It hit them like a truck. The monitors didn't just come to life; they literally beamed the information into their heads. They had been expecting something but not this. It was like they were dreaming. In the blink of an eye, Ocean Empress, Poseidon, and Paragon found themselves suddenly recalling thoughts they never had, seeing sights they never saw, and remembering a memory that didn't belong to them.
In the blink of an eye, they watched the story of Avalon.
Or at least the parts he decided to show them…
"Seriously, more kids? The guys up top know this is a war, right? We don't need this dead weight." A soldier grunted. "We can barely keep ourselves safe. How do they also expect us to keep a band of brats alive while we're in the thick of it?"
"I heard that the team that gathered them all up was wiped out." Another soldier whispered to his buddy. "Torn to bits by the Angel's Zombie army. Now we're stuck on protection duty escorting these kids to one of the nearby cities."
"What could be so special about these brats?"
Nearly one thousand years had passed since the Shadow had been defeated, and today, while the Super population might have remained small, their forces had been taken over by a dark threat. The second-ever Calamity to face the world since the Shadow, the Angel, also known as Lucifer. Supers and Humans were at each other's throats. This was over sixty years ago in the past.
Within a small village that had been practically wiped out, a group of soldiers that would one day go on to be the first members of the Hero Branch stared at the group of kids they were tasked with keeping safe. Their army was small; most of them had been wiped out a while ago in a fight with Lucifer's Monarch force. As for the kids, there were twelve of them in total. All varying in age, the youngest being six and the oldest being sixteen. The soldiers had set up dozens of tents as most of the buildings had been torn down. They had a few vehicles scattered about, but not enough for all of them. Not with the kids, at least.
It was on guard duty that two soldiers found themselves grumbling about the situation that they were in. "It won't be so bad, at least." One of them sighed.
"It won't? Why do you reckon that?"
"I heard the guys up top got their hands on a powerful Super. Called him Sini. He'll be coming here personally to help escort these kids and ensure we make it to Dandelion in one piece."
"Seriously?" That caused the second soldier's frown to grow. "Now I'm more concerned. Top brass could give a rat's ass what happens to the fodder crew." His eyes traced over the kids. "What's so special about them?"
All the children had formed a makeshift group of their own away from the soldiers. They all stood in the center of the village together. Most of them were boys, though there was a girl or two scattered amongst them. All of them had one thing in common, though. They shivered and shook, the rain pouring down hard. As the soldier's eyes traced over all the kids, only one really stood out to him.
In most things, people tend to subconsciously create an order of hierarchy. Knowingly or not, the kids had seemingly done the same. It wasn't the biggest or the oldest that looked to be in charge, though. Dead in the center, surrounded by the other kids and constantly whispering back and forth amongst them, was a young boy. Nine years old at the most, he had messy brown hair that had been soaked in the constant downpour and wore a pair of thick round glasses. In his hands he held some weird metal device he had been tinkering with for the past few hours they had been standing out there.
The soldier felt those eyes lock onto him, and he couldn't help but shiver a bit. He tried to convince himself it was just from the cold. "Think we'll make it to Dandelion?" He asked his friend quietly.
"If God loves us..."
"Harry, I'm scared." One of the kids, a young girl, said, shaking from the cold. "How much longer are they going to keep us out here in the cold?"
"It'll be okay," the brown-haired boy tried to smile. "Any moment now, I'm sure they'll be ready for us to head out. And if they don't, and worse comes to worse, I still have my box." He patted the metal device he held. It was shaped almost like the top of a mailbox. Made out of a brass-looking metal, it was covered in wires and had an opening that could unfold at the front of it. It was no bigger than a breadbox, and he held it tucked under one arm.
"Are you sure, Harry?" An older boy questioned, folding his arms.
"Of course I am. We'll all be safe, I promise." The brown-haired boy said, giving a sly smile. I'll make sure we'll all be kept safe. After all, I'm a genius."
A horn buzzed loudly through the village, and several of the cars roared to life. Some of the soldiers stood up, grabbing their gear, and got ready. "Alright!" One of the men called out. "That was our scouting unit. That horn means they've spotted the Super that was sent up top to help us. We don't have seats for everyone, so all the kids will have to pile in first. We're going to take this slow and-"
Jagged blades of metal impaled the man from behind as the car he stood in front of exploded! Screams filled the village, and gunfire rang out in a panic. A second car erupted in a mighty fireball, followed by a third, wiping out the last of their vehicles. From the darkness, moving faster than the human eye could follow, dozens of figures ran through the soldiers, ripping them to shreds.
"Monarch Supers!" One soldier screamed out. "Grab the kids and run!"
This particular Super was a nasty one. He came to a sliding stop in front of the group of kids. His name was Edge, and he didn't look human. His skin was made of metal, and jagged blades came out in all directions. He was exceptionally fast and so strong that just by running into someone, he could tear them to bits. Sword-like blades grew from his fingertips, and he raised his hand up high, ready to ram it through the group of kids, but before he could, one of the soldiers slammed his full weight into the Super and managed to actually knock Edge over.
"R- Run!" The man grunted out, the blades tearing into his flesh and spilling his blood.
Some of the soldiers grabbed the kids, scooping them up in their arms; the rest screamed for the kids to follow as they made a break for the exit. Edge grunted and stood up, picking up the man that had tackled him. His blades dug into the man's neck, and he sneered.
"Did you really think you could stop me-"
"I really hope you're not one of the Supers that're grenade-proof," the soldier grunted.
"What-"
All the grenades that had been in the soldier's pocket went off, creating a massive wave of fire that smashed Edge through a building and sent him out to the other side. Edge grunted and slowly picked himself up, sparks flying as his teeth began to grind together.
"I hate humans."
As the soldiers ran out of the village and toward a large hill in the distance, one of them froze when he saw a man standing at the top. His heartbeat began to settle down, though, when he noticed the jacket the man wore. It was a Full force member. The man in question was dark-skinned and didn't have the gear of a soldier. He was young as well, in his early or late twenties.
"Are you the one the guys up top sent?" The soldier screamed in the rain.
"Are those all of the kids?" The dark-skinned man asked.
The soldier looked back and took note of all the kids they had with them. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight—shit, we just have eight. We're missing four!"
The dark-skinned man nodded and began to push his way past the soldiers and head toward the village at the bottom of the hill. He was stopped, however, when one of the men grabbed him by the shoulder and shook his head. "A Monarch Super is down there. Those guys are on another level compared to normal Supers. They've been enhanced by their master, the Angel Lucifer."
"I'll be fine. Trust me. I'm strong." The man said, brushing the hand off. "I can handle anything they try to-"
An explosion smashed into the dark-skinned man, throwing him back and blowing the man next to him to bits. From high up in the air, the Super that had blown the cars to bits came crashing down, letting out a mad cackle. He was covered in dozens of blue feathers and wings connected from his back to his arm. They glowed and blasted off of him like bullets stabbing into the ground or a person, then exploded like a bomb. He wasn't alone either. In the air, dozens of other winged Supers slowly came down.
"We're all going to be rewarded so handsomely for wiping this group out!" The feathered man called out. He fired off his feathers at one of the kids, but the attack barely got two feet before the water in the air seemed to bend and twist, wrapping around the feathers and jamming them back into the Super's arm. "Oh shit!"
The feather bomb went off, blowing the Super's arm clean off and throwing him to the floor, causing him to howl in pain. Before any of his other teammates could react, they were smashed into the ground as chunks of ice began to form on their wings, dropping them from the sky. The dark-skinned man began to pull himself out of the crater he had been blasted into.
"It was a bad move to fight me out in the rain." The man's eyes stared darkly at the Monarch Supers.
"W- Who the hell are you?" The now one-armed, feathered man screamed out, trying to get back to his feet.
"My name is Sini."
"Sini? Wait! I've heard of you. You're the-"
"You guys should have never fought a Lord of the Sea while it was raining." The water twisted and morphed behind the man, forming into a massive kraken-like beast created from shards of ice and liquid. "I guess I'll need to punish you for your arrogance."
Back in the rundown village, Harry poked his head over the edge of a window, peeking out. "Harry, I'm scared," one of the kids whimpered and clung to him.
He, as well as three others, hadn't made it out with the other soldiers. Something the monster, Edge, was very aware of. The metal man's nose flared, and his eyes darted around, looking at the many destroyed buildings. The beast could tell one of them held the last of the runts. The villain's senses had been fried from the grenade, however, causing the thing's skull to ache.
"It'll be fine," Harry whispered back to the little girl. "I'll keep us all safe. I'll use my box."
"W- We need to get out of here." An older boy hissed out. The kid tried to stand and stumbled back a bit, knocking a shelf in their hiding spot over.
"Down!" Harry yelled, but it was already too late. Instantly, the wall was torn to pieces as jagged blades fired into the house. Edge pointed his elbow towards the building, spikes jutting from his body and tearing the place apart and bringing it all crashing down. "Shit!" Harry cursed, grabbing for his box and pulling the lid down.
The entire house caved in, the walls falling over and the roof breaking to bits. It would have crushed everyone inside to bits, but something happened. At the last second, a bright blue flash expanded throughout the darkness, lighting everything up. Edge stepped back, grabbing at his eyes and hissing. When the light finally died down and he was able to see, he stared in shock. The house was gone. All the kids were fine. The plot of land was still there, but the wood, the stone, the rubble—all of it that had built up the house—was gone, as if it had never been there in the first place. Standing in front of the kids was a lone child with brown hair and round glasses who held a metal box that had steam pouring out of it.
"A Super? And a strong one at that." Edge growled. What are you doing on their side? Your kind belongs to us! How would you like to be a god? To be gifted a never-ending life! I can help you." Edge held his hand out to the boy. "Or… I can kill you here and now. Your call."
Harry stepped forward slowly and raised his box up. "I'm not on anyone's side. I'm my own team." He announced. "And I'm going to make you pay for the sins you committed!"
Edge scowled, and from his elbows, long swords formed out as he stomped forward. "Guess you'll just have to join us when the Master brings you back from the dead!" He roared and charged forward.
Harry opened the box once more, allowing the blue light to spill out.
Outside the village, Sini ran as fast as he could now that he had dealt with the other low-tier villains. A barrier of water formed around the soldiers and the rest of the kids, keeping them safe, and he suffered on the water, practically skating on it. He broke past what was left of the village's walls and looked around.
"What the hell was that blue light? Damn it. I took too long toying around with those guys. I hope I'm not too late-" He froze when he saw it in the center of the village. "I'll be damned. So that's why they sent me, huh? It was to get you, wasn't it?"
In the center of the village, a young nine-year-old boy stood. The child turned to look at him, staring at him with dull eyes. "Are you an enemy also?" The boy asked, raising his box up.
Sini held his hands up and chuckled. "No. I'm not here to hurt anyone. In fact, I came to save you, but it looks like you didn't need my help." Edge's lower body was on its knees. Just his lower body. His upper body was nowhere to be found. The man had been torn in half by something. "What did you do to the bad guy?"
The boy cocked his head to the side and patted his box. "He's in here."
Sini stared past the boy and at the other young kids the child had protected. "What's your name, kid?" Sini asked, slowly approaching.
The brown-haired boy turned to look back at him. "Harrison. My name is Harrison Avalon. I'm a Mental based super, and I want to save the world."
Sini reached out, gripping the boy's hand. "Yeah, I want to save this world too." He used his power and forced the water to stop falling on all the kids holding it at bay. "Why don't we start by getting you kids to somewhere where it is warm first?"
And so time would pass…
"How is the fight going, Avalon?" Within an office room, a now much older Mr. Sini stood at his desk. He wore a long black suit and stared down at a map of the battlefield that was to come. Years of stress had taken its toll on the man.
Sitting across from him, his long-time friend and best student rested. Avalon had gotten older now. He was still young—not even an adult—but he had come far. The brown-haired teen lifted his hand, and a glowing blue screen appeared in front of him. "I had a drone follow them. I'll check in on it now."
The screen that appeared in the air shimmered and twisted, showing off the footage of the drone. It revealed a battlefield that was still in the middle of a fight.
Shards of stone rained down upon the land. "Die, human bastards! This planet belongs to the Supers!" Buildings came crashing down, and in the center of the war zone, a lone enemy stood.
His name was Gargoyle. Forged from tough stone skin with large wings, he was nearly ten feet tall and able to control the earth, thanks to his powers. Bullets deflected off of his hardened skin, unable to harm him as he casually marched through the battlefield.
His goal was simple. Take over the city. Though 'city' was hardly the right word for where they were now. No civilians remained, just the warriors in red that belonged to the Full team. Buildings were torn down, or knocked over, and stones crashed together, forming massive boulders that crashed down onto the men below.
Dozens of soldiers ran away as fast as they could and managed to get behind a building just in time as an avalanche of rock smashed down. "This is a total slaughter." One of the soldiers screamed. He poked his body behind a turned-over truck and fired at the villain. "There are only a few of them, but we're totally outclassed!"
Gargoyle was not alone. Dozens of other powerful Supers lurked behind him, each nearly as strong as he was. They stood with folded arms, watching their squad leader have a good time. He could handle a little team of squishy humans like this easily.
The Full squad leader threw himself to the ground as more jagged rocks blocked out the sky and came crashing down. Despite the situation, he couldn't help but smirk. "It's okay, men. Looks like things are turning in our favor."
"Huh?"
The boss pointed up towards the sky, and they turned and stared in shock. Above even the reaches of Gargoyle's stone, something broke past the clouds. Nearly as long as a bus and made out of solid oak wood, it was shaped in the image of a snake-like dragon. Gargoyle stared up at the wooden dragon, his eyes narrowing. It was coming down quickly, and he roared at it. With a flick of his arm, dozens of shattered buildings rose up and broke apart, reshaping to his will.
A massive fist of stone nearly half a mile wide and thick fired towards the wooden dragon. Two figures rode on its back. Both cloaked in red Full jackets. One of the figures was at the head of the beast he rode on, his hands gripping the horns of the wooden dragon and steering it. The other figure stood up and brought his arm back.
He balanced on the creature, not faltering even as the dragon swooped down, and the air roared as the fist soared toward them. The figure threw his arm out, and a massive blade of fire blasted from his palm. It soared out, and in an instant, it blew through the fist, shattering it and forming a cloud of debris that their dragon flew through perfectly.
"Yo, big bro! I'm heading down." The figure that stood up announced.
The one who guided the dragon shook his head. "Jackson, don't you dare-"
"Too late!" Jackson leaned over the side and plummeted towards the ground. "Woohoo!" The boy hooped and hollered as he dropped straight towards Gargoyle. The villain threw out a large fist, but at the last moment, fire blasted out of the boy's hand, spinning him out of the way of the fist and moving him through the air. He landed on the ground a few feet away from Gargoyle. "Hey, I'd block if I were you."
"I'll kill you-" Gargoyle was cut off when the ground beneath him suddenly exploded in a pillar of fire that scorched past his stone skin. The fire slowly died down, and his eyes rolled back before he finally crashed down into the stone floor face first, a few inches away from Jackson.
The boy rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I tried to warn you." Now that he was on the ground, it was easy to see just what he looked like. He was young. Way too young to be in a war like this. He had messy, fiery red hair, and hot flickers of embers rose from his palm as he turned toward the other villains that all charged at him. "So, who's next?"