Hero TV: Mettle and Metal! [KS & Dys]

[King Serperior]

Sternbild

Name:  Alec Rodriguez;  Ferro Knight
Location:  Hero Association building; Banquet hall
Triggers/Notes:   Reminiscing



~ * * * 1 hour ago * * * ~

"....and now, ladies and gentlemen, before we get to what you have been waiting all season for, let us show you our Heroes' best moments!"

What followed were twelve clips from the season that showed each Hero and their crowning achievements that season.  The first was Corona's shield saving a crowd of civilians from a criminal who tried to throw a grenade at the first hero on the scene.  The next was Dragon Girl's electrical martial arts that allowed her to stun no less than ten bank robbers as they tried to flee the scene.  The third was his own crowning glory.  It showed what happened literally twelve hours ago as a guy in the midst of a high-speed chase along a bridge had his partner launch a rocket at a police car.  The rocket missed and hit the bridge.  Though most vehicles were able to stop in time, a full bus was unable to!

By sheer luck, Ferro Knight had arrived before the other Heroes, so the moment he saw the situation, he fired one of his two cables at the back of the bus and fired the second one at a support beam.  Then, using his NEXT power of metal manipulation, he was able to strengthen the cables and save the bus from going over.  It was a near thing too, but it cost him the ability to chase after the criminals.  That one went to Blue Rose, but Ferro Knight was able to pull 600 points out of it plus the 250 for being the first on the scene.

For about twenty minutes, the highlights of the season continued on through the last one, which featured Rock Bison punching out a NEXT criminal who could turn his body to stone, making it really tough for the other Heroes to bring down.  That one was before Ferro Knight was able to get in on the Hero TV scene.  In fact, a good half of the clips were before he'd been able to make it.  His father had been forced to go to the hospital for a few months due to some cancer, but it was caught early and his father was now in the clear.  During those months, Alec couldn't bear to leave his father's side and he was lucky that his sponsor was so understanding.  There were some who wouldn't have been.

"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!"

As the announcer spoke, the lights went dark and twelve spotlights started going everywhere over the Heroes who stood side-by-side on the stage.  Alec knew that he'd be unlikely to be crowned as the King of Heroes due to his late arrival, but he hoped he wasn't dead last.  So, as the lights passed over his somewhat top-heavy suited form, he had high hopes, but moderate expectations.  More than likely, it would be between Sky High and Barnaby again.  Those two were the kind of Hero that he hoped to be.

A few seconds and some suspenseful music built up the crowd's and the viewers' who were watching this on television hopes as the big screen behind them started listing the Heroes' scores from the bottom to the top:

• Sky High - 14,650 pts. {Crowned as King of Heroes!}
• Barnaby Brooks Jr. - 14,600 pts.
• Corona - 14,500 pts.
• Fire Emblem - 13,000 pts.
• Blue Rose - 12,300 pts.
• Dragon Girl - 11, 450 pts
• Rock Bison - 10,050 pts.
• Cacophony - 10,000 pts.
• Chaotica - 9,000 pts.
• Ferro Knight - 8,850 pts.
• Phantom - 7,200 pts.
• Stampede - 6,650 pts

The crowd went wild as the spotlights snapped on Sky High.  The announcer's voice could be heard above the roaring crowd, "And there you have it Hero Fans!  Sky High has one the achievement of being this season's King of Heroes!  It was a tough fight between the top three as Barnaby and Corona came extremely close!  As you are all aware, the first 100 tickets bought to this season finale will be able to meet and get an autograph with the top five Heroes!  You have only a half hour to do so, so hurry!  With that, I hope everyone is prepared for next season as I have a feeling that this one next one will be even closer than before!"

Alec and the rest of the Heroes, barring Sky High, Barnaby, Corona, Fire Emblem, and Blue Rose made their way off the stage and to the back where they would be able to change into more formal clothes before heading up to the top of the Hero Association building.  Once the top five arrived, the banquet would begin and the big-wigs of the city would meet and greet.

~ * * * Now * * * ~

Excluding his Hero Suit's helmet, which was designed to look exactly like that of a knight, Alec was wearing a rather nice suit that his sponsors had provided.  All around him were the various high-level members of each sponsor company, the Heroes that they sponsored, and people like the Mayor, Chief of Police, and many others.  The banquet was provided by Kronos Foods and, as a result, was rather high quality.

Alec found himself standing beside Rock Bison, or Antonio Lopez, as he had come to know over the last couple of months.  The two of them became pretty decent friends ever since Alec saved Antonio from falling off a bridge on his debut.  In fact, it was through Antonio that he met Kotetsu, the Wild Tiger.  In all, it was like it was a fated friendship.  There were some other Heroes though, that Alec didn't get along with very well.  For one was Blue Rose.  He wasn't sure he liked her style as she was more worried about her singing career than being a Hero at times.  However, the fact that she made it to the top five this season couldn't be disputed.  Guess it shows what one can do if they focus.

That all being said, Alec found it to be an interesting experience, being around all of these up-and-up individuals.  If it weren't for the fact that he was Hero material, he doubted that he would ever have been able to be in the same room with people like this.  He recognized a few of the CEOs that were up there, including the CEO of the company that sponsored him, but there were a few people that he didn't recognize.  One of them was talking with Joey Wade, the CEO of Styx Co.  Joey looked uncomfortable, but he was usually uncomfortable around so many people, so that wasn't a surprise.

Alec walked over to the nearest table and detached the lower part of his helmet's faceplate.  That had been a design function to allow him to still eat or drink while concealing his identity, revealing only his mouth.  As he started putting food on the little, plastic plate, Antonio came up behind him, lamenting about how his helmet lacked that feature.  Nearby, Blue Rose was fussing to Dragon Girl about the martial artist's eating habits.  A glance showed that she had piled as much food as the plate could stand.  Alec shook his head at her antics.  His niece loved Dragon Girl and wanted to be a hero just like her.  He just hoped that her eating habits didn't get copied.