Zeke
Zeke was born in a poor household. He had suffered through numerous hardships all throughout his life, however, he simply wanted to make the life for his parents a little better. If he could get a good position in the government he could earn enough money to let his aging and hard-working parents smile a bit and relieve their pressure. He had a little sister, the darling of his life, who he pampered with all his love. Zeke was a boy who loved his family.
After much hard work, effort and a bit of luck Zeke managed to enter Mobius High School. He was on the trajectory to elevate his family's economic position. In this society, low tiered individuals had a tough life and he knew that economic mobility was a possibility through government employment,
Zeke had always lived a sheltered life, in a way. He lived in one of the poorest low tier suburbs, he had interacted only with peers who were also low tiered ability users and had a sense of community with them. However, life changed at Mobius high. Bullying.
When he was beaten up, it hurt. What hurt more was trying to go back home with a smile, hiding his wounds or making some excuses. But what pierced his heart was the toxic words, the condescension and the sheer dismissal of the bullying happening to him as par for the course. The hopeless droned out faces of low tiered students like him who had given up resisting were branded within in his mind.
"Scum! How dare you stand in my path?"
"Low tiered jackasses like you also enter our school? What a dunce."
"Go back to your slums, poor boy."
Those words. He would never forget them. Even when he acted like he too had given up resisting. Even when he cowered before these high tiers, he would never forget the grievance borne deep in his mind. That is why, when an opportunity arose, he took it.
---
"Zeke huh. Your heart is true. But you do not have the strength to change this toxic world." That man told him blandly.
"Even without strength, I will never give up." Zeke remained adamant. His hatred for high tiers had already festered at this point.
"You are a funny kid. Maybe I will give you some strength. Show me what change you can bring." That man smiled gently as a golden light shone out of his chest onto Zeke's head who suddenly felt his ability strengthen like never before. He suddenly realized he was much, much stronger than before, could he even rival the school king?
"Who...who are you?" Zeke asked in a trance.
"I...I am just an old man kid. But I want to change this damned unequal world. I used my power to amplify your ability. Go change the world. Tear down these artificial barriers created by those in power."
Zeke put his hand out and applied his ability intuitively, a powerful blue flame sprang out of his hand that felt like it could melt anything, when before it was only a pale yellow flame. It was then he realized he could dress his entire body in that powerful blue flame and his physical abilities were thoroughly augmented beyond belief.
"Savior, this gratitude I will hold for life. I will become a hero who can save others using this power you have given me." Zeke bowed respectfully.
"Kid, don't go calling me a savior. My name is Gustav Klimt. This is your own power. I merely amplified it to the peak. That is my ability. Go change the world kid. I want to see what you can do." The old man said with a gentle smile.
"Old man Gustav Klimt, I will always have a special place for you in my heart, you truly are a savior.", Zeke said before he nodded and flew away in a powerful blue flame covering his entire body.
---
Days later when Zeke, the blue flamed hero, had returned with a few other heroes, the old man was nowhere to be found.
"Looks like he really is a chooser of heroes." One of those heroes commented. "If he was here we could have had some guidance about how we should proceed next."
"What do you think of my proposal? We set up a hero association which would be a neutral organization. We deal with these villains whom this government doesn't do anything about!" Zeke asked them.
"We are fine with the idea, but we need to convince the others." One of the heroes assented.
"Remember what old man Klimt said, we have to change the world. That is our purpose. This world is wrong, we must change this fake society! Fighting as lone wolves against a government, do you think that is feasible?" Zeke asked.
---
A couple of weeks after the Meel District incident, the secret meeting point of the underground hero association.
"Heroes are suddenly having a surge in popularity thanks to your actions, Blue Flame."
"This is the perfect time for us to announce the existence of the Hero Association. There have been some disturbances going on behind the scene which are trying to misuse our cause for their personal grudges." Zeke said.
He was still shaken up by the sudden assassins who used his protest group as a cover to try and assassinate the school's student council. This made him realize that he was representing too many causes at the same time and might become a scapegoat for things nothing to do with him.
"Oh? What do you mean?" One of the leaders of the hero association asked.
"Some people are using our crusade against this society to try and assassinate high ability users and spoil our name. We need to declare the existence of our institution clearly and make our stand clear." Zeke said earnestly.
"That makes sense." The leader said.
---
"BREAKING NEWS! Hero Association Declares its Charter."
"What is the Hero Association? What is its purpose?"
"A Hero Association has been created by heroes like Blue Flame. What is the government's response?"
"This will be a great detractor against the rising number of villains in low tier districts."
The TV channels had found a new news cycle to churn out.