Hunter
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. This was bad. This was really fucking bad. The same words kept flowing through Hunter Sato's mind. This was bad. This was bad. Cyrus was here. Why he was here? This was able to work because he and Cyrus never crossed paths. Now Cyrus was right in front of him. With his team ready to use lethal force if possible.
Tell me what you know about Sarah Smith.
What the hell did Sarah have to do with any of this? Hunter never really paid the girl a second thought. She was cute, but not as cute as Victoria. He was mainly amused by her bitchy comments that he found quite comedic. Other than nothing seemed extraordinary about her. Her quirk was basic, and she didn't come from an important family. What could Cyrus possibly want with her?
"Excuse me, but who the hell are you and what are you doing at our homecoming? You must be really stupid to try and attack the MSA." Monica snickered.
She and her gang of cheerleaders were by her side. Each of them had their signature pom-poms in hand. Who brings pom poms to a dance?
"Monica get back," Kaleb warned.
Kaleb was the only one here, besides Hunter that met Cyrus. He must have known what he was capable of.
"Asshat, I suggest you go back to where you came from." Chris hissed.
God the last thing Hunter needed was the school quarterback and Monica's legion of cheerleaders interfering with this. Hunter needed to keep this between him and Cyrus.
"Please just go," Maryanne whispered.
Cyrus grinned. "And what fun would that be? Relax kiddies, I don't want to hurt you guys…well, most of you anyway. I just need Hunter to come with me."
Kaleb growled and stepped in front of his friend. Hunter gulped. if only Kaleb knew the truth about him. He doubted he would want to protect him as much.
"Over my dead body." He hissed.
Cyrus shrugged. "That could be arranged."
He turned to Dr. Chen. "You can use your toys now."
Dr. Chen grinned. "With pleasure."
He held his arm out in front of him and pressed a button on his watch. Silver liquid shot from his watch and covered itself around his body. Soon the liquid solidified itself into a metallic armor. A helmet with a blue computer like visor wrapped around his face.
Dr. Chen had created some kind of techno-knight suit of armor. The man grinned and pointed his wrist towards Kaleb.
A chain made of razor blades shot from his wrist aiming straight for the tall boy.
"Kaleb look out!" Hunter yelled.
Kaleb grunted and jumped in the air, he did a summersault and attached his palms to the ceiling. The chain just nearly missed him, slamming into the wall where Kaleb previously was.
Dr. Chen hissed. "Bastard."
Monica and her cheerleaders pulled out their pom-poms. Razor blades shot from the edges of the colorful mounds. Hunter's jaw dropped in shock. Holy hell. No wonder they brought the pom-poms everywhere. They were weapons. Hunter had to admit this newfound revelation made them ten times hotter and fifteen times more badass.
"Ladies!" Monica yelled.
The girls charged towards Scarlet Overkill. Hunter gulped; her quirk was controlling blood. Including her own. Those girls didn't stand a chance.
"Monica, no!" Hunter yelled.
It was too late; Monica swung her fist and slashed Scarlet Overkill's cheek. For a normal person, blood would have gushed out of her wound. The woman laughed like the pain didn't faze her. The blood dripping from her cut crystalized and shot forward out of her cheek like a dagger. It launched itself from the wound soaring for Monica like a speeding bullet.
Seconds before it made contact a blob of water slammed into Monica, knocking the girl off her feet. The water began to reshape itself into a crying girl. Maryanne.
"Are we under attack?" Maryanne yelped.
Monica rolled her eyes. "What the hell do you think?"
Cyrus shrugged. "We don't have to kill any of you. Well except for Kaleb, I promised Dr. Chen he could experiment with him. I may be a villain, but I never break a promise. Just give us my son and we'll be out of here."
The color drained from Maryanne's face. "Did you say son?" She blurted.
Hunter gulped. There were going to know everything. Cyrus grinned and turned to Hunter.
"Are you going to tell them, or should I?" He asked.
Nine Years Ago:
"What are you doing here?" Hunter's aunt hissed.
Hunter looked up at his aunt as she argued with his father. The two stood in his aunt's kitchen, both of them dressed in fine black clothes.
"Hunter belongs with me." His father hissed.
Hunter turned to look at his cousin Rikido, the boy was currently drawing in the coloring book his father gave him. Hunter wished he had a father like Rikido's. Rikido's dad always had a smile on his face, Hunter's father seemed to make everyone miserable.
"I promised his mother before she died that we would raise him." She hissed.
"Do you think my dad is going to take me back to China with him?" Hunter asked his cousin.
RIkido frowned. "That's not fair! My dad said we were going to get bunk beds."
Hunter turned to look at the two adults fighting.
"Bless Yui's soul, but I'm not going to let you raise my son." He snapped.
"Like you're in any condition to be a father! A fake Chinese man always pretending to be an American. How are you going to support your son with your gambling debt! Last time I checked you are still unemployed." She yelled.
Hunter frowned. What was gambling? Rikido's parents always said his father had a problem, yet he was unable to find out what it meant to have a gambling problem. His mother never spoke about his father much. She just told him he was a Chinese man that liked Western movies.
"I am his father! Hunter is moving back with me to Florida and that's the end of the story." He hissed.
His aunt growled. "His name is Akira! It's the name his mother gave him. Akira Sato! Do you really think she would take your filthy last name?"
Now:
"You're not my father." Hunter spat.
Cyrus was nowhere close to his father. Hunter growled, all this talk about his past was pulling out painful memories. Memories he had been fighting all his life to keep buried down. His mother died of cancer when he was a boy. He was going to move in with his aunt and uncle, the latter being his mother's brother. However legally speaking his father had control of him, and didn't hesitate to take him out of the country.
Things were good for the most part. His father wasn't a strict parent. He let him eat all the sugary snacks he wanted, let him watch R Rated movies, and didn't bat an eye when Hunter started smoking.
Life was fine until his father met Cyrus.
"I'm as close to a father you're ever going to get." Cyrus chuckled.
Kaleb turned to look at Hunter. "Tell me he's lying. Tell me you don't know this guy."
"It's not that simple," Hunter said through gritted teeth.
Kaleb frowned. "You've been lying to all of us haven't you!"
He took a step closer towards Hunter. Two sets of angry eyes peered down at the boy.
"He knew we were at the Black Church. The only people that could have known were our teachers, Hell-Priest, and the rest of our classmates. Is that a coincidence?" Kaleb demanded.
Maryanne gulped. "Guys I don't think this is the time to talk about this."
Hunter growled. Kaleb didn't understand. He didn't know why he was in this situation. He didn't know what he had to do.
"Get out of my face Kaleb," Hunter said calmly.
Cyrus smirked. "What a show, you guys might tear each other apart before I have to do anything."
Hunter frowned and looked at the man. "I hate you."
Cyrus rolled his eyes. "Is this what you say to the man that's fed you, gave you a place to live, and paid for all of your expenses? I'm a pretty good fake dad."
Hunter hated to admit it, but Cyrus was a better father than his real one. Once you take away the manipulative psychopath out of him he would probably would have been a great person.
"For weeks I've grown close to you. I treated you like a brother." Kaleb said quietly.
He looked up at Hunter with a look he could only describe as pain.
"Why would you betray us for him." Kaleb hissed.
Hunter sighed. "Because I had too." He said in a quiet voice.
Two Years Ago:
"Kid you and I both know you don't have any money," Melvin said.
Hunter groaned. Melvin owned the local convenience store. Word on the street was that he would often lend some food to the homeless youth. Granted Hunter wasn't homeless, however with his father's habit of gambling with the rent money.
"Come on you know I'm good for it." Hunter frowned.
Melvin, ever the skeptic, snorted. "Kid, I know who your father is. You're not good for anything."
The words hit Hunter's head like a bullet. It was the truth. Half of Miami knew what the kind of person his father was, and it made it harder for him to get close to people. No one wanted to hang out with the town's screw up.
"Fine, be that way." Hunter frowned.
He growled and marched out of the store. What bullshit. Why was he automatically seen as a failure just because his father was one?
The streets were quiet for the most part. This particular area was under the control of gang leaders. They may have been criminals, but they wanted order in their streets, in their eyes the only people causing mayhem should be them. They ruled with an iron fist, pro heroes tended to stay away from them. If only they prepared for Victoria Crown.
The first time Hunter saw Victoria he could tell she didn't belong in his neighborhood. It wasn't just her expensive clothing, it was the way she walked. Like royalty. Two other girls flocked by her side. Although they seemed pretty and wealthy, but next to her they looked like the Hunchback of Norte Dame.
While Hunter's neighborhood wasn't necessarily crime-ridden, most people had the sense not to show off their expensive stuff.
A bright silver chain encrusted with diamonds dangled from Victoria's neck.
"Fuck," Hunter growled.
Those girls had no idea what they were in for. Almost as if someone read his mind, a black SUV pulled up right next to the girls. The trio stopped and turned to face the car. Slowly the window rolled down, revealing Birdman.
The name probably seemed a little on the nose, but given the fact, the criminal literally had the head of a bird it fit. Although from the shoulders up he had the physique of a bird, the rest of his body was human. It was incredibly muscular and covered in tattoos.
"Y'all must not be from around here." He snickered.
The other two girls went pale. Victoria raised an eyebrow.
"We aren't. Is there a problem?" She asked.
He chuckled. "No problem. I don't harass schoolgirls. Just give me y'all purses and that chain around your neck and I'll be on my way."
Victoria laughed. She genuinely laughed. Why was she not scared?
The other two girls nodded slowly. Their bodies trembled as they handed over their purses to Birdman.
"Good girls." He grinned.
His eyes went to Victoria. "What about you little mama?"
"You're trying to rob me? You're such a cliché. I get that you probably have daddy issues that caused you to turn to a life a crime and mask your insecurity with this paper-thin wall of masculinity, but I'm not the one for you to try and play these games with. So I suggest you take your broke ass car, and get out of my face." Victoria scoffed.
Hunter was ashamed to admit that she had ten times more courage than him.
Birdman growled. "You think I won't blow your brains out bitch?"
"Victoria just give him the necklace!" One of her friends yelled.
Victoria smirked and took a step closer. "I'm the bitch? Which one of us is robbing teenage girls? The way I see it you're a punk-ass wannabee gangster who's quick on their way to being someone's prison bitch. I hope you know after this I'm going to report you. I'm sure the boys in the yard are going to love your feathers."
Birdman snarled and hopped out of the car. He reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun.
"Try me!" He yelled.
Victoria chuckled. Was this girl on crack?
"You just gave up your element of surprise. Since you carry a gun, I can assume your quirk is weak. I'm supposed to be scared of someone with a weak quirk? Add this to the long list of reasons why you're going to be somebody's prison wife." She said.
Birdman howled and pointed the gun at Victoria.
"I'll fucking kill you." He yelled.
Victoria growled and took a step closer to the gun. She must be insane. Why was she willing to die over this?
"If you think you're scary, you should come to my house for dinner. Pull the trigger." Victoria snarled.
Hunter frowned. This girl was going to get herself killed. Why wasn't she scared?
"Birdman!" Hunter yelled.
Hunter was walking over to the scene before he could even stop himself. What was he doing? He didn't have to play hero. He wasn't going to die for some girl he didn't even know.
Yet here he was, walking over to the scene as if he wasn't scared to die.
"Little Sato, what are you doing over here?" Birdman asked.
Hunter gulped. That was a good question. Victoria looked at him expectantly. He wished he had an answer.
"Um…well…I mean it's obvious she's not from around here. Why don't you just leave her alone?" Hunter asked.
Victoria raised an eyebrow, while Birdman busted out into a fit of laughter.
"Are you serious?" He chuckled.
He aimed the gun at Hunter's head. "Why don't I just blow both of your heads off."
"Okay, that's it." Victoria snarled.
She held out her palm and a tendril of black energy shot from her fingertips, wrapping around the man's neck. With amazing strength, Victoria spun around and flipped the chain sending the man crashing into the concrete. Birdman yelled in pain. Blood coated his feathers.
"What the hell?" He hissed.
Victoria smirked and flipped the chain in the opposite direction, Birdman's body went sailing into his windshield. It shattered as soon as his heavy body made contact, causing Hunter to wince. He could only imagine the pain the man was in.
Victoria growled and took a step closer to Birdman's bruised body. "Let's make something clear jackass. I don't care who you do your little criminal games with, but keep in mind some people fight back."
With that, she grabbed her purse and walked away, her two friends nervously following behind. Just as she was halfway out of the neighborhood the girl stopped and turned to look at Hunter. Her dark brown eyes met Hunter's silver ones.
God, she was hot.
"You're welcome," Hunter smirked.
Victoria laughed. "Excuse me?"
"Well, I did step in back there." Hunter smiled.
"Which one of us knocked him unconscious?" Victoria asked.
Hunter chuckled. "Well I looked pretty while you did it, so I feel like we both deserve a pat on the back. I'm Hunter Akira Sato."
Victoria smiled. "Victoria Crown."
Now:
What would Victoria think of him? She would be ashamed. What about Alexander? The only best friend he had ever had, and he betrayed him for Cyrus. He was betraying all of them for Cyrus. This was his fault. He should have told Cyrus no.
Kaleb growled and cracked his knuckles on all six hands. "Because you had too? You're answer to betraying us is because you had too?"
Maryanne shook her head. "Hunter probably has an answer to all of this."
"I don't care what the answer is!" Kaleb yelled.
He turned to Hunter. His eyes almost seemed watery.
"For weeks I've treated you like my closet friend. Was that all an act? Was I just a pawn in Cyrus's game? What about Alexander? Or Lex? We were like brothers." Kaleb sighed.
"Gee Hunter, you really got yourself in a bind." Cyrus chuckled.
Hunter growled and turned to face Cyrus. "Shut up!"
Maryanne gulped. Her already pale skin was now the color of snow.
"There's about what, fifty of us in this gym? I mean not everyone here is in the hero course, but I'm sure some of them have useful quirks? Maybe we could fight them?" Maryanne asked.
Monica scoffed. "As if. Half these kids are morons."
"Cyrus is strong. I don't know his quirk, but he's strong. It would take all fifty of us to just take him." Kaleb sighed.
He turned to look at Hunter. "I don't forgive you for what you did, but Cyrus wants you. I've seen enough movies to know to never give the villain what he wants."
"Me and my girls can take on that old bitch, you guys go after the scientist and Cyrus?" Monica asked.
Maryanne raised an eyebrow. "She nearly killed you."
"Let's see her try that shit again." Monica frowned.
"Dr. Chen wants to fight me, so I might as well give him what he wants. It'll buy the others time to escape." Kaleb said.
Hunter nodded. "I'll back you up."
"No, Hunter you need to get far away from here. If Cyrus wants you it means a part of you is valuable to him. If he gets you, then he wins. All of this is over." Maryanne said.
Hunter shook his head. He couldn't leave them. He was a coward when Cyrus came. He never refused to give him information until it was too late. He let himself become a spy. This was all his fault.
Kaleb
Calm. Stay calm. It was hard to stay calm when Kaleb wanted to pummel Hunter. Not out of anger, but out of hurt. How did he not realize his new best friend was a traitor? Were there signs that he missed?
"Come on! I don't have all night. Give me the boy or we'll kill you to get to him." Cyrus taunted.
Kaleb gulped and turned to look at Maryanne. She nodded hesitantly. They would have to take care of this.
"Hunter…run!" Kaleb yelled.
With that he charged towards Dr. Chen, he jumped into the air delivered a high kick to the man's faceguard. Dr. Chen grunted and stumbled backward. Dr. Chen pointed his fist towards Kaleb and another chain shot from his air.
Kaleb yelped and cartwheeled out of the way. The boy growled and used his new momentum to grab the chain. Using all six of his hands he tugged on the chain yanking it forward. Dr. Chen groaned as his body was roughly dragged towards Kaleb's.
With one swift motion, Kaleb swung his fist towards the man's jaw. His head flew backward, producing a soft popping sound. His armor was still intact. Whatever material it was made out of must have been damn near impenetrable.
"I've been studying you, Kaleb." He smiled.
Dr. Chen swung his knee into Kaleb's stomach, causing the boy to gasp. The scientist smiled.
"Such a promising specimen. Cyrus promised I could run some tests on you." He purred.
Kaleb gulped. He didn't like how Dr. Chen was looking at him. Like was a lab rat. Another mutant he could play with. He stared at him the same way everyone else in Kaleb's life stared at him. The weird kid with the extra arms and eyes. Add the fact that he was six foot seven and black, the whole world had seen him as a beast.
A mutant who was just a genetic deformity.
Kaleb growled and punched the man in the chest. Dr. Chen grimaced, judging by his expression his armor must have absorbed some of the blow but not enough for him not to feel pain.
"Sorry doc, but I don't think I'm not going to be available for your science experiments. Don't take it personally." Kaleb grunted.
He rapidly delivered a series of punches doing different combinations with different fists. Dr. Chen growled and rolled under the last punch. He pointed his free hand towards Kaleb and a clear mist sprayed from his gauntlets.
Kaleb gagged and stumbled backwards. The mist reeked. It was like a mixture of burning hair and a sewer. The smell invaded every pore of his body, making Kaleb itch. He desperately felt the urge to shower.
"That little concoction is a little formula I've been working on. A little insecticide mixed with some coffee beans and a couple of extra pheromones for a smell. The insecticide and coffee should attack the spider side of your DNA and the smell is meant to trigger the monkey side of your DNA. It took a lot of work to perfect this mist. To a normal human, this is harmless, but to someone with your genes, it could probably kill you. Well, that part's uncertain. It's still in the testing phases. I guess we'll see if it works." Dr. Chen grinned.
Kaleb gulped. Did he say kill him? Suddenly Kaleb's skin felt clammy. Beads of sweat began to cover his body. The smell. The smell was everywhere. How was everyone acting like everything was fine? He couldn't even breathe with that smell in the room. He gagged. His throat was closing up, he realized. The room around him began to spin causing the boy to stumble.
"Looks like it's working." He chuckled.
Kaleb shook his head. He wasn't going out like this. He saw something metallic flying towards him. He jumped out of the way, his body feeling heavy and sluggish. Another chain flew towards him causing Kaleb to flinch. He tried moving but his legs but they felt stiff.
Another chain flew towards him. No two chains. Or was it three? He was seeing double of everything.
He felt something cold wrap around his neck. He gasped as the grip tightened, practically choking him.
"Now we wait for the fun part." Dr. Chen chuckled.
Maryanne
"Get out of the way." Scarlet Overkill hissed.
Maryanne gulped. "Can't we just talk this out."
"I don't think so." Scarlet Overkill grinned.
She pointed her palms towards Maryanne and a wave of blood shot towards her. Maryanne yelped and transformed into a puddle, the wave of blood soaring over her head.
"Ew." Maryanne gagged.
Maryanne turned back to Scarlet Overkill and growled. She wasn't going to go easy on the girl, so Maryanne would have to hit her with everything she had.
Maryanne willed her arms to turn into boiling hot water. She howled and flung the hot water whips towards the woman. The red-haired woman gasped and held up her hand in defense, a wall of blood-forming to protect her. Maryanne swung the other whip, going for her exposed side however Scarlet Overkill leaped out of the way with ease.
"Is that all you got Maryanne? Cyrus was right when he said you were the most expendable kid in class." She taunted.
Maryanne paused. Expendable? Useless. The words rain down in her head.
"Shut up!" Maryanne yelled.
She charged towards Scarlet Overkill and transformed into a tidal wave. Maryanne howled and flung her watery body towards the woman. Scarlet Overkill laughed. Why was she laughing?
Maryanne gulped. Because she had her right where she wanted her, she realized suddenly.
Scarlet Overkill snapped her fingers and a tsunami of crimson blood slammed into Maryanne's wave. Maryanne yelled in pain. Even though she didn't have the flesh it felt like the blood was burning every pore in her body. Why did the blood hurt so much? She was in her water state.
The blood is diluting my water. Maryanne thought to herself.
"Poor thing you're covered in blood. Let me help you." She grinned.
Scarlet Overkill pointed to the wall and Maryanne's wave went flying with it. Seconds before she was about to make contact her body turned solid and roughly slammed against the wall.
Maryanne yelped as she tumbled to the ground. Her whole body was on fire. Her clothes were soaked in blood. And on top of all of that, she was scared. Maryanne Isla was terrified. Was she going to die? Was this it?
A tugging sensation filled her stomach. Maryanne gagged and leaned over. She was expecting vomit to pour out of her mouth, instead, it was a waterfall of blood.
She shrieked and stumbled backward, slipping into a puddle of blood.
"Poor Maryanne, didn't anyone tell you? I can do more than just control my blood." She said.
She walked over to Maryanne's limp body.
"Now stay still while I kill you." She said.
The rest of Hunter's backstory will be revealed soon, including how he ended up working for Cyrus.
