Chapter 1
Izuku Midoriya lay face upon his board on wheels, suspended above him was a steam-powered automobile of a hulking size and build. Anyone with less experience would abruptly hesitate to slide under the base of such an obscenely bulky vehicle, but not Izuku. He worked feverously at the mechanism, his arms elbow-deep in axil grease, diesel fuel, and what seemed to be several other appliance-based liquids.
The jacked-up steam carriage had several flaws and kinks; Izuku could barely fathom it being on the road in the first place. The immobilizer was banged up, all need-based systems were completely out of whack, and the transmission box bore no service whatsoever. Nonetheless, he feverishly worked on.
Yet another afternoon in Galliedenn. The misty waters that surrounded the fine city sprayed its citizens wistfully while they hop from rock to rock, road to road, diligently attempting to reach their next destination. The scattered Columnae of the city extended several stories upwards, all of which were occupied by an ambitious, and hard-working populace. Each Columnae appeared as though it was made out of scrap metal, with jiggered ridges and steel girders protruding from every side of the complex.
To any foreign individual, this may have appeared as a non-sturdy and dangerous infrastructure, though the trained architectural eye of the public knew better. A hefty majority of the city was approximately knee-deep in the calm ocean water, a norm for the exultant folks, and neoprene boots of the town. Dusk had fallen upon the dainty land; sun gleaming off the alloyed edifices and glimmering off the tranquil marine. The landscape often caught the eye of the beholder, its beauty uncapturable, even to the most skilled of artisans.
Izuku was a child of sixteen, almost absconding his youth and forging into adulthood. Ruffled jade hair fell from his crown, hair that would have completely sheltered his face if not for the goggles mounted on his brow. His patchy clothing hung from his body like a damp rag, smudged and stained in such a fashion one could almost consider it expressionistic art. Beside him was a red and timeworn toolbox- an old friend of his, supplying him with any instrument he so chooses to clutch.
The shop he now operated in functioned as a home away from home and was where he earned the majority of his income. There he fixed banged up gadgets and fitted a wide collection of motor vehicles and construction equipment. But what he really yearned for were those off days in which customers were scarce, where time allowed him to create, to invent.
It was the final day of the working week, and cash was scarce. If he could not get the automobile operational by the day's end, he would have to arrive home empty-handed, creditless. His sister and grandfather were dependent on him the most when it came to financial affairs. With the tide escalating further every day as the summer drew near, he would be impeded from journeying to the marketplace in the weeks to come. It was at this time of the year when the stockpiling of food and supplies commenced, a feat he could not accomplish if his wage was not earned.
Izuku continued to forge on, rotating bolt after bolt, fidgeting with a diverse assortment of pulleys and pistons, completely foreign to the unqualified eye. He was positive his work would be complete in the hours to come. The plummeting glow of the sun, along with the scent of extinguished candles signified very little illumination in the workplace. Gleams of sunlight glistened off the pewter garage, yet he knew he could complete his task even in the obscure dead of night.
Four gears remained, the very four that jeopardized the entire operation; binding each axel to the base of the vehicle. He kept his hand steady, with a face damp with perspiration, composed with resolve. His craftsmanship and handiwork of the past eight hours terminated there. He rotated one last screw, as a creek echoed through the chamber. The jacks keeping the steam-powered monster stable suddenly groaned with tension.
Without wavering Izuku swiftly rolled his way out, fleeing the bottom of the vehicle. He tampered with the jacks frantically, desperately looking for a way to stabilize the configuration. With a loud eruption, the heap of metal collapsed from its holdings, shattering silence the dusk had previously carried. A moment of shook was allotted as the dust dispersed about the chamber.
Izuku hurled his gloves at the wall and stifled a curse, with the knowledge that his entire day had been squandered. The force that the collapsing vehicle generated left several tools scattered about the grounds. Powder and sawdust meandered through the room instigating a score of violent coughs. The back door of the garage flew open. Izuku spun around the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. Power Loader bolted through the door with a rapidity quite abnormal considering the cumbersome exo-suit he sported.
"What on earth happened here!" proclaimed Power Loader in a dry and raspy voice. As he hollered the gears encompassing his being churned with a fury. He would have been a man of average height if not for his severe hunchback. The tone that registered behind his enclosed face was not one of rage, but of concern. Izuku's face lit a vibrate red; his voice quivering with rage.
"I was working on the project according to the exact specs you gave me. I was almost done too, a couple more pins and adjustments and that would have been it! I guess the lifts just gave in towards the end..." Disappointment suspended in the air, both parties involved were extremely distraught. Power Loader looked up with a promising look in his eyes.
"How much was the gentleman going to offer you for the job? It couldn't have been much; given its initial condition."
"Ten credits, he would have coughed up ten." Izuku's head hung off his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, his expression grim. The thought of him coming to Shanta and Pa empty-handed disillusioned the young man. This, Power Loader knew all too well.
"Here take these", Power Loader pulled out his wallet and hand-picked almost double the bargain that Izuku had detailed.
"Power Loader, I'm sorry but if you really think I can acc-"
"Midoriya, you know I'm not going to let you leave here creditless now don't you? This isn't a negation." Although Izuku knew Power Loader could not impede him from exiting the door, the instigated tussle would be in vain. He was far too benevolent to let him leave without some cash.
"Thank you Sir Loader, Shanta and Pa can rest easy now." He shuffled over to the rack where his jacket was hung and deposited the credits in his pocket.
Power Loader gave him an amused smirk "Don't thank me lad, it's about time somebody out there gave you a break, I also wouldn't want to see ol' Pa go scrounging for scraps, now would I? As for the money you owe me, you can work a double shift in the upcoming weeks, before you leave for the west. You'll cover the debt in no time."
He extended his arm for a handshake which Izuku exuberantly grasped. He was thrilled that he could find a way to work off his debt, even if it meant a smattering of sleepless nights.
"Would you like a drink on your way out? I'm aware of the long day you've had. If you need to talk about it, maybe run over the specs for the carriage one more time, I wouldn't mind", said the man yearningly.
"Man, I would really love to, but it's getting kind of late outside and I don't want them waiting on me for too long. Thanks so much for everything though Loader, you're a lifesaver." As Izuku spoke, he removed his navy-blue engineering coveralls and, adoring his dark brown khakis, a white buttoned-down collared shirt, and his trademark red boots.
"Don't mention it you scamp! Now run off before he gets worried." In unison, they waved their hands bidding farewell, as Izuku slung his leather knapsack over the shoulder and gripped his board with the opposing hand. He jogged out the door and slid down the railing of the twenty-story spiral staircase. This led to the basement floor which he again departed from as he treaded his way home; northbound. After several minutes of leaping through puddles and trudging through gravel and mud, his voyage had come to a close. In front of him was what he called home.
The house itself was made from the shoddiest alloy that money could buy. From the outside one could almost compare it to two cubes of rusty iron, stacked upon one another. Two windows from each story of the structure shone a hopeful light across the dead of night. The hum of a singular central heating system could be heard if the surroundings were quiet enough. Fortunately, the entire edifice was mounted on a hill, meaning it would be safe from ocean currents as the tide continued to elevate over the coming days. A single garden was mounted on top of the roof, obscured to those eyeing the house from below. Standing upon that orchard one could see the vast expansion of the Water-Mouth Depths; the great divide between Egrary and Aspeau.
A shadow appeared through the first story window; a bundle of thin wispy hair fell from the crown of the silhouette. "Pa it's me, open up!" Izuku bellowed. Footsteps could be heard from the interior of the house; the metal entry swung outwards. Yoroi Midoriya stood at the doorway, his white polyester coat hung from his slender frame.
His enormous, rugged blue leather gloves dangled from hands nearly too small to support them. They paralleled nicely with his oversized leather-clad dress shoes. Thin hair silver hair dangled like straw over the sides and rear of his skull, as Izuku could almost witness his own reflection atop his grandfather's varnished forehead. After a moment they embraced, Yoroi already conscious of the gloomy expression on his grandson's face. As Izuku pulled back he shot a questioning look at his guardian.
"Shanta's just in the kitchen fixing something up for us", he said in almost a whisper. They both entered the house, the adjoined sent of seasoning and rust visited their nostrils. The walls were decorated with several children's painting Shanta herself produced. Gadgets and gizmos littered every tabletop in the house, ranging from the size of a large dog to that of a thimble.
The layout was metallic, save for the wooden floors below, giving the impression that one appeared to be walking into a clock. Izuku placed the credits in a safe located inconspicuously under the floorboards. He refused to tell his grandfather how he acquired payment in fear of him thinking he accepted charity. He would be sure to work it off next week, he would find the time.
"So how was work today, get anything done?" Yoroi asked inquisitively.
"Yeah, I mean, there was a minor set back towards the end, but I'll get the job done eventually. The owner is not expecting the vehicles to be repaired for at least another two weeks. I'm actually going to be spending a bit more time next week at the shop to get the order in on time." Izuku shily trailed off towards the end, hoping his granddad would not interrogate him any further. Yoroi vaguely raised one unkempt eyebrow but decided to let the matter pass.
"So how was the wage this time? Couldn't have been all that much given the income that Power Loader and the rest of those gear-monkeys have been earning. I'm telling you, Izuku, when you leave for Aspeau you're finally going to be able to make it big! The economy there has never been better. They say the streets are laced with celestial brass and their architecture tears up the clouds as they clear by," his voice was raspy but chockfull with desire as he drowned on. For the longest time, Yoroi had been gathering funds to realize a vision. The vision of his grandson becoming a star in the Aspeuean fields of production or bioengineering. He believed that what Izuku lacked in schooling he could more than make for with the engineering skills he processed in spades.
"I know right? Hopefully, I can get everything I need to get done out of the way before I go, it's going to be a busy couple of weeks," he said with an awkward chuckle. A hesitancy filled the room. The thought of traveling past the Water-mouth Depths and into an unknown land terrified him to the core. The message he gathered from the media was one of chaos and division of your fellow man.
Descriptions of Aspeu overheard through the radio talk of bustling streets and cut-throat corporations. This did not seem like a setting that he himself would thrive in, though he vacillated in confessing this to his grandfather. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, one that Izuku had to seize for the wellbeing of his family.
The silence was quickly broken as an ecstatic Evie bounded toward her older brother, ruffling his hair in the process. She was a year younger than him, thin, small and extremely vibrant. They were as close as brother and sister could possibly be. Having her bounding about made living in a massive metal box almost bearable. Kempt, curly avocado hair, the same shade as Izuku, flounced down her head to about shoulder length. Her eyes were an observative shade of hazel and green. Chokers were her preferred accessory, second only to the beaded ornaments dwindling from her wrists.
"Izuku, you'll never believe it! Guess what was just installed today?" she cried blissfully, her screams echoing off the iron walls of the cube.
"Absolutely no idea, I've been in the workshop for three consecutive days now."
"The GAUNT! It came in today! That means we can send each other souvenirs and goodies and-"
"What you mean is I can send you all the newest get-ups people are wearing over there across the ocean isn't it?" Izuku interrupted with a playful snicker. The GAUNT or "Globally Automated Underground Network of Tubes," is exactly what it sounds like. An intricate labyrinth of plumbing that stretched to each of the two continents of the globe. It took the head honchos in Aspeu and Ranourmourne over three decades to implement. He was astonished that it slipped his mind so easily.
"Oh, come on, Give me a little credit! The markets in Galliedenn aren't all that bad, I'll be on the lookout for some cool knick-knacks to send your way. Just make sure you don't forget to send us your address."
"Yeah yeah," he said dismissively yet playfully. As the banter and gags came to a close they all gathered for supper. After a quick meal Izuku staggered towards is room, so overcome by exhaustion that he scarcely took into account the new device that was installed right outside his quarters. Without hesitation he hastily collapsed into bed as slumber swept over him, completely unaware of the adventure that was about to dawn on him the next morning.