The Superhero Association's system was, at its core, a network of support services Drex Valen had created for superheroes.
The first part was the ranking structure.
The Superhero Association operated in a way similar to the Hero Association from One Punch Man. Heroes within the organization would be classified into different tiers: S-Class, A-Class, B-Class, C-Class, D-Class, E-Class, and finally the lowest rank, F-Class.
The lowest-tier F-Class heroes were basically ordinary street vigilantes like Kick-Ass. Normal people with nothing more than the desire to beco heroes and uphold justice.
Each rank also had its own internal standings. Heroes with better achievents and more completed missions could gradually rise into higher classifications.
The second part was the Association's compensation system for superheroes.
After all, when superheroes fought cri and saved lives, they were sacrificing their own private ti and work hours. That often resulted in financial losses. For example, arriving late to work because they stopped a robbery, getting scread at by their boss, or even losing their job altogether. Or missing a date because they had to save soone, only to end up dumped afterward.
That was where compensation beca necessary.
Of course, the compensation wasn't sothing vulgar like direct cash paynts. That would cheapen the ideals of heroism and justice. Drawing inspiration from the Midnight Hotel where he had once worked, Drex Valen introduced a system called Hero Points.
Every registered superhero would receive their own points card. After carrying out acts of justice, they would earn varying amounts of points depending on their actions.
The uses for these points were extensive.
One option was exchanging them for money.
Drex Valen himself wasn't lacking in wealth. On top of that, he owned a private bank. Thanks to the War Machines acting as security, its safety standards far exceeded those of ordinary banks. As a result, nurous wealthy individuals and corporations had entrusted their money to his institution. Without anyone really noticing when it happened, Blade Bank had already grown into a multinational banking giant.
That was why he could support an impractical system like converting Hero Points into real-world currency.
Even if it operated at a loss, Drex Valen did not particularly care.
He had never expected the Superhero Association to make money in the first place. If it could simply sustain itself financially, he would already consider that a success.
Besides, while the Association looked like a bottomless money pit on the surface, the flood of investors and tycoons trying to pour money into it after Drex Valen's public announcent proved that people recognized its enormous potential.
Still, he rejected every single offer.
He wanted the Superhero Association to remain independent, rather than becoming sothing like the Hero Association in One Punch Man, reduced to acting as bodyguards for the rich or tools for the powerful.
To avoid giving critics any leverage whatsoever, Drex Valen even refused voluntary donations from fans. In any case, those donations would never amount to much.
Aside from being exchanged for money, Hero Points could also be used to obtain weapons, equipnt, supplies, and other resources provided by Drex Valen, much like how the Midnight Hotel's Skull Coins could be exchanged for a wide variety of services.
And that wasn't all.
Hero Points could also be used to have the Superhero Association design and manufacture personalized superhero costus.
Most superheroes were either broke... or had catastrophically questionable fashion sense.
Drex Valen absolutely refused to let them distort the public image of superheroes. Certain idiots in bright red coats deserved direct criticism here.
Because of that, hiring a professional design team to create superhero outfits beca extrely necessary.
Naturally, he had no intention of hiring the sort of fashion designers who treated runway shows like abstract psychological warfare.
Drex Valen considered that kind of "art" an assault on human aesthetics.
At the sa ti, he also planned to establish a private dical team inside the Superhero Association headquarters currently under construction.
Superheroes inevitably got injured. When they did, most of them handled their wounds themselves rather than going to hospitals, terrified that their identities might be exposed. That made a professional dical team incredibly important.
With proper treatnt facilities, injured heroes could receive safe and comprehensive dical care.
And incidentally, Drex Valen could also obtain their genetic data.
Naturally, all treatnt would be completely free.
Anyone who joined the Superhero Association and passed the screening process would also receive a full physical examination. Any hidden health problems discovered during the checkup would be treated entirely at Drex Valen's expense.
Finally, there was the psychological support team.
Superheroes endured imnse psychological pressure.
That pressure ca from living double lives and maintaining dual identities. On one side, they had to uphold the role of a cri-fighting symbol of justice. On the other, they still had to preserve a normal everyday life.
The ntal burden was enormous.
That was why cases of psychological collapse or moral corruption among superheroes happened so frequently.
Drex Valen understood this kind of pressure perfectly well.
The reason he personally did not fear exposing his identity was partly because the power he displayed publicly represented only the visible tip of the iceberg... and partly because he possessed the ability to flip the entire table over whenever he wanted.
"You seriously think we'd suffer from psychological stress?"
Tony Stark looked utterly unconvinced by the idea of establishing a psychological counseling team.
"You wouldn't," Drex Valen replied calmly. "You've never hidden your identity. But future superheroes definitely will. To avoid their families being dragged into danger, most of them will choose secrecy."
"And that secrecy will inevitably create misunderstandings between them and the people they care about. The worst part is that they won't even be able to explain themselves. Everything just keeps piling up inside."
Drex Valen shook his head.
"And when that pressure finally exceeds what a person can endure, it all explodes at once. That's how people break."
Not to ntion that even Tony Stark himself eventually developed psychological problems in the original tiline.
After carrying the nuclear missile through the wormhole and detonating it against the Chitauri during the events of The Avengers, he developed severe anxiety issues.
There had been positive outcos from that anxiety. It drove him to create the Iron Legion, those hundreds of specialized Iron Man suits that were undeniably impressive.
But the downside was equally obvious.
His ntal state beca unstable. He grew constantly restless and paranoid, to the point that he needed an Iron Man suit standing guard while he slept.
That strain also damaged his relationship with Pepper Potts.
"So," Tony Stark said, smoothly skipping over the topic, "have you thought more about Stark Industries investing in the Superhero Association?"
"No."
Drex Valen refused without hesitation.
He intended to maintain absolute authority within the Superhero Association. There was no chance he would hand any part of that control to Tony Stark.
"Then Stark Industries can sponsor weapons and equipnt instead."
Tony shrugged. He could understand Drex Valen's reasoning.
"Stark Industries still has the ability to manufacture weapons?"
Drex Valen asked curiously.
After all, hadn't he already taken advantage of Stark Industries' collapse to poach their entire weapons division?
User Comments
0 comments from readers