Hero of all Worlds- New Year, New Me

Winter break ended and the new year was brought in with fireworks and celebrations. Kuro did what he always did on the new year- celebrated another year of life with his extended family. This year was different though. His family always brought in the new year with a solemn promise to face the future, a very fitting gesture when a member of the family is terminally ill. So they celebrated but there was a thin atmosphere of joy covering a deep uncertain fear. 

Kuro didn't feel that fear anymore. He hadn't told anyone yet about Pride's training or the fact that inheriting his power could heal his disease. He should tell them but the time isn't right yet. He hasn't been healed yet so he didn't want to get anyone's hopes up. There's also the fact that it would be hard to explain how after all these years he somehow found a cure on his own.

While trying to make dinner with his family, Kuro dropped a pot because his arms weren't strong enough to hold it. Luckily his dad caught it with magnetism. And in this was another reason Kuro hadn't told anyone about a possible cure. He was getting worse. He fell more often and it was harder to get up every time. If only his disease were a villain he could fight and triumph over like a real hero, but no he had to sit by and slowly waste away.

The new year's ritual drove that home every single year.

But still Kuro kept smiling, putting on a brave face. Because now he did have a reason to believe that everything would be okay. Because his hero is helping to take back his future. Because Pride encouraged him. Kuro smiles because no one else can bring themselves to. He smiles because someone has to.

There is one family member Kuro always looks forward to seeing every year, Uncle Llin. Llin (Ellen) is one of the more eccentric members of Kuro's family and is absolutely obsessed with hero history, the subject he teaches in high school. 

"Kuro! How's our little hero? Have you solved the great mysteries of the world yet?" Llin hugs Kuro, asking the same questions as every year. 

"Yeah I have actually." Kuro smiles back. Llin was just the person he wanted to see and then geek out with. "I was actually wondering about a few old pro heroes. Specifically Amazonia and Duke Smashington." Kuro figured he might as well take the chance to learn everything he could about his predecessors.

Kuro's uncle burst with excitement, info dumping at record speed. "They were both top hero for most of their careers. And hear this- I'm pretty sure they knew each other well. They were often seen together and The Duke did three years worth of internships and his work-study at Amazonia's agency despite the fact that only female heroes worked there. They also might have had connected talents, whenever Duke Smashington showed off his talent it seemed to be really similar to Amazonia's."

Of course there was a connection that only Kuro and few others knew about, but he couldn't let his uncle know so Kuro just smiled and nodded, picking threads out of the blue couch.

"Anyways Amazonia had a super powerful talent and was from Neyurica, so not here and not Euris. Her talent was some sort of Super Enhancement that enhanced her in every way! It was one of the strongest augmentation type talents and her family members had similar talents. Because her brothers and parents were doing just fine on Neyurica, she moved here when she was 25 to make a name for herself. She attended a renowned hero school on her planet and was in the graduating class of '22. Her studies boosted her talent to unholy levels of coolness. She had a good run until she retired after 40 years and she lived for quite a long time after that."

So far Llin didn't really have much information that Kuro hadn't gotten from Pride or various chat boards. "What about Duke Smashington? He's the one I really haven't been able to find anything on." The internet had a suspicious lack of information on The Duke despite him being not as old as Amazonia.

"Yeah I've noticed that too. Must be because of the scandal surrounding his death." Kuro's uncle shifted to sit on the edge of his seat and he rubbed his paws together in excitement. 

This was brand new information. "His death? What happened?" 

"Well it's kinda a long story, but what you need to know is that The Duke didn't fight straight with his talent. His weapon was a giant hammer that was so heavy it took a lot of strength to use so because he used the hammer no one really ever knew what his talents were but from reports I'm certain he has multiple. We know The Duke had some sort of enhancement talent and he definitely had wings but who knows if the other abilities I saw from him were advanced skills or something else. Not like people have ever been able to have more than 2 talents, but that could be why he died the way he did."

Kuro coughed to cover his surprise. Man was Uncle Llin closer to the truth than he realized. 

"So a few years before his death, The Duke took an intern for work-studies from SHI and that's when everything went downhill for him. I don't think it was the kid's fault but some people sure do. Not long after the kid came to his agency, The Duke went part time for a few months and when he came back full-time as a hero he wasn't quite the same. For one thing he lost a lot more fights and soon the student became his sidekick. This guy might have been Pride's dad honestly, that's my theory- similar appearance and talents possibly. But what made the pair go down in internet tabloid history was the day Duke Smashington died."