The Truth & The Expo

Grey, gritted his teeth, but then spoke two words, "Damnatio Memoriae." Tsar froze a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "What?" Grey shook his head. " I said, Damnatio Memoriae (Latin), which translates into English as Damnation to Memory."

Grey paused a moment, the looked at Tsar. "In other words, my ability, Heritage Incarnate, allows me to utilize/call upon the strength, proficiency (skills of their jobs), and expertise of American Historical Figures/Groups, and Vehicles that were intentionally omitted, forgotten, and/or downplayed by history. I can turn their strength, skills, vehicles, whatever I so remember of those people... into a kind of power no muscle, meat-head could ever hope of matching... Frankly, that includes you, Tsar Fusion." Grey, still in full costume, took the path of the bold and walked past the number one hero. 

"I see it'll take far more than my defensive stance to scare you..." Tsar grabbed his arm with a smirk. "Tell me, young hero, what if I hit the ground with my strongest attack, what could you do? After all, you have no strength to speak of." As Tsar's eyes looked at Grey, the pro-hero instantly let go of him, backing away. Standing around Grey was his legion of historical spirits. Grey's eyes were emitting a purple hue as he and the spirits all spoke in unison, "You can't the dead." After which, Grey marched away from Tsar, heading to see Juno.

Unbeknownst to both Tsar and Grey, Juno had been watching and listening in on them. Once they were both out of earshot, she sighed a breath of relief, then raced to catch up to Grey. Once she had, she couldn't contain herself, as she'd finally seen "Grey's Legion" with her own eyes. "YOU WERE AMAZING! I can't believe I saw the legion!" Juno went on and on about this while she modified Grey's full costume he'd be unveiling at the expo. 

"Now Grey, you do know you have to have some kind of "hero catchphrase" for this right? " Asked Juno as she tweaked the gauntlets. Grey nodded to her. "Of course I knew that. I just... haven't decided on one." Juno stopped tinkering for a moment, scratching her head in thought. Her eyes widened as she gasped. "What about what you told Tsar? Something, something, the dead?" Grey was about to say no when he stopped a moment. Internally, the Ghosts of Forgotten History spoke to him. He nodded slowly, then looked a Juno. "What I said to Tsar was, "You can't kill the dead." 

Juno's eyes lit up as she grabbed his shirt collar. "YES. That's the message you want to put out there. Sure, it has an undertone of villainy, but you will essentially be sending one hell of a clear message, you will never die to anyone." Grey smiled as he started putting on some deodorant, and a spritz of cologne before he began getting ready for the expo. Juno followed suit, just adding she washed up. Once they'd both finished getting ready, it was off to the Expo. 

The Expo of New Heroes was held in the massive open-air amphitheater. There, both development students and hero-course students would be called onto the stage, then the development student would introduce both their creations and the hero-course student they contracted. After everyone else had gone up, Juno and Grey were dead last, as the other students made certain not to inform either of them that the order of turn was decided based upon strength ranking, of which Grey was dead least. 

As they marched to the stage, the Pro-heroes watched the duo closely. Once on the stage, Juno took hold of the microphone and smirked at the crowd. "Good evening Pro-heroes, students, and faculty. I am Juno Starsmith, owner and founder of Independence Defense LLC. Beside me, is the hero known as "The Grey Ghost". He is wearing my latest creations, which encapsulate the full, undisclosed Project: Corsair Reaper. Battle-ready gauntlets, a fully functional kinetic hybrid rebreather mask, and plenty more. Stop by our booth for the full details!" Juno looked back at Grey the winked at him. "One final thing before I turn you loose, I neglected to mention the hero's catchphrase or slogan. I did so intentionally, as he has something... special for everyone in attendance."

Juno stepped off stage as Grey picked up the microphone. He closed his eyes and spoke internally. "Everyone ready?" With a uniform nod from the ghosts, he activated his power in full. His eyes were aglow with that mesmerizing purple hue he'd unveiled to Tsar. The crowd of Pro-Heroes gasped and/or stared with mouths agape as Grey's Legion manifested behind him. "As for my slogan...", Grey lifted his head so his piercing gaze could be seen by everyone, "You can't kill the dead." The room was pin-drop silent as he simply turned off the microphone, and set it back in its cradle. Then with Juno at his side, they made their way to their booth, leaving everyone in utter shock. 

Amidst the sea of gawking faces, Tsar nodded slowly and leaned over to his secretary attendant whispering, "That's our first stop. The kid's got heart and a pair of balls no one else in the last twenty-seven years I've been a pro has had." His secretary nodded and made note of it. Now that the mingling had begun, Juno and Grey were about to get their first customer, but not Tsar. It was the number eight hero, Maelstrom, who promptly threw all of Juno's flyers, business cards, and posters onto the ground. 

"Who in the hell do you think you are? Huh?" Juno motioned for Grey to stay back, but that wouldn't be the case when Maelstrom attempted to slap her. Only, his arm was caught by Grey, who promptly used it to twist him to the ground. "I'm sorry sir, but your business is no longer welcome here. Please remove yourself, and calm down, or you will be asked to vacate the event."

"Shut up, fake hero. The adults are talking." Maelstrom sneered snatching his arm away from Grey's grasp. He shoved Grey aside and started advancing towards Juno. "ANSWER ME BITCH! WHY DO YOU HAVE A CONTRACT WITH..." Maelstrom didn't get a chance to finish as Grey grabbed him by the back of the neck and threw him away from her. 

"You were warned. Get out!" Snapped Grey, unaware his power had been force-activated due to the intense feelings of rage coursing through him. "You have every right to belittle me, challenge me to a duel if you'd like... but you will check your goddamn tone when speaking to Juno, otherwise I'd happily check it for you." 

Maelstrom smiled, "Kid, you royally screwed any chance of you becoming a hero as you've signed your own death certificate." Maelstrom stood up and declared to everyone, "I HEREBY CHALLENGE THE POSER HERO GREY GHOST TO A NO-HOLDS-BACK DUEL."