It was Saturday morning, and the start to a rather unfortunate weekend. Just last night, Haley had broken up with Bruce because she found a better boyfriend. The worst part about all of it is that at this point he was used to it. He was 32 years old and hadn't managed to maintain a relationship for more than 6 months, and inevitably it was because a better prospect came along. He'd been working as a Locksmith for 14 years, and while he was a good conversationalist and could make women laugh - the ones he was interested in were inevitably able to find a man with a better job. He'd been in the business for over a decade, but some twenty-somethings fresh out of college were landing better salaries in their first real job than he was making after all this time.
"It was only a matter of time," he muttered as he walked out the front door of the house. His yard this time of year was beautiful, and he took a moment to bask in the morning sun as he glanced around at the bushes and trees to see if anything needed trimming. Fortunately there were a few areas that could use some work which would help distract him from his loss. He'd spent quite a bit of time with Haley and knowing that he wouldn't be seeing her again hurt quite a bit. Not enough to keep him from doing the necessary work, however.
He walked over to his truck and on the way quickly checked the grass to see if it needed mowing - it could use a bit of a trim, so he added that to his slowly growing list of house chores. He put the key into the lock on the trunk, gave it a turn, and popped the back open. With practiced movements, he withdrew two bags, put them on the ground at his feet, then closed and locked the trunk once again. He picked the two bags up and got to work.
In less than an hour, he'd re-keyed all three exterior locks, and now even if Haley had lost a key, never returned them, or whatever - they wouldn't work anyways. His 'castle' was once again secure, and he felt a little bit better after doing some work with his hands. He picked the two bags back up and started walking from the backyard of his house towards the front and his truck, daydreaming a bit as he did. He didn't notice at first, but a faint light started to swirl around him - growing in intensity as it started to completely surround him.
"What the..." was all he was able to get out before the lights vanished, along with him and his tools. As Haley had taken her stuff back last night, nobody even noticed his disappearance until he failed to show up for work on Monday.
-----
The Cathedral of Humanity was the largest church in the nation of Jintaros, and every little detail of its construction was debated on for a week before it was approved. The Summoning room was at the highest level of the cathedral apart from the bell tower, and it was by far the least used room in the building.
The entire room was made from stone, but not of a uniform color. Inside the summoning circle the floor was made of obsidian, a glassy black filling that would make it hard to see any burn marks as a result of spell casting. The circle itself was made with a layer of light sapphire over marble, shimmering mostly light blue, but with darker spots as well. The area around the circle was marble, filling up half of the room. The other half of the room was a landscape with different stones painting the objects. Olivine grasses and leaves, sandstone trees, a sun made from gold, and more. The image depicted humans with their dolomite-white skin protecting a small village surrounded by trees from the coal-black demons and the wasteland they both come from and bring.
Ten religious leaders, two mages, five nobles, and a messenger were standing at the edge of the marble flooring closest to the imagery awaiting the arrival of the heroes. The spell had been cast hours ago, but as with each summoning it could take anywhere from three to eight hours for the first hero to show up - which was why the king was not present, but a messenger was there to alert him when the heroes did arrive.
Fire flashed in the center of the circle, followed by smoke, and a green light appeared - whirling, expanding, and pulsating as it grew into a cocoon larger than a man. With a final flash, the light disappeared and a bulky man appeared in its place. He was leaned forward, fully kitted out in football equipment, and the moment he appeared he was running forwards with his center of gravity low. Moments after he appeared he stumbled and came to a halt, looking around him in obvious confusion.
"What the hell? What kind of trick is this? How'd I get here?" He started firing off questions as spat out his mouth guard and removed his helmet to look around. Factoring in the padding, he was enormous. Even without it, he looked like he weighed nearly 250 pounds.
The people who had been waiting for several hours didn't respond properly simply cheering and shouting. "A hero has arrived! The first hero is here! The ritual was a success!" One of them turned to the confused athlete and simply told him: "Wait for a bit, everything will be explained once the others arrive," and turned his attention back to the now empty circle.
The confused man looked at the circle with the others, and in just a minute, another flash of fire appeared. The same green glow, cocoon, and this time when the cocoon disappeared a woman appeared. She was wearing giant sunglasses and a hat covering most of her face, but it was clear both from her body and what was visible of her face that she was beautiful.
She lowered the sunglasses slightly and looked over them at the weird collection of men in front of her. Before she had a chance to say anything, one of them said to her: "Heroine, please stand next to the other hero, we will explain everything when the others are here. Thank you for coming!"
The two heroes stood off to the side awkwardly watching what was going on, and whispering to one another as they waited. Another flash, and this time nobody really said anything but one of the priests pointed towards the two waiting heroes. Bruce walked over to the other two and placed his tool bags on the ground before.
"Hey, I'm Bruce. Do you guys know what's going on here?" he asked the guy in a football uniform and the woman. They ignored him and kept whispering to each other. "Right... Okay then, guess I'll just have a look around then..." He left the tools there and wandered around the room. He examined the magic circle, the multi-stone floor mural, and the clothes everyone was wearing. Nobody told him anything, so he was standing around between the nobles when the next hero arrived. The fiery explosion startled him and he yelped - garnering a couple glances from those around him before they focused on the newcomer.
"Welcome, heroine. Join your two companions over there and we will explain everything to you once the others arrive. There should be two more," one of the priest-looking men explained. The woman that had appeared was wearing robes - a lot closer in appearance to the receivers than the other heroes so far. She walked over to the other two and introduced herself and joined their conversation.
"What the hell, guys? Do I just not exist or something? Or is it because she's a woman so she gets treated better?" He sighs, and walks back over to the group of three, and tries introducing himself again. This time they acknowledge him, but still focus on themselves. The new woman stands to the side quietly, and so Bruce shrugs and joins her in silent awkwardness.
They don't have long to wait before the fifth explosion - no longer startling Bruce - and another man appears. "Welcome, hero! We just need to wait for the fifth hero and we shall explain everything! Go join your three companions over there," and the priest-like man directs him to join the other four. He slowly nods and walks over, introducing himself to the athlete and the two women, then turning around and looking at the summoning circle he came from.
"Wait, what do you mean wait for the fifth? There's five of us here!" Bruce yelled again at the greeters, and they glanced over at the new arrivals.
"Oh, you're right. We must have miscounted. I guess it's time to get started then." The priests take out a scroll and start reading off the history of the world, the gods, the heroes of legend and the demons they have always fought against. The story takes about an hour to go through, and all five of the summoned heroes are staring listlessly at the men - clearly not taking in everything.
"Ahem," he coughs, and cuts the story short. "Anyways, heroes, we have followed the ritual our historic records describe to summon you - five new heroes - to work together to fight back against the demons. We are in desperate need of help, and only the heroes can slay the Demon King. We beseech thee - we shall grant thee anything that you need. Training, weapons, funds, and more - we simply ask that you work for the kingdom to slay the Demon King, and you will be extremely well rewarded! Land, money, nobility, women, treasures, magic, anything you desire can be yours!"
"As you have answered our summons, the gods have granted each of you a supernatural ability - and even if you wish to return to your home after you have completed your task, you will be able to keep this ability, and any treasures that you can carry with you when you return. You may be the only ones in your world with such an ability - and it could make you the ruler of your people if you're strong enough."
Bruce chuckled, "sounds like a scam to me, but... I can't help but wonder what kind of fantastic abilities we might get. Super speed? Super strength? Teleportation? Magic? Mind control? I have to admit, I'm a little bit excited, what about you guys?" He nudged the football player who nodded slightly and stepped forward.
"My name is Jonathan Gold, we will accept these powers and your mission, but we will need training." He looked around the room, and then focused on the welcoming committee again. "From the looks of things, I'm a lot stronger than anyone else here - but I don't know much about fighting beyond a fist fight. If we're to fight against demons with our super powers, we'll need training. Start by telling us what our powers are."
Everyone in the room nodded, as if in complete agreement with what he said. One of the mages stepped forward holding an orb. "Place both hands on this orb, and it will identify your name, homeworld, profession, and supernatural ability. The world and profession are what you had before, the supernatural ability is what matters now. We'll provide trainers and equipment to help you get situated here on the planet Regis - and prepare you to fight against the demon horde."
Jonathan stepped forward first, and set the example. He placed his hands onto the stone, and the mage chanted something causing the stone to glow a deep blue.
---
Jonathan Gold
Homeworld: Earth (2023)
Profession: American Football Player
Supernatural Ability: Humanity's Hero - Exuding leadership and heroism, this individual is a natural leader of humans who will readily follow them. Humans have enhanced morale in their vicinity.
---
Katelyn Wong
Homeworld: Earth (2241)
Profession: Model
Supernatural Ability: Overwhelming Charm - Men and women alike are unable to resist this individual's charm. Extremely attractive to all, people enjoy spending time in their presence.
---
Emily Smith
Homeworld: Gerna (8JX7)
Profession: Apothecary
Supernatural Ability: Acolyte - Exceptionally high compatibility with several elements of magic. Holy, Fire, and Nature. These elements are perfect for support with significant offensive capabilities too.
---
Blake Rogers
Homeworld: Alatoir (231)
Profession: Guard
Supernatural Ability: Berserk - When wounded, this individual can choose to go Berserk. They will be immune to pain, and their physicality will rise. Their skin will become as tough as leather armor.
---
After Blake placed his hands on the orb and had his statistics read off, the mage covered the orb again with the cloth and stepped back into the group.
"Um, hello? You only read four of us. Are you forgetting someone?" Bruce rolled his eyes and pointed to himself as he walked up to the mage.
"Ah, yes, of course. My apologies, hero." The mage pulled the orb out again and waited. Bruce put his hands on the orb and the mage repeated the incantation.
---
Bruce Williams
Homeworld: Earth (2023)
Profession: Locksmith
Supernatural Ability: Overlooked - Unless actively promoting themselves, this individual fades into the background. It's easier to notice a mouse under the table than this person standing next to you.
---
"... God dammit."