Chapter 2

October 10, 2161

0125 Hours

Hitoshi didn't ask for much in life. Well, he didn't ask for much anymore. He used to wish for all kinds of things: a trip to the waterpark, a visit to the ice cream parlor, a later bedtime, the newest All Might action figure, and - most importantly - an autograph from Eraserhead. Now all he wanted was for someone who could look past his quirk. Someone who could see Hitoshi as the aspiring hero that he was instead of the future supervillain that everyone else seemed to believe.

Though he wouldn't mind getting that autograph.

His parents had always believed in his dream to become a hero, but it didn't feel the same. His parents would support him if he wanted to be a chef, or an astronaut, or a snake charmer. He was their son, and that's just how they were. Which he loved them for, but he needed something else. He needed someone who'd never met him before so they could see Hitoshi with fresh and unbiased eyes. That way when they said he could be a hero, he'd know they meant it.

He glanced over to the clock on his nightstand, then let out an exaggerated sigh. Stupid insomnia. I wish I could just take a pill or something to go to sleep.

At that moment he felt a sharp prick on his neck. "Gck!" He hissed. His hand shot up to the spot where he felt something biting him only to feel a sizable metal object sticking out of his skin. He pulled it out then brought it to his eye to examine it in the moon's light. It was a skinny dart, just slightly bigger than a toothpick. He looked around his room trying to find where it came from but his mind was starting to become foggy. It was getting harder to keep his eyes open and his movements felt sluggish.

As he started to succumb to the darkness, he noticed that his window was fully ajar. His final thoughts before slipping into unconsciousness were about how he swore he'd locked it earlier.

A few moments passed until a group of figures silently entered. One of them held a small body identical in every way to Hitoshi. A lady with blue and pink hair looked around before whispering. "Alright, let's get this over with."

Two agents came over to where Hitoshi lay. One injected him with a sedative that would ensure he stayed asleep for the long ride, then they picked him up and began moving towards the window. The others placed the replica in the bed where the original used to be. The body was already near death. The flash clones they'd produced were identical in every way, though they only lasted for a few weeks before they expired. Come morning, the parents will find their "child" lying cold in the bed having passed away from a rare case of Boren's Syndrome.

Tsutsumi Kaina wasn't pleased with what she had to do; she rarely was anymore. A brief look into the kids file had revealed that his parents were extremely caring of him. She knew it would break their hearts. But she'd received the briefing from Doctor Halsey herself. Her logic - if nothing else - was sound. They needed these children.

The agents efficiently removed any trace of their presence then swiftly exited the house. Shinso Hitoshi wasn't even the halfway point for all the candidates they'd need to obtain. They had a very busy month ahead of them.

October 13, 2161

1609 Hours

William liked to think he was pretty strong. Not physically - though he knew he was - but emotionally. It was already well into the second term here in Japan yet he hadn't made any friends. Not for a lack of trying either. Will would tell jokes, pick up dropped items, help classmates solve problems, and would sometimes just walk up to people to try starting a conversation. All of it was met with failure and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

He was Quirkless.

It was something that his family found out when he was four. His father was Quirkless too so it didn't really come as a surprise. He remembers that it was quite a somber atmosphere in the doctor's office when they'd been told. The doctor was apologetic, as if simply telling them his condition was some sort of death sentence. His parents were rather grim. They knew about his desires to become a hero, which they believed would be impossible without a quirk.

But Will recalls that he wasn't upset about the news. Despite not having a quirk, he'd received some good genes from both sides of his family. Broad shoulders, impressive height, strong muscles, though he was still agile enough to outpace the majority of his other classmates. Will figured that he'd just have to rely on his physical talent to become a hero instead. That's when the issues began.

Once people heard that he was Quirkless they'd close off from him. Will went from everyone's most reliable friend to an outcast overnight. It'd been like that for four years now and it was becoming impossible for him to bear anymore. Will was a social butterfly by heart: he loved to play games, to tell stories, to crack jokes, to celebrate at parties, and so much more. It had been years since he was last invited to a sleepover.

The worst was when he got into fights. Fortunately, they didn't happen often on account of physique. But there were occasions when a new kid showed up or someone became a little too confident. It never changed anything, though. He didn't start any of his fights but he made sure to be the one to finish them. Of course, because he always won, the teachers always turned to him when dealing out the punishment. On those days it felt like he could actually feel the joy leaking out of his soul.

That was how he found himself here today. Sitting alone on the outskirts of the playground far away from all of the other kids. Some of the parents would take pity on him so they would have their kids invite him to birthday parties. It was a nice sentiment that didn't extend to everyone else. Will could feel the others scorn: their eyes were practically burning into him as soon as he arrived. He dropped the present he brought on the table then promptly secluded himself. He hadn't left just yet on the small chance that maybe someone would come over to sit with him.

How he now regretted that choice.

He never heard the men come up behind him. Not until there was a strange smelly rag in front of his face. Small - but strong - arms reached up to try prying the cloth away but it was of no use. Despite his own above average strength he was no match for the disguised Commission agents that quietly carried him from the playground. He wanted to scream out for his parents even though he knew they weren't there. They were still at work and would be for another hour or so.

The struggle only lasted a few more seconds until he eventually succumbed to the chemical. The agents easily hopped into the van they had, speeding off without any further resistance. By the time anyone realized that young William was missing, the eight-year-old was long gone. Commission agents in the police department would work to label the case as another tragic kidnapping.

October 13, 2161

2000 Hours

Mei brought her hands up to slowly massage her ears in an effort to expel the ringing sensation from them. She knew there was something missing when she began her experiments but couldn't figure it out until her newest baby exploded spectacularly in her face. Earmuffs. It wasn't a particularly violent one - especially in comparison to her previous designs - but it was certainly loud enough for her to take a momentary break from her work.

Explosions were a common occurrence in her creative endeavors which was why she had developed the proper personal protective equipment necessary for reducing any risk of bodily harm. Thick leather gloves, a heavy-duty jumpsuit, steel toed boots, a hard hat, safety goggles, and of course her earmuffs. Most of the equipment hung loosely off of her on account of not being even ten years old, but she figured that her wellbeing was still within acceptable margins.

Her parents would argue that there shouldn't be anything blowing up in the first place but they didn't understand. It was all part of Mei's process, a complex operation that oscillated between delicate handling and violent reactions. At first the older Hatsume's had prohibited her from doing any kind of inventing; though her persistence in finding ways around their rules had led to them partially relenting. They agreed that she could work while under supervision.

Mei found it unnecessary but agreed anyway. She wasn't as socially inept as her peers tried to make her out to be. Things like personal boundaries and managing her noise level sometimes eluded her, but she wasn't oblivious to when someone was obviously worried about something. Her parents were - unreasonably - terrified at the possibility of her being harmed so she agreed for their sake. And she'd made good on her promise for almost a whole year now. Until tonight.

Both of her parents were out on one of their date nights. They'd be back within the hour: Mei knew they didn't like to leave her alone for long. But that was too long! She'd just come up with an amazing modification to her grappling shot that would allow it to support double the weight it normally could. It was these spontaneous instances of genius that fueled her annoyance at the rule. Inspiration didn't abide by a schedule!

Her hands came down to her sides as she turned towards the entrance of the lab where her safety equipment was stored. That's when she noticed the figure in the doorway. It was too slim to be her dad, though far too tall to be her mother. In their hand was some sort of small metal contraption. Mei's eyes widened in realization but was too late to further react as a tranquilizer dart embedded itself into her shoulder.

The effects are immediate. Mei can hardly stand, let alone cry out for help. She tries to move towards the table so she can steady herself but her feet give out.

A commission agent is quick to catch her before she hits the floor. Several more enter, carrying cases and a flash clone of Mei. The lead agent looks around, then nods to the others. "Let's get busy."

Ten minutes later, a black van speeds away from the Hatsume household. Thirty minutes after that, police and ambulances would respond to reports of a booming explosion coming from inside. Far larger than anything the neighbors had heard before. Just like the Commission had planned.

October 17, 2161

1550 Hours

Izuku Midoriya, eight years old, limps home from another day of taunting and beatings. It's been like this for the past four years; ever since he discovered he was Quirkless. Just about everyone he knew had either distanced themselves or started to bully him. Even Kacchan, his best friend, now openly ridiculed him or used his quirk to 'put him in his place'.

Izuku winced as he put too much weight on his bad leg. It sported a nasty wound on his calve from one of the earlier explosions. He'd have to stop by the convenience store and buy some more burn cream as he was beginning to run out.

As he hobbled along the sidewalk, he couldn't help but think about how he'd gotten this particular beating. Kacchan and his other friends hadn't even noticed him at the time, they were too busy pushing down some other poor student. Izuku should've just taken the opportunity to slip out of the school grounds and go home. He would've been able to avoid the pain.

But he couldn't ignore the boy's cries for help: a real hero is always willing to put themselves in danger to protect those in need! He put himself between Kacchan and the boy, splaying his arms out wide to act as a human shield for him. He tried to tell Kacchan that it was wrong, that heroes don't go around hurting people like this. All he got in response was a sneer right before an explosion was let loose square in his chest. The gang proceeded to wail on him for a few minutes after that until they became bored.

"At least they stopped hurting that other kid," Izuku muttered. That was the price he had to pay to be a hero: without a quirk he'd have to work twice as hard, maybe even ten times as hard. All that mattered was that he'd be able to protect others, even if it meant that he had to suffer the beatings himself. He could live with that.

"But what if that's not enough," he mumbled worriedly. His face drew into a frown as he thought of the possible situations. What if he was too weak to stop a villain and they threw him to the side without a thought as they went to hurt people? What if he was too slow to stop a villain and they started attacking the bystanders before he could even get there in time? What if-

He paused his spiralling thoughts as he heard something in the distance that made him perk up a bit: a battle. It sounded pretty big too if the yells and thunderous bangs were anything to go by. He excitedly pulled out one of his notebooks and made his way there. There were going to be heroes he'd need to observe!

As he turns the last corner, he gets to watch first hand as the hero known as Death Arms gets sent flying into the side of a restaurant. Fragments of glass erupted throughout the area with people quickly bringing their arms up to shield their faces. A loud, inhuman snarl drew Izuku's attention towards the other side of the street. The figure is absolutely massive, easily more than four meters tall with bundles of muscle underneath thick tan fur. It's some sort of ape - definitely a mutation quirk - who has only a pair of large black shorts to keep them modest. Their crazed eyes are filled with absolute bloodlust and narrowed dangerously at the opponent in front of them.

Another hero wrestles with the villain. It's Ryukyu, the Dragoon Hero, in her large and intimidating dragon form. Though a grimace is etched into her draconian face, her eyes are ablaze with determination. Their hands are interlocked with each other as both try to obtain some form of leverage. Ryukyu flares her wings and they beat strongly in the air, providing her the strength necessary to force down the giant. But just as she gains the advantage, the ape-man changes tactics. He tightens his grip and pulls her in for a thunderous headbutt. Ryukyu is stunned for only a moment but it's all he needs as he takes a small step back then launches a front kick into her gut. The blow sends her crashing into a building not too far from the spectating Izuku.

The Dragon Hero pulls herself from the concrete leaving a large indentation in it. She shakes her head vigorously then turns to glare at the villain across from her. Her opponent hit his two fists together twice, psyching himself up before moving full tilt towards her. Ryukyu makes her own desperate charge towards the villain; no doubt an attempt to clash in the middle to keep the fight from getting any closer to the onlookers. However, the effort is in vain as the titanic figure tackles her into the wall. Bits of concrete rocket out in all directions, though the villain shows no signs of letting up. He takes a step back before driving his fist into the hero again and again. A sharp crack resonates through the air following each blow. The sound is emanating from the fracturing concrete of the building. A web of fissures has spread out from the combatants and it grows with each passing moment.

Death Arms comes tumbling out of the restaurant he was thrown into. Blood flows from several cuts along his body, though he's just as focused as ever. He takes a moment to take in the carnage then places his attention to the stunned bystanders not even five meters away. "Hey, get out of here! This area's too dangerous!"

In Izuku's mind, he's beginning to register that this fight has gotten out of hand. The villain hasn't been contained, civilians - himself included - are within range of collateral damage, and the buildings around them are starting to look unstable from the sheer force of the attacks.

A hand settles itself on his shoulder, causing him to look up. A young lady with purple eyes stares back. A look of concern is etched into her face. He can tell because of the furrowed eyebrows and how the mouth set into a hard line. There's not much else to distinguish her, though. A large grey hoodie, sweatpants, and sunglasses conceal much of her appearance.

"Hey kiddo, I think you ought to come with me. It's not safe here."

It's at that moment that a distinctive crack echoes out, accompanied by the very ground beneath him rumbling ominously. Izuku looks up to see the fragmented apartment complex just to his left begin to shudder. That's all the warning he gets as strong arms suddenly grip him, hauling his small frame to the side as the building collapses.

XXXXX

Kaina Tsutsumi chewed the inside of her cheek in frustration. She tried to force the child to run away with her willpower: it would never work. She'd been tailing the kid for a while now and had read his file numerous times beforehand. It was practically burned into her mind. Her target was a grade A hero fanatic: he'd stay there until the buildings were falling on his head. She huffed. Kids, they have absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

Midoriya Izuku. Green hair, green eyes, 123 centimeters tall, and only 22 kilograms. She'd have a harder time picking up a sack of groceries than she would him; and it was beginning to look like she'd have to do exactly that if the situation deteriorated any further. Which was more than likely considering that there was an Instant Villain on the loose. Kaina wasn't as involved with the so-called "Villain Factory" case as much as her peers, but the Commission had seen fit to provide a general briefing about the subject regardless. Just in case.

It was because of her knowledge that she was so confused about their appearance here. The Instant Villains had so far been limited to the Naruhata ward of Tokyo, though there were reports that they'd begun to pop up in other areas of the city as well. Was it possible that the Villain Factory were starting to spread their influence, or did they already reach out this far?

Now's not the time, she rebuked herself. Midoriya was still in jeopardy, the crowd he was a part of merely meters away from the villain. Kaina herself was at the edges of the group. She'd been maintaining a healthy distance for a while to make sure no one became aware of her tracking him. It was when she caught sight of the battle that she began to inch closer to him. The number of candidates for the Project were so few, they couldn't allow the chance for a single one of them to be placed in danger. That's why she and the six other agents in the area were on edge as they noticed just how chaotic everything was.

The original plan was for them to grab the kid on his way back from school, preferably once he reached the quieter areas around the residential district. That way there wouldn't be too many heroes. They'd swap him with the flash clone that they had and stage it to look like he'd passed out from what would later be discovered as Boren's Syndrome. They'd need to be careful. The van with the clone was nearby on account of the other agents rushing out of it to form a perimeter around Izuku.

Ryukyu and Death Arms were certainly strong but they had yet to figure out what they were dealing with. The bodies of Instant Villains were absolutely saturated with the Quirk enhancing drug known as Trigger, escalating an average person into as much as an B rank threat. It doesn't help that their sense of ration is practically nullified too. The drug only lasted for several minutes, but the damage they could cause was immense. As Kaina and Izuku were bearing witness to now.

That damn kid, she thought. If he'd just followed his usual schedule, we could've picked him up by now.

Though honestly, she wasn't upset with him. She watched as he defended that kid from the bullies; and how he got his ass kicked for doing it. He'd make a fine hero someday - so long as he survived whatever Halsey had in store for him.

It was then that Ryukyu slammed into a wall, the Instant Hero moving up to capitalize on his momentum. As the buildings around them - some were several stories in height - shook with each devastating blow, Kaina decided the area was now an unacceptable hazard.

"Screw it," she muttered. She leaned into her communications devices and whispered to the surrounding. "All agents, this is Nagant. Change of plans. Get the clone: we're making the swap now."

A moment of silence. Then a man and a woman eased their way from the crowd and to the unmarked van. Death Arms finally emerges from the restaurant and starts yelling at everyone to get clear. Kaina shifts through the wave of people to stand right next to Izuku.

She places a hand on his shoulder and waits for him to look up at her before speaking. "Hey kiddo, I think you ought to come with me. It's not safe here."

There's a twinge of fear in his viridian eyes as he's no doubt realized the full weight of the situation. Those eyes then widen in pure unadulterated terror as an audible crack resonates through the area. Kaina doesn't bother turning to address the noise: she's taken Izuku into a death grip and is now sprinting full-tilt back towards the van. She wants to stay to direct the civilians towards safety, but she continues onward. Misery drives through her heart like a blade especially as the screams begin to start. She has a mission, though. And failure is not an option.

The very earth rattles as the entire face of the apartment complex comes crashing down into the streets. The other agents make it there before her and hurl the van's side door open. She jumps inside, handing the kid off to the other agents so that they can sedate him. He doesn't make any effort to move as the needle pierces his skin. He's stone cold rigid; probably locked up from the fear.

Now's not the time to worry about him, though. A turn of the key and they're speeding off towards the extraction point. She looks around and notices that the two agents who went to grab the flash clone are absent. She turns to the man next to her. "Where's-?"

"Buried under the rubble, along with the clone. There's no way we'll get to them right now," he says.

"Shit," She mumbles. "Notify Control, tell them that they're gonna need to get a clean-up crew out here. Fast."

At least the target was secured.

Author's Note: I apologize for any strange formatting and updates. This is my first fanfic and I'm still trying to get used to how the site works. Nevertheless, please enjoy.