"Warden spotted! Everyone take cover!"
Three figures jumped behind a car, just in time for a massive blast of fire to shoot over it, just barely missing them, but heating the area enough to make them start sweating immediately.
The shortest of the figures yelled out, his forearms moving like jelly from fear. "Why the fuck is Inferno here? His patrol route is on the other side of the city!"
The tallest figure leaned over and grabbed the shoulders of the short one. "Calm down! Panicking will only make it harder for us! Butcher! Send a flesh orb under the car! If you can turn Inferno into a meatball we can escape!"
Butcher took a few deep breaths, before nodding to the man. A chunk of flesh popped off of his arms and headed underneath the car they were hiding behind, letting it creep along the ground slowly.
"Outlaws! Come out right now if you want to live! I'm gonna have to let Inferno torch you if you don't!"
The second figure swore as they heard the new voice. "Shit! He's got backup. Scanner, you got any details on the new one?"
The third figure, a tall person with light blue hair peeking out from under their thick black hoodie, nodded, a blue holographic screen popping out of her arm. "Give me a second! Got it! Lower ranked Warden called Aegis. He can create barriers around objects and people! We need to get him down first!"
The first figure nodded. "Change of plans, Butcher! Take out Aegis first. If he's not down we can't leave, whether Inferno is up or not."
Butcher nodded shakily, still really scared. He turned to the second figure, a large man with big, full lips. "Glucose, you think you can distract them somehow? Maybe throw something at Inferno?"
The figure nodded, reaching into his belt and grabbing out a small sachet, ripping it open and downing its contents. He let out a grunt as he bulked up in size slightly, before reaching out and grabbing the car next to them.
With a roar, he threw it over the car they were hiding behind towards Inferno and Aegis, ducking back down quickly. Butcher nodded, and the others heard grunting after the barrier dissipated.
Sirens were going off in the distance as Glucose looked over the car. Both Inferno and Aegis had been reduced to meatballs for the moment, but there was no time available to spend attacking them.
Scanner was already on her earpiece, checking her watch. She nodded to the two others, before motioning for them to follow her. "Cmon, this way! Jumper's gonna be here soon, and if we miss him we're as good as caught!"
The trio sprinted off away from the fight, weaving between the cars in the parking lot they had found themselves in. They climbed the floors as fast as they could, Scanner constantly checking her watch.
They eventually reached the top floor, the stars shining down on them as they panted. Scanner turned to them, checking her watch. "Okay, he should be here in 3… 2… 1… Now!"
-Voomp-
To their left, space seemed to fracture for a moment, the air itself gaining a shattered appearance, as if someone had thrown a brick at a window.
And out of this fracture, came their salvation.
Dressed in long, dark blue cargo pants, red shoes and fingerless gloves, and a thick green hoodie with floppy rabbit ears, Jumper appeared, his vibrant green eyes the only part of his face visible, as a red and gold face mask covered the rest.
"Well well well. If it isn't Scout Squad B again. What's this, the third time this week I've had to bail you out of trouble? You're gonna get proper bounties on your heads at this rate."
Jumper's voice was like a calming agent. If you hadn't seen him teleport in, you might assume that calming people down was his Meta Ability. Reaching out his hand, Jumper motioned for them to approach him.
"Grab on everyone! Next stop, Safety! Also known as Resistance Headquarters! Neutraliser would kill me if I didn't bring you back safely."
The trio smiled as they grabbed a hold of his arms, before feeling pressure on their entire bodies as space collapsed around them.
-Voomp-
The only thing that the Wardens would find on that roof when they eventually reached it was an odd feeling in the air…
And a green smiley face sticking its tongue out spray-painted on the floor.
[1 year earlier]
"Izuku! Could you grab the mail for me, please? Our next inspection is coming up soon and we're meant to get the forms for it today!"
"Alright, mum!"
Izuku let out a sigh as he warped to the front door of the small apartment that the Midoriya family called home. He reached into the small letter holder underneath the slot in their door and grabbed the official-looking envelope.
Warping into the kitchen, he placed the envelope on the table, hugged his mum, and warped back to his room. He smiled as he looked around the entryless room, covered in photos and pictures.
They had long since blocked off all the doors and windows into Izuku's room with the help of some YouTube videos on how to use cement and the hardware store down the road. They weren't necessary when you considered Izuku's Meta Ability.
Officially, Izuku's Meta Ability was known as Perfect Recall, the ability to remember anything he had seen before in perfect clarity, people, and places included.
But this was just a lie to keep him safe.
If the government knew about Izuku's actual Meta Ability, then he was sure that it would take them less than a day to capture him and either brainwash him into being a Warden or confiscate his ability.
That's why he hid his true Meta Ability from everyone but his mum. He couldn't trust anyone else to not report him to the authorities. Not even his first friend, basically his brother, Bakugou Katsuki, knew about his real ability.
He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to the boy about it before the Warden recruitment department had whisked Katsuki away after his Meta Ability manifested.
Izuku missed him sometimes, but he hadn't seen the boy in almost 14 years. The Warden Recruitment department only let their trainees out into the outside world after they were deemed fit for service by the head honchos.
Izuku leaned back in his chair, letting the history textbook he was studying flop onto his chest with a sigh. He already knew what the book was going to talk about.
It was pure propaganda, spouting the 'glorious takeover of Japan' by the Meta Liberation Army around 35 years ago. The takeover of the Japanese government was anything but glorious.
Izuku had warped to America once to check out some of the more accurate history books that they had over there. He found that the MLA had been plotting the takeover for quite some time, getting their leaders in positions of power in the government, until they finally had enough sway to change the rules.
Izuku hadn't dared bring the book back to Japan with him, not wanting to risk it being discovered and being labeled an Outlaw for 'spreading unpatriotic lies.'
And honestly, with how much their school teachers had drilled this 'history' into all of their heads, he could probably recite it off by heart. The only thing they talked about more than the MLA's takeover was the weaker classes' role in life.
When the MLA took over, all of their rules were made into law. That meant free Meta Ability usage with no repercussions unless you injured another person, and a Might Makes Right society, where the stronger your Meta Ability is, the more power you have.
He knew that his Meta Ability was incredibly powerful and that his mum had created this lie so that he would be able to live a normal life, free from the oversight that came with being a Warden.
And while he would always be thankful for this, a small part deep down inside of him cried out that he wasn't doing enough. That he should be out there, using his power to help people, like the Pre-MLA heroes used to.
Sure, the system hadn't been set up completely back then, but before the MLA took over, there were a few well-known heroes. One such hero was All Might, who was an up and coming star, before the government was changed.
After that, the man disappeared completely, being labeled an incredibly dangerous Outlaw by the Warden Recruitment Departments top official, a mysterious man only known as Mr. Shigiraki. There were still rumors that "All Might" was alive, but no confirmed sighting had been reported.
Izuku looked over to the wall just above his bed, at the incredibly rare poster of the man that was hung up there. It was one of the first, and only, of its kind made, and Izuku had to literally break into a dump to save it from being burned after a collector of hero memorabilia had been arrested.
He warped over and put his hand on the poster, feeling a sense of determination building up in his chest. He didn't have a copy of the video, but Izuku could still remember watching All Might save 100 people in a single attack, a smile on his face the whole time.
He wanted to be someone like that. He wanted to be able to show up somewhere and have people know that they were safe because he was there. He couldn't sign up to be a warden though. If he did, then his mother would be found out for lying about his Meta Ability.
He didn't want to think about what would happen to her if that was discovered.
[2 Months Later]
Izuku huffed as he warped again, appearing on the rooftop across from his most recent project.
Sitting on the building across the street was a huge digital billboard. It was owned by the CEO of the company that used the skyscraper, who was an avid supporter of the MLA's beliefs.
The billboard was very often used to show propaganda, or 'public service announcements' if you were a 'patriot'. The most common picture used was a shot of Re-Destro looking over the city, smiling widely, with an 'inspirational' message next to him.
Izuku smirked as he warped the spray cans he had used for the project back to his room, looking over his work as the billboard turned back on.
Over Re-Destro's face was a set of thick glasses and a bushy mustache done in bright green spray paint. Over where the message would have been was a solid white block, with Izuku's own message over the top in red writing.
'Your Meta Ability doesn't define you! Be whoever you want to be, and don't let those 'above' you push you around!'
In their current society, this statement was almost heretical, but Izuku believed it with the entirety of his being. He had been part of the 'weaker class' for his entire life, ignored by most people, and tormented by the worst of the lot.
He had seen so many people that were deemed 'weak' abused and bullied by those with strong Meta Abilities. It disgusted him. He pulled his backpack onto his back, not really caring if the tablet inside got damaged.
He adjusted his face mask, and turned around, taking a selfie of the graffiti with the tablet, adding his trademark, a green smiley face sticking its tongue out, on using the tablet's photo editor over his face.
He checked around him, making sure no one could see him, before warping to the bathroom of a busy cafe. He joined their wifi and posted the picture on his anonymous Read-it account. The reason he did it from here was because of the guaranteed anonymity of their wifi due to the owner's Meta ability, Scrambler.
He sat in the bathroom stall for a little while, smiling as comments were made on his post. He stayed there for about an hour, before warping back to his bedroom. He took out all of the batteries for his tablet and placed them on his desk.
He shed his outfit, and warped into his bed, ready to go to sleep. He was just starting to drift off to sleep, when his phone's screen lit up, buzzing. Izuku grabbed it, checking the number.
He sat upright at the message, sent by an unknown number. He immediately got dressed again in his outfit, securing his face mask, turning on the voice modulator inside it. He warped to the top of his building, and looked out over the city.
Checking the message again, he ran to the side of the building, jumped off-
And vanished into thin air.
[ ]
Greetings, I.M. In the attached image are a set of coordinates. You will arrive at them exactly 37 seconds after receiving this message. Failure to do so will result in your identity being shared with the Police.
I am truly sorry for such an aggressive summons, but this is the only way we can be certain that you will arrive. Come alone, and unarmed.
Yours sincerely,
Unit N3ZU
If you can't imagine Izuku's outfit, here is a picture of it!
I didn't draw it though, just colored it in.
