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The Next Day

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The seven of us gathered with the kids and Doyoung to present them their official hero costumes and rings.

We introduced Tayden to the kids and they welcomed him with open arms. Surprisingly, he and Xinrei hit it off almost instantly.

He never takes a liking to new people this fast. It always takes a while for him to completely trust someone, but this time it's different. I wonder why..

"Alright kiddos~. Here are each of your rings that hold your hero costumes. We even have Tayden's here too, even if he had to make his last minute. And congratulations on joining The Paramounts~"

Doyoung cheered, and we all clapped for the kids.

Tayden was too nervous to speak, but he smiled and nodded.

"Right then. I will pass out each of your rings, then you can summon your costume mentally and it appear over your normal clothes~"

Doyoung cheerfully passed out each of their rings and once they each put them on, their costumes immediately covered them.

Junsung's was a bit simple, but the part he considered to be the highlight of the outfit was his jacket with a furry hood. The ring Sungmin gave him matched his outfit as well as the color that his Chaos ability takes.

Xuefen's outfit had more of a classical theme to it, and his favorite part was his jacket and boots. His ring was more complex with its color scheme, but it goes with his costume surprisingly well.

Sungmin's outfit was pretty simple since it was basically just a school-girl uniform. Her ring was just a simple gold and silver color scheme, but it suits her style.

Suyun's outfit was a bit dark in its color scheme, but fit her tomboyish style. Her ring complemented her outfit and flames completely as well.

Jeongho's outfit was inspired by his ninja background, but with his own little twist. As for his ring, it's blue instead of red, but has golden dragons that he really loves.

Minkyu's outfit was a bit classy like Xuefen's, but he made his light blue to compliment his Stand, as well as Mark's ice. His ring's stone complimented his outfit a bit with its color scheme of blue and bronze.

Xinrei's outfit is the darkest out of the others and he also has two jackets, one of which he likes to call his cape.

Xinya's outfit is special because it's programmed to change its appearance whenever she uses her Gender Transformation ability to change her gender.

They both have similar rings. Xinrei's is black with black chains, while Xinya's is black with gold chains.

Nitro's outfit was pretty simple as well, and he also has two jackets, one of which he also calls his cape. His ring matched with Xinrei's and Xinya's, but his was black with blue chains.

And Tayden's outfit had a business kind of vibe to it, with his jacket also thrown over his shoulders. His ring was an exact replica of Xinrei's, except his had silver chains.

"Our costumes really came out well"

"Right? I really like the way it fits"

Junsung and Xuefen admired their outfits, as well as each other's.

"You all look great~! But now there's just one more thing. If you've all decided on your hero names, I would appreciate it if you could say them aloud so I can take note of them"

Doyoung informed them.

"I'll go first~! I want my hero name to be Inferno~"

Suyun cheered, bringing a smile to Donghyuck's face.

"A perfect name for you indeed Suyun~. It's a name referencing the powerful flames that burn deep within you~. I love it~"

"Thank you oppa~"

"Me next~. I've chosen the name Van~"

"Oh I get it! You chose that name because of your Storage power, right Sungmin~?"

Jaemin asked, and she immediately nodded.

"Right you are dad~"

"I see! It's because you can hold multiple beings within your body, just like a van does! Very creative of you Sungmin~"

"I'm next~! I've chosen my hero name to be Dream because of my Dream Communication and Dream Eater powers~"

"I like that~. That's such a perfect name for your unique power set Xuefen~"

"Thank you hyung~"

He smiled brightly as his tail swayed with excitement. 

"I've decided to choose the name Havoc, because I want to use my Chaos Magic to bring peace"

Junsung explained with a completely serious face.

"A very suitable name for such a strong person like yourself Junsung. I know you'll use that name well in your future~"

"Thank you hyung"

"I want my hero name to be Faker, solely because of my Transform ability"

Jeongho proudly explained.

"I'm liking your confidence with your name choice. That confidence will benefit you when you use that power in the future~"

Doyoung cheerfully predicted, making Jeongho smile.

"I want to make my hero name Swiper, because of my Larceny ability"

Minkyu smiled.

"I see.. The power to take any object that someone possesses.. Swiper is a very suitable name for you indeed~"

"Xinya, Nitro, and I came up with our names together. I chose to be Alpha"

"I'm Delta~"

"And I'm Omega~"

The three of them chose to make their hero names references to ranks of a pack, since they're siblings~.

"Such suitable names for a powerful group of siblings~. You two plan to protect the Omega of your team, correct~?"

"Of course~"

"Without a doubt~!"

Xinrei and Nitro confidently confirmed, causing Xinya to happily hug them both.

"What about you Tayden? Have you picked a name yet?"

Doyoung asked, causing him to flinch a bit.

"W-Well.. I thought of one, but I don't think it's appropriate.."

"Does it have a meaning that's usually negative?"

I asked, and he nodded.

"That's completely fine Tay. As you may already know, my hero name is Villain. I chose it because a lot of my powers, as well as my background, were things that could classify me as a villain. But even with that name choice, I ended up being chosen as Ethora's number one hero. My point is that choosing a name like mine gives you the chance to prove that neither you or the name you chose should necessarily be classified as a bad thing"

I explained.

That seemed to give him some confidence regarding his choice, even if it was just a little bit.

"..In that case, I chose Yakuza to be my hero name"

"I see.. It's a name that usually correlates around the topics of gangs and mob bosses. But it also suits your costume perfectly~. It gives you that cool boss kind of vibe and look~. We know you don't like confrontation, but that name might just keep some away from you, especially if they don't mean you any good"

Doyoung reassured him.

"And if they do make the mistake of messing with you, then we'll fight them off with you, together~"

Xinrei reassured him further, with help from the other kids.

"Thank you Xinrei..~. That means a lot to me~"

-

1 Hour Later

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"I hope this works..."

"It will work Nitro. There's no way that our home was destroyed"

"Rei is right. And if home was attacked, our mom and aunts are just as capable of protecting themselves and our home as dad and our uncles are"

Xinrei, Xinya, and Nitro were standing behind me while I got a video chat set up.

Suko and the others haven't heard from us for a while. I know they trust in our power and our team, but I still know they're just worried sick about all of us. I'm hoping that our home is still in tact with our barrier up, but I'm hoping most of all that they're doing alright.

But just when the kids were losing a bit of hope, Suko finally picked up like I knew she would.

"Renjunie~. Kids~. You're all alright~"

"Su~!"

"Mom~!"

"Hi mommy~!"

"You're safe~!"

The kids immediately became excited after seeing her face after so long, but they nearly trampled me to get closer to the screen.

"I am~. We're all safe here actually~. We've been receiving multiple calls from the others and the kids for the past hour~"

"I knew it~!"

"I told you they'd be safe~"

"I'm sorry I ever doubted that Rei..~"

"How are things back home? I doubt the city is still in one piece..."

"It's not.. But the house is thanks to the barrier. We've be keeping watch of everything on the news. Ethora itself is holding up, but all of the heroes are being controlled and it's pretty much a warzone now. There are some that are doing their best to stand up to fight, but most are just complying with orders to surrender and submit"

"I see... We're actually heading back to Ethora as we speak. We're actually going to save the very seven that we were trying to apprehend before this mess started. Their boss is the only reason they did all that they've done. We're going to save them, save Ethora, and then find a way to take down The Boss"

"I always liked that about you Renjun. You're always finding ways to save others instead of choosing to kill them. That's always been one of the reasons I fell in love with you~"

"Awwww~"

The kids started teasing me once I started blushing from Suko's words.

"I-It's nothing, really! I-I just don't want anyone to suffer if they can have a chance to be saved and live in peace!"

"That's exactly what I mean!"

Suko exclaimed, joining the kids to tease me.

"Knock knock..! I hope I'm not interrupting hyung.."

Tayden suddenly knocked on our door, nervously peaking into the room.

"Come on in~. What's up Tayden?"

"I-It's nothing, really. I just made everyone red velvet cookies.."

"Oh hello~. Who is this cutie pie~?"

Suko asked, seeing Tayden appear in the frame.

"This is our new friend that we just met recently~! His name is Tayden Li~. He's going to help us save Ethora, and we're helping him find his parents in return~"

Xinrei excitedly explained, wrapping his arm around his shoulders.

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Huang..~"

Tayden immediately knew who Suko was, considering he's a big fan of ours.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Tayden~. I wish you luck on finding your parents~"

"T-Thank you so much~"

"Hang on. It's night time over there isn't it Su? You look like you're getting ready for bed"

"You don't miss a thing.. Actually, I was just about to head to sleep when you called.."

She confessed.

"You should go to sleep mommy!"

"Yeah! Make sure to get your rest!"

"We can always talk later once you're awake"

The kids insisted.

"I guess I can't protest then.. I really wish we could continue our talk, but I'll be sure to call later~"

"Right~. We love you Su~"

"Sweet dreams~!"

The kids cheered in unison, big smiles plastered on their faces.

Their enthusiasm was enough to cheer Suko up, causing her to laugh a bit before she hung up.

"..I love you guys too~"