History Literature / Inheritors

* RisingEmpire: What's left of the United States has been taken over by a totalitarian regime called Foundation.

Inheritors began in February 2018, releasing twice weekly (on varying days) with occasional bonus episodes, but was cancelled in August 2019. The [[Literature/InheritorsReboot series]] was [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] in September 2020.

[[https://inheritorsserial.com Inheritors]] is a WebSerialNovel by Ian Everett (under the pseudonym Megajoule) following Gabe, a clone of the greatest superhero his world ever saw, with the ability to absorb and redirect thermal and kinetic energy.

Gabe lives in the gutters of Houston, hiding from government agencies that would liquidate him, and trying to live up to the legacy that Megajoule left behind. He bleeds in dark hallways, he breaks bones over little girls sold into sex slavery.

He wonders: can he make a difference when he’s got a fraction of the power that Megajoule had? Or is he doomed to being a cheap imitation of the real thing?

* AProtagonistShallLeadThem: While not initially the leader of the Underground, [[spoiler: after Flashfire is caught by FIS and Maisa is kidnapped by Pandahead, Gabe takes over leading the Underground]]
* ActionGirl: Quite a few! Bedevil, Snow Owl, Remise, Mil-dot, Saw Off, Carapace, Warspeed, Tachikaze, and even [[spoiler: Epione, once she reveals her full powers]]
* TheAlcoholic: Bedevil.
* AlienGeometries: [[spoiler: Pandahead's Thermos is far deeper than it should be, and actually leads to the realm the Fear lives in]]
* AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs: [[spoiler: Epione's mansion comes under fire when Pandahead kidnaps Maisa and leads his sister's superhero team on a wild goose chase that ends up destroying the entire house.]]
* AnythingThatMoves: Saw Off, while at first infatuated with Gabe, changes romantic attention often, and is self-described as pansexual.
* TheAntiNihilist: Gabe, with his rejection of Pandahead's moral nihilism and Sledge's faux utilitarianism. He sees the world that is broken and needs remaking.
* BerserkButton: Gabe has this when he sees people hurting children, partially due to his upbringing in the government lab where they killed his fellow clones if they didn't show powers by age ten. Later, [[spoiler: this is worsened when he discovers that they all had powers, but were being studied to find Megajoule's weakness.]]
* CannotTalkToWomen: Gabe, somewhat. [[spoiler: especially in regards to Bedevil, but anytime a girl shows attraction, he gets pretty frazzled.]]
* CapePunk: Inheritors deals with a world where 98% of people have superpowers of some kind, although with varying degrees of usefulness from not at all to world-changing.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Multiple examples.
** Gabe to the max. Turns out being a BigDamnHero runs in the DNA.
** Flashfire can't help but take on bullies when he sees them.
** Bedevil [[spoiler: leaves in the middle of a street interview because she thinks she saw one of Maisa's kidnappers.]]
* CosmicHorrorStory: [[spoiler: the reveal that the Fear is an entity that feeds off of negative emotions and has conquered countless other worlds turns Inheritors into this.]]

* EldritchAbomination: Megajoule leaves a cryptic hint in his video logs about [[spoiler: the Fear, which is eventually revealed as a parasitic entity riding in Pandahead's Thermos.]]
* EmotionlessGirl: [[spoiler: Epione, when it's revealed that her power is not just stimulating or soothing pain, but control over emotions themselves. Further, she is autistic, and dealt with her myriad of confusing emotions by shutting them off with her power]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: Gabe catches Pandahead with this by removing his mask in front of Mr. Gold. Pandahead, in general, does not get Gabe and the Underground's relentless commitment to undoing his trafficking ring.]]
* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: The United Western Continent. After superpowers emerged, many of the nations of the world fell into anarchy. The Americas, however, benefited from a group called Foundation (that eventually became an official government branch called the Office of Powered Individuals). The UWC is to the American continents what the EU is to the European nations, and the U.S. oversaw a large merger with other nations.
* ExtremelyShortTimespan: The first arc takes place over a single weekend. A single, no good, very awful weekend. The next arc is not as compressed, but still not a very long time-frame, taking place over a week and a half.
* FallenHero: Bedevil is a prime example, taking to the streets in a vigilante costume while drunk as hell to beat thugs into submission, even debating killing them to make the world better.
* GovernmentAgencyOfFiction: Multiple examples.
** FIS (the Federal Investigative Services). When the North American governments formed a union in the United Western Continent, F.I.S. was formed out of the many intelligence agencies to police the nation's powered peoples.
** OPI (the Office of Powered Individuals). The executive branch of government that oversees the administration of superheroes and the laws regarding how they operate.
* HeroesUnlimited: Arc 2 expands on the other mask and cape groups in Houston, and bonus episodes cover different POV's. Arc 3 saw even more of the legendary figures from Megajoule and Bedevil's past making appearances.
* ImprobableInfantSurvival: Subverted in Pandahead, [[spoiler: who is absolutely willing to gun down a room of his "stock" in order to prevent them from talking to police.]]

* MartyrWithoutACause: Gabe starts off as one of these. [[spoiler: Through Bedevil's training and encouragement, and his battle with Sledge, he eventually realizes that his death wouldn't gain anything special in the long run.]]
* MustMakeAmends: Bedevil, [[spoiler: after severely hurting Gabe by calling him Megajoule's name in bed, tries to make up for her mistakes in several ways: by helping the Underground rescue Maisa, providing Gabe a place to live after the mansion is destroyed, and even picking up Saw Off's nickname for Gabe to help herself keep a distinction between Gabe and Megajoule.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Multiple examples.
** Bedevil [[spoiler: flips out and falls into self-loathing after calling Gabe by Megajoule's name during sex.]]
** Mr. Gold [[spoiler: realizes he might be on the wrong side when he finds he's at the mercy of a sex trafficker ordering him to gun down world renowned hero, Megajoule.]]
** Doc [[spoiler: has had a long battle with the guilt of being ordered to find Megajoule's weaknesses, and leading the project that killed all of Gabe's fellow clones.]]
* NotQuiteDead: Megajoule apparently had Oracle, a telepath, transfer a fragment of his consciousness or "memory construct" into Gabe's mind in order to guide him and provide emotional support. [[spoiler:[[DeadPersonImpersonation "Megajoule" is eventually revealed to be Rorschach, the Fear that infected Pandahead]], and has been corrupting Gabe's mind in order to take over his body.]]
* PetTheDog: Bedevil's harsh exterior gives way to a soft marshmallow inside when it's revealed that she has five cats and one dopey, lovable golden retriever named Pawpaw.
* RoyalBrat: Pandahead, after his identity is revealed as [[spoiler: Tim Prince, the son of a senator.]]
* SaveTheVillain: [[spoiler: sort of. Part of Gabe's plan in the Airport is to separate the Fear from Pandahead, which has the side effect of rescuing him.]]
* ShutUpHannibal: Gabe has very little patience for villainous monologues or evil justifications. His usual rebuttal to some philosophy that justifies horrible crimes against humanity is to tell them to shut the fuck up. However, he does hear Mr. Gold and Krater out at multiple points, engaging in conversation between bouts of fighting with them.
* TheSociopath: Pandahead. Although, [[spoiler: with the admission that he used to be a protesting, vocal activist before he found the Fear, this may come down the corruption of GoMadFromTheRevelation]]
* SpySatellites: Both the Underground (through Drone and Iso) and FIS make great use of cameras and drone footage to keep an eye on the battlefield.
* StormingTheCastle: Parlor.
* StrawNihilist: Pandahead.
* StrongerThanTheyLook: Multiple examples.
** Of course, Gabe. With his power being over direct energy manipulation, he can simulate super strength to match the strongest of his opponents, but he doesn't look particularly muscular like other heroes, such as Krater.
** Trainwreck begins his battles as a scrawny dude in a white tank top, but swells up to a huge size as the fight goes on.
** Bedevil can enhance her own strength with her telekinesis.
** [[spoiler: Epione, once she reveals that she has the power to borrow other powers]]
* TrainingFromHell: Bedevil turns out to be a harsh drill sergeant for the Underground.
* TheUnfettered: Sledge, with his absolute commitment to protecting the UWC.
* UnstoppableRage: Multiple examples.
** Gabe has a BerserkButton when kids are threatened or injured around him.
** Trainwreck gets stronger and angrier the more you hurt him.
** Krater seems to always be in this state when he fights.

Inheritors began in February 2018, releasing twice weekly (on varying days) with occasional bonus episodes and was cancelled on August 2019. The [[Literature/InheritorsReboot series]] was [[ContinuityReboot rebooted]] on September 2020.

Inheritors began in February 2018, releasing twice weekly (on varying days) with occasional bonus episodes and was cancelled on August 2019. The series was rebooted on September 2020.

Inheritors began in February 2018, and is currently ongoing. It releases twice weekly (on varying days) with occasional bonus episodes.

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* TheUnfettered: Sledge, with his absolute commitment to protecting the UWC.

* {{Adorkable}}: Gabe is kind of an adorkable guy: he can't cook well but tries anyway, he eats a kibble from Pawpaw's bowl just to try it out (and in general can't stop himself from petting Pawpaw whenever the dog comes near him), and stammers like a doofus around [[spoiler: Bedevil, after they agree to be friends]]

* HowDoIShotWeb: Gabe often struggles to understand his powers, trying to activate them in instinctual ways. It isn't until he takes up studying physics and seriously listening to Megajoule's recorded advice that he unlocks his potential. Even then, he still trains to apply his powers in unique ways with the help of his friends.

* TenMinuteRetirement: After the port battle, Gabe [[spoiler: bails on the Underground for a single night when he's painted as a villain for beating up Houston's Hero Krater and accidentally killing a few government agents. He comes back after some drunk texts from Epione and Flashfire telling him they found Parlor.]]

* AnythingThatMoves: Saw Off, while at first infatuated with Gabe, changes romantic attention often, and is self described as pansexual.

* TheAntiNihilist: Gabe, with his story about starfish and his rejection of Pandahead's moral nihilism and Sledge's faux utilitarianism. He sees the world that is broken and needs remaking, and decides to do better.

* CycleofRevenge: [[spoiler: After Gabe and the Underground attack Parlor, Pandahead attacks their house and kidnaps Maisa. The Underground then hunts for him in the Second Ward, and Gabe directly breaches his hideout (albeit with the primary goal of saving Maisa)]]

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: [[spoiler: Gabe catches Pandahead with this by removing his mask in front of Mr. Gold. Pandahead in general does not get Gabe and the Underground's relentless commitment to undoing his trafficking ring.]]

* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: The United Western Continent. After super powers emerged, many of the nations of the world fell into anarchy. The United States, however, benefited from a group called Foundation (that eventually became an official government branch called the Office of Powered Individuals) and actually expanded its territory, merging with all the other nations of the American Continents.

** FIS (the Federal Investigative Services). When the North American governments merged into the United Western Continent, F.I.S. was formed out of the many intelligence agencies to police the nation's powered peoples.

* HallwayFight: Gabe takes on a gang after they try to kill a vigilante in front of him. The fight starts on a rooftop but spills into an apartment hallway, with bloody results for everyone involved.

* HeroesUnlimited: Arc 2 expands on the other vigilantes and hero groups in Houston, and bonus episodes cover different POV's. There's also a supplementary newsletter story following the exploits of Empyreal, another hero in Houston.