Hiya again dudes and dudettes. I know I said I'd wait a week to post this chapter, but I got hit with the writing bug and finished it a few days early. I figured I could just wait until next Tuesday buuuut consider this a reward for all the support I've gotten so far. You guys are making this seriously easy to write with the support.
Alright, time to start the chapter! Hope you all enjoy the first official chapter of The Purpose of a Hero! (The last one was a prologue if you didn't catch that)
Purpose of a Hero
On the best of nights, the streets of New York were more dangerous than any other city in the entirety of North America, let alone the United States. With dealers selling their illegal wares, muggers waiting for unwary prey, or the truly evil slinking out of their holes to plan evil deeds, the back alleys were some of the most treacherous places for even the most seasoned Hero to venture. Unfortunately for the Professional Hero known as Zorra, she appeared to have forgotten this one fateful late-spring evening when she decided to patrol one of these alleyways all by her lonesome. Her routine patrol, which had been very quiet, went bad in an instant, she only caught a glimpse of the golden-haired man dressed all in red opening his mouth before a wave of searing hot pain shot through her and she fell to the cold, damp asphalt. She nearly passed out right then and there, but fought harder to not only stay awake, but stand up as the man's footsteps neared her. She managed to lift herself up using just her arms and glared at him with her pale blue eyes. He knelt down and grabbed her roughly by the roots of her dark brown hair, jerking her head up to look into his bright gray eyes. "Well...this is certainly a dilema, isn't it? You've stumbled into a very bad situation Hero," he spoke, his voice becoming venomous when he uttered the word 'Hero'.
"Wh-who are you? Wh-why?" Isobel Monroe just barely managed to croak out. The man, who appeared to be only in his late teens as he leaned closer to her, grinned maliciously.
"Always the same questions, eh? Who are you? Why are you doing this? That's all a bit dull don't you think, Hero?" The Professional Hero stared at him in shock as she got a closer glance at his smile, which, to her horror, had small black flames leaking from the spaces between his pearly white teeth. "Sorry about this, I don't really enjoy killing needlessly but you've caught me at a bad time. I've got places to be, people to meet with, and evil plans to, well...plan. I'll give you a moment to pray to whatever deity you think will listen."
"P-please! Y-you can't do this!"
"Actually I can. Funny how that works, hm? If it makes you feel any better I am sorry, just bad luck on your part. Coming into this particular alley? What are the odds? Fate is quite the vindictive bitch, eh?" He lamented, with a quiet chuckle before opening his mouth wide. Zorra's screams echoed into the night as a raging inferno of black flames consumed her. It wasn't even ten minutes later when a group of police officers and other Pros arrived on the horrific scene, while just three blocks away, the man dressed in red frowned and picked off a bit of dead, burnt skin from the side of his mouth, then stuck his hands into his jacket pockets. "Now, where was the meeting again? Plague's gonna kill me if I'm late."
Purpose of a Hero
June 16, 2317
Melody Halloway stretched her arms into the air above her head as she sat up in a small twin bed. The early morning sun streamed in through the half closed blinds and she could already hear the din of traffic, voices, and the clattering of cutlery that usually permeated the air of her apartment. From the small restaurant below came the booming voice of her father, Carlyle, and while she couldn't discern any of the words he was shouting, she assumed her was yelling at his poor new hire, a boy in his late teens named Anthony. Once she got up and drank an entire mug of black coffee, she'd long ago become accustomed to the taste, she began going about her usual morning routine. She dressed in a plain red t-shirt, blue jeans, and a pair of worn down black sneakers, brushed her shoulder length red hair, and then her teeth. All in all it took her less than ten minutes to get ready and soon enough she was sitting down on the living room couch with a bowl of colorful, sugary cereal. Most mornings this would be the start of the intense training regimen that her father had laid out for her months prior, just the thought of it had her wincing and subconsciously rubbing her bruised left calf. However, as today was the second Saturday of the month, she had the whole day to herself. The red-headed teen sighed in relief as she leaned further into the couch and folded her legs beneath her. "I live for these moments." She then began digging into her meager breakfast with gusto, turning on the television and flipping to the local news between bites. What she saw however, made her appetite disappear and her blood run cold.
"Late last night, the Fencing Hero: Zorra was found murdered in Hell's Kitchen. While there is currently no suspect in the crime, police have confirmed that an incredibly powerful fire-based Quirk is most likely to blame. Zorra, real name Isobel Monroe, has been a Pro Hero a little over a year and was a beloved member of the Aces High Hero Agency, run by the number two ranked Hero Oddball. While Oddball could not be reached for comment, his representative has told us he is mortified by the loss and is currently out hunting down the killer. This is Diane Simonds of News Six Brooklyn, now over to Tom with the weather."
"Jesus," Melody muttered, her half-eaten bowl placed onto the small wooden coffee table in front of her and glaring at it. Suddenly her cell phone began to ring, causing her to jump into the air as her concentration was snapped. On the phone's glass display was a picture of Nathan and Melody standing in the doorway of a house, each a few years younger, dressed up in costumes, with her dressed as a poor representation of the Jubilant Hero: Comic, and him dressed in an even worse All-Might suit, the hood's attached hair pieces were flopped down over his pouting face. She quickly picked up the device, hit the 'accept' button, and held it up to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hiya, Mel. We still going downtown today? I've gotta get the hell out of this house," Nathan's slightly distorted voice said. Melody rolled her eyes at her friend's thinly veiled enthusiasm. 'His dad is working him just as hard as my old man is training me. At least neither of us will have trouble with the physical exam.'
"Yeah, meet me here around noon. Gives me like...three hours to be lazy to myself until I have to deal with you for the rest of the day," she answered in a teasing tone.
"I'm the one always getting bullied by you! You're always going on about something I'm doing wrong!" The indignant voice on the other end of the line yelled, making Melody laugh. The two continued their banter for a few more minutes until a feminine voice could be heard yelling at Nathan in the background. "Damn, that's the hag. Alright, see you at noon. Later!"
"Bye." After hanging up the teenage girl relished in the quiet for a while, but that ended when the sound of thumping footsteps coming up the stairs broke her out of her reverie.
"GOOOOOOD MORNING, OH DAUGHTER OF MINE!" Carlyle bellowed as he burst through the door with his arms held aloft. However, despite the fact that he had heard his daughter's voice talking to that odd friend of hers, the living room was completely empty. "Hm? That's totally not fair, Melly! No Quirk usage in the house!"
Even though she was currently almost two hundred yards from the back entrance of her father's restaurant, Melody could clearly hear his shouts as if he were standing beside her. 'He really has no concept of noise control. Ah well, I guess I can head to the deli and then the park before I have to meet Nate.' She decided, yawning slightly as she slipped through a loose board in the fence of the abandoned lot that sat behind her apartment.
She quickly joined the throngs of people walking through the crowded streets of Brooklyn and started engaging in one of her favorite pastimes. People watching. She did it nearly everywhere she went and in a city like New York, with such a large population, there was a never-ending flow of unique people. From mostly average looking folk to those with extremely obvious Mutation-type Quirks, each and every person she studied had something different about them. She took her time walking to her favorite deli, the trip lasted about twice the usual seven-minutes, and the trek to a small, usually deserted park, which she had very fond memories of, took another ten. One of her most exciting days as a child had taken place right next to the swing she sat at, eating her ham sandwich.
It happened when she and Nathan were only four years old, just about to enter their first year of kindergarten. The two had been let loose on the park by their parents in the hopes they would blow off some steam ahead of their first classes the following day. As usual, they were playing Heroes vs. Villains with some other kids from the neighborhood, when suddenly Nathan began to cry out in pain and grasp tightly at his bottom. Before their parents could even figure out what was going on, the toddler stopped crying. In an instant, his fear and pain had turned to glee as he glanced over his shoulder and saw the long, slender blond tail protruding from under his pants. 'The tail was just the start of it all. A few days later Nate's fingernails grew into full-fledged claws and his pupils turned into slits. He was so happy, almost as happy as when he got his letter last semester.' She smiled at the memory and took another bite of her second breakfast. The redhead idled around the park, just observing passersby for another two hours. At one point she even saw a few of her acquaintances from middle school. While she'd always been friends with Nathan, she found it hard to connect to others. Sure she had a small posse she hung out with, nearly everyone in her school had at least one clique they could call their own, but none of them she was at all close to. The two girls that had stopped to talk about mundane things eventually left Melody on her own again.
At eleven o'clock she decided to begin making her way towards Nathan's home. "Don't wanna hear him whining about me being late." With that she hopped off of her perch on a rusted jungle gym and left the park, tossing her trash into an overflowing bin as she did. It wouldn't take her very long to reach the Larson household, as it was only a short bus ride away. Luckily, Melody made it to the nearest stop just as the city bus began loading. She swiped her fare card, making a mental note to refill it when she got home, and found an open seat near the back of the bus. Once she got situated and re-checked the stop schedule to make sure she'd gotten on the right bus, her attention was redirected to a news article on her phone, sent to her by one of her former classmates. Villains on the Rise the story was titled.
Recently, there has been a massive surge in villain activity not only in the United States, but also around the globe. Many experts have placed the blame on this solely on last month's Hosu Incident in Japan. During this incident the League of Villains (see page seven) alongside the infamous Hero Killer Stain attempted to kill multiple Professional Heroes. While Stain was eventually caught and is currently serving a life sentence, his story has been serving as an inspiration to evildoers and anti-Hero activists alike. Over the past month since the Hosu Incident, the amount of violent crimes inside the continental United States has risen tenfold. Unfortunately, this increase in criminal activity has also resulted in the deaths of over a dozen North American Heroes, including the tenth ranked Hero, Manticore, who was killed in a battle with a powerful villain with a telekinetic Quirk.
"Things are seriously getting bad. I've never seen this much villain activity in such a short time span," Melody muttered to herself. The bus lurched suddenly as a car swerved out in front of it, nearly causing both vehicles to crash. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of vibrant red light...and then everything exploded.
Purpose of a Hero
"-ey! Kid you okay? Hey!?" Melody awoke with a start and was immediately assaulted with the sounds of screams, explosions, and the crackling of fire. It took her a moment to get over her shock, but when she did she became aware of two things, the first was the throbbing pain centered in her left arm and the second was the very familiar face, or lack thereof, just two inches from her nose. A 'face' she'd seen on television more times than she could count. Oddball, the United State's number two ranked Hero, whose true face was covered by a large white ball that encompased his whole head.
"Wh-where am I? The bus?" She stammered out, feeling an acrid burn at the back of her throat, which she guessed was from the billowing black smoke. Oddball shook his head and grabbed ahold of her undamaged arm, lifting her back onto unsteady feet. Her first look at the destruction sent a shiver down her spine. A street she would use to walk to middle school every morning for three years was reduced to nothing but rubble and fire. She could see the burnt husk of the city bus not too far away, as well as a few more massacred cars littering the street. Small fires burned in various places, buildings had whole pieces missing, and people stumbled past her with injuries ranging from scratches and minor burns to broken bones and worse. Further down the street the sounds of a raging battle could be heard. "A villain attack? In broad daylight?"
"Hey~! Look at you! Right you are, citizen. Now, I ask that you quickly get the hell out of here, it's...a wee-bit dangerous!" Oddball said in a surprisingly high-pitched voice. Melody didn't even have time to answer as a massive explosion sent the both of them wobbling as the ground shook. The Pro Hero quickly righted himself and looked over his shoulder at the location of the battle, then promptly sprinted towards it, leaving behind the shell shocked teen.
"H-hey!" She called out, but he either didn't hear her or simply ignored the shout. For a brief moment she contemplated going after him, but decided she'd be better off helping the fleeing masses. After a quick scan of the area, she focused on a small, crying boy with a twisted leg that was being largely ignored by the other survivors. She ran up to him and knelt down beside him, only to feel her nose break when the kid slammed one of his fists into it. 'He must have a strength boosting Quirk. No kid should be able to punch like that,' she reasoned, holding up her arms in a surrendering fashion. "Hey there, little man. What's your name?" The boy stared at her, eyes filled with fear, for nearly thirty seconds before answering.
"M-Michael," He murmured through gritted teeth, his tiny hands gripping tightly at his twisted leg.
"It's nice to meet you, Michael. My name is Melody, but you can call me Mel, all my friends do. Don't worry, I'm here to help, do you know where your mommy or daddy are?" She asked, her speaking slightly faster than usual as the sounds of battle grew closer. The boy frowned and shook his head before his eyes widened. With no time to spare, Melody heaved the boy into her arms and started running just as a body slammed into the pavement where they'd just been. Looking over her shoulder she was shocked to see the Hero who'd just stood back up. It was Lionheart, a hero from her mother's old agency and Nathan's father. He growled and shook his head, which resulted in his large mane of blond hair waving violently, though it didn't lose it's wild appearance. Upon seeing Melody and the small boy he growled and leapt over to stand in front of them, acting as somewhat of a shield from the battle behind them.
"What the hell do you think you're doing, Mel? Are you trying to get yourself killed!?" He roared over the raging fight. Melody shook her head and repositioned Michael so that he was hanging onto her more securely.
"No one else was helping him. His leg is broken," she explained quickly. Just then the street shook again and another person went flying by them, appearing to be propelled by a red beam of light, and crashed through a storefront. Lionheart flinched at this, grabbed Melody by her free arm, and dragged her behind the twisted metal of a burnt car.
"You need to get out of here. This guy's Quirk is way too dangerous, so I'll buy you an opening. As soon as I do, you make a break for it. You got that?" He demanded. Melody nodded and the Pro Hero sprung back into action, leaving her and the kid to watch as he charged. On initial inspection, man causing all of this destruction looked like a regular, everyday businessman. He was dressed in a finely tailored suit, though that was now in tatters, well-ironed pants, and a shined pair of shoes. The only thing that separated him from the common person was the massive beams of red energy that shout forth from his mouth and the crazed, almost possessed look in his yellow eyes, which snapped to Lionheart as he slashed at him with massive claws jutting out of his fingers.
The King Hero: Lionheart
His Quirk: Lion
With his Quirk, Lionheart has the power, reflexes, and senses befitting the King of the Jungle!
His swipe was dodged by the man, who didn't even looked fazed at his sudden appearance. Taking advantage of the villain's distraction, Oddball jumped out from behind a car and held his hand aloft, pointing his palm directly at the businessman. "It's my lucky day!"
The Aces High Hero: Oddball
His Quirk: Gambler
Every time he uses his Quirk something different happens. It could be good, bad, or completely useless, but he can never tell which type it's gonna be!
It took a second, but to Melody, who was awaiting this attack to make her getaway, it felt like an eternity until anything at all happened. However, when his Quirk did activate there was no grand attack that fired forth from his outstretched hand, instead a bouquet of plastic flowers appeared, to the shock of every hero or civilian who'd never seen the second-ranked hero in a fight. The only two people in the the area who didn't freeze in shock were the villain and Lionheart, who again charged at the former with his claws extended. This time, though, the result was more conclusive. Melody's heart fell into her stomach as she watched the concentrated red energy beam pierce through his. "Lionheart!"
"Me...lody, don't," he groaned out as he collapsed onto the rubble-covered streets. Almost as if a switch was flipped on, the remaining three Heroes began attacking the villain with renewed vigor. While the Pros fought, Melody held a shaking Michael close to her chest, though she couldn't be sure all of the trembling was due to the scared child in her arms. After all, she'd just seen a man that had been in her life for as long as she could remember cut down by a villain. She was brought back to the present by a particularly loud sob from the child, who she immediately tried to comfort.
"Shh, it's all going to be okay. We've got Oddball here. He won't let anything happen to us, he's too good of a Hero. I promise you, I'm going to help you find your mommy and daddy just as soon as they beat him." Her words seemed to calm the boy, as his shaking ceased and he loosened his grip on her just a little bit.
"What about Lionheart?" The boy whimpered. This gave Melody pause. Technically she couldn't do much. The law stated that those under legal age could not use their Quirks unless they were in a crisis situation, and even if that was the case they could only use them to escape. 'Kharlamov's class was good for something, eh? That's a surprise. GAH! Think Melody, what are you going to do!?' While her conscious screamed at her, another of the Pro Heroes fell, leaving just Oddball and one of his sidekicks to face the businessman villain, who was raring to go despite the multiple injuries he'd received that would put a normal man out of commission for a few hours at least. 'Oddball is the second-ranked Hero, but while he's strong his Quirk is unpredictable. The other guy's Quirk is something water based on what I've seen. Can they do this? And Lionheart is in bad condition and he's in the line of fire. Is that why they're holding back? I could...no, Melody. That is a horrible idea. I could get kicked out of the Forge, or worse. But...could they punish me if I didn't use my Quirk? It's too much of a risk I-I can't.' However, contrary to her thought process, her body was already moving on auto-pilot. She carefully, as to not further injure his broken leg, placed Michael into a nearby storefront that one of the Heroes had crashed through earlier. "Mel?"
"Stay here. I'm going to go help, Mr. Lionheart. Stay low and out of sight," she whispered before backing away slowly, trying to keep out of sight of the villain. She inched along the side of the burnt bus and peaked around the corner. There was about fifty feet between her Lionheart, then twenty or so more between him and the alleyway she had her sights on. 'Crap. Dad is so going to kill me after this,' she thought before crouching into a running stance. With one last glance towards the battle between the villain and Oddball, she couldn't tell where the water Hero had gone, she took a deep breath and pushed off the ground. Each running step she took towards Lionheart felt like she wasn't making any ground at all, but then she reached him. Without pausing for a single tick, she grabbed the large man's arms and hefted him into a position on her back to where she could still move relatively fast. Unfortunately, that's when Oddball took a glancing blow to his right leg and fumbled his attack, which turned into a blue lightning bolt, causing it to fly not two feet from Melody and her cargo. Even worse, this diverted the villain's attention to the redheaded teen, who paled considerably. "Oh-no."
"Out of the way kid!" Oddball bellowed, trying to move towards her, but failing to do so as his leg collapsed under him. He swore as the villain geared up its attack, gathering energy into its mouth, and blasted it out at the teen, all while he lied on the ground. Melody's eyes widened as the beam got close to her and squeezed her eyes shut. Then the ray overtook her, much to the horror of Oddball, who stopped in his attempts to stand.
"Jeez...that was too close," Melody sputtered as the smoke from the attack's ensuing explosion cleared. The second-ranked Hero's eyes bulged when he finally took in the scene before him. Where the teen girl once was stood a wispy apparition with human-like features and dull, blood red hair that was constantly standing on end and waving, despite the lack of wind. The figure's eyes were a dark, pupil-less blue, and it appeared to be holding a figure on it's back.
Melody Halloway
Her Quirk: Wraith
Melody's Quirk allows her to take on an Ethereal form that can phase through walls and attacks. However, if she uses it too much she gets a killer headache.
Unaffected by the sudden change in the girl, the businessman charged at her, readying up for yet another attack. 'Oh man. This guy isn't fazed by anything. Gotta dodge, can't use my Quirk again after that or I'll pass out and we'll both be screwed.' Melody tensed in anticipation as the man's jaw nearly unhinged, glowing a bright red. Just then, right before he unleashed the attack, a blond blur shot past the teen and slammed its fist into the villain's chin. "Nathan!"
"Get outta here...boy," Lionheart grumbled, only half conscious. Standing before them, the usually jovial Nathan glared at the businessman with cat-like eyes, long knife-like claws, and his blond tail stiff and alert.
"Piss off, jerkwad!" The blond teen roared, holding his claws in a threatening posture, his back also arched slightly as if he were about to pounce.
Nathan Larson
His Quirk: Leopard
Very similar to his father's Quirk, but Nathan trades his old man's power for pure speed.
"You've done enough damage here!" Once again, the businessman was unphased and began readying another blast, only for the cat-boy ran forwards at a ridiculous speed and slammed his elbow into the man's stomach, making him spit up a red liquid. Before the villain had a chance to recover, he took hold the man's head and slammed it into his knee. Without another sound, the man fell forward, unmoving. As soon as he hit the ground, Melody breathed a massive sigh of relief and fell onto her bottom, being careful not to drop the man perched on her back. she lied him back on the street, trying to avoid having pieces of rubble jabbing at him, and took Nathan's offered hand. She was pulled to her feet, but almost immediately fell over again at the immense onslaught of pain in her head. "You alright, Mel?"
"Yeah, yeah just...gimme a minute. I'm not used to phasing two people, yet. It's a bigger migraine than usual," she explained through clenched teeth.
"You'll live. Who else would scold me if you didn't?" Nathan asked cheekily.
"I'm sure your mother is going to have a few choice words for you after that stunt," Lionheart growled from his prone position on the ground, causing the blond-haired boy's face to go pale.
Purpose of a Hero
Well, there's chapter one, tell me what you guys think. I hope I was able to make Melody's Quirk a dramatic reveal. At first I wasn't going to do the Quirk announcer like in the Anime, but I figured "Why the hell not".
Anyway, on the topic of Nathan beating this villain so easily, since I know it might not sit well with some of you, this happened for a variety of reasons. You may be asking "But Buixy, if he was that easily beaten, why didn't the Heroes do it?" To which I would answer:
First-They had to focus on keeping him distracted for a majority of the fight or there would have been a ton of casualties.
Second-He was already pretty beaten up from the long fight against the Heroes.
Finally-I KNOW SOMETHING YOU DON'T KNOW~
ALSO a fun fact
-Isobel Monroe (the person killed in the first scene) was one of the original names I was going to use for Melody. I went through several, including Isobel Monroe, Zoe Buchanan, and Zinnia Marco, but in the end settled happily with Melody. So in a way I already killed the main character in the first chapter :)
...
Uh...well, anyway keep on sending in those submissions. I eagerly await to see what you guys can come up with!
Special thanks to everyone who already sent in a character! I actually implemented one of them in this chapter (I ain't saying who) so that's the benefit of sending in those submissions early.