Outsider Chronicles: Shielder of the Bay
Getting reborn as a side character whos only real achievement is dying is not something I had in mind for an afterlife. On the other hand, it does give me the chance to possibly do some good and its not like I'm just going to curl up and die. After all, I'm a shield to keep people safe.
So I recently got into a conversation with someone about an idea they had involving Shielder, which sparked this idea. I've also got a PJO story idea using a similar powerset. The power set in question? Turning Galahads Noble Phantasm into a Sacred Gear. I actually have some interesting ideas for it to that'll give it a somewhat unique twist. Should be interesting. Oh and before I forget, I'm increasing Erics age so hes the same age as Taylor. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 1
You know, there are several things about dying that I never wanted to know. To start with, its bloody uncomfortable. Of course, being reborn is even more uncomfortable. Yeah, I'm living proof that the Soul is real, despite the fact that I'm a sceptic at the best of times. Of course, that doesn't stop me from feeling like I've either won the lottery or been sent here due to some horrific sin I committed in my last life. Why? Well, I'd been reborn in a world full of superpowered beings, but it wasn't one where heroes and villains balanced each other out and the heroes always win. It wasn't even My Hero Academia where EVERYONE has powers in one form or another. Oh no, I'm not that lucky. Instead, the world I now lived in was one where the greatest hero was actually its greatest potential threat and was definitely under threat from a bunch of OP monsters. Yep, I'd ended up being reborn in Worm. This is really gonna blow…
To make matters...worse? Slightly better? Not sure, could be either, but either way, I hadn't been reborn as some Joe Nobody, but instead as Eric Pelham, better known as Shielder of New Wave. I see no way thats going to end badly for me!
In all seriousness, my life wasn't all that strange, not really. Sure, things got a bit hectic when my family Unmasked, but kids tend to be pretty adaptable and it only took a few weeks for my schoolmates to calm down and go back to treating me as normal.
Whatever the case, I didn't really care that much, so I didn't think much of it. Instead, I focused on what I could do right now which, as it happened, was making sure that my cousins could look after themselves.
My Dad had made it a point to make sure that Crystal and I both knew how to fight, making the reasonable assumption that relying on people being logical enough not to kidnap the children of known Capes was a bad idea, but the Dallons had made no such efforts, something that got my Parents rather annoyed when they found out, enough that Mom headed around to give her sister a telling off and Dad to make it a point to include Amy and Vicky in on the lessons. My hope that the lessons would help Vicky learn some restraint and give Amy some better, less toxic relationships and people she could rely on in the future. Whether or not that would work would remain to be seen.
Whatever the case, life went on and I could only hope for the best.
Strangely, I somehow managed to make it to 15 without going through a Trigger Event. Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly happy to not have an extra dimensional parasite making life difficult for me, but it was kinda strange. There were a few times that I would have thought I would have Triggered, namely when Crystal Triggered as a result of nearly being assaulted by some idiot who held a grudge against New Wave and later when Amy Triggered as a result of Vicky nearly dying. Both times made me angry and helpless enough that I was certain that a second gen Cape would have Triggered, but...nothing. In fact, it almost felt like someone or something was looking over me in those moments and judging me.
Actually, that was a fairly common feeling for me. Often, I'd feel like there was someone, or several someones, stood just behind me as I went about my day, watching my actions with an air of interest and either approval or disapproval. It was...extremely disconcerting, doubly so because I didn't feel threatened by the strange feeling. Quite the opposite in fact.
But of course, this story wouldn't be that interesting if I didn't get powers and lived out my life as a normal person, now would it? It also served to reveal why I felt like people were watching over me once I met the source of my powers. And I don't mean a Shard. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The day I 'Triggered' started out as a normal Saturday. I was out with some friends (ironically Clockblocker and Kid Win, the latter of which I'd been friends with for a while since we shared a class since Elementary school and the former I'd been introduced to after Chris joined the Wards), hanging out at the arcade and generally goofing off when a very loud explosion echoed from a block over.
The thing about Brockton Bay is that there really isn't a 'safe' part of the city. Just about the only places that weren't gang territory are the street where the PRT HQ is, the hospitals and the Boardwalk. The arcade we were at was in a decent area of the city, but it was still fairly close to the territory border. Despite that, it was still close enough to the 'good' part of town that the gangs would normally avoid starting anything for fear of bringing out the PRT's big guns, but that didn't mean it didn't happen.
"Soo, anyone else want to go see whats going on?" asked Dennis, eyeing the rising cloud of smoke with some interest, "Ten bucks says that the Merchants are doing something stupid to annoy the Empire."
"Thats a suckers bet," I said, "Skidmark guarantees that they annoy the Empire, regardless of what they're doing and them being stupid is a given."
"True," said Dennis, "Still, could be interesting, right? We might even get to meet some heroes. Oh, maybe Clockblocker'll be there!"
Chris and I glanced at each other and rolled our eyes. This was par for the course for Dennis, the self proclaimed president of Arcadia's Clockblocker Fan Club. He even had an autographed picture of him and 'Clockblocker' in his notebook and claimed that the whole thing was so that no one would make the connection between him and his alter-ego, but I'm pretty sure he only did it because he found the whole thing hilarious.
"You just want to film the fight for easy views," I said, "But I guess it could be interesting. Plus, if things are getting too messy, I can call in reinforcements."
"Great, lets go!" said Dennis and jogged off.
"We're gonna regret this," muttered Chris as the two of us followed him.
"Probably, but its better than listening to him winging," I said.
The look Chris gave me could have curdled milk.
It didn't take us long to arrive at the source of the explosion, just in time to see Mush backhand Glory Girl, out of costume, into a nearby building while simultaneously holding off Hookwolf by virtue of clogging his rotating blades with all manner of disgusting detritus. Also present was Miss Militia, who was dueling Victor, and Assault and Battery, who were tag teaming Skidmark, who was in tern perched on top of a ruined mass of steel and parts that appeared to have been one of Squealers vehicles before it had plowed into the side of a bar that was totally not an Empire front, honest(!), which explained the presence of the Empire Capes. The Protectorate Heroes had most likely been close by on patrol. As for Vicky...hell if I know, she was probably just nearby and jumped in with both feet, as usual.
"Hoo boy, this is a mess," I muttered, "Maybe we should go before anyone comes this way…"
"Nah, we'll be fine," said Dennis, whipping out his phone and bringing up his camera app, "Sides, this is youtube gold!"
Chris groaned and palmed his face in annoyance.
"Do you have ANY self preservation instincts?" he asked, "Wait, no, don't answer that. I still remember that debacle with Rune and Othala."
Dennis ignored him and kept filming, although his grin did widen a little bit further. I rolled my eyes at my friends antics and took a quick look around to make sure that nothing bad was going on outside of the fight.
I could see a fair number of bystanders standing a fair distance from the fight, some filming like Dennis, while others were simply availing themselves of the free entertainment. I couldn't see anyone who was injured, but I knew from experience that it was only a matter of time before someone got hit by a stray shot.
A loud bang and flurry of shouted curses drew my attention back to Skidmark and the Squealermobile. There was another loud clang and the thing rumbled to life.
"I'm done Skids!" shouted the Tinker as she stuck her head out of the window, her shrill voice audible even over the racket of the battle.
"Fucking finally!" roared Skidmark, "Alright, fire the thing up and lets blow these cuntsniffers away!"
Squealer pulled her head in and the vehicle shook violently as metal plates began to shift and move around. I swallowed.
"Um, guys, maybe we should leave," I said, "That...doesn't look good."
"Aww, it'll be fine," said Dennis, "Whats the worst that could happen?"
As if in response, the plates finally stopped moving and a massive, glowing cannon emerged from the depths of the vehicle. Before anyone could react, the barral spun around and opened fire. Assault and Battery both dodged the blast, which carved a massive trench in the road and forced the two Speedsters to back up as Skidmark used the distraction to layer more speed zones and start flinging bits of rubble to keep them at bay while the cannon swung around to aim at a shocked looking Hookwolf.
"Ah...right," said Dennis, "Alright, lets go."
We turned to go, but as we did, a flicker of movement caught my attention. A trio of girls about my age stood a short distance away, recording the fight on phones and whispering to each other excitedly. Now, normally that wouldn't be a problem since they were at a 'safe' distance, but they were also positioned directly across from Squealers cannon in the perfect position to be hit when Hookwolf dodged the shot aimed at him.
I froze, indecision gripping me. It was obvious that the girls hadn't noticed the danger they were in, but there wasn't a chance that I could get their attention before the cannon fired. If I shouted, they certainly wouldn't get the message in time, assuming they heard me over the noise of the still on-going fight. I was fast enough that I could make it over there, but that would also put me in the line of fire and I wasn't confident I could get out of it in time.
I was moving almost before the thoughts could finish processing. Despite the risk, I'd never been the type who could let someone get hurt if I could help it and if I fucked up...well, I'd already died once. Not that I wanted to die of course, but most of the fear was somewhat lost on me.
Unfortunately, it looked like my split second of indesition was too long as the cannon finished charging and fired. Everything around me seemed to slow down as I realized that I wasn't going to make it and that my momentum was going to take me into the range of the blast, rendering this entire thing fatally in vain. Despite that, I kept moving, not willing to give up, not when I knew that there was a very good chance that I could Trigger with something useful to protect both myself and the innocents behind me. Hey, it was better than giving up.
I skidded to a stop and threw up my hands, desperately delving deep for any hint of anything that could protect me. No matter what, I'd take it, even if it meant relying on a cold, unfeeling parasite who saw me as nothing more than a labrat.
I wasn't expecting the feeling of approval that washed over me, nor the wave of heat that erupted from my core.
There was a flash of light and something appeared out of thin air in front of me, my fingers instinctively closing around the handle as the light corilessed and solidified into a shield and a round dome directly in front of me, just in time to catch the energy blast. I gritted my teeth as the impact pushed me back slightly and pushed back with all my strength. For a moment, the beam continued to push me back, splashing across the barrier as it slowly changed shape, taking on the form of a castle wall, forcing the beam splash to widen until, with a final push, it was reflected entirely. Skidmark and Squealer barely had time to jump clear before the reflected attack slammed into the Squealermobile and exploded, reducing the mechanical monstrosity to scrap.
As the light of the barrier began to fade, I felt a tremendous weight of fatigue settle over my shoulders and slumped against the shield. I struggled to keep my eyes open, but it was too much and darkness quickly encroached on my vision. I was unconscious before I even hit the floor.
I came to laying in a bed of soft grass and with sunlight shining directly onto my face. I groaned and covered my eyes as I sat up, blinking away the blurriness that comes with sleep and looked around. I was sat beneath a large oak tree that stood alone at the top of a grassy cliff. A large stone stood a short distance away, covered in flowering vines that seemed to hide something stuck into the top of it and a few bits of ruined wall stuck out of the undergrowth here and there.
I frowned as I slowly got to my feet, trying to figure out where in the hell I was. It seemed...strangely familiar, almost as if I'd seen it in a dream, but I knew for a fact that I'd never been here before. I walked over to the edge of the cliff, hoping to find some sort of landmark, and froze at what I saw.
Stretched out below me was a massive city, gleaming white in the brilliant sun. Now that I was aware of it, I could clearly hear the sounds of life flowing up from the city, carried on the faint breeze along with the scents of food, animals and Humans. The city was clearly medieval, but prosperous nonetheless. Vast walls surrounded the city on all sides, manned by knights in gleaming armour, their vigilance keeping the populace of this shining city safe from whatever lurked in the darkness outside those walls.
However, what really drew my eye was the vast castle that stood above the city. Like the rest of the buildings, it was composed of pure, white stone that shone brightly, even more so than the rest of the city. Its towers were topped with flags that depicted a red dragon. Despite having never seen anything like this place, I knew its name.
"Camelot, the Utopia dreamed of by Man," said a voice from behind me.
I turned around to face the source of the voice. The speaker was young, probably only my age, with messy, silvery hair, gray eyes and was wearing purple and black armour.
"Your Galahad," I said.
The Knight tilted his head slightly and nodded.
"I am," he said, "And you are the wielder of my shield, Eric Pelham."
I frowned and turned back to the city below me.
"Where am I?" I asked, "You said that this place is Camelot, but how can I be there?"
"Camelot is and always was a dream," said Galahad as he joined me at the cliff edge, "Even when it existed, what you see before you was little more than a fantasy that would never come to be. We Knights fought to try and see our dream come true, even if we failed in the end. However, that dream has remained intact ever since. The name of Camelot and her Knights still resonates and thus, this dream continues."
"That doesn't explain how I can be here," I said, "And where in the world did that shield come from?"
Galahad smiled slightly.
"That would be the dick wizards doing," he said, making me snort, "Merlin, for all his faults, truly did want to see our dream come true and he certainly didn't want us to fall so ignobly at Camlann. He used his Magic to take our dreams and our spirits and bind them to the Round Table, creating this place and the shield you now hold."
"That doesn't explain how I have it," I grumbled.
"Lord Camelot represents the eternal dream of Mankind to one day reach a utopia," said Galahad, "It always appears in times when its needed to protect Humanity. Even though Magic has long vanished from this world, it will continue to appear until Humanity reaches its dreams."
"I...think I understand," I said slowly, "But you said that the rest of the Knights were here too, right?"
"Indeed," said Galahad, "Even my Father and Mordred are here somewhere. You might even get to meet them, if you impress them enough."
I frowned.
"Whats that supposed to mean?" I asked.
Galahad smiled.
"Your shield carries the legend of the Round Table within it," he said, "Think on that."
Before I could ask what the flying fuck he was talking about, the fog that had slowly been building without my noticing surged up and everything went white.
This time I woke to the smell of burning asphalt and the sounds of the normal chaos that came with the aftermath of a fight. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my head as I looked around. As expected, the area was now swarming with PRT troopers, putting out fires, talking with witnesses and guarding the foam balls that probably contained Squealer and Skidmark. There was no sign of Mush, Victor or Hookwolf, but the Heroes were still present, with the addition of Armsmaster, who was running scanners of some sort over my shield which was still stuck in the ground.
"Oh hey, you're awake!"
I tilted my head back and fixed my cousin with a flat look.
"Why thank you for pointing that out cus," I said, "Now whats going on?"
"Wellll, after your rather impressive Trigger Event, the Empire ran off and we managed to nab Squealer and Skidmark," said Vicky, "Now its just the clean up and Armsmaster is very interested in that shield of yours. Nice job by the way."
"Thanks I guess," I said.
I got to my feet and stretched, then walked over to where Armsmaster was now trying, and failing, to pick up my shield. As I approached, the Tinker let go of the shield with a huff and turned to face me.
"Mr Pelham, have you recovered?" he asked.
"Yep, no problems here," I said.
"Good," said Armsmaster, "Now, I believe that this is yours?"
He tapped the shield with an armoured knuckle.
"Yeah, apparently," I said as I stepped up and pulled the shield free of the ground with a grunt of effort.
Then I turned back to my cousin and Armsmaster and stopped when I saw the looks of shock they were giving me.
"What?"
"Wha...how did you do that?" asked Vicky, "I couldn't even budge that thing!"
I raised an eyebrow and glanced down at the shield. It was heavy, but far from unmovable. I glanced around, then walked over to a nearby car, grabbed the bumper and heaved. Nothing happened. Not super strength then.
"Hmm, it could be that only he can lift it," said Armsmaster, "Not entirely unheard of for power created equipment."
He looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.
"You two can leave," he said, "We can easily get in touch with you when we need to talk with you Mr Pelham and I have no doubt that your family will want to make sure that you are alright after your Trigger."
He turned and marched away in the direction of Miss Militia.
"Well, that was...interesting," I said, "He does have a point though. I bet this is already all over PHO and Crystal will have seen it and told Mom. We should get home before everyone starts pancing."
"Good idea," said Vicky, "Amy will probably want to check up on you too. Lemmie say goodbye to Dean and I'll take you home."
She zipped away in the direction of the crowd, leaving me to turn my attention to my shield. I didn't really fancy having to lug it back home as is and I wasn't sure if Vicky could even fly with it, even if I was holding it. Besides, it'd get in the way, even if she could. I wonder if there's some way to…
Before I could finish my thought, the shield glowed brightly and dissolved into blue sparks that quickly faded. I could still feel its presence though and knew I could summon it at a moment's notice.
"Well thats convenient," I said as Vicky floated back over, "You ready to go?"
"Yep, whenever you are," she said.
The flight back home didn't take long and we were met at the door by my Dad, who quickly waved us into the sitting room where the rest of the family was waiting. The moment we entered, Mum grabbed me into a hug and started checking me over.
"Mum, I'm fine," I said."You just Triggered, you are not fine," said Mum, dragging me into the living room, "Amy?"
My cousin reached across and slapped me over the back of the head, then poked me in the cheek.
"Hes fine," she said, "Other than being an idiot."
I scowled and glared at her, getting a grin and raspberry in response. Mum snapped her fingers before we could escalate and pointed at the sofa. I sat down next to Vicky as Mum went back to her armchair and fixed the two of us with a look.
"What happened," she said.
The two of us glanced at each other, then launched into a quick and dirty report. New Wave might not be as active as it used to be, but the Capes of the family did still occasionally go on patrol and we did AARs, even if they were less formal than the Protectorate and Wards did.
Once we were done, there was a moment's silence, before Amy reached across and smacked me over the head again.
"OW!"
Then my sister hit me from the other side.
"OW! Quit it!"
"You deserve it!" snapped Crystal, "That was incredibly stupid!"
"Hey, it all worked out, didn't it?" I asked.
"Despite what some people think, a stupid plan that works is still a stupid plan," said Mom, "You could have easily been killed."
I shrank back in my seat under Mom's disappointed look.
"Alright, I think we've scolded Eric enough for now," said Dad, "Lets move on to what I'm sure we're all interested about, just what he can do."
The atmosphere in the room shifted as the gazes of my family shifted from worried and annoyed to cureous. I cleared my throat.
"I can summon this thing," I said as I summoned my shield.
It hit the ground with a loud thump.
"A shield?" asked Crystal, leaning forwards to take a closer look, "What does it do?"
"Its a shield," I said, "It blocks attacks."
"There must be more to it than that," said Mark, looking more alert than normal.
"Obviously," I said, "It can reflect anything back where it came from and create an impregnable barrier. It also seems to be able to change weight. Neither Armsmaster or Glory Girl could lift it, but its easy for me."
I decided not to mention the whole 'containing the Round Table' thing, whatever that meant. Everyone glanced at Vicky, who shrugged.
"It was really heavy," she said simply.
Mom sighed and rubbed her eyes.
"Alright, we'll leave this here," she said, "There's not much more we can do until we get Eric power tested, so we'll call the meeting here. Oh, and before I forget, Eric, you're grounded."
I twitched and opened my mouth to protest, but a sharp glare from Mom made me shut it again. With that done, Mom got to her feet and clapped her hands.
"Now then, lets see about some dinner," she said, "Carol, will you be staying?"
"Better not," said my aunt, getting to her feet, "Thanks anyway."
With that, the meeting broke up, with the Dallons heading home and Mom and Dad starting on dinner. I meanwhile, headed upstairs to get some homework done. All in all, a rather mundane ending for such a bizarre day. Now if only I could figure out why I had a nasty feeling things were going to get very strange around here.
Urg, weak ass ending, but I can't think of anything else. This idea has been in the works for ages and I really wanted to get it done. Honestly, I'd like to get anything done, but I just can't seem to focus on writing. I really hope this mess ends soon considering that I do all my best plotting at work. Anyway, thats done, onto the quips.
Erics power is not a Noble Phantasm. Technically, I intended to use this idea for a DXD story, but as of right now, I'm not sure if I'll go through with that or keep it as an artifact of power. However, it does have all the powers of Lord Camelot, as well as another, much more interesting attribute. Namely that it can take multiple forms and has another trick up its sleeve that will make life in the Bay rather...interesting once it gets broken out.
Huh, I think thats actually the only thing I need to say. With that in mind, I'm gonna sign out. Don't forget to leave a review!