Stranger Week
"Ah, welcome, little Alice. Welcome to my new humble kingdom."
When Riley and Pick entered the "throne room," they were greeted almost immediately by the ruler of the "kingdom," Jamie Rinke, known more infamously as Nilbog. He called two of his creations – which he often called his "children" – who brought with them a tray with tea and snack. After giving Pick a snack and sending him away, both parahumans had a little tea party with each other.
"Riley. I told you, it's not Alice. Riley." The girl stated as she stirred her tea.
"And like I said, a mere title, not name," Nilbog replied as he poured his own cup of tea. "In fact, I remember you agreeing. During one of our meetings with Faerie Queen, if I get my memory right."
"Oh, alright." She slurped her tea. "Speaking of which, do you encounter any problem?"
"Oh, there was a group of bandits that tried to enter my kingdom." He poured several spoons of sugar into his tea. "They all have been taken care of. You can collect their remains if you want."
"I'll just take the brain matters." Riley put her cup down. "No hero following them?"
"That's exactly why they came to my kingdom." Nilbog enjoyed the aroma of his tea before drinking it. "So, Alice, what are stories that have been made in your name?"
"Well, it's more than tragedy and comedy now. Like for example…"
In the aftermath of the fight against the stowaways, the heroes were now performing a clean-up operation. It was rather simple; tying up the stowaways so that they don't escape, picking up the debris of the ship destroyed during the fight, and securing the contraband.
"Froppy, Mick, how's the situation over there?" Sirius asked as she fishing the debris.
In the stowaways' ship, or at least what remained of it, Asui and Mick were pushing the contraband from the storage into the deck. They didn't know what it was since it was stored inside a wooden crate but it was heavy. Each time they pushed it, they let out a grunt.
"Everything's alright, Sirius," Mick replied as he and Asui kept pushing the crate. "Just…gods, this is heavy…"
"Need any help over there?"
"No, Sirius. We…"
Before the UA student could finish her sentence, both she and the sailor were suddenly electrocuted. They fell to the ground while a man in a hoodie and baseball cap touched the crate. Suddenly, both he and the cargo disappeared.
"Froppy, Mick!" Selkie, who was in the water, immediately went towards them. "Are both of you alright?"
"F-Fine…" Mick tried to reply to the question. "S-S-Stun…g-g-gun…"
"Yep. Most likely stun gun." Sirius said as she joined the three of them. "The effect is undeniable."
Asui tried to say something. However, with her tongue not being inside her mouth, it was rather hard to make a coherent word. Sirius carefully put her tongue back into her mouth before picking her up while Selkie carried Mick. After both of them put their incapacitated partners in the sickbay, they went to the deck and continued the observation of the clean-up operation.
"So, do we have a clue on who attacked them and steal the cargo?" Selkie asked.
"The only clue that we have is that he has a teleportation quirk. We most likely could find information in the database but for some reason, I have a doubt." Sirius replied. "Especially if…"
"That's not something we discuss out in the open." He suddenly said sternly.
"O-Of course." She bowed. "I apologize."
Selkie merely nodded his head in response.
Inside a big room that Nilbog has prepared for her, Riley was currently inspecting the brain matter that he had offered to her. After that, she went towards the half-finished mechanical spider and continued its assembly. As she did all of this, Pick was observing all of her actions while munching on some biscuits.
Riley decided to not give a care about his activity. However, after Pick did nothing but observing her and munching the biscuits, she decided to get to the matter of the problem.
"Something in your mind, Pick?" The tinker asked, not looking away from the spider.
"Huh? O-Oh!" Pick increased the speed of his munch before finally stopping. "W-Well, I am not s-sure if it's something t-to tell you. But m-my King simply stated t-that it's p-preferable to not t-tell you."
"Well, I guess that's because he simply doesn't want to make others worried." Riley finally gave Pick her full attention. "So, what is it?"
"T-There's another g-group that tried to e-enter the kingdom's without King Rinke's p-permission." He explained while munching a biscuit. "The g-group is called t-the Meta Liberation Army."
"Meta Liberation Army?" Riley put her hand on her chin before snapping her fingers. "Oh, it's an organization that wants to make quirk free to be used and not restricted by the laws."
"Exactly." The two people in the room turned their eyes on Nilbog, who had just entered. "Those anarchists tried to invade my kingdom to 'liberate' it. Bah! As if my kingdom needs something like that."
Technically, Nilbog's new kingdom consisted of the territory of Japan that he occupied, just like how Ellisburg was a town that he took from the United States. Riley was not in the mood to point that out, however, and it's not like she cared about such a thing.
"Wait, isn't MLA been disbanded after its leader was captured and committed suicide?" Riley suddenly asked.
"Supposedly," Nilbog answered. "However, it won't be the first nor the last entity that born from the ashes of its forebearer."
"Not disagreeing. In any case, we need to inform U.A. about this revelation."
"T-That might be d-difficult." Pick joined in. "The M-MLA members, one o-of them is a-a hero while another is a-a device creator."
Riley silently stared at the creation as she realized what kind of situation they had just gotten themselves into.
"Well, damn."
As he patrolled the street alongside Best Jeanist, Bakugou once again find himself testing the limit of his patience. His field experience was, for the lack of a better word, nothing like what he thought. The hero that he currently with was obnoxious, with the only reason he was still with Best Jeanist was that he was one of the Top 10 Heroes so there might be something that he could learn from him.
So far, the hero has been trying his best to fix his attitude. Bakugou admitted that he had one but considering how he slowly but steadily considered his field experience a waste time, Best Jeanist was not doing good work.
"The only thing that he managed to succeed is making me feel wanting to have another course with Dr. Yamada." The boy thought. "Speaking of which…"
"I have to say, your activities during the closing ceremony was interesting."
Bakugou didn't say anything in return, merely grumbling in his seat. The doctor fixed her glasses and observed him. The student couldn't help but wonder what she could gain from doing that as she wrote something on the paper. After a while, she dropped the pen and made herself comfortable.
"So, what makes you decided to go violent when you received the medal?" She finally asked.
"Because it's meaningless!" Bakugou exclaimed. "The gold medal and the number one position mean that I managed to surpass the other contenders and all of the challenge. But Icyhot didn't even bother to give me his all! What's the point of all of it?!"
Yamada simply looked at him unimpressed. She waited for several moments before voicing her opinion.
"What makes you think Todoroki didn't give his all?" She asked the explosive student.
"He didn't use his fire side. What else?" Bakugou said before grumbling again.
"Ah, I see." Yamada fixed her glasses before continuing. "What if I tell you that Todoroki has given his all? He didn't use his fire side because he doesn't want to. At least until that point. He didn't use his fire side because he can't."
"Bullshit! He used it in a fight against Deku!"
"Was it? I didn't remember that. I remember that he ignited his fire side before the entire field exploded."
"Same difference."
"Not really." Yamada gave a look at Bakugou. "You're one of the smartest students in the Hero Course, Bakugou. Try to make a guess on why Todoroki didn't use his fire side from his physical appearance."
The student decided to do what he was asked to. It wasn't like he has anything better to do. He couldn't help but wondered what Dr. Yamada meant. Todoroki didn't stand out among others. Sure, he looked as if two people fused together into one but that was minor compared to the physical appearance of others. His burn wound was also…
"Wait, burn wound?" Bakugou thought.
Now that he thought about it, Todoroki's wound was rather strange. His quirk meant that his body could tolerate heat more than normal people could. If he gained it when his quirk recently manifested, then the wound was too specific. It should be in hand or, if it was because he accidentally put his face on fire, much bigger.
So, it was most likely not caused by himself even by accident and by something hot enough to bypass the Half-and-Half heat resistance. It was something a little boy could be close enough to. It was also something that made him not want to use his fire side.
"Oh…" The realization was slowly apparent on Bakugou's face. Usually scowling, it showed that the boy was having a eureka moment and that he didn't like it. "Endeavor…"
"Yep. I am not sure whether he's the one who gave Todoroki his wound and he's privy about it. Endeavor is not the type that's physically abusive. But being abused by his father could explain why he's very adamant not to use his fire side, don't you think?" Yamada stated.
It was a possibility. Bakugou hated following some of his mother's advice and she was quite abusive. Though considering that he was allowed to fight back, she wasn't that abusive. Most likely because she grew up in a…not exactly nice neighborhood.
"Wait," Bakugou remembered something. "Is it alright for you to tell me this? I am sure there's this shit about doctor and patient keeping each other secret."
"I do not tell you about it. I simply make your mind reach that conclusion." Yamada sighed. "Besides, he wants to tell you anyway, explaining why he didn't use his full power during the finale and apologizing. Also, Endeavor being a bad husband and father is something that's quite popular in social media."
Bakugou nodded his head in return. It made things more sense to him; Todoroki not using his fire side would be like a man not punching using his broken hand. It was still infuriating however that he thought that he could win with a hand tied up on his back and not bothering to fix his problems.
"Well, with that problem solved, I believe it's time that we focus on something else," Yamada stated as she picked up her clipboard.
The boy didn't even bother to hide his displeasure.
Yeah, if he has to choose between Best Jeanist and Dr. Yamada, Bakugou would choose the latter since there was at least something gained from a meeting with her.
"So, Bakugou, do you understand what I have just explained?" Best Jeanist suddenly said.
"Huh?" The boy replied, not listening to what the hero had just said, causing the latter to sigh.
"It seems that I have to explain it again." Best Jeanist commented. "Good for you that I don't mind to do that as long as you're under my tutelage."
The only thing that the student with explosive could do was grumbling.
In another city, a group of would-be heroes led by Gun Head was approaching a scene. It was a jewelry store that had just been robbed. Police and paramedics already arrived, securing the crime scene and taking care of the injured respectively.
The hero approached the only police officer not wearing the standard uniform, most likely a detective and thus the one in charge. Upon seeing him, the detective – who had just lightened a cigarette – went towards Gun Head with her hands in her pockets.
"Gun Head." The detective greeted the hero.
"Detective Murayama." He replied. "Everything's in the order it seems."
"The patrol officers are currently chasing the…getaway vehicle, I guess? While the area looks clear, there's a possibility of one of the robbers' still around."
"What makes you say that?"
"I can't explain it here."
The hero merely nodded his head. He then approached his sidekicks and one U.A. student that he taught and gave them an order.
"I am going to have a conversation with Detective Murayama. All of you could give a hand to the medics and other police officers."
After the order was given, they went to their own way. Uraraka, the U.A. student that Gun Head taught for a week, noticed a medic was giving a bunch of police officers tea, one cup for each of them. She decided to approach her and gave a hand.
"Hmm?" The medic, noticing the approaching student, stopped pouring the tea and looked at her. "Something I can help you with, miss?"
"Umm, I am with Gun Head. Name's Uravity." Uraraka introduced herself.
"Ah, I see." The medic gave her a tray with white paper cups filled with tea. "Can you please bring this tea to them?"
"Of course."
As she distributed the tea, Uraraka noticed that none of the police officers showed any sign of a wound. At least physically since many of them looked dead inside. She wondered if they were victims of a villain with mental-based quirk. She decided to ask the medic about it after she was done.
"Most likely." She answered the question. "From what I hear, the villain used some kind of mind control…"
"It was not mind control."
Uraraka and the medic turned their head towards the speaker, one of the officers that received the tea. He looked at them with a terrified face, as if remembering a bad incident.
"It was a normal day; patrolling the area, bought some coffee and donut, gave tickets to violators. Then suddenly, no more control of your own body." The officer told them before drinking his entire tea. "Becoming nothing more than puppets for the bastard. Didn't even have the decency to make us unconscious during the crime. Everyone that we threatened, everything that we broke, we remember all of it."
The police officer threw away his cup. Uraraka diverted her attention towards the medic, who was thinking about something after being told of the story.
"From what you told me, looks like the quirk is not to control the mind but rather to hijack the motoric function of the victim." The medic said before taking out a clipboard. "It would help in figuring out who the villain is."
As the medic was busy taking the note, Uraraka couldn't help but feel bad for the police officers. Being forced to become the opposite of what you were was obviously not a good experience in the slightest. She hoped that the victims could recover from their experience.
Inside the conference room, the teachers and staffs of U.A. watched a video that was currently being played. They couldn't help but felt worried as they realized the meaning behind it.
"Why do you let her enter the room?" Asked Yamada, one of the people in the video.
"Because she can be trusted! I already told you this!" Answered a man wearing a suit, another person in the video.
"Did she show you any ID? Or did she say something, like a password of trust?"
"She didn't do any of that! She. Can. Be. Trusted!"
Nedzu grabbed a remote and turned off the projector. The headmaster of U.A. then diverted his attention towards Yamada.
"So, Dr. Yamada, did all of them like that?" He asked.
"More or less." The psychologist replied. "The woman entered the room and shot the informant in front of them. None of them bat an eye and the reinforcement that arrived let her past."
"That is…unnerving." Midnight commented as she put her hand on her chin. "So, her power, it makes people trust her?"
"That's the conclusion that I took from the interviews. All of them emphasized the fact that she can be trusted, that no harm will come from her, that she's merely in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"There's no doubt on who she is?" All Might said, his word sounded more like a statement than a question.
"I have interviewed people like them. Their behaviors will trigger that warning if the PRT interrogated them."
"Well, then ladies and gentlemen, our next action will be obvious," Nedzu said before giving the order.
"Executing Master-Stranger Protocols."
Answers to some reviews:
reality deviant: Well, if someone tells you that this nice little girl conducted some of the most horrific surgeries in history, how much will you trust them and how skeptical are you going to be? They know she was a supervillain but it's to comprehend her crimes, especially if you don't see it first-hand.
Yes. A certain…"group" of heroes and the government know about Nilbog.
As for the moment, no. Riley and Nilbog are the only S-Class threat in MHA.
Guest: All I can say is that Ciara is currently busy with something else to focus on finding the three of them.
Nightmare723764: No, she won't for two reasons. One is that she's bad at naming. Second is that it's a hero name. She doesn't see herself as a hero and simply do that due to encouragement from others.
overly picky: First, there's no tinker in MHA. Not even an equivalent of one. There are students who are inventors like Mei but they're not tinkers. Also, Riley is a biological tinker, meaning that she has more place in being a field medic. Recovery Girl can be said to be who the U.A. is teaching Riley to become. Admittedly, she can make mechanical spider but that would be limiting her potential.
Second, not really. During her scenes in Ward, she doesn't swear too much. I guess she doesn't like swearing that much.
Third, the U.A. let her work in the school because she was with Riley when they were discovered and she has a proof that she worked with the Protectorate and came from Earth Bet (albeit already moving to Earth Gimel).
Also, who says that Riley has no oversight?
And it's finally done.
If you have a question or suggestion, feel free to tell me.
Review, please!