It's early afternoon as Hikaru is flying through the streets. People below jump and wave in joy at him, and he returns the greetings with a smile and wave of his own. He lands nearby and a swarm of people approach him.
"Fallout! Fallout!" Many call out to him.
"Can you please sign my bag?" A boy asks.
"Sure thing, buddy!" Hikaru smiles. "What's your name?"
"Sosuke!" The boy replies.
"Sosuke - you really want me to write on this cool bag?"
"Please!" The boy beams.
"Here ya go, Sosuke!" Hikaru hands him his bag.
"Wow! Thanks a ton! You're so cool!"
"Can we take a picture together?" A young woman asks.
"Sure thing!" Hikaru turns to her.
Hikaru smiles and poses with the girl as the camera flashes.
"Me too! Me too!" Another young woman pleads.
"Don't worry! I gotcha!" Hikaru gives a flirtatious smile.
"He's so handsome!" Some girls squeal.
Hikaru takes a few minutes to sign autographs and take pictures with his fans.
"Alright! Gotta fly!" Hikaru waves at the crowd.
"No! Don't go!" People in the crowd plead.
Hikaru extends his wings and darts out of there. He flies around the corner of the street before landing on top of a short building nearby.
"Boy do the ladies love me!" Hikaru smugs.
"Behold!" A man yells below.
"Huh?" Hikaru raises his brows.
Hikaru leans over the ledge of the building and spots a man with a trench coat. He's standing in front of a public library.
"The past era of quirks is soon upon us!" The man yells. "An era where the great Destro advocated for our meta abilities! Free use of our quirks is a basic human right! The government controlling our abilities is a violation of our rights!"
"What's this guy babbling on about?" Hikaru wonders.
"I'll make a statement! For the great Destro!" The man yells as he flings his trench coat open.
The man reveals a vest of bombs on his torso. People scream in horror as they flee.
"Soon! Quirks will be liberated and we shall be granted our freedom!" The man yells.
The man is suddenly struck in the neck with a device that electrocutes him and knocks him out. Hikaru lands next to the man and places his bare hand on the explosive device. He drains the power out of it, rendering it useless, and takes it off the man's torso.
"The hell were ya talking about?" Hikaru rests his hands on his hips.
Hikaru kicks the man over on his back. A red book then falls out of the man's trench coat, catching Hikaru's attention. He picks it up, reading the cover as he crouches.
"Meta Liberation War…" Hikaru reads the title.
Hikaru recalls the man yelling about freedom of quirks, peeking his interest. Hikaru slips the red book into his jacket pocket as the police pull up.
"He's been neutralized," Hikaru tells the police.
"Thanks so much, Fallout!" An officer says. "It's nice to know that Fukuoka is in good hands when you're around."
"All in a day's work!" Hikaru smiles. "Catch ya later!"
Hikaru takes off in flight and lands on top of a nearby building. He pulls the red book out of his pocket, reading the title again.
"Meta Liberation, huh?" Hikaru stares at the cover.
After recalling what the man was yelling about earlier, Hikaru then begins to read the book.
It's late in the evening. Hikaru glides to the top of a building, Detnerat spelled out in lit up letters. He scurries to the rooftop door, spotting the security alarm on it. He places his bare hand on the alarm and drains it, causing it to shut off. He then pulls out a laser from his pocket and powers it with his quirk, melting the doorknob off and pushing the door open. After getting inside, Hikaru quietly closes the door behind him and moves down the staircase. He peers around a corner, seeing that the hall is clear, and scurries down the hall. Upon reaching an office door, he reads the silver plaque: Rikiya Yotsubashi. He glances around before using his laser again to break off the doorknob and enter. He sneaks in, quietly closing the door behind him. He can hear a man speaking on the phone and follows the voice. He leans against a wall, peering around the corner, and spots a man sitting at a desk. The man has spiked up orange hair and wears a business suit.
"Yes, go ahead with the creation of the support items," the man speaks on the phone. "We'll go from there."
The man spins his chair toward the glass windows away from Hikaru's direction. Hikaru takes this chance to sneak over closer to the man, ready to reveal himself. Suddenly, Hikaru is brought to a halt and lifted off the floor. He then feels a pressure around his neck and begins to choke for air.
"Hm? What's this?" The man spins his chair back toward Hikaru.
"He snuck into your office just now," a woman emerges from the shadows.
Hikaru turns his gaze to the woman. She has jet black hair that reaches down to her shoulders. Her pale skin compliments her pitch black eyes that stare up at Hikaru, her closed fist held up toward him.
"He bypassed the security alarm somehow," the woman says. "Do you want me to kill him?"
"Re…Destro…" Hikaru barely chokes out.
"Hm?" The man and woman are surprised.
"Let him go," the man orders.
"But, sir…" the woman is hesitant.
"Let him go."
The woman opens her closed fist and lets Hikaru drop to the floor. He wheezes for air as he coughs and lays on his side.
"Who are you?" The man asks. "And how do you know that name?"
"My hero name…is Fallout…" Hikaru tries to catch his breath. "I'm an agent with the Hero Commission."
The woman moves forward, ready to subdue Hikaru again.
"Hold on," the man says. "He'd be a fool to break in and reveal himself as a spy."
Hikaru coughs as he gazes up at the man.
"What did you come here for?" The man asks.
"Rikiya Yotsubashi…" Hikaru coughs. "You go by Re-Destro…the leader of the Meta Liberation…"
"He already knows too much," the woman turns to Rikiya.
"What do you want?" Rikiya asks Hikaru. "Surely you're not foolish enough to reveal yourself as a spy when breaking into enemy territory."
Hikaru continues to lay on his stomach while coughing, pulling out the red book from his pocket and holding it up.
"Ah, so you've read the Meta book by Destro," Rikiya smiles. "What of it?"
"I wanna…know more…" Hikaru coughs.
Rikiya and the woman glance at each other for a moment before returning their gazes to Hikaru.
"Pull up a chair for our guest," Rikiya tells the woman.
A chair slides over from the other side of the office and stops behind Hikaru. He climbs on to it, still struggling to breathe. The woman walks over and towers over Hikaru as he leans back on the chair.
"If you make a move toward Re-Destro…" she sternly says. "I'll break your neck."
Hikaru puts his hand to his neck, both terrified and intrigued at this woman.
"She's straight to the point, isn't she?" Hikaru glances over at Rikiya.
"And that's why she's my bodyguard," Rikiya grins. "You've met Gravitas. She's one of my top meta soldiers."
"I can see that…" Hikaru eyes Gravitas as she stands by Rikiya's desk. "Aside from the killer instincts, she's really cute."
Gravitas squints her eyes with a glare at Hikaru.
"So you want to know more about the Meta Liberation?" Rikiya leans back on his chair.
"Yes," Hikaru becomes serious.
"How did you know to come here?"
"I followed the trail in the black market. Didn't take long to figure out that you, Rikiya Yotsubashi, were the current leader of the Meta Liberation known as Re-Destro."
"Kudos to you."
"I read the book," Hikaru holds the red book up. "I'm intrigued and want to join the Meta Liberation."
"And what exactly do you have to offer?"
"I'm an agent with the Hero Commission. I have access to a lot of valuable intel. My quirk and skills also come in handy."
Rikiya sits in thought for a moment.
"You'll have to prove your loyalty," Rikiya says.
"How?" Hikaru asks.
"You're to retrieve some intel from the Commission archives. Bring it to me, and I shall grant you access as a member of the Meta Liberation."
"What kind of intel?"
"I know the Commission is digging its nose in the black market, cracking down on the illegal selling of support items. Detnerat is one of the top selling companies at the moment, so I have no doubt they'll be hot on my tail eventually."
"So ya want me to erase any evidence that may lead to you and Detnerat."
"You catch on fast, boy!" Rikiya smirks.
"I can get it done by dawn."
"Bring me copies of the archives as well. That way, I know what they were investigating."
"Not a problem!"
Hikaru gets to his feet and rubs his neck as he eyes Gravitas.
"You're letting him leave?" Gravitas asks Rikiya.
"Oh don't worry. I'll be back…" Hikaru grins at her. "So I can ask you out."
Gravitas balls her fists with a grunt.
"My, I've never seen you this worked up," Rikiya is amused at Gravitas.
"See? Even your boss can see you've already got a crush on me!" Hikaru teases.
Gravitas launches the chair behind Hikaru across the office, causing him to flinch.
"I'm leavin! I'm leavin!" Hikaru smugs.
Hikaru walks over to the nearby balcony and slides the glass door open, his eyes still on Gravitas.
"I'll be back," he winks at her with a flirtatious smile.
Gravitas shoots him a death glare before he jumps off the balcony and takes off into the night.