Well, this was a fun chapter to write. I introduce the character of Rumi and it is a slight time skip. I get the not a Superman type of name, but Theia was a space scientific theory. To be fair it wasn't supposed to be his hero name. That gets changed this chapter. I don't own anything and feel free to review. Haha oopps Fanfiction did me dirty so I reposted it
Rumi looked around and sighed. Her two friends were constantly scanning the map of Osaka. The three of them were lost. Rumi looked around and one of her friends tugged on her arm. She said, "Hey Rumi, we should ask that hero over there for help". Rumi looked over to the other side of the street. The man wore a yellow zipper hoodie and he was slightly overweight. Rumi would be lying if she said she knew who it was. Her two friends and she moved over to ask for directions.
One of her friends asked, "Uhm excuse me sir do you know where the zoo is in Osaka? You see we are on a school field trip and we got kinda lost".
Fat Gum smiled at the three girls and said "Just follow this street and make a right when you hit the subway station. You can't miss it". The three girls thanked Fat Gum and were quick to head in the direction that he had pointed out. It was then that Rumi caught a Whiff of one of her favorite things. The girls looked at Rumi and one asked "You coming Rumi"?
Rumi shook her head and said, "You two go on without me. I'll catch up". One of the girls sighed at her friend and just shrugged. Rumi had always been a pretty bold and straight-to-the-point person. If there was a problem she would have told them. The two girls continued and Rumi watched them leave before she darted towards the smell. No way was she going to miss out on a fight. She came upon the scent's location and she squinted. It was a building dominated by a style of dramatic facades. It was rich in molding with detached columns. It had a classic look about the building, while it still maintained a baroque richness achieved through the effects of lights and shadows. To sum it up in Rumi's head it was a fancy place, but someone was fighting in there and she wanted in. She quickly swung over the gate and entered through a back door in the building.
Once she was inside she grabbed a tiger mask laying on one of the costume tables and quickly put it on. She went into the next room and two villains were fighting. She rushed into the middle of the cage and stopped the fight. She said, "Come on you cowards. I can beat both of you at once".
Everything stopped and Umeda Siberian and Metro Namba Crusher looked at each other then back at the eighteen-year-old girl in a tiger mask. Someone from the coed shouted out "That's Usako".
Rumi shook her head and said, "No. I am Tiger Bunny and I am gonna kick these guys' asses". The two villains again glanced at each other and just glanced around confused.
Metro said 'You shouldn't have come here Usako. Don't you know it is against a fighter's etiquette to interrupt a battle. You just want to take all of our shine. I'm gonna enjoy crushing you". Umeda nodded and the two charged her. Rumi dodged the blows and smiled as she delivered a bone-crushing kick. It knocked out Umeda almost immediately. She jeered at Crasher and said "That's the best you got. Man and here I thought I was going to get a good fight".
Crasher snarled and rushed forward to slam another fist in Rumi. She dodged again and delivered another sweeping kick and then a jab to the head. He fell like a sack of carrots. Rumi scowled and turned to the rest of the Underground Masquerade. She asked, "Is that all you guys have to offer? And to think I thought this was going to be fun". Rumi's leg muscles began to flex as she watched the villains start to stand. She smiled a fanged smile. It was time to have a little fun. And to think she was going to skip school today. The first villain made his way down and just as Rumi was about to strike there was a banging on the top of the metal ceiling. Rumi was probably the only one to catch it thanks to her sensitive hearing. Then the banging grew louder and louder and all the other villains started to look up to see what caused the noise. They were greeted by the sight of human dents in the metal.
Then the banging stopped and there was a wrenching of the metal. It happened in moments. One of the larger villains was lifted and a man of silver and red was holding him up by his shirt. The villains got a good view of who it was and began to scatter. It was the Symbol of Hope. Rumi's mind tried to process all that had happened. Some of the dumber villains charged forward and slammed anything they could against him. It was fortunate or unfortunate for the villains that nothing seemed to bother him. Someone slammed a wrench onto his head. He looked at that villain and Rumi was able to get a good look at his face. His eyes were burning red and the villain gulped and dropped the now dented wrench.
Rumi's nose curled. He just stopped all the fighting. Where was the fun in that? She rushed forward and she was able to catch a few words that the Symbol of Hope said: "Where is he"? The villain sneered and was going to say something, but the man sighed and slammed him to the ground.
He turned and received a punch across the face. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Was that really necessary miss"? Rumi proceeded to try and kick him. Her scowl became deeper and deeper as she continued to lay into him. He didn't budge.
Rumi said, "You stole my fight. You have to fight me now Neutron". Neutron groaned and said, "It is Theia. Why can't anyone understand that"?
Rumi shrugged and then proceeded to try to kick his face in. He then caught her foot and said to someone else "O'Clock did I end up stepping on your toes"? Rumi turned and quickly tried to wrench her arm out of Neutron's grip. He just remained calm and his grip relaxed as she backed up.
O'Clock sighed and said, "You always seem to know how to cause trouble". Neutron the Symbol of Hope just laughed and smiled at the other pro hero.
O'Clock said "We are going to have to turn these villains in and report that a civilian was using her quirk to fight the villains. That isn't even counting that she attacked you. The media would have a field day with that".
Neutron just laughed and waved it off. He said, "No harm was done O'Clock". O'Clock seemed to sigh at that. Rumi thought back on some of what she had read up on Neutron. He was practically just as famous and his Quirk was debated twice as hard. Many people on the internet thought it was a hybrid quirk of strength and flight, but then he shot those heat lasers out of his eyes and the internet went crazy. Some even claimed he was All Might's brother.
Rumi sighed annoyed at the lack of fighting. She turned and was about to head out when she felt a strong grip on her shoulder. Neutron said, "Why don't I show you out". Rumi shrugged and continued to walk. The two walked in silence as they exited the building. It was weird, but the Symbol of Hope didn't say anything. He just continued to glance around and once in a while Rumi was able to catch on to something he was muttering to himself. Once the two had made it out of the Underground Masquerade Neutron turned to her and asked "How did you get caught up in all this"?
Rumi scratched the back of her bunny ear and said "Would you believe me if I said I stumbled in and they tried to take advantage of me"? She got a rolling of his eyes as a clear indication that he didn't. Rumi shrugged and didn't answer. It was always better to not answer at all. Eventually, Rumi decided to ask the same question.
Neutron seemed to be lost in thought after she said that. He responded "I was looking for something". Rumi squinted and asked, "what were you looking for? I may have seen it".
Neutron shook his head and said, "I doubt it. It is pretty large and hard to miss".
Rumi then asked, "So you weren't there to bust the villains? I thought I caught you saying something to one of them".
Neutron closed his eyes and looked up towards the sun. The light seemed to shine on him and Rumi could understand why people were so obsessed with him. She had put a decent amount of power in those kicks. He ignored the question and continued to walk down the street. Rumi looked around and noticed that people were pointing. Rumi hurried along not to get mobbed by the crowd. Neutron glanced up and turned in the opposite direction of Rumi. He said, "I'll be right back. Stay here".
Rumi was about to respond when an explosion went off and Neutron was gone with a KrakaKoom. Rumi looked up towards the smoke and decided what she was going to do. She already lost one good fight today and she wasn't going to miss another. Rumi shot forward and headed in the direction of the smoke. The streets were crowded and Rumi took to the tops of the buildings. She looked on at where the fire had started and was able to witness Neutron was surrounded by six villains. One of the villains shot off bursts of electricity towards Neutron. Rumi knew these guys were the Insidious Six. The Insidious Six was made up of the six villains Rhino, Voltage Lord, Swarm, Doctor Octopus, and Talon.
Rhino was pretty self-explanatory. He had a quirk that gave him the powers of a Rhino. It meant that he had superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and durability. His superhuman speed allows him to run at high velocities, especially over short distances. The Rhino usually "charges" his opponents in this manner. When the Rhino is around the surrounding area always ends up looking like a battlefield. The Rhino is, however, notorious for his lack of agility and slow reaction time, which makes it difficult for him to change direction when running at high speeds. As such, his fighting style is focused more on melee attacks.
Voltage lord could generate massive quantities of electricity. Rumi had scanned through some theories on his quirks and some people even thought he could generate a million volts. He employed electrostatic energy as lightning arcs from his fingertips. Whatever that meant Rumi didn't have the faintest clue. All she knew was that his maximum charge was more than enough to kill a normal person. Some news sources even showed that when his body is charged to high levels, he becomes superhumanly strong and fast. They also showed he could also glide over power lines by using the electricity contained therein for propulsion, and he occasionally had been shown to ride on lightning bolts.
Swarm was one of the stranger villains. He had a mutant quirk as well that had made the man into a person that was made up of thousands of bees. He is technically intangible, as his body is merely an aggregate of tiny forms. He can fly through the air and assume any shape and size he desires. He can mentally influence the actions of other bees.
Doctor Octopus was the known leader of the Insidious six. The strange thing was that he was known to be quirkless. He made up for his lack of quirk in being a genius in the field of atomic physics and had a Ph. D. in Robotics. He used his mastery in Robotics to design his four mechanical limbs that had infused themselves into his back. These mechanical tentacles and his amazing intellect were what made him such a dangerous villain. Doctor Octopus can control his four tentacles either mentally or telepathically. Each tentacle has superhuman strength, durability.
Last, but certainly not least was Talon. Talon was the least well-known of the members of the Insidious Six. No one knew what his quirk was or who he was. All the media or any of the internet could gather about Talon was that he is an assassin. He also had regenerative capabilities and was a master of weapons and hand-to-hand combat. He had been connected to multiple deaths across the globe and that was pretty much it. He was a figure clad in black that was armed with multiple knives across his chest. His face was covered with a bird mask and he had two swords hanging on his back. His whole costume screamed of an owl look.
Rumi smiled at her luck. It was true she didn't know much about other heroes, but she did her research on villains. What was the old saying keep your friends close and your enemies closer. She then jumped off the building into the fight. Neutron was struck with the electricity and he seemed to shrug it off completely. He continued to float there and Rumi heard him ask "Are you six done because I had something important to do"?
Doctor Octopus sneered and said, "Today is the day we crush you Neutron and the people will fear the Insidious six". Neutron sighed and muttered something about no one getting his name right.
Rhino began to charge and Neutron to the charging head-on stopping the charge. He most likely wanted to avoid Rhino from hurting the civilians who had stayed to watch. Rumi took the chance and tried to slam her foot into Doctor Octopus's chest. His metallic tentacles caught her leg and held her upside down. He turned towards her and said, "Look what the Octopus has caught in his trap. A little rabbit".
Rumi scowled and said, "Let me go you damn Octopus, so I can kick your ass". Doctor Octopus laughed as he watched the girl continue to struggle in one of his arms. He sneered and turned back to see Neutron had just made a crater in the asphalt with Rhino. Rhino struggled to stand up and Neutron delivered another clobbering blow to his horn. Rhino then slumped over and fell into unconsciousness. Rumi watched as Neuron turned and saw that he was zapped with electricity and a swarm of bugs again. He shot heat vision out of his eyes and burnt the bugs to a crisp and ignored the electricity. He then looked behind him to see that Talon had tried to stab him in the back. He slowly cracked his neck and his eyes turned to Doctor Octopus.
They began to blaze red again and Doctor Octopus said "Ah. Ah. Ah. Not so fast Neutron". He held up Rumi next to him and Neutron seemed to hesitate. Then he frowned and Rumi felt someone wrench her out of the metallic tentacles. She then felt the faint whooshing of air against her rabbit ears and she was placed back on top of the rooftop.
Neutron said, "Listen this time and stay here. These aren't some random low-tier villains you can beat up. Let me handle this". Rumi scowled and was going to say something, but Neutron was already gone. Rumi watched the fight progress and it was clear who was going to win. She continued to scowl. She could help. He just needed to give her a chance. She watched the scene below and as Neutron slowly took out each of the villains carefully protecting the civilians watching. He continued to catch the electricity that shot off from Voltage Lord and burn away any bugs that were heading towards the civilians with his heat vision all the while engaging Doctor Octopus's arms. Rumi watched the fight progress and she grits her teeth. This wasn't fair. Every hero she had ever met had an agency, but not Neutron. He came in and took down the villains then he left. He never had any help and Rumi could understand why. Even as she watched she could tell he wasn't trying his hardest against the villains. Instead, he was focused on protecting the innocent people around him. Then Rumi came to an epiphany. This is what she wanted. To be a hero that didn't need help. That didn't need an agency or partner to support her. She wanted to be the best. Better than Neutron. Better than All Might. No one was going to beat her.
If she had been paying attention she would have noticed Talon slip away from the villains and a man falling dead in the crowd, but she wasn't, and instead, she was focused on her goal. She then zoned back in on the fight and noticed that Neutron had just finished cleaning up the rest of the Insidious Six. He smiled and waved at the crowd and then he disappeared in a burst of speed and Rumi felt herself being picked up again and taken to somewhere else.
Once her eyes had adjusted to the area she found herself on the top of one of the tallest towers in the city. She glanced around and she saw Neutron staring at her. She shrugged and tried to say something when he cut her off "No, you don't get to talk. I am going to make this abundantly clear. What you did was reckless and put people and yourself in danger. What if it wasn't me there? What if it was a rookie hero? What would happen then? I can answer that you would be a hostage and the villains would have been able to use you as leverage".
Rumi's anger seemed to abate at that. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but then her anger flared. She said, "I can take care of myself. You didn't need to save me".
Neutron sighed and his smile dipped. Rumi continued to glare at him, while he continued to look at her with a sense of empathy. Silence filled the air as the two continued to look at each other. Eventually, Rumi's anger dissipated and she barely whispered "I'm sorry. I just wanted to help".
Neutron swung his legs over the bar of the building and sat there on the side of the building. He looked out towards the setting sun and had his back to Rumi. He eventually said, "No. Trust me I get it. You want to prove that you are strong. That you can and will be a hero". Rumi waited for him to finish and he didn't respond. Rather he took in the sunlight and basked in it.
He eventually said, "Trust me I understand". He then turned to look at her and pointed at the symbol on his chest. He continued "This S is a symbol of hope that my father passed on to me when I was twelve. I wasn't ready for it then and even now I still don't think I'm ready. I always wanted to prove I was worthy of it back then, but I learned it was just that. A symbol. It's the action of a person that makes him who he is. Not the thing on his chest".
Rumi looked at the man sitting on the railing shocked and said "No way. You are the Symbol of Hope. I remember when you made your debut. You destroyed an asteroid that was headed for a city. Everyone was freaking out and you just obliterated it. We all thought you were All Might at first. How can you not think you are worthy of being the Symbol of Hope". Neutron smiled fondly at that story. All Might had made fun of him plenty for it.
Neutron nodded at that and said "My father cast a shadow so large it covered the sun. He was everything I wanted to be and more. He didn't have the intellect compared to some of the other heroes, but he made up for it in strength and courage". Rumi looked at him and absorbed some of the information he had given off. Neutron never shared his personal life with the public. He came and left almost as fast. The media treated interviews with him like finding diamonds in a mine.
Rumi eventually asked, "Why are you telling me this"? Neutron continued to smile and ignored the question.
He continued with his story "Then my powers came in and I was given my first real chance to inspire that same Hope Dad did. And the first chance I had I blew it". He laughed then. It was a throaty chuckle.
He spoke again after a few moments "My Dad and I were patrolling a city and a villain attacked. I was so scared. You could see me shaking. And then when my Dad first fought the villain I ran. I couldn't control myself. No matter how strong I was or how invulnerable I was I fled from the fight. My Dad found me after the fight hiding. I was curled up in a ball at my grandparent's farm. I wouldn't leave the barn. At one point Dad even threatened to lift up the barn to get me out. I refused. See my parents were amazing, but Dad had his superhero job and mom was a successful reporter so both were pretty busy. We did all the normal family stuff, like eating dinners together, but I didn't bond with them as much as I wanted to. I don't blame them. I just wanted to give some context on why I didn't leave that barn or why they didn't just come in and take me out. It was one of Dad's friends that came in and got me. Instead of dragging me out, she offered to play with me. We sat there and played games the rest of the day. Then she asked why I was so scared and I told her. I told her about not being good enough about how scared I was. You know what she said"?
Rumi shook her head enraptured in the story and said "No. What did she say"?
Neutron smiled then and said, " She told me As long as life remains, there is always hope… and so long as there is hope, there can be victory". Neutron seemed dazed as he looked off to the sky. It was clear he was zoning out. A dopey smile had made its way on his face. Rumi absorbed the words and said rather brazenly "Wow. She sounds awesome".
Neutron nodded and said, "She was and then I became her apprentice and she constantly made me black and blue. Those were some of the happiest days of my life".
Rumi shifted as the silence fell over them again and she asked "Why tell me all this though? We only met an hour or two ago. Why tell me anything and not just scold me like everyone else"?
Neutron retorted "Do you want me to scold you? I am only a few years older than you".
Rumi shook her head and said "No. I was just wondering why".
Neutron looked at her again and he seemed to scan her up and down. He eventually seemed to find what he was looking for because he stopped and said "I told you because I think you have what it takes to change this world".
Rumi asked, "What the hell does that mean"?
Neutron just laughed and said, "I suppose you will just have to figure it out yourself. Just know I will always support you Rumi. Just call and I'll be there".
Rumi pointed at him and said, "I didn't tell you my name. How do you even know it".
Neutron shrugged and pointed at his ears. Rumi scowled again. Neutron stood up then and said, "I'll give you a lift back to your house. I'm sure your parents are worried sick".
Rumi stood as well and said, "You are a stalker. You know where I live too".
Neutron held up his hands in a sign of defense and said "I meant that you could tell me where it is and I could fly us there". Rumi sighed and nodded when she saw where she was. She told Neutron the address and he quickly scooped her up. The two were soaring through the sky and Rumi wrapped her arms around his neck clinging to him tightly so she wouldn't fall.
The two landed in an alley and Rumi felt a small gust of wind. She looked back and she was standing next to a guy around her age in a hoodie and jeans. He looked at her and she had to do a double-take to make sure this was Neutron. He waved at her and she looked him up and down. It was almost as if his whole persona had changed. He still had the obvious muscle and the pitch-black hair. Rumi just couldn't put her finger on it, but something was different. The only thing that was the same were those twinkling blue eyes. They were electric blue that seemed to burn like fire. It was an unending sea of gunmetal blue. They held a certain kindness and warmth in them. Yah Rumi could see why people were so fascinated with him now that she was up close to him.
He walked forward and knocked on their house door. A woman answered and Rumi finally processed what was happening. She started to freak out. Her mom was going to flip. She always did whenever she brought a boy to the house and didn't tell her. She quickly tried to push Neutron away and tell him to leave. It seemed luck wasn't on her side though because as Neutron was just about to leave her mother opened the door. Her mother spoke up "Ah Rumi I was so worried when you didn't come back home right after school. And who do we have here"?
Rumi began to bang her head repeatedly against the wall. This was it. Her mother was never going to let her live this down. Neutron just smiled and said "Oh I am so sorry ma'am. I am Steve Kent. I think there has been a misunderstanding. You see a villain attacked and Rumi here just helped guide me away from it. You see my Quirk isn't something that should be used in such packed places, so she took it upon herself to help me". Rumi stared baffled at the now identified Steve Kent. He had just told his mother the truth without telling her the truth at all. He seemed uncomfortable doing it, but still, he did it.
Rumi's mother frowned and said, "That doesn't seem like something she would do. In fact, Rumi would have charged the villains head first". Rumi wasn't sure if she should bang her head some more or end this embarrassing meeting. Her mom was telling a pro hero that her daughter breaks the law or at least wants to.
Steve waved her off and said, "She was kind enough to listen to me talk and help calm me down". He then bowed and said, "I would like to thank you for raising such a wonderful person Miss".
Rumi groaned when her mother got a certain look in her eye. It had happened a few times and each time it happened Rumi was put into uncomfortable situations. Rumi's mother said, "Why don't you stay for dinner? It is rather late and you can tell me the rest of the story of how Rumi helped you. You can call your Parents as well. I am sure they are worried sick about you".
Steve smiled awkwardly and said, "That is alright Ma'am I am sure my Aunt has already figured out I was going to be late".
Mrs. Usagiyama frowned and shook her head. She said, "Think of it as a way of me saying thank you for keeping Rumi out of trouble. She certainly likes to cause havoc". Steve glanced at Mrs. Usagiyama and resigned himself to dinner. He nodded and Rumi's mother squealed in delight. She then went back into the house.
Rumi whispered more to herself than Steve "I can't believe Neutron is eating with us. This is not how the day was supposed to go at all".
Steve looked at her and sighed. He said, "Yah me neither. Nana is going to eat all the food in the fridge now. She was never a very good cook. I'm gonna have to make a grocery run now". Rumi looked at her and asked, "This Nana is your aunt"?
Steve responded "Nana Shimura, my Aunt in all but blood. I ran into her a few years ago. She stops by and visits when she has the chance".
Rumi shrugged and strutted into her house. Steve sighed it was going to be a long night.
Steve Kent flew across the sky with groceries in his hands and a smile on his face. Mrs. Usagiyama was a kind woman. He then landed in his small apartment and sighed as he saw Nana passed out on the couch. He quickly glanced at her stump on her arm. It had been a few years and he still felt guilty he couldn't save her hand. She always waved him off, but it wasn't the same.
He put the groceries in the fridge and plopped down on the couch. He none to gently moved the woman's legs onto his lap. Her eyes fluttered open and she asked "How did it go"?
Steve sighed and said, "I couldn't find any trace of One for All there. Your informant must have lied". Nana shook her head and pondered the situation.
She eventually said, "Maybe you should leave the investigations to me and Toshinori. You aren't very good at the whole stealth thing. You stick out like a sore thumb".
Steve sighed again and said, "You just compared me to All Might in being sneaky and said I lost. Come on Nana I'm not that bad". Nana smirked and shook her hand up and down indicating that it could have gone either way. He groaned and slumped back into the couch. Nana just laughed.
Steve looked over to the sketching table in the corner of the room and his hand started to itch. His job was a pretty simple one. He had become a comic book author and been making comic books about the past exploits of his universe. They sold like wildfire. He stood up from his couch and went to his desk chair. He smiled as he started to draw. His ears picked the heartbeat of Nana's heart as she fell asleep.
There staring into a portal were two cloaked figures. They were currently watching the scene of an enraged Superman beating down on Batman and entering the Justice League prisons where they held the most dangerous prisoners. He was standing in front of Circe and his eyes were flaring red. The loss of his son had clouded his judgment and he had knocked out both Batman and Wonder Woman. He shouted, "What did you do to him? Tell me".
Circe remained calm and said, "You won't hurt me, last son of Krypton. You never would not even for the loss of your son. You will get no information from me". Superman then shot forward and the two were standing at the top of the space station. He was holding Circe up in front of the sun.
He said, " I know you can breathe out here with your magic Circe, but if I threw you in the sun how long would you last. A few minutes maybe. My guess is a second. Now tell me".
Circe choked under the grip and finally got out "I cast an ancient magic derived directly from the Upside-Down Man. I have no clue where he went. It was meant for Wonder Woman, but I needed to escape".
Wonder Woman came out into space and tried to talk Superman down.
The scene from the portal ended and it was shut off. One of the cloaked figures turned to the other and started to cackle. "Hahahahhaahahhahahahahhahahhhahahahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahaha. It is all finally coming together. Soon they will know what fear is. Now that one of the sons of Superman is gone we can move onto the main event. No more snooping from him".
The other figure nodded and said "Soon it will all be ours and none of the heroes can stop it. Just remember…"
The other Figure interrupted and pulled down his hood. He had sickly white skin and a visor of spikes covering his face. A crude crimson smile was carved out on his face. He broke off the other hooded figure "That Bruce Wayne is key. Or should I say me from another Universe. HAhahahahahahAHAhaHAha. This is going to be so much fun".
Well, the chapter is done and a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. I hope you guys liked it. Feel free to review.