Sentinel - Chapter 2 (Patreon)

Chapter 2

Adam groaned and stretched as he slowly woke up. He blearily climbed out of his bed and made his way to the bathroom to deal with his full bladder. After finishing his business, he paused in front of his mirror while yawning. After yawning, he looked at himself and saw his changed appearance due to Super, and all his memories of the previous night came to the forefront of his mind. He immediately had a face-splitting grin.

He'd saved people last night. He'd helped! Even the fact that it took him two hours to figure out where he was and how to get back to his home couldn't dull his excitement. The city, hell the world, looked drastically different from the air. That would take a lot of getting used to!

None of that dulled his excitement and enthusiasm about his decision to be a hero.

[Feat Achieved! Survive your first night as a superhero. +1 Bronze Gacha Ticket.]

Adam tilted his head at the notice and then shrugged. A free roll was a free roll, “Roll the bronze ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Calligraphy, Trash Skill, You have excellent handwriting, allowing you to write extremely fast while maintaining appealing writing.]

He read over the skill and smiled. It wasn't some super powerful martial art or anything, but it would be extremely useful in his day-to-day work on art commissions. It was nice to know not everything in the system would be geared toward purely superhero work.

He dismissed all of that and got ready for this day. Showered, shaved, and had a nice hearty breakfast. After his work the previous night, he was starving like never before. It seemed like lifting and moving literal tons really burned calories. He paused to look at how much he'd eaten, enough food to normally last a few days.

He swallowed his last bite of bacon and grunted, “Right, my food bill just grew dramatically.” He considered his options, “Should probably get some protein powder as well.”

This was going to eat into his savings. He'd have to look for more commissions soon to make sure they didn't dip too low. Otherwise his mother would be all over him about frivolous spending and whatnot. Being freshly eighteen, she naturally was attached to his lease, accounts, and everything else, so she was capable of monitoring them.

Which brought up the question... should he tell her about his new powers? He thought about it for a while, then sighed. There was literally no logical reason he could think of to not tell his family about his new powers. The gacha hadn't given him anything that said he couldn't in the information it downloaded into his head. He was basically free to do whatever he wanted.

He nodded to himself; he needed to tell them. If something happened to him, he wanted them to know he hadn't just disappeared on them. He didn't want them to be left wondering what had happened should the worst come to pass. Besides, there was always the possibility of getting items he could give to them that could help protect them. If they knew the truth, he wouldn't have to come up with some stupid lie about where he got it. Then he'd have to remember that lie, and frankly that was just too much work. Much easier to just tell them the truth from the beginning.

He dug out his cell phone and hit the speed dial for his mother. The phone rang a few times before a cheerful voice answered, “We just had dinner last night, and you're already calling? What's up?”

A smile spread across his face at the sound of her voice. He loved his mother and missed her even though he'd only been living on his own for a couple of months. He hadn't moved out due to any family strife or anything similar; he'd just wanted to live on his own. He adjusted the phone in his grip as he answered, “Not much, but I have some news I want to share with you and Eve. Say dinner tonight, at my place? I'll cook.”

“Sure, hun, that sounds good. What time?”

After a moment to consider, he answered with, “Come by around six thirty.”

“Alright hun, we'll see you then. Love you.”

“I love you too, Mom.”

After she hung up, he set his phone aside and got dressed for the day. In this case, that meant putting on a pair of black jeans, a skintight white t-shirt, biker boots, gloves, and a ski mask. He wanted to try his hand at doing some hero work during the day.

The sound of the window sliding open made his heart hammer in his chest as he looked out of it into the surrounding area. There weren't many people walking the streets, fortunately. School had already started back up, so all the local kids were there while their parents were at work. He didn't have anything he specifically needed to do, just a quick update to his work profile that he was available. Now he just had to wait for an offer to come in.

Seeing no one paying even remote attention to anything but what was in front of them, he quietly flew through the window and slowly ascended until he was above the tops of all the nearby apartment buildings. Once he was clear, he put on the speed. There was a soft boom from his sudden acceleration while he rocketed into the sky.

His heart soared as he did the same through the sky. The sensation of flying through the sky would never get old. The wind in his hair, the ground so far below, and just the sheer feeling of pure freedom. All of it had him laughing in pure joy.

Eventually, he flew lower to the ground, keeping his eyes and ears open for any signs of trouble. He didn't have any advanced technology or sources to help him find people in need, so he had to do it the old-fashioned way.

Flying by an intersection, he spots something and comes to a stop in mid-air to turn around. Standing at a crosswalk is a hunched-over old woman looking both ways. He smiles brightly at the thought of helping little old ladies as a superhero. Why the hell not?

He swooped down and slowed as he approached the woman, “Excuse me ma'am, do you need any assistance?”

The woman jumped slightly and looked at him in surprise, “Oh, my.”

Adam held his hands up as a sign of being unarmed and meaning no harm, “Sorry about the mask, still new to the hero thing so I don't have a nice one yet.”

The old woman chittered a small laugh, “No no, it's fine young man. I recognize you. You were on the news this morning. Good job saving those poor people.”

Adam gently landed next to her and offered her his arm, “That was on the news?”

She slipped her arm around his, “It was! So, what made a young man like you want to be a hero?”

Adam checked the crosswalk, and then gently began to guide her across it, “My father. He died protecting someone. I want to live up to that kind of heroism. I figure, I got these powers, I couldn't possibly do any less than he did.”

The old woman nodded in understanding, “That's a nice sentiment, dearie. It's always nice to see young people like you out there doing good work for us common folks. Why, I remember the first time I saw a hero as a little girl. Have you ever heard of the hero All America?”

Adam thought for a moment before he shook his head, “Sorry, can't say that I have.”

“I can't say I'm surprised,” The old lady nodded her head, “He was long before your time, way back in the forties and fifties. He fought against the likes of The Communist and Fire Bug. I still remember how dashing he looked in his red, white, and blue. Oh! And that knightly shield he carried. Yes, very dashing.”

“Maybe if I'm lucky, people will think I'm dashing when I get a proper costume.”

She patted his cheek lightly, “You look mighty dashing to me, young man. You just need a name to finish the image.”

“I know, I'm still working on it. I want something simple and iconic, you know?”

She nodded, but the conversation ended as they arrived on the other side of the crosswalk. The elderly woman smiled at him, “Thank you for the help, but I'm sure there are more important things you could do with your time.”

Adam smiled brightly, “Have a great day, ma'am.”

He drifted into the air with a wide grin and took off to find something else to do to help out. It's another hour of aimless flying before he hears a woman's scream followed by, “GIVE ME BACK MY PURSE!”

Adam accelerates rapidly toward the sound of the scream just in time to see a figure in a hoodie run around a corner. He blasts around the corner and spots the running purse snatcher. It takes zero effort for him to catch up to the runner and grab him by the back of the neck.

“What the fuck?!”

The purse snatcher flailed around, accidentally hitting Adam a few times, though Adam felt no real pain from the blows, just mild annoyance, “Give it up, man, you're not getting away from me.”

“Who the fuck are you?! Let me fucking go!”

Adam rolled his eyes and casually lifted the man off of his feet. He slowly flew back around the corner and spotted a distressed-looking woman who immediately ran toward Adam and his captive when she spotted them. She came to a stop, bending over with her hands on her knees to catch her breath. Adam thought that was kind of ridiculous since she hadn't even run half a block!

He calmly waited while holding the struggling purse snatcher, not really sure what he should actually do... Oh! That's an idea. He floated over toward the nearby street light post. He roughly held the robber to the pole and aimed his free hand at the man who shouted, “What are you doing?!”

Adam smirked and fired the web shooter on his wrist. The purse snatcher was wrapped up firmly in seconds, prompting him to yell, “What the hell is this?! LET ME GO!”

The woman laughed and pointed at the thief, “Ha! Serves you right!” She stomped over and ripped the bag out of the thief's hands, “That's mine!”

The thief struggled against the webbing, but couldn't get free for obvious reasons, “Goddammit! I have rights! LET ME GO! This is illegal!”

Annoyed with the man's shouting, Adam spun around and fired off a small glob of webbing that hit the man's mouth and bound it shut. Adam grimaced as it blocked his nostrils too. Thankfully, that was easily fixed, though, thanks to Adam's super strength. Webbing might have tensile strength higher than steel, but he could now rip plate steel in half like it was tissue paper... sort of. Maybe? The thin stuff for sure!

Even with his mouth covered in webbing, the man continued to try and shout. The woman, purse in hand, smiled at Adam, “Thanks for the help!”

He nodded in response, “No problem, I'd suggest calling the cops to have them come pick this guy up.”

“Right, right.” The woman dug in her recovered purse and pulled out her smartphone to call the cops.

Since everything looked to be in hand, Adam took off into the sky to once more look for something to do.

[Feat Achieved! Stop your first purse snatcher. +1 Bronze Gacha Ticket.]

He swiftly landed on the roof and studied the message for a moment. He crossed his arms over his chest, “So, there's a minimum threshold for what counts as a feat. Helping that nice lady cross the street clearly didn't count as a feat, but a simple purse snatching did. Obviously it's not much of a feat, hence bronze. Well, give it a roll.”

[ROLLING!]

[Lactation, Common Trait, You are capable of lactating; the quality of milk that you produce scales with your physical stats and has unique qualities depending on your traits. This trait can be rerolled for free.]

If he'd been drinking, Adam would have spit out his drink. As it was, he still managed to choke on his own spit and start coughing in shock from the description.

It took him a minute to recover from the coughing attack to shout, “NO! No way in fucking hell! Reroll that shit, NOW!”

[RE-ROLLING!]

[Harem Lord, Uncommon Trait, You are an aspiring harem enthusiast. Potential partners and society as a whole mind you having a harem a lot less. It still won't be easy building your harem of beauties, but it will be a lot less of a hassle.]

“...”

That... He just silently left that where it was and tried not to think too deeply about it. Would he like to have a harem? He doubted he could find a single red-blooded male who would say no. The problem was his rather limited experience with the opposite sex and a complete lack of prospects in the dating field.

Still... might come in handy in the future... The far future.

He jumped off the roof and accelerated fast enough to send out a small shock wave behind himself. Moments later, he spotted a thick cloud of smoke rising into the air. The world around him echoed with a sonic boom from his instant acceleration. It took him less than a minute to get to the scene of the fire. The burning building was a mechanics garage from the look of it. The smoke was thick and black, making him think it was an oil fire. He'd seen similar smoke from images of oil spills being caught on fire.

He looked for a fireman that didn't look harried and dropped down near him. The fireman jerked in surprise at Adam's arrival, “Who the hell are you?!”

Adam held his hands up in a calming gesture, “Sorry, sorry, I saw the smoke and wanted to know if I could maybe help?”

The fireman was a middle-aged man with a large, muscular build, “What're your powers?”

“Standard flying brick package. Strength, speed, durability, flight.”

The man hummed, then asked, “You fireproof?”

Adam paused and considered the question, “Uh... I honestly don't know. This is only my second day out, but I should be resistant at least.”

The man shook his head, “Then, I'm sorry, kid, but I can't think of anything you could do to help. There's no one inside.” He paused and looked to the side, “Unless... Follow me!”

The fireman took off with Adam right behind him. They arrived at one of the trucks, and the fireman pulled one of the truck's doors open to reveal a half dozen fire extinguishers, “The fire is an oil one, so we can't just dump water on it. Right now we're just using water to keep it from spreading to other buildings. You said you got speed, so I want you to quickly, but carefully, use them to put out the main source of the fire. It's near the back where they stored used engine oil.”

He held out one of the extinguishers, “These use baking soda or CO2, depending on the model; this specific one is baking soda.” He pulled the pin and held it out to Adam, “Just aim the hose at the fire and depress the paddle. When it runs out, come back, and I'll have another one ready for you.”

Adam accepted the fire extinguisher, “Got it!”

With the extinguisher in hand, he spun on his heels and charged into the burning building at high speed. The world around him slowed in his perception, changing the way everything looked. The once violently flicking flames slowed into a beautiful slow dance of writhing light. He could feel the heat from the fire, but it didn't burn. Instead, it felt nice, like a warm spring day in the sun. Though his clothing didn't seem to agree, as he could already see his jeans beginning to smoke. He didn't have much time before his clothing would literally burn off of his body.

He focused on running toward the back where the fireman had directed him. There he found what he was looking for. There had been at least six steel barrels, but four of them looked to have burst while the last two had wide gashes in them. He was no expert, but it looked like someone had damaged the first two barrels on purpose.

He lifted the extinguisher and realized he didn't have time to stand around spraying the flames with the hose. He tucked the extinguisher under his arm and ripped the regulator off of the top of the tank. There was an immediate explosion of force as pressurized air forced the baking soda out of the tank in a thick cloud. Fortunately, it worked and managed to thoroughly coat two of the barrels in thick white powder that snuffed out the flames.

There was no time to waste, so he threw the now broken extinguisher aside and ran back out where the fireman was already holding the second one ready for him. He quickly, but gently, snatched it from the man in order not to hurt him, then ran back inside. He repeated the process of ripping the regulator off and dumping the powder in a thick coat to put out the flaming oil.

By the time he used the third baking soda extinguisher, the barrels were no longer burning, but the building was still on fire. He ran out after using the third one and paused to catch his breath. He bent over to put his hands on his knees and breathed deeply. Moving at super speed for so long had him panting to catch his breath.

The fireman he'd been working with jogged over to him and started slapping his back hard, “Hey! You alright, kid?!”

Adam straightened and nodded his head, “Yeah, just needed to catch my breath. I didn't know I could move that fast.”

The fireman looked at him with concern, “You sure? 'Cause your back was on fire!”

Adam blinked in confusion, then tried to look over his shoulder at his back. All he could see was the black charred edge of his shirt, “Shit? Really?”

“Yeah, really!” The fireman looked over his back, “Your skin looks a little red, but it's not burned or blistering from the looks of it.”

“So, probably not fireproof.”

The fireman laughed, “No, probably not.”

Adam chuckled for a bit before he gestured to the still burning building, “I got the barrels of oil put out. What's next?”

“Next we put out what's left of the fire. With the oil no longer burning, it's a lot safer for us to hit the place with more water.” He rubbed his chin, “You could grab a line and hit the place from the top if you still want to help.”

A smile often seen on children entering candy stores spread across Adam's face, “I get to use the fire hose?”

Seeing the glee in Adam's expression, the fireman laughs again and nods, “That's right, kid! C'mon, I'll show you how to use it!”

The next hour was the happiest hour of Adam's life as he got to use the fire hose to his heart's content to put out the fire. He was a little sad when it was over, and there was only smoke left. When he landed, he was quickly surrounded by firemen all giving him their thanks for the help. Adam was flustered but thanked them in return for all their hard work. It was hard not to respect guys who literally risked their lives to help others.

When he left, he had a standing invitation to their firehouse for chili anytime he wanted. The joke made him happy when he took off to head back to his home for a change of clothes.

[Feat Achieved! Put out a fire. +1 Silver Gacha Ticket.]

[Feat Achieved! Earn the approval and respect of the local Fire Fighters. +1 Gold Gacha Ticket.]

Curious about his rolls and praying he got something actually useful, he found a nice rooftop to land on. He sat down and relaxed with a sigh. Now that he wasn't in the middle of fighting a fire, he had a moment to take account of his clothing. His shirt was completely destroyed on the back and had several burn holes on the front. His jeans had dozens of holes ranging from small to large. The worst of all, though, were his boots; the leather was completely ruined, and the rubber soles were melted. The only thing to survive with minimal damage was the ski mask, thank goodness.

Thankfully he'd had the foresight to buy extra copies of his outfit... except the boots. He hadn't actually expected those to be damaged. Maybe the gacha would have something to help with the clothing damage?

“Roll the silver ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Infinite Bowl of Spaghetti, Common Item, A bowl containing an infinite amount of spaghetti, it cannot be poured out but you can take servings out infinitely, the spaghetti that comes out is always comfortably warm and tastes pretty good.]

“That... huh. I think I know what to do with that.”

A lot of good could be done with a source of literally infinite food. He'd definitely have to do something with that later.

“Roll the gold ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Dread Knight, Elite Trait, Race Change - You are a Dread Knight, a Higher Caste of Undead specialising in Direct Martial Combat. As a Dread Knight, you have very potent physical abilities as well as virtually unlimited stamina; the only thing you need to sustain yourself with is Energy. You are naturally capable of using the ability [Dread Blade] and possess great Necromancy, Darkness and Martial Affinity, augmenting the potency of related abilities, skills and magic. But you are rendered vulnerable to Holy and Light-based abilities and magic.]

Adam hummed as he read over the roll, it was the first time he'd rolled a straight race change. He wasn't so attached to his humanity that he'd never change his race, but it would have to be for something amazing. An undead was curious, but not at all practical in a modern world. He already looked suspicious enough wearing a ski mask, being a zombie would be so much worse.

He didn't even want to know how being undead would interact with his Excommunicated curse.

Luckily, there was a special option for race change rolls, he could always, “Reroll.”

[RE-ROLLING!]

[Like the Wind, Elite Trait, You move like the wind, you possess greatly augmented Agility, making you faster, nimbler, in addition to augmenting your reflexes and coordination.]

“That's soooo much better.”

The difference the new trait granted was instantly noticeable. He slightly shifted the way he was sitting, and it was suddenly much more comfortable than it had been. Additional speed would also never be a bad thing, in his opinion. If he was faster, he could do more. If he was faster, he could win fights more easily. It was something to be greatly appreciated.

He hopped back into the air and marveled at how much easier it was to control himself while flying. Ever since his run-in with the plane his first night, he'd been paying very close attention to everything around him when he took to the sky. Now he could control himself with significantly greater ease.

It only took a few minutes for him to arrive home, about a minute to peel his boots off of his feet, literally, strip off his ruined clothes, and get changed into new copies. He looked down at his bare feet and frowned. He didn't have another pair of boots, and he wasn't going to risk his only other pair of shoes.

“Shit.”

He'd have to see about hitting a shoe store while patrolling. He dug his wallet out and stuffed a few twenties into his pocket. He was one of the few people he knew who still used cash. After slipping on a pair of fresh socks and spritzing himself with some body spray to fight the scent of smoke, he took off out of his window once more. It was time to get a new pair of boots.

-----Line Break-----

Donald Ferguson stood on the street sipping his coffee while watching a young man fly out of his apartment window and into the city from behind his mirrored aviator glasses. He lifted his other hand to his ear where an earpiece rested, “We've found him, sir.”

“Good work. So, who is he?” came from the earpiece.

“His name is Adam Cross. Graduated from high school last year with excellent grades. Works as a freelance commission-based graphic artist. Moved out on his own at seventeen, with his mother Sarah Cross co-signing on everything. It looks like he gained his powers on the exact day he turned eighteen, which was yesterday.”

“Cross... as in?”

Donald nodded even though no one could see him, “Yes, sir.”

There was a pause before the man on the other end sighed, “Shit, that complicates things. Return to base for now. We'll make an approach later. We need to talk to her first.”

The line on the earpiece went silent, and Donald took another sip of his coffee as he began walking away.

-----Line Break-----

Adam paused in mid-air at the sound of an explosion followed by a very loud alarm ringing. He swung around until he spotted a column of smoke a couple of miles away. A pop of air echoed behind him as he accelerated to his new top speed. He was beaming at how much easier, and faster, Like the Wind made flying.

It took him less than a minute to cover the distance and arrive on the scene. He swept his gaze over everything to try and take it all in as quickly as he could. First things first, it was clearly a bank robbery given the smoke was pouring out of the windows of the bank. Second, the bank wasn't on fire, the smoke was already thinning, so nothing was keeping it going. Third, he wasn't the first person on the scene, he'd been beaten here by other heroes, the Teen Team.

Excitement flooded through his body at the sight of the Teen Team members. He'd been a fan of them ever since they debuted. The first one he saw was the brightest and most explosive of the group, Rex Splode. He wore his standard superhero outfit: a tight-fitting jacket with red shoulders, collar, sides, and cuffs, and a yellow front and arms. His trousers were also tightly fitted and similarly colored. He also sported a pair of brown gloves with similarly colored boots, and a belt with several white cylinders hanging from his waist. The final piece of his costume was a red mask that covered his entire head and neck, minus his chin and mouth, and a pair of yellow goggles.

He watched Rex reach to his waist and pull a few small metal discs out of the cylinders on his waist to toss at one of the two villains trying to rob the bank. Each disc exploded with some force and forced the villains back.

The next hero he spotted was the first non-human Adam had ever actually seen in person, Robot. Robot was the leader of Teen Team and was a tall, orange-colored machine with segmented limbs, a robust chest cavity, and a slender pelvic region. His most noticeable feature was his human skull-shaped head with green eyes and a cylinder on the upper back of his head.

Fighting right next to Robot was Dupli-Kate, a slender, young Chinese woman with above-average height, short, chin-length black hair in a bob cut, monolid brown eyes, and fair skin with a medium bust. She was wearing a mid-sleeve dark purple and lavender-colored turtleneck bodysuit with long, arm-length lavender-colored gloves and a number emblem. Every time she made a new clone of herself, the number emblem would increase.

He took a moment to ponder how the hell that actually worked while ignoring a light blush he had from seeing one of his favorite heroines in person. He had a bit of a crush on her still, it seemed. He'd thought he'd gotten over it, but seeing her in person... The only person he found just as attractive was the last member of the team, the one that shared a similar name to his sister.

Atom Eve.

The shared name was pure coincidence, but it did make having a crush on her slightly weird given she had the same name as his sister. Atom Eve was a radiant young Caucasian woman with a slender yet athletic build. She had straight red hair that fell to her upper back, parted slightly to the right, and striking green eyes. She wore a form-fitting, tight pink suit adorned with what looked like the symbol for female with an X through it at the center of her chest, and a matching pink cape. Unlike Kate, Eve's outfit looked more like a pair of shorts that left her long, pale, muscular legs on display.

If he remembered right, the X was supposed to be atoms to represent her power, Matter Manipulation.

Across from and fighting the Teen Team were two super villains he recognized from the news. The first was Magmaniac, a man who could turn himself into living magma. Shouldn't it have been lava since it was above ground? At the moment, he and Rex seemed to be the cause of the smoke that had drawn Adam there. He fought by throwing globs of magma or trying to grapple.

Next to him was someone he was often partnered up with to commit crime, Tether Tyrant. He was a solidly built man with thick muscles who oddly chose not to hide his face while committing crimes. His power actually came from his chest, which could launch thick pink tendrils that seemed to be mentally controlled by him.

From what he could see, the two of them had been attempting to rob the bank, and Teen Team had arrived to stop them. Adam watched with bated breath and true fanboy energy as true professionals fought true villains. However, as he took in more of the scene, his smile and excitement rapidly faded. He was noticing details he'd missed when he'd arrived, and they were striking him now with almost physical force.

As one would expect, police were on scene as well with their squad cars arrayed in front of the bank in a defensive circle. Several of those cars had been damaged or destroyed. Near those cars were the maimed bodies of several police officers.

Several of them weren't moving... weren't breathing.

His eyes fell on one particular officer whose entire upper body had been horribly burned. He could see the man's ribs and what was possibly his lungs, all surrounded by burned meat.

Adam collapsed to the ground, his stomach heaving while he vomited out everything he'd eaten in the last year. His eyes burned with unshed tears from the shock and true horror of what he was seeing. His stomach continued to roil, but he pushed it down and fought through the sudden terror at the sight of dead bodies.

There were hurt cops, hurt people; he had to help them, right?

Right!

He climbed unsteadily to his feet. The feeling of the concrete sidewalk through the socks on his feet helped ground him. He straightened his spine and took several long deep breaths, “Push it down. Deal with it later. Save lives now.”

He swallowed the bile still burning his throat and nose, then got down to business. He put his new speed to use and dove right into the mess. His first target was a nearby female officer who looked to have gotten grazed by some magma. She was badly burned on one arm, but otherwise looked unharmed.

When he got next to her, he could smell the scent of burning meat strongly and had to fight down the urge to vomit again. He fought it back and focused on the officer, “I'm sorry, this is going to hurt, but I'm going to get you out of here and to one of the ambulances.”

There were several nearby helping people who had managed to get away with minor injuries. The woman nodded but didn't say anything as she gritted her teeth from the pain she was already in. Adam didn't enjoy the thought of making it worse, but he did what needed to be done. He slipped one arm behind her back and the other beneath her knees to lift her up. He was smart enough not to hold her burned side against his chest.

The woman in his arms whimpered from being moved. Not wanting to drag out her suffering, Adam sped off and got her to an ambulance and onto a stretcher in seconds. Words weren't needed as the nearby EMT started barking out orders while examining the officer.

Spinning around, Adam took off and found the next victim in need of help. He spent the next several minutes helping those he could and trying not to think about those he couldn't. He didn't stop until a firm, if cold, hand fell on his shoulder just before he went to look for more casualties.

“All casualties have been rescued and accounted for,” came a robotic voice from behind him.

Adam stopped and slowly turned to find himself face to face with Robot. The machine's green eyes flashed for a second before the machine spoke in its monotone synthetic voice once more, “Thank you for your assistance with rescuing those in need. I am Robot, leader of Teen Team. If I may ask, who are you?”

It took a moment for Adam's mind to get out of the groove it had been in for his rescue work. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out to collect himself and come back to reality, “I'm... I don't have a name yet. I'm still workshopping it.”

“I see. It would be prudent to name yourself soon, especially after this event.” To prove his point, Robot turned his head to the side where several news vans had reporters speaking and cameras filming. Several were aimed right at them.

Seeing what Robot was getting at, Adam swallowed heavily but nodded, “I'll be sure to have one by tomorrow.”

“Good. Please, allow me to introduce you to the rest of Teen Team.”

After speaking, Robot led Adam over to where the rest of Teen Team was standing around a large machine that looked like a cross between a motorcycle and a rocket. Rex was the first to look over. He looked Adam up and down before he began laughing, “Dude! Where the fuck are your shoes?!”

Adam stopped mid-step and slowly looked down at his feet. Immediately he felt his cheeks heat up at the sight of his ruined socks barely clinging to his feet for dear life. They were ripped, scorched, and blackened by dirt. He hadn't even remembered his lack of footwear with everything going on.

Next to Rex, Atom Eve slapped Rex's shoulder with the back of her hand, “Don't be a dick, he saved a lot of people.” She faced Adam and gave him a friendly and polite smile, “I'm Atom Eve, thanks for the help.”

Dupli-Kate stepped away from the others and up to Adam while holding her hand out, “I'm Dupli-Kate, it's good to meet a new hero willing to offer help.”

Adam gently took Dupli-Kate's hand and shook it, “I'd give you my name, but I'm still trying to think of one.”

“Wait wait wait wait, You don't even have a name?!” Rex interrupted while looking Adam up and down, “Then again, with that villain-esque shit you're wearing, I can see it. Come on guys, let's get the fuck out of here.”

Rex hopped onto the flying bike-thing and crossed his arms like a petulant child. Dupli-Kate and Atom Eve let out similar-sounding sighs of exasperation. Robot stepped next to Adam and held out a hand with a small card in it, “This is a card for a discreet tailor who makes costumes for many heroes. I suggest giving him a call to make an appointment.” After Adam accepted the card, Robot continued, “I look forward to seeing your future endeavors.”

Robot mounted the flying bike and took off with the rest of the team. He watched them fly off, waving back as Dupli-Kate gave him a farewell wave.

[Feat Achieved! Impress a member of Teen Team. +1 Silver Gacha Ticket.]

[Feat Achieved! Help prevent a bank robbery. +1 Silver Gacha Ticket.]

[Feat Achieved! Save a total of 10 lives. +1 Gold Gacha Ticket.]

Adam ignored the tickets. He wasn't even remotely interested in dealing with them right then.

Once the Teen Team was out of sight, he took to the sky himself and flew toward his apartment. It was only a little after noon, and he was already exhausted. He needed a break, especially with dinner with his mother and sister in a few hours. That was going to be the emotional icing on the day. He sighed and focused on keeping his mind clear while making his way home.

-----Line Break-----

Adam groaned as he woke up to the sound of his bedside alarm. He quickly slapped it to turn it off and sat up while rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. After getting home, he'd just stripped down and climbed into his bed to get some sleep. He felt better, but the mental images of the bodies he'd seen still haunt him.

He took a deep breath and slowly released it. There was nothing he could do to help the dead. He just needed to do the best he could to save as many people as he could. Another long, deep breath had him feeling a bit better.

Throwing off his covers, he climbed out of his bed and headed toward his bathroom for a much-needed shower. He still stank of smoke and blood. He'd need to remember to change his sheets after dinner with his family.

While walking to the bathroom, he looked over his rewards after the bank incident and decided he should roll the tickets. Maybe he'd get something especially helpful for such events in the future.

“Roll a silver ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Explosive Sweat, Rare Ability, MHA - You can sweat a very explosive compound on demand that you can detonate at any time, allowing you to unleash powerful explosions.]

“Huh. Dangerous, but useful.”

He swapped his White Tiger Form out for the Explosive Sweat ability. He shuddered at a strange ticklish feeling his palms gave him at the change. He instinctively knew how to use the ability as if he'd had it from a very young age. Holding his right hand out palm up, he willed a small amount of sweat out of his palm and detonated it. There was a small pop, like a firecracker going off. It brought a small smile to his face. He could think of some situations where having on hand explosives could come in handy.

He dropped his hand down and addressed his system, “Roll the last silver ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Induce Lactation, Common Ability, Allows you to induce lactation on targets in your line of sight, provided they have the biological capability to produce it.]

“...”

A long, deep sigh escaped him after reading his newest ability. Apparently his system insisted he have an ability related to lactation for reasons that were completely beyond him. But, much like his other black skill, Induce Lactation would be placed in a mental vault never to be accessed again...

Except for maybe future kink fun if his future girlfriend was into that...

“Moving on. Roll the gold ticket.”

[ROLLING!]

[Chlorophyte Bar, Rare Item, Calamity Mod - A refined bar of Chlorophyte that grew from the deep ancient jungles, it is incredibly flexible and durable, far more than any mundane metal, and is also capable of converting sunlight into energy, synergizes very well with bio and nature abilities. Restock Timer: 8 Hours]

Curious about his new acquisition, he removed it from his inventory to examine it. The bar was strange to him with its various green gradients. Though, aside from its looks, he couldn't really tell much difference between it and any other metal he'd held. He wasn't sure what it could be used for, but he was sure it would come in handy at some point.

Tucking the bar back into his inventory while making his way to his shower, he contemplated how his meeting with his mother and sister was going to go. Hopefully they wouldn't freak out too much at what he had become and what he was doing.

-----Line Break-----

Adam hummed as he mixed melted butter and heated milk into the pot of riced boiled potatoes. Fresh mashed potatoes were one of his favorite side dishes. He glanced over at a pan where thick pork chops were shallow frying in rendered bacon fat. They were almost ready to be flipped. The next thing he checked was in the oven, sliced brussels sprouts lightly coated in olive oil and salt. Once they were done, he would be adding the cooked bacon to them and mixing it up.

He finished mixing the potatoes into a smooth consistency and set them aside just in time for a knock to come from his door.

After taking a deep breath to calm his sudden case of nerves, he made his way to his door and pulled it open with a wide grin. He was always happy to see his family, after all. Standing in his doorway were the two most important people in his life. His mother, Sarah Cross, was a good-looking middle-aged woman with vibrant green eyes and auburn hair. She had a slim build that his sister Eve clearly shared, along with his mother's hair and eyes. The only thing he shared with them was his own eyes. Otherwise, he looked like his father with his dark hair and muscular build.

Sarah didn't waste a moment and threw her arms around Adam's neck to pull him into a tight hug. She was acting like they hadn't seen each other in months when they'd just had dinner together the previous day. Adam didn't mind in the least as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a warm hug in return. There was nothing better in the world than a mother's hug when he felt out of sorts.

The hug lasted until Eve rolled her eyes and scoffed, “You two saw each other last night! Let's go inside, I want to see Adam's place already!”

Adam and Sarah untangled themselves from each other and smiled. Adam stepped back into his apartment and made a welcoming gesture, “Come on inside. It's not much, but it is mine.”

His mother and sister stepped into the apartment and looked around the living room. Sarah had helped him move in and had seen the apartment before he'd decorated. Eve had school at the time, so she'd never been to his place before. Eve's eyes scanned everything, taking in the art on the walls, all works by Adam, and nodded, “This is about what I expected. Kind of narcissistic for all of the art to be yours, don't you think?”

Adam chuckled, “Probably, but it's also free, and it can't get much cheaper than that. Besides, it's mostly stuff I did for other people.” He pointed at a stylish logo in one of the frames on the wall, “That was my first real job.” He gestured to others, “Most of these are the work I did to get where I am, a chronicle of my efforts.”

Eve, in typical teenager fashion, dramatically rolled her eyes, “Cheapskate.”

Adam chuckled and made his way into the kitchen to check on his work. He pulled the brussels sprouts out of the oven and tossed them into a mixing bowl with small cut-up pieces of bacon and a little butter. He mixed it all up until his mother came to the door of the kitchen holding a pair of boots in her hands, “Adam, what happened to these?”

Looking at the melted boots, he let out a sigh, “That's part of why I wanted to have a family dinner. I'll explain at the table, promise.”

Sarah looked at him with deep concern, “Is... everything okay? Are you alright?”

Adam grinned brightly, “I'm fine mom, I promise it's nothing bad.”

She studied him for any signs of lying as only a mother could. Seeing none, because he was being honest, she finally nodded and moved away from the kitchen.

It only took Adam a few minutes to finish the meal and let the pork chops rest properly. After setting the plates out around the small table he had in his teeny tiny apartment's 'dining room.'

Once they were all sat down and had taken a few bites of their food, Sarah looked at Adam with that concerned 'tell-me-what's-going-on-right-now' look only a parent could pull off. Seeing that look aimed at him, Adam set his silverware down and took a breath to steel his nerves.

Once he felt ready, he looked between his mother and his sister, “Yesterday, something happened. I woke up, and I had... a Power.”

Sarah immediately looked concerned while Eve looked mildly confused. Sarah was the one to speak, “What kind of Power?”

Adam searched for the right words, “My Power gives me abilities, skills, traits, and even items, at random.”

Eve seemed to be catching on while Sarah looked mildly confused and very concerned, “And this Power, what has it given you?”

Deciding that show and tell would be a bit easier than explaining, Adam stood up and then began floating into the air. Sarah looked worried and concerned. Eve shouted, “Holy shit, you've got super powers!”

“Eve! Language!”

Eve didn't look the least bit contrite about swearing. Adam smiled at the interaction and lowered himself to the ground. After re-taking his seat, he explained, “What I get is completely random. Sometimes it's pretty useful, like the power I just showed. It basically makes me a much weaker Omni-Man or Immortal. Flight, speed, durability, and strength. Or, there's another ability I got that makes my skin mildly sticky to other people.”

He pulled one of his web shooters out of his inventory and set it on the table, “It also can give me random items. These are called Web Shooters. They fire out spider webbing that's stronger than steel and can be used in all kinds of situations.”

“OH! You're that new guy that dealt with that tanker last night and worked with Teen Team at the bank robbery, aren't you?!”

Eve's outburst put all the pieces together and caused Sarah to cover her mouth in shock. Adam nodded, “Yeah. That was me.” He gestured to the melted boots sitting off to the side, “Before the bank robbery, I helped some firefighters with putting out an oil fire at a mechanic's shop. My boots melted, and my clothing burned.” He dug out the card Robot had given him, “Tomorrow I plan to talk to this guy about a proper costume.”

He set the card down where Sarah and Eve could both see it. Sarah picked up the card and gave a small smile, “Art does good work.”

Those words froze the room for a few seconds before Eve spoke up in a small voice, “Mom? How do you know a costume maker for superheroes?”

Sarah set the card down and took a calming breath, showing where Adam had gained the habit. Her eyes focused on the card while she spoke in a solemn voice, “Your father, he was like Adam. Not the exact same, but he did have an ability, and he used it to help people.”

Adam was surprised, but Eve looked shell-shocked. Sarah pushed a brussels sprout around her plate and continued, “He worked with the Guardians and Omni-Man sometimes, though his power wasn't all that great. He could teleport himself and anyone or anything he was touching up to fifty feet. He used it to help out with rescue operations, hostage situations, and other situations where it could be useful. He died doing what he loved, saving people. He went by Safeguard.”

Adam's mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions. He remembered that hero name. The hero had stopped appearing at the same time his father had died, but he'd never connected those dots. Then again, what ten-year-old kid would?

“Dad was a hero? Is that why Omni-Man...?” Adam asked.

Sarah nodded, “Your father worked with Omni-Man at a lot of disasters or in the aftermath of kaiju attacks. Omni-Man, or others, would remove rubble, and your father would teleport survivors to waiting medical teams.”

She took a deep breath and looked Adam right in the eyes, “He would be so proud of what you've done. But, I'm worried. The world is just so dangerous with monsters and villains all over the place. I need you to be safe, I can't lose you.”

Adam rubbed at his eyes, he wasn't crying, dammit! After a deep breath, he straightened and looked his mother in the eye, “The more hero work I do, the stronger I will grow. I don't know exactly how strong I can get, but I'm certain I can get even stronger than Omni-Man with a lot of luck and time. It won't be instant.”

That caused both women to gasp. Sarah looked relieved while Eve looked like a combination of surprised and jealous. Eve huffed and gave Adam a stare all little sisters seemed to perfect that conveyed love, hatred, and a seething jealousy all at once, “So unfair. I want superpowers too!”

Adam shrugged, “Well, seeing as how whatever I get is totally random, it's possible I could get an ability that lets me loan out my unused abilities or maybe grant abilities.”

“Wait, unused abilities?”

Adam nodded to Eve's question, “My power only lets me use a limited number of abilities at once. The more abilities I get, the more I can use. Right now I have seven abilities, but I can only use two of them at a time. Three of those seven are complete garbage though.” He smirked at Eve, “Though maybe I should give you the one that makes everyone you touch think you're sticky.”

Eve stuck her tongue out at him, “Jerk!”

The siblings squabbled for a bit while Sarah watched fondly. Eventually she brought them back to order, “Adam, I'll call Art and set an appointment for you tomorrow. Have you thought of a name?”

Adam crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes to think. His father's superhero name was stuck in his mind. Part of him wanted to inherit it, to become the new Safeguard and protect the world. He decided not to, to not appropriate any of his father's legacy. But he wanted something along those lines. A guard... a protector... standing guard...

His eyes focused up to his mother, “I've got a name.”

-----Line Break-----

Adam walked down the steps into a secret underground room at the back of a tailor shoppe. The older man leading him, Arthur 'Art' Rosenbaum, had been very welcoming from the moment Adam had stepped into his shop. Now, as they walked down the stairs, the older man with the receding hairline asked, “So, you thought much about how you want the costume to look?”

Adam nodded, “I have. In fact,” He opened the manila folder he had with him and pulled out a sketch he'd drawn himself, “I even brought reference material.”

Art laughed lightly while accepting the drawing, “That's different! I usually have to go off of people's vague descriptions.” He studied the picture for a bit while humming, “What about colors?”

“It's not colored because I want simple black and white.”

“I see. Unusually, but classic.” He chuckled while gesturing to the chest, “It's been a while since I did something this blatant. Usually people want letters to be more subtle, except Omni-Man, of course. But his costume is a classic.”

Adam laughed, “I don't plan to compete with Omni-Man, but I think the letter is perfect.”

Art nodded along, “If you say so, kid, though I do agree. Still, the customer is always right.”

“In matters of taste.”

Art paused and turned to look at Adam with something that looked like amusement and a bit of pride, “Hoh? You know the whole quote and not just the butchered half that Karen's use to justify their bad behavior?”

Adam grinned, “I'm an artist myself.”

Art laughed and nodded in understanding, “Well. Let's get you measured so I can get to work. I'm looking forward to seeing just how good this turns out on you.”

“No problem, but I do have a question.”

Art walked to his desk and set the drawing down, “What's that?”

“Can it be made of a material that stretches?”

Confused, Art looked up at Adam, “I thought you were like Omni-Man? Why would it need to stretch?”

“Well, being a flying brick is a large part of my powers, but I do have some minor transformations. For example...”

He quickly stripped off his shirt under Art's incredulous stare. It all made sense a second later when his entire body expanded in size while white fur with black stripes covered him from head to toe. Thankfully, Adam had planned ahead and was wearing loose sweatpants so they wouldn't tear.

Art whistled in appreciation at the sight of the large bipedal Siberian tiger now staring at him with golden eyes, “That is mighty impressive. I haven't seen you do it on the news, though.”

Adam quickly shifted back and pulled his shirt back on, “Not much of a reason to transform out on the job, yet.”

“I see. Well, I got some material that can work with that. You're not the only size-changing hero I'll have made a costume for. Come on, let's get you measured.”

From there it was hours of work to get the costume just right, though Art promised that future copies of the costume could be produced much faster than the first. Seeing it finished, Adam couldn't wait to get it on.

-----Line Break-----

Adam landed on top of a building and relaxed while looking over the skyline. He grinned behind his new mask that only covered the lower half of his face, leaving his eyes and hair out in the wind. The black mask went all the way down his neck until it hit his chest, where it transitioned to white. White covered his upper chest, the outside of his arms, a band around his waist, and his boots. His underarms, the sides of his torso, his gloves, and his legs were black. Topping it all off was a black S sitting in the center of his white chest.

Adam curled his hands into fists while his mask moved with his grin, “Sentinel has arrived.”

[Feat Achieved! Become a true costumed hero. +1 Gold Gacha Ticket]

AN

9.3k Words

And here's chapter 2. I had a lot of fun with this one, and the rolls were all legit, which was fucking hilarious. Apparently Adam is supposed to be a breast man given the focus on lactation abilities? Fucking hilarious.

Totally going to use Induce Lactation on someone at some point.

Let me know what you think of Adam's experiences and his growth in becoming a hero.