HardCored - Chatroom

MagicIsTragic: So, James, how are your magic studies going?

JamesIsInTheDark: Good, I think? I haven't had a lot of time to develop it recently.

MagicIsTragic: Oh, shoot.

TechnoGogo: With pleasure! Bazooka or artillery?

KillLaKrill: Is it normal I wouldn't be surprised if she did actually have some kind of rocket launcher?

(Mod)Seagullag: It's out of my jurisdiction.

The Silence: Techno, I'd appreciate it if you didn't disrupt the quiet of today.

TechnoGogo: What about a silent explosion?

The Silence: You may proceed.

MagicIsTragic: No! Don't you dare explode something without me!

TechnoGogo: I'm gonna do it.

KillLaKrill: Think of the children, Techno!

TechnoGogo: They'll appreciate the fireworks. Ready or not, here it comes! Three...

Saray: Techno you better not actually explode something.

TechnoGogo: Two...

Saray: Seagullag!

(Mod)Seagullag: For the record, I am merely a forum moderator, I do not have the power to stop whatever is happening.

TechnoGogo: One...

MagicIsTragic: I hope whatever you're doing is legal, it'd be a shame to lose my nemesis so early in my carrier.

TechnoGogo: Boom!

The Silence: Oh my.

JamesIsInTheDark: Just to be sure, this was only a troll right? I can't see what's happening outside right now and if there's something in the sky I'd like to know.

TechnoGogo: Yup, just troll.

Saray: Techno, apologize now.

TechnoGogo: Why? As James once said, it's the Internet. You can't trust everything people say.

Saray: Techno.

TechnoGogo: Alright, I'm sorry for giving you a scare. Happy?

Saray: It will do for now.

MagicIsTragic: Boo! Shame on you! Lying about explosions? You'll pay for that!

TechnoGogo: Oh, it was only a joke. A prank. A shenanigan.

JamesIsInTheDark: I'm not a local, where I come from it's easier to tell if people are serious or not, but they still avoided things that were a little too real. Saying they wanted to ditch everything and become a cryptid in the woods? Joke, obviously. Saying they wanted to blow up their school? That one got the police involved. Sometimes. When they were good at their job.

TechnoGogo: Right, when you put it like that...

KillLaKrill: By the way James, what happened with the noise last time in the end?

JamesIsInTheDark: A guy helped a couple of people with feral animals, a Villain passed by and decided to trounce him good. He's fine, by the way. A few scars, but he doesn't mind.

MagicIsTragic: Whoa, Villain attack? Do you know who did it?

Saray: I haven't heard about an attack like that...

KillLaKrill: I guess people are a bit more preoccupied with the Nightsnatcher stuff than the usual Villain shenanigans.

Saray: I guess...

JamesIsInTheDark: I know who did it, yes, but I think it'd be best if I didn't tell you.

TechnoGogo: Why?

JamesIsInTheDark: Well, as far as the Villain's aware the guy is dead, and as much as I like you guys I'd rather not take the risk.

The Silence: Understandable.

JamesIsInTheDark: And I don't want you to worry about my location.

MagicIsTragic: Oh, so it's a localized Villain!

(Mod)Seagullag: Privacy stuff! No investigating!

MagicIsTragic: Sorry, dad.

KillLaKrill: Ouch, right in the age.

(Mod)Seagullag: I'm not ashamed of my age. I'm an experienced man who went through a lot of things, why should I worry about how old I am.

KillLaKrill: Do you still have hair? Or head feathers?

KillLaKrill has been muted by Moderator Seagullag for 60 seconds. Reason: Disrespected a mod.

MagicIstragic: No talking about the hair, got it.

TechnoGogo: I don't see what's the big deal with hair. Like, why have strands of useless keratin when you could have nice shiny chrome instead?

The Silence: Not everyone here shares your obsession with metallic contraptions and alterations.

MagicIsTragic: I agree with the hair thing, but metal? No! I want cool flames instead! Like Pyralis!

Saray: I don't see what's the big deal with her. She doesn't even sing that well.

TechnoGogo: Eh, the visuals of her shows are nice. Otherwise, yeah, not much of note.

MagicIsTragic: You heretics! James, help me!

JamesIsInTheDark: Again, not a local. I know nothing about your popstars or whatever.

MagicIsTragic: But! She's awesome!

JamesIsInTheDark: Good for her, I suppose.

Saray: Sorry guys, I have to go.

TechnoGogo: Bye Saray!

MagicIsTragic: Go have fun, you heathen.

The Silence: May your day be uneventful.

JamesIsInTheDark: I think I have to go too. Until next time!

Sarah shut down her screen as she put her phone in her pocket. Thankfully for all of the female members of the Hero training program, since the trainee uniform was unisex, they all had pockets. So many pockets...

The ginger short girl chuckled as she recalled how Glicer Glitter, the sole member of their trainee group and temporary team that was shorter than her, reacted when she had realized she had pockets everywhere, her hips, her sides, her arms, her shins...

"SO MANY SECRET GLITTER CACHES!"

The early days of their training had been exhausting. Without taking into account the actual physical training, which none of them were ready for, the long hours of studying the ASC's laws and Zalcien's and the various protocols in case of emergencies fried their poor brains. Even Elaimant, who she was pretty sure didn't have an organic brain and whose body appeared to be made of metal, could barely stand after the first day of training and could only emit white noise for an hour.

At least now they knew what to do depending on which alarm rung in the Union's Headquarters. Depending on the color, tone, rhythm, and even smell - a system put in place for those who were missing any of the other senses - they could mean totally different things. The classic red alarm most people thought of was one of them, and was the general "there's an emergency, we don't know much more" one.

Of course, not everyone was expected to react to every alarm. Trainees like them weren't supposed to go on missions yet for example, but even among the professional Heroes, there were different groups. Those specialized in disasters and fires, those specialized in hunting loose monsters, those specialized in dealing with singular powerful targets, those specialized in dealing with multiple weak ones... Despite what most people thought, you couldn't just throw a Hero at a problem and hope it would get fixed. Otherwise, there would be no point in maintaining a police force or firefighters.

Sarah looked around the classroom she was waiting in, taking note of who was already there with her. She always preferred coming in early to classes, it let her have some peace and quiet and she could just use her phone until her teachers would arrive, and this habit stuck to her Hero training.

Currently waiting with her was the owl boy whose alias had been switched to Scareowl after Saline, the leader of Zalcien's branch of the Hero Union, had received a letter from the demonic prince the name Stolos had been inspired by who kindly asked them to drop it or meet him in court, and no one wanted to go to a demonic court of law. He still looked uncomfortable in the trainee uniform, with all of his brown and beige feathers puffed up. During their time together she had learned he actually had a pair of short talons on his wings that he used as fingers, just like he was doing currently as he read his book, some kind of leather tome, probably a grimoire.

They weren't the only two, the sapient pyramidal crystal in a magnetic rainbow bubble floating above a headless humanoid body of various metallic knick-knacks enveloped in a very large white trainee that went by the name Elaimant was with them. She had gotten used to the light humming that he was constantly emitting, and they were a really interesting person to talk to once you got over their odd manner of speaking.

"Observation: The others are running late. Again."

"We noticed, Elaimant."

"I'm sure they'll be here soon."

"Soon isn't enough, Firefly. In a real emergency, any second wasted-"

"-is a life lost. I know."

"Observation: Kopper is approaching."

"Can you tell if Glicer is with him?"

"Answer: No. This one can detect Kopper due to the high levels of metal in his body."

"I notice you didn't ask about Maledicta."

"As if miss 'better than you non-drow heathens' would hang out with him."

"Observation: You dislike her, Firefly."

"Yes, I do. Heroes are supposed to help people, not be pompous little-"

As she was about to finish her phrase Sarah was interrupted by a tall scrawny black teen running into the room, his momentum making him keep on sliding despite having stopped, out of breath

"I'm... I'm here... Not late... Whoa..."

Behind him walked in a small bubbly pale girl with metaphorical fiery hair - it was always good to be precise - who cheerfully waved at everyone.

"Hi guys!"

"Hi Glicer, Kopper."

"Salutations: Hello, Kopper and Glicer."

"You were almost late. Again."

"Nice to see... You too... Scareowl..."

"Kopper! Don't tell me you're exhausted from our little run!"

"Glicer... I ran... You flew..."

"Flying can be just as tiring."

"See? He agrees with me!"

"Observation: Scareowl's flying method is physical, yours is elemental. His is much more taxing than yours, therefore they cannot be compared."

"Thanks... Elaimant..."

"Continuation: It is true however that your stamina needs improvement. A Hero whose main trait is physical prowess needs the energy required to use their strength effectively. It should be your focus in the following physical training courses."

"Oh... Joy..."

Glicer giggled whereas Scareowl rolled his eyes. Or more accurately, since owls can't move their eyes due to having a different structure than eyeballs, vertically turned his head until one eye was right above the other before going back to normal. That had taken some getting used to, but now Sarah found the gesture a little cute.

Of course, it was at this specific moment that a robot walked into the room. Its body looked like it was made of silver with a blueish hue, and despite its humanoid body shape, Sarah would be hard-pressed to call it an android. Its limbs were simple thin bars with thicker and more complex joints and articulations, with a bulky and angular chest as well as a head that looked like a security camera, a horizontal rectangle with a black sphere of glass that contained its eye. Its large yet dexterous hands had a regular thumb and two thick fingers, though Sarah knew those could split further into a total of seven fingers per hand, and similarly, its feet were normally toeless but could split into four dexterous talons each, with such flexibility that they could go from the front to the back of the foot with no worries.

"Greetings, Heroes in training."

The group stood and placed their right fist on their hearts before pushing that same arm forward, showing the robot their palms with their fingers spread wide, the Hero Union's official salute.

""For justice!""

The robot stared at them with its singular eye, analyzing their posture and looking for the smallest mistake.

"Satisfying salute. At ease."

Sarah, Scareowl, and Elaimant sat down, already at their desks, whereas Kopper Kid and Glicer Glitter had to take a couple of steps to be ready at their desks.

"Trainee Maledicta is late. Noting down."

Kopper sighed with relief to have arrived on time, whereas Glicer didn't seem to realize how lucky she was. There was no arguing against a Legion, only giving your reasons and hoping someone would check the file.

Legions such as the one standing before them were the faceless workers of the Union. To cover up Hero identities the Union employed many civilians, whether directly in its Headquarters or one of its numerous subbranches like themed restaurants and merchandising, but when it came to the truly important jobs that didn't need specialized Supers to be completed, the Legions were in. Monitoring Villain activity and Internet forums? Legions. Creating machines and building secret bases based on the plans of Mind Aspected personnel? Legions. Fighting waves of zombies to let the civilians flee and the Heroes deal with the source of the threat? Legions.

The Legions were made in and distributed by the Main Headquarters of the Union and each had a self-destruct program to avoid capture, to be sure no Villain would ever be able to take one and impersonate the Union. The Legions were neither sapient nor sentient, to ensure perfect calm and loyalty to the cause. Everything they did was the result of careful calculations that occurred faster than most people could think, and despite being made in bulk and meant to be disposable their construction was flawless, making the Legions incredibly resistant and powerful. If she had to be honest, Sarah would probably lose to a Legion in a serious fight. They had yet to go into Super versus Super fight, but she could already guess their first opponents would probably be Legions now that she thought about it.

"We will now go over the best method to handle a fire. We will go over different scenarios, and you will each have to answer first individually and then as a group on the best course of action. Your choices will be analyzed and noted."

As the lesson began, Sarah thought back to the latest addition to the HardCored Chatroom, or at least the latest addition she was aware of and interacted with every so often. James was surprisingly both very open and very secretive, and though she could guess why she didn't want to assume anything. Still, she would ask her uncle and a Legion about any recent incident regarding a Villain attack against a civilian who fought animals or anything of the sort. Not to know where James was, of course, no, she just didn't feel right knowing there could be a Villain out there that could harm her friend.

Well, friend. He was nice, and she really liked talking to him whenever he was online, but that was more or less the extent of their relationship. Internet friends were still friends, but she hadn't known him that long. Maybe they could try to play a game online together, all of the usual members of the public Chatroom in a friendly competition? They hadn't done that in a while.

"Firefly, your turn."

"Ah, yes!"