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Sebastian woke up in an empty warehouse, with nothing but the armor on his back and a single crystal. The year was 1938.
For the next 75~ years, he searched relentlessly for the crystals, coming up completely empty. If there's one thing he isn't, it's a computer tech, and looking things up in books is much more timestaking than anyone could imagine.
In the late 30's and early 40's, legends told of an Alien (who was sometimes found in circuses around the world) who was in search of two magic jewels.
You could visit him, and if you had his jewel, he would show you his true form- pictured on a poster or two, but far more worthy of awe in person. Few people ever saw this form, and only to prove that it wasn't a hoax. Nobody ever brought a jewel that matched his in seven years of this work, no matter where he went.
So he moved on. But not from the jewels, no. He became a famous jeweler, and ran his business for twenty years. He had faked official papers in order to start his business, and back then it wasn't the hardest thing to do. But eventually, his past came into question, and although he knew he was close to finding the crystals that would get him home, he was forced to abandon his practice and search himself.
Having other people look for you is far more efficient. Thousands or even millions of eyes are always better than two, but those two eyes were losing hope. Searching himself seemed the only way to do it. He had heard tales from his customers in the last twenty years of where his crystals might be, and by God he had written down every single one.
It took him nearly 17 years, but every single rumor, tip and thread he had latched onto had fallen through. From fake gems, to massive rubies, to an uncarved pink star yet hiding in stone, all had lead nowhere.
In the 80's he had a bit of a crisis. He started working for a living wherever would take him, although without any real documents and his forgery skills lacking, it was hard to stay out of shady places. Impossible, even.
Men had no respect in those days. They still don't, and they never did even when he was in the circus- but having his hair pulled, and random strikes from behind were now his normal. He had all but given up enjoying his life, so what these strangers did to him mattered about as much as whether or not he saw a cloud that day. He didn't start to care until someone broke his rib.
The pain from that was always the worst. He had to stop himself from killing the man who did it, but only because it would make the rib situation worse.
He started looking for a new place to live that night, far away from people who knew his face, and nearly 70 years after he was thrown into this world, he finds himself in the City of Heros. Renowned for the superheros that keep the city safe from villains, criminals, and natural disasters alike, Sebastian found himself in a situation he could possibly work with. He was at his wit's end, and vowed not to do more harm than necessary - but somehow, he had to get more people looking for these jewels than ever before, or he knew he'd never find them.
He spread rumors about a weapon, one that could destroy the world or pin it under someone's heel. The only reason it wasn't in use? All three pieces had to come together for it to work.
People with super powers had become common in this dimension, but that certainly didn't change the amount of heroism. Most people used their powers for personal, selfish, or financial reasons, and when need be, wore a mask. But these people weren't heros by any means, and none were immune to the need for power or money.
This rumor set the super powered world alight, searching for the jewels, and within three years, the second jewel was within reach. He had seen it with his own eyes.
He had hope.
But he didn't have the jewel. Some wealthy off-shore buyer got it before he could. But that changed nothing, he knew it was on the planet and that was all that mattered. For the last seventy-five years, he had been grasping at straws he couldn't see, guessing and praying that the other jewels hadn't vanished from the planet entirely, that they weren't six million light years away from him. And the sight of the pink diamond was all he needed.
For the first time in nearly eighty years, he had a reason to try. But that hope may have pushed him too far. He donned his armor once more, and swore to become public enemy number one. The bigger the threat he was, the faster they'd find the one thing that could undeniably stop him.
Even if it couldn't, they didn't need to know that.
Hurting people didn't make him happy, by any means. He avoided it at all costs. But the superheros? They were a team, they had healers, and he knew how much damage he could inflict before they were down. He was careful not to hurt them too badly, but made it clear that he was out of their league. Even the most seasoned fighters had centuries less experience than he did in battle, so impressing (and perhaps scaring) the young superheros was no feat.
The only reason he was captured was because he trusted someone.
It wasn't a hero, but a supervillain. He intended to work with him to find the crystals. It was a good deal, in exchange for training for his "workers", they would help search and retrieve the crystals.
But the moment Sebastian let his guard down, they struck.
It wouldn't have worked, had he charged his armor the day before. It was solar powered, but he hadn't gone out in the sun for a few days and it was nearly empty. He couldn't protect himself.
Before he knew it, he was a lab rat for a man who would bleed him dry if it meant he got even a penny more. And without the nanotech armor, he had no way out.