Chapter 26
Though the vehicle itself was rather large, being able to support half a dozen folks, their current company consisted of nine individuals. Izuku contorted awkwardly in between two unobservable figures. This of course, was due to the burlap sack whose thread count was so immense his eyes were sheltered from all light, left in total obscurity. The road was rutted, with many potholes and fissures cluttering the path. After just five minutes, it appeared as though his bottom had gone utterly numb from the brisk bounding on the rigid leather chairs.
He was made aware that Denki's station in the carriage was seemingly shotgun, given that they bagged him prior to Izuku. This marginally concerned him, knowing there would be a chance that Denki could awaken and perturb the driver, compromising the vehicle. Though no optical aid had been provided, Izuku could still heed the acquainted sound of AC's cool jets, wafting about his shoulders. Bizarrely enough his pulse had lessened, and his adrenaline had depilated. He was blessed with the knowledge that AC remained loyal and ready, while his actions had been carried out, and there was nothing more that he could do. Still, his bitterness endured, like a sour lime.
"Once again, I'm really sorry we're putting you through this. These are just necessary precautions we have to take. You really can't trust anyone, Ribbit" exclaimed the woman he knew to be Tsui Asuy, the concern and remorse that trickled from her voice was virtually maternal.
"I'm sorry who said that? I can't really see on account of the bag over my head," Izuku said flippantly, knowing full well who the spokesperson was.
"Trust me you'll love it where we're going. It's very cozy, the feng shui is all over the place," Mei said giddily, trying to animate their moods.
"Is it a coffin? I mean that's where we could easily be headed for all we know," Tenya said continuing the sardonic retorts. Though their abductors could not identify it, a slight smirk ran across Izuku, exultant to find that Tenyas spirits have yet to be shattered, even with a sack over his head.
With no apparatus to tell what time it was, the hours blended together in a tedious amalgamation of jostling and fatigue. Were it not for the extreme sense of discomfort, he would have fallen asleep ten times over by now.
"So, Shoto told me the story of how you got your little floating fella over there," exclaimed the associate to his right, the man who went by Rikido Sato.
"Pretty riveting isn't it? Him just showing up one day out of the blue," Mei said, delivering the sharp response Izuku would have provided otherwise.
"Do you know what it does?" He said continuing his line of questioning.
"Oh yeah it'll do your laundry, read you a bedtime story-"
"You don't have to be a dick, just making small talk," Rikido whispered, somewhat dismayed. Shockingly, Izuku felt somewhat remorseful for the manner in which he had addressed Rikido. From what little interaction he had partaken with him, it was evident that his personality was similar to that of a dim witted, yet friendly giant. He was genuinely inquisitive of the capabilities and aptitudes found in AC, just as Izuku was.
"Honestly, I have no idea what his function is, where he came from, and how his machinery operates. All I know is that this little thing right here, has to be the greatest technological feat accomplished by all of mankind," he said authentically. As he spoke AC appeared to have registered his kind verses, spiraling his jets and tapping his head impishly. A warm giggle could be heard from Mei, who sat in the center of the carriage. She was evidently enjoying the spectacle.
"How much longer until we're there?" Tenya asked querulously, having reached the limit of his tolerance for the rutted road.
"Give us a half an hour, the assembly place you two agreed upon was not in close proximity to the station," Jiro spoke, her register appeared to be sophisticated, and devoid of folly.
"What kind of station?" Izuku pressed, eager to obtain some flake of information as to where they were going.
"Nice try kid but no information can be disclosed until we are completely sure of your intentions," Shoto yawned, having appeared to rouse up from a deep doze. Izuku's metaphorical buttons were once again pushed, as his annoyance revisited once more.
"Our intentions? What the hell does that mean? I think we've been pretty clear about our intentions," Izuku snapped.
"It's not like that. We just don't know you. You say you came all the way from Galliedenn, set up shop in Ceederwood, leaving your family and friends just to get a job? For all we know you could be foreign spies, working for Ranurmorne or the Iron Youth," Shoto said serenely.
"And could all this be because we're foreign? Because your beginning to sound more and more like the Reservoir Dogs you know?" Tenya added candidly.
"You know what? I'm sick of debating this. This is just how we do things, so unless you want to be the next one to get knocked out then you'll can it until we reach our destination," exclaimed David Shield, his cavernous register echoing about the interior of the vehicle. Izuku felt the ambiance in the vehicle shift. Though Shoto claimed that he and his group of supports we're friends to his cause, they had not proceeded as such. In that moment, he felt the comradery dissipate, exchanged with the impression that he was a true captive- a prisoner. One who is awaiting a sentence of some sort at the arrival of the local. He thought it best to remain silent the remainder of the trip, fearing he had plucked the strings of their patience far to rigorously.
Half an hour had passed, and the pothole infested road appeared to have given way to a more uniform path, as the tires of the steam powered carriage bowled across the ground soundlessly. An additional peculiarity was had, that of the road gradually slopping downwards, at an angle that troubled Izuku somewhat. Izuku's unease augmented, at the rate at which the vehicle declined. It seemed as the they had been tunneling downwards for hundreds of meters with no horizontal leeway whatsoever.
"I don't want to speak out of turn, but it appears to me as though destination your taking us to happens to be underground," Tenya blurted out.
"Very observant," David said sarcastically. Izuku could feel the beads of sweat accumulate on his brow, due in part from nerves, but largely due to heat. The warmth around them was amplified the further they descended, as if they themselves were rotisserie chickens being led into a furnace.
Izuku did not know what to make of this. As far as his memory served him, he had no recollection of every being this submerged in the earth. Is this the standard temperature at this level? he thought to himself. After an eternity of plunging downwards, the roads gradient became level once again. The sound of metal grates now bounded of the lurching tires.
Trepidation had enveloped Izuku as the steam maker came to a standstill. He was both thankful and concerned about the unconscious state Denki had fallen under. Thankful for the lack of thrashing and conflict that would have arisen otherwise and concerned regarding the length of time Denki had been concussed. He heard the silvery doors of the carriage swing open, as a fiery breeze wafted inwards. He was escorted gingerly outside. A gentile hand was placed on the small of his back as he blindly stubbled out of the vehicle.
"Don't worry Izuku, truthfully. If your intentions are pure, and your heart is in the right place, then everything will work out swimmingly," Mei whispered into his ear. To his rear he heard muffled grunts and stifled lobbing. He could only assume it was his dear friend Denki being transported out of the carriage by one their heated chaperons, most likely David.
"How are you doing Tenya?" Izuku asked encouragingly, endeavoring to embolden his friends' spirits.
"To tell you the truth, I've been better," he acknowledged lightly. As they walked blindly, the burlap sacks still shelled over their heads and shoulders, they felt the heat come in waves, frivolously singing the skin like a shingled sidewalk on a blistering day. The brocade tee shirt, insulating tunic, and leather wrapping Izuku had been sporting to protect against the cold now smothered him in a sizzling detention, making him lightheaded and ill.
"We're here," he heard Shoto say from afar. Izuku placed upon a chair, as the beige sack was detached from his person. Half blinded by the fierce illumination change; his retinas took a second to adjust. What he saw was alien to him, yet oddly familiar, like being inside the piston pumping steam powered engine of a motorized vehicle.
The ceiling was massive, so high in fact that some sections of roof were completely masked by shade and darkness, not visible to the human eye. The Floor was comprised of cement plates and nicked aluminum plates. The X and Y dimensions of the room, however, were significantly smaller compared to the height of the ceiling, averaging the size of a standard kitchen.
Yellow cautionary tape was secured to certain sections of the base, while several iron carts varying in volume were scattered about. Bundles of pipes, fastened to valves interlaced skywards to the elevated ceiling, like veins in an organism. They had come through an iron clad door which was now bolted shut.
To his left he saw Tenya sat down in the same disoriented state as Izuku, on his right he witnessed Denki, slumped over a similar chair, his eyes sealed, and mouth hung ajar like a comatose patient. David, the largest one of the current companies, sauntered towards Denki, Capsule in hand. Izuku's primary assumption was confirmed, as David broke the capsule and placed it under Denki's nostrils, rousing him up in a gasping fit, his eyes as wide as diner plates.
"You put up quite a fight, do you think we can be civil now?" said Shoto brusquely to the bewildered teenager, gawking about the room attempting to land a grasp on his surroundings.
"Izuku, where are we and why is my head absolutely throbbing?" Denki questioned, cradling his skull gently with his hominoid hand.
"We're underground somewhere, no idea where. We got bagged while you were out. Now we're just waiting on what they have to say," Izuku said gesturing towards the six potential threats that stood before them.
"And hope that they don't try to murder or hold us for ransom for whatever reason," Tenya added gratuitously. Yet another chuckle was expressed by Mei at the comment just made, finding it comical that they would even consider taking such action. Denki, who had just awakened in an unknown location after being stupefied with the threat of death possibly immanent, established that silence would be the optimal course of action.
"Bring it in, ribbit" said Tsuyu Asui, her leather belt and balmy florid skirt juxtaposing her stern assertiveness. The singular iron clad door swung open slowly, the weight of the gate itself requiring a significant amount of man power to torque. The gentleman that came forth rolled out a contraption of some sort, dials and knobs protruded from the top, while needles and pins extended from one side, sketching a singular sheet of parchment paper. Secured to the device was a velvet pressure sensor, and several wires that jumbled about, tangled into a forest of alumina.
"Do you know what this is," she continued, her stocky physique only adding to her intimidation factor.
"What it looks like to me is a lie detector, and a complete waste of time," Tenya said, severely pushing his luck.
"Well looks like your only half right," she retorted. Izuku willing allowed her to fasten the device to his arm, as well as fix an assortment of wire's and measuring apparatus to his temples, and wrists. Once the process had been accomplished, it was Mei Hatsume who took center stage once more. Shoto leaned against a wall while the others had either sat atop a crate or simply stood to observe. A separate stranger stood near the device, absorbed in the reading's and data it conveyed.
"What is your name?" Mei enquired. Izuku took a moment to glance at the device, taking not of the velocity in which the needles and pins scrawled on the parchment paper.
"My name is Izuku Midoriya," he replied bluntly. Mei glimpsed briefly at the man who was supervising the device, who provided a swift nod in response.
"Where were you born, what are your origins?" she continued.
"I was born and raised in Galliedenn my entire life and have known no other home."
"What is your favorite fruit?"
"My favorite fruit is peach," he replied perplexed.
"Oh, really I had no idea," Tenya said amusingly, in an attempt to invoke some humor into the setting.
"Mei… this is meant to be taken seriously," David Shield warned, while his eyes provided a wild glare.
"Your right, that's my bad," she replied, still snickering from Tenya's comment. "Izuku, who are your parents and where are they currently," Mei enquired. A shadow fell on Izuku's face as Tenya and Denki's expressions went pale like a ghost. The atmosphere violently overturned from humorous to one of pure anguish. Izuku sunk his head down, his chin practically grazing his sternum.
"Um, Mei," Tenya stammered peevishly. "That's sort of a sensitive subject, you can ask him anything, but he really doesn't like to talk-"
"My grandfather was the one who raised me, the whereabouts of my parents are unknown, please refrain from this line of questioning," Izuku affirmed in a register that rivaled Shoto's in terms of being plain and monotone. Mei jotted a mental note to avoid the subject.
"Do your allegiances pertain to any singular government or independent operation. Allegiances that necessitate you to participate in any ritual of foreign espionage or intelligence gathering?" she asked smoothly, tilting an eyebrow in the process. A brief pause was issued.
"If you're asking me if I am a spy working for an organization of any sort, the answer would be no. My friends and I merely came here to find a more suitable living, as immigrants," Izuku said truthfully. He looked over at the needles and pins, relived to find that they continued to scrabble at a constant velocity, validifying Izuku' statement.
"To the best of your knowledge, do your friends currently present, share the same associations as you?" she asked firmly.
"Obviously, they're not spies either… what's with all these questions?" he questioned in retaliation.
"Excuse me, but it will be us who conduct the interrogation thank you," David replied with an unyielding inflection. Izuku heeded his warning as he barred any further commentary.
"Do you, Izuku Midoriya, or any colleagues you affiliate yourself with, pertain to Ketsubutsu, Shiketsu, or any other faction relating to the estrangement of state and government.
"Not a one. We couldn't even distinguish the different groups, let alone their philosophies or objectives. The little familiarity we have regarding the factions come from Tenya's brothers, who work for the military." Once the sentence had been acknowledged the whole room jolted with surprise.
The company that had chauffeured them now rested their hands on their respective weapons that they had been holstering. The tang in the air rapidly turned hostile. The needles on the parchment fixed to the device now briskly scrawled away, their speed matching that of Izuku's heartrate. Izuku panicked, probing his thoughts desperately to discovery a remedy for the situation.
"That being said," Izuku continued, speaking in a calming voice to sooth the adversity, "we do not affiliate with them in any way, we do not share the same missions or goals as they do, and in all honestly we've been in hiding ever since we arrived in Aspeu because they consider us as outlaws." This declaration resulted in the salvaging of composure within the metallic chamber, as everyone's pulse returned to normal.
"Why is the government after you?" Mei said, continuing her cross-examination.
"They think I stole AC over here," he said gesturing to the suspended ball moving freely about, "which is a complete false accusation."
"Do you know anything regarding the orbs origins, it's function, or it's purpose." Feeling uncomfortable once more, Izuku vacillated in disclosing any information regarding AC, fearing they would somehow filch him away. However, he reluctantly complied.
"No, I hold no answers to those questions. But I don't think he appreciates being called an "it." In addition, I believe he has a consciousness and a keen insight to the world around him." AC rotated giddily in the air as a response, relishing the compliment he had just been issued. Mei beamed in kind, sharing in the golden globes bliss.
"I just have one more question then. If we show you our cards, and by that, I mean disclose our goals, where we operate and whom we operate with, will you vow to keep it to yourselves, and tell no one?" she concluded, her final tone was somber, juxtaposing her prior jubilant personality. Izuku briefly considered Yoroi and Shanta, as well as Ochaco. He felt obligated to share the details of this voyage with them, if ever they meet again. However, he was also positive that the righteous path, and the answers he sought out could only be addressed if he agreed to this stipulation. He glanced over to Tenya and Denki, each of whom gave approving nods. He sighed deeply.
"I agree to these terms, as do my colleagues. I am also positive that Bakugou, another friend of ours who's currently hospitalized, will safeguard your secrets." Once the bargain had been struck and the fib gauge recorded Mei smiled cheerfully.
"Mei, we still need to hook up the other two, and proceed down the same line of questioning," Jiro spoke austerely.
"Come on Jiro, they passed! We have nothing to worry about, Shoto and I knew they were good lads the minute we spotted them," she said, grazing Tenya's face playfully. A retort from Jiro was imminent, though the words did not discharge once she observed Shoto's ascent from his resting position against the wall and march towards the captives. Both his visage and register remained monotone, though his words held the weight of planets.
"What I am about to tell you will alter the path you currently tread, let that be your only warning." A fleeting pause dragged by, once no retaliation was emitted, he continued. "We are currently in Bunker 51-890. One of the hundreds of foxholes preserved by UA, the faction that we serve. Our goal is to combat the injustice disseminating from One For All and his cabinet, and we want you under our service."
