Hero Awakening: Shadow Vanguard

Patrol

There were five hero guilds in Geo, each of them being led by one of the five S ranked heroes of the city. Charles McRae was in charge of the Shadow Vanguards, the second most powerful guild in the city, and the guild with the highest number of A rank members.

Michael knew that if he enrolled into the Hero program, he would fall prey to the scheme of the government. And now that the identity of his parents was no longer a secret, he knew he would eventually turn into a toy for them to gamble with. His only option right now was joining Charles' team, the shadow vanguard. Even though they were supposed to be a unit that operated in the shadows, Charles McRae was the polar opposite. He was active during day and night, and that exactly was the reason many people adored him and raced under his command.

"You don't have to give me your answer right away. Take your time to figure out what you want, and when you're ready you can call for me and give me your answer." Charles notified and Michael reluctantly nodded in agreement. He had already made his mind up, but didn't want to give an answer right away, not until he was sure of what he was getting into.

"Where am I going to be staying?" He asked for starters. There were a lot of questions going through his mind, but accommodation and feeding were the most important at the moment. He figured he might have to stay with Charles since he had now become his legal guardian even without his consent. But at the same time, the hero might have a family and not want any outsider in his home.

"With me, for now. Once you've made up your mind, you'd be sent to the shadow vanguard headquarters, or to the Hero academy. It's your choice." Charles answered with a light smile.

"When do we leave?" Michael inquired, eager to leave the facility as quickly as possible.

"You seem to be in a hurry, Michael Black. Is there something you do not like about this place?" A familiar voice asked from the door. A voice that Michael had heard so many times on the television that it was practically stuck to his memory at this point.

"Jay Allen?" He muttered lightly before turning to confirm if he had been right.

"It's General Allen around here, but it's nice to see the legacy of Harold Black. Your parents were good people, heroes wouldn't have gotten to this status in the world if it weren't for them." The fifty four year old man said as he approached Michael, his right arm outstretched for a handshake.

Reluctantly, Michael took the man's hands and after five seconds of being in contact retracted his hand. This wasn't his first time meeting General Allen in person, this was probably the third. Twice the man had visited their home, and had always spent hours discussing with his father. He had been young at the time, barely five years old so he could barely keep up with their conversations.

"You've recently awakened, your father didn't believe it was possible for you to do so." Allen revealed as he sized up the boy with his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Michael asked, curious and confused at the same time. This man clearly knew something that he didn't, and he wanted to know what it was. It has something to do with his father, and that alone has piqued his interest.

"You've noticed, haven't you? How weak you've been since you were born. Your cells weren't strong enough to handle mutation, it was a miracle you were even born without deformities." Allen explained, and all Michael could do was stare in horror and shock. "Your father knew of this, and even though he did strengthen your body, he didn't have the technology that could completely rewrite your body's functionality. But it seems he was wrong. It might have taken eighteen years, but you finally awakened."

"Shut up." Michael ordered in a rather cold tone. "You don't know anything about me or my father, and I don't want you ever speaking about him. He might have been a crazy man, but he would never turn his only son into a guinea pig for science experiments."

Allen recoiled a little before raising his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't mean to offend you, I was simply telling you the truth. After all, I was part of the scientists that worked on your body—"

It happened quickly, and if not for his years of experience, the general would have likely fallen to the enraged boy's fists. He had been pulled in by an invisible force and at the same time Michael had reflexively lurched himself forward, his fists balled up and ready to strike.

However, the General was faster, and with thirty years of combat experience, dodging a teenager's blow was no big deal. He had been banned from using his abilities, but nobody stopped him from taking karate classes. Taking hold of his opponent's outstretched arm, the older man skillfully twisted the arm upwards. Coupled with Michael's momentum, he had flipped the boy as though he was a coin, and had immediately subdued him to the ground.

"You're hot tempered, it's not something I saw a lot in your father." Allen chastised.

"Get off me!" Michael demanded, his tone livid and demeaning.

With an exhausted sigh, Allen finally released the angry boy from his hold. "You still need a lot of training if you want to shut me up. I'm hoping Charles would be a good tutor for you." Allen said as he walked towards the door. "Well then, see you later Michael Black. I hope you become a strong hero like your parents were."

"Stupid old fart!" Michael cursed as Allen slowly disappeared from his range of sight.

"You're very hotheaded, it's not an attribute most heroes possess." Charles started while he slowly massaged Michael's shoulder.

Swiftly, in a singular move, Michael smacked the hero's hand off his shoulder. "I'm not most heroes, nor do I want to be most heroes. I'm only here because I want to live out the dream that somebody had entrusted me to carry. Even though I won't take it seriously because it's not my life choice, I wish to at least honor him in the way I can."

"Hehe... So that's how it is then? We better get going, it's getting dark, and I'd have to leave for hero duties soon."

With an angry face and cold eyes, Michael followed his new guardian out of the building and into a parked vehicle nearby, a Porsche Cayman. As expected, an S ranked hero would be nothing short of a millionaire. His father had been rich too, and he had been living off that wealth for over a decade now..

"I think we should go shopping first. Since your clothes were destroyed, it's only natural that you get another one. You can't wear a hospital robe forever." Charles pointed out, and only then did Michael realize that he had been in a hospital gown the entire time. He never took a second to check out his clothes, he had been worried about Daniel the moment he regained consciousness, and ever since then he had to deal with the heroes and his new life.

"That is a good idea..." Michael muttered, his face turned away in mild embarrassment.

It only took a couple minutes to reach the nearest mall, and another twenty minutes for Charles to be done with buying as much clothes as he could. In total he had bought a dozen shirts and pants and one pair of tuxedo for official purposes. It was the much he could buy at the time, Michael would have to manage until there was time to make another purchase.

After a half an hour long drive, the car finally pulled up in front of a mansion. It was a bit secluded from normal civilization, and was a lot bigger than where Michael once lived.

A sweeping staircase led to an imposing entrance, where double doors opened to reveal a palatial and even more opulent interior.

Expansive windows allow natural light to dance upon the polished surfaces, highlighting the richness of the marble walls and tiles. Every corner of the building screamed wealth, and it was nothing below Michael's expectations. This man was probably the most loved hero, it was no surprise that he was stupidly rich.

"You live alone?" Michael inquired, and the hero shook his head to reply.

"No, my best student stays here too. You could call him my sidekick, but we rarely go on the same rescue missions."

"The Reaper?" Michael asked and Charles nodded. Everyone knew of the youngest A rank hero, Ben Fury. He was the dream boyfriend of all the girls in his school, and the inspiration of all the children. He rarely made an appearance, but whenever he did, the crowd usually went wild. "Where is he now?"

"Probably out on a rescue mission. He rarely stays at home." Charles replied as he lowered the boxes onto the couch. "We should probably get ready to leave too, the streets won't patrol themselves."

Michael paused momentarily, and just to make sure he had heard correctly, he asked; "We?"

"Yes, we," Charles answered. "It doesn't matter what you choose, you'd still undergo this sort of training. And secondly, nobody wants to be left alone in a giant empty house. So tonight, you'll be patrolling with me."