Outsider Chronicles: Golden King

How many living natural disasters call Earth Bet home? Most people would answer three, the Endbringers. However, I know better. There are seven, each one with enough power to deverstate entire cities far easier than the Endbringers could, mainly because we're impossible to actually stop. Three Endbringers, Seven Kings and an omnicidal space whale. Good god, this world is fucked.

And here we go with an idea that is completely fucked, especially when you consider who I have in mind for the other Six Kings. They won't all be the same as Canon and I'm replacing Voban and Luo Hao with other characters. This is gonna be fun! Enjoy!

Chapter 1

You know, when I died, the last thing I was expecting was to be reborn and then go through two different near heart attacks before I turned ten. The first came at just six months when my senses developed enough to figure out what my new name was. Adam Clements. Yeah, apparently I'd been reborn into the world of Worm as the older brother of one of the Bitches Three. I'd have to make damn sure that at least one never joined.

As for the second panic attack, that came when I was seven and a new hero entered the scene in Los Angeles. Not that uncommon of course, but I recognized the name and it wasn't anyone from Worm or even DC or Marvel or any of the other Superhero sources that wouldn't serve to cause even more devastating than even the Endbringers are capable of. Who was this new Hero? Well, 'he' was given his name by the geeks on PHO shortly after his debut and now went by John Pluto Smith. I really hope thats a coincidence and there aren't six other walking natural disasters wondering around.

I quickly put that out of my mind though. Smith was on the other side of the country and I didn't think it was particularly likely that I'd ever meet a God if she really was a Campione. Hell, even if I did, I probably wouldn't be able to see it. Besides, I had much more important things to worry about. Like school.

Actually, to be fair, school wasn't that hard. I was always one of the smartest in the class and having another life with higher education rattling around in my head only made things easier. Add in my strangely good luck and life was surprisingly good. Of course, the fact I had the luck of the devil should have tipped me off that it'd eventually run out...or result in me meeting a God anyway.

But thats for later.

You know, the sad thing is, I can sort of see why Maddy would start picking on Taylor. Through most of our childhood, I ended up having to keep bullys off her. Between being the smallest in her class, a little overweight and wearing glasses, she was an easy target. Well, right up until they found out her big brother was the short kid who demonstrated why picking on people well versed in Maui Thai is a horrible idea. What? I live in gang central, you really think I wouldn't learn some form of martial art? I was also fairly good at kendo and staff fighting and that wasn't because I was worried about possibly running into people who use archaic weapons. No, not at all.

Anyway, it was a bit mean, but I made it a point to talk to Maddy about the bullies whenever possible, subtly pushing the idea that bullies never prospered and it was better to be a good person than a popular one. I'm not entirely sure how well it worked considering I was smart enough to get into Arcadia with no problem while Maddy, even with my tutoring (when she asked for help) didn't manage to pass the entrance exams and ended up at Winslow. On the up side, shedding the extra weight and getting contacts before she went to Highschool meant she didn't need to worry about bullies any more. On the down side, we weren't close enough for her to tell me about what she got up to and I'd always made my stance on bullying perfectly clear, so she was unlikely to tell me if she was involved with the Bitches Three. Speaking of which, I really ought to see about figuring out a way to deal with them.

Anyway, enough musing and covering my childhood attempts to make Taylor's life easier. Your here for the good stuff. And me getting kicked through walls of course.

I was seventeen when the shit hit the fan. The day started out normal for a saturday, with me heading out to my hidden training ground. Well, actually it was an abandoned warehouse that was in fairly good nick, but too close to the Boardwalk to be safely used as a storehouse or hideout for any of the Gangs. There were a few places like that, many of which served as hangouts for the kids in my neighbourhood.

I was just finishing setting up the makeshift training dummy's I kept hidden in the building when the doors suddenly crashed opened as someone sprinted through them and slammed them behind them. I raised an eyebrow. The person in question was a beautiful young girl with a slender figure, delicate, fairy like features, long, silvery blonde hair worn in a long ponytail and blue eyes. She also looked scared out of her mind and had apparently been running for a while. She was wearing a black tunic and skirt with gold edges, white stockings and a blue mantel with black stripes.

Her clothes were tattered and filthy, as if she'd been fighting something that was doing its best to tear them off her, her face was also streaked with filth, her hair was coming out of its ponytail and, when she turned around, I saw that she had a cut on her cheek that looked suspiciously like a claw mark that was bleeding sluggishly. When she saw me, the girls eyes widened in horror and she looked like she was going to faint.

"Um, are you OK?" I asked.

"Oh god, I didn't know someone was in here!" she gasped, glancing at the door, "You need to go, now!"

I blinked and opened my mouth to ask why, but a very loud clang and a suspiciously fist shaped indent appearing in the door, which also started glowing cherry red from heat.

"Um, did you annoy Lung or something?" I asked incredulously as the girl staggered away from the door and started backing away from it.

"I wish," said the girl, "At least he'd just kill me and be done with it. Please tell me theres another way out."

"Not unless you can fly," I said, eyeing the door as more indentations appeared and the sound of a very big dog growling leaked through the door, "The other entrances are all blocked by various things. That's actually part of why I chose this place."

The girl muttered something that I'm pretty sure was rather rude in Italian and pulled a curved sword out of thin air.

"In that case, find somewhere to hide and then go when you get the chance," she said, "I'll hold him back."

I frowned. I could hear the fear in her voice, but it was abundantly clear that she meant it.

"Can you actually take...whatever that is?" I asked.

The girl gave a shaky smile.

"Its a Knights job to sacrifice herself," she said.

I stared at her flatly for a moment, then turned and picked up a length of pipe I used for practicing staff fighting.

"Sorry, but I've never been good at leaving people in need," I said, "I might not be a Cape, but I can fight and most people will go down if hit hard enough with this."

The girl gaped at me for a moment, before she shook her head.

"You idiot, you have no idea what we're facing here!" she yelled, "Its not a Cape, its a…"

She was cut off by the door finally giving way and allowing a wave of heat to enter the building, followed by a handsome young man with curly hair that looked like spun gold, golden skin and eyes that looked like molten gold. He was wearing a pure white toga, sandals and had a quiver of golden arrows slung over his shoulder and a golden bow in his hand. A pack of golden wolves milled around his feet, each one glowing brightly.

My heart sank into my shoes. I admit, I had my suspicions, but to see something like this in person burnt away any sense of doubt like mist before the morning sun.

"Its a God," said the girl weakly.

"A god huh," I muttered, "So...Apollo? Considering all that gold and the bow and arrow, it wouldn't surprise me."

The god shot an impressed look my way.

"Impressive Mortal," he said, his voice sounding like a singing angel, "Not many people would be able to figure out my identity that quickly."

"I like mythology," I said a little tightly.

Apollo smiled softly and inclined his head, eyeing the pole in my hand with some interest.

"So, what do you plan to do with that?" he asked, "Do you intend to help the little Knight beside you? I hope not. Men like you are rare enough that I'd hate to see you die for nothing."

I shuddered. There was something about the way he was looking at me that made me want to go take a shower. I was momentarily tempted to drop the pole and leave, but considering what the Greek gods were like and the way my current companions clothing had been damaged, I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't be in for a pleasant experience. Well, unless there was a repeat of the tale of Daphne, but I don't think a laurel tree would last long around here.

"Sorry, but like you said, I'm a rare kind of man," I said, "The kind of man who can't leave anyone in a bind, especially a pretty girl."

Apollo narrowed his eyes.

"It takes a brave man to face a God," he said, "Or a foolish one. Which are you boy?"

"Don't know, don't care," I said, "Now bring it."

Apollo snorted.
"Definitely a fool," he said, "Goodbye."

He flicked an idol hand at me and one of the wolves milling around his feet charged.

"Shit."

I barely had time to raise the pole to catch the jaws of the wolf, although that didn't stop the massive animal from bouling me off my feet. I let myself fall, rolling back and out of range as the wolf started stalking towards me, casually biting the pole in half. I gulped. If one of those things got its jaws on me, that was it, I'd lose a limb at best. Especially because the metal was glowing faintly. I did NOT think this through.

Still, I wasn't about to become doggy chow without a fight, so I turned and sprinted up a nearby staircase and into the catwalks that crisscrossed the ceiling with the glowing dogs on my heels. The metal creaked ominously under the Divine Beasts weight, but didn't collapse. As I ran up, I caught sight of the girl, who was fighting of another two wolves and having a lot more luck with her Magic Sword while Apollo just stood there and watched, a small smile on his lips. Fuck, I really wanted to punch that smug bastard.

I quickly banished those thoughts in favour of grabbing one of the poles that kept the catwalks attached to the ceiling as I passed, using it as a pivot point to spin around and land a two footed kick to the side of the wolf chasing me, sending it crashing into and through the rusted guard rail and crashing to the ground below with a yelp of pain. Considering that we were above a large container of rusted scrap metal, that wasn't surprising in the least. Any mortal who fell in their would likely be shredded by the cruely jagged thicket of steel. Even a Divine Beast didn't take to kindly to it if the deep red spots that appeared on the formally pristine coat of the oversized canine was anything to go by, but I didn't think for a moment that it'd keep it down for long and even if it did, Apollo still had another two of the stupid things sat at his heels and could probably make more if needed. Hell, if needed, he could just shoot me with that fucking bow of his. It was probably powerful enough to blow Alexandria into orbit after all.

Still, while I had a moments breathing room, I took the opportunity to view the battlefield from above and try and come up with something I could do to make sure we got out of this alive. The only problem is that Apollo is a God of Foresight and I had no idea how to beat someone like that. Even someone like Coil would be easier to deal with!

I scowled as Apollo tilted his head back and smirked in a way that only made me want to punch him more. Yeah, he knew exactly what I was thinking. Oh well, future sight or not, its not like I had anything to lose. If I failed I died and the girl got an ending suitable for a Greek legend and if I succeeded...well, that would just mean that Brockton got its own two legged disaster.

I shook away those thoughts and scanned the warehouse, looking for something that could act as an advantage. THen, I looked up at the chains that crisscrossed the ceiling and smirked.

"Fuck me, I'm already a lot like Epimetheus," I muttered with a slight grin, "Alright, lets try this crazy plan."

I turned to the end of the catwalk where the blooded and very pissed off wolf I'd kicked off had just reached the top of the stairs and was now stalking towards me. My smirk widened into a full on grin. Despite the crazy, life threatening nature of the fight, I was having fun. Now I just had to hope my luck didn't decide that now was a good time to run out.

Liliana Kranjcar was currently scared out of her wits. Oh sure, she was a powerful Knight of the Bronze Black Cross and Apollo was far from the first God she'd faced, but in the past she'd always had backup, the ability to go all out and the God in question had been more interest in destruction and murder than what the Sun God had planned should she lose. She shuddered at the thought, nearly getting bitten by a wolf before she forced it to back off with a swing. No, she'd rather fall on her own sword than allow that. Unfortunately, that was no longer an option, not with an apparently powerless Mortal on the scene.

Despite herself, Liliana found herself reluctantly impressed by the young man. Most people would have already legged it, thinking the battle was a Cape fight and that they couldn't get involved, but the teen had jumped in without a second thought, despite knowing he was at a massive disadvantage. She was a little curious as to how he'd managed to accept the fact that their opponent was a God so easily since she couldn't sense any magic coming from him, although he did have a lot of potential. If they got through this alive, Liliana planned to get to know the young man and see if he was interested in joining the Copper Black Cross. They always needed new blood and he would likely fit right in.

She turned on her heel and sliced the wolf that tried to take a chunk out of her behind across the nose, making it back up with a whimper. Recruiting new blood would have to wait for now. First they had to somehow drive of the Heretic God without getting turned to ash or eaten.

A clatter from the catwalk made Liliana glance up, just in time to seeher current alley throw himself to the side, evading the wolf that was chasing him and causing it to get tangled up in the rusted chain he'd tossed at it. The wolf stumbled and went over the edge as the teen jumped after it, riding it down to the floor, directly at Apollo. The God didn't even look up as he stepped back, allowing his Divine Beast and the teenaged Human to hit the ground with a loud crash.

"Nice try," said the God with a slight smirk, "But if you want to take me off guard, you'll have to do a lot better than that."

"You mean like this?" asked the teen as he did something and let go of the chain he was holding.

There was a loud snap as the rusted chain broke and shot up at high speed as the counterweight was removed. Apollo frowned, before his eyes widened and he looked up to see a rather large and sharp looking chunk of metal on the other end of the chain plummeting towards him. This time, the God wasn't fast enough to move quite so smoothly, instead throwing himself back out of the way as the mass of metal came crashing down where he'd been standing, turning his wolves into pancakes. Even Divine Beasts couldn't withstand being squashed under over four tons of metal.

Apollo slowly got to his feet, staring down at his dust covered toga and then slowly reached up to wipe away the blood that was leaking sluggishly from the cut on his cheek. He stared at the golden smeer for a moment, before turning his attention back on the pile of broken metal and slowly clearing cloud of dust.

"Impressive," he said, "I never would have believed that a Mortal could cut me without the aid of magic and yet you did it with nothing but your own wit. Its almost a shame your…"

He was suddenly cut off as the crazy teen vaulted over the twisted mass of metal with a length of broken pipe in hand that he aimed at the Gods chest. Normally, such an action would be a complete waste of time, but as Liliana watched, the pipe suddenly lit up with magic to her vision and passed straght through the barrier Apollo summoned and sank into the Gods chest.

Liliana wasn't entirely sure what happened next, other than Apollo letting out a roar that was probably heard on the other side of the city and exploded in a burst of heat and light that threw her off her feet and vaporized the wolves she was fighting.

The instant the length of pipe (which I never in a million years thought would actually work) penetrated his chest, Apollo let out a roar and a pulse of heat and force that sent me flying back as droplets of boiling liquid splattered across my arms and face. I hit the wall with enough force that I'm pretty sure I broke something and slid down to land in a heap.

"OK, that hurt," I groaned.

"How did you do that?"

I looked up to see the blonde slowly approaching me, a rather odd look on her face.

"I have no idea," I said truthfully, "I honestly wasn't expecting it to work."

I coughed and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva as I slowly pushed myself to my feet. The girl quickly moved over and caught me on her shoulder before I fell.

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't mention it," said the girl.

"So, now we're no longer at risk of being eaten, do you mind telling me your name?" I asked.

The girl smiled faintly.

"Liliana Kranjcar," she said, "I'm a Knight for the Copper Black Cross."

I smiled thinly. I'd have to figure out why she was in America later, for now the only thing I wanted was to have a rest.

"Nice to meet you Lily," I said, "I'm Adam. Adam Clements…"

"Ahhhh, so thats your name."

We both stiffened at the sound of the voice and turned to see the dust cloud thrown up by the Gods roar slowly clear and reveal Apollo stood there with the pole still through his chest. He had an odd look on his face as he stared at me, his feet slowly dissolving into gray dust. My eyes widened. I genuinely had not expected to have actually killed the bastard. Instead, I thought I'd just injured him enough that he'd retreated for now so we could get away for now and alert Smith or whoever was in charge of dealing with Gods around here of his presence so when he popped up again he could be dealt with more permanently.

"Adam Clements, you are a skilled warrior," said Apollo, "And far wiser than I gave you credit for. That will teach me to never underestimate a Human. You are weak creatures, but if you have the will, there is nothing you cannot do."

He smiled thinly as his body continued to vanish.

"Continue to grow stronger, young King," he said, "Keep growing and don't you dare die. I want the pleasure of killing you myself."

He closed his eyes as the last of his body turned to dust, which swirled in the air for a moment, before surging towards me and slamming into my chest with enough force to knocking be flat on my back and send my already exhausted body into darkness.

And with that, I'm done. Well, that was fun.

As mentioned up top, I'm replacing Voban and Luo Hao with characters from Worm, mainly because I really wanted to use Apollo and because why not? I won't spell out who they are, but if I told you that one had the Dead Servent as their primary Authority and the other had Authorities from Aphrodite, Phobos and Demos, would you lot be able to figure them out? Lets see.

Liliana is my favorite of the Campione gals and I really wanted to use her, so I decided to use her as Adam's first Knight. Erica might put in an appearance later, but I plan for a couple of Campionefied Worm characters to end up working for Adam instead.

Interaction between Magic and Parahuman abilities tends to be reasonably fluid. Their not mutually exclusive, although there will occasionally be odd interactions. Of course, Campione are basically immune to most forms of power, although raw super strength would work on them. Thinker abilities on the other hand tend to either blue screen or go OH SHIT, RUN! when coming into contact with one. Parahumans can become Campione, but more powerful ones would get weaker Authorities, and Campione can technically Trigger, but I'd like to see someone get a Demon King into a situation where they would.

And with that, I'm done. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!