Outsider Chronicles: Hollow Hero
I knew that getting reborn into a world like Worm could be dangerous, but I wasn't expecting to get kidnapped by a crazy cult dedicated to the Endbringers to be used as a sacrifice. True, I'm now strong enough that no one will ever be able to permanently hurt me again, but I still could have done without the oversized needle to the heart.
And we're back. I didn't actually intend to do more of this, but since it got such a good reception, fuck it. Oh, and before I forget, I changed his surname. Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Two week had passed since my 'Trigger' and subsequent rampage and things had mostly been sorted out. Considering what had happened and the fact that the Cult was on the verge of getting a Kill Order anyway due to the massive body count they had reportedly stacked up, I ended up not even being charged for slaughtering most of the Cult. Comstock ended up getting sentenced to the Birdcage shortly after, despite his apparent attempts to set up an insanity plea by screaming about God and the end of the world and how we were all heathens who would burn in Hell. The Judge had been unimpressed and ended up having him gagged.
I still ended up being drafted into the Wards though. I was a still a Minor and all my family was dead or, in the case of my Grandmother, my last living relative, locked up in an old folks home mumbling about pickles and gumming down sweets. Combine that with my high levels of power and the Protectorate would be fools to not get me under their banner. Unfortunately, that meant I was left at Glenn Chambers mercy...unfortunate for him that is.
Seriously, the man might be good, but how the fuck are you supposed to turn a six foot, horned monster with a skull for a face into anything even remotely PR friendly? It certainly didn't help when I demonstrated my powers and ended up blasting a hole in the wall of the Rig with a Cero and somehow managed to knock Aegis unconscious after he told me to go all out. I did and the Ward leader couldn't even keep up with my base speed without me using Sonido. Needless to say, the big man was currently tearing his hair out in despair.
Speaking of my powers, it didn't take me long to figure out that I had all of the abilities of Vasto Lorde Ichigo, up to and including Getsuga Tenshou, although I could only use them while I was in my 'Hollowfied' state. Well, other than my regeneration. I discovered I still had that in my Human form after I cut myself by accident and it healed within a half hour. I was also in way better shape than I had been, although I think that might have something to do with my regeneration taking my body to the peak of Human ability rather than anything superhuman. Oh, and I could also summon my mask whenever I wanted for a boost in strength, speed, endurance and so on, although I wasn't anywhere near as powerful as when I was fully Hollowfied. To bad I couldn't summon my sword outside of my full Hollow form or I might have chosen that as my primary Hero mode. Sure, my mask was still scary, but it was infinitely less intimidating than my Demonic full Changer state.
"So, where exactly are we going?" I asked as I followed Miss Militia down the halls of the PRT Headquarters.
"Well, Glenn might still be pulling his hair out over trying to come up with a way of making you a little more PR friendly, but you still need to meet your teammates at some point," said the Patriotic Heroine.
I blinked.
"I've been in and out of here and the Rig for the past two weeks," I said, "Why now?"
"Mostly because of the circumstances surrounding you," said Miss Militia, "Between trying to figure out what your capable of, the trial and deciding how to deal with you, its sort of fallen by the wayside."
"Because its a given that I'm joining," I grumbled.
"Yep."
I scowled. I still wasn't really pleased with having my options taken away like that, but considering my other option was running and becoming a Villain, I'd suck it up and deal with it. Besides, I was 16, so it was only for two years and after that, I was going solo.
"Fair enough I guess," I grumbled, "So, should I suit up or…?"
"No, I wouldn't bother," said Miss Militia, "None of the other Wards will be in costume and, since you'll be a team, you'll know each others identities anyway."
"Fair enough," I said again.
"Oh, cheer up," said Miss Militia, "I know its not ideal, but it really is the best option."
I let out a huff, but didn't respond. I wasn't entirely sure that was true, but I wasn't about to risk the PRT changing their minds and punting me into the Birdcage. Miss Militia just patted me on the back and stopped as we reached the door to the lift that would take us down to the Ward HQ. She lent forwards and let the retinal scanner do its thing. A moment later, the lift opened and we stepped inside.
"So, anything I should know before I meet em?" I asked.
"Well, you met Aegis briefly when we were testing your powers," said Miss Militia.
"And then promptly knocked him unconscious," I said.
Miss Militia coughed awkwardly.
"Yes, that, although he won't hold a grudge for that," she said, "Hes to professional. Other than that, the only thing I can think of is to watch out for Shadow Stalker. She can be a little...confrontational."
I scowled. Yeah, I really wasn't looking forwards to meeting that bitch. I wasn't confident I wouldn't punt her through the wall if she tried anything with me. The main problem was that my powers had actually had an affect on my psyche. Nothing overt, but I was now more in tune with my instincts, a state that only amplified when I fully transformed. That was how I could wield my sword and throw around my attacks like I'd been doing them for years. It sort of made sense since I was basically a Hollow, minus the whole eating Souls thing, and it came in rather handy in keeping me from feeling any guilt over slaughtering the Cultists. They had tried to kill me, so I responded by removing the threat. Permanently. It was also that mindset that made me weary of joining the Protectorate permanently. I wasn't entirely sure I could hold back enough to avoid killing someone if I ever met someone capable of hurting me. All of this together meant that, if Shadow Stalker tried her shtick with me, she'd end up finding out what a real predator looked like when pissed off.
The lift dinged and the doors opened, revealing the Ward HQ. It looked like the living room of a large University flat, a large, round room with a large TV on one wall with a few sofas in a circle, a couple of games consoles and a coffee table covered in wrappers, books and a few scattered games. A number of doors led off the area, although I had no idea what was through them. Sitting on the sofas were the Wards themselves, all in costume for some reason, although none of them were wearing their masks. As we entered, the teen heroes looked up and I found myself under the scrutiny of six superpowered teenagers. It...was actually rather underwhelming. Just by looking at them, I instinctively knew that the only threat to me here was Vista and that was only because she could potentially bend my attacks back at me. I quickly wrenched my mind away from strategizing how best to take down each individual member of the Wards (ranging from decapitation to complete obliteration vire Gran Rey Cero...huh, I didn't know I could do that...neat.) and refocused on the here and now.
"Everyone, I'd like to introduce your newest teammate," said Miss Militia, "This is Alexander White."
"Um, hi," I said awkwardly.
How exactly where you supposed to greet a group of people your powers had just finished feeding you the best methods of tearing them into little pieces? I immediately realized my mistake in the 'weak' greeting as Shadow Stalker gave a quite scoff, barely audible.
"Great, another weakling," she muttered, although it was still clearly audible.
Miss Militia scowled and opened her mouth to berate the dark Ward, but before she could I lifted my hand to my face and summoned my mask. Before anyone could do more than blink, I'd vanished and reappeared in front of Shadow Stalker, close enough that her nose was practically touching my mask as I loomed over her. Shadow Stalkers eyes went wide and, frankly, I can't blame her. Even if I didn't have the oppressive Spiritual Pressure Ichigo did while Hollowfied, the mask was still incredibly intimidating, not helped in the slightest by the black and yellow eyes that glared out from the eye slits and I highly doubt the fact I just crossed the room in the blink of an eye helped matters.
"Want to say that again girly?" I hissed.
"ALEXANDER!" shouted Miss Militia.
I glanced over my shoulder at the shocked looking Wards and angry Heroine, before taking a step away from Shadow Stalker and dispelling my mask.
"Sorry about that," I said, directing the apology to the rest of the Wards and Miss Militia, "I don't like being underestimated."
For a moment, there was silence, before Clockblocker spoke up.
"Aww, don't worry about it," he said, "Believe me, there are plenty of worse things you could have done if what Carlos told us about you is anything to go by."
He stood and held out his hand.
"Names Dennis," he said.
I eyed his hand.
"Your going to freeze me, aren't you?"
Dennis tried to look hurt, but a snort of laughter from Vista told me I was 100% correct.
"Looks like hes got you there Dennis," she said.
"But I…"
Vista ignored Dennis' stuttered protests and turned to me with a massive smile.
"Hi, I'm Missy," she said, "That was a cool trick with the mask. Is that your power?"
"Ehh, kind of," I said as I shook her hand, "The mask lets me tap into a small portion of my full power, without transforming."
"Transforming?" asked Kid Win as he came over to introduce himself.
Aegis snorted.
"Oh, you should see it," he said, "he could give Hookwolf a run for his money in sheer intimidation factor."
Shadow Stalker scoffed, apparently getting over her brief moment of fear towards me.
"This guy?" she asked, "What could he possibly do to scare you oh fearless leader?"
The rest of the Wards glowered at Shadow Stalker, but Aegis just smirked.
"Lets just say that the mask as nothing on the full thing," he said.
All eyes turned on me.
"What? You want to see it?"
Nods all around, although Shadow Stalker just scoffed. I could still see a glimmer of interest in her eyes though. I glanced around again, before shrugging.
"Alright, but I suggest you take a few steps back."
They did as I asked and I lifted my hand to my face, black and red energy gathering in my hand. It wasn't really necessarily necessary to do it like this, but I felt like showing off. I pulled my hand down, my mask appearing on my face, but the energy didn't dissipate. Instead, it surged out, wrapping around me and momentarily hiding me from view. Then, I took a step forwards. I heard a startled intake of breath as my now clawed foot emerged from the black cloud, followed by my horned head and the rest of my body. As I left the energy cloud, the last of it solidified and transformed into my black blade. I let out a deep, rattling breath that somehow also released a blast of steam from between my masks teeth.
I looked over at the Wards to find that they were all staring at me with wide eyes. I honestly can't blame them considering my showboating, but I couldn't help but shift awkwardly under their stares. While joining the Wards wasn't really what I wanted, that didn't change the fact that I'd be working with them for the next few years and I really didn't like the idea of my comrades being scared of me.
"That...is….AWESOME!" said Dennis suddenly, breaking the tension in an instant.
That seemed to be the cue for the Wards to snap out of it and start asking questions, ranging from my sword to the lengths of my powers. I answered them as best I could and we ended up sharing a laugh over the fact I was causing Glenn a minor coronary as he tried to figure out how to make me PR friendly and failing.
The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting and socializing with the Wards (well, most of them. Shadow Stalker bugged out as soon as she was able) and by the time I left, I was confident that I'd be able to make friends with most of my future teammates. Not Shadow Stalker though, but considering a good portion of me wanted to vaporize the bitch, thats not that surprising. Eventually, we broke apart and headed out for our nightly duties, whether that be a patrol or heading home, leaving me with little to do. Oh, I headed back to the small apartment the Protectorate had been nice enough to provide after I proved to be capable of taking care of myself, but I quickly got restless. It was something I'd found happening a lot lately, not helped in the least by the fact the amount of sleep I actually needed had plummeted to just an hour every night (not entirely sure where that ability had come from, but I think it had something to do with my regeneration), leaving me restless and with nothing to do with myself. Normally, I ended up just going out and wondering around the Boardwalk or sitting up binge watching Anime or playing games, but tonight I needed something different.
I needed to get out and run, just...do something, stretch my muscles and maybe fire off some attacks into the bay or something. I wasn't supposed to be going out in 'costume' yet, but its not like I planned to do anything. Besides, I was fast enough that, if I did stumble across something going on, I wouldn't be seen knocking the crook for six.
Two hours and three muggers knocked unconscious later saw me making my way across the rooftops of the Docks in full Breaker mode. I wasn't really patrolling, just letting my feet guide me and enjoying the feel of the wind blowing through my hair. Honestly, I'm not sure what I was doing, just...cruising I guess would be the best word for it. I stopped any crime I spotted, but I was more interested in trying to burn of some energy and frustration. A fight would work better, but I didn't feel like getting scolded by Piggott, so I couldn't really go looking for Lung or anything…
A flash of moonlight on metal was my only warning. I slammed the brakes on and jumped back, barely avoiding the tip of the sword that came out of thin air, arching down to slice my head in half. Despite that, I was still nicked by the blade, scratching a thin line across my mask where my nose should be. I landed on the roof of a warehouse and skidded to a stop, my claws cutting furrows into the surface as I did. I looked up and glared at my attacker, a figure in a white, hooded cloak that hid their form. In their hand, they held a sword in a reverse grip, hiding the blade in her cloak. Something deep inside me warned me that, Hierro or no, that blade could cut me.
I narrowed my eyes at the Cape as I slowly stood, my body tense and ready for a fight. Looks like I'd be getting that fight after all.
"I don't know how you got here, but I won't allow you to harm anyone in this city," said the person in a soft, feminine voice that still managed to hold enough steel that Kieser would be jealous.
I frowned, but before I could ask what in the hell she was talking about, she vanished in a flicker of movement and a dull static sound. My eyes widened and I ducked, evading the swing that would have taken my head off. I spun around, lashing out with my claws as the womans blade flashed again. We jumped apart, leaving a few drops of blood and floating scraps of fabric where we had been locked. I scowled as I felt the cut in my side begin to seal up as the woman reached up and brushed the small trickle of blood from her cheek. My strike had managed to tear her hood slightly, revealing pale skin and the edge of a white mask on her cheek.
"Impressive," said the woman, "You're good for a beast."
I frowned under my mask.
"Who are you calling a beast?" I growled, "Your the one who attacked me out of nowhere."
The woman looked surprised.
"You can talk?" she muttered, "Interesting…"
I felt my eye twitch. I really hate being underestimated and this woman was managing to push my buttons like nobody's business. Suddenly, the idea of being scolded didn't seem that bad and my instincts were roaring to stop holding back anyway.
I took a step forwards and vanished in a Sonido, my claws flashing as I appeared behind her. The woman looked surprised at my speed, but still managed to turn and avoid my attack. She swung her sword, cutting a deep gash across my chest that immediately started healing as I continued my assault.
"Tch, instant regeneration," muttered the woman.
I didn't bother saying anything, instead I dropped and spun, aiming to take her legs out from under her. She jumped over the attack, putting her in the perfect position to aim a claw strike at her. At the same time, she swung her sword, once again aiming for my mask. I barely managed to avoid having my head split like a melon by grabbing her sword in my free hand as she deflected my strike with her free hand. Then, we both vanished again and reappeared on opposite sides of the roof.
"Hmm, it looks like I underestimate you," she said.
My eye twitched. Oh, thats it! I'm through playing nice, shes going down!
"UNDERESTIMATE THIS!" I snarled, lowering my head and charging a Cero between my horns.
I made sure to hold back enough that I wouldn't kill her and blow away half the docks, but it would certainly be enough to hurt her enough to take her out of the fight. The woman didn't move as the red orb grew between my horns, although I did notice she tensed slightly. I fired the attack, sending the massive beam of crimson energy shooting across the roof towards the swordswoman. I expected her to try and dodge, but instead she swung her sword, the blade now glowing with a yellow light, hitting the blast and cutting it cleanly in half, sending both halves flying out into the bay where they exploded, sending massive pillars of water sky high. Even so, the force of the blast served to tear away her cloak, revealing a form that made me freeze in complete and utter shock.
Considering her skills with a sword, she looked young, possibly even younger than I was. Despite that, she was rather...gifted shall we say. She had black hair, cut short and messy except for three braided locks. Her eyes were a light shade of green and rather apathetic, although I noticed that she did look a tad weary. She was wearing a white, midriff baring, white jacket with a high collar that served to hide the lower part of her face and extended all the way down to cover her hands in black gloves, a pair of white trousers and black boots. The sheath for her sword was strapped horizontally across her back and the blade in question was thick and short, although it held the vague shape of a Katana. It was also completely hollow.
"...what the fuck?"
Seriously, what else could I say? There were a lot of things I was expecting might be under that cloak, a black haired Harribel was NOT it.
Hmm, I feel a bit mean leaving it on a cliffhanger like this seeing as I have no intention of continuing it...eh, I've done worse.
I think its kinda obvious where I'm going with this, right? The idea actually came from another story I had that isn't on OC based one based on a similar concept to The Once and Future Hero by Lewascan2. In that, Taylor gets turned into Artura and lives her life before finding herself back in the Locker upon dying in battle. In my version, she turned into Harribel. Originally, I was going to use Nel, but decided to do this instead. Mainly because I like the idea of Harribel turning Leviathans attacks back on him….actually, you know what, I can't decide which one I like better, so I'll write another version with Nel and see what kind of reaction it gets to.
I hope my explanation as to why his agreed to join the Wards makes sense because otherwise I'm going to get a load of people pointing out that he really doesn't need to and, your right, he really doesn't. Hes powerful enough that he could take care of himself and there are very few people in the Protectorate who could match him. The thing is, he doesn't want to need to find out if he could actually match said heroes and he also doesn't want to give them any reason to toss him in the Birdcage. Besides, as he said, its just for two years, then hes gone.
With that in mind, I'm out of things to say, so lets sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!