Heroes: Origin Story

"You really- hng! Think this- unf! Will be alright for the humans HWiz?" Finn struggled to speak as he lifted a large, cheesy feline onto a transformed Jake. The dog had also been carrying a number of other creatures.

Huntress counted the twelve large beasts on Jake. "This should suffice, but if you have reservations, I wouldn't mind hunting more prey with you, Finn." Huntress Wizard grabbed her boyfriend's hand and delivered a kiss to his cheek.

Finn giggled sheepishly. "I-I mean I was more worried about the cheese makin' the peeps back home toot all day, but I'd be down to hunt with you some more."

"Ah, to be young and in love. Too bad I feel old and tired, let's haul this bad boy back to the Human Camp and then you two can slay creature posterior to your heart's content." Jake lifted himself off the ground and started walking with Huntress and Finn following by his side.

Finn had been shining a smile for the majority of the day, how could he not? Life was more than perfect for the recently turned adult. Though they were somewhat needy, he was getting along fantastically with his people. He and Huntress found themselves going steady for almost a year now. The boy managed to form a strong connection with Minerva, Finn truly felt like her son and she, his mother. And to top it all off, he had his loving brother by his side.

Man, what more can a guy ask for? The young boy thought to himself.

"Aww, sweet little baby boy Finn sounded so happy." Marceline giggled.

"Baby? C'mon I was eighteen! Ain't no eighteen year old babies in Ooo." Finn huffed.

"Babe, when you're one-thousand plus years old, anything under a hundred is basically a baby."

"Well, technically I'm over a hundred. I even had kids, still weird to think about." He muttered to himself.

"You what now?" Marcy raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothin', just some dream I had." The young man paused for some time, long enough for Marceline to become concerned. "... You're right, though, I think I was happier back then." he said with melancholy.

She frowned and hesitated to speak, feeling as if she had chosen her words poorly. "I didn't… Finn, that's not what I meant." She spoke with remorse.

Finn shrugged. "It's cool. I should get back to the story. After that we heard-"

A haunting wail erupted to the east of the group.

The three froze in their tracks, Finn looked to Huntress for further instruction. The Wizard held her hand up then pressed a finger to her lips. The gang held quiet as they waited for some sort of followup to the strange noise.

The pained groan repeated.

"This way." Huntress ran to the source of the sound, pulling Finn by his arm. Jake dumped their haul and followed suit.

After a mile of running, they closed in on their target. The trio hid behind a bush, careful not to disturb whatever it was they were observing.

They appeared to be some sort of humanoid, comparable to Billy in size, clad in ornate gold armor, save for their right arm which was silver, detached and floating beside them as if it were still connected. The helm sported three prongs aimed upward, mimicking a crown. His face was indiscernible, the only thing that could be seen were his eyes behind a Y shaped opening on the front of his helmet. A long, luscious, blue plume stuck out from behind his head. The figure was decorated with a long blue cape and a belt that had a buckle with the letters H and K engraved on it.

The person did naught but sit on a rock and look incredibly sad..

"Whoa, who the heck is that?" Jake whisper shouted.

Both Finn and Huntress shrugged, the knight before them was an enigma.

The mysterious figure wailed once more, however, now that they were much closer, the group identified the noise to be more of a depressed moan than a pained cry.

"They seem pretty beat up about something, maybe we should help 'em." Finn suggested.

He was about to move forward before Huntress stopped him with a hand to his chest. "What if it's some kind of trap? No one just sits in the middle of the forest and groans like that unless they're banking on some sucker to respond."

Finn tapped his chin in contemplation. "Hmmm. What about those letters on their chest? That's might be, like, a hero thing. Maybe it stands for Helper Knight!"

"Or Hellacious Killer." The wizard retorted.

"Honey Kombucha!" Jake excitedly added.

The two looked at him with blank expressions, the dog returned the gaze.

"I gotta find some way to stay relevant to the conversation." He explained.

Finn stood up from the brush and called out to the person. "Yo! Something wrong, dude? We might be able to help."

Huntress stood as well, realizing the futility in arguing with Finn. "We can also eviscerate you if need be."

"But we'd rather help you." Jake smiled.

The knight only gave a melancholy sigh in response.

"Ooookay." Finn said while stepping forward. Huntress followed cautiously while Jake matched his brothers stride. Finn took a seat next to the knight on the rock. "What's gotcha down big fella?"

"...heroes." They mumbled.

The gang's ears perked.

"What's wrong with heroes?" Finn asked with vigilance, perhaps Huntress was right.

Huntress slowly reached for a dagger on her hip.

"Do you maybe wanna fight some heroes cause you don't like 'em or something?" Jake inquired with a suspicious look in his eye.

"What? No! I'm the Hero King, why would I hate my own people?" The king spoke, making his annoyance crystal clear.

"Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!" Finn exclaimed.

"I don't trust this guy, Finn. For starters, we've never heard any mention of a monarchy for heroes. Secondly, anyone can claim they're royalty, especially from a kingdom that doesn't exist."

HK scoffed and stood up, towering over the three. "I'm a holdover from a cycle of this universe that far precedes yours, in that cycle I was the greatest hero that ever- oh what's even the point!" The king feel to his knees and held his head in his hands. "My dreams are dead!" He sobbed, looking towards the sky.

Jake walked up to the King and stretched an arm around his shoulder. "Listen amigo, your dreams don't die until you do, as long as you're still breathin' you can make those dreams happen!"

"And we can help!" Said Finn.

"I didn't agree to that." Jake responded.

"You literally said you would help him earlier." Huntress reminded the dog.

"That was before I remembered how tired I was."

"Don't bother, it's not like you could offer me the assistance I need anyway." HK perched himself on the rock once more.

"Why not?" Finn asked.

The king exhaled. "I've tried for thousands of years to find someone worthy of becoming the next Hero King. Someone who's legend will transcend time itself! An everlasting icon that will ignite the flames of altruism in the hearts of the masses for as long as time persists! But no dice… When that didn't work I tried training some homies to become the Hero King, 'cept none of 'em could handle it." He grumbled.

"Wait, hold up, thousands of years? I've been around a long time and I've never heard of any hero king, unless he's way older than I am?" Marceline stated, quizzically.

Finn scratched his head and sighed. "Where do I even begin. To make it quick, there's a bunch of different cycles. Right now we're in the elemental cycle, y'know, ice, fire, candy, slime. There was another cycle before that like, a bajillion years ago, it was about stories? Or something? Stuff like comedy, mystery, fantasy, and some other stupid stuff. And then there's HK's cycle, his was about brain and brawn."

"Cycles on cycles, huh? That's a bit much." Marcy scoffed, unamused.

"Dude, you don't even know the half of it." Finn threw his head back and sighed.

Marceline cocked an eyebrow, curious as to what he meant by that.

"Okay, keep going with the story, I wanna hear what happens next." She asked.

"Oh, right, right. Then I had the idea to ask HK-"

Finn and Jake looked at each other and gasped.

"I can do it! I'm a hero!" Finn jumped up and down.

"Yeah! Yeah! My bro here has hero'd around Ooo so hard you don't even know!" Jake pointed at his brother with intensity.

Huntress giggled at the boys' excitement. "I can vouch for him as well."

The Hero King eyed Finn, analyzing him from head to toe. He shook his head. "Sorry, kid."

Finn ceased his jumping in disbelief. "Hey! I'm no kid! And what do you mean 'sorry'?"

"Yeah! You tryna say my bro ain't a hero?" Jake said with arms crossed.

"Not at all, being the Hero King I'm able to measure one's inner hero. For example, you, dog, have a faint hero light emanating within you. And you, wizard, have a light that burns slightly brighter than the dog. But both pale in comparison to the radiance this boy exudes." The king said, pointing at Finn.

Finn puffed his chest, feeling quite proud of himself.

HK sighed. "But the one I'm looking for requires an absolutely blinding brilliance."

"Well, can't you take me on as, like, a protege? You said you were training other peeps, right?" Finn asked.

"Hey, Finn, let's ditch this bozo, if he can't appreciate you for the hero you are then he ain't worth your time!" Jake's tone was filled with anger.

"I'm with Jake on this one Finn, he sounds like he just wants a pity party. Plus, I still don't buy his story."

Finn looked at the king with sullen eyes.

The Hero King held his head in his hands. "...Kid-"

"Dude, I'm eighteen." Finn said with a stern voice.

HK paused for a moment and stared at Finn. "...I'm done looking, I've given up. You know how tiring it is to be disappointed over and over for multiple giga-annum? Just let me wallow in sorrow."

Finn blew a raspberry at the King. "Jake's right, you're one wacky old coot."

The three turned their backs to the man and walked away. After a few steps Jake turned to HK, still walking forward and shouted, "My brother was a comet in his past life y'know! What were you? A big loser, I bet!"

Huntress looked at the dog, unamused. "Jake, that wasn't even clever."

"Cut me some slack! How many times I gotta say I'm tired. And I'm hungry!"

The Hero King's head perked up. Comet?, he thought to himself. His eyes darted towards Finn and focused on the boy's metal arm. The gears in his head turned until everything clicked into place. "Of course! How'd I miss that?!"

His shouting caught the attention of the trio. All three were caught off guard and slightly creeped out by the Hero King dashing towards them on all fours.

"You have a comet shaped mark somewhere on your body, don't you?!" HK eagerly said on hands and knees.

Finn took a step back. "I'm uncomfortable with the fact that you know that."

HK laughed in excitement. "I do too! And take a look at this!"

The gang shielded their eyes, anticipating an unsavory sight. Finn peaked at the King, only to see him holding his right arm, detached from his body, out in front of him.

"Oh, I see… What am I seeing?" Finn said with curiosity.

Jake and Huntress uncovered their eyes and found themselves just as confused.

"It's one of the trade mark signs of a comet incarnation!" The excitement in his voice was palpable.

Finn had trouble grasping its significance for a moment, but then it hit him. "Wait, you got a weird birthmark and you lost your right arm? You're one of my past lives?"

"Okay, so now you're telling me you got past lives? Like, you're the reincarnation of a bunch of other dudes?" Marceline asked

Finn nodded.

"And this dude, who's older than the oldest piece of gum on the bottom of the universe's oldest desk, is one of your incarnations?"

"Yup" Finn stated with fatigue.

"Which means that you are technically as old as- y'know this whole thing is starting to sound dumb and convoluted" Marcy laughed.

"Tell me about it! I mean, how do you think I feel?! I got all this stupid cosmic mumbo jumbo, the universe is all like 'YOU'RE DESTINED TO BE A HERO FINN', as if I was always gonna end up in this spot no matter what I did. Makes me feel like I never had a choice… it sucks monkey butt man…" Finn finished his miniature rant by falling over and resting his head in Marceline's lap.

The vampire raised her eyebrows in surprise, I was just poking fun, but Finn really hates all this cosmic business huh?, she thought to herself.

Marceline started run her fingers through Finn's hair and pet him. "Alright Finnie, wanna keep that story going?"

"Yeah. Where was I? OH! Jake! He was telling me-"

"Hold on a second, Finn. Any ol' Joe Schmo can lose an arm. Besides, I don't remember you mentioning anything to me about being some big knight dude in a previous life." Jake contested.

"Ah, so you've performed a lineage dive before?" HK asked.

"A what now?" Huntress tilted her head.

HK sat cross legged. "It's when you access the memories of those who came before, and I don't mean yo mama n' papa. I'm talkin' about your previous incarnations. Typically, the only way to perform such a feat is to have a past life call out to you first, then you'll experience an assortment of lives at random until you reach the incarnation that beckoned to you. After the initial experience you can dive at will! But without a specific target in mind, the lives you experience are chosen arbitrarily." The king held out his hand to Finn. "So take hold, and experience my truth."

Finn glanced at the hand, seemingly unsure of how to proceed. He looked to his girlfriend and brother, both wearing looks of disapproval. The boy held up his hand and slapped aside the kings offer. "Nah, I'm good, I got better things to do and homies to chill with."

Jake let out a hearty laugh.

"Atta boyfriend!" Huntress said proudly, taking his hand.

The Hero King was stunned as Finn rejected him and walked off with his friends.

"Wha?! W-wait! I admit that I was wrong about you! You do have the capacity to become the greatest hero our history has ever known! I can train you!" HK pleaded.

Finn spun around to face the king while walking backwards. "I'm already a great hero, my dude." He pointed both thumbs at himself. "Ain't nothin you can teach me that I can't learn on my own." He spun back around and continued to strut forward with his pals.

The Hero King watched the three walk off into the forest. "Oh, you poor naive boy. I can only hope you'll come to your senses soon."

Thousands of humans gathered around the center of their encampment, situated in an opening in the center of a large forest. They were engaging in discussions ranging from the food prepared by Jake to their experiences adjusting to the alien land of Ooo and everything in between. From an outsider's perspective, it might've appeared as if a local fair had set up shop.

Setting up the accommodations had been stupidly easy. The humans had come well equipped with all sorts of technology that made transitioning to their new life a mostly smooth ride. All their tents and buildings could be easily stored in tiny, compact cubes, set to pack and unpack at the press of a button.

Finn sat on a log in front of a fire with his mother to his left and partner and brother to the right, relaxing under a starry night and chitchatting the rest of the day away.

"You coulda just made us a buncha grilled cheese, y'know?" Finn laughed elbowing Jake.

"You kiddin'? Ain't no way I'm gonna pass up the opportunity to learn some new cookin' tech. I never woulda thought to sing barbershop quartet style to help the cheese settle. Or what about that crazy displaced time microwave, that thing keeps the bread from getting stale but also ages it like crazy! Who knew three thousand four hundred and twenty four years was the perfect age for ciabatta bread!" Jake excitedly recalled his new cooking experiences with the humans.

"Happy to hear we could teach you a thing or two, Jake!" Minverva said through one of her Minerva Bots. "As I recall, our chefs had quite the glowing review for you as well."

"You have no idea how good this stuff is mom, I wish you could try some with us." Finn said with a hint of sadness.

Minerva smiled. "I don't see why I can't." She reached over and took Finn's fork, grabbing a cluster of poutine and carefully stuffing her mouth.

Finn and Jake were stunned with mouth agape. Huntress, however, had trouble seeing what was so significant.

Minerva's eyes lit up as she finished her bite. "Oh my goodness, this is absolutely amazing!"

"Mom are you okay?! I thought your robot bod couldn't properly digest food or whatever?"

"I'm fine sweet heart, better than fine, in fact! As you can see, this isn't a standard Minerva bot, honestly I'd prefer it if you referred to it as, well, just me, Minerva." She spoke with a soft sincerity.

Finn stared in fascination. "You built a whole new type of body? But, why?"

Minerva looked at her son, her eyes giving off a feeling of sympathy. "As we spent more and more time together I felt a stronger sense of remorse towards my inability to properly connect with you like a true mother, what with my 'robot bod' and all. So I began building this new body, I have a simulated heart beat now that reacts to my emotions, dynamic temperature regulation system to mimic a real body's heat fluctuation, and I can eat! I mean, what kind of mother would I be if I couldn't enjoy a meal with my son?"

She didn't pursue this endeavor just out of her own concerns, though it played a major part, Minerva kept her son in mind while completing this project of hers. Finn was never bothered much by her previous bodies, but he'd be lying if he said there still wasn't ever the slightest disconnect. She's my mom, I ain't got no problems accepting that, he would tell himself, but something is just off, was always the thought that followed. Perhaps it was the memories of Margaret, who had set the bar of what a mom should be. Unfortunately for Minerva, there were certain qualities she lacked by simple nature of being made of metal. That was no longer the case, however.

The mother and son exchanged warm smiles. Finn embraced Minerva, who returned the hug two fold. The boy appreciated this, more than his mother could understand.

Jake shed a tear. "Ain't that the sweetest thing?" He asked Huntress.

She rubbed the back of her neck and shrugged. "I… guess? No, it is, I just... " She paused and fidgeted with her fingers.

"Ooooh, you got mommy issues or somethin'?" Jake's tone implied a sense of understanding.

"Huh? No, nothing like that. This is… awkward is all." She Winced, admitting such wasn't easy for her.

"Awkward?" Marceline said with absolute bewilderment. "You're joking, right?"

Finn shook his head. "That's just how she is, ain't nothing wrong with that."

"Man, you'd think the girl was allergic to emotions or something" Marcy joked.

"That's pretty rich coming from you!" The young man laughed. "Who was the one that faked having their junk stolen by the Door Lord just they could hangout with their friends?"

The vampire blushed a deep red. "What the?! That was, like, eight years ago! Why the funk do you even remember that?!"

Finn slapped his knee and cackled. "You're just mad 'cause I'm right!"

Marceline pinched his nipple with the strength of a vise grip.

His laughing was replaced with his iconic shriek.

"Get on with it already…" She said, folding her arms and still blushing.

The human attempted to rub the pain away. "What happened next was… intense, to say the least…"

Jake recoiled in confusion. "Awkward? What's so awkward about a mother and her son-"

An ear piercing screech interrupted Jake, the immense power of the sound vibrated the air. Each and every human cupped their ears on reflex, including Minerva, due to her new body. After the moment subsided Finn quickly surveyed the area.

"What in the everloving FLIP was that?!" Jake panicked.

"Huntress, you see anything?!" Finn quickly urged his girlfriend for an answer.

She employed magic to get analysis of her surroundings. Her eyes caught no sign of arcane trickery. Not content with the results, she conjured a magic eye and stuck it to the tip of an arrow. She pulled back on an ethereal bow and let the arrow loose in the sky. She had vision on the entire encampment and then some. "I'm not catching anything, I'm not sure what that was but it did not sound friendly."

Minerva stood up. "It's been almost a minute and there's no signs of trouble, but still, I feel it's too soon to say it's safe." She began to speak into a watch on her wrist. "Minerva bots! Collect all amenities and accommodations. Provide aid and comfort to all distressed citizens, then proceed to round them up-"

The ground shook and a heavy gust of wind caused the group to stumble. They turned to the epicenter of the commotion to be met by a gargantuan bird. The creature had pitch black feathers, wings and talons tipped with gold, as well as gold accents placed symmetrically along its body. It had exceptionally long tail feathers ebbing and flowing, not adhering to any law of gravity. The most stand out feature, however, was its white mask that covered it's face whole, beak included, with two black dots acting as eyes.

It recovered from its landing, head held high, and looked down at the humans quietly. For a moment, Finn thought it had focused on him, but it was clear that it was simply observing humans at random.

Minerva took the opportunity to covertly press a button on her watch, signaling all seekers to be at the ready.

"Hey, bird brain! Who do you think you are, crashing our shindig like that?" Finn shouted angrily.

The crow like creature gave no sign of acknowledgement.

"Finn, maybe antagonizing the massive ominous crow thing ain't the best idea!" Jake whispered to his brother.

"Can't you feel its hostility? I don't think any name calling is gonna change the outcome of this encounter." Huntress interjected.

The bird spread its massive wings, reinforcing its intimidating presence. A faint caw could be heard, then it grew louder and louder, similar to an echo being played in reverse. The sound reached its apex, then all was silent for a brief moment until a glass shattering screech erupted from the crow. The raw strength of its voice blew the wind in all directions.

Everyone shielded themselves again, but unlike the others, Finn locked his eyes to the target and pressed forward.

Having fully recovered from the sound blast, the young hero pulled out his Night Sword and broke into a full sprint.

Huntress and Jake followed suit, albeit a short moment later. The wizard dug into the earth while the dog expanded to match the beasts size.

The humans attempted to withdraw from the fight, guided by the Minerva bots. Minerva herself was positioned so that she may observe the fight without being directly involved

She began to shout at her watch. "Seekers prepare your defensive armaments! Split into groups of fifteen to twenty! Then gather clusters of roughly one-hundred humans and form phalanxes around them! Your first priority is to keep the citizens safe, any left over seekers are to assist my baby boy!" Minerva referred to Finn in a motherly manner in a fit of panic.

The creature ignored the three warriors approaching and turned to face the fleeing humans.

Finn frowned. "You're gonna ignore us like that? That's just plain rude, dude!" He spoke with annoyance.

At the tip of the beasts beak, particles of golden light gathered, forming an orb that grew larger with each passing second.

"Oh no you don't!" Jake shouted while preparing to slam down his giant fists on the bird.

Before he could make contact, however, he found his wrists grasped by the crow's tail feathers.

"What the-"

The dog was flung with extreme force, not even given the chance to process what had occurred.

Finn was able to climb up on the beast, unhindered, thanks to Jake's distraction. He made his way to the top of the crow's head. "Alright, I think you need to flock off!" the hero yelled while plunging his sword into the birds skull.

The creature did nothing but let out an annoyed grunt.

Finn was stunned, he was sure the strike would've debilitated the monster in some manner. "Wha?!"

Without warning, the orb shot off with blinding speeds, aimed directly at one of clusters of humans.

One of the defending seekers held up a shield made of hard light, bracing for impact. The hard light folded around the orb upon contact, trapping it. They aimed the shield upward and launched the projectile into the sky. Finn looked up in time to see the orb explode a safe distance away and the humans unscathed.

Finn wiped the sweat forming on his brow in relief. He pulled his sword from the crow's cranium, but before he could commit to another action a tail feather wrapped itself around him and whipped him towards the earth. He left a small crater upon impact.

"Finn!" Minerva cried out in fear, but the boy, resilient as always, stood up completely undeterred.

The giant corvid rushed towards the humans on foot, only making a few steps before tripping and falling. The bird looked to its feet to find a myriad of vines binding it to the ground. Another glance at the field revealed even more traps lying in wait.

A volley of red arrows pierced the monsters visage. It quickly turned to see the origin of the arrows and found a green wizard with a wry smile.

Huntress snapped her fingers, causing the arrows to explode in rapid succession.

Unphased, the crow tore itself from the vines and took to the air.

Finn ran to his partner's side with Jake following close behind.

"This thing is crazy strong, we haven't even put a scratch on 'em!" Jake exclaimed.

"And now it's in the sky, how are we supposed to fight it?" Finn said in frustration.

Huntress pushed an item onto Finn's chest, it revealed itself to be a flower. "Take this and pin it somewhere on the beast, it doesn't matter where! Jake, you get Finn up there at any cost, got it?!"

"Okay, but what is it?" Finn said looking down at the flower in his hands.

"It's a Gatling Cactus Targeting Flower, now hurry up and get it on that beast!" Huntress pushed the boys forward.

Finn and Jake ran towards the center of the would-be encampment. Their eyes caught the monster circling the area. Finn hopped onto Jake, who proceeded to stretch as fast as he could in the direction of the bird.

The corvid took action by launching its tail feathers once again. Jake anticipated the attack and retaliated by splitting himself into multiple appendages, all doing their best to weave around the birds grasp while making headway. Unfortunately the monsters speed out matched the dogs, stopping Jake just short of his target. It mattered little, however, as Finn continued by leaping off of his brother, landing on one of the many occupied tail feathers and running along them.

He made quick progress to the crows back. Finn placed the flower down and pinned it into the creature with his sword.

As the brothers made their assault, Huntress set into motion her end of the plan. She conjured four arrows that began to carve runes into the earth in a sizable circle around her. Once the arrows finished their job they dissipated, leaving the wizard in the middle chanting in a language that had her rolling her R's and stretching certain vowels. Huntress shouted her final words, "¡Crea desierto!" and slammed her hands on the ground. The grass and dirt around her crumbled and morphed into sand, the air in the circle grew hotter, creating a miniature desert.

She scooped a handful of sand and planted a seed. Not a moment later a giant cactus erupted from the ground.

"They did it!" She shouted with joy. The wizard pulled an arrow and loosed it at Jake to get his attention.

The dog felt a painful prick on his tush. "AH! My tush!" He whined, turning to see Huntress beckoning to him. Jake shrunk and pulled himself from the monsters grasp, then ran to the girl. "Did we do it?" He said in excitement.

"Flawlessly. The Gatling Cactus is revving up and about to fire full force and when it does that oversized bird is gonna come crashing down. Good thing y'all made it down here as fast as you did." Huntress wore a satisfied smile, until she realized something was off.

"Uh, was Finn supposed to come down with me?" Jakes concern began to grow.

"You- he didn't- WHY DIDN'T YOU BRING HIM DOWN?!" Huntress screamed.

"What's going on? Have you the situation under control?" Minerva interrupted from behind.

The Jake and Huntress grimaced in unison.

The Cactus began to make a whirring sound as it spun at high speeds, then it fired thick needles with incredible velocity in the direction of the monster.

With no other option available to it, the crow folded its wings and tail feathers, guarding itself at the cost plummeting downwards. As it fell, it created a small gap between its feathers and sent a ball of light hurtling towards the cactus.

Though the projectile was much more modest, its power was still significant enough to destroy the entirety of the miniature desert.

Before the corvid hit the earth, it spun around, redirecting all the needles within its feathers back at the assailants.

Jake stretched to shield Minerva and Huntress. A number of needles dug their way into his hide. "Ow-" he moved his face to count the needles lodged in his back side, then faced the girls again. "Ow times thirty-two." The dog shrunk back to his normal size, popping every needle off of him.

The trio turned in time to see see Finn on the ground, tossed off the back of the creature due to the force of its earlier rotation.

Finn got up to face the creature once more, he grunted in frustration. "What's it gonna cost to take you down-"

The corvid interrupted Finn by leaping on top of him, pinning the boy down and clutching him with its claws.

Something in the atmosphere changed, a malicious and sinister aura emanated from the monster.

Sensing this, Jake and Huntress dashed for Finn post-haste.

With great reflexes and speed, the crow twitched its head in the direction of Huntress and fired an orb at her. Huntress managed to avoid direct contact, but was still hit by the explosion, incapacitating the wizard.

Jake anticipated another assault from the tail feathers, what he didn't expect was from the attack to come from below. The feathers burst from the ground and took hold of the dog, slamming him into the ground repeatedly.

"Th- that was just- just plain dirty m- man" He mumbled weakly.

The corvid pulled its tail feathers it had dug in the ground and directed its attention to the boy in its claws. Finn did his best to escape the birds grasp, but to no avail.

A handful of seekers, bearing high tech weaponry, broke from their formations to assist him. Some held rifles, others were equipped with weapons better suited to close quarters combat, all had no effect. Their energy based projectiles fizzled and not a single individual could make it to the beast before being swatted away like a fly.

Dread began to set in for the hero. He wasn't worried for his own safety, the boy was more concerned for his friends, his family, the humans. What was gonna happen to them? Who would protect Ooo in his place? As the thoughts progressed his feelings morphed into fury. Being so helpless, the inability to keep those close to him safe, enraged him.

"THIS IS BUTTS!" He screamed. "I know I can stop you, I HAVE to stop you! So what gives?! I've fought bigger baddies, I've murked the Lich, like, frice! I should be able to-"

The crow repeatedly pounded Finn into ground with ferocity, before grinding him into the dirt.

It cackled maniacally. "REALLY NOW?!" His voice was cold, deep and echoed.

"Y-you can talk?" Finn spoke through pained groans.

"I'm to believe you fought the LICH on four different occasions, and each of those confrontations saw you coming out on top?!" The bird studied Finn. "Such a small and weak mortal. It seems impossible, yet I smell the unmistakable stench of necromantic death on you. And I'm not aware of any mortal beings who have collided with that… thing, and have survived." The creature let out an amused chuckle. "What series of lucky coincidences could've possibly lead to your success?"

"It wasn't luck! I just don't know when to quit!" Finn retaliated by biting down on one of the monsters talons.

The beast hummed in intrigue. "No kidding, seems you possess extraordinary willpower. I'll snuff it out before you can inconvenience me further."

The corvid peered down at Finn, gathering its tail feathers around its beak. Each appendage shot a beam of golden light at the tip of his bill, creating a beautifully brilliant orb accompanied by high pitched, ghastly whistle.

Finn squirmed with all his might, he couldn't let it end like this, he wasn't going to let it end like this. Not before he could save the others. But nothing he did worked, he was tightly secured in place.

I need something, anything! He begged in his thoughts.

"APOCOLYPTICORVID!" A voice roared.

"Wha- ACK!" The beast squawked as a hand wrapped around its beak and pulled his head back.

The ball of light fired upward and detonated beyond the clouds. A magnificent explosion went off and cleared the skies entirely, the light illuminating a large portion of the surrounding area.

Finn managed to escape the birds clutches. He put some distance between himself and his foe, gazing upon the back of the creature to see a familiar face.

Hero King jumped off the corvid's back while still holding his beak, pulling him into the air. He spun around and whipped his arm, sending the beast crashing into the earth. The king landed with finesse and conjured a great sword that matched his already large size.

"H- HK… " Finn said with awe.

The King held his right arm out, angling the sword downward and in front of him. His left arm was positioned at chest level with his hand loose and at the ready. Hero King's chest was puffed and his feet were squared off. His plume and cape flowing in the wind served to further emphasize his graceful aura.

"Seems I've arrived in the nick of time." His tone was playfully smug.

The crow gathered itself and stood up, looking his new enemy in the eye. "Interesting."

HK turned his attention to the beast. "Your presence isn't welcome here, I suggest you flock off."

"Don't insult me with such lame quips!" The monster shouted while launching its tail feathers forward.

"Hey, I said the same thing and you just ignored me!" Finn whined.

The feathers tore through the air with blazing speeds, but Hero King remained steadfast and held his position. The attack was inches away from its target, then, in the blink of an eye, the tail feathers were severed from their person.

HK twirled his sword and rested it on his shoulder. "Yep, still got it." His attitude exuding cockyness.

The beast winced in pain and fear, realizing that this opponent would prove far more challenging.

"Whoa…" was all Finn could muster.

"Finn! Baby!" Minerva called to him.

The boy turned to see his mother running up to him.

"Mom? Mom!" He said, sprinting to meet her half way and give her a hug. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Just feelin' a little tenderized, I need a minute." Jake said with raspy breaths as he crawled towards the two.

Huntress limped up to Finn and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm with Jake, I think we should let big knight hero dude over there handle this and focus on getting everyone to safety."

"Finn, I know your instincts are probably screaming about how you need to run in there and fight, but please realize that this is one battle you cannot win!" Minerva pleaded, grabbing her son by the shoulders.

She was right, Finn did want to run into the frey, knowing that he didn't try till his last breath felt worse than losing. The boy looked at the ongoing battle one more time to see the King calmly wait for his opponents next move.

The corvid was patient as well, analyzing Hero King for a moment.

Gold particles began forming at the birds beak, readying another blast.

"You must take more for a fool." HK scoffed.

Finn couldn't take it anymore, seeing such an intense showdown play out before him riled up his heroic spirit. "I'm sorry mom, but I can't just sit by while things are goin' down like this!" The boy spoke with determination as he tore himself from his mother's grasp.

The hero that he was, Finn charged fearlessly towards the monster. His game plan? Fight with all his might, a method tried and true. The boy knew that with a will like his, he could manage to eke out a victory. So he held his sword high and gave a warrior's cry.

The corvid snapped his head in Finn's direction and fire his attack. Finn dodged it with surprising ease, feeling more confident than ever.

Until he remembered the three individuals he left behind. Finn turned to see the blast heading towards the trio.

He was choked for words, he couldn't think fast enough. He just knew his loved ones were in grave danger.

Before Finn could even muster a breath, a large wolf with silver fur caught the golden orb with lightning speed. It skid along the ground in an attempt to stop itself. The canine looked the corvid in the eye before chomping down on the projectile and consuming it.

"WHAT?!" The bird shouted.

With his enemies attention drawn elsewhere, the king dashed in for an attack. He swung his sword in a great arc and managed to cleave a giant gash within the birds chest.

The beast cawed in pain and flew back.

HK chased the monster down, continuing to lay the pressure with unrelenting force.

Finn looked on as Hero King accomplished what he could not. He had failed not once, but twice in the same fight. Self doubt finally began to set it, maybe he should leave it to someone else. Maybe this was a fight he couldn't handle.

… No! I know I can! Right?! I can still fight! B- but should I? His reservations had him frozen in place.

He could faintly hear the voices of his family and partner calling him back. Maybe- maybe they're right…

Before Finn could finalize his decision, the silver wolf walked up to him and stared him dead in the eyes.

The boy stared back, unsure if the wolf's gesture had any significance. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He grumbled.

He was given no response.

"What do you want?! Are you trying to get me to give up too?! Is that what you're after? Fine! I can't do it! I give up, man… dog… whatever… " Finn sighed in anguish.

"Hey, Finn! Stop talkin' to that dog and come talk to this dog, dawg!" Jake shouted for his brother.

The wolf's gaze was unwavering, almost as if it was unsatisfied with the boys answer.

Finn couldn't take those judging eyes any longer and shouted in frustration. "Do you want the truth from me or something?! Alright, here's the truth! I wanna get back in there! I wanna keep fighting! My inner voice is screaming at me! It's saying Hey! You nard! You ain't dead yet! You can still fight! So get that pansy butt back in there and fight till you can't no more! And you know what?! I AM gonna get back in there, Glob darn it!"

With his resolve revitalized, he took charge once more.

"Sweet heart, please, be reasonable!" His mother cried out.

"Third times the charm!" Finn shouted back.

Minerva pulled her hair and grunted. "I can't believe his father's bullheaded attitude is genetic!"

"We should've expected this to be honest, the best we can do for now is cheer him on and get the others to safety. C'mon!" Huntress said while running to gather any stray humans.

Jake followed with Minerva begrudgingly tailing behind.

Finn dashed into battle, eager to prove himself. He felt a tug at the back of his shirt, then he was promptly lifted off the ground. He turned his head just in time to see the wolf tossing him in the air and catching him on its back. The hound carried him with greater speed.

"Oh yeah, I'm feelin' this one!" He said with a smile and thirst for battle only a seasoned adventurer could have.

As the hero drew close to the battle he gazed upon the king. Finn expected to be met with disapproval, to be reprimanded and told to leave this fight to the pro. Not that it mattered, nothing was going to stop him from throwing down.

Which was why Finn was so stunned to see Hero King's head turn to meet him for a brief moment, the king giving a resolute nod with eyes of understanding.

The boy returned the nod and stood on the wolf's back.

The bird attempted to take flight again to avoid the king.

With quick thinking, Finn shouted for the wolf to jump. Then, at the apex of their leap, he hopped off to gain extra height. He barely managed to latch onto the beasts feet and began climbing his way to its back.

"Hey Apocalypse crow!" Finn yelled.

"It's Apocolypticorvid! And what in the Golb are you doing there you nuisance?!" The crow began to fly upside down in an attempt to shake off the human. But Finn held on with no indication of slipping off.

"How come when I told you to flock off you didn't care, but when HK told you to, you got all mad!" Finn said, still hung up on the minor detail.

"What?! Are you serious?! It's because you weren't worth the breath!" The corvid laughed.

Finn, visibly upset by the comment, started to climb to his right wing.

"Hey! What are you doing back there!" The monster called out.

The hero demonstrated great strength by holding onto the wing with one arm and pulling out his sword. He proceeded to stab the beasts wing and tear a hole, he repeated this as many times as he could.

"WAIT, NO! STOP THAT THIS INSTANT." The bird cried out in fear.

It was too late, his aerodynamics had been thrown off due to the severe damage and began tumbling towards the ground.

Finn had exhausted all his strength and released his grasp, now he too was hurtling down. Thankfully Hero King was able to catch him and soften the landing.

The boy sat in his hand and looked up to the king. "How'd I do?" He smiled.

HK let out a boisterous laugh. "I'd say your actions were quite befitting of a hero! And, with training, maybe even the greatest hero time has ever known."

Finn's eyes lit up. He didn't buy the king's words before, but now, after seeing the man in action, he couldn't help but believe him.

"Let's discuss those matters after we've bopped this feather face to next tuesday, shall we?"

The young hero stood up with his sword at the ready, "Let's end this!"

They both looked to where the crow had crash landed, the beast just recovering.

"Simply stabbing him won't work. A beast like that will only be defeated by inflicting a massive amount of damage all at once." Hero King said urgently.

"So what's the plan?" Finn asked.

"I'll drive my Even Greater Sword into its body, then you'll hop onto its head and plunge your sword in its skull and drag it along the monsters length. Yeah, that should do it. You ready?" HK looked at Finn.

"Ready!"

The king twirled his sword in his left hand and dashed with incredible speed.

The crow barely had time to think before he found the entire blade of Hero King's sword buried in his chest. It let out a pained caw.

Finn leaped onto the birds head and drove his sword into it. Following HK's instructions, he tore a massive gash along the beast, finishing off his run by jumping into the air and performing a number of flips before landing.

The corvid shook violently, light pouring out its body from the open wound. It let out one final screech before bursting into a cloud of gold particles.

Finn stood up and sheathed his sword. He smiled as he walked towards the king. "Sorry for dissing you earlier." The boy said, rubbing his shoulder in guilt.

"Bah! Twas nothing but an exercise in caution. Sometimes things must be learned through trials and tribulations." Hero King kneeled and gently patted Finn on the back with his massive hand.

"Hey what was up with that-" before Finn could finish, he was tackled to the ground by the canine from earlier. "-wolf…"

It barked in joy and began to lick the boy's face.

"This here good boy is Skull, he's my astral beast!" HK snapped his fingers and the wolf burst into dust before being absorbed into the king.

"Whoa, you have an astral beast too!" Finn said with excitement.

"Ah, I assume you have one as well? Care to show me?" HK asked.

"Yeah! It'll take a second though-"

Finn was interrupted once again, this time by his mother and friends.

"Finn! Oh, Finn, sweetie, you're alright!" She said grasping him tight.

Finn laughed with embarrassment. "I'm fine mom."

"No need to apologize for your previous transgressions." HK humbly aimed his statement at Huntress and Jake.

"I mean we weren't gonna, but okay." Jake shrugged.

"I think we had every right to be skeptical. Still, 'preciate the help back there." The wizard smiled.

"Oh, well you're welcome… I suppose." HK said, awkwardly.

The rest of the humans poured from beyond the woods, realizing they were now safe from danger. One human in particular pushed his way to the forefront. "Minerva bot! Minerva bot! I must have a word with you!"

"She's not a bot, Malloy. Just call her Minerva." Finn protested.

"Forgive me, Finn. I understand that she's your mother, but we've always seen her as a guardian force. Plus, there's so many, calling them all Minerva feels off." Malloy reasoned.

"Not this body, however. What seems to be the matter, Malloy?" Minerva extended her hand.

The man returned the gesture, but was caught off guard by how real her skin felt. To the point where her hands were sweating from the earlier fright given to her by her son. Malloy wiped his hand on his shirt. "I understand I have no power over the development of our colony, you earned that right fair and square through vote. But please heed my words when I say we should just hunker down and start fortifying ourselves."

"I'm sorry Malloy, but we didn't come all the way out here just to become isolationists again. Otherwise we should've just stayed on the islands. I'm trying my best to compromise, find us a place where we can thrive free from danger and also maintain open borders." She looked at Finn and smiled, then back to Malloy. "Yes, it may be hard going, but I believe that's helped us grow as a collective."

Malloy grew frustrated. "But what if something like this happens again. We might not be so lucky to have some deus ex machina come to our rescue."

Finn wanted to offer a rebuttal, but his mind flashed back to when he put Huntress, Jake, and Minerva in harm's way. How helpless he had been without Hero King.

"Nonsense, with a boy such as this at your side? There's no danger to fear." HK let out a hearty chuckle.

"I'm sorry, Mr…" Malloy paused so that HK may state his name.

"I wear the title of Hero King, but I suppose it would not hurt to be a tad more informal. You may call me Grand Luther." The king said while holding his hand out for a shake.

"Informal. Grand. Of course." Malloy sighed and extended his hand as well. HK gently grabbed the man's appendage with his thumb and index finger.

"Mr. Luther, first of all I'd like to thank you for what you did here today, I'm not sure how we can repay you." Malloy thanked the king, albeit, begrudgingly. He didn't like the idea of owing favors to an outsider.

"Please, I was simply doing what was right." HK waved off his concerns.

"You're too kind. Secondarily, and I say this with no ill will towards Finn, but you all must've seen how he faired in the battle? Don't get me wrong, he's been invaluable to us, guided us, saved us. But if today has taught us anything, it's that there are some threats even he can't handle. We need to be prepared for that, instead of wasting our time travelling the continent!" Malloy argued.

Hero King held a hand up. "Allow me to stop you right there. While it is true that the boy's skills were insufficient at the present moment, I can assure you that, under my guidance, he'll be able to defend you from any threat. He has the potential to be an even mightier force than myself." HK looked at Minerva. "I assume you are this magnificent child's mother?"

Finn grumbled, "Not a child."

Minerva laughed, both at Finn's reaction and the praise from HK. "Why yes, I am this magnificent young man's mother."

"Then may I have your permission to train him?" The king asked politely.

"A hero with manners? Color me surprised, I certainly think Finn could learn a thing or two from you." She giggled.

Minerva looked at her son and sighed. "As much as I fear for your safety, you are an adult now. And I'd be lying if I didn't say you've earned my absolute trust over the past year." She knelt down and met Finn eye to eye. "Just promise me you'll be safe, okay?" She pleaded.

Finn beamed at his mother and hugged her in response. "Of course."

His mother embraced him harder than ever.

"Hey big hero man." Huntress called out.

"Yes?"

"Mind if I tag along for some of this training stuff. He is my boyfriend after all."

"Me too! I'm his best bro, we do everything together!" Jake interjected.

HK tapped his chin. "Hmmmm, I suppose I see no harm. However, I also reserve the right to ask that you leave during certain parts of our training regimen. There are things that must remain between heroes, you see."

The two shrugged.

"Fine by us." Jake said.

Finn pulled away from his mother to face HK. "Man, this is gonna be awesome. Y'all ready for some HERO TIME?!" He shouted excitedly, striking a pose.

"Oh! Wait, wait! Let's do that together, but let's do my pose. You know the one I did earlier where I held my sword out and everything?" Hero King adopted a giddy nature.

Finn nodded and stood in front of him.

"Alright, on the count of three." The king said.

"One… two… THREE!"

"It's… HERO TIME" they shouted in unison, striking similar poses.

Malloy gave up and sighed, Minerva clapped, Jake jumped with joy, Huntress rolled her eyes and smiled.

"That- that sounds stupidly happy." Marceline chuckled. "I'm having a hard time seeing this all go south."

"Yeah… so did I." Finn said with a depressive cadence.

A/N: Hey how's it goin :D. Okay so I'll get right to it, sorry for a second hiatus :(. The excuse this time was that I've been trying harder to get into art, which, speaking of, you should go check out my twitter! (link in my profile desc.) I've been posting art mostly related to this fic over there, including stuff like Simon and Finn hanging out from Ch.6, and Finn, Marcy, Danny and Duke hanging out! I'm currently drawing Hero King so make sure to keep your eyes peeled if you're curious what he looks like!

Anyway, onto this chapter. So begins our dive into Finn's journey down the road of becoming the greatest hero time has ever known! Hopefully this start didn't throw anyone off, seeing as it abruptly begins in the past. How do y'all think I handled a younger Finn? Did I portray him well? It was honestly fun to be able to write all these characters in a bit more lighthearted manner.

What about that there Hero King? Quite the loud and theatrical fellow huh? I tried to go for a "Super Hero Knight" vibe so fingers crossed he feels that way.

How were the quick cuts to the present with Finn and Marcy? Were they jarring or did ya like 'em? I figured it was a cute way to present more information, as well as have Finn and Marceline discuss some of the events of Finn's past.

Minerva was fun to portray, I always wanted to see her being a doting mama in the show, but we never got that v_v

And woah hey, it's Malloy! Never liked him being the leader of the humans. Even if it was by democratic means, I still feel the humans would vote for Minnie seeing as how she's cared for them for so long.

Be seein ya next chapter, where Finn begins his REAL hero training! And hopefully I won't take a month :S, though I do hope you understand, I'm tryna juggle a job, art and writing so I'm a little strapped for time. THAT BEING SAID, I ain't ever gonna stop workin', things just may take some time :D