Outsider Chronicles: The Truth of Power

Getting reborn into a post apocalypse wasteland infested by superpowered murderers is not what I was expecting after dieing. To make matters worse, I'm apparently residing in the body of a powerless wimp. That is until my powers appeared. However, I wasn't expecting that power to come with a vision. I think that the Second had more secrets than being part Angel.

So yeah, a Needless idea with Worm elements. And I do mean is NOT set on Bet, although its certainly linked to it. You can probably guess where I'm going with this. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

When I was crushed to death by a collapsing shelf of boxes at work, I wasn't expecting to wake up again. I also wasn't expecting to find myself in a place that can best be described as hell on Earth and in the body of a god damn weakling to boot! Now, I'm not about to claim that I am, or was, a strong person, but I had an excuse in that I lived in 21st century Great Britain. The person I got reborn as lived in a place where the weak died. Quickly and yet he spent most of his time crying or hiding!

Sorry, am I confusing you? Then let me clear a few things up. I had been reborn, but not as myself. No, I was reborn as Cruz Schild, better known as Yamada, the protagonist of the Needless Anime/manga and all around useless individual in a fight. At least until he activated his Fragment at the end of the Manga. Yeah, there is no way I'm letting myself be protected by anyone and I'm certainly not letting Blade turn me into a girl if this world goes the way of the Manga.

Growing up was hard. Not only was the environment of the Black Spot incredibly brutal for a young child, but my sister and I lost our parents to crazy bandits shortly after I was born. I'm pretty sure that the only reason we were able to survive was due to Aruka's Fragment and the fact she joined up with Simion. Speak of, knowing what I did about the future, it was easy to see that she was hiding something from me as, as soon as I was old enough to take care of myself, she began spending long periods of time away from our 'home', which was really just a rundown building. That was fine by me though as I spent the time she was away training in secret.

With what you ask? Well, I spent the time I was alone training. The Black Spot was a dangerous place to be, even with powers, but I had no intention of being a burden on anyone. With that in mind, I trained my body and my mind as much as I could and, by the time I turned 14, I was a force to be reckoned with.

It was at that point that I lost my ability to train in secret as Aruka dragged us off to join the Resistance against Simion. Now, you might be wondering why I was keeping my skills hidden from Aruka, but I did have my reasons. The main one was that, if she knew I was a competent fighter, she might decided to just off me herself rather than sending me down into the sewers.

For the next five years, we worked with the Resistance to slow Simions advance into the Black Spot. During that time, the leader, Zakat, kept a close eye on Aruka and I. It wasn't overt, but my future knowledge meant that I knew what to look for. Or I could have just been paranoid. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts (subtly sabotaged as they were by Aruka), the steady march of Canon could not be fought and Simion advanced into the Black Spot and started their reign of terror. Eventually, we received information that Arklight himself was coming to town and so, we prepared to attack.

The day before the attack, Zakat called me to his office, as I was expecting, and gave me the pendent that contained Aruka's picture and, if the future went as I was expecting, the microchip.

"Thanks for this Zakat," I said as I looped the pendant around my neck.

"Don't mention it kid, its the least I can do," he said as he put a can of pop on the desk in front of me, "Want a drink?"

"Thanks," I said.

Zakat opened a can of his own and sat back with a sigh.

"To our victory in tomorrow's battle," he said.

"You mean the battle that you think is a suicide mission?" I drawled.

Zakat just laughed.

Unfortunately, it seemed that fate is a bitch and the battle went about as well as expected. In other words, awful and I ended up fleeing from the massacre with Aruka with a Testament hot on our heels.

"Soo, whats the plan?" I asked as we pelted around the corner, just barely avoiding getting shot by the Hunter robot's guns.

Aruka scowled as she looked around, before her gaze landed on a sewer entrance.

"You have got to be kidding!"

"Do you want to live or not?!" snapped Aruka as she pulled the manhole off, "Get going, I'll hold it off."

"Fine, I'm going," I said as I hopped into the hole, "Deal with that thing and then catch up!"

"Will do little Brother," said Aruka with a smile.

I ducked underground as she charged the robot.

"Right, now I'm alone, lets see what we got," I muttered as I walked through the knee high water, thanking my lucky stars it was a storm drain. I began to make my way through the sewers, grateful for the small holes in the ceiling that provided enough light to see. I had been walking for about five minutes when...

"SHIT!"

I took off as the Testament that had just crashed through the ceiling barreled after me.

"Shitshitshitshitshit!" I muttered as I ran through the tunnels, dodging out of the way of the Testaments attacks.

I rounded a corner, only to be drawn up short as I found myself at a dead end. I gritted my teeth and turned to face the Testament.

"Damn it, where is that stupid priest?!" I growled.

I really didn't want to die here, but if Blade didn't hurry...

Before I could finish the thought, the Testament suddenly lunged and the world slowed down. Oh god, I was gonna die! I don't want to die! Not like…

A vast web of lights.

REQUIRED?

Redirect.

LOCATED

The web zooms in to focus on one light.

A flash of a red costume.

A rush of energy.

I jolted violently, just as the Testament slammed its leg into me, clearly intending to squash me flat. Instead, I did...something and the leg stopped cold as I blocked it with my hand, the force apparently vanishing. Then, the wall behind me cratered as if struck by a massive fist.

"Huh...thats interesting," I muttered.

"NEEDLESS DETECTED, ACTIVATING COUNTERMEASURES," said the Testament as it it backed up and brought its guns to bare.

"No thanks," I muttered and shot forwards without moving my feet, evading the first blast of gunfire.

A slight tilt of my feet sent me underneath the Testament, allowing me to tag its leg. The metal distorted and bent as if it had been struck with a powerful blow, rather than the slight tap I'd used. The Testament stumbled, before its system compencated and it spun around to attack me again. I tensed and readied to counter again…

Right before Blade came crashing through the roof. Good god, his sense of timing needed work.

"Hey kid, if you're being chased by a Testament, that must mean you're a Needless, right?" he asked.

"Apparently," I said.

"Hnn, fine," grumbled Blade, "This thing'll be a pain if I just leave it."

"I agree," I said, "Lets break it!"

Blade glanced at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I can't argue with that," he said, "What can you do?"

"This," I said and punched the Testament as it swung its leg at us.

CRUNCH!

The robot once again went flying, its armour buckling under the force exerted.

"Huh, super strength?" asked Blade.

"Nope, I think its more like force redirection," I said as I stepped in front of Blade to block the Testaments attempt to fill us full of lead, "Or maybe force control? I need to do some experiments later."

"You mean you just got your powers?" asked Blade, "Man kid, your good at this!"

"Why thank you," I snarked, "Now can we kill this fucking thing?!"

"Way ahead of you kid!" said Blade with a grin as he pulled out his bible, "Now shoot me at it!"

"OK," I said and slapped him on the back.

"OH HELL YEAH!" roared Blade as he shot forwards at incredible speed, propelled by the accumulated force from the bullets, and slammed bodily into the robot.

I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but a moment later, the robot exploded and Blade slammed into me, unconscious, covered in blood and with the robots brain clutched in his ruined hand. I sighed and hoisted the much larger man over my shoulder.

"Right, lets get you home," I muttered as I started lugging the taller man towards the nearest exit to the sewers so I could find the Church.

It took a good half an hour to navigate the maze of passages, but eventually I managed to find a way out.

"Finally," I muttered, "Now, to find that , I wish I could fly…"

A vast web of lights.

REQUIRED?

Flight. Strength.

LOCATED

The web zooms in to focus on one light.

A flash of a white dress and golden hair.

A rush of energy.

I blinked as I came back to myself.

"What was…" I started, before I realized I was floating a few inches of the ground, "Er, what?"

I frowned and glanced at Blade. Was it just me or had he just got lighter? After a moment's thought, I shrugged and pushed it to the back of my mind to be analyzed later. Instead, I shifted Blade into an easier hold and took off in search of the Church.

It didn't take long to find the Church from the air and, once I had, I touched down outside it and carried Blade inside.

"Hey, anyone home?" I shouted.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," said an elderly voice as Guido emerged from one of the doors leading off, "What can I...BLADE!"

He ran over as I put Blade down on one of the pews.

"So, I take it you know him?" I asked.

"Yes, can you tell me what happened?" asked Guido.

"He saved me from a Testament," I said.

"A Testament?!" gasped Guido, "Then that means your…"

"A Needless? Yeah, I am, although I only recently got my powers," I said, "My names Cruz."

"Dr Guido," said Guido, "We can talk later, right now we need to get Blade inside."

I nodded and hefted him over my shoulder, following Guido into his lab.

"Oh yeah, he also grabbed this," I said, handing Guido the Testament brain Blade had torn out, "Can you use it?"

"I can," said Guido.

I flopped down on a chair by the wall with a sigh.

"Tell me something Cruz, why did you help Blade?" asked Guido after a moment, "Few people in the Black Spot would do such a thing."

"Well, he helped me," I said, "I owe him at least enough to get him to safety. Besides, I prefer to make friends over enemies. Never know when you might need them."

"True enough I suppose," said Guido, "So, what do you plan to do now?"

I shrugged.

"No idea," I said, "I mean, I was a member of the resistance, but I never actually cared that much for their cause…"

"Hmm, well, I suppose you can stay here for now," said Guido.

"Thanks old man," I said as I got to my feet, "I think I'm gonna go get some fresh air."

Guido nodded and I headed outside. I took a deep breath as I left the church and dropped down to sit on the steps, enjoying as I mulled over what had happened and what had happened when my powers came out and everything that it meant. For some reason, I felt that I'd seen something important when my powers appeared, but it felt like something was suppressing the memory. Then there was the fact that I apparently had multiple powers, something that should be impossible for a Needless. I spent a while mulling it over until I gave myself a headache.

"Oh for gods sake, I can't take this!" I groaned, "What does all of this mean?!"

A vast web of lights.

REQUIRED?

Insight

LOCATED

The web zooms in to focus on one light.

A flash of a purple fabric.

A rush of energy.

My eyes went wide and I shot up. There it was again. What on earth was that?!

Power activating, obtaining new skillset from network.

"What the fuck?!" I yelped, jumping to my feet at the unexpected voice in my head, "What was…?"

SHARD ID, Negotiator. Information provided. Require data to create extrapolation.

"What," I deadpanned, "That sounds like something from Worm! How could I possibly gain something like that?! And where did it come from?!"

SHARD ID Modem able to link to other SHARDs temporarily.

I blinked. What did that mean? How could something like that even come about in this world? Unless…

My eyes widened again as everything slotted into place and the memory I'd been trying to get a lock on since the fight finally came into focus.

Something implausibly vast coiling through space, scattering crystals over the planet below.

Endless hunger.

Curiosity.

SUITABLE HOST LOCATED

A shard falling towards me.

ACKNOWLEDGED

The Shard hits me.

"Oh you have got to be fucking shitting me!" I gasped.

Well, that was interesting. I'm not pleased by this ending, but it'll do, mainly because I'm getting sick of writing Tattletales Shard. I won't be using it again.

Now, incase its not blatantly obvious, in this world Needless are Parahumans who's powers come from Abaddon, not the Thinker/Warrior. As such, they have different rules and limitations.

Cruz's power is an example of this. Its rather similar to Eidolons, although with a few glaring differences. To start with, it works by hooking into other Shards, so long as its user knowns the 'address', which basically amounts to the name of the current holder, either real or assumed. That basically means that Cruz has full access to every single power from both Worm and Needless...with a few caveats.

To start with, he can only hold one power set at a time, so no combining Alexandria with Legend, it takes about two minutes for the power to properly integrate, although basic applications are available before that time is up and he can only switch powers after half an hour, meaning that he has to be careful he doesnt pick a useless one. Each power also only lasts for five hours total and then has a cooldown time of however long he held it for before it can be used again. So, for example, if he tapped into Setsuna's speed and held it for two hours, he couldn't use that particular power for two hours. Oh, and he can't copy Trump powers, so no mimicking Zero or Eidolon. That said, he's also immune to other Trumps, so the Adams can't copy his power. Theres also a few seconds when picking a power where he becomes unresponsive while linking to a new power where a speedy combatant would have a massive opening.

I hope all that makes sense since I'm trying to come up with a power thats got enough limitations to not be completely absurd while still being strong enough that it could actually be used against Arclight. I probably failed a little though…

Anyway, I'm going to sign off. Don't forget to leave a review!