Work Text:
Imperial Household Intelligence Report on the Tinashe Murapa.
Alexander Petros, Itinerant of the Royal Guard, to the Emperor.
Sir, as per request, an updated file on Hero has been created due to the recent discovery that All For One’s network extends into Zimbabwe as well.
This file will focus on the social and cultural impact of Hero’s existence to give better context to current events. As with Stormwind’s file, I have no interest in attaching the pertinent subfiles given everything we are experiencing. Given how far-reaching her legacy is, assume that she is no more than six degrees separated from any issue.
All information is based on these sources: eye-witness accounts from surviving combatants, videotaped evidence, SAEC files and multiple memoirs.
This file is classified Gemini-Sky-Blue, the sixteenth file with this clearance rating.
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IHI Report — IHI Report — IHI Report
The Hero
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Overview
Formal Titles: Mambokadzi weZimbabwe; Recipient of the Gold Cross of Zimbabwe and the Order of Merit (civil); Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize; Honorary Citizen of the Republic of Mozambique; Exemplar of the Southern African Economic Concord; Heroine and Martyr of the Anglican Church.
Nicknames: Tin-Tin.
Race: Human.
Quirk: Arclight Armour.
Age and sex: 38, female.
Service Summary: None.
Education: Honorary Doctor of Law from the Universities of Zimbabwe, Cambridge, and Pretoria. Honorary Master of Economics from the Universities of Zimbabwe and British Columbia.
Employment: Director of the Commission for African Social Integrity.
Significant family: Legion, wife.
Overall threat rating: Striking-Talon-Nine.
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Historical Notes:
Hero grew up on the streets for the first seven years of her life in abject poverty. She would repeatedly affirm her origins and use them as the primary reasoning behind her actions. She would meet Lindiwe Malunga, in the slums of Chitungwiza after helping her fend off a rabid dog. Legion, grateful, would bring her back to her hideout and introduce her to Trafalgar Law. They were five at the time.
If these names sound vaguely familiar then perhaps you would know them better by their future titles, Legion and the Surgical Hero. Hero, Legion and Law formed the core of their cadre of heroes.
In time, their quirks would develop. Lindiwe would be able to clone herself multiple times, with each clone receiving a random power with its strength based on the number of clones in existence. Trafalgar would develop a spatial manipulation quirk of incredible strength, made deadlier when he eventually picked up a sword.
At the age of seven, they were rounded up and take to an orphanage built in Borrowdale Brooke Estate after it had been razed by criminals. This orphanage was one of many, part of a government program to ensure children with quirks could be monitored.
[Sir, the intent of these orphanages was to eventually develop an army of quirk users. Thankfully, someone with a bit of human compassion decided that they should be allowed to grow as children. Their loyalty would be to each other, not the government.]
Tinashe was a woman of great faith and was a regular feature at her church. Despite the strong atheist sentiment at the time, Tinashe attended church each Sunday despite the wishes of her caretakers.
When they were fifteen, military recruiters came to her orphanage to take Law whose powers the government marked as essential. Tinashe looked at the men and said one simple word:
‘Never.’
The final part of her quirk would manifest. Before, it had simply been the Arclight which allowed her to generate energy blasts and draw energy from the environment.
Her armour would elevate her past the mundanity of minor energy control. With her armour, her physical capabilities were heightened to levels that eclipsed All Might. It also amplified her Arclight, allowing her to vaporise buildings.
Hero battled the recruiters and rallied her fellow orphans together. She went to each orphanage and together, they collectively refused to be pawns of the military.
There would be one battle and only one. The oversized 5th Infantry Brigade would mobilise to full readiness. Hero would publicly request the military to stand down and begged the populace to not permit another slaughter of an ethnic group. Given the country’s history, there was a wave of public support and the Ndebele people in Bulawayo offered them sanctuary which they accepted.
{Head of Intelligence, Issei Hyoudou, to the Emperor: Guardsman Petros has done a surprisingly good job of providing the facts and appropriate context. However, he fails here. An abridged version (please read subfile: Zimbabwean Ethnic Violence) of the country’s history with ethnic violence is as such.
During the Independence movement against the British Colonial government, two major political factions existed. These were ZANLA which was manned by the Shona ethnic majority of the country, and ZAPUE composed of the minority Ndebele people. The two worked together, and regularly clashed, during the Independence struggle throughout the nineteen sixties and seventies. Fast forward to the eighties and genocide by ZANLA against the Ndebele people in their own strongholds would occur. This event, known as Gukurahundi, would be perpetrated primarily by the 5th Infantry Brigade.
Fast-forward to the emergence of quirks and the Dark Ages. With long-standing grudges and tribal divisions only heightened by quirks and religion, the 5th Brigade would be reactivated. It would be staffed with Zimbabwe’s first quirk soldiers. Unfortunately, it would be deployed to the Ndebele stronghold of Matabeleland. Another repeat of Gukurahundi occurred with an even larger body count. I suppose the only positive was that quirks meant it happened much faster. With this knowledge of the 5th Brigade’s history, Hero’s ethnic heritage as Shona, and two separate genocides in Ndebele territory, the following events make more sense.}
Hero, Legion and Law would meet the Brigade on the outskirts of Bulawayo. The three represented the major ethnic groupings of the country, Hero who was Shona, Legion who was Ndebele, and Law who was a white Zimbabwean.
The battle was furious but the three held too much raw power and versatility to be overpowered. However, they did something that would change the history of the country. They only eliminated the commanding officer and disarmed the rest. They avoided a third possible massacre in the country’s history.
After the 5th Brigade was disarmed, the officers went to trial at Bulawayo High Court and were officially tried for crimes against humanity. Despite the protests of the central government, the trials proceeded with support from both Ndebele and Shona people.
They wouldn’t stop there. Hero trained her extended family of orphans and showed them how to arrest people without causing death. Their arrests affected military officials who had a hand in the prior military massacre and politicians who aided the efforts.
With their power, Hero and her cadre could arrest even the most powerful general and ensure they would face trial. Her power legitimised the courts and ennobled the citizenry to stand against injustice, a rather startling change given the country’s history since Independence.
There was a major incident when Hero arrested many Ndebele officers and officials, including a judge, for having taken part in human rights violations over Kamativi Mine in Matabeleland. Tensions were high following this but they were defused when Legion said that no group should be above the law. It would help that Law would arrest white businessmen taking part in corruption.
Their actions forced a referendum for early elections. New parties would rise to power with ZANU-PF, the historical power, claiming only fifteen percent of seats. Sweeping changes to governmental structures, judicial processes, and military organisation would occur. With these changes, investment into the country was finally encouraged. The most notable of these was Europe. At the behest of Stormwind, Europe would support the events in Zimbabwe. [Sir, forgive me if I sound smug, but can you name one person with a quirk that has done more good than Stormwind.]
{Head of Intelligence, Issei Hyoudou, to the Emperor: Hawkmoon, Graviton Lance, Master Railroad, Hero herself, All Might. None of them has the dubious honour of being a tyrant and they have all done good for their nations and the world.}
It is here that Tinashe would receive her title. The Archbishop of Canterbury would see her acts and state ‘should she continue she shall be worthy of being styled a Heroine’ in honour of her actions. Making a speech, she would humbly accept the honour. Unfortunately, Law announced her as ‘Hero’ as a formal name which forever cemented her title.
In five years, Hero had completely reformed her country. Things were not perfect by any stretch, but they were better and they showed no signs of stopping.
Whilst her family from the orphanage would go on to take critical roles in government and civil service of Zimbabwe, Hero would look outward to the rest of Southern Africa.
She travelled to other countries in Southern Africa and witnessed similar issues brought on by the Dark Age. Hero saw the same corruption and wealth imbalance and refused that world. She saw a world that she could not abide by and spoke at many rallies and conferences, telling people that they could change things so long as they tried.
At the annual SADC meeting in Gabarone, Botswana, she raised a flag and called on people willing to battle corruption and injustice with her. The governments were terrified, barring Botswana and Namibia which both supported her. There were orders and threats towards anyone who took up her call. It would not help.
Skybreaker of South Africa, Siren of Angola, and Nyaminyami of Zambia all rose to her call. Alongside Hero, Legion, and Law, they represented one of the greatest quirk forces of the time. The analysis says they could have defeated either Stormwind or Titan with minimal losses.
[Sir, I’m not much of a betting man, but I wonder some days if they could beat both at once.]
Together, they were the founders of the Commission for African Social Integrity. Under anyone else’s direction, they would have been a military force. With Hero at the helm, they became an anti-corruption group focused on ensuring criminals were tried and punished fairly by the courts of law. They forced change and gained extensive support amongst a population of half a billion.
The only country that refused to accept them was Mozambique.
The Warlord Duchess ruled over Mozambique with an iron first. Hero sent forth many overtures of peace, with her final offer involving her trusted friend Law. Duchess would remove his sword arm and blind him before killing him.
Legend says Hero shattered a mountain in her rage. One day after the murder of her childhood friend, Hero flew to Mozambique to battle Duchess.
At the age of thirty-three, Hero would battle one of the deadliest Warlords in history, equal to any Stormwind faced. Their battle was such that it changed weather patterns and culminated in an ocean trench 500km long and 1km deep. Hero would emerge victorious in Maputo. Nothing needed to be said. Her strength had been solidified through this act.
In the aftermath, it would come to light that Law was whole and hale, having been drugged no the way to Mozambique and replaced by [shapeshifter].
[Sir, records show that Duchess said something that made Hero laugh. It is believed that it was Duchess telling Legion of the truth surrounding Law’s death.]
The SADC would transition into the Southern African Economic Concord which would be ratified in Maputo. Hero and all members of CASI would be in attendance. Hero would give the closing speech and implore people to continue looking towards a brighter future.
Hero faced other threats in her final years but none had the renown of Duchess. Her focus had transitioned to public service.
Impressed by Hero’s achievements, Hawkmoon would travel to Zimbabwe and spent the next two years there. She was welcomed and honoured by the country and by Hero. The two would develop a close friendship and fight together on multiple occasions.
The SAEC would create a new position for Hero known as the Exemplar of Justice. This was a ceremonial role but was focused on recognising outstanding achievements. This system still exists and has expanded to encompass many other roles.
Hero would marry Legion. Understand that the old laws made their relationship illegal. They were relics of an older time and had been largely forgotten about in the chaos of the Dark Age. It took Parliament a few minutes to repeal the laws.
Her wedding day would also be the day of her death. Undefeated by any opponent, Hero would perish to poison. This event would be forever known as the Red Wedding.
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Motivations:
Hero grew up in poverty and hardship. She saw inequality and the oppression of the wealthy. She developed a deep-seated loathing towards wealth imbalance and corruption. This loathing would form the core of her motivations.
Organisations and Affiliations:
Southern African Economic Concord: She served as the Exemplar of Justice. It was created at the height of her Golden Age and represented a free-trade and travel zone with a single centralised Senate with members from each country.
The Commission for African Social Integrity: This is the organisation the Hero and her allies belonged to. Hero founded CASI in a bid to legitimise herself and her actions. CASI exits to this day and though it has changed to adapt to the times, it has never lost sight of its mandate. It serves as the most effective anti-corruption organisation of the last two centuries, though not without its scandals.
Hero Memorial Academy: Built in honour of her achievements, it has two main campuses, one in Harare and one in Bulawayo. This is symbolic of the unity she brought between the Shona and Ndebele people of her nation. Her body is interred in the Harare Campus and is under constant ceremonial guard. The Academy has other satellite campuses in Pretoria, Windhoek, Dar es Salam, Luanda and Kinshasa.
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Tactics:
Specific Tactical Methods:
Long range: At this distance, she would simply rain down energy blasts until there was no cover. Very rarely did her enemies survive this barrage of energy. If they could survive this range, then Hero would close the distance.
Middle range: This was Hero’s weakest range. She had no particular skills of note. If one could survive her barrage at long-range, then they would survive at this range. Her only objective was to close the gap.
Close range: This is where Hero truly shines. Her raw strength and immense defensive capabilities made her a miniature Titan. All Might at his very peak would be unable to harm her. With raw speed and reactions that put anyone to shame, Hero could eliminate any enemy at this range.
Only enemies capable of negating both physical and energy attacks, Hero had no bad matchups. And when one existed, she always had her allies to support her.
Physical Abilities
Flight was her most notable physical ability. With it, she moved at supersonic speeds. This allowed her to be at any engagement in the region and made her a terrifying strategic threat.
Outside of that, within her armour, she had physical capabilities that exceeded All Might by two orders of magnitude.
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Notable Allies
Lindiwe Malunga, the Legion: Her childhood friend and eventual wife. They would be married for one hour and twelve minutes before Hero died to poison. Legion stood beside Hero in every battle. As a grieving widower, Lindiwe would continue Hero’s legacy and work alongside Law until their death.
Trafalgar Law, the Surgical Hero: Her childhood friend and the man who gave Hero her name. He was her closest advisor and tempered her idealism. She trusted him enough to negotiate peace with Duchess. When she thought him dead, she flew into a rage and later killed Duchess. He would head the Commission for African Social Integrity after Hero and do so till his death.
Siren, the Brave: He was the first to take up Hero’s call against the wishes of his government. Following Hero’s death, he would take up public service and become Chair of the SAEC before transitioning to become the SAEC’s ambassador to Europe.
Skybreaker: A former lawmaker in South Africa. When ordered to submit himself to authorities, he did so and spent years in prison. A staunch advocate of the law, he refused any help that would subvert the legal process. Once freed, he would be celebrated as a close ally of both Hero and the law.
Nyaminyami: A Zambian music icon. His third album was a very overt political attack against Hero’s dissenters. After Hero’s death, he would become the first headmaster of Hero Memorial Academy.
Hawkmoon: A friend and mentor to Hero. They two women spoke often in Hero’s final years. She would hunt down the titular Herokiller out of rage.
Notable Enemies
Zimbabwean Defence Force 5th Brigade: Ordered by the government to arrest her and her allies. Hero resisted them and eliminated the Brigade. To this day, the 5th is a defunct organisation and serves as a warning against tribalism.
Warlord Duchess: Ruler of Mozambique. A woman who sought fights against stronger and stronger opponents. Her deception surrounding Law’s death can be seen as forcing a fight to the death between her and Hero.
Herokiller: The person who killed Hero and arguably ended the Golden Age. He would be hunted down and executed by Hawkmoon.
Mental and Psychological Notes
Hero falls in the Affable/Righteous quadrant of Heroic personalities. So long as it helped the weak and disenfranchised, Hero would do anything to help. It made her an idealist that was easily lied to, but she was smart enough to surround herself by cynics.
Political and Social Notes
Hero was vocally apolitical during her rise. Despite her acts, she wasn’t anti-government but rather pro-citizenry. Her actions were in support of peace, justice and unity. They focused on ensuring that citizens would be safe, be it from villains or quirks.
The official period of her Golden Age is hard to pin down considering historical interpretation, Stormwind’s Golden Age (argued by many as the height of the Dark Age) which preceded her, and the continuation of her goals by her allies. The Zimbabwean government marks this period as her first anti-corruption arrest to forty-five years after Hero’s death when both Legion and Law would fall in combat.
Her legacy cannot be understated. Southern Africa represents the second most powerful economic bloc, surpassed only by Europe. Hero Memorial Academy churns out top-tier heroes on a yearly basis of such renown that they are scouted across the world.
In her last public appearance, Hero said the following:
‘A day will come when the word hero means something more. It will not be a word for legends and myths. It will not be a word for those with quirks. No, one day, I hope hero comes to refer to anyone who tries to improve the human condition.’
In honour of her last words, her allies would campaign to see reform to the hero system internationally. These changes, both culturally and legally, came to be known as the Murapa Reforms. Vancouver Island came to adopt the idea of a formal hero organisation first.
The reforms were so instrumental that heroes can be split into two different eras. The pre-Murapa Reform archetype of hero which includes Hawkmoon who served as extensions of their military force. The post-Murapa reform heroes who serve outside the jurisdiction of the military and exist to further the interest of the people, not the state.
This Modern Era of Heroes owes everything to the great Tinashe Murapa, a woman who has since been unmatched.
Final Warnings
Sir, I will break the usual format and speak candidly on Hero. She is undoubtedly a top-tier combatant with only two peers, the Great Tyrants Stormwind and Titan. Her raw strength couldn’t even be bested by Duchess who is her own nightmare.
As someone of European descent, I will always support Stormwind and I know that they would have been enemies. Had I been alive in such a scenario, I would have supported Stormwind without hesitation.
However, I believe this world is worse off without Hero. She was a kind woman who loved her friends and allies deeply. She is the mould of heroes like All Might, someone who will help you without question and teach you to be stronger when you are weak. Hero was the best of us and deserved much more than an ignoble end.
Sir, if there is one person whom I believe we should emulate, then it is Tinashe Murapa, Hero of Zimbabwe and Exemplar of Justice.