Chojin Patriarch
Veteran Lurker
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2019
- Messages
- 2,206
- Likes received
- 34,273
...That would be the minotaur fellow. I'm guessing he also got refused and the Renegade picked him up to take him under his wing. At least neither of them will stand out all that much at a comic-book convention, what with the cosplayers.25th June 2015
08:36 GMT
I smile as a gaggle of convention-goers gawp at me, waving cheerfully as I stride past them in search of my wandering companion. Kevin the Human Cowboy has come a long way since I began working my Apokoliptian-sufficiently-advanced-technology on his mildly demon-gnawed brain, but he still has a worrisome tendency to get a little distracted. This is supposed to be a working event for him, after all.
Even if the best they can get is something like 'big strong guy' or 'shoot medium-calibre mind bullets', that's still a decent level of power. As for Kevin, it was probably this or playing a minotaur on TV or something.Once that nonsense with the government's abortive attempt to put together a superhero team blew over, there was still quite a bit of interest from various parties in trying to work out how be to utilise those who came down with a sudden dose of superpowers. Being a Booth Dude for the Leeds Animated Festival and Anime Convention is at the low risk low reward end of the spectrum, but given the difficulty Kevin's physical alterations make holding down a normal job I felt that this was the way to go.
Probably earning him no shortage of appreciative looks from the ladies... And more than a few gents too."Um, excuse me?"
I look down at the young woman who worked up the courage to speak to me, wearing… Looks like something from Avatar: the Last Airbender. I'm wearing a costume myself, but unlike the fanciful designs rendered in cloth and plastic worn by the convention-goers I'm dress in an extremely functional Keldon outfit which shows off my impressive musculature and inhuman nature to best advantage.
With that physique, what else could he be? Seriously, I know it's an energetic hobby, but unless your superpower involves fat in some way, any cape is going to be chiselled right quick...
To be fair, it'd be a bit hard for them to call him up and ask 'So, any insight into this Grayven fellow?'"Not at the moment. I applied for that government team, but…" I shrug. "I was unsuccessful. I knew that putting Batman down as a reference was a mistake." I pause. "He never liked me."
The joke appears to fail.
Still, it's better than being the marvel Mole Man, who's unpowered but impressively unattractive."But you have superpowers? Like the Mole Man?"
With superpowers being a bit more… Strange here than back on Earth 16, some real… 'Odd' characters have managed to rise to an unusual degree of prominence. Including a man who's power allows him to burrow through the ground at surprising speed and who really has it in for people who don't pick up their dog's excrement.
I question why he'd have steel bars just tucked into his... Pants? Belt? ... But given what he's going to do..."No, I have useful powers. Here." I slide a steel bar out of my costume and hold it out to her. "Test it."
She takes it and has a quick go at bending it before passing it back.
Go on, give it to her as a souvenir."Okay, so-."
I grip one end with my right hand and use my left to wrap it around my right fist, the metal screeching in protest the whole way. Her eyes widen.
Let me guess, a bit of wrestling, some posing, some weight-lifting stuff... General strong-man things."My colleague and I are doing a demonstration just after lunch today, if you're interested. He's the minotaur? I don't suppose you've seen him around, have-?"
"Oi, Gravy-mate!"
"You…"
So, he's a bit of a chav, but a good bloke regardless. (For you yanks, think a redneck...)I'm undone as much of the damage from his traumatic brain injury and negligent intuitive magic use as possible, but the man was born north of Watford. There are some things I just can't change. That said, Kevin… He's turning out okay. Despite his huge size -he's just about the only semi-conventionally organic intelligent creature on the planet who's larger than me- and at best average intelligence, he's never been violent. No criminal record at all, beyond a couple of incidents of accidental damage. And for some reason, despite me pointing out all of the disadvantages, he still wants to try and become a superhero.
Well, at least you didn't have to look too hard for him if he's coming to you.And unfortunately, I think he's going to get his chance well before he's ready.
"Kevin!"
Wonder if his senses are altered in that form in general. Like, a sharper sense for blood, or dimmer eyesight. He'd certainly have a wider field of vision if nothing else.I smile and saunter across the hotel lobby to greet him. The shape of his mouth doesn't really allow him to smile, but I can generally tell when he's in good cheer. Like today.
"Smelt summat weird out of ma window, mate."
Well, that's not worrying at all."Something weird?" His lexicon is improving by leaps and bounds as well, but… It's a muscle that he isn't used to exercising. I'm not exactly certain how 'super' his sense of smell is, but I've rather got the impression that he's not entirely limited to airborne chemicals. "Can you narrow it down?"
"Like fire, and cleanin' stuff and petrol and that." His happiness vanishes and he looks concerned. "Think it's a crash or summat? Think we should go help?"
Given that them punching someone would do a fair amount of damage, I'm not surprised the Renegade encourages restraint.The closest thing we've done to superheroing to date is helping the emergency services when they need some unusually resilient muscle. Pulling apart a wrecked car to free those trapped within is something which someone with super strength can do without too much training. But in central Leeds, I'm sure that the police will be on top of things. Still…
"Can't hurt to have a look. Let's have a quick…"
A crowd fleeing from something. That's got to be setting off the Renegade's superhero instincts, all right.A member of hotel staff briefly tries to intercept a group of convention-goers who are intent on leaving the hotel, and is swiftly bypassed by the mass.
"Look. Come on."
Is there a celebrity about, or did someone announce a cosplay parade, maybe?I stroll over to the tail end of the early-riser crowd as the hotelier trudges back to the front desk.
"Excuse me, what's.. that about?"
...Yeah, bit hard to be afraid of someone that moos at you. Even if he is like eight feet tall and has a bull's head.She looks around and up, a slight intake of breath as Kevin and I fill her vision. I smile in a way which I hope is disarming, and Kevin-.
"Mooooo."
Especially if he's got a northern accent and sounds like he's all of nineteen?
...And I'm guessing people rushing out of the building is not good."Ah, there's some sort of police emergency; they're shutting down the whole city centre."
I look out through the front doors at the mob of convention-goers ambling across the car park.
'Months'? Boy, he really has been taking the semi-retired thing seriously, hasn't he? Used to be you couldn't pry it off him.This…
I arm up, Apokoliptian armour I haven't touched for months replacing the Keldon leathers covering my body, daiklave appearing on my back and goggles appearing over my oh dear.
Ah, the inevitable superhero incident insurance issue...I'm half-way to the exit before I'm consciously aware of it and I accelerate, the doors exploding outwards from the force of my shoulder-barge. Being security glass they don't shatter, but being made of mundane materials they're still torn from their hinges.
"Kevin! Hero time!"
Worrying. Especially if magic is as big a cognito-hazard as the info makes it sound."Fookin' hell fire!"
The mage-knights on their monster steeds are barely visible at the far end of the road but the wave of magic hits us, clawing at our minds and senses. I'm fine, Kevin just snorts and one of the locals appears to go into a trance but everyone else collapses and I feel magic…
Looks like someone wants to change the world, literally.The cameras are targeting people-.
I get a dome shield in place just in time to block the transmutation rays coming from the CCTV cameras. What the fuck are they-? No.
...It's the fair folk, isn't it?"Kevin, get people back inside the hotel."
He's looking down the road at the… Unicorn riders?
All you really need to worry about is that they're hurting people, and are in need of punching. Righteously so."… The fook 're they?"
"Supervillains, and we'll be dealing with them presently but right now I need you to rescue people."
Ah, super-science versus the arcane. Bet that'll get some folks interested."Right, cap'n!"
He grabs recumbent cosplayers with his right hand and loads them into the crook of his left before dashing back into cover. The knights… Yes, they've seen me and they're accelerating into a charge. I.. was not prepared for this.
But that's okay. Days like this are why the Source invented beam singularity projectors.
So, I assume these are some manner of Elves, out for a hunt for prospective slaves. Or something like that. And naturally the Renegade is in just the right place at the right time to make a difference... Somehow, I can't help but picture him comparing them to the Sheeda and finding them coming up short.