In the Presence of Mine Enemies
If anyone causes one of these children to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.
-Jesus of Nazareth, The Gospel of Mark
Consciousness crept up on Izuku slowly, his head pounding and a feeling of dizziness and nausea washing over him. He groaned softly, shifting and moving.
"It's ok. Here. Drink this."
Something was pressed against Izuku's lips, and he coughed and sputtered, but sucked down the liquid anyway. It turned out to be simple water, and with a gasp and groan, his eyes fluttered open. He found the concerned face of Eri, peering down at him.
"You shouldn't have made daddy angry. When he gets angry, he hurts things," she said quietly.
Izuku closed his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek. "He hurts you, doesn't he."
"Only if I'm bad," Eri whispered. "But I'm not bad anymore. Not since he explained to me how I can be the good guy. Like you."
"No one should hurt you, Eri, you're just a little girl." Izuku moaned, and slowly sat up. He looked around, blinking. He was in a dimly lit room, the only illumination was a small nightlight. But it was easy enough to see where he was: in Eri's bedroom. The bed Izuku was curled up on had pink sheets with a distinctive pattern. After a moment, Izuku spread it out, and found Mei's face, complete with goggles, staring up at him. He felt sick.
He looked around the room, with its shelves and dressers, and saw himself looking back. Action figures. Books. A model of the Ultra Armor with a Mei doll riding in it. This girl worshipped Izuku and Mei, and they had failed her.
"Eri, I'm so sorry. I should have saved you," Izuku said, reaching a hand out to touch her. She jerked away, looking frightened.
"I am safe! Daddy keeps me safe! Don't touch me! I might...I might disappear you! I...I'm a monster!" Eir turned away, sobbing softly.
With a grunt of pain for his aching head, Izuku climbed out of the bed and put his arms around Eri. She gasped and tried to pull away, but he didn't let her even with only one arm. "You're just a little girl. I'm not afraid of you, Eri. Your daddy, no, Chisaki, he's hurting you, isn't he? When was the last time someone touched you?"
Eri started to tremble and tried to push Izuku away. "When I made my old daddy disappear! I don't-"
"Shh. It's OK. I'm a hero, remember? I'll save you, Eri. I promise. I'll take you somewhere where no one will ever hurt you again," Izuku promised.
Eri sagged against Izuku, the fight going out of her. "But daddy has to hurt me. I was bad. And...and that's how we'll make the quirks go away."
Izuku felt himself stiffen, then began to rock and hum, like Mei did. "Shh. It's OK. Quirk's aren't bad, Eri, not even yours. I've always wanted a quirk, you know? I always wished I could have one, growing up."
"But why? Quirks are bad. They're dirty, like me," Eri said, her voice muffled as she buried her face in Izuku's torn and stained shirt. "That's why daddy has to make me clean."
Izuku looked down, and his stomach turned as he saw the bandages all over Eri's body. She was dressed only in a smock now, and he could clearly feel the damage all over her arms, legs, and chest. "He's doing something to you?"
Eri nodded, sniffing. "He makes the medicine to make people better. To get rid of their quirks. He needs me to do it. My blood, and skin, and stuff."
Rage started to burn away in Izuku's gut. He had thought Chisaki a good man. Someone who had taken in an orphan rejected by the world. Someone trying to reform themselves, to make the world a better place. But that wasn't what was going on at all.
"You're not dirty, Eri. Hey, look at me."
Eri looked up at Izuku, flinching slightly. He raised his hand, gently cupping her face. "You're beautiful, just the way you are. There's nothing wrong with you. You just need to learn how to control your quirk, because you're so strong. But don't ever let anyone tell you you're worthless. People told me that my entire life, because I didn't have a quirk. Do you think I'm worthless?"
Eri quickly shook her head. "No! You're of the good heroes. You're clean. You're quirkless. Not like one of the other ones!"
"Eri, you know Mei used to have a quirk, right?" Izuku asked gently.
That made Eri freeze. "No...no she can't! She can't be like me! She's a good girl! Her daddy doesn't have to hurt her, because she's clean!"
"Quirks aren't dirty, Eri. Do you remember Shinso? Iida? Do you think they're bad because they have quirks? They were nice, right?"
"Y-yes," Eri whispered, tears trickling down her face. "B-but t-they were dirty, they were bad, because, because…"
"People aren't dirty because they have quirks, Eri. You're not dirty because you have a quirk. You're just a little girl. No one should hurt you, not ever."
"What if I'm bad?" Eri whimpered, shoving Izuku away and crawling across the bed to the end. "What if I make someone disappear again?"
Izuku swallowed. "Then...then I'll help you. I'll make everything OK. I'll take you somewhere you can be safe, where you'll have a daddy who loves you, and a mommy who will help you when you're scared."
That seemed to get through to Eri. "I...I miss my mommy...But...but she said...she said…"
"Shhh. It's OK," Izuku said, drawing close to Eri and wrapping her in another hug. "I'll save you, Eri. Chisaki will never hurt you again,"
"Promise?" Eri asked, her voice shaking. "Daddy's really strong. I don't want him to be angry at me."
"I promise, Eri. No matter what, I'll-"
The door opened, and a switch flipped on, flooding the room with bright light. Izuku tucked Eri close to him, trying to shield her with his body as he squinted at the figure looming in the door.
"I thought I told you not to touch him," Chisaki growled. He no longer wore his business suit, instead wearing an odd beaked mask and a purple feathered mantle, making him look like a humanoid raven.
"Daddy I'm sorry! I'll be good, I promise, I didn't-"
"She was crying. I'm the one who hugged her. She tried to pull away. Seems like no one's touched her in a long time," Izuku snarled, standing slowly and pushing Eri behind him. She sobbed and ran to her bed, hiding under the covers as if Mei's image could protect her.
"That's foolish. You've seen what she can do. She's dangerous. A menace. A reflection of what is to come, if quirks are not eliminated from this world," Chisaki said, stepping into the room.
Izuku fell into a fighting stance, raising his arm.
"Oh don't be idiotic," Chisaki tisked. He held up one hand. It was ungloved. "With my quirk, I could end you with a touch. Such power, it shouldn't be held by any man. Not even me. Eri knows that. Don't you?"
"Yes, daddy," Eri whimpered, a quivering lump under the covers.
Chisaki chuckled. "Don't worry. Daddy's in a good mood. At last, everything's coming together. You'll get some ice cream for this."
"No ice cream," Eri said, her face peeking out from under her blankets.
"What? But you love ice cream," Chisaki growled.
"Don't hurt Power Suit. Please, daddy?"
"Oh, that. Don't worry. Daddy has big plans for Izuku Midoriya. Big plans indeed." Chisaki turned to Izuku. "Come. It is time you saw the world we can create together."
Reluctantly, Izuku left, looking back at Eri. "I'll be back for you. I promise," he said just as the door shut behind him.
"A foolish promise," Chisaki said with a shake of his head. "She's a menace, Midoriya. A tool to be used to further our ends. Besides, she's happy enough now."
Izuku didn't argue. "Tell me exactly what you're doing here."
"You seem to have already sussed out at least part of the truth. Or at least, the timing of your partner's exit from our earlier meeting was serendipitous," Chisaki said, turning and walking down the hall, his thugs trailing behind them.
"The drugs are yours," Izuku said, matching his pace to walk beside Chisaki. "You engineered them to amplify quirks at first, then damage or even destroy them."
"That is correct. Of course, they were very similar to the drugs the Americans have been making and selling, At first glance, it's a standard derivation of Trigger, though it's not as powerful as what the Americans can produce."
"But yours is different, it's not just Trigger," Izuku said. "That's why the MLA was seizing your drug shipments, fighting your goons. How Kurono got captured: it wasn't just a turf war, it was a war of ideology."
"Indeed. And it's a war I hope to have your support in," Chisaki stated.
"I'll never help a monster like you," Izuku snarled, unable to contain his anger and frustration at the thought of Eri's panicked sobs.
Chisaki nodded, looking down at his gloved hands. "I am still a monster; unclean. Mine shall be the last quirk to die. When the work is done, when the world is cleansed of quirks once and for all, then I too shall drink of my own cup, and purge this scourge from the world."
"You're just like the MLA!" Izuku spat.
"I am nothing like those deranged lunatics!" Chisaki hissed, whirling on Izuku, his fingers trembling at his side. Izuku took a step back, swallowing. "I seek to bring order! To cleanse this world! They spread only their filthy lies!"
Izuku met Chisaki's eyes. "You're two sides of the same coin."
"Yes...yes perhaps," Chisaki mused, rubbing at his beak-like mask. "But one side brings salvation, and the other? Destruction. We are at opposite ends of the spectrum."
Izuku did not speak. He did not wish to set Chisaki further on edge. He had to wait for Mei and the others. What followed was a twisting series of corridors, and soon Izuku was utterly lost. His sense of direction had never been good, and here in this maze with no real point of reference, he was hopelessly confused.
At last, Chisaki led him into a room with a collection of medical and bioengineering equipment. Izuku recognized centrifuges and microscopes, but there was plenty of other equipment he had no inkling as to the purpose of. Several men and women in lab coats were working quietly, and they bowed to Chisaki as he entered.
One pulled down his face mask and Izuku recognized Kurono. "Yes, boss?"
"Just showing our young guest the facilities. Care to explain our work here?" Chisaki said.
"Of course. Come. I shall show you our great work."
Izuku followed Kurono, walking past humming machines and dripping chemicals. "This is the lab where we make our Trigger variant. We call it Overhaul ourselves, in honor of our leader. The drug enhances quirks at first; it's nearly as potent as the American version of the drug. But as it does so, well, there's a side effect."
"The drug works using a substance we've synthesized from Eri's own DNA: at first, it speeds up the production of QF, also known as Quirk Factor, by the QR.16 genes in the subject's body. This enhances their quirk, making it more powerful."
"If the user takes only a single dose, usually that's all the drug does. But it's highly addictive for most users: they need more. And so they take a second dose, and a third. Few take more than three. The drug slowly builds up in their system, and as it does so, it becomes more potent. Finally, it reaches a critical threshold, and the secret compound activates."
"This compound, based on Eri's quirk, attacks the QR.16 gene. It erases the subject's quirk, removing it from their body."
"But it kills people!" Izuku protested. "It doesn't just remove their quirks!"
"It mostly kills those who's quirks dramatically alter their physiology in some way," Kurono explained. "Heteromorphic types, or mutants. Their bodies try to revert to baseline humans, but they have alien organs and biochemistry, and they end up dying as a result as their own body eats itself alive. A fitting end to such deviants."
A chill ran through Izuku. Heteromorphic type quirks were by far the most common. Mei. Hari. Ashido. Shoji. Tsu. Ojiro. Hagakure. Jiro. Shiro. Iida. All were heteromorphic quirk users. If this drug got into their system, it could kill them.
"But the drug only works on people who take it," Izuku found himself saying. "You can't hope to destroy the quirks of everyone with just that."
"We thought about putting it in the water supply," Kurono said with a shrug. "That could work. But we'd need too large a quantity."
"That's what we need you and Hatsume for," Chisaki explained. "We're at a dead end. Perhaps a genetically engineered plague. Or an aerosol drug that could be dispersed over wide areas. I'm not picky. But if you could come up with something, we could end the MLA. And then quirks, all over the world. Think of it! The Earth as it should be, once more! Humanity as it was meant to be! Not headed down this evolutionary dead end the MLA thinks will bring salvation."
"But you both have quirks! Aren't you worried that you'll lose yours?" Izuku said, trying desperately to stall for time.
"A sacrifice I am willing to make," Kurono said with a shrug. "Better than the chaos that is inevitable if humanity continues down this path."
"Don't you see, Midoriya?" Chisaki demanded. "We are trying to save the world! To prevent the Quirk Singularity, to return humanity to their proper course!"
"Maybe," Izuku said, looking about and trying to find a way to stall for time. This was madness. "But drugs? I mean, that can only get us so far. And those bullets can only administer one dose at a time."
Chisaki looked to Kurono. "Show him. Show him how we make my masterpiece."
"Right this way." Kurono led them to a locked back room. He keyed in a combination, and they were taken inside of a small chamber, which held a locked safe. Kurono spun the dial, then opened the safe. Inside were half a dozen small cases, one of which Kurono retrieved and opened. It contained eight bullets.
"You showed me these already," Izuku said, puzzled. "How is this any different than the drugs?"
"These are nothing like the drug," Kurno explained. "That takes time to work. But inside of these is a needle, which delivers a shot of the pure, concentrated substance we derive from Eri's cells."
"One hit from this, and a person's quirk is gone forever. Their own DNA re-written," Chisaki said, taking out a bullet and holding it up to the light. "It won't even kill a mutant type. I've put a little something of myself in these. It remakes their entire body. A painful process, but, well. Perhaps it is best if you see. Let's test the latest batch on the prisoner."
"Prisoner?" Izuku asked, his blood running cold.
"Not one of your friends," Chisaki chuckled. "From, shall we say, a rival of ours."
"The MLA?" Izuku guessed as they led him out of the laboratory.
"No, but close. We offered to ally with this group, for they too want to shatter society. But, well, I suppose they too are corrupted by their lust for quirks. You will see."
Izuku followed Chisaki to a room guarded by the men who had brought back the men who had been tailing Mei.
"Rappa. Tengai. How fares our prisoner?" Chisaki asked as they approached.
"Mouthy as ever," the giant, Rappa, complained.
"He is quiet at the moment. He seems to have run out of energy after his last 'playtime' with Rappa," Tengai said with a sigh.
"Bastard didn't even put up a proper fight," Rappa grumbled.
"You didn't kill him, did you?" Chisaki asked, his tone suddenly full of menace.
"No! I swear! Just roughed him up a little, like you said boss!" Rappa said, stepping back, his voice full of fear.
"Hmph. Very well. Open the door," Chisaki ordered.
"Sure boss. You throwing in the one armed runt?" Rappa asked as he hurriedly fished out a key. "He wouldn't put up much of a fight, not without that arm or that suit of his."
"No, he's an honored guest. I wish to show him what the future holds. We won't have need of your playmate for much longer, Rappa," Chisaki said as the door swung open.
Inside lay a man Izuku recognized only from his friends' descriptions.
"Spinner?" Izuku asked, stepping back from the green skinned lizard man. His face was battered and bruised, but he still wore the same outfit: A red scarf and a black mask, similar to those the Hero Killer Stain had worn.
Spinner looked up, frowning. "Well, they got you too, huh? Shit. If these assholes are capturing heroes now, what the hell chance do I have of getting rescued?"
"None at all," Chisaki said.
Kurono took out a gun, then removed a single quirk destroying bullet from the case. He checked the slide of the gun and clip to ensure it was empty, then placed the bullet inside.
"Finally. Getting sick of getting beat up every day," Spinner wheezed. "I'm already broken, but my comrades in arms will come for you, yakuza. You will rue the day you crossed the League of Villains."
"This won't do," Chisaki sighed. "He's too injured for this to be a proper show." Removing one glove, Chisaki reached out to touch Spinner, who gasped and shied away though he had not flinched from the gun. But Chisaki touched the rival villain's arm, and Spinner vanished to mist. But then Chisaki passed his hand back over the mist, and it reformed into Spinner. Now, however, his bruises were gone, and he was whole and healthy.
"What the-" Spinner said, looking down at his hands in shock. Before he could recover though, Kurono fired.
Spinner screamed in pain, then kept right on screaming. His body began to extrude a green mist as his skin seemed to boil. Izuku jerked back in horror, but then leaned forward in sudden morbid fascination. Out of the slimy goop, a man emerged. A young teen with dark black hair and the shadow of a mustache and beard on his face. His eyes were dark brown, and his skin a natural pale color of someone from old Japan.
"What...what have you done to me?" Spinner gasped, looking down at his hands in horror.
"Hose him off," Chisaki ordered as he turned and left. "Clean him up. I want his body to be clearly recognizable when we start sending bits of it to The League of Villains. They will know the price of crossing the Shie Hassaikai. And get me something to wash my hands with!"
Izuku glanced back one more time at the quivering man on the floor, then hurried after Chisaki after a glance from Kurono, leaving behind the sobbing wreck of a man who had once been Spinner.
After Tengai brought Chisaki a basin and soap to wash in along with a clean white towel, Chisaki looked up, drying his hands then tugging his gloves back on. "I can't stand the mess that makes. I can't stand uncleanliness. Filth. It disgusts me. As do all quirks."
"Yes boss," Rappa said. "Sorry boss."
"Do not apologize. You will be cleansed in due time," Chisaki assured his subordinate. "Then you will be able to prove once and for all it is you, not your quirk, that makes you the strongest of fighters."
"You're damn right!" Rappa snarled. "We'll prove who the real men are! Not the quirks, but the people inside!"
"Once more, harmony will be restored to the world," Tengai agreed. "We shall walk along the Eightfold Path once more, free of impurity."
Izuku shuddered. These people, they were all insane. In a different way than the MLA, but insane nonetheless. They dreamed of a mad, impossible world. Quirks were a part of this world now. Izuku did not want to play God: he'd known jealousy, and it had taken a great deal of pain for him to become satisfied with who he was. But he'd seen Mei's pain when she lost her quirk. He wouldn't wish that on anyone.
"I'll return you to Eri's room now," Chisaki said. "You seem fond of her. There, you will compose a message to Hatsume. You will tell her to go to the location you specify. My men will retrieve her from there. She will not be harmed. You will help me forge a new world, free of quirks. I even promise to spare your friends. Their quirks will be removed, of course, but they can use your gear to become heroes in the new world."
"I see," Izuku said, his heart heavy.
"And if you fail to comply, I will not do anything to you. You're the noble sort. You'd view punishment inflicted upon yourself as a heroic sacrifice. No, I'll punish Eri. And tell her you could not save her."
A lump grew in Izuku's throat. "And Mei?"
"Will be treated well. You two can share quarters. I find the very idea of sexual intercourse to be revolting, but I am benevolent. You two can mate every hour of the day you're not working on perfecting my cure for all I care. Whatever you desire will be given. Do well enough, and perhaps we can even cure Eri, and I will no longer need to hurt her. You can keep her as a pet. I'm sure she'd enjoy it."
Izuku didn't say anything at first, but when Chisaki glared at him, he nodded. "I understand."
"Good. Then do the smart thing and follow my commands. When the new day dawns, you will be heralded as the greatest hero to ever live: the savior of mankind. Isn't that what you want?"
Izuku nodded mutely. He wanted nothing of the sort, but he knew arguing would result in either Chisaki hurting him, or worse, Eri.
But he would never lure Mei here.
Chisaki put him in Eri's room and closed the door. The little girl ran to him, throwing her arms about him. "Daddy isn't mad?"
"Not at you," Izuku said, smiling. "Good news, Eri. I'm going to be your new big brother. I'll take care of you."
Eri gasped. "You mean it?"
"Yes," Izuku whispered, pulling her close. "Fear not. For I am here."
And he began to rock and hum, singing softly to Eri as he wept.
Now, it was Mei's turn to be a hero.