained his body of nearly all his Aura and vitality and the wounds Sammael inflicted on him left him on the brink of death. Glory managed to get himself and his uncle out of there but...Uncle Sam didn't make it through the night." Valhallen finished his tale with a sad sigh. "Since then Glory has been working to be the symbol of justice his uncle had trained him to be and he has done a lot but he blamed himself for not being strong enough for his uncle when he needed him the most."
Tina was silent as she listened to the tale, replaying every detail she heard in her head. "And Sammael didn't try to kill him when he got the power?"
"He didn't bother going after them. He simply watched as Uncle Sam fell over, his body nearly giving out from the spirit leaving him and as Glory frantically got him out of that messed up place. It was burned to the ground but Glory saw him…Standing there with a look of satisfaction on his face. He was satisfied he proved that even someone as strong Uncle Sam, as Major Glory could be broken and allowed them to escape to demoralize the rest of the world." Valhallen twitched. "He's twisted and he knows how to get inside your head, make you doubt yourself and everything you believe in. He did that to Glory and many others so be extremely careful when you go up against him because if you underestimate him…"
Xxx
"You're dead before you even know it."
Major Glory stared at a picture in his hands, sitting on the edge of his bed. The picture showed a young boy, standing next to tall man looking every bit as powerful as he was…proud. The hero shut his eyes as he remembered that day.
The day he failed his mentor, his hero, his Uncle Sam.
His uncle lying on the ground helplessly, his body unnaturally thin from the spirit leaving him and entering his nephew's body.
"Uncle Sam…" He whispered fearfully, prodding his uncle's body.
"It's a shame to see such a powerful fighter brought down by his own heart and strength." He looked up, trembling at the sight of dark shadow towering over him, almost completely obscured by the surrounding fire. Sammael, one of the most dangerous Fallen in the world, stared down with a wide grin. "And you are supposed to be the new symbol of justice. I am sadly underwhelmed."
He was terrified, every instinct telling him to run but he couldn't.
"However I am in a good mood today so I will make you this offer: serve me and I will save your uncle's live. I have the power to save him." Sammael looked down at his uncle's withered body. "He sacrificed everything to try and make a better world. Why not allow him to have this opportunity now that you have taken his place?"
He was ashamed of himself.
Ashamed of weak he had been.
Ashamed of how he had forced his uncle to sacrifice his powers to save him.
And he was ashamed of how badly he wanted to say yes to this monster's offer.
He grabbed his uncle's body and shot away, using all the power he had to fly away and hopefully save his uncle in time…
"Your uncle bravely faced me with great integrity. You are a disgrace to his legacy."
"I promise you, Uncle Sam. I will not fail you again."
Xxx
"Members of the Blind Eye, use the blessings of our God: the great Cipher!"
"Cipher?!" Dipper and Hoagie exclaimed.
On the foreheads of each member appeared a symbol resembling a triangle with an eye that glowed bright yellow. They all stood up, their pupils morphing into slits. "We call upon you, Bill Cipher!"
"What's going on?" Hoagie asked, feeling even more afraid than he did when he thought his memories were going to be erased.
"Over the years our great God had deemed us worthy to receive gifts from him. His ability to appear to us in our minds allowed him to bond with our Auras and enhance our Semblances through a special mark he has left." Blind Ivan explained proudly as the Blind Eye Society prepared to fight again. "These marks represent our link to the Great One and shows our loyalty to him. And we will not allow anyone to stand in his way."
What happened next shocked and terrified the captives and their would-be rescuers.
One by one each of the Blind Eye members with the exception of Blind Ivan who was content to watch in satisfaction began to suddenly change.
Tats was the first as his wrecking ball was absorbed into his body, changing his skin from flesh and blood to grey stone. His clothing was shredded away, leaving only his tattoos that now glowed yellow while his eyes were now blank yellow orbs.
"Armor of Cipher."
Woodpecker Guy's winged blades melded into his arms and his body began to morph, growing taller as his feet changed into talons, his arm became literal wings and his face changed to resemble a red bird's with the feathers and the beak to show.
"Wings of Cipher."
Toby Determined's skin turned pale white and red tear shaped markings appeared under his eyes, making him look like a sad clown while his clothing morphed into that of a royal jester's, colored yellow and red.
"Play of Cipher."
A triangular shaped mirror appeared on Bud Gleeful's chest while his robe became black on one side and white on the other, with his face and skin soon following, inverting the colors of his robe.
"Reflection of Cipher."
Sprott suddenly seemed to age backwards, becoming a youthful athletic looking man dressed in a rich looking tuxedo and a top hat to go with it and a decorated cane.
"Carnival of Cipher."
All of their eyes except for Tats' were glowing and slitted, much like Bill's one single eye.
Blind Ivan looked on in pride and satisfaction, enjoying the shocked looks on all the faces of the Blind Eye's enemies. "Behold the reward that comes from our devotion to our God: Almighty Cipher. He enhances our abilities beyond that of an ordinary Huntsman or Huntress, altering our Auras to give us the ability to morph into entirely new forms."
The Hunter Duo looked on in wary anticipation as the newly enhanced Blind Eye members faced them, each of them grinning with anticipation. Dipper and Hoagie had frozen in sheer terror, seeing their eyes and instantly remembered Bill and how he had tormented them both. For Dipper it was when Bill took over his body and nearly mauled it to death because of how much he enjoyed inflicting pain, even on himself. For Hoagie it was because Bill was the reason he was even in Gravity Falls to begin with and fell for the demon's tricks to take part in whatever game he had set up.
Now they were trapped with an entire cult that worshiped Bill and allowed themselves to be turned into monsters.
Would Cipher continue to haunt them their entire lives?
"You could have mentioned this weird town had people who could turn into demons." The Huntress complained, throwing a dirty look at her ally who glared back.
"Oh, like I am supposed to know every freaky detail about this place?" He complained with a very familiar voice to several listeners.
"Grunkle Stan?" Dipper and Mabel asked at once, temporarily forgetting how afraid they were of seeing the Blind Eye members turn into monsters.
"Mr. Pines?" Soos asked.
"No way." Wendy shook her head. "He's way too young and awesome looking to be him."
"Hey!" The man believed to be Stan Pines grumbled before being whacked on the head by the Huntress.
"Focus, idiot!" She scolded.
"It's time to end this little game. Seize them and their memories!" Blind Ivan ordered.