They gently landed and were immediately surrounded by people taking photos with their cell phones or running up to them for autographs. The two heroes engaged with the growing crowd until a voice broke through - a confident, strong voice.
"There you two are! Come on in, let's get to work." Fred stood just outside the glass double-doors of the building. "Ladies, gentlemen! Please, make a gap for our two heroes!" Thanks to Holy Sight, Ethan could see a small pulse that would be indiscernible to almost any other senses radiate from Fred. The crowd seemed to calm down and make a path; compelled to follow the instructions.
Ethan walked up and held out a hand which Fred shook vigorously, "Good to see you. Aren't you a little worried about…you know?"
Fred laughed, "Ha! It's fine. Subtlety is the key to what I can do. Come in!" He ushered the two heroes inside and closed the doors behind them, locking the crowd outside. The two heroes followed him past a desk manned by a young man navigating multiple screens with a bank of phones behind him, all ringing or in the process of being answered.
Fred spoke as he guided them, "Welcome to The Lark Agency. The front desk is manned by…whichever new intern gets hired; we go through them quickly. The ones that stay get to be my junior agents and manage actors all across the world." They entered an elevator that went up to the third floor before opening to an anterior chamber. "This is my secretary, Lisa Perez. She'll be in charge of your schedules for public events, appearances, and other minutiae."
The woman looked up from her desktop terminal and gave the two heroes a smile. "Pleased to meet you both. Mr. Lark, I've got the house lawyer waiting in conference room one."
Fred nodded and guided the two heroes into a hallway which had three doors; two conference rooms on either side, and a nice, bronze placard with Fred's name at the far end. The three entered the first conference room and were introduced to the lawyer within the agency; Teegan Brown. After exchanging pleasantries, Stormbringer was taken to the other conference room as Ethan sat opposite Teegan and Fred.
"Okay Radiance; all of my staff has been contracted by my powers. Your true identity is safe for any employee of mine, and if they try to tell someone who isn't under my employment or leave the agency for any reason - the knowledge is wiped-" he snapped his fingers, "-like that. So, Ethan, Teegan here has a bunch of stuff for you to sign. We'll keep all of it in our secure safe - paper only. I've used my power on the safe itself - unless I take it out, the paper will be wiped. If it leaves my possession, it’s wiped. Your identity is as safe as it can be."
Teegan nodded, his bright smile and shining light-blue eyes contrasting with his dark brown skin, "Pleased to meet you, Ethan. I marked each spot you must initial or sign. Now, just follow along on page one…"
Ethan spent the next several hours filling out paperwork with Teegan. Fred left to talk to Stormbringer. As they spoke, Teegan informed Ethan about each item he was signing; merchandising agreements, representation deals, percentage of pay for events - a whole bunch of legal jargon that he didn't understand.
"And one last thing," Teegan said as he began to shuffle the paperwork into a neat stack. "I've heard and seen that you can heal people. Is that right?"
Ethan nodded, "Yeah. That's right. Even stuff like cancer."
Teegan's expression became stern, "I…have a personal favor to ask. My mom is in the hospital…Alzheimer’s. Could you try healing her?"
Ethan nodded, "I can try. I've never really focused on trying to cure mental health. I can't promise anything. I’m sure when I did that hospital thing, though, that I affected some people with mental issues!”
Teegan smiled, "I understand. Thanks so much." He stood up and shook Ethan's hand as Fred opened the door.
"All done you two?" Fred asked.
Ethan nodded as Fred put an arm around his shoulder and brought him into his office, Teegan going across the hall to no doubt subject Stormbringer to the same mountain of forms. Fred shut the door behind him and gestured to a comfortable lounge chair in front of an ornate, mahogany desk. The room was richly appointed and covered with framed movie posters and memorabilia signed by various famous actors.
"What now?" Ethan asked.
"Lots of things could be happening. I mentioned I had some designs I wanted you to look over. Online marketplaces are where the money is at, and I've got some tee-shirt designs already set up…"
The two discussed designs and various product ideas until the sun had started to set, when Fred's phone rang.
"Go for Lark, best agent in Hollywood…Mhmm…" He stood up and exploded in rage at the phone, causing Ethan to recoil into the chair at the sudden outburst of profanity. "What the fuck do you mean! They can't do that! Okay, okay. I'll get Teegan on it right away." He slammed the phone down on the receiver and turned away from Ethan, breathing heavily and muttering something to himself as his breath returned to normal. In less than a minute he sat down to face Ethan again and was back to his usual self, "Sorry about that."
"What's going on?"
"Someone is trying to trademark your name and likeness. I figured it would happen, but not this quickly. Don't worry, Teegan will get some of his other firm members on it. Don't expect any money from selling anything for a few weeks until we sort all this out." He leaned back and kicked his feet to the side of the desk. "Do you mind keeping Stormbringer with you for a while? Having a relatively unknown hero on the payroll is good and all, but if he's with someone who is already famous…"
Ethan stood up and nodded, "Yeah, of course. We'll patrol a bit, and I'll try-"
"No-no-no. Not just a patrol thing. We want to make sure that there's people around. Something big, something flashy." He put his feet down and leaned over his desk, "I know where Full Metal Gangster is hiding out."
Ethan cocked an eyebrow under his helm, "Really? Why not tell the police?"
"What good would that do me? No advantage on my end for doing it that way." He pulled out his phone and a moment later Ethan's own buzzed, "There's the address. It's a warehouse near the rail line, the Wholesale District."
"You want me to go now? Just fight this guy with Stormbringer?"
"And record it! I know you have a camera hidden in that helmet." He leaned back and smiled, "We need to really show that you're the hero of Los Angeles, and it'll catapult Stormbringer into the spotlight."
"What do we know about this guy? I've just seen some stuff on the news that he's made of metal."
Fred shrugged and picked up the phone on his desk, beginning to dial, "No clue. But you can handle him, I'm sure. I have to get on this trademark business ASAP."
Ethan took the hint and left the room, meeting Stormbringer and Teegan in the hallway, who had seemed to have wrapped up the paperwork. "Teegan, can you text me where your mom is? I'll try to get to her by tomorrow."
"Yeah. We're all done here. If you'll excuse me, I have to deal with this other legal issue." Teegan walked past Ethan and into Fred's office.
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Stormbringer cleared his throat, "What's next?"
"Fred has a lead on Full Metal Gangster."
"Where?"
"I got the address. You'll have to fly us there; I've never been so I can't warp us there."
Stormbringer cracked his knuckles, "Alright. Let's get going."
"Hold on a second. If this is your debut, you need a real costume. No offense. Give me a few minutes." He glanced down at his own torso, "I'm going to need to switch out my breastplate also."
"Go for it."
Ethan used Heaven's Gate to return home. He pulled off his helmet and vigorously scratched his head before checking the countertop where he and Treya left notes and messages.
I'm going to be at the lab late tonight. Leftovers for dinner. Go save the world, hon. - Treya.
He jotted down a reply before replacing the damaged component of his costume, slipping his helmet back on, and grabbing the storage box with Stormbringer's new costume that he had worked on in his spare time here and there.
Ethan used Heaven's Gate to return to the talent agency, searching around to find Stormbringer flirting with Lisa, the secretary. He interrupted the two and handed the new hero the box. He tore the lid off and pulled out the costume, smiling like a kid on Christmas.
"It's perfect!" Stormbringer practically shouted as he held it up in front of him.
Ethan wished he could credit Treya but had to keep her identity secret. "Thank my friend. She did most of the design. Hurry up and change, we have a bad guy to beat up."
Stormbringer dashed to a nearby restroom as Lisa resumed her work. Ethan wasn't kept waiting for long as his ally returned within moments.
He and Treya had learned from the process of making Ethan's own costume and were able to streamline the process for this new one. A similar fiber was used for the bottom layer, and rather than gold accents and highlights they utilized a light blue. No armored plates were present, either, as Ethan didn't want Stormbringer's movements impaired. The helmet was a sleek design with only an angled visor allowing vision, along with built in air filters in case he had to fly through something he shouldn't breathe in.
"I look like a badass!" the lightning-powered hero said with glee.
Lisa looked up from her work and smiled, "Similar costumes, that'll be good for the marketing team."
Stormbringer nodded and floated a few inches off the ground as he opened a nearby door to a small balcony, "Let's fly."
Ethan held onto Stormbringer's back as he soared through the skies above Los Angeles. The day was warm, but despite the heat Ethan still felt a chill from the cool wind blasting past them.
Within minutes they were near the rail stations. In this part of the city, hundreds if not thousands of warehouses - big, small, and every size in between - stored goods that would be distributed across the city or exported on the rail lines. He signaled for Stormbringer to set down on top of a tall building, and they landed.
Ethan pointed to a building a few blocks away, "That's the address. Are you ready to fight your first villain?"
The normal jovial demeanor was absent from Strombringer's response, "Yeah. Let's get this fucker. I'm gonna kill him." Stormbringer began to lift off the ground.
Ethan reached over and grabbed him, "Heroes don't kill. I know that you hate this guy for what he did…and no doubt he deserves it…but you don't want to be known as a killer."
Electricity arced over Stormbringer's whole body, cascading off him in torrents of blue, purple, and yellow. "Don't try to stop me. This pendejo is going to suffer."
"I won't try to stop you. Heck, you're so fast, I don't think I could if I wanted to." Ethan nodded to Stormbringer and looked back at the building where their quarry supposedly was. "I'll go in through the front. You go in through the top. Oh, that reminds me," Ethan reached up and tapped a button on his helmet, before reaching a hand over to tap a similarly concealed button on Stormbringer's helmet. "Now we have a short-range radio. Older tech, and I found an unused AM frequency for us to use. It works if we're within about a mile of each other."
"Sweet! How'd you pull that off?"
"Just some old radios, some headpieces, and a wicked smart person helping me out." I really should get something nice for Treya. Some type of present.
"Okay. I'll fly on over and find a way in from above." Stormbringer lifted off and flew to the building, as Ethan used Leap of Faith to appear in front of the main doors and started his camera's recording.
He tried the main entry and, as expected, it was locked. The door was somewhat rusted, and the entire building had a run-down look to it. Graffiti was all over the exterior walls near this entrance.
Ethan raised a boot and kicked inward at the joint where the door was weakest, blasting it open with a loud CRASH. "Didn't mean to be that loud," Ethan muttered as he walked in. The room was pitch-black save for the light streaming in from behind him - not that it mattered to his Holy Sight. The warehouse was a single, large, open space with a catwalk above that led to some offices.
A light emitted from up above and Ethan could hear heavy footsteps on the upper level. "Crusade," He manifested his sword and shield as the lights turned on. A behemoth of a man - easily seven feet tall and made of pure muscle - stood above him on the catwalk, looking down. He was covered in shimmering, silver metal.
His voice was a deep, bass rumble. "If it isn't a hero. Was wondering when one of you fuckers would try to take me on."
"Full Metal Gangster," Ethan shouted up to him, eyeing the rest of the upstairs and noting the several now-emerging men with firearms. "You're done terrorizing the city. I'm here to stop it."
"I hope you're ready to die." He shouted something in Spanish, and the men on the walkway opened fire. Ethan's enhanced vision could perfectly make out each bullet as it streaked towards him.
He smirked and held up his sword, pointing it up at the walkway as the bullets pinged off of his Holy Barrier, the shield surrounding him flaring with each impact. "Holy Storm." Full Metal Gangster leaped off the catwalk with preternatural speed, ducking below the explosion of radiant white and gold energy. The grunts on the catwalk stood no chance as the wave of holy power blasted them, collapsing into unconsciousness.
Full Metal Gangster made a crater on the ground where he impacted as Ethan raised his shield, "Not bad. But your little light show won't hurt me. I'm invincible!" He held both arms out to the side and slammed his chest with both hands, "Shoot me and see!"
Ethan held up the blade once more, "Holy Smite!" The beam of gold and white energy lanced out at the speed of light…and splashed harmlessly against the metal man. He grinned and rushed at Ethan; not nearly as fast as Stormbringer, but his footsteps shook the ground. I can't let this guy hit me, Ethan thought as he dashed to the side, nimbly avoiding the charge and striking with his sword to no effect. He's immune to light?
Technically what you define as 'light' is classified as 'energy' as opposed to 'physical' when it comes to damage. It appears his skin is invincible against any form of damage. Physical or energy based.
Ethan backpedaled as the mammoth of a man ran at him and began to throw wild haymakers. Metal conducts electricity. If he still has regular insides, then Stormbringer could do something. Ethan dismissed his Crusade mode and warped up to the catwalk. "Can't touch what you can't catch!" He yelled down, taunting the villain and trying to be as loud as possible to draw attention to his location.
"Heard you. Dealing with someone el-" Stormbringer came on over the radio before a loud bang came through and all Ethan heard was static.
"Stormbringer, are you okay?" Only static responded.
Full Metal Gangster tensed his legs under him and jumped twenty feet up to the catwalk, grabbing Ethan as he ascended. "You can teleport, eh?" As the words left his mouth, Ethan activated Leap of Faith to escape the grip.
To his surprise, nothing happened. Nobilis! What's going on?
He's immovable. He and anything he is touching cannot be moved without his consent! Quick, activate Crusade!
Ethan did so as the shield and sword manifested once more. And just in time, as the villain slammed him into the ground, holding him by his leg; his empowered defenses barely prevented him from being splattered instantly.
Over and over Ethan was slammed into the cement and catwalk; his Bulwark absorbing the damage each time. But the impacts left him dazed and his vision began to go fuzzy. He screamed out as he felt bones snap and muscles tear as he was rag dolled back and forth, blood spurted from where bone pierced through skin and he could feel his heart racing.
The floor got slick and the villain almost fell once or twice before stopping. Ethan winced in pain as he drew in a ragged breath through punctured lungs. Every part of him pulsed with his racing heart and brought a new wave of agony.
Full Metal Gangster held him up to eye level, "Hey, Cheat Code! Where you at?"
Ethan heard an odd thwip noise behind him and tried to turn his head. A teenager, no older than sixteen, stood there in military gear carrying an enormous rifle. "Relax. I got the other one." He held up the rifle and shot off a few rounds into the air, "He never saw it coming. Shot the fucker right out of the sky, AND I went up to double tap. I got a lot of experience for a hero kill!"
Ethan felt his heart sink. He killed Stormbringer?
Full Metal Gangster carried Ethan over to this new villain. "He's got some type of bubble. Watch-" The metal monster slammed Ethan again as he felt the wind knocked out of him and his vision swam. He tried to swing his sword up at this villain, but he battered it aside. “I’m making progress, but it’s taking a bit long.”
"I have something for that." Cheat Code held up a hand as the rifle he was holding turned into three-dimensional pixels before vanishing from sight. In the outstretched palm a grenade appeared, and he pushed it onto Ethan's chest plate. "Penetrating grenades bypasses any barrier. Enjoy the blast!"
Full Metal Gangster chuckled, "You're one mean motherfucker, Cheat Code."
The teenager cackled, "How much XP will I get for killing L.A.'s most famous hero? Hold him still."
Ethan squirmed and tried to get away to no avail as Full Metal Gangster hugged him tightly to his chest. Ethan panicked and kicked, struggling to escape, use his powers…anything.
The world flashed red and Ethan screamed in pain as everything went black.