Another small addition to the world of this story.
My name is David Shield. The head researcher of I-Island Support Technology center and father of Melissa Shield.
I am also a man on the edge of the breakthrough. I never intended for things to get this far. But I hardly regret it. A discovery, whatever its source, was part of the job and it was my duty as a scientist to see it through.
Especially when so many lives depend on it.
I started the project [REDACTED] with the goal of restoring my good friend All Might to the peak of his condition. While we experienced difficulty with some of the sponsors, in particular, [REDACTED] who expressed concerns with me seeking to increase power of a foreign hero, I managed to secure the funding necessary.
Originally, Sam and I worked on the device that would maximize the power of All Might's Quirk. After almost a year of research and tests, we finally achieved the result close to the desired effect with almost no negative effects to the user or their Quirk.
Unfortunately, the government had the project sealed and all our notes have been confiscated. Understandably, both Sam and I were devastated. Furious, too. All my attempts to argue against the confiscation of our work were repelled and soon I found myself back at square one. I was desperate enough to even consider less than legal approach to retrieving the prototype.
But not anymore.
The US Superhuman Department is free to keep my invention sealed away. Because I found an even better alternative.
These are the notes leftover from World War II era. It was supposed to be an attempt at creating a super-human all the way back in 1940s. The project didn't have any success and, due to lack of resources, was shut down.
They were briefly brought back and considered during the initial days of Quirk Emergence but the project never took off due to the rise of vigilantes and all available resources being allocated to their training and restoration works.
But it was almost two centuries ago. And now, thanks to the advancement in technologies and science thanks to the Quirks and the related research, I managed to complete the formula. But what it would create would not be sufficient enough to restore All Might back to his prime. I needed to improve it.
This is bigger than him now, though.
Which is why I am standing on the edge of it, afraid to cross the line. Should I succeed in this endeavor, this might be the biggest breakthrough in recent history. Without a doubt, something like this could change the world.
For better or for worse.
CA
The sun was shining bright and the sea breeze gently caressed his sunken cheeks. It felt like a mockery.
All Might was the unbreakable titan of a man. His invincible body only comparable to the unyielding spirit with which he fought. No matter how dire the crisis or powerful a villain, he would face them all head-on with the same smile that promised you everything was going to be alright.
But Toshinori Yagi was only a man. Fallible, full of doubt and regrets. Let All Might be the one who carries the victories and triumphs to the cheers of the public, while his weaker self would shouldered the burdens and scars of all the losses and mistakes. Only the select few knew the truth about him.
And today, he was saying goodbye to yet another one of them.
David Shield. Loyal friend. Brilliant inventor. Caring father.
The words engraved in the tombstone could never do justice to the man the world lost.
He helped Toshinori find his footing when he first came to America. He was by his side as the next wielder of One for All trained and worked on becoming All Might, the Symbol of Peace. And even though he never said it, Toshinori knew that the man was tirelessly working on the means to restore him back to his prime.
Another pang of guilt at yet another death on his hands.
Toshinori had no doubt that the man's death was related to his research. David was not someone who could get involved in anything warranting his death. So it could only be someone trying to get to him through the man.
"I should have told you the truth."
If he shared his secret with David, would the man put himself at risk? If his friend knew that he could pass One For All, would he be dead now? Gran Torino, in a rare show of sympathy, told him that none of this was his fault. That even if the man knew of the truth behind the Quirk, he would still search for a way to help his friend.
Despite this, Toshinori still blamed himself. David was a smart man. A careful one, too. He must have noticed something that could alert him.
So why didn't he contact him when he knew something was wrong? What could he possibly be working on that he kept it secret from everyone, the number one hero included?
He looked at the empty space by his side. Did Melissa know anything?
Is that why she disappeared from I-Island? He had a bad feeling about this. Melissa was always a smart kid. But the loss of one's parent could throw anyone off their feet and his gut was telling him that wherever the girl was, she was not in the right place.
"I promise you, David, I will find your daughter and keep her safe."
Even if he had to turn the entire country upside down.
CA
Max 'Smash' Samson was not, by any means, a good guy.
He would be the first one to admit that without blaming his parents or peer pressure or something else. He had enough balls to take full credit for his life without any finger-pointing. Having dropped out of high school two years in, he quickly joined a local gang and slowly climbed the ranks until he was put in charge of the security at one of their clubs.
Brooklyn Blast was a legitimate business even if they did use to launder some of their cash and gather the intel. And thanks to their reputation, the boys rarely had to deal with anything more serious than a small brawl or a drunken catfight.
Which is why the sound of a violent and brutal fight was a very unwelcome change from the usual.
He pushed past the fleeing crowds and grabbed one of his guys.
"What's the problem here?"
"I don't know, boss. Some crazy bitch came and started talking to Aaron. He seemed fine until she smashed his face into the table," Dave groaned, clutching his side. He coughed, spitting out some liquid flames. Fat good his Quirk did for him, it seemed. "We tried to get her out but she started a fight. Broke my fucking rib, too... I think she is a vigilante."
A vigilante? Just his luck.
If you lived in New York long enough, you were bound to hear about them. A tale as old as Quirks themselves, really. Some asshole decides to take justice into their own hands, picks on some random thugs or gangs to live out the stupid fantasy and ends up beaten, arrested alongside his targets or dead. Without resources, training or connections provided by the Superhuman Department, what else did those idiots expect?
This one, however, was not your regular delusional freak.
Smash watched the fight on the main floor. Six guys in total. All built like brick walls. All with Quirks that gave them boosts in physical abilities. All personally trained by him for the job. Smash took some personal pride as he watched Jack smash his fist into the girl's jaw in a straight punch.
By comparison, the girl they were fighting couldn't have been older than seventeen. And though she had some impressive muscle on her for that age, she didn't seem how to actually use those. Her moves were good but lacked any understanding in them. As if the girl didn't know what she was doing herself.
And yet she just took out Mike and Jack.
He was not the only one surprised. An opening the blonde girl was all too happy to use when she jumped one of the four remaining guys. Brian quickly used his Quirk to partially transform his body into that of a gorilla.
And if he grabbed the girl before she she got too close, he could put an end to this. But he was just a moment too late and the girl smashed her knuckle-dusted fist into his jaw.
But it was not the weapon that had Smash on edge. It was the way she used it. The way she moved exactly like Jack did just a few minutes ago. The look on her face said it all for him.
She just learned it.
The three remaining guys circled around the girl, now far more aware of the danger she represented. They must have seen the same thing as he had. His boys could handle strong. His boys could handle hard and fast. But could they handle someone who learned their moves on the fly?
"Alright, I have seen enough."
All four turned to him. He raised his hand before any of the boys tried to argue with him. Throwing the quiet glares her way, they picked up the unconscious ones and carried them off the stage. He looked the girl up and down. Baggy clothes of black and grey, her face concealed behind the bandana mask and a pair of goggles. Not much else to go on beyond that and her long blonde hair.
"Who are you? And what do you want?"
"I am looking for the information on one of your clients," she said. Her stance was tense, ready to jump back into action if pushed. "Give it to me and I will leave you alone."
How generous, Smash thought dryly.
"And what if I don't?" He challenged. "In case you don't get it, you just stormed the club and attacked my employees before the numerous witnesses. And, more importantly, the security cameras. One of the guys must have already called the police and they will be here in less than fifteen minutes. So tell me, why should I do anything for you?"
He allowed himself a smug smile. A mistake he would realize only when he found himself smashed into the wall. If it weren't for his Quirk automatically covering him in protecting shell, he would probably not even realize just what happened to him.
"You said that the police will be here in fifteen minutes," the girl repeated and stepped down on his knee. Hard. "Not a lot of time, I agree. It just means that I will have to be more forceful than I intend to. More creative, too."
He didn't see her fist. He didn't even see her move.
"The reason why you should give me what I want is because I am not going to stay myself for much longer," the girl said, her voice quiet. Desperate. "So you should do as I say before I do anything we both will regret."
Even through the goggles, he could see the haunted look in the girl's eyes. Having lived his entire life among criminals, Smash was not a stranger to fear. fear of bodily harm. Fear of getting caught by cops or pros. Fear of one's addiction or disease no longer being a secret. Smash had seen all those and more. But the girl? She had the same look in her eyes as some of the most dangerous people he knew.
The fear of oneself.
And that was enough to give the girl whatever she wanted.
CA
Her bruises are all healed by the time she returns to her apartment. Not that anyone around this place would notice them if they didn't. And if they did, they wouldn't question it. The whole area was the kind of neighborhood where everyone kept to themselves and knew better than pry into each other's lives.
Then again, New York was nothing like I-Island and she learned to live with it.
Walking up the old and dusty stairs, past Fred with his daily evening smoke right next to the No Smoking sign, Melissa quickly gets to her own place and closes the door. She is greeted with the now familiar smell of dust and age of the place, an old bed and the leaky faucet. She tosses a bag of food onto the bed. Though she doubts she will eat tonight with how much she needs to do.
She opens the folder down and gets to work.
Wolfram, real name - Ramsey Wilson, forty-five years old. He started off as a small-time villain in Scotland before moving to the States fifteen years ago. For the ten of those, he mostly specialized in working as a hired gun and occasional grand larceny. Following his murder of the pro hero Metalhead, the man disappeared from public eye and hasn't been seen since.
My God, Dad, how did you find this guy?
She could only imagine how frustrated dad was to contact the man in the first few weeks after his research was confiscated and sealed away. But no matter how much he wanted to help Uncle All Might, was contacting some psycho really the only thing he could imagine at that point? The encrypted messages exchanged between the two painted quite the sad picture.
Dad wanted Wolfram to steal his invention and then give it back to him. The man seemed very pleased with the promised compensation... and then dad found those notes and decided to put a lid on the whole thing.
The last message from Wolfram, who now would not see any of the money promised, made it quite clear what he thought of dad pulling out of the plan.
The more she dug into her dad's dealings, the more it hurt to find out just how little she knew. He still was her dad, a brilliant inventor and the kind parent who gave her all the love and care a child could need and want. But at the same time, she wondered just how many signs she missed or ignored due to her love.
Those late nights he spent cooped up in his lap, forgetting to eat and sleep. The way he jumped to change the topic whenever she even tried to ask about his secret project. The general feeling of something wrong whenever he would go through those notes before hiding them the moment he saw her.
She dismissed them all, believing that her dad was just being very secretive or careful over some important work project. She allowed herself to be ignorant for the sake of keeping her trust in the man she thought her dad was.
And then she came to the lab, ransacked and looted. And then she saw her dad, pale and bleeding in the middle of it all.
She should have noticed the signs earlier. She could have questioned him more. Called someone. Done anything but just-
No. No, I can't do this right now. I can't blame myself.
She wasn't the one who killed dad. She would shed tears over What If's later when she found the people responsible.
That's what her dad would have wanted from her. That's why he trusted her with the password to his hidden laptop and notes, after all. It took her days to sort through all the information stored on it. But once she had, she knew exactly what her dad was working on. And what she had to do.
She hated leaving Uncle All Might with nothing, not even a note. But she had to do this alone. If the number one hero got directly involved in this mess, then the people responsible would go even further into hiding.
If the Symbol of Peace knew just what exactly dad was working on, Melissa was sure, the entire thing would draw even more attention. She needed to-
"Nghh," Melissa hissed in slight pain as she felt a bolt of quick pain shoot through her brain. She swallowed down some aspiring and relaxed into her chair. The migraine was gone now, but she knew it was only a matter of time till they returned. "I wonder what I forgot this time."
She sat up straight and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She remembered that this was not how she always looked. She remembered that she used to wear glasses and that her body lacked the muscles she had now. So far so good.
"I am Melissa Shield. I am seventeen years old," she spoke out loud, feeling ridiculous and afraid at once. "I am the daughter of David Shield. I used to live on I-Island and went to Grant Academy of Engineering and Technology before graduating two years early."
She went through her hobbies, likes and dislikes. It was a calming moment for her. A moment to feel a little silly listing all the movies she loved and all the foods she wished to try. A pleasant but brief distraction from her situation.
From what she needed to recount next.
"I found dad bleeding in his lab," she whispered but continued to look at herself in the mirror. She needed to make sure that she didn't just remember what happened. But that she remembered how she felt that day, too. Powerless. Devastated. Alone. "The notes he left behind led me here. I am going to find who killed him and bring them to justice."
Justice, the word echoed through her mind as she tried to practically burn it into her brain. Whatever she forgot tonight, she would be fine with it as long as she remembered the most important of things.
Who she was. What she was fighting for. And what she could become.
"I promise you, Dad," Melissa whispered as she closed the last log entry on the computer. "I will show the world the miracle you wanted to share with them."
That night, in the dirty and forgotten corners of the city, a young woman runs on the rooftops. She sees the trouble and descends down, landing between a couple of kids and their would-be muggers.
One of the latter scoffs and asks, "Who the hell are you?"
And she cannot help but smile.
"Just a citizen."
CA
To whoever accesses this file, I am sorry.
I made a terrible mistake, and I am sorry.
I wanted to help my friend. That's what I told myself when I first started this. That I was doing this all to preserve the Symbol of Peace.
But I see now that I did all of this for the sake of no one but myself.
I don't know why I continued the research. I don't know why I even- Those notes that I found, they don't make any sense.
Why would a secret government project end up in the publicly accessible archives? I couldn't have possibly been the first one to stumble upon them. I should have known something was wrong. I should have burned them right there and then and- [REDACTED]
This is wrong. What I created is wrong.
I knew it the moment I saw the serum.
But I just couldn't stop myself.
I had to see it through. And what I have seen!
The mice injected with it showed significant increase in physical and mental capabilities. The sickly and even dying test subjects were outperforming their former superior keen. I first got suspicious when some of the test subjects started showing the hostile behavior towards each other, however.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this serum elevated everything.
The physical abilities and an individual's ability to adapt. Their ability to process and store information. But more importantly, their hormonal balances. I have yet to test the serum on live human subject. And at this point, I am too afraid of what it could to one.
The potential harm far outweighs the benefits and I do not wish to continue the research anymore.
I think that someone slipped me those notes on purpose. So that I finished the research for them and handed them the key to the ultimate human weapon. But I refuse to let it happen.
Whoever you are, this serum must be destroyed.
I have destroyed all the samples in my lab and all the notes I wrote on the serum. They will never get them.
But there remains the sample of the serum I developed and stored in my lab back in New York. If you managed to access this file, then I am sure you already know the location of it and the password.
Please, you have to destroy it.
Destroy it and let the world never know the horror of what I have created.
...
...
...
I wanted to help my friend. That's what I told myself when I first started this. That I was doing this all to preserve the Symbol of Peace.
And until the end, it remained true.
What I created is a miracle.
I knew it the moment I saw the serum.
I just couldn't stop myself.
I had to see it through. And what I have seen!
The mice injected with it showed significant increase in physical and mental capabilities. The sickly and even dying test subjects were outperforming their former superior keen.
It didn't take long for me to realize that this serum elevated everything.
The physical abilities and an individual's ability to adapt. Their ability to process and store information. But more importantly, their hormonal balances. I wish I could test the serum on a live human subject.
The potential benefits far outweigh the harm and I wish I could continue the research. But at this point, I am afraid I am out of time.
I think that someone is watching me. They want to use my work to harm innocents. But I refuse to let it happen.
Whoever you are, this serum must be preserved.
I have destroyed all the samples in my lab and all the notes I wrote on the serum. They will never get them.
But there remains the sample of the serum I developed and stored in my lab back in New York. If you managed to access this file, then I am sure you already know the location of it and the password.
Please, you have to take it.
Take it and let the world know the miracle of what I have created.
[Would you like to save your changes?]
Yes/No
Hope you all enjoyed the new addition to the world of Superior Spider-Deku! This time, Melissa Shield is here to take on the role of Captain America/Citizen V/Taskmaster mix. Let's hope she survives the experience sane and sound. That was not a misspelling, by the way.
Anyway, make sure to check out my TvTropes Page and check out the story at SpaceBattles! Because I will be posting the picture of Melissa Shield as Citizen V there (Just like with Superior Spider-Suit, it was edited by myself).
Anyway, stay cool and see you next chapter!