Super in the Shadows

The best propaganda is eye-catching, easy to read, and able to move people! This one is no exception. ENJOY!

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WANTED... NOT A SUPER

Jack couldn't help but sigh, the poster in his hands feeling heavier than lead. He knew this day would come, but never in a thousand years had he expected it to come so soon!

Day 2, and people were already aware of his condition?!

But it seemed like he wasn’t the only one shocked either. By the side, a horrified red devil had his mouth open so large it could fit a couple of Cinderhorn steaks!

“Y-You, it can’t be?! A regular? As in no Quirk at all?!”

“Oh yeah, totally. As regular as they come.”

“……?!?”

For an instant there was only silence, a shellshocked devil kept glancing between the leaving Grimrock bus and him, as if his entire reality had been a lie all along.

Regular? Who was he kidding?! No sane person would ever approach that god-forsaken bus, much less ride it. But before he could comment, Jack was already heading inside.

But it was already different…

He could sense their gazes. The students who had been terrified mere moments ago were now looking at him, full of doubt. This was the Quirkless guy from the poster, right?!

Impostor? Cheat? Liar? Nepotism profiteer? What if they were all true? Wouldn’t that mean the Grimrock bus from before was a fake one? That could very well be true.

Jack could almost see their thoughts painted on their faces as he crumpled the poster into a ball, his fingers dying to rip it to shreds. Yet, even then, he kept calm.

He kept calm as a Teacher clapped, telling everyone to disperse.

He kept calm as he endured countless curious gazes.

He kept calm even as he entered a defaced school.

WANTED... NOT A SUPER

WANTED... NOT A SUPER

WANTED... NOT A SUPER

…

This was all that one’s eyes saw upon entering Legendary-U! Rather than say it had been defaced, it would have been more accurate to say his face was now all over!

That’s when the calmness turned to cold anger…

“Devil guy, I mean Lucius, you said someone’s targeting me earlier. Who? Why? How? When? What else?” he furiously asked, something weird happening.

He had just mentioned the five Ws when… FLASH! FLASH! The posters all flashed, a logo appearing at the very bottom, a very peculiar one to say the least.

< Black Bat… Yellow Background >

And as soon as the devil saw it, he reacted…

“That bat?! Don’t tell me the Ink Knight’s involved?!” He who should have been devil-red suddenly seemed to turn ghostly white. And then he started cursing.

“Dammit! Why we gotta be that unlucky?! She’s like a goddamn shark. As soon as she smells blood, she comes raring her ugly glasses. But that’s not the worst! She *shivers*, fact checks!”

“Why should we care if she fact checks or—”

“SO YOU’RE THE ONE! BASTARD!”

The booming voice came out of freaking nowhere, or rather a nearby hallway. A man, even balder than the one from his nightmares, except this guy had a radiant holy glow to him.

It wasn’t just an expression either. He was LITERALLY glowing.

His bald head was glowing, his fluttering robes were glowing, and so were the prayer beads in his hands, ones that were joined in a terrifying prayer with golden light oozing out.

And on his chest was a banner < Official Fact Enforcer. Sinners Beware! > Seeing this, Jack instantly had a bad presentiment. “Don’t tell me that angry guy’s…”

“Yep. Her fans are crazy. They've been a plague since she exposed the Pantie-Thieving Syndicate. First, the posters. Then those guys show up. And then… fuck, it’s coming.”

There was so much apprehension in his voice that Jack tensed.

What was coming? A challenge? An attack? Or maybe—

It was far worse... A MONOLOGUE!

“Lost lambs! Sinners! All shall be purified—”

As if Jack would stay for that! The man had barely finished a few words that he was already getting the hell out of there! Or at least he tried…

That’s when shit hit the fan, again way too literally.

A light ray flew right next to Jack’s face, hitting the ceiling and smiting a ventilation fan with the vengefulness of a scorned MostlyFans Simp. Quick. Violent. DUMB!

Satisfied with his warning shot, the man continued…

“Lost lambs! Sinners. All shall be purified by Holy Light! Let the injustices of the world be quelled. Let light shine shine through me! Impostor? Cheat? Liar? Repent… or DIE!”

Seeing such cringe, a certain devil spat out…

“Leave this dumbass to me, Jack! You just run. I’ll hold him off!”

“Isn’t that really bad? This guy looks serious as hell!”

“Don’t worry, he only punishes sinners.”

“That almost sounds ironic…”

Jack didn’t even finish his sentence, pointing at his new friend’s body. Devil, devil-like at the very least. How the hell was he the one hunted and not him? It made no sense whatsoever.

“As I said. Don’t worry about me. I’m still a Senior! I might not look like it but— WAIT YOU’RE ALREADY GONE?!”

Jack was already on his way.

Since his “friend” had everything handled, he rushed away with the speed of a Quirkless student fleeing a battle. Yet, that didn’t stop him from catching a fleeting glimpse.

Lucius looked amazing! One second, he was just standing there, and an instant later, red energy oozed out of him, soon forming tons and tons of new red devils?!

1…3…7…9?! That was a LOT! But most importantly, that meant even more trash talk! The devils were already wagging their tongues with insults.

“Holy Freak. Your Power ain’t even all that.”

“Also, really bro? One poster, and you go crazy?”

“Like c’mon, man. Worse than room temperature IQ!”

“Pfft— You got a crush on that Ink Knight girl, perchance?”

“What a pathetic little—”

But the devil’s curses were interrupted by a VERY angry opponent. “ENOUGH!” he roared, shaking the walls with his voice, his thick brows furrowed in pure disgust.

“Foul being, is there any evil you won’t do?! Aiding and abetting. Disturbing public order. Tearing down holy scriptures. Disregarding morals. And offending anyone with eyes!”

The last one was a straight-up low blow! What sort of insult was that? He was perfectly fine for a Malikor! Yes, he was the perfect height for one. No, he wasn’t sensitive about it.

That’s when enough was enough…

“You preach too much!”

With that war cry, all the devils attacked at once. As for Jack, he actually found himself stopping in place, his eyes glued to the scene. What kind of power was that?

Devils on the walls. Devils on the ceiling. Devils doing cartwheels. Hell, there was even one rushing forward on four limbs?! Wasn’t he just a Splitter? Maybe an acrobat, too?!

Yet, the enemy remained unfazed…

“Purifying light!”

For the first time, he opened his hands, and a powerful glow escaped them. And as it did, the prayer beads turned bright white, flying forward with incredible momentum.

Were those… swords of light?! As the beads transformed into magical projectiles homing at the devils, many couldn’t help but gasp. So fast! So powerful! So.. White!

It was akin to a game of battleship…

< Devil wall hopping, HIT!>

< Devil on the ceiling, HIT!>

< Devil jumping over another devil, HIT!>

One after the other, they were getting taken out, the swords of light penetrating their chests and nailing them to the walls with sheer power. Then they’d struggle and… POOF!

Running out of the Mana, they’d disappear. But that didn't change the fact that there were still six devils alive. And they all reached the enemy!

Their fists and kicks landed, and— CLANG!

A glowing white bubble appeared around the enemy, the latter showing his white teeth in glee. “There’s only one thing stronger than faith… and it’s even more faith! REPENT!”

A second later, it was the beginning of the end…

Devils sprawled over the barrier, exploding one after the other. Bystanders looking over were already chuckling, seemingly finding the scene normal, Jack now out of sight.

‘Goddammit, they’re insane! Fighting in a gym’s one thing, but in a hallway!'

No wonder the place looked like an ancient Greek temple!

Then again, they’d probably fight to their heart’s content, get a slap on the wrist, and eventually be thrown in a Medipod. As expected of Legendary-U, a school for Supers!

In fact, the surrounding chatter was excited rather than concerned…

“Hey, Lucius’s fighting Brother Holy near the entrance!”

“Fight? I bet there’s already devil paste all over!”

“Who knows? He’s one slippery guy!”

“Hehe, hurry, or we’ll miss it!”

Miss it, was it? Jack alone was going anti-current, lost in thoughts. In fact, people were rushing so fast that they didn’t even notice that he was the man from the posters anymore.

But there was still one thing on his mind. The guy from before had a ‘Holy’ controlling ability AND a barrier? That sphere had just been too perfect, as round as his prayer bea—?!?

Chuckling, Jack suddenly grabbed a running bystander…

“Hey, can you do something for me?”

“Ugh? Maybe, what do you want?”

“Something really simple…”

He whispered a few words in the man’s ears, the latter frowning in confusion. What would that even accomplish? Then again, who cared? With a “Sure, I’ll tell him,” he left.

Satisfied, Jack went away, not knowing the chaos he had just caused.

Not too far away from there was a scene of carnage.

“HEHEHE, REPENT SINNER! DIE! DIE! DIE!”

A crazed ‘Holy’ user kept laughing as he shot ray after ray of burning light, devils taking the brunt of it. It was so one-sided that by now, there were only three left!

And even those looked more dead than alive. A copy was missing an arm. Another was missing both legs, reduced to a snail as it tried to smash the damn barrier open.

But no matter what Lucius or his clones tried—

“Useless! It’s all useless! I am JUSTICE!”

It sounded so damn narcissistic and would normally make one wince, yet at that moment, he really was justice. Strong enough, right enough, and now even cackling victoriously.

“Hehe, I’m not sure if you noticed, but your friend left ‘walking’; that’s how much he believes in you. Catching up to him will be so easy! Now, time to END THIS!”

He finally got serious for the first time, a certain devil grasping his chest as two incredibly deadly holy rays head-shotted his last two copies.

He felt his skull break open twice.

He felt the damage they suffered.

He even felt the Mana Backlash.

‘Fuck! Sorry, Jack, I tried!’

He resentfully glanced at his enemy, knowing he was bested.

This freaking guy, Brother Holy, they called him. He was a third year like him, yet he felt like a fifth year to fight, or perhaps even stronger. He was an absolute freak of nature!

‘He’s gotten even stronger. Or perhaps he was always that strong…’

He couldn’t help but give a self-deprecating smile.

He would fall, and then his first friend—

As he pictured what this guy would do to Jack, he felt sick. It wouldn’t be life-threatening or lasting, but what if it still changed him? What if his curious eyes turned gloomy?!

He couldn’t bear the thought, and yet he was powerless to stop it.

He saw it happen in slow motion. A Holy ray gathered, the strongest so far, one that would put him out of commission for a week or more. Even now, he was taking his time.

He was toying with him, making an example out of him to the bystanders.

“Oh my god, he’s still channeling! That looks so damn scary!”

“Lucius’s about to be Luc-dead! Sorry, I got no pun.”

“Devil guy! Your friend said to use Cinder Blood?”

“There it comes, he’s so freaking doomed!”

…

Satisfied with the gallery’s shell-shocked expressions, the man finally released his attack! Yet, there had been one of those comments that had been wildly different!

Devil guy? To use Cinder Blood? Wait, could it be?!

Faced with death, a devil hurriedly opened his custom school uniform. In there was a small pocket sewn in, one that contained a tiny leathery pouch that looked like a dried ballsack.

But without waiting, he hurriedly touched it, activating his Mana…

[Successfully Accessing Spatial Pouch!]

[Please Select An Item From The—]

[Summoning Cinderhorn Steak!]

He skipped it all, and then…

“What the fuck?!!”

A fiery Holy Light met… STEAKS?! Tons and tons of raw steaks suddenly appeared one after the other in mid-air, staining everything in sight with blood. And then it all collided!

Mincemeat exploded all over, the blood filling the light and turning it… ORANGE? In an instant, the hallway looked like a dance club, with colors everywhere!

With this, a not-so-holy brother fell to his knees…

“M-My… MY PRAYER BEADS?!”

KACHA! KACHA! KACHA! Shattering sounds resounded one after the other as a completely livid “Mr Justice” started coughing blood, shitting blood, and even oozing blood.

As he fell to the ground almost lifeless, his world ended…

He didn’t register the confused devil looking at steaks in awe and fear. He didn’t register the students carrying him toward the Nurse’s office. He didn’t register any of it.

He stared at his shattered family jewels…

He stared at his shattered family jewels…

He stared at his shattered family jewels…

His life was freaking over.

And as the pain got too much and the world went dark, scenes from his past flashed before him. Normally, they would have been dreams, but right now, they were nightmares.

“Remember, my little Raph, as Lightbringers, we have a duty to this world. We’re one of the few Super lines who control the Holy Element. One day, you too will be just like Grandpa!”

“See this? Those are our family jewels, Luminis Orbs! They increase our power by 500%! They’ve been in our family for generations. As long as they remain, so do we.”

“What? You want to borrow the Luminis Orbs? To impress a girl to boot?! You…you… as expected of my grandson! Sure, but take care of them and make her your wife!”

As the scenes played, his body on the stretcher went wild!… And so did the poor medics bringing him to the nurse’s office as fast as they could.

“Crap! We’re losing him. Increase the pace!”

“He’s foaming at the mouth so much!”

“Run, or he’ll die! Hurry! Hurry!”

….

That day, a commotion happened, and a noble line possibly ended. But that was merely an afterthought. At that moment, what truly mattered was a handsome youngster.

A handsome youngster that was now frowning…

‘There should be people. It’s too empty.’

This time, Jack had actually used the “regular” way instead of passing by the Maintenance Tunnel, but there lay the issue. It was absolutely empty, unnaturally so!

He couldn’t help but fish his map, mumbling…

“From this side, there’s only one path leading to Support 101, at least the one I’m taking. 30 students in my class. Class’s about to start. All of them being early’s near impossible.”

He suddenly stopped in place.

“You can come out now.”

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Nothing.

‘Well, it was worth a try.’

Whoever, or whatever had caused this, didn’t seem to reveal itself. He shrugged, heading straight for the class' door, already sensing something about to happen.

Said door was closed. And as he touched it, it was warm. Warm enough to cook an egg but not enough to boil a snapper imp. That’s when he knew for sure.

“Is there a need to act so mysterious, Teacher?”

Jack opened the door to a world of fire. The desks were gone, the blackboard was gone, there was only fire… and a certain Teacher Flintlock awaiting with his arms crossed.

Anyone else would have shown some reservations, but Jack stepped in. He didn’t have any reason to fear the teacher. This wasn’t some crazy web novel with villains everywhere.

The latter sure looked insanely powerful, and so was his DOMAIN!

And it became more impressive as the door closed… by itself. Jack felt like he was floating, except everything was fire; this would have been perfect for another Malikor prank!

Chuckling simply from picturing it, he turned to Mr. Flintlock.

“I’m guessing there’s a reason for all of this?”

“Yes, but first, how did you know?”

“The test? Lots of self-study—”

“No, the beads.”

So it had worked? Else, he would have asked, ‘Why did you try that?’. Jack felt at ease knowing that his plan had succeeded. Sighing in relief, he didn’t hold anything back.

“Too much power. Figured it had to be an Artifact. Thing is, using one ain’t as easy as it sounds, or so I heard. The sharper the knife, the easier to cut yourself with it.”

Jack chuckled as he finished his explanation…

“Just had to weaken the link.”

The blood had definitely mixed with the Artifact’s energy and had made the enemy lose control. Lucius certainly hadn’t missed the opportunity to strike decisively.

Yet, ultimately it had all been Jack’s plan…

Sighing, the teacher suddenly sat down, a flaming throne appearing under him as he slowly eyed him, as if a king judging his subject, as if determining his worth.

“Jack Bright. Befriended a Malikor, a slime, a strange girl. Didn’t speak to anyone else. Infiltrated the Battle Complex. Left during the Aurora…”

“Then there’s this morning mess, Grimrock bus and all…”

“Smart, but especially Quirkless….”

That’s when he turned deadly serious. So serious that the flames all around even stilled. The only thing left moving were those sharp eyes of his that seemed to gaze at his soul.

“Give up. A Super without a Quirk’s ludicrous. And don’t tell me yesterday was just for fun. No one paints an arena with their blood for fun, at least not here. Just give up!”

He didn’t mean any harm by it. Quite the contrary. But it didn’t change the issue.

To him, it was IMPOSSIBLE!

And just as Jack was about to make a stand, the man waved. Instantly, the fiery hell receded, the classroom returning and students gasping.

“WHAA?! Teacher?! When did you—”

“Look, it’s that guy! I so called it, Quirkless!”

“He seems brooding? Think he’s getting expelled?”

“That’d be the fastest expulsion for sure, it would be funny!”

….

Jack heard them yet didn’t care.

His mind drifted out, somewhere else, and nowhere, too. Actually, it drifted to one person. She was somewhere out there in a cryo pod, waiting for him to find a cure.

A curse seemingly impossible to defeat. A body falling in pieces, only preserved by the cold. A mother he’d get back no matter what, even if it meant scouring the multiverse!

But how could he explain it? Especially to a teacher who already knew too much…

‘Teacher, you don’t understand, I need to save her!’

‘Teacher, you don’t understand. I can’t wait for a miracle.’

‘Teacher, you don’t understand. Lilly needs her. I need her.’

‘Teacher you—’

No, he really wouldn’t understand.

His plan WAS madness…

He was akin to a kid happily proclaiming, ‘I wanna be an astronaut!’ to the world, except that the difficulty was a couple thousand times higher.

In fact, he only had one last gamble left: the other worlds.

The portals. There were tales. Tales of regular nobodies entering one and coming out Supers. They’d go from nobodies to… stronger nobodies. But at this point, he just wanted a path.

‘As long as there’s a path, I can’t give up.’

The day he couldn’t see one, he’d stop. The issue was he was a Dreamer. Where others saw dead ends, he saw endless possibilities. Where they saw monsters, he saw possible friends.

Where they saw crazy otherworldly stuff, he saw color!

Sighing, he refocused on the class…

“During an Aurora, you’ll see increased Chaotic Mana, increased aggressiveness from Monsters, Quirks going haywires, Moods being affected, and lots of pretty colors.”

“Now remember. The higher the Aurora Rank, the higher the Super Level it can affect. For instance, a Class 2 would only affect F-Rankers, while a Class 9 would affect even S-Rankers! But keep in mind, it’s important to have geographical awareness.”

“If you’re in the Arcane Union, you gotta look for Mana Storms. If you’re in Wintermark, you gotta be careful of Undead Swarms. As for us in the Northern part of the Northern Reach, it’s mostly Auroras! Now, who can tell me…”

The Class kept going, yet he didn’t really listen anymore. It was stuff he knew, stuff he didn’t care about, stuff that didn’t affect his current predicament.

‘Should I play dumb? Tell him I’ve given up?’

‘Or maybe I should stand my ground?’

At that moment, he didn’t know.

How would he react? How would one teacher’s opinion weigh in the school’s decision? How would it compare to the Combat Instructor’s opinion? How would it— ARG!

He felt like flipping a table!

He had no damn clue about Legendary-U's office politics! In fact, if it weren’t for Sharky’s intervention, he wouldn't even be here in the first place. It was only thanks to him that—

Just as his thoughts reached that point, he stopped.

What would Sharky say? That much was obvious. He’d laugh out loud with his shark teeth in full view as he went: “Don’t believe in yourself; believe in the me that believes in you!”

It was a quote from some anime, way before the Supers and before the Northern Reaches, but one that still resonated true and one he loved to use.

And just picturing Sharky made him smile so damn much.

“Believe in the me that believes in you!”

“Believe in the me that believes in you!”

“Believe in the me that believes in you!”

…

Jack stopped anguishing.

As he resolutely opened his eyes, he couldn’t hide his shock. The class was on fire again. The students were all gone. And the teacher was right in front of him, staring?!

Yet, Jack didn’t falter from his gaze, he met it head on.

“Give me a week! Let me try for one week!”

That was the compromise he had reached. He wasn’t supposed to have access to most training facilities just yet. But what was a single week to gain a genius Support?

This was the sweetest deal for the teacher! A way to "crush" his silly dreams.

As for the whole theory of a Support?

1̶. P̶o̶w̶e̶r̶ — Q̶u̶i̶r̶k̶

2. Knowledge — Studies

3. Common Sense — Life itself

He’d smash it! He’d bloody overcome it! He didn’t know how. He didn’t know when. But there was so much conviction in his eyes that it clearly moved the man.

“Fine. One week. I’ll personally vouch for you. You’ll get all the training Legendary-U has to offer! As for getting you a teacher, I don’t think that will be an issue….”

As if on cue, that’s when it happened.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Tremors shook the fiery hell! Then a second later, an enormous fist exploded one of the wall, the fire crumbling under the might as a man of black, and white, and red appeared!

He instantly charged in between them, separating them with a punch so powerful it made the room shake again. “JACK! Don’t worry, I’m not letting them kick you out!”

He had barely given him a reassuring thumbs up when he turned toward his teacher colleague, clearly ready to fight! “BASTARD! DON’T YOU DARE UNDERESTIMATE—”

But he stopped, the atmosphere more than strange…

“Pfft— What was I saying? He’s just in time!”

“With this, everything’s settled, right?”

“Yes. Remember. One week.”

As Jack and the teacher casually conversed, the poor training instructor looked so lost. He had been ready to put his life and career on the line to save him from expulsion, and now?

All it took was a short summary and….

“Oh my fucking god, REALLY?!”

In the world of fire, a youngster and a training instructor could be seen happily rejoicing as if it were their birthdays; after all, the man’s enthusiasm was contagious.

But amidst his happy dance, he suddenly froze, showing urgency…

“Wait! The clock’s already ticking, right?! WE GOTTA GO!”

It was time for one hell of a training montage…