Chapter Seventeen
The Plan
"If we're gonna want to rob Imperium, we're gonna need money." Hugo says as he scribbles hastily on a whiteboard. "If we want money, we'll need some big guns and some big… Well, quirks."
Erik raised his eyebrows.
"I've had my eyes on a few retired heroes for a while now, never knew if they might become relevant, but they might be useful for the vault door." Hugo continues, pinning a handful of pictures to the board of old heroes, alongside their true identities. "First, we have Jackhammer. His quirk, named Jackhammer, funnily enough, will allow you to punch through a vault, or perhaps tunnel underneath it, but I do have a few other options."
Erik made a mental note of that quirk.
"Thermite, his quirk, Exothermic Charge, would allow you to burn through the vault door, take out the hinges and the lock mechanism." Hugo says. "Keep in mind that for this operation, we would need to clear your body of all your quirks, not only do you not have room, the heroes know what to look for now and will catch on."
"Got any more quirks for me?" Erik asks, annoyed that Hugo is reminding him of that fact for about the fifth time.
"Of course… Rumbler, his quirk, Aftershock, will allow you to create an earthquake localized to your immediate surroundings. You could destroy the vault entirely." Hugo finishes.
"Any others?" Erik asks. Hugo sighs.
"I suppose you could always ask them nicely to open the vault doors."
Erik weighs his options.
"Assuming we get one of these quirks, what other quirks are we gonna need to steal?" Erik asks before deciding. Hugo slaps another picture onto the whiteboard.
"I'm glad you asked." Hugo proclaims. "No matter which way you go, we'll need to knock out the power momentarily to bypass the security system. I couldn't find any retired heroes that would be easy targets with EMP quirks, but I heard down the grapevine that at a state fair not far from here, a local hero with just the right abilities will be making an appearance. Her name is Blackout and we should be prepared for a fight."
"Will she be the only hero there?" Erik asks, eyeing her photo. Hugo nods.
"Just because she's alone doesn't mean we shouldn't come prepared. I already have tranquilizer guns ready to go, we'll need to bring plenty of those just in case." Hugo explains. "We'll need to drain you of your quirks before you take hers, so you're prepared to take the others when the time comes. You won't be completely useless, though, you have a spare teleporter quirk lying around, don't you?"
"Yeah, a portal one." Erik says.
"Perfect." Hugo claps his hands. "Now, one more thing. We can do this quiet and smart, or we can go loud and dumb. If we go in loud, we'll be able to get in and out quicker, not to mention it'll save us prep work. But, if we go in quiet, hero response time could be slow enough that we can escape with less chance of a fight. I've monitored hero patrol routes and I found that at about noon is when each hero in that section of the city is furthest from the bank. three-minute response time at minimum if we go in quiet, but if we go loud, I'd say closer to a minute thirty."
Erik mulls it over, considering every possible outcome. Jobs that they'd done in the past had always gone well, no matter what approach they'd taken, but now that they were actively on the run and wanted, it might be a bit more tricky.
If it weren't for that stupid kid… Erik thought to himself.
That loose end will tie itself up. A voice in Erik's head piped up, calming his nerves. Still, Erik kept tapping his foot, trying to think of the best strategy for robbing the bank. Eventually, he came to his conclusion.
"Let's go quiet. I don't want any more attention than we need. That kid knowing about us is enough." Erik says. "Do we need anything else?"
"Of course not, I scoped out the joint months ago when we were planning that other job. Intel suggests nothing has changed, it's been a slow year." Hugo says.
"Then let's make them rethink that." Titania speaks up, after almost an hour of discussion. "When's the state fair?"
"All weekend, but Blackout won't be showing until Sunday. She's a busy lady." Hugo tells Titania. "When she's there, she'll have a trailer, and that's where we'll hopefully be able to ambush her. Just don't expect her to go down easy."
"They never do. Get my things ready, Hugo." Erik orders the man.
"Of course." Hugo rushes off, leaving just Erik and Titania in the planning room.
The process of draining Erik's quirks was never fun for him. To remove the stolen quirks, he would need all of the blood flushed from his body and would then need to be painstakingly refilled with blood empty of any quirks. In the end, the only quirk remaining would be his original one, freeing up space for twelve additional quirks. Previously, the limit of quirks wielded by an ordinary person was nine, but Erik was no ordinary person. The cybernetic enhancements he had received from the Allfather allowed him to store three more, as well as keep more vials for safekeeping on his back.
Erik removes his shirt before taking his place on a dental chair, revealing the mess of electronics and metal that occupied the space his torso once sat. Hugo then walks over and pierces Erik's forearm with a needle and tapes it into place before attaching it to a tube hooked to a bag. Erik winces as he feels the blood begin to drain from his body, and his vision becomes dark and fuzzy. Erik's strength was being sapped away as the machinery in his chest began to spin down. His breathing then becomes rapid and shallow as the world begins to spin and his body convulses.
Just before any harm can come to him, Hugo walks over to his other side of the chair and sticks Erik with another needle, one that begins to pump him full of fresh blood. The strength that had been sapped away from Erik returns almost immediately, his eyes shooting open as if he had been shot in the gut. The machinery in his torso spins back up, signaling that the operation was going smoothly. As quickly as Erik's life had begun to slip away, it returned. As his heart begins to speed up, Hugo doesn't waste a second and places a small vial of blood into an open slot on Erik's back. The machinery immediately spins up and starts the process of infusing the quirk held within the DNA with Erik's genetic code.
As the quirk begins to bond itself to Erik, he soon receives new memories, a process that happens every time a new quirk is added to his collection. These memories are usually just instructions on how to use the quirk, but other memories nearly always begin to bleed through and flood Erik's mind. This time, the quirk had belonged to a twenty-year-old man working as a sidekick by the name of Blink. Erik saw memories of when Blink had first used his portal powers, family fun time flashbacks, and other assorted and random events. These memories were rarely fully realized, only bits and pieces. The clearest parts were the quirks instructions. That, and the moment of death.
Erik had felt death many times in his life. They were never his deaths. Erik was suddenly in the shoes of a twenty-year-old sidekick working alongside a bird-themed superhero busting a crime ring - Erik's own. At the start of the memory, Erik, or rather Blink, had felt a rush of pride fly through him. The feeling didn't last long. Erik had known they were coming, so upon entering, Blink and his hero partner were drained of all bodily fluids, and by extension their quirks. Erik feels his hand on Blink's throat, both from his and Blink's perspective at the same time. He remembers Blink's feet slamming against him as the blood leaves his body and his heart rate slows. Erik once again feels the blood leaving his body, but not from his perspective. No more memories after that moment.
"Are you okay, sir?" Hugo asks as he writes notes on a clipboard, analyzing the situation.
Erik blinks and nods, not having noticed the tears streaming down his face. He hastily wipes them away and sits up straight as Hugo removes the needles from his arms and patches him up. Hugo runs diagnostics on the machinery in Erik's torso as he returns to the land of the living. Erik tries to remember more from Blink's life prior, but as quickly as they had flooded in, they had left him. All Erik was left with after that moment was instinct. The quirk was now his to use freely.
"Hugo," Erik begins as he buttons his shirt up and slides a suit jacket on. "Get the car ready. Titania and I have somewhere to be. Our boy Emmet is getting on my nerves and he has somebody I want him to meet."
"Right away." Hugo nods furiously as he scurries out of the room.
Erik closes his eyes and moves his hand in a wide circle, willing a portal into existence. He smirks as he peers into the darkroom occupied by the Allfather.
"The boy is coming here tonight." Erik informs the old man. The Allfather spins his large chair around to face the man.
"Will I have to tie this loose end up myself?" The Allfather asks, tapping his fingers against his temple. Erik smirks.
"All you need to do is scare him. He'll inject himself and then we win. Easy as that." Erik gloats. The Allfather groans as he turns his chair around. "I swear it."
It may not be the fastest I've ever updated this, but I think I'm pretty proud of this chapter and where things are going. If you notice any inconsistencies with the writing it's because I've never written in third person before these past few chapters. I greatly prefer first person because it feels more personal, but I'm having fun trying something new. Remember to leave a review and tell me what you think, I may start replying to them in author's notes, but who knows. For now, I'm grateful for everyone who's already left a review and favorited or followed. I'll have the next chapter up soon!
