Divine Celebrity 161 (Patreon)

Stealing might be wrong, but there was no doubting its usefulness. A brief detour later, I left the hospital, wearing a pair of old sneakers, and a jeans and a t-shirt combo, a baseball cap. I even had a few hundred dollars in my pocket. 

A daunting prospect considering I probably had nothing in my bank accounts — I wasn’t exactly rich before the Disaster, and I had no doubt that whatever I had had been eaten by fees and other concerns. 

Though, it was fascinating that there hadn’t been a wild inflation that turned money into nothing. I would have assumed that, for once, the government worked efficiently, but I had a feeling it had more to do with the spell that prevented people from panicking. 

Once out, my first target was the public library, the baseball cap working well enough to keep my identity hidden even if my face had been plastered by the local papers. Once there, I started reading about the other heroes, this time not afraid of tripping any potential trap. 

However, even as I started going, I couldn’t help but lament about the loss of social media. With it, it would have been so much easier to collect Intent. A few inflammatory sentences, maybe several controversial actions, all boosted by several thousands of bots, and I wouldn’t have been facing a lack of intent. 

Instead, I had to work with the traditional media, which was far more challenging, and far less rewarding. 

There was no point lamenting, so I focused on my research. Heroes, and how they act. Luckily, that was not a hard topic to find. Their exploits had filled the papers, their heroic rescues of fire victims, interviews, photoshoots, talk show appearances… There were very detailed pieces about their strongest moves — named like they were cartoon characters — their personal sense of justice, and even some interesting yet wholesome quirks. 

Almost every single hero had them, and the competition for popularity was intense. 

Too intense, like someone had decided to plagiarize my strategy of replacing worship with fame. Fascinating. 

I continued to research, but every article I read confirmed that. And, the more I read, the more I understood the point of their aggressive public persona. 

Without the System, they couldn’t just convert any type of Intent to power. I still remember the trick of Professor Argus while playing chess, or Arthur during the game, and how dangerous the process had been. The widespread application suggested that they now had a better method for it, but it was still not perfect. 

And, with that, another detail clicked. The disappearance of the social media was not an accident. Social media was too chaotic and messy to maintain a curated image, unlike traditional media which could be controlled and censored. Without it, they could never create a consistent image for the heroes. 

“Fascinating,” I thought, then decided to check something else. 

Ex-heroes. 

Finding them had been easier, as their digital presence hadn’t been much. I actually had to go downstairs to check the archives and check the old newspapers. I didn’t have time to browse all the news of the last four years, but a quick search had been enough to confirm one important thing. 

Character assassination was deadly for heroes. All it took was several conflicting and inflammatory news, spread across a week or two, for them to stop. Luckily, I noticed a few of them trying to make some kind of comeback. They failed, but at least it proved the backlash was not deadly, which gave me a range to more freely. 

It was still troublesome, of course. With the System, the controversies were very beneficial to me, but it was not something I wanted to reveal. I didn’t want to be targeted, especially not before I could truly understand the critical players in this new world. 

Meaning, I had to act modestly. 

Thanks to that news, my new career as a hero was inevitable. And, considering I had started it with a sex scandal, it needed to be a part of it. 

As I left the library, my mind was already on it. I needed a hero theme, one that mixed with the idea of sex, but also with a clear identity and personality that could be conveyed. A troubling question…

Or not, I corrected myself as I passed through a kiosk and my gaze fell on a familiar headline.

-Ex-Quarterback Gives No Quarter-

Quarterback. It was a good, strong theme, one that conveyed itself in several moves. And, as far as heroic identities went, it wasn’t glorious like Lighting King or something else, which, hopefully, wouldn’t be too intimidating. Also, it would be a good homage to the destroyed college, hopefully giving me some sympathy points.  

Not to mention, it mashed well with the idea of sex scandals. 

I visited a few pawn shops and vintage clothing stores, quickly gathering the necessary items. An old uniform of Sunset College, with number one on the back and no name. It was one of the gift store gimmicks that allowed people to put their own names. 

I left the name field empty, and focused on collecting other accessories. 

Luckily, I managed to find a decent helmet with a dark visor that hid my face. Naturally, I had no desire to actually hide my identity — that hope was long gone after the news — but I still wanted to give the impression of a secret identity. 

I wanted to look like I was trying. 

“Not bad,” I said as I checked myself on the motel room mirror, the best room I could afford with my finances. The uniform fit well enough after my adjustments — living in the streets as a kid, I had long learned to tailor, and my Divine Agility made it even easier — and the pads made me look even more intimidating. 

I tested a few poses while holding the ball, aware that my debut was more about making an impressive show than actually being heroic. 

I went through several poses, which brought me to the last time I posed. It was with Kim, playing in the basketball game. It had been only a few days for me, but for her, it had been three years. I wondered what she was doing … as well as the others. 

However, no matter how tempting was the idea, I didn’t try to find them. I had too many things to focus on first. 

Like, finding a decent debut opportunity … or how much power I would display.  

“Now, that’s a complicated question,” I muttered as I paused, wondering about the exact amount of power I needed to reveal to be impressive without being threatening. Naturally, I had no intention of actually revealing my full power. According to the news, there were several heroes who could actually punch trains off their tracks, which was not something I could achieve.

But it didn’t mean I was safe displaying all my power. 

First of all, there was no guarantee that the news was accurate. They might have been exaggerations to generate more fame. 

And, even assuming those achievements reflected the capabilities of the heroes — possibly considering the mysterious people that stepped out of the portal when I first awakened —  it still wouldn’t mean that I was safe displaying an equal level of competency. I had no idea which groups the strongest heroes belonged, to and what secrets were behind their exceptional performance. 

No, I much rather start small, just enough to give me the Intent I needed to match the daily consumption of the System. 

So, in the end, I decided to give a mixed performance, someone around the level of Heroic Trait III. That much, I had already revealed during my football games before the Disaster, and a combination of them should be just enough to give more. 

And, I could always reveal something closer to Strength V when facing something truly dangerous, similar to what I had displayed against the people who tried to kidnap Megan before the Disaster. 

With that decided, I moved on to the next step, and started playing with a walkie-talkie I had picked up from the pawn shop and started modifying it so it was able to easily tap into available police channels. Now that my hero costume was done, I was ready to take the next step. 

I just needed an opportunity, one that I received a few minutes later. “Break-in at Fifth Street. Subjects are armed. All teams, please respond.” 

It was just a couple streets away. “Excellent,” I thought as I jumped out of the window, at least trying to look like I had been trying to maintain a secret identity. Then, I climbed to the nearest rooftop with a simple parkour move, moving through the roofs, until I caught up with the lone gunman. 

“Stop!” I shouted. He did not, even raising his gun toward me. “Bullet pass!” I shouted, and threw the ball, which hit him hard enough to send his gun careening. And, before he could react, I jumped down, landing down in a heroic pose before rushing. “Justice tackle!” I shouted as I slammed him, feeling the cringe invade my body. 

It felt ridiculous, but I was already being recorded by two security cameras, and it would certainly show up in the evening news. 

I needed to look good…