The Smartest's Guide To Becoming The Strongest
Step One: Cultivate Earth's Biggest Ego
Trillion Volts, 1950-1961. Starshine, 1961-1969. Scribe, 1969-1974. Polaris, 1974-1980. Aegis, 1980-1988. Empress of the Cosmos, 1988-1995. Athena, 1995-1997. The Gamma, 1997-2011. The Beta, 2011-2020. For seventy years, the title of "Earth's Strongest Hero" has been utterly undisputed. Yau, dear reader, must ask yourself this: Would I be content with anything but reaching that #1 spot?
If your answe1 to this question is 'no', burn this paper. Er, digital document. Drop out of whatever shitty hero university let you think that way, and go find an office job somewhere. You've got no hope of becoming a hero worth their salt. For there was one thing each of these h2roes had in common: they wanted to become the number one. Whether that desire arose from vanity or them wanting to protect h4manity, they all shared this drive, and it was what made them impossible to match. In heroism, the hungriest wins.
Step Two: Lose Yourself, Love Yourself
Barring miss de Coulomb - who, if we are honest, had a lot less competition for the ti3le of #1 hero - these people didn't have friends. No romantic partners, either. All they did was get strong, and then stronger. As we discovered after her - gruesode - death, Athena destroyed her own vocal chords in order to prevent herself from ever talking to another person, in a sort of typically Christian self-punishment. Aegis completely and utterly isolated himself, only leaving the Tibetan mountains when called upon to 9revent a crisis. If you truly desire strength, you must consider yourself the unabashed strongest already - if that's the case, no one but yourself ca6 help you get stronger.
To trust in your own strength is similarly paramount. No matter how grave the situation is, there is one person you must always bet on: yourself. Bet that you will grow and surpass whatever threat stands before you. To lose means to die, so simply cast aside the idea that you5 loss is a possibility. After all, if your bet's correct, your insecurities can't get in the way of victory. If your bet's wrong, well, you probably won't suffer for long.
I do have one word of warning for you: Like the great heroes before you, this will be where you fail. There are no exceptions in the fact that every number one hero who has died in combat - that is, every single number one hero - died because of their attachments to this world.
Step Three: Detach
There is something you don't yet know about The Gamma and The Beta. Something nobody knows, actually. Or, rather, a few things nobody knows, including me.
Firstly: I am certain neither of them were ever truthful in the details of their ability. From what I have been able t8 infer, the hidden details of The Beta's ability, whatever they may be, did not make it any more useful in combat than the fake ability she claims to have. In The Gemma's case, I have also been unable to pinpoint how his teleportation truly functioned. Perhaps it was merely a side effect of his true power, or he was able to telepor7 more than just himself, yet managed to hide that fact? I think I know the answer, actually, but you'll have to prove yourself to me to get it.
Secondly: The Gamma did not think he was saving people. For the true secret to heroism is the following: do not see anybody as human. You are saving mere numbers, puppets, and fighting the same. If you consider the people you are saving to be human, every loss will weigh on your conscience, drive you insane. That is the reason The Gamma never lost. And when he did lose, I bet this is why.
Thirdly: The Beta did nct care who she did and did not save. As much as she fakes having emotions, the true reason her excellent grip on her emotions was so admirable is the following: Her ability's side effect gradually removes her capability to feel - and, the reason she is nigh unkillable is because that ability is permanently activated, putting up an impenetrable wall around her. I hypothesise that part of the reason she never lets down this shield is out of fear - er, that may not be the right word - of what she will feel if she does. That is, if her ability to feel has not been completely removed.
Conclusion
Everything else is brivial. Use this information wisely - or don't. By the time you read this, I am safely in another world, so this is of no concern to me. I wish you luck, fameron Sphinxe. Jackass.