1 Chapter 1: Papers
Looking at the peeled walls off to his left, Liam struggled to pay attention to what was going on around him. Despite considering himself to be a cut above the rest of those who live in New Boston especially in terms of awareness, not even he could manage to pull himself together in the face of Mrs. Rose's lecture.
Looking up at the lady, he glanced over her once again, wondering how she was even still alive. Hell, how half the people in the classroom were even still alive was beyond him. Mrs. Rose, despite her rather youthful name, was anything but a teenage boy's dream girl. She was probably somewhere between 40-60 years old, not that she would ever admit to her age, and instead stuck to mouthing off kids who asked. Her skin looked akin to the broken concrete one would see around some of the destroyed areas of New Boston, pale by even the poor standards that were here due to the poor weather, and she dressed in the same ragged skirt and sweater every day, not that Liam could judge her himself in that regard.
It was truly baffling that not only she had managed to live for so long despite almost a hundred percent being a normal human, but also that she hadn't managed to piss anyone off who was capable of killing her despite her nasty temperament.
Looking away from the teacher, he glanced down at his clothes and then those around him. His own jacket and pants certainly weren't the cleanest, but at least they didn't have nearly as many holes as some of the kids around him.
Here in New Boston, many things were considered a luxury. Clean clothes, ample food, daily showers, and structurally sound housing were all things that required not only hard work but also luck.
The orphanage Liam was at himself didn't offer many of those, but at least he didn't have to worry about a roof over his head for the night, and he was even more likely to be able to escape if a super was to come rampaging through the building.
Waking him up from his thoughts, those around him began to get up from the desks and began to do their own things. Some mingled with another, talking in hushed voices so that others couldn't overhear, while some left the classroom, probably to go scavenging or maybe sleep. Mrs. Rose must've ended class early, Liam thought as he looked up at the clock hanging up at the front of the classroom.
It was only 2: 23 p.m., so 7 minutes early.
'Nice' Liam thought to himself as he got up. Tonight he planned to eat like a king.
...
As Liam walked down the streets of New Boston, he couldn't help but be thankful for the weather today, almost like it was telling him today was going to be a good day. The city was usually in a state of perpetual rain, thunderstorms, or at the very least clouds, due to one of the ruling Supers, who called herself "Storm" and just so happened to have a top-notch Controller class power and very much so preferred those rainy days.
Personally, Liam also preferred cloudy and rainy days to sunny ones. Sunny days were too bright, you couldn't look up at the sky to admire it without being blinded by the sun, plus it was harder to hide, and easier to see. However, after having lived in this city where it was rainy nine out of 10 days he was still thankful for the occasional ray of sunshine to be visible.
'Although I guess Storm is probably only just allowing it to be sunny by another ruling super...'
Knowing how those at the top of society's pyramid worked, meant that another fellow super probably told Storm off for the weather. Apparently, the sun is actually kind of important to help some people since it can give you something called vitamin D, but then again nowadays most people don't have the best health conditions, as well as the fact that the average immune system and body are stronger than those of the past.
And since the weather was sunny, then that meant Storm was purposefully allowing it to be sunny.
'Or maybe the government actually made a deal with her finally'
Liam wasn't the only one who had complaints about the weather. Even those who lived in the upper part of New Boston, the North Pillars, where they still had colleges, restaurants, and disposable income had something in common to complain about with those who lived here down in the dumps.
It was an open secret that the so-called government of New Boston had tried to make a deal with Storm on numerous occasions for control over the weather. However, at the same time, unluckily Storm was a so-called lone wolf, who wasn't part of any organization and thus no one could tell her what to do. Or maybe it was lucky, maybe they would ask for the weather no be worse some days. At least Storm was consistent.
Liam continued walking until eventually, he ended up looking at a boarded-up barbershop named "Brackers". Whatever the hell that meant or referenced, he didn't know, but he did know that it was one of the few buildings that didn't have a caved-in roof, wasn't infested by rodents or bugs, and was seen as relatively useless or empty by most, as everything in it before had been ransacked from the building long before Liam was born.
Because of this though, it happened to make the perfect little abode for someone like himself. Yeah, the Orphanage had a place for some of the kids to sleep, but frankly, you never knew if someone was gonna nab your shit while you were sleeping or if some people wouldn't let you sleep in peace. Not to say that Liam didn't sleep there every once in a while though. People would get suspicious if he was never seen at night, and that would make them curious which was a much worse outcome than having a crappy night's sleep.
Surrounding Brackers were unidentifiable buildings, most likely fellow shops, given the fact that this seemed to be a business sector. Liam concluded that there were most restaurants, gift shops, general stores, and apparently even a movie theater based on the remains. He also had to take down the Brackers sign himself though because it did make the building stand out a little too much for his liking.
Everything in those shops was stripped bare though. That or left with so much shit to clean up or worse than Brackers when he was scouting it that he didn't consider the investment worth the return to clean them.
Liam walked to the right side of Brackers from the original, now boarded entrance, and entered the alley between that and the neighboring shop. Luckily whatever it was that was next to him wasn't a food shop and didn't smell like animals or crap, but the building was worse off in the roof, as the floor was perpetually wet from either small floods or leakage from the roof.
Approaching the back of the alley, aside from some trash that had already been sifted through and some rubble, a rusty and dirty ladder appeared in the view leading to the roof of Brackers. He always hated climbing up things because of the rust it was covered in, but he figured that it wasn't worth it to replace it cause it would make it stand out more, plus he didn't know where the hell he would get a ladder. Once onto the roof, which was still damp from last night's rainstorm, he walked over to a section covered with a tarp, opening it up to reveal a trap door that wouldn't close properly.
If anything this tarp was the thing that stood out the most from everything, as something like it would've been taken long ago, but he needed a way to ensure that the building and all his stuff in it wouldn't be soaked by the time he got back every day.
Climbing down inside, Liam made sure to try his hardest to cover the entrance with the tarp on his way back down, before eventually getting to the floor of the shop where it was usually pitch black most days. Today Liam didn't need to waste some of his batteries to use his flashlight to fumble about, as some rays of light were peeking through parts of the boards near the entrance allowing him to see the outline of some things within the shop. Still wasn't bright enough to see properly though.
Walking over to probably the most valuable thing he owned, Liam brought out a plastic bottle of water that he left on the rooftop, removing the cap before pouring it into a valve in the machine in front of him. Screwing the cap back on the bottle after he was finished, we pushed a button on the side of the box before gradually cords connected to it began to light up around the room.
If there was one that Liam had to admit was cool, it was his water-powered generator. Made by what he could only presume to be a Tier 4 or 5 Techy, he had managed to steal it after a villain attack that had happened in the warehouse district over in the West sector. It was easily one of the scariest days of his life because he didn't know if he would come across any villains or real criminals scouring the place, but he also played it safe and left immediately after grabbing the generator which at the time he simply thought looked valuable. That and cause he couldn't carry anything else along with it after all.
Inside the building there honestly wasn't much. The ladder was next to the generator in the back room, a choice that most wouldn't make due to potential leakage, but thanks to the nature of Liam's generator it was naturally waterproof. Once you left that room and followed some of the cables which were connected to the lights, you got to the actual space of the shop which only really contained 3 areas. A pile of blankets on top of a cot he had found made up his bed in the back of the shop, while a pile of some foodstuffs was located across from that, mainly made up of things like canned foods, some synthetic stuff, and a whole lot of processed sweets. Liam would never admit it to anyone but he loved the candy from the old days.
Apparently, they were looted immediately due to people trying to get more "necessary" goods, but he disagreed with the fact that they weren't necessary. Plus most of them didn't go bad fairly quickly so he could take his time saving up and munching on them.
Other than that though the only other thing that looked like it was actually somewhat well maintained was a wall covered in articles and papers. Most of them were articles over popular Supers, whether they were official newspapers or self-written analyses by Liam himself.
Walking over to the wall, Liam paused reaching into his backpack before pulling out another paper, this one titled "Mr. Sulk/Indoplasm", the latter being the actual villain's name, with the former being something people called him based on his appearance. A ripped-out picture was put beneath it of a rather tall and lanky man with a perpetual frown, dark spots under his eyes, and most notably white hands, with small black veins running through them.
While it was true that most of the time running into a villain was bad news, there was no harm in knowing what they were capable of hand.
For Indoplasm, although personally, Mr. Sulk seemed more apt, he was classified as a tier 3 Brawler, subclassed as a tier 4 Alternator.
There are many classes of Supers in the world nowadays, and while some only fit into one category with their powers, most supers fit into multiple classes due to their unpredictable nature.
The most notable classes were Brawlers, Mutators, Thinkers, Dischargers, Techy's, Alternators, Shifters, Controllers, and Travelers. While most people with powers fit somewhere in these categories there were also a bunch of other less common categories they could fit into such as Absorbers, Creators, and even the rare Handlers who are also commonly known as bastards to many supers.
The categories are relatively easy to understand. Brawlers mainly consist of people who receive a physical enhancement of some kind. This can range from anything a simple boost in strength allowing them to lift a car, to being able to punch through solid steel.
Mutators were people who had their natural body permanently mutated in a way that they couldn't change or control, which could be something as mild as growing a tail, to something crazy like being made of obsidian.
Thinkers are people who gain powers to deal with the mind. Some examples could be telepathy which could allow people to move stuff with their mind, or branches of mind reading which could go from reading someone's emotions to being able to differentiate if someone is telling the truth or not.
A Techy, sometimes called an innovator, is considered to be a subclass of a Thinker yet uniquely different and important. Techy are people who are able to develop unique technologies that are much farther ahead compared to the current modern technology. For example, my water-fueled generator was without a doubt some Techy's creation.
Dischargers are more destructive typically. This power mainly revolves around releasing some kind of energy, whether that be heat, water, chemicals, materials, or even certain types of energy. A famous example could be Ignitor, A tier 7 Discharger who operates primarily in Europe and is known for being capable of spitting fire from any part of his body. However, another type of energy discharger could be Saint Tyra. A tier 6 Discharger who is one of the prime heroes of Italy. Her discharge energy is somehow miraculously "healing" energy, or at least it's capable of mentally and physically healing wounds or distress over a wide range despite it not being thought to be possible
The next classification is Alternators. Alternators are both fairly popular but also fairly discriminated against due to some particularly nasty villains throughout the world. Typically their powers revolve around alternating the physical properties of something or someone. For example, many hospitals throughout the world primarily use alternators capable of mending bones and flesh. However, some villain Alternators are capable of turning someone's blood into acid or changing skin to stone.
Shifters are fairly similar to mutators, with the exception that those with this power typically have the ability to transform between their normal human form and whatever form their power may give them. Some Shifters can shift into multiple different forms, while some can even gain new forms based on the specifics of their power. A downside for this power though compared to mutators, is that typically shifters are more vulnerable if they are not in their shifted form, thus they aren't necessarily seen as superior to mutators.
Controllers are another power that has a bad rep due to villains throughout the world. Their primary power concerns the control of certain living things. This can range from anything such as bugs, rats, or birds, to even potential control over mutated beasts and even fellow humans and supers.
Travelers are considered to be the last common class of powers. These mainly consist of people who have powers concerning speed and locations. This can range from anything to someone who is capable of moving very quickly, to people who can straight up teleport certain distances.
There are a couple of other rarer powers, however, the only one of any real importance would-be handlers. Handlers are either hated or hidden from the world as their powers typically revolve around interacting with other powers. This could be something such as weakening the effects of another power to straight up canceling it, to amplifying powers.
However, despite these classifications, many supers have technically fit into multiple of them.
Take for example the famous hero Titan in the American Union. He is primarily classified as a tier 6 Mutator however he also has the tier 6 Brawler class. He has the Mutator classification because his natural body is 8ft tall and made of a metal akin to steel, and with this he also has largely enhanced strength and endurance, thus giving him to brawler classification.
Tiers on the other hand represent the "size" or extent of a superior's ability. The list goes as follows:
Tier 1: Person
Tier 2: Vehicle
Tier 3: Building
Tier 4: Street
Tier 5: Town
Tier 6: City
Tier 7: Country
Tier 8: Region
Tier 9: Continent
Tier 10: World
For some of the classes, it's fairly easy to understand how powerful a super is because of this. For example, Mr. Sulk as mentioned before, is a Tier 4 Alternator and Tier 3 Brawler. His main power allows him to alter his own physical properties to phase through physical objects, and along with it, he also has enhanced strength and reflexes. Due to his Tier 4 classification is then thought that he would be able to be stronger than anyone on a street at a given time. While he also has the tier 3 brawler class, they don't add up, it's more just enforcing his primary abilities power.
Titan, however, is a Tier 6 hero. This means that he is a powerhouse in whatever city he is in and is treated with respect as such.
However, these tiers are harder to apply to certain other classes. For example, Saint Tyra as mentioned before. Despite being a Tier 6, she is truthfully probably only around Tier 4. The reason for her increased tier is because of her power's uniqueness and usefulness in many situations.
The other important thing to note about Supers is that they make up roughly ten percent of the population and that there are 3 main types of them. There are heroes, the so-called good guys who work for either a private firm or the government and work by saving people or defeating villains, although primarily the latter nowadays. Then there are villains, their counterparts who do whatever the hell they want, often at the expense of others. And finally, there are the neutral people. Which are primarily those who hide their powers.
When powers first began to appear over 50 years ago, many countries quickly tried to keep their nations under control. While some succeeded such as Italy, Japan, and Canada, many of them failed such as The United States now known and reformed as the American Union, or Russia, which has become the Vulcan Empire.
The primary way that was used to stabilize and control these supers was the registration of their powers. Thanks to the work of some early Techy's, technology was made which could tell if someone had powers or not. Following the introduction of the technology chaos ensued at first, as many people absolutely refused to subject themself to being registered and promptly controlled by their respective governments.
As such, most governments around the world chose to follow the "Guilty unless proven otherwise" rule, which basically meant that they would no longer force people to register their powers, however, if you were found with powers and not registered, you were automatically assumed to be a villain.
However, it still occurs even nowadays that sometimes a villain or criminals, or perhaps even heroes will sometimes force or attack a seemingly normal person, only for it to be revealed that they have powers. Thanks to this, however, it also makes Supers somewhat wary of attacking or at least mistreating common people, as they don't know if someone has power or not.
Liam guarantees that this is one reason that Mrs. Rose is still alive. Otherwise, she definitely would have killed half the people in the orphanage as of now. But it's also thanks to this that Liam still has some guts to move around with some confidence despite not having any powers himself.
When Liam finished reading the paper and concluding what he gathered about the new Villain Indoplasm, he grabbed the roll of duct tape off of the ground and tapped it off to the right side of the wall named "Villains".
Liam didn't consider himself a nerd or fanboy about those with powers, however, it couldn't hurt to know who you were dealing with were you to run in with them.
After all, villains aren't the only ones you need to watch out for.
