A while back I was inspired by Jock_Tamson's epic "In the Beginning" posts on the US boards, and wrote this as a sort of weak tribute. I suggest you read some of his stories before reading this.
Then I forgot about it. Until now.
If you enjoy this and have a US forum account, I'd appreciate it if you could copy it over to that thread.
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While the Children of Statesman are all born to battle evil and protect the weak, they cannot be expected to fight constantly. Such a thing would drive anyone mad. Instead, they prefer to relax by gathering with their relatives around Atlas Park or - for those who prefer to have to shout when they talk - in the Pocket D nightclub. There they can temporarily suspend their duties, comparing each other's fashion sense and engaging in pointless arguments until they realise that perhaps time spent battling evil is not so bad.
So it was that Invul - a son of Tank - and Reg - a son of Scrapper - gathered under the great statue of Atlas and talked of their accomplishments this day. These two were old friends, having teamed together often in the past, and had a healthy respect for each other. Invul's story, of keeping the rapt attention of the Dreck from his team while sustaining little damage impressed Reg, whose ability to take constantly hits of that magnitude was uncertain. Reg's story, of effortlessly fighting for hours without pause for breath or respite was the envy of Invul however. Even he occasionally needed to take a break in-between battles.
As they talked, the two watched the city carry on around them, and realised that a strange tableau was going on directly in front of them. A Hellion had accosted a young woman and was attempting to steal her handbag, but she had held on to the strap and was pulling with all her might. The two heroes had been idly watching this, confident that a young hero would be along soon to stop the Hellion, but none had arrived. As Reg and Invul checked their watches they realised that the two had been engaged in their tug-of-war for over an hour, with neither giving any quarter.
"That's actually kind of impressive," Reg mused.
"Yup," Invul answered.
"... you think we should do something?"
"In the words of a great hero, 'They're all grey to me,' cousin," Invul replied, as the woman grit her teeth and started to drag her handbag back toward her. "We can't go around solving every problem in Atlas Park. There would be nothing left for the younger heroes to do."
Reg nodded, though he felt bad about it.
"That great hero was a child of Defender, wasn't he?" Reg asked, and Invul nodded. "Figures," Reg continued. As a child of Scrapper he tended to consider Defender's tendency to think ahead rather than charge in a sign of outright apathy, and this quote fit that conclusion.
The two continued to watch the small battle in front of them. No younger heroes were coming, but the woman and her assailant never seemed to flag or fall, their resolve only growing as the battle continued. Reg started to feel a little humbled now that he was faced with this normal woman's valour.
"I think we should do something," he eventually said to Invul.
"I suppose," Invul replied.
"I just had an idea, cousin," Reg added, and he leant in closer to Invul and stood on his tiptoes to whisper in his cousin's ear. The suggestion made Invul raise his eyebrow, at least.
"That's madness," Invul said. "Nobody's tried that before."
"I think it's a great idea," Reg said. "You can't deny that she deserves it!"
"I cannot, cousin, but still..." Invul gave it some more thought. "Well, it would be interesting to see what happens..."
So it was that Reg and Invul approached the Hellion and the woman, and reached out their hands to put a small sliver of their power within her. They had intended to give her only enough power to finally retrieve her handbag and escape, but when the power of Reg and Invul mixed within her they combined to create something far stronger than expected - a new heroine who was a paragon of Determination. Ignoring her exhaustion, the woman gathered all her resolve into one burst of strength. She seized her handbag from the Hellion and promptly started beating him with it, until he fled into the alleyways.
Dumbstruck at this unexpectedly powerful woman, Reg and Invul watched as she ran over to them and bowed.
"Thank you kind heroes for... whatever it is you did."
"No problem," Reg said, now starting to wonder if he should have done that. Invul was thinking much the same thoughts.
"Um... we should probably take you to meet some people Ms," he said politely. "What is your name."
"Will," she replied.
"Will?" Reg asked. "Isn't that a strange name for a girl?"
"Maybe..." she replied with a sigh. "My father's called Gloria though, and my mother's name is Jesus."
So it was that Will was taken to meet the children of Scrapper and Tank and began to fight alongside them, which was to her great surprise as she had thought she was just a normal, natural person. Through her strength of will she could call on powers weaker than but similar to those of Reg and Invul, and the combination was a potent one that could at times surpass her creators, occasionally to their chagrin - but that is a story for another day.
As for the Hellion? He fled from Will all the way to the islands belonging to the Spider, and told his story to the children of Brute and Stalker. It is true that they were very grateful to him. It is also true that they are not very nice people. It is probably best not to inquire after his eventual fate.
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.
A while back I was inspired by Jock_Tamson's epic "In the Beginning" posts on the US boards, and wrote this as a sort of weak tribute. I suggest you read some of his stories before reading this.
Then I forgot about it. Until now.
If you enjoy this and have a US forum account, I'd appreciate it if you could copy it over to that thread.
-----------------------------------------
While the Children of Statesman are all born to battle evil and protect the weak, they cannot be expected to fight constantly. Such a thing would drive anyone mad. Instead, they prefer to relax by gathering with their relatives around Atlas Park or - for those who prefer to have to shout when they talk - in the Pocket D nightclub. There they can temporarily suspend their duties, comparing each other's fashion sense and engaging in pointless arguments until they realise that perhaps time spent battling evil is not so bad.
So it was that Invul - a son of Tank - and Reg - a son of Scrapper - gathered under the great statue of Atlas and talked of their accomplishments this day. These two were old friends, having teamed together often in the past, and had a healthy respect for each other. Invul's story, of keeping the rapt attention of the Dreck from his team while sustaining little damage impressed Reg, whose ability to take constantly hits of that magnitude was uncertain. Reg's story, of effortlessly fighting for hours without pause for breath or respite was the envy of Invul however. Even he occasionally needed to take a break in-between battles.
As they talked, the two watched the city carry on around them, and realised that a strange tableau was going on directly in front of them. A Hellion had accosted a young woman and was attempting to steal her handbag, but she had held on to the strap and was pulling with all her might. The two heroes had been idly watching this, confident that a young hero would be along soon to stop the Hellion, but none had arrived. As Reg and Invul checked their watches they realised that the two had been engaged in their tug-of-war for over an hour, with neither giving any quarter.
"That's actually kind of impressive," Reg mused.
"Yup," Invul answered.
"... you think we should do something?"
"In the words of a great hero, 'They're all grey to me,' cousin," Invul replied, as the woman grit her teeth and started to drag her handbag back toward her. "We can't go around solving every problem in Atlas Park. There would be nothing left for the younger heroes to do."
Reg nodded, though he felt bad about it.
"That great hero was a child of Defender, wasn't he?" Reg asked, and Invul nodded. "Figures," Reg continued. As a child of Scrapper he tended to consider Defender's tendency to think ahead rather than charge in a sign of outright apathy, and this quote fit that conclusion.
The two continued to watch the small battle in front of them. No younger heroes were coming, but the woman and her assailant never seemed to flag or fall, their resolve only growing as the battle continued. Reg started to feel a little humbled now that he was faced with this normal woman's valour.
"I think we should do something," he eventually said to Invul.
"I suppose," Invul replied.
"I just had an idea, cousin," Reg added, and he leant in closer to Invul and stood on his tiptoes to whisper in his cousin's ear. The suggestion made Invul raise his eyebrow, at least.
"That's madness," Invul said. "Nobody's tried that before."
"I think it's a great idea," Reg said. "You can't deny that she deserves it!"
"I cannot, cousin, but still..." Invul gave it some more thought. "Well, it would be interesting to see what happens..."
So it was that Reg and Invul approached the Hellion and the woman, and reached out their hands to put a small sliver of their power within her. They had intended to give her only enough power to finally retrieve her handbag and escape, but when the power of Reg and Invul mixed within her they combined to create something far stronger than expected - a new heroine who was a paragon of Determination. Ignoring her exhaustion, the woman gathered all her resolve into one burst of strength. She seized her handbag from the Hellion and promptly started beating him with it, until he fled into the alleyways.
Dumbstruck at this unexpectedly powerful woman, Reg and Invul watched as she ran over to them and bowed.
"Thank you kind heroes for... whatever it is you did."
"No problem," Reg said, now starting to wonder if he should have done that. Invul was thinking much the same thoughts.
"Um... we should probably take you to meet some people Ms," he said politely. "What is your name."
"Will," she replied.
"Will?" Reg asked. "Isn't that a strange name for a girl?"
"Maybe..." she replied with a sigh. "My father's called Gloria though, and my mother's name is Jesus."
So it was that Will was taken to meet the children of Scrapper and Tank and began to fight alongside them, which was to her great surprise as she had thought she was just a normal, natural person. Through her strength of will she could call on powers weaker than but similar to those of Reg and Invul, and the combination was a potent one that could at times surpass her creators, occasionally to their chagrin - but that is a story for another day.
As for the Hellion? He fled from Will all the way to the islands belonging to the Spider, and told his story to the children of Brute and Stalker. It is true that they were very grateful to him. It is also true that they are not very nice people. It is probably best not to inquire after his eventual fate.
"The Hamidon is a what what of what?" - Brian the mission guy.