Post by <~BloodShadow~> on Jun 4, 2007 8:45:34 GMT -5
The Koutetsu Oni and Curgyr
A City of Heroes fan-fic...
A City of Heroes fan-fic...
- Jakob Simmons was never "strong". Not in the way it mattered. Not in a "city of heroes". If a city had so many super-powered crime fighters, that had to mean that there were plenty of assorted gangs and cults around, and Paragon City was no exception.
Sure, he was determined and loyal. He believed in honor and all that stuff a lot of people seemed to have forgotten, but none of that mattered if he couldn't fight for others. Scratch that... if he couldn't fight for himself. Right now, the thirty dollars he was carrying were his, and he planned to keep it that way. The Hellions around him didn't seem to feel the same way.
- The boy's eyes darted around, looking for a way he could escape. He figured he should just wait. Some newbie hero would be running by any minute just looking for helpless people like him.... but what if that didn't happen? There were plenty of heroes, but he'd seen the Hellions get away with stuff before. So he looked, trying to find a way out in-between horned masks, baseball bats, and devilish grins.
- One of the Hellions hit the ground, enveloped in darkness. Hero. Why not? he thought, sitting down on the concrete. This could take a minute. The others turned, one of the Fallen pulling out a shotgun, the others either pointing a pistol or charging with some sort of smashing melee weapon. He'd seen it all before. The minions went first, the dark blue costumed hero looking, well, heroic as he did his job. The Fallen actually gave him a bit of a fight, but eventually, Jakob was saved.
"So... thanks. A lot of work for thirty bucks, but, hey, it gets something, right?"
"No problem. It's my job."
Uh-huh. With all the spandex and glowing, dark auras, there was no doubt that this was a hero. Which means it was pretty easy to figure out that this guy's job was to be heroic.
"Right, well, I think I see some more over there. Man, that old lady's got a grip on her...."
"Thanks," nameless-hero said, running off.
- That's the third time this week, he thought to himself with a sigh. I can't keep going on like this.... well, I guess it's off to find some form of martial arts.... couldn't hurt, right?
A Year Later
- Jakob had found martial arts. Not just your run-of-the-mill, we-train-to-compete martial arts, either. He was learning to fight, and he liked it. He was already half way up to a black belt. He was pretty good, too. When he sparred his belt level, he did awesome, and when he sparred the black belts, he didn't come out feeling like something was going to hurt in the morning. He didn't feel good enough to go register as a hero, yet. He probably couldn't take three Hellions at once, let alone some of the monstrosities other heroes faced.
- He was using a black belt weapon. A katana. It wasn't sharp. They didn't come sharp. It looked like everyone else's sword. He had to give it a name, he thought. He pulled up the internet, finding a Japanese translator and typing in various names to see what sounded cool. One name stood out more than others to him: Koutetsu Oni.... in English: Steel Demon. Smiling, he picked up the sword, stuck it in it's place on his bag, and walked off to class.
- .... -
- It was after class that his training payed off and Jakob became a hero. He was walking home, but managed to get lost (the boy had no sense of direction, even though he'd wandered the city for the whole fifteen years of his life) and ended up in a place he shouldn't be. A dark, warehouse district in Hellion central: Atlas Park. He heard someone scream from down a side-street. He kept walking. He couldn't do anything.
"Someone! Help!"
- Right. A hero would come any minute, there'd be an explosion of lights (or not), and, ta-da, the battle was one, the girl was saved, and we'd all live happily ever after. So... where were the heroes? He walked slower. It seemed he was getting closer to the sound, not farther away. Walking in the wrong direction. Great.
- Jakob looked around. No brightly colored beings flying through the skies. Would a hero get here on time? Cursing to himself, he threw his bag down, tied his belt around his waist the way he would if he was going to practice sword, and stuck Koutetsu and sheath in the belt.
- He was still muttering expletives when he reached the scene. A woman was sprawled on the found, purse contents strewn everywhere. One Hellion looked about to kill the woman, the rest were to busy counting the money. Jakob thought of saying something cool or heroic or just insulting, but figured he had to take advantage of the element of surprise. The one-liners would have to wait.
- With a tiny metallic hiss, Jakob slid the Koutetsu Oni out of it's sheath. Strange. It never felt this light, this easy to use, before. The world hadn't seemed so clear before he had the sword in his belt. He decided not to worry about it. With a yell he slashed sideways, drawing the blade across the backs of two Hellions. He was looking at his next target, not the sword, but he still noticed something wrong about it.... it was colored crimson, like blood...
- Scratch that. It was blood. He looked down. The two Hellion each had a gash on his back. Thank God he didn't have a longer reach, or there'd be four Hellion pieces and not two paralyzed Hellions.
- He'd heard something about samurai katanas. Something about how you didn't need to make hard cuts to slice because they were so sharp. Worked for him. He wasn't sure how, but the Koutetsu Oni was now sharp.... and now that it had tasted blood, he felt stronger and faster than ever.
- One of the Hellions punched him in the face... or would have. Jakob watched the fist fly by his face as if it was slow motion. He'd never been able to move that fast before. Something was wrong. He liked it.
- He grabbed the Hellions hand and twisted it until he heard it snap.
"Maybe you'll learn not to hurt innocent citizens if you can't use your hands." The voice that hissed out was a warped a twisted version of Jakob's own.
- He kneed the gangster in the gut, cutting him with his katana in a way he was sure wouldn't be fatal. He turned to the other Hellions, feeling a surge of power rush through him. There was a Fallen here, too. One of the lieutenants. He pulled an Uzi on Jakob. Jakob laughed, a deep, almost twisted laugh. He didn't know why. He was scared to death.
- The Fallen squeezed the trigger, sending a spray of bullets at Jakob. He felt something, but it was more like a hard, condensed gust of wind hitting him in about twenty different places. Something cut his arm. Smashed bullets lay in front of him. There was a strange sound, and it seemed to be coming from Jakob! An aura of darkness surrounded him, and he found it was protecting him from damage.
- Jakob grinned and moved forward....
A few moments later...
- "You..."
"I guess I did," Jakob said, wiping the blood of his katana.
"Are any of them dead?"
"I hope not. I don't think so though."
"You looked kinda... well, surprised."
"That's 'cause I was. First time."
"Really?"
"Yup. Now... I... uh... better get going. Mom's going to wonder where I am."
- He stuck the Koutetsu Oni in his bag (noticing that the power seemed gone when he did) and walked home.... He wondered why the feeling of power went away when he stuck Koutetsu in the bag... and realized the power must have been tied to the katana itself.
Heh... good job. The voice sounded gravely... dark.
Who-?
The Steel Demon. I was trapped in this sword a long time ago by legenary samurai.
Bull. It says "China" on your blade. You cost sixty-five dollars.
Nice disguise, huh?
So.... nevermind... your a demon.. and you give me powers when I use you?
Yup.
Awesome.
A day later, at the hero registration office.
- "Curgyr", aka Jakob Simmons, stood in line with the Koutetsu Oni, his partner, friend, and weapon in the green belt he wore about his waist. He was wearing a home-tailored grey gi* with black trim so he couldn't be tied to a specific dojo. That could be bad. His forearms, shins, and feet were wrapped in protective cloth. He had on light metal shoulder pads he'd bought and a grey bandana to hide his face. A black ribbon tied his medium length blonde hair back commando-style. He was ready or hero work.....
