Run, that was the first thing that came into the young boy's head, to run for his life. He didn't know who the men in white were or what they wanted, but he knew that if they caught him, they had something planned that likely did not end well for him
'Why did they want to catch me so badly but why did they call me R194? Is that my name? who even am I?' the boy questioned
The boy continued to run through the mostly deserted alleyways, passing a few homeless people, he didn't pay them much thought, and neither did they for him. All he cared about was surviving, but it seemed his body disagreed with his mind as he noticed that he started to not only slow down, but his body seemed even harder to move with each step, even though he knew if he stopped, he could either be captured or killed.
The boy soon ran out of energy as he slumped up against the cold wall in an alleyway that he found himself in. After making himself comfortable on the ground while still slumped against the wall, he saw a sign hanging close by saying Musutafu district. The boy couldn't care less where he was, he was too tired to protest, all he wanted was silence, but it seemed fated deemed him not worthy of this peace and quiet he wished when he heard what sounded like a woman's scream.
"Mama!" a small green haired, freckled boy shouted as he ran into his mother's arms just as he left the care of his pre-school teachers to embrace his mother in the strongest hug a three-year-old boy could give his mother.
The boy's mother was quick to hug her son as he got within her reach "Hey Izuku did you do anything interesting today" His mother Inko Midoriya asked as embraced her son him a warm, loving hug.
Izuku just beamed at his mother "Kacchan, and I played heroes and drew" he exclaimed
"Oh, really did you draw anything interesting?"
"Yes!" Izuku broke from the hug and dug through his bag until he found the drawing. Izuku handed her a picture that showed what appeared to be both her and Izuku holding hands as well as what seemed to be a black cat next to them. Inko recognized it as the cat that would hang around their apartment complex, who had to take a liking to Izuku causing the stray to usually follow him around when at the park near their apartment.
Inko smiled at her son's colorful drawing "It's lovely Izuku; you know what, this will be going on the fridge when we get home" Izuku beamed at his mother's love for his drawing. After saying goodbye to his teachers and a few classmates Izuku and Inko started to make their way home.
After walking for 10 minutes Izuku decided to break the silence between him and his mother "Hey mom, when do you think my quirk will manifest?" he asked
"If I remember your quirk should show up after you turn 4, why are you so anxious to know?" she asked her energetic son
"I'm excited" Izuku exclaimed, beaming from ear to ear "Kacchan said he'd build a hero agency when he grows up and he said I'd be his sidekick, but I want to be a hero, I want to save people and save people with a smile like All Might" Izuku cheered at his declaration
Inko chuckled at her son's declaration "Well you already have the big smile" she said
Izuku looked at her with stars in his eyes, "I hope I get like a quirk like yours!" Izuku cheered
Inko looked at her son with a mix of awe and shock at her son's wish to have a quirk like hers. This caused her to tear up a bit "Oh Izu…." Inko muttered as she looked at her son, moments like this made her happy Izuku was her son and that he had such a big, sweetheart.
After taking a moment to recompose herself, Inko and Izuku continued to walk for a while talking about what Izuku did that day at school. Inko soon started laughing when Izuku told her that apparently, it took three teachers to pry Bakugo off an older boy had said that Izuku's hair color was weird. She knew Katsuki was what some would consider a problem child, but she didn't care, he was a good friend to Izuku and always came to his aid when someone tried something. The family was so caught up in their discussion they failed to notice the hooded figure hanging around the entrance of the alleyway.
As Inko and Izuku were discussing what to do for dinner that night, suddenly another hand grabbed Izuku's arm in a tight grip and yanked him away from Inko, Inko quickly looked at the unknown assailant picked Izuku up and put a knife to his throat.
"Please let him go!" Inko screamed
The mugger just sneered at Inko as he held Izuku in a tight grip between his forearm and chest. "Easy lady, if you just hand over everything you got, then I might let the kid go unharmed" the mugger then inched the knife right to Izuku's neck, "but if you try calling for help, I'll kill you and the kid without a second thought." the mugger sneered.
"Ok, I'll do what you said just, please don't hurt him" Inko pleaded
A smile grew across the mugger's face. He started to look Inko over with lustful eyes "Oh really well then I have something you could do for me" the mugger then pointed towards the alleyway the same lustful look on his face. Inko wasn't stupid; the guy had said he let them go in exchange for a little 'fun,' it made her feel sick to her core, that even with heroes in today's society, people still exploited people for their gain.
However, before Inko could do anything, Izuku suddenly sunk his teeth into the arm of his captor, causing him to drop Izuku and grab his arm as Inko pulled Izuku away from their attacker after he dropped him, when the mugger looked back at them, he looked ready to kill.
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD! FORGET THIS I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU RIGHT NOW!" the mugger screamed as Inko's parental senses kicked in as she grabbed Izuku and shielded him from the mugger as he was about to attack the mother and son.
"You're all so noisy" the three of them turned to see a small child walk out the alleyways rubbing his eyes. The boy looked to be no older than four years old, the boy had a mess of white hair with a pair of steel colored eyes that had bags under them showing the boy was very likely sleep-deprived, he was dressed in but what seemed to be a tattered and filthy hospital gown with no shoes.
The mugger just looked at the kid, he was pissed, first, his hostage bites him, and now another brat enters the picture "GET LOST KID; THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU" the mugger exclaimed even louder than before, which just made the unknown four-year-old angry.
"Be quiet" the kid said, his voice coming out venomous
"HUH, YOU THINK YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO YOU SNO- "but before the mugger could continue his threat, the young boy extended his arm and then four black tendrils shot out from the alleyway and soon the tendrils were across the mugger's body restraining him.
"I said. Be. Quiet" the boy growled, he then started to slowly clench his fist shut which seemed to increase the strength of the tendrils as they began to tighten their hold on the mugger which caused him to drop the knife he used to threaten Inko and Izuku.
The mugger's expression went from anger to pure fear at that moment as the tendrils clenched tighter and tighter around his body. "Ok ok, I'll be quiet just please don't hurt me" the mugger said in a hushed tone to comply with the boy's order, Inko watches as the man who not a minute seemed to fear incarnate to her and Izuku turn into weeping coward as he begged the white haired boy to spare his life. With the flick of his wrist, the boy used his tendrils to send the man into a nearby lamppost, denting it on impact.
Walking over to the man, the white-haired boy stood over him with an aura that screamed killer "Leave, and I never want to see your face again. Understood" the child said emotionless
As soon as the word came out the child's mouth, the mugger was gone so fast for a moment Inko thought he had a speed based quirk. She pushed these thoughts aside as Izuku crashed into crying his eyes out. After a few minutes of Inko rubbing his back and telling him everything was ok, he seemed to calm down and just stayed clutching his mother's jacket for comfort.
It was then Inko looked up to see the mysterious four-year-old watching the mother and son with a confused look on his face 'Does he find my affection and care for Izuku strange? Better question why is he out here alone and only wearing that tattered hospital gown?' Inko stopped her train of thought when she saw the whited haired boy walking back into the alleyway, likely to try and find a place to sleep but Inko was having none of that.
"Wait, where are you going?" Inko shouted to the young boy causing him to stop and turn to look her in the eye.
"Sleep, not noisy anymore" he then pointed to the alleyway he came from "need sleep" the boy stated, he soon started to walk away, likely find a spot to spend the night, only for Inko to stop him again.
"Stop right their young man, it's late, and your exhausted and are likely freezing in clothes, you should go home and get cleaned up and get some clean clothes on," Inko began, ready to go full mother hen on the boy.
The boy turned to her again, once again with eyes that seemed to have no emotions in them "I don't have a home...I don't know where my home is" the boy muttered, somewhat bitterly. Inko looked at him sadly, she felt a tug on her jacket, and she glanced down at Izuku, who looked from the boy to his mother with tear stained eyes. Inko smiled gently and nodded to him. She wasn't going to let this slide.
Coaxing Izuku to let go of her jacket, she walked to the boy, Inko learned down to the boy's height to seem less threating and to give one of her signature smiles. "Well then I'll take you home and get you cleaned up, and maybe I can help you find your home in the morning, it's the least I can do to thank you." However, as Inko tried to take the boy's hand, he flinched away from her.
"Don't come near me." the boy screeched as he tried to get some distance from Inko.
"Don't worry" raising her hands to try and show the boy he's not in danger "I don't bite if that's what you're worried about." She once again tried to reach for the boy, only for him to back away again.
"I said stay away!" suddenly the four black tendrils appeared again, but this time from the boy's back "or else I'll hurt you" but to Inko's surprise the tendrils didn't go on the assault at first but seemed to block her path to the young boy, acting as a sort of barrier. She also noticed how the boy had started holding the side of his head making her wonder if his quirk his causing him pain.
Most people would take as a cue to leave and let the kid fend for himself on the streets, but Inko was not most people if you ever needed help she would help. Inko was a mother hen and would take care of anyone and everyone who needed help, granted the black tendrils in front of her did make her question why she didn't make a run for it, but she knew she would never forgive herself without at least trying to help her little savior. 'he's scared and ready to defend himself, but he doesn't want to hurt Izuku or me if he did he would have attacked us the second he summoned those tendrils, what has this kid gone through?'
Still crouching in front of the boy, Inko spoke up "What's your name?" she asked calmly as not to set the boy off again.
"I don't have a name" the boy replied
"Come everyone has a name, I'm Inko Midoriya" Inko gestured to herself and then pointed to Izuku who was watching this unfold from behind one of the walls at the alleyway entrance, "and the little boy behind me is my son Izuku."
The boy looked back and forth between Inko and Izuku "R…. R194, that's my name, I think, ugh it hurts" the boy continued to clutch the side of his head.
"Well, we can't have that, hmm" Inko pondered until an idea came to her "I know how about Raiden, do you like that?"
However, before the boy could reply though, Inko saw as the tendrils soon started to fade away, she saw a boy she called Raiden was barely able to stay upright, likely due to him overusing his Quirk coupled with his sleep-deprived state and his headache. Soon his will to stand gave in as he started to pass out, but before the boy was able to make contact with the ground, however, Inko rushed in and was able to catch before he hurt himself.
The boy seemed barely conscious as he barely put up a fight as Inko held him "It…. hurts…p-please… no more" the boy's voice was weak, and it seemed he would pass out any moment.
Shifting the boy in her arms to make him comfortable "Shhh, don't worry I won't hurt you and if anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first" soon enough the boy fell asleep in Inko's arms. She was able to carry him with ease after moving him to so she could carry him using her left arm and shoulder she went back to the entrance of the alleyway to retrieve Izuku. After retrieving Izuku, the three made their way back home.
"I like it." the white-haired child whimpered.
"Huh, what do you like?" Inko questioned
"Raiden, it's a nice na…." before Raiden could finish though he slipped back into unconsciousness. Inko smiled at the child that started to cuddle into her shoulder like how Izuku would after spending the day at Kacchan's exhausting himself but a part of her was troubled, her mind was racing with questions 'Why was he alone, why was his name a number and what did he go through to be so defensive?
Izuku watched as his mother continued to carry his unknown whited haired savior. Unaware of the impact he would have on both his and his mother's life, for both better and worse.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Artificial Humans, a heads up with this being set pre-canon it'll be mostly fluff but I do have a few ideas for the series, and certain characters will be introduced much earlier than in the original story. Also, Raiden's quirk is a shadow based one.
Story Inspiration: The_Fluffy_Villain_Fluff_Master Nii-chan! Nii-chan! Series on AO3 and Shadow Into Light, highly recommend you read them.
Quirk inspiration: Shadow based quirks, Tokyo Ghoul and Spiderman's Doc Ock
Any reviews will be helpful, so I can improve my abilities at writing to bring you better content.
P.S: If you are coming from my Dragon Heart series the current state of the series will be addressed in the next chapter which hopefully is very soon.