hello hello FedoraBread here! welcome to A Stranded Man. there might be a handful of you that noticed, and i mean a handful, that i deleted my previous story. the reason is, i decided to rewrite it. then i rewrote that piece and came up with this! i think this is better than the previous one, but i dunno tell me what you think.
also some notes here, this is not a self-insert. the oc's here are my creation and from a comic of mine. BNHA belongs to Kouhei Horikoshi.
word count: 11,582
The multiverse is a vast expanse of universes and worlds. Some are benevolent and gentle, while some are dreadful and unforgiving, and some are in between.
In a world where magic and technology thrive hand-in-hand, four individuals managed to take a glimpse of what it is within a fraction of a second. These individuals are not gods, but rather curious and intellectual minds who used a relic of their world's past to create a new type of magic that could help the people in a way.
During one of their experiments, an accident occurred that caused the ancient relic to release a burst of energy that made them see the multiverse in all its glory and atrocity.
Shaken by the experience, the four of them thought it was simply a hallucination and, with hesitance, completed their original plan and created what they dubbed Space Magic. A new type of magic that is capable of manipulating space and gravity, it also comes with the aspect of teleportation, which is something that can make transportation easier.
With the profit they made and backing from one of their friends in the group, they decided to build their own company as the sales of their inventions were getting high. Soon, they incorporated Space Magic as one of the selective lessons on both Warrior and Mage classes in every school in their nation, and not long after that, the whole world.
However… one of them looked back at the accident that happened and decided to look into it. For months on end, he came up with some theories and hypotheses. What he discovered made him realize that it wasn't a fluke and that the multiverse was indeed real.
Without thinking, he began to draw equations on how to travel between these universes. Not long after that, he stumbled on a block. He needs his friends' help on this, besides, the base magic that will be used is Space Magic, something that they all created together.
Inside their own warehouse where they conducted their experiments, the four friends garbed in white lab coats worked about.
One of them who was overlooking a holographic screen is best described as handsome. Combed blonde hair, kind blue eyes, unblemished skin, and a five o'clock shadow. Truly the face of a prince. Well, the guy is a prince, after all. The man who gave most of the funding on their projects, including this one.
"Hey, Jerry, can you check if this is all right?" the prince passes a tab from his holographic screen to a man with plain black eyes behind round, coke-bottle glasses, and shaggy brown hair who was rapidly typing on a computer as it pinged. This was the man who started all of this. Including the initiative of making Space Magic. He clicked on the notification and read through the data.
"Thanks, Archie!" Archie smiled and sat on a chair next to him, continuing, "With this, the algorithm is complete."
He spared a nervous glance at the other two who are working within a large metal contraption that resembles a crate, their hands covered in white runes that encircled their wrists as they waved it around and muttered under their breaths.
"Uh, Nate, Eli, are you guys done?"
The only woman in the group crossed her arms under her well-endowed chest and sighed, the glowing runes dying out. She has a curvaceous figure with short black hair and sharp ruby eyes that showed signs of exhaustion, though her face remained stoic.
"We just finished." she said, "Magic boards are good. Nate and I double and triple-checked."
Nate, who wore a worn gray fedora that rests atop kept black hair with green highlights at the tips and green irises, smiled as he rubbed his hands together as the runes slowly disappeared. The continued use of magic numbed his arms. He took a breath and exhaled, giving the brunette a thumbs-up.
"Yup! We happy over here, dude!" his reply contrasting the energy Eli gave off.
Jerry nodded as the two made their way behind them and began typing on his computer, implementing the algorithm made by Archie and finally the execution code. Finger hovering over the Enter key, he stopped.
Eli noticed this and scoffed, heard by the rest of the boys, "Finally seeing how stupid and dangerous this whole plan is, little guy? Right when we are this close you're backing out now?" she cocked her hips to the side as she continued, nodding her head towards the man with the hat, "What happened to Jerry who was hell-bent on persuading the both of us that this whole operation can also be beneficial?"
A tick appeared on the brunette's forehead. He remembered all the embarrassing things he did just to gain the woman's favor. "N-No, just… nervous is all." Is what he managed to get out.
This whole operation is indeed dangerous, which is the reason he needed the brains and magic expertise of his friends to leave no stone unturned. Failure could lead to catastrophic events ranging from destroying the leyline to ripping the fabric of reality itself. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he finally pressed the key.
The four watched as their newest project, 'the Gate', slowly came to life. However, the surrounding computers beeped and Jerry looked with apprehension as it showed that the mana levels were rising. The Gate suddenly emits a few sparks of white energy as the group felt it and held their heads, barring Nate who only grunts and averts his eyes. To say that the feeling was nauseating was an understatement. Their brains ached and their heart palpitate as the Gate continued to excrete the essence.
"Shit." Archie hissed, "So this is what pure mana feels like…"
Everyone agreed, and though the greenette has developed resistance to it, he still doesn't like it. It was like eating raw meat.
Typing a few codes, Jerry felt his dinner rising and immediately held his mouth. The Gate sputtered a few times as the mana slowly died down, emitting a swirl of blue mist with some sparks here and there. It was the telltale sign of Space Magic's portals. The group took a collective breath of relief, the sensation is finally gone.
After a few seconds of staring at the machine, cautious as to if there may be some aftershocks, they jumped and cheered as they hugged one another for a job well done.
"Yes!" cheered the brunette, "It worked! It actually worked!"
They separated as Jerry sat down in front of the computer and began to work, the rest gathering around him.
"The next thing we need is to find a world that the Gate can connect with, yeah?" asked Archie, giving the machine a few wary glances.
"Yup. But I'll be narrowing down the searches to a world that is somewhat similar to ours so that the bridge will be easier."
Typing a few commands, the screen began its search. The four moved to a table nearby where a hologram is shown with multiple spheres that represent the alternate worlds. It rapidly search throughout the spheres until it stopped on a world that was designated as KH-1120-0704.
Jerry clapped once and then pointed at the small sphere, "That's our target. It's the closest one we could find."
"Is there anything we need to know about it? Like, can you breathe over there and stuff?" asked Archie.
The brunette waved his hand as the rest of the hologram dispersed leaving the chosen world alone. With a snap of his fingers, a panel appeared next to it that showed some information about the world.
Reading through the info, he nodded and turned to his friends, "Well, it is habitable. And like I said with the condition when we searched for a world, this one is quite similar to ours."
"In what ways?"
He looked at the holographic screen once more and relayed the info, "It has leylines, which are essential for the connection of the Gate. It also seems like the inhabitants have some form of magic."
Archie held his chin in thought, nodding, "I see. I suppose we should expect contact who would fight back on our level if they see us as threats."
"True. We need to be cautious but be prepared in the event of conflict if it rises." Jerry agreed.
As the two conversed, Eli shifted uncomfortably, giving worried glances at their hat-wearing companion, who has his hands behind his back with that small everlasting smile on his face.
She nudged the dark green-haired man with her elbow as he turned to her and gave a questioning hum.
"Are you sure you wanted to be the one to go there?"
Nate simply chuckled and nodded, "Yeah, I am. No mean to brag, but I am the one with the highest resistance to mana radiation, a benefit of being a Support class Mage."
The two turned to Jerry who called for them, standing by the machine. "Yo, Nate! Better make some last-minute check-ups. We start in 5."
The man nodded and went to a table with his brown satchel bag waiting for him, Eli trailing behind, and proceeded to check his needed supplies. He continued his conversation with the woman earlier.
"Besides, I am the perfect candidate for this." Eli turned to him, as he counted the reasons, "I'm a doctor, so I can heal myself if I get injured, and let's not forget that I'm a former vigilante, so I have some experience in combat if I need to defend myself."
"I know, but that doesn't make me less worried about you." she sighed and subconsciously held his hand. Nate froze, his smile faltering, "We don't know much about this world that you'll be venturing into, its threats may be bigger than you can chew, so I need you to be safe."
She looked at the man in the eyes, ruby eyes staring at emerald ones, "Nico needs you to be safe. You're the only family he has left. So you better come back, alright?"
"Yes, I know. I'll do my best to do that." His response seems shaky, she thought that maybe his decision is wavering, but she noticed that she was holding his hand. Her cheeks slightly turned red and immediately let go.
'Get a grip, Elise. This is no time for that. Besides,' she glanced at Nate who continued checking his supplies as if like nothing happened, 'he hasn't gotten over his trauma…'
Closing the satchel bag, Nate went to Jerry for the briefing, who was typing on a tablet next to the Gate.
"Alright, I'm good to go," he said to the engineer.
Looking up from his tablet, Jerry gave his long-time friend a pat on the shoulder. They walked to the computers that showed a prompt: Connection Established.
"As you can see, we're already connected to this other world. All that's left is to make a copy of the Gate on that end and initiate the bridge system. I also found out that the leylines from this world are pretty weak but active." Jerry pushed his glasses up and continued, "With that reason alone we'll be under a time limit here. If we go longer than that, the leyline we're connected to will collapse due to overwork; destroying both the leyline and Gate entirely."
"How long do I have?" asked Nate.
"By my calculations around 45 minutes, give or take." Crossing his arm, Jerry began listing down his tasks, "Your main objective is to take down info about its inhabitants, how different they are to us, the state of their lands, and how their magic works. Other than that, feel free to do anything."
Jerry outstretched his arm to the side, and blue runes appeared encircling his wrists as a small earpiece floated towards his open palm and handed it to Nate. He took the device, safely securing it in his ear.
"This will allow you to contact us and vice versa on the other side. I'm about 86% sure that this will work since we haven't tested it on another world." The brunette chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his neck, "It's not 100% but like I always say, If the chance is greater than 0, then it can work."
Noting all the tasks in his mind, he fiddles with the strap of his bag as Jerry left him and went to a table filled to the brim with buttons and switches.
"Generating a copy of the Gate," Jerry announced. Typing on the keyboard, the machine whirred in response and the mist spun rapidly inside. A prompt appeared on his screen showing the progress.
Archie and Eli stood at either side of Nate, the prince nudging his high school friend, "You ready, man? We are about to make history here."
Nate smiled excitedly, "Yeah, I can't wait to tell my brother about this."
Eli chimed in, her stoic facade back on her face, "This is still a classified project, so no word gets out of here until this is deemed successful and approved by the Sages at the Cyber Temple."
"Always the killjoy, huh, Eli?" the doctor deadpanned, "Besides, it's not like Nico can't keep a secret."
"Gate generation complete." Hearing Jerry, the three of them looked at the machine. "Bridge system active… We're good to go."
Glancing at the portal, Jerry looked back at the screen of his computer. The parameters say that it is safe to pass through.
"Alright, Nate, you're up. Remember, you have 45 minutes…"
Nervously grabbing the strap of his bag, he walked towards the entrance. With a flourish of his hand, a purple card appeared with a symbol depicting a jagged swirl. A pre-made splash-type confusion spell, just in case threats are waiting on the other side.
Looking back at his friends who gave him encouraging smiles, he smiled back with a thumbs-up.
"Be back soon!"
Walking through the portal, he disappeared as the mist consumed him.
Sterile.
That's what the mana in this world felt like.
It was refreshing that it felt like he was taking a bath in the waterfalls. Don't get him wrong, it's not like his world's mana is polluted. To put it more into perspective, it felt more like…
"The mana isn't used…"
There is a lot of greenery around him, which made a lot of sense. Most of the leylines grow in forests where nature thrives. It was a good thing too since the Gate would be hidden from view. There isn't any danger that he could sense, so with a flick of his wrist, the confusion card disappeared without a trace.
Opening his bag, he fished out a small white pouch labeled Repellent. He grabbed a handful of its dust as he encircled the large machine and tossed it around its perimeter. That should keep any stray animals from getting to the Gate. Dusting off his hands, he kept all that was left in his bag.
He closed his eyes and focused, taking a feel of the mana around him. Sensing civilization to his left, he looked in the same direction, spying on what looked like a roller coaster and a Ferris wheel in the distance. The leyline they connected to is close to what he assumes is a theme park.
Hearing static from his earpiece, he gave it a tap until he heard the prince's voice.
["Hello? Nate?"]
"Yup, go for Nate. I hear you, Archie."
Nate heard a muffled 'Yes!' in the background, amused as he can clearly picture Jerry pumping his fist knowing that another of his inventions worked. He gotta say, the man is a genius.
The prince chuckled, Nate's guess was probably right. ["So, how is it? Are there any side effects on the transportation?"]
Huffing, he shivered when he remembered the first time they tested the teleportation of Space Magic, "No. Thank goodness there aren't actually."
["Good, good. Now, what do you see?"]
Looking at the attractions once more, he began his trek toward the park. "Like all leylines, I arrived somewhere close to the edge of a forest and am currently walking towards a theme park."
["Really?"]
"Yup. Roller coasters and everything." narrowing his eyes, he saw some stalls with railings behind them in the distance and assumed that was the border of the park. With a puff of blue smoke, he was instantly at the back of one of the stalls and hid.
He peeked around the corner and saw a wide variety of characters. Coming from someone who lives in a magical world where humanoid beasts and fairytale-like creatures such as elves, dwarves, and dragons exist, Nate is used to seeing people who looked like such. But a boy with a literal speech bubble for a head and some guy with cactus-like arms, that got his brows rising to the roof. His green irises slightly glowed as he activated his magic sensor and instantly picked up another thing about the strange magic of these people.
He whispered into the earpiece to prevent someone from hearing him, "Alright, so, uh, I just teleported behind one of the stalls and took a peek to look at the people. And I gotta say, their magic is really interesting and kinda wacky on some people, for a lack of a better word…"
This time, he heard the voice of Jerry, ["Okay, then… We're all ears, man. Fire away."]
"These humans… I don't even know if the inhabitants of this world call themselves humans but… they're just that… humans with strangely specific magic to the point that none have the same one," he whispered.
There wasn't a response for a few moments, but on the other side, his friends were just looking at each other confused.
Looking around, he spotted a public restroom nearby and detected that no one was on the male's side. "There are two things I discovered, but I need to check the other people's magic to confirm it."
["Copy that, Nate. Don't be too inconspicuous."]
"Got it…" Focusing at the entrance of the restroom, he vanished with a puff of blue smoke.
Retreating further into the restroom, he took account of his appearance when he looked in the mirror. Maybe wearing the lab coat would be weird, he thought. He took it off and stashed it inside his bag leaving him in his plaid red shirt and navy jeans. There, much better.
Stepping out of the restroom, he wandered aimlessly while scanning everyone with his magic sensor. Now that he can see them closely, his suspicions were proven true. These people's magic is different from one another but he can classify them into three categories.
Number one is what he would call the Caster class. A very simple one really. As the name suggests, these people need their magic to be cast or activated so they can use it. It is a class that a lot of these people fall into.
Number two is the Mutation class. Unlike the Caster where it needs activation to be used, this doesn't need one because all the Mutation classes have some form of permanent physical alteration that is related to their magic.
Last and not least is number three, the Transfiguration class. Naming it after a spell from his world that has the same effect. It is a combination of both Caster and Mutation classes with its activation method and physical alteration. However, unlike the Mutation class, the Transfiguration class is not permanent due to the activation part.
A girly squeal snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking in the direction of the sound, he found a junior-age boy with curly green hair looking at his notebook with teary eyes, though there was a wide smile plastered on his face. Beside him are who he assumes are his parents.
Looking up from his notebook, the boy bowed deeply towards the pair in front of him, "Thank you for the autographs, Edgeshot!"
Nate raised a brow in surprise. Edgeshot? Who calls themselves that?
Wait a minute…
Did he just understand what the kid said? Now that he can actually pay attention to his surroundings, he can understand what these people are saying. They're speaking Japanese! He can understand them, but not much. It's been 30 years since he last used his mother's native tongue so he might be getting rusty.
Looking back, the kid was already waving at the retreating forms of the supposed Edgeshot, and it seems like he is not alone as he regrouped with a few other people. Internally, he wondered what could spur the kid to take their autographs, but now he noticed that a lot of the people here seems to be greeting him and he could feel a sense of respect from it.
With this basis, he assumed that he was some sort of celebrity. Glancing at Edgeshot and his company, from the looks of it, they are like co-workers who are enjoying their day off and spending time with each other. Eyes glowing, he chanced to take a peek at their magic, and what he found left him bug-eyed.
Qualities of a rabbit, earth manipulation, and flexible body just to name a few. For some reason, theirs appear to be stronger than any of the people here.
This only proves his other theory about their magic. Looking at the man with the flexibility magic and the woman with the rabbit magic, he can tell that they have a lot of muscle.
Unlike in Nate's world where a mage has to train hard to be able to use certain magic and/or spells, here though, the magic and the user work symbiotically. If the user grows so does their magic.
It seems like he has been staring too long as he noticed that the lady with the rabbit magic was eyeing him suspiciously. His body jolted as he walked away with haste, lowering the brim of his hat in embarrassment. That look reminded him of the Warrior Ladies back at Udyr during one of his 'trips'. That 'trips' mean his mission as a vigilante if you still don't get it.
After walking an acceptable amount of distance, he finally slowed his pace and pondered about the findings of this world. Spotting a bench nearby, he sat on it and pulled out a notebook from his bag, writing his discoveries.
He was caught out of his reveries when his earpiece rang. Tapping on it, he heard Jerry's voice.
["Hey, man. How are you doing over there?"]
Nate smiled and replied jovially, "I'm doing great! No threats so far, actually." looking at the people who are enjoying their time in the park, he continued writing, "I'm currently jotting down what I observed. They really are not that different from us, heck, they even speak Japanese!"
["Really? Did you speak with the locals, then? I guess you don't have any problems on that end since ya know."] said Jerry.
His mind wandered back to memory lane, smiling as he remembered the times with his mother, "No, no, no. I just heard what they were talking about and recognized the language."
Closing the notebook, he placed it bag to his bag and stood up, "Well, I'm done writing. I suppose I'll just look around and see what else I could find. How much time do I have left?"
There was a short pause when the engineer replied, ["27 minutes."]
As soon as he ended the call, he shook as a loud boom erupted in the distance. The civilians around him murmured to each other and another boom was heard yet again. A man shouted and pointed up above. There was large debris soaring up in the air and it was coming right towards them!
Instinctively, Nate clasped his hands together causing small sparks of white energy, and ran towards the falling remains. Forming a few hand signs yellow runes wrapped around his wrists as he pushed his palms towards it, creating a large magic circle of the same color.
In the instant the debris and the magic circle collided, it transformed into a thousand harmless sakura petals that floated about.
Tracking where it came from, his body moved automatically and ran towards it. Flicking his hand a green card appeared between his fingers with a symbol depicting a human head with vertical lines across its eyes.
Holding it in front of his face, he whispered as the card glowed and enveloped his body in bright light.
During the age of quirks, there have been theories and studies which suggest that a person's quirk affects their own character or vice versa. Such is the case of one 21-year-old, Imasuji Goto, better known as Muscular. His quirk, Pump Up, allows him to greatly amplify his own muscle fibers, even reaching a point where they can't be contained by his skin. These enhanced muscle fibers exponentially increase all of Goto's physical abilities to a superhuman level.
Due to this reason, he has an insatiable desire for battle. Even going as far as to kill people just because he can. His only wish in life is to live every day causing rampage and bloodshed to his heart's content. That way, he can die with no regrets.
This is why he is currently in this theme park, already causing havoc and carnage in his wake by the entrance with a shit-eating grin on his face, muscle fibers covering his arms. Several bodies littered all around as they swam in their own blood, while some who are somehow alive by miracle tried in vain to crawl away, begging for heroes to arrive.
Speaking of heroes, that is also the reason why he's here. Causing enough trouble in a populated area would spring the heroes into action. He hasn't fought a hero in a while and he's been itching to fight one. Sure, he liked causing chaos and killing as many as he can, but it was the battle he was looking for.
The stronger his adversary, the better.
He felt a sudden sting at his side as his eyes saw a downed officer with a gun pointed at him.
"Really?" he voiced incredulously. Taking his time, Goto walked towards the injured man, his muscle tensing in anticipation.
To his credit, the boy in blue didn't seem to be afraid as he stepped closer.
"There are several heroes in here." said the officer, "When they arrive, they will stop you in no time, you low-life villain!"
"Heh, I wouldn't sweat about it." Clenching his fist, he reared it back with a malicious grin plastered on his face. "That's what I'm here for anyway."
Goto's arm moved for the kill and the downed man steeled himself even if he was at Death's door, but dribbles of sweat poured on his face. However, the arm was suddenly encased in a blue aura that stopped it from moving any further.
Brows furrowed, Muscular searched for the source of this quirk as his eyes settled on a man a few meters from him. There was some sort of writing that covered the man's wrists in the same color as the aura covering his arm.
The officer doesn't recognize who this person was and assumed he was a new hero. Glancing at the villain towering before him, he took this chance and silently crawled away as Muscular's focus was on this hero.
This must be the guy who stopped him, Goto thought. It is probably a telekinetic quirk due to how the man was strained and squirming in his place like he was holding something heavy.
He must be a strong pro if he managed to stop his punch.
However, looking at the man's getup got Goto raising a brow.
Ash white tunic beneath dark blue leather vest and shoulder pads, and a couple of pouches secured around his waist. For his head, he has a simple white mask and tinted lens with a vertical line across each. He also spotted obsidian bracers, greaves, and a chest plate with white carvings strapped to his chest.
The hell? Was there a medieval fair around here?
Well, there are some heroes out there with crazier costumes, so who was he to judge?
'HOLY SHIT, THIS GUY IS STRONG!'
Was the thought that screamed inside Nate's head when he used Space Magic to stop the momentum of the punch from this hulking figure.
He barely made it and save the guy from getting punched into the shadow realm! Nate can already tell that this guy spells bad news and he needs to stop him before things get worst. Well, worse than what it already is.
A grin formed on Goto's face and Nate felt the pressure from his arm increase. Eyes widening, he witnessed the man break free from his magic's grasp, shattering the runes as Muscular made a mad dash towards him.
Instincts yelled at him to roll to the right, and so he did as he dodged the incoming punch. Relentless, Muscular moved at a rate unbefitting for his size and swooped low, but Nate saw it coming and leaped out of the way. The second that he was mid-air was all Muscular needed.
'Shit!'
Surprised once again by the hulking man's speed, Nate managed to save himself when Muscular took aim and punched by blocking it with his enchanted bracers. Even though flesh clashed with metal, sparks erupted from his armguards as Nate was sent flying from the blow and crashed into one of the stalls.
"Ooh, felt like I broke something there, buddy! Would be a shame if the first hero I face to go down that easily." Goto maniacally laughed.
From inside the stall, Nate raised his trembling arms, staring at it in shock. 'The enchantments…' He coughed, 'They… T-they broke…?'
Those enchantments were meant to withstand the force of a Giant-type's punch. It would seem he underestimated him. Despite the situation, he managed to laugh. His partner would never let him hear the end of it.
The guy is strong, so what? He still has his wits, magic, and agility. He takes pride in the last one for it is his natural gift that he inherited from his mother. Even now, he thinks that the trait would've been beneficial for his brother. He is a Knight, after all.
Standing up, his back ached from the impact, but he pushed through. He's been worse before and sadly, this won't be the last. He made a promise and damn it he'll keep it. As he stepped over the rubble, he witnessed something that piqued his interest.
Outside, the villain Muscular was bound from head to toe by some sort of red and blue strings.
Before him is a man in a red ninja outfit beneath blue robes with gray eyes and similar colored hair that probably took a lot of gel to make it look as it is. He wears a blue mask that covers his mouth and nose and sports a long red scarf. Though it seems like his arms are missing, the strings and his body are connected.
Activating his magic sensors, he found out that this guy has a Transfiguration class magic that allows him to flatten and contort his body at will. A shadow flew overhead as something landed next to him with a soft thud.
Beside him was a short woman with an athlete's body. Dark skin, sharp red eyes with long eyelashes, and a pair of rabbit ears atop long white hair. Her costume consists of a white leotard with purple trims around her shoulders and waist, while a yellow crescent moon is designed on her chest.
Sensors still active, he recognized this lady as the one with the rabbit magic. These people… they're the ones with strong magic that he saw minutes ago! They must be some sort of enforcers of this world!
The lady has a big grin and nodded at him. "Hey, man. You alright? We saw you took a hit earlier. Sorry, we weren't able to get here in time."
Nate shook his hand in front of him. "Oh, no, that's alright. I'm used to taking the first punch. That way I can get a read on my opponent." Due to his vigilantism, he made a precaution of implementing a voice modulator in his mask by adding a buzz to his voice whenever he speaks so that no one would recognize him.
The rabbit lady snickered, not to his voice as she assumed it was a side effect of whatever this man's quirk was. However, color her surprised when Nate asked her a question.
"Uh, may I ask who you are?"
Mirko stopped and looked at the man like he was crazy. Has he been living under a rock?
"I can understand that you don't recognize me, after all, I did just make my debut last week, but not knowing-"
"Edgeshot! You're the number 7 pro hero in Japan!" exclaimed Goto, unfazed in his predicament.
"-What he said." finished Mirko.
At the mention of hero Nate's eyes lit up behind his mask. However, his mind wandered back to the boy-in-blue he saved moments ago. He wondered how come there are heroes, but there are also officers. Then he was reminded that in his world, there are the Knights, whom he correlates with the latter, and the Mercenaries, whom he assumes is the former.
Then there is the 'number 7' thing Muscular mentioned, which implies that there is some sort of a ranking system. Some things to figure out for later. For now, there's a guy that needs to be taken care of. Despite the odds not in Goto's favor, the fact only made him giddy.
"Villain Muscular, you are wanted for multiple mass murders and destruction of property. Surrender peacefully or we'll use lethal force." Edgeshot stated. Truth to be told, he knew that this villain won't surrender given his record, but he still needs to follow protocols.
From what Edgeshot heard about Muscular through the hero network, the villain started out as an underground fighter at the age of 19, but it soon took a turn for the worst when he began killing the competitors. 2 years later, Muscular has a growing body count of almost a hundred people, including 15 heroes, and crippling 4 more.
Besides being a mass murderer, the man has broken out of prison 3 times now. They have tried using quirk-suppressing cuffs on the man, but even then he was still able to break free, showcasing his strength even without his quirk.
Simply put, this villain is dangerous and needs to be placed in a high-security prison, preferably, Tartarus.
"Oh, I like the sound of lethal!" Muscular began to struggle from the hold of the hero's strings as the ninja grunts from the strain. "Show me your blood!"
Edgeshot's eyes landed on Mirko, the heroine already knew what to do as she leaped into action, leg raised for a kick to the head. She was about to land the hit when something small but hard impacted her back. She gasped as she felt like the wind was knocked out of her and caused her to fly over the villain, missing her shot.
Bug-eyed, the ninja looked over at the other hero in the vicinity, his arm outstretched like he just threw something. In actuality, Nate reacted at the same time as Mirko. He reached for a Stun card in his pouch, but the rabbit heroine got in the trajectory which hit her with a force of a boulder the size of a fist.
"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry!" Nate covered his mouth in shock, so much so that he reverted back to English.
Muscular capitalized on their moment of stupor by increasing his strength with his quirk. The hero felt it and immediately let go lest he ripped his arms off, but not without inflicting some lacerations on the villain's body as the strings slid off of him.
The villain charged toward the hero but noticed that he was unmoving. Narrowing his eyes, he went for the punch anyway. His suspicions were proven true as Edgeshot lived up to his moniker by vanishing with a puff of smoke the instant he was hit, replacing him with a small log wearing a smaller version of his costume.
Sensing something from behind, he quickly turned around and shielded himself with his arms as the same red and blue strings struck him. Smiling to himself, he willed his muscles taut, further lodging the strings between his flesh.
"Trying to bind me again?" He tauntingly asked. Edgeshot's eyes widened slightly, it seems these muscles are tougher than he thought.
The hero tried to let go, but his appendages are already stuck. Goto twists his arms around the threads and, with the strength of a thousand men, pulled, wailing the hero around like a wrecking ball, laughing maniacally. With the grace of a cat, Edgeshot maneuvered himself around the stalls to avoid further destruction all the while thinking of a plan to take down this villain.
Back with Nate, he approached Mirko who was kneeling on the ground. She hissed, caressing her side as it ached from the blow she took. Hearing footfalls, she saw the masked hero from before.
He knelt by her side and slowly sat her up. She groaned in pain, "What the fuck was that?"
Nate looked down in embarrassment, "That would be my fault, sorry…" he held his hand on where he hit her, green runes formed around it as he worked his magic to relieve the pain.
Momentarily shivering from the sensation, she looked at him in shock, "What?! How the- Why would you even do that, man!"
"I said I was sorry!" when he finished healing her, the runes finally disappeared, "Besides, it's not my fault that you're in the way."
She would've commented on the fact that the pain surprisingly vanished if it wasn't for that, "Oh, I'M in the way?"
Nate's eyes widened behind the lens and frantically waved his hand, "NO, NO, NO! That's not what I mea-"
Whatever he was about to reply was cut short when Edgeshot's body was suddenly barreled into them. The three rolled on the ground a few times.
"Heh, speed ain't enough to beat pure strength!" Adrenaline pumped in Muscular's veins, the hero's swiftness may be a good test for his reflexes, but he still hungers from some more action. "Is that all ya got, huh!? Come on and show me your blood!"
The group groggily stood. Mirko looked over to Edgeshot, noticing his costume dirtied from the roughhousing and his hands were bruised. "I can't penetrate through his muscles… They're too thick…"
She snickered. The double meaning in that sentence was pretty funny, despite the situation.
"I doubt that even you, Mirko, will be able to hurt him," he added. He's not wrong, to be honest. She can tell just by her animal instincts that Muscular is bad news and is stronger than her. But how can she become the next top pro heroine if she won't overcome some challenges?
"Hah, let's see about that! Lemme at em, then!" Before she could take a stance and prepare for a fight, a feminine voice sounded within Edgeshot's and Mirko's heads. It was Mandalay!
'We finished clearing up the civilians here. Ryukyu is on her way for backup.'
A roar was heard right when she finished her message and they all looked in the direction of where it came from. Up in the sky, a large silhouette can be seen flying towards them.
Edgoshot and Mirko smiled, with Ryukyu coming in, they can have the upper hand in defeating this villain.
Nate, meanwhile has his jaw dropped. That is a dragon! There's no doubt about it! Sure, dragons exist in his world, but the appearance of their species was so scarce, that they may just think they're endangered. In truth, this is the first time Nate has seen a dragon.
Not a dragon native to his world, but a dragon nonetheless.
Goto… is smiling. Ecstatic even. There have been rumors lately about a new hero that can turn into a giant beast. And that may be the new hero they've been talking about. Just the prospect of fighting a foe bigger than him was exhilarating.
He pumped his muscles up, and several fibers bulked his arms and legs.
The three immediately stood attention when they saw Muscular use his quirk/magic. It looks like he's preparing himself for a big fight. So, the heroes took a stance.
What they didn't expect, however, was for him to turn his heel and run, the pavement cracking with each step. And then, he jumped.
Today is supposed to be a day where Ryuko, the Dragoon Hero: Ryukyu, and her best friend, Rumi, the Rabbit Hero: Mirko, will relax and celebrate their graduation and a successful debut, with them are their former mentors, Edgeshot and the Wild Wild Pussycats, who joined to congratulate their former trainees.
But all of that was ruined when a loud boom sounded coming from where the entrance of the theme park is.
She can't really complain since this is what she signed up for. 'Evil never rests', as what Kamihara-sensei (or maybe she should call him 'senpai' now?) said, before he and Rumi rushed towards the commotion, while Ryuko and the Pussycats remained to huddle the civilians to safety.
Edgeshot and Mirko are the perfect representatives of speed and strength respectively, barring All-Might who is pretty much the best of everything, so he doesn't count. The two of them would've been enough to defeat whoever troublemaker caused all this.
Ryukyu is currently high in the air in her dragon form, a western-type dragon to be exact, with gray-colored scales except for her head and underside which is the same as her light skin color. Her chin-length blonde hair and yellow eyes remain the same, while she wears a dark red qipao with green trims around her shoulder.
Wrapped around her arms are long, white sleeves, and on her right hand are four individual silver claws. There is a yellow claw design at bottom of her dress and smaller ones around her neck.
She can spot the park's entrance from her vantage point all the blood and bodies that littered around. Unforgivable, she thought. She also spotted four people, three of them are close to each other and she can recognize two of them as Mirko and Edgeshot, but the other one, not so much. Probably another hero who happens to be around and came for assistance.
You don't need a mind-reading quirk to figure out what is the deal with the fourth one though. From what she could tell, Mirko's group is probably overwhelmed by this villain, which is why they are grouped together.
And so, she circled around as she slowly descends, claws ready. What she wasn't expecting though was for the villain to suddenly jump straight towards her at great speeds!
Eyes widening, she immediately swerved to the side, barely avoiding the rocketing villain. However, she was jerked back violently by some unknown force that threw her off balance. Stabilizing her position, she felt some weight holding her down and looked below. Currently dangling in the air with a manic smile on his face was the same villain who somehow grabbed the hem of her dress.
Ryukyu snarled and flew around trying to shake him off. When she got enough momentum, she whipped her body towards the forest where the villain would be far away from the populace. He crashed into the ground, toppling some trees in the process, and tumbled a few times.
Looking back at her comrades, she noticed that they were already on the move, but the hero that she didn't recognize seems to be far ahead of them, even vanishing in and out of place to gain more distance, and now disappeared into the forest.
'A teleporter?'
Now that she noticed, he seems to be in a hurry. What's the big deal? As far she knows, there isn't anything worthy of note over there. Unless maybe he knows something that they don't?
Nate was panicking. The direction Muscular flew was right where the Gate was in. So, he ran and teleported as fast as he can, following the small crevices of the villain's unconventional landing and the destroyed remains of several trees.
His spine tingled. He can tell that he's near, given the fact that he can feel the essence of pure mana permeating the air.
"That is not a good sign…!"
He reached around for his pouch that houses his Spell cards, fishing for a specific card that he made just in case this would happen.
Finally arriving at the crash site, he noticed two things. One, is that Muscular, now in his normal form, was on his knees, clutching his head and groaning in pain. Second, the Gate is already broken. One side folded in itself while the portal inside flickers as sparks of energy fly out. Seems like Muscular did crash into it.
The ground beneath him shook and he felt his mind become numb as more mana leaked through the leyline the Gate was connected to. Before he could chuck the card he has, the machine released a shockwave of dense energy, sending Nate and even Muscular tumbling across the dirt.
Nate crashed into a stump, his fingers letting go of his literal trump card for the situation. He tried to reach for it but ultimately failed as the force of the wind was pinning him down. He could only helplessly watch as the card flew in the wind.
Catching movement in the corner of his eyes, he saw the ninja and the rabbit lady. Near them is the gray dragon who slowly transforms into a human female.
'Must be where the shaking came from…'
Looking back at the machine, his eyes tracked a small rip in space and time, disintegrating and absorbing the Gate. And soon, everything in its path.
He grimaced. He has no chance to stop that! Even the card he made won't be able to hold it back. If only he knew a spell that…
…Wait.
His mind recalled a certain type of magic that can do so. In fact, that type of magic can practically do anything! And anyone can use it! But, he knew. He knew the cost of casting a spell of that magic.
Looking down at his hands, he considered his options…
Who was he kidding? He already knew what he should do. This is their machine! Making him and his friends responsible for their actions with it. Now, it is just him. He's the only one available to do it.
He's still in his hundreds. His mid-age. His prime.
He has plenty of life to spare.
So, he reached for a Spell card in one of his pouches. It was green with a symbol of a small dagger etched into it. His mana flowed into the card and with a flash, it was replaced with an ornate dagger.
Then, he slashed his palm with its blade.
He gasped and tried to toughen out through the pain, but failed nonetheless, wheezing as he dropped the dagger in favor of catching the dripping blood.
He clasped his hands together, bits of red staining his white mask, and poured his mana into his hands.
His palm slowly heats up and his heartbeat quickens. He can see the red runes forming around his wrists, but instead of the usual flow of runes that runs around his arms like an ocean washing up the shore, these runes are jagged and erratic like rain in a storm.
The tear in the rift now became the size of a tennis ball and he can already feel the slight tug of being sucked into it. Nate spreads his arms as a red magic circle materializes in front of him, awaiting his command.
Setup complete. Now, he just needs to think of a command that will effectively stop this thing. Too much intake of pure mana is already taking its toll, his breaths are becoming heavy, his mouth dry, and sweat poured from his body. Eyes focused on the small, growing hole in space and time, he uttered…
[WARNING! GATE DAMAGED! MANA RADIATION LEVELS RISING! WARNING! GATE DAMAGED! MANA RAD-]
The same warning blasted throughout the whole warehouse along with the sound of the clacking of the keyboard and the hum of a magic barrier. Jerry surmised that the problem was on Nate's end, however, when he tried to call him he didn't get anything, not even a static.
This could only mean that the communicator is inside Nate's Equip card. Equip cards work by replacing everything the user is wearing on their person with anything that is infused inside the card. It is a type of spell that is mostly used by knights so they can change into their armors anytime they want.
If Nate used his Equip card, that can only mean… he's busy.
What could be the problem that led to this situation? Was Nate caught by the authorities and tried to catch him because he attempted to escape? Then found and destroyed the Gate to cut him off? Was it a giant creature that thought the machine was food?
"It's no use!" Archie shouted over the noise, "We can't hold any longer! We have to close it and disconnect from the Gate!"
"No way!" replied Eli, "We need to get Nate back in here!"
The two are currently holding up a barrier, protecting them from the harmful effects of pure mana their machine was emitting. Just behind them, Jerry is frantically typing on a computer trying to find a way of fixing this.
Seeing another error for the umpteenth time, he slammed his fist on the desk, "Fuck! I can't turn it off, the other Gate is too damaged to respond!"
Archie and Eli took the news in varying degrees of shock. Though the prince immediately thought of a plan. A stupi-
"Save it…" Jerry cut off his train of thought, "You can only use Blood Magic when the target is right in front of you."
The blonde looked at him in realization, "Does that mean…Nate…"
Jerry sunk down deeper into his chair, lamenting over the fate of his long-time friend, his first friend he might add, and internally berated himself for his desire for discovery.
He is sure that the guy would definitely use Blood Magic, but what kind of order would he make? Destroying the leyline is a big no-no, it would tip the balance of nature itself. While reverting it back to its normal state is a good idea, the process would be problematic. As the engineer kept thinking up commands, he heard his name called out by Archie.
"Jerry, look! It's stopping…"
Before their eyes, they watched as the machine slowly loses its power, eventually powering down. The barrier was dispelled and the three immediately performed some needed procedures.
Eli conjured some spells to clear up some remains of pure mana along with Archie, while Jerry went back to the screen to check the parameters of the Gate. A prompt appeared with a beep. With a brow raised in confusion, he read it. His brown eyes widened. Taking off his glasses, he performed a little cleaning spell on them and wore them again, only to find the text is still the same.
His friends noticed his distress and asked what was going on with two words coming out of his hanging mouth.
"Oh, no…"
Nate looked at the remains of what was once the Gate, or rather, a small crater that was left behind. The rift completely disintegrated the entire thing, which brings a big problem in the long run. He has no idea how to build this thing! He's a doctor and healer during the day, and vigilante at night, not an engineer!
He didn't get to ask Jerry because he was busy making the trump card that he lost earlier. It was hard to make and took him two weeks straight, only to slip from his butter fingers.
Sighing, he turned to look at the unconscious heroes and villain, then around him. He should probably clean up the pure mana around here but decided to leave that work to nature. They can absorb them and turn them into cleaner mana.
Looking at the state of the forest, however, got him thinking otherwise. He wanted to do something about it, but he's not compatible with Earth Magic. So, he conjured some spells to help clean up the toxic mana and offered a small prayer for the spirits of the forest afterward.
His face turned serious as he approached the heroes, but not before pulling a Trap card and chucking it at the villain, binding him in chains. He clasped his hand, green healing runes materialized on his wrists and began to cleanse them from the effects of pure mana intake. Including Muscular.
What? He's a doctor, he doesn't discriminate against his patients.
With fluid expertise combined with his experience, it only took him around ten minutes, eleven tops, to heal them all. Just in time to hear footsteps approaching.
Looking towards the treeline, with a hop, he vanished in blue smoke and landed on a sturdy branch. Peering behind the tree, he saw two figures. Both are female, one with short burgundy hair, and one with long, emerald hair. The most distinguishable features about these ladies are their cat-themed costumes of red and yellow, respectively. He finds it kinda cute, to be honest.
'Cosplayers?'
His eyes glowed and found that red's magic is telepathy while yellow's is some sort of tracker. Their magic has a different feel to it as well, and he would describe it as 'refined' rather than 'strong'. Looks like another thing to list down about their strange magic.
The red-head placed her paw-gloved hand to her temple, probably using her magic, and looked around, Nate momentarily retreating back behind the tree. He heard them converse with each other, but he couldn't make it out. Seconds later, he spotted another figure coming in, a man…wearing the same outfit as the other two, this time a brown version. He remembers him as the man with the flexibility magic.
The man carried the villain with one arm, the limb stretching and wrapping itself around Muscular, while carrying the ninja and the dragon lady with the other, also wrapping it around them both.
Nate watched it all unfold with fascination and he couldn't keep the smile off his face. His gaze turned to the lady in red, the rabbit lady on her back, and sees her also looking at him.
He froze.
They both looked at each other, one with trepidation, the other with confusion. The lady looked back at the retreating forms of her teammates, at her passenger, then at Nate.
She finally smiled as she realized what happened and mouthed a small 'thank you' to the man on the tree.
Dumbfounded, Nate eventually got the message and slightly bowed in return, watching the lady catch up with her team. When she looked back though, he was gone.
Nate spent several days traversing the forest. Hunting for food, bathing in the river, and resting in caves or trees. He finally reached civilization, buildings high and low, honking of cars in traffic, and the bustling streets filled with people of all shapes and sizes.
Focusing on an empty rooftop, he teleported and pulled out a small green card. Mana poured into it as he whispered, it glowed and engulfed him in bright light. Now back in his only other set of clothes, which he washed yesterday mind you, he climbed down the emergency stairs and set out onto the streets.
The first thing he noticed is heroes. Billboards, merchandise, advertisement on some TVs he passed by, and more heroes in person that walked around the streets.
"I wonder what this world's focus is about…" he muttered to himself with no shortage of sarcasm.
Since he will be staying here for God-knows how long, he should correct his vocabulary and start referring to 'magic' as 'quirk'. Weird name but it has a nice ring to it. So, maybe not weird.
Nate remembered his current predicament and his mood instantly turned sour. No way out of it, anyway. What's done has been done. Now, he can only look to the future and think of what to do next.
And his stomach responded in its own way of speaking.
Nearby pedestrians looked at him, a few shook their heads with a small grin. Face red, Nate only chuckled in embarrassment as he held his mid-section. Meals these past few days were not really that fulfilling. Sure, he is an okay cook, but you can only do so much with limited ingredients.
A good, old, samaritan with big ears came to him, a kind smile on his wrinkled face, and handed him a small pack of what he recognized as onigiris.
"Here you go, sonny."
"Oh, please, sir. I wouldn't want to impose…" he replied, but the beast in his belly says otherwise. Gramps looked at him with a smug look on his face.
Nate chuckled and relented. He took the food and smiled at the old-timer. "Thank you, kindly."
The old man simply smiled and continued on his merry way.
After walking around, Nate arrived at a park and saw a bench. He sat down, unwrapped his given snack, and munched away, watching the families, friends, and some couples lounging about to pass the time.
His eyes spotted a family of three. The mother and daughter are pretty much spitting images, both sporting short purple hair and, interestingly, a pair of earphone jacks hanging by their earlobes. While the daughter got her looks and gender from her mother, she got her eyes from her father who has shoulder-length ash blonde hair.
All of them are happily singing a song that he doesn't know, but the tune sure is quite catchy. Then, his eyes are honed on the guitar that the father is strumming along.
Nate was in a band with his friends back at college, he was the bassist. Perhaps he could earn some money by singing some songs on the streets. It won't be much, but it's viable.
He just needs to find, or make, a guitar, work on his vocals a little bit, and make some research about this world's current pop media, though he would much prefer the old ones if the saying 'old is gold' is the same here.
With the money he earns, maybe he can get a decent meal out of it. For the lodging, he already got that covered with the satchel bag that he uses whenever he's out. It is not just a simple bag, it is the very first product he and his friends made with Space Magic: "The Adventurer's Pack"!
…Sometimes he wondered how they managed to sell their products with these dinky-ass names.
Once you use your mana signature on it, the insides will transform into a small portal that leads to a pocket dimension in the form of an interior of a regular apartment, complete with a living room, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom with the latest water pump magic installed!
Unfortunately, you can't use appliances nor any other technology inside since it is a pocket dimension where there is no signal and electricity unless you're an Electro type Mage to provide for the latter. For communicating with the outside world, you need to use some projection spell. To turn the bag back to its normal form, simply use your mana signature again. The product was their best-seller actually, especially for travelers.
A goal set in mind, Nate finished his meal, threw the wrappings on a nearby trash bin, and set off to dumpster dive some guitars. He took his time walking the streets, stopping when the lights turned red and casually humming a tune as he waited.
Watching the cars speed by and the random pedestrians that have their phones out, he took note that the technology of this world is not that advanced compared to his and assumed this world is around before the age of Catastrophe. Looking at the many billboards up above, he frowned. Maybe they just took their resources in favor of advancing their ma- quirks.
He was proven wrong when a police car flew past him.
'Oh, hey, they have flying cars! Maybe they did give their technology the time of day.'
Double-taking, he realized that it wasn't a flying car, but rather a car that was haphazardly thrown away, and witnessed just in time for the vehicle crashing to another before tumbling on the street.
A hero nearby didn't even bat an eye at the scene, opting to run towards where they came from with an excited smile on their face. Nate, meanwhile, didn't hesitate to come and help the officers inside.
"Are you alright!?" The male driver with blue skin grunted in pain but nodded, weakly gesturing at the female officer who has tentacles for hair at the front seat.
He went to the other side and inspected her for some injuries, only to find her arm is missing. Blood leaked from the stump and he could see the bone sticking out of it. Slowly getting her out of the vehicle, he gently laid her down on the ground and placed a finger near her nostrils. Once he felt the slow breathing, he began to work.
Opening his bag, he pulled out two syringes, one yellow and one red, and a clean white cloth. He dipped the red syringe onto the pool of blood, beeping a few times, as he stabbed the yellow one into the arm of the officer.
A crowd slowly formed around them, but he ignored them all in favor of helping his patient.
The blood eventually stopped flowing out and he could see the flesh slowly repairing itself while the red syringe beeped consecutively. He kept the yellow one back in his bag and held the red one in his teeth, hands flawlessly working around to wrap the cloth around the stump. After tying the knot, he jabbed the remaining syringe just a few inches above where her heart is, emptying out its contents.
All of this happened in fifty seconds.
His eyes glowed, his gaze peering through her body and monitoring the blood in her veins. Seeing the blood transfusion working as it should be, he sighed and nodded to himself for a job well done.
Hearing claps from behind him, he finally noticed the small crowd, congratulating him for his work. Not used to such praise from a group of people, even in his workplace, he only awkwardly smiled and bowed. The crowd dispersed soon after.
The officer from before came in and knelt beside the female, his face morphed showing signs of fatigue. "How is she?"
"She'll be alright, officer." replied Nate, stashing the empty vial back in his bag, "Though I just hope she's not left-handed."
The man looked down and sighed, but smiled nonetheless, "She is, actually…"
"Oh…"
"But I'm sure that's not gonna stop her from doing what she wants the most."
She just got his respect for that. Not a lot of people would be willing to go on when they lost their dominant hand.
"What happened, by the way?"
The officer frowned, looking back in the direction where they came from, "We were chasing several villains on the loose, Senko here was trying to shoot them with tranquilizers, but one of the villains has some sort of wind manipulation quirk and blew us away."
"Seems like she lost her arm along the way…"
"Yeah, speaking of, I need to tell the others that the villains are still on the run." The officer leaned into his radio, before he did so, he turned to Nate, "Thanks for the help, by the way. If it wasn't for you, she would've died from blood loss."
The greenette only smiled and tipped his hat, "I appreciate it, sir. Though you might wanna take her to a hospital, my first-aid can only do so much."
"I like that you're modest, kid, but you need to give yourself some credit."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Leaving the officers alone, he thought back to what he said earlier about the villains on the loose. 'Heh, villains… Gee, their craze about heroism is through the roof if they call bad guys like that.'
Spotting an empty alleyway nearby, he walked through and transformed into his 'other' work suit. Scaling the sides, he jumped and teleported from rooftops to rooftops, in search of some of these villains. On the loose implies that they were already caught, so they might still be wearing whatever clothes this world has their prisoners wore.
His ears caught the sounds of cheering and clapping, and with the reminder that heroes exist, he followed the trail. The cheering got louder once he arrived, he leaned on the ledge of the building he is on and looked at the street below.
There, he saw around six people, all wearing the same orange clothes, stacked on top of each other in a dogpile while being carried in one hand by a mountain of a man wearing blue tights with red and white stripes, and a yellow cape that billowed in the wind.
He laughed, and oh boy, does he laugh loud. His face has an everlasting grin with a voice just as big.
"HAVE NO FEAR! WHY?"
He flashed the cheering crowd a thumbs-up, but they only cheered louder.
"BECAUSE I'M HERE!"
Despite his loudness, he can feel the sense of reassurance emanating from the big guy, like everything's gonna be okay. With all the noise, he managed to make something out of the crowd. 'All Might', which he assumes is the codename of the guy, and 'number one hero'.
''Number one hero', eh?' thought Nate, his eyes behind the lens of his mask slightly glowing. 'Let's see what kind of… quirk you have, then.'
…
…
Were those… Were those seven spirits that he detected just now?
"What do you mean we lost connection?" asked a concerned Eli.
"It means what it means, Eli," Jerry replied, holding his head in frustration. "I don't know if he did it on purpose, but whatever command Nate ordered the Blood Magic to do, it completely cut off our connection with the world he is in."
Archie's brows furrowed. Surely there must be a way to get back. "Have you tried connecting again?"
He received a sigh, "That's the thing, I can't. We're completely shut off."
The prince thought of another way, but Eli beat him to it. "It's the multiverse, right? How about you link up with a branch of the world Nate is in."
Archie agrees with her. He actually thought of the same thing. However, the look on their friend's face showed that he already thought about it…
"I'm picturing a mouse trying to climb a tree without stepping on the roots."
Those words were the final nail in the coffin. If the smartest guy in their group can't do it, neither can they. Eli walked away without saying a word as she gathered her belongings, her eyes shadowed by her hair. The sound of the long-distance teleporter activating was heard in the room next door.
Jerry looked at his reflection from his computer. Those eyes that bear contempt looked back. His self-depreciation was cut-off when he heard his phone ring, a picture of a muscular green-skinned woman carrying him popping up. A smile formed on his face and picked it up.
"Hey, honey… Yeah, sorry. Don't worry, we just finished… Are the kids asleep yet?" Despite all that happened earlier, he couldn't help but blush at his wife's reply. Archie saw it and smiled, Jerry awkwardly coughed. "Yeah, sure… Mhm, I'll be there in a few minutes… Yes, ma'am… Alright, love you, too."
The engineer ended the call but remained in his seat for a few moments. No words were said between the two. Eventually, Jerry stood up and packed his things with Archie doing the same.
"I'll handle Nico." His voice was quiet, but with the silence of the room, the prince heard it.
"I'm coming with you." Jerry turned to his friend, "I know that you think that it's your fault-"
"It pretty much is…"
"-But we're not blaming you for it. Whatever the cause of the incident, we surely weren't expecting it."
"I could've made the Gate more durable though."
Archie sighed, but nodded, "Well, it is just a prototype."
Jerry took one last look at the Gate, standing innocently in the middle of the room, and flicked a switch, the lights of the warehouse turning off one by one.
The two entered another room where a large cylindrical machine is found. It is a teleportation pod exclusive to them. Archie waved his ID on the panel, it beeped and showed the name of the kingdom he resides in, he pressed 'Yes'.
Waving each other goodbye, the prince vanished in blue smoke, with Jerry doing the same afterward, leaving the warehouse void of occupants.
Update 8/4/2022: hey! so i extended the first chapter of this fic. i hope yall enjoyed it! i originally intended for these to be in the next chapter, but maybe this would be better so that you readers would have some sort of understanding of what is and will be happening.
the thing about the whole Rumi and Ryuko being classmates in high school and their supposed internship with Edgeshot and the Cats is just a little headcanon of mine and is no way related to canon.
speaking of canon, i may or may be not diverging from it cus i have some plans in place so look out for that. tell me what you think! that will give me some notes and also inspiration to continue doing this huehuehue.
hello hello! fedora-the-end-note here!
thank you for bothering to read this fic and i hope you liked it. apologies if there are some leftover errors, i'm only using the free features of Grammarly! i'm sorry as well for the short chapter. i know that it is not the standard word minimum per chapter but i promise the next one will be around 10k.
this fic will be mostly about Adventure and Fantasy, but there will also be some Romance. however, don't expect it to come early cus first off, i dont know how to write one!
drawing is my forte not describing eeeeeeeeeeee
if you're going to ask who the girl is, it was going to be Yu Takeyama aka Mt. Lady. i know, unexpected. it was love at first sight when i saw her in the manga! but after seeing the many queens to come, i dont know what to do. who knows, maybe it'll change. if you want some suggestions or questions, go ahead and tell em.
however, if you wanna choose a pairing for my boy Nate, know that he is an adult of over a 100 years old. yes, i know, ill explain in the next chapter XD
that's all from me. see ya!