History Fanfic / LessThanZeroKenchi618

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Max’s suit was originally a PowerArmor prototype that his parents made for the U.S. military to combat the ever growing number of rogue metahumans. It uses the body's natural bioelectricity to amplify it's wearers physical abilities and grants {{WallCrawl}}ing abilities, a built in [[StaticStunGun stun-gun]], and an [[InvisibilityCloak adaptive camouflage]] function. That being said, Max quickly realizes that the suit only improves the already present physical abilities of its wearer, meaning that he still has to train in order to get the maximum use out of it.

* CListFodder: During the night when every criminal in Gotham goes out looking for the bounty on Ravager's head, the Trigger Twins Tad and Tom show up just long enough to be brutally gunned down Ravager.

* FakeArmDisarm: Null magnetizes [=KGBeast=]'s prosthetic forearm to a passing train when he and Ravager escape from him in the Gotham subway, which tears the weapon out of his arm. In a subversion of the usual use, the result is far from BloodlessCarnage as the prosthetic was grafted to [=KGBeast=]'s body, which leaves a bloody stump when it's ripped off.

* LikesClarkKentHatesSuperman: Barbara is one of the few people at school that Max interacts with enough to consider a friend and the same could be said for him to her. Null and Batgirl however have a much more antagonistic relationship.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Deathstroke isn't interested in killing people if there's no money involved. He passes up chances to potentially kill Superman and Batman respectively simply because there would be no monetary payoff.

* PragmaticVillainy:
** One of the things that sets Null apart from just about every other villain in Gotham is that most of his crimes are done with the intent of attracting the least amount of attention possible while also hurting the least amount of people. Early in the story, he steals jerseys from Gotham’s basketball team, which would only be of value to collectors willing to buy them under the table, and almost manages to slip under the Bat Family’s radar.
** Deathstroke provides a darker example. He opts to simply sell the plans for the kryptonite radiation towers instead of using them himself. As he puts it, Personally waging war on Superman and his relatives does nothing for his bottom line. Providing another supervillain with the means to do it for an enormous price does. If they actually manage to kill the Man of Steel and get him out of the way, then that's a bonus.

* SitcomArchnemesis: Tim Drake really, really doesn't like Null for beating him during the S.T.A.R. Labs heist. On Max's side, he considers Robin as completely annoying.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Max’s suit was originally a PowerArmor prototype that his parents made for the U.S. military to combat the ever growing number of rogue metahumans. It uses the body's natural bioelectricity to amplify it's wearers physical abilities and grants {{WallCrawl}}ing abilities, a built in [[ShockAndAwe stun-gun]], and an [[InvisibilityCloak adaptive camouflage]] function. That being said, Max quickly realizes that the suit only improves the already present physical abilities of its wearer, meaning that he still has to train in order to get the maximum use out of it.

* EldritchLocation: Gotham itself, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane maybe]]. Null can only describe the spirit of the place as dark and notes that after he left to visit New York City, he felt better just by leaving the city, although he can't even accurately explain why.

* HowDoIShotWeb: After his electromagnetic powers begin manifesting, Null spends a lot of time trying to figure out how they work.

* HadToBeSharp: Considering what a WretchedHive Gotham is, the villains that rise to the top of the criminal hierarchy are basically required to as smart as they are ruthless. This is ultimately what sets apart villains like KGBeast from ones like Penguin or Joker. While KGBeast is far more deadly than either of them in-person, he's ultimately less dangerous or powerful than them in the grand scheme because his skills as a killer are really all he has.

* EldritchLocation: Gotham itself, potentially. Null can only describe the spirit of the place as dark and notes that after he left to visit New York City, he felt better just by leaving the city, although he can't even accurately explain why.

* SitcomArchnemesis: Tim Drake really, really doesn't like Null for beating him on their first confrontation. On Max's side, he considers Robin as completely annoying.

* TookALevelInBadass: Null goes from easily getting his ass kicked by Batgirl and Robin to being able to put up an impressive fight against either of them after a month of learning how to properly fight from Wildcat and another few months of training with Ravager, though he is still noticeably behind both of them in terms of skill.

* LogicalWeakness: Zeiss's cybernetic enhancements amplify his reflexes to the point that he can fight Batman one-on-one, but as Batgirl proves, they're only effective against attacks he can see coming. When she ambushes him from behind, the villain goes down quickly.

* BigDamnHeroes: Just before Copperhead [[SwallowedWhole eats Null whole]], Wildcat intervenes and beats down the snake man to save him, since he assumes that Null [[EntertaininglyWrong is some rookie hero who picked a fight with the wrong villain]].

* ParentalNeglect: Max's parents spent more time working on their projects than they did paying any kind of attention to him. When they died, Max wasn't even that sad as he felt that their work had taken them away from long before death did.

* Determinator: Catman volunteers himself for an extra round of torture just to make sure his team stays together. Right after that, Null willingly mutilates his hands to get them out of their restraints and cell.

* OhCrap: Catwoman is horrified when Batman reveals that Null stole [[spoiler: kryptonite]] for Deathstroke. Max later has the same reaction when he finds out exactly what he stole.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Catwoman throws Null a job meant for her under the pretense that she's not that interested and knows he could use the money. In truth, she just understandably doesn't want to work with Deathstroke. Deathstroke takes advantage of the situation and has the newbie thief steal [[spoiler: kryptonite]] for him, with Null being ignorant of what it is. After finding out the details later, Catwoman is horrified by what she accidently set in motion.

** Null’s first encounter with Batgirl and Robin ends this way, which is a given considering that Null is a rookie thief who only has one month of training from Catwoman under his belt, while the former two were extensively trained by Batman. The only reason he manages to get away from them is thanks to his suit’s adaptive camo ability.

* PragmaticVillainy: One of the things that sets Null apart from just about every other villain in Gotham is that most of his crimes are done with the intent of attracting the least amount of attention possible while also hurting the least amount of people. Early in the story, he steals jerseys from Gotham’s basketball team, which would only be of value to collectors willing to buy them under the table, and almost manages to slip under the Bat Family’s radar.

* PetTheDog: Selina's decision to teach Max how to be a successful thief boils down to this. Having once been in similar circumstances as him, she feels a bit of sympathy for the boy trying to take on Gotham City by himself.

* StarterVillain: The Tally Man serves as Null's first villain opponent when the hitman comes looking for daylight identity. He's not a skilled martial artist or superpowered fighter, he's just a psychotic gunman with good aim. Once Null gets in close, he's able to beat him down easily enough.

* FantasticRacism: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. Supergirl assumes that Null is uncomfortable around her and the other kryptonians because he doesn’t like aliens. Null explains that he’s fine with aliens, he’s just wary around anyone who can effectively kill him with a finger flick.

''Less Than Zero'' follows the adventures of OriginalCharacter Maximilian Gabriel, an orphaned, down on his luck [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent high schooler]] who has the misfortune of living in [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. After stumbling upon an experimental [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman supersuit]] designed by his late parents, Max, desperate to improve his lot in life and seeing few other decent options, decides to use the suit to commit small-time thefts to keep food in his fridge and his lights on. Finding himself under the tutelage of [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]], it isn't long before Max eventually draws the attention of the Dark Knight and his younger sidekicks. And as Max continues to operate as Gotham's newest thief Null, he finds himself making both friends and enemies among the worlds superheroes and supervillains, for better or worse.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Max’s suit was originally a military grade PowerArmor prototype that his parents made for S.T.A.R. Labs. Wearing it grants Max a small degree of SuperStrength, enhanced reflexes, {{WallCrawl}}ing abilities a built in [[ShockAndAwe stun-gun that zaps]] enemies on contact, and an [[InvisibilityCloak adaptive camouflage]] function. That being said, Max quickly realizes that the suit only improves the already present physical abilities of its wearer, meaning that he still has to train in order to get the maximum use out of it. This becomes downplayed after Max awakens his meta-gene and he begins to use his powers in tandem with the suit's functions.

** Wildcat delivers an absolutely savage beatdown to Copperhead to save Null, [[EntertaininglyWrong who he thought was some rookie hero who picked a fight with the wrong supervillain]].

* SureLetsGoWithThat: After seeing Null’s fight with Copperhead, Wildcat assumes that Null is an up and coming hero, and decides to give the teen a bit of training so he doesn’t get himself killed. Null goes along with his assumption, partly because he really needs the training and partly because he really doesn’t want to explain that he was actually trying to rob the supervillain Wildcat just got done beating the crap out of.

** Null’s first encounter with Batgirl and Robin ends this way, which is a given considering that Null is a rookie thief who's only combat training consists of a few lessons from Catwoman, while the former two were extensively trained by Batman. The only reason he manages to get away from them is thanks to his suit’s adaptive camo ability.

** Both Robin and Batgirl are genuinely uncomfortable with Batman’s plan to [[spoiler: let Null take the blame for Anarky bombing a Wayne Industries warehouse so as not to tip off the terrorist that they’re onto him]], even as they go along with it.

* MagnetismManipulation: Null’s primary power after awakening his meta-gene. He becomes extremely proficient and creative with it as time goes on, using it for everything from subtly redirecting attacks from metal weapons to affecting someone’s polarity to stick them to a metal wal.

* TooMuchInformation: Max word for word response when Selina mentions how [[KavorkaMan Wildcat]] performs in bed.
* TookALevelInBadass: Null goes from easily getting his ass kicked by Batgirl and Robin to being able to put up an impressive fight against either of them after a month of learning how to fight from Wildcat and another few months of training with Ravager, though he is still noticeably behind both of them in terms of skill.
* WretchedHive: Gotham, naturally.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Max’s suit was originally a military grade PowerArmor prototype that his parents made for S.T.A.R. Labs. Wearing it grants Max a small degree of SuperStrength, enhanced reflexes, a built in [[ShockAndAwe stun-gun that zaps]] enemies on contact, and an [[InvisibilityCloak adaptive camouflage]] function. This becomes downplayed after Max awakens his meta-gene and he begins to use his powers in tandem with the suit's functions.

''Less Than Zero'' follows the adventures of OriginalCharacter Maximilian Gabriel, an orphaned, down on his luck [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent high schooler]] who has the misfortune of living in [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Gotham City]]. After stumbling upon an experimental [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman supersuit]] designed by his late parents for S.T.A.R. Labs, Max, desperate to improve his lot in life and seeing few other decent options, decides to use the suit to commit small-time thefts. Finding himself under the tutelage of [[ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} Selina Kyle]], it isn't long before Max eventually draws the attention of the Dark Knight and his younger sidekicks. And as Max continues to operate as Gotham's newest supervillain Null, he finds himself making both friends and enemies among the worlds superheroes and supervillains, for better or worse.

* AtrociousAlias: A self given one at that. Max chose the name Null because he felt it was a good summary of [[SelfDeprication how much he feels he sucks at trying to improve his life]]. Even after he becomes more competent and makes a name for himself as a successful villain, the name still sticks.

* ClothesMakeTheSuperman: Max’s suit was originally a military grade PowerArmor prototype that his parents made for S.T.A.R. Labs. Wearing it grants Max a small degree of SuperStrength, a built in [[ShockAndAwe stun-gun that zaps]] enemies on contact, and an [[InvisibilityCloak active camouflage]] function. This becomes downplayed after Max awakens his meta-gene and he begins to use his powers in tandem with the suit's functions.

** Null’s first encounter with Batgirl and Robin ends this way, which is a given considering that Null is a rookie thief who's only combat training consists of a few lessons from Catwoman, while the former two were extensively trained by Batman. The only reason he manages to get away from them is thanks to his super suit’s active camo ability.

* PragmaticVillainy: One of the things that sets Null apart from just about every other villain in Gotham is that most of his crimes are done with the intent of attracting the least amount of attention possible while also hurting the least amount of people. Early in the story, he steals jerseys from Gotham’s baseball team, which would only be of value to collectors willing to buy them under the table, and almost manages to slip under the Bat Family’s radar.