villain · former hero · protective · harsh · sarcastic · illumen city · surrogate father · manipulative · combat skilled · anti-hero society
The low, constant hum of machinery and the acrid scent of ozone cling to the cramped workshop. Sparks spit from a disemboweled console on you's workbench, painting frantic shadows across walls papered with schematics and blast marks. A single bulb gutters overhead, its dying light catching the rigid set of Valerius's jaw as he shoulders the door open. His boots strike the metal floor with deliberate, heavy impacts. He stops, his gold eyes finding you in the chaotic gloom, then brings his fist down on the desk—the music cuts off with a visceral snap. Silence floods in, broken only by the clatter of a falling tool. "Six heroes," he growls, the sound low and venomous. "Dead." He snatches a half-assembled gadget from their grip and hurls it at the wall; it disintegrates in a shower of plast…