Chapter 7: Flashbacks

The absolute silence between the two was deafening. While the older gentlemans face showed hardly any emotion, CJ's eyes burned with hate. It had been seven years since he had seen the old man, which made his hatred for him burn ever brighter. Through all the hatred in his soul, he was only able to utter one word.

"You…"

The old man looked CJ directly in the eye and spoke to him almost as if nothing between the two had happened.

"Hey there bonehead… Long time no see…"

Principal Nezu appeared from around the corner, speaking in his usually cheerful manner.

"Oh, Mr. Slade. I see you've found your way to the training ground. And my goodness, it seems your grandson has done quite a bit of damage to it."

Pieces of rubble fell from what was left of the barrier wall. While keeping his eyes locked with his grandfather's, CJ directed his voice towards Principal Nezu, his words holding a threatening tone.

"Out of the way… Now…"

As he said this, dust began to float yet again around his right hand. Mr. Aizawa tried to step in only to be stopped by Principal Nezu.

"Now hang on. I'm sure we can talk abo-"

"Hold on Mr. Aizawa. Let it happen. I promised young CJ here that I would not stand in the way of what's about to happen."

Whispers could be heard among the rest of Class 1-A.

'They're both named Slade? That's super manly!!'

'These two are starting to scare me. They're both really intimidating, ribbit!'

'I wish everyone was focused on my sparkling self instead.'

The two stared each other down for what felt like an eternity. The older of the two then moved the right side of his trench coat behind him, revealing a loaded six shooter holstered on his belt. The dust surrounding CJ's hand slowly started taking form. Again Mr. Aizawa tried to step in.

"Principal Nezu, this is going too far!"

"Just wait… I'd like to see where this goes", he said.

Time seemed to slow down as the two moved. Within the blink of an eye, the two drew weapons. CJ was the first to fire, but unfortunately his shot barely grazed the old man's hat. Barely a split second later, Slade senior drew his six gun and fired from the hip. His shot happened to be the more accurate of the two though. Everyone turned their attention to CJ, who had fallen to the ground clutching the side of his neck in pain.

Mr. Aizawa was the first to rush over, followed by the rest of the class.

"Everyone back up! Back up!"

The class backed up as instructed, clearing a path as the old man approached CJ.

"Take it easy boy, just sit up nice and slow."

He extends his hand out to help the boy up, only for CJ to swat it away.

"Fuck… you… Why the fuck are you here?", he asks.

"Give me ten minutes to explain. I know what I did was wrong, CJ. Just give me a chance to explain myself… please?"

CJ looked at the hand he had been holding his neck. It had blood on it, but not much. The old man had only grazed him. He looked up at the old man, dwelling on the last time he had seen him, the day she died.

Flashback

A seven year old Carter Slade looked at the TV in horror. The smoke from the crash was pitch black, fire rising by the second. In the wreckage, a man in a red and blue suit with spiky yellow hair stood atop one of the engines holding a few people in his arms. The camera cut to a reporter running towards the man.

"All Might! All Might! Are there any more survivors on board?!"

The man looked down at the reporter, not even having the decency to wipe the smile off of his face. His voice boomed with power when he spoke.

"I'm sorry to say, but these are the only ones onboard who showed any signs of life. It's a miracle that these people survived, let alone there were no other casualties other than the people on the plane. To the families of the people on the plane, I can only offer my condolences, and my apologies as we have not yet caught the villain responsible."

The camera cut to the wreckage, showing all sorts of debris laying around. CJ's heart sank when the camera showed a red bandana, scorched around the edges, and a broken pair of round, gold rimmed glasses.

Carter senior had been watching the whole time, standing behind the boy. He boiled with anger, not uttering a single word as he walked out the door. CJ ran after him, wanting to find comfort in his grandfather's arms.

"Not now CJ", was all he said as he walked out the front door.

"Where are you going? Grandpa!!", sobbed the boy.

Carter senior stayed silent for a moment. He knew where he was going and he knew he couldn't take the boy.'

"I'm going to find who did this."

That was the last thing CJ had heard as his grandfather mounted his horse and rode off, his mind only dwelling on vengeance. The boy never saw him again, until now.

End flashback

"You weren't there when I needed you, so give me one reason I should give you another chance."

Carter Senior sighed. He knew he had no answer to give the boy. He knew why he left in the first place, but it was a selfish reason.

"The Rider within me wanted vengeance. I loved your mother as much as you did, believe me. I chose to leave and track down the villain that crashed that plane. And you have every right to hate me for what I did."

"You chose to leave me when I needed you the most. Do you have any idea what I've had to do to survive?", he scolded.

CJ looked around remembering that he was in the presence of his class, all of them listening to the family reunion intently.

"This isn't the place to discuss this. We'll speak later."

He stood up and brushed the dust off of him. As he walked off he purposely bumped his shoulder into his grandfather, sending a message to stay out of his way.

"I found him, CJ… The man who crashed the plane…"

CJ froze. All he had wanted these past seven years was to find the man who had killed his mother. Keeping his back towards his classmates, his right hand began to give off steam slowly burning the skin away and stopping at the wrist. All that was left were bones, and as quickly as the skinn had burnt away, the hand ignited into flames. CJ, in an almost demonic tone, spoke one word.

"Where?"

This threw the rest of the class aback, including Principal Nezu who up to this point had maintained his composure.

"I'm not sure. My trail went cold about a month before you arrived. All I know is his quirk and a basic description, but apparently he knows how to hide."

Slowly the skin on his right hand reformed. After composing himself, CJ turned around.

"Everyone, please forgive my manners. Allow me to introduce Carter Slade the first, my great-grandfather."

Everyone wanted to ask questions, but unfortunately Mr. Aizawa cut everything short.

"I'm sure you're all curious about the… blood feud between these two, but unfortunately times up. You're all dismissed for the day."

CJ, along with the rest of 1-A, made their way back to the locker rooms to change. No one said anything for the whole walk back. Once everyone started changing, then questions started.

"Hey… CJ?", asked Kirishima.

CJ looked up at him.

"You never did answer Mineta's question. What exactly did you do to go to prison?"

Everyone was silent, awaiting an answer. Even Iida was curious, considering the display of power they had all just witnessed. CJ sighed, deciding to reveal his secret.

"When I was nine… I killed a man…"

This threw everyone aback. They all had their theories, but nothing as serious as murder.

"When I was first taken into custody I was put into Juvenile Detention in El Paso. I stayed there for five months. Due to continuous fighting, and the nature of my arrest, the state thought it necessary to put me into a maximum security prison. I was then shipped to Lockhart Correctional Facility, where they put me in the high profile cell block filled with other murderers like me. Until one night…"

Flashback

Carter's P.O.V.

After the transfer it took some getting used to. Being a kid in an adult prison had drawbacks of course, but on the plus side everyone left me alone. Although they were murderers, they were surprisingly nice to me, especially one man in particular. He was a kind man who had been accused on false charges, but due to lack of evidence he was convicted for life. The other inmates abhorred him, mainly because his false charges labeled him a child killer. Even hardcore killers hated child killers, as even they had standards.

His name was Aaron McMasters, and he loved two things in life. One was cooking shows, which you could often see him watching in the lounge, but the only thing he loved more than that was reading his Bible. 'CJ, come read with me', he would often say. The other inmates didn't like him hanging around me, since he was still labeled a child killer and all.

I liked hearing him read the Bible. It made me feel better about my situation. But one night everything changed. He was sitting in the lounge as usual when a bunch of guys blocked him in. One by one they beat him within an inch of his life. The guards rushed in to break up the fight, but they had already done their damage.

End Flashback

"... That night I went to visit him in the prison medical ward. I remember looking him in the eye as he let out his final words. He said, 'Boy… hold quiet now. For I will be with Him soon'. He gave me this necklace along with his Bible, then he let out his last breath. He was my friend."

Everyone stayed quiet. By this point, the girls had come out of their locker room and were listening from just outside the door.

"Then what did you do?", asked Midoriya.

CJ looked down at his hand.

"Then I was given these powers. I became a Rider."

"What's a Rider?", asked a blonde kid with a black streak in his hair.

"You're Denki Kaminari right? Well Kaminari, that night, after Aaron McMasters died, I went back to my cell crying. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder, so I looked up. There was a man in a suit standing there. He had short white hair and walked with a cane. He asked me If I wanted vengeance for the loss of my friend."

While he explained all this, the memories played back in his head as if they had just happened.

"He said he would give me powers beyond my imagination. So I reached out and shook his hand, sealing the deal and selling my soul. He disappeared into thin air and my whole body started to burn."

He held out his hand and once again the skin burned away, leaving the hand in a flaming, skeletal form.

"This happened all over my whole body and I…"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to", said a bird-headed boy.

"No, it's fine. What's your name? I haven't met you yet."

"My name is Fumikage Tokoyami."

"It's nice meeting you, Tokoyami. Which raises a valid point. I don't know you all yet."

As his hand returned to normal, all the 1-A boys introduced themselves along with their quirks.

"I'm Hanta sero, and I shoot tape out of my arms."

"Mezo Shoji. I can create body parts on the ends of my tendrils."

"You already know me, I'm Eijiro Kirishima. I can solidify my skin into stone."

"Minoru Mineta. The balls on my head can pop off and stick to anything."

"Shoto Todoroki. I can create fire and ice."

"K-Koji Koda a-and I can s-speak to animals"

"I'm Yuga Aoyama, and I shoot a twinkling laser from my belly button. Isn't that magnifique?!"

"I-I'm Izuku Midoriya and I have enhanced physical abilities."

"Fumikage Tokoyami. I can control and summon my shadow."

"I'm Rikido Sato, and the more sugar I consume, the stronger I get."

"Mashirao Ojiro. I just have a tail. Nothing flashy I know, but it works."

CJ looks up at the only kid not sitting in the group.

"You're Bakugo right? What's your quirk?", he asked.

Bakugo gave no answer, only an angry grunt as he finished getting dressed.

"He can create explosions in the palms of his hand", said Midoriya.

"Interesting", replied CJ.

"Are you all sure you want to know what happened that night? If not, leave now."

No one left, not even Bakugo.

Cj's hand changed into its skeletal form again.

"This transformation happened all over my body, and all I felt was rage. So I kicked down the steel door to my cell… and I killed the first man I saw. He just so happened to be the one who organized the jump of Mr. McMasters. I turned him into a pile of ash. Then more inmates saw what happened and tried to…"

CJ stopped and sighed as he remembered what he did that night.

"In the end, I killed 126 inmates that night. I slaughtered every murderer in the prison. From what they told me, I passed out in the middle of the yard after I changed back. The next thing I know, I'm strapped into a stretcher like the one I was in at the entrance exam. I had been asleep for four days. After that they transferred me to Folsom Prison where I spent the next four years in solitary."

Everyone sat in shock, a couple of the girls outside even had tears rolling down their faces for him. CJ looked up with a look of seriousness in his eyes.

"And if you think I didn't want to kill them all, you're wrong. I would gladly do it again."

"You made the same mistake I did CJ", called out the booming voice of Carter Sr., who had just walked in.

"What do you mean you made the same mistake?", asked Kirishima.

Carter Sr. held up his right hand, and just like CJ's it began to burn away the skin and turn into a flaming skeletal hand.

"If you'll give me the chance, I can teach you how to better control your powers to where you don't have to enter that Half-Rider form you were in. Just let me teach you CJ and you can help me track down the man you killed your mother."

There was a word for the look in CJ's eyes. It was a reckoning. After he got his revenge on the ones who killed his friend, he vowed before God that he would find the man who killed his mother, and God only knows what he would do then. CJ extended his flaming hand and grabbed the burning hand of his great-grandfather, giving it a firm shave.

"When do we start?"

Carter Sr. looked the boy dead in the eye, knowing how eager he was.

"Tomorrow… you start tomorrow."