All for One, currently known to the public as his alias Reiji Shigaraki, observed the scant pieces of news coming out of Japan with utmost fascination. He lazed about in his hotel room as he scrolled through the news sites on the phone he had purchased from a local.
[What is the meaning of this?]
[You had informed me that the soldiers you had under your command were mindless.]
"They were. I assure you, this is something entirely different." He assured the alien. "It appears that you weren't the only one to go poking around Doctor Garaki's lab."
There was no other reasonable explanation. The Doctor's procedure for implanting Quirks required the recipient to enter a death-like state, and there is no way that one who had received the process could release themselves. Meaning that someone had found their way into the Doctors lab and reactivated a couple Nomu themselves, along with him.
Subject Number Nine.
He was one of the Doctor's old tests for duplicating All for One, using only a smidge of his Quirk Factor. Nothing more than a proof of concept for the full duplication, lacking any of the other Quirks stockpiled inside. Not to mention only being able to support a limited number of Quirks.
The man himself was an old 'might makes right' type that would make him fit in well with those new age Meta-Liberation folks that had been popping up recently. And with a Quirk like Weather Manipulation, this mindset was rather understandable. But the drawbacks to using it were too much, and he agreed to the Doctors procedure in order to acquire a way around it. His ego was too strong and removed from his own to be used as an effective subordinate, so it was decided to keep him in stasis until an opportune moment arrived.
So of course, someone released him to run rampant the moment Reiji was out of reach. Would it truly kill the Doctor to keep his playthings under a tighter lock and key?
"Either way, they did the job of luring out the user of One for All, so why complain?" He reassured the alien again.
[As long as they don't end up terminating the holder before retrieval, then all will be well.]
"I wouldn't worry about that. Nezu will do his best to keep the boy safe now that Nine has revealed himself." He explained. "And if I'm betting right, they'll end up leaving Japan very soon."
The fact that One for All had begun to manifest the previous users Quirks wasn't a surprise to him. He had suspected his brothers Quirk to allow for such a functionality, but it appears that the other Quirks never manifested in full. Was it because they didn't exist from the beginning like the Strength Stockpiling?
Hypotheticals weren't important though, only results. And the results of almost nine generations of stockpiling have resulted in the Quirks of the previous users manifesting in a much stronger state than before. Seeing One for All boost the strength of other Quirks made an excited shiver go down his spine. He could only imagine the boost in strength All for One, or the rest of his stockpile, would receive upon One for All returning to him.
Of course, he had to develop a way to get it before a certain body-jacking extraterrestrial could.
[Where do you believe they are heading to next?]
"To the only place secure enough to withstand the force of a man like Nine. I-Island. It's an artificial island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and contains some of the most advanced technology on the planet. The place is built to withstand tropical storms, so even Nine's Quirk wouldn't be able to topple it without an effort that would kill him." He glanced over at the notice that had been left to him by one of the government employees earlier. "And judging by the notice here, our trip to Japan has been rerouted there too. It seems someone in the U.S. government has the smarts to not send people to a country under threat from monsters and weather controlling villains."
[To confirm, the Pacific Ocean is the body of water between Japan and the country we are currently located in?]
"Yes?"
[And how long has this location been in existence?]
"The structure itself was being built before Quirks came into existence, but it developed a reputation for advanced technologies right when they emerged. Their hording of riches and knowledge contributed greatly to my success in the early years of my empire." He said proudly. The 'real' leaders of Japan running to I-Island contributed greatly to the Collapse, and him gaining a foothold as a figure of stability back then.
[It appears my suspicions were correct.]
"Pardon? Suspicions of what?" He questioned.
[I just attempted to route into the systems of this I-Island, but find myself blocked by familiarly coded systems once again.]
"You can't be serious." He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair (god, he missed doing that). "Don't tell me the Rat sunk his claws into their systems as well? I knew the former Head of Board was close him him, but to the point of upgrading their security? That seems improbable."
[The system is not the exact same, and there are underlying patterns that indicate a different creator.]
[Unfortunately, the work is still effective at keeping me out of their systems.]
"So then, exactly how did the people of I-Island get access to alien IT support? Did you lose another extraterrestrial rodent? Or perhaps did you drop a manual somewhere by accident?" He asked the alien sarcastically.
[… It appears that this information has become too relevant to keep hidden.]
Reiji let out a soft chuckle. "Finally willing to confess? Don't worry, a certain someone has made sure I can keep a good secret."
[When I arrived on this planet, I had three vessels in my possession. The main facility was a mobile station that was set up underground to wait for the time it would be used to store your species and carry out sweeping experimentations on them.]
[As explained earlier, I experimented on various members of your species through the years in order to encourage the promotion of Extraordinary Abilities within them. These experiments were run on a downscaled version of the main facility, called the Testing Site. It remained on the far side of the moon until it was contacted for use.]
[The final vessel is a single smaller Flyer. It is the only combat-prepared vessel and was used to bring test subjects to and from the facility in space. It usually rested in a cloaked state in the planets orbit, awaiting commands from either facility.]
Reiji sat back, analyzing the information internally. If his suspicions are correct, the 'main facility' was located underground somewhere within the Nevada desert. And the Flyer had also been mentioned before, described as currently defending said facility. The confirmation of it being the only offensive force of the alien was excellent to know as well.
But the Testing Site was new to him. The alien had yet to even hint of its whereabouts until now. It was clear whatever the alien was hesitant to reveal was related to its current status.
As he speculated to himself, the alien continued their tale.
[At regular intervals, the Flyer would enter the planets atmosphere and retrieve a suitable subject. The Testing Site would then exit the dark side of the moon momentarily to meet the Flyer in orbit between the moon and the planet, receiving new subjects while returning old ones to the planet to propagate wanted genes.]
"And how long did these experiments go for, exactly?" Reiji couldn't help but ask.
[Longer than initially projected. Long enough that your species eventually developed the technology to detect the vessels through our advanced cloaking and had the means to reach them.]
[During a routine transfer, the two vessels were attacked by an orbitally launched nuclear attack. I'm the resulting blast-]
Reiji quickly interrupted the alien. "I'm sorry, did you just say orbital nuclear attack?! As in a nuclear warhead launched from an in-orbit satellite?!"
[Correct.]
"I… didn't know anyone had those." He paled as every terrible idea such a weapon could produce formed in his head.
The threat of nuclear weapons had effectively vanished from the thoughts of the common man after the world had recovered from the Collapse. Breakthroughs in energy production and a number of miracle Quirks ended up making plenty of old issues irrelevant, and with the focus on each country's internal issues with Quirks, such dangerous weapons were barely thought of. Sure, they still existed, but there would be no need to use them these days (as far as most thought).
But he remembered a different time. A time in the middle of the Collapse, where everything in society had continued in violent escalation. A time where the falling governments were losing hold on their own people, and everyone thought it was only a matter of time before one of them did something drastic. He also remembered a headline when he was young of an 'accidental' detonation in the space above the Pacific Ocean.
He made another note to go investigate said weapons platform as soon as he had the resources to deal with it.
"I see." He let out a harrowing sigh. "Only the U.S. would have had the means to use such a weapon back then. I'm guessing they shot it down, but… I-Island must have got their hands on it first. I remember the blockade of them by the U.S. Navy, and the surprising generous deal that was made afterward. I always thought the States went easy on them with that deal, but if it was to guarantee exclusive access to an alien spaceship..."
[It appears that your information lines up with my findings. The Testing Site is located at this I-Island.]
"I suppose I should have seen this coming. I helped a friend of mine get some tech from the I-Island, and he said that it was literal centuries ahead of anything on the market. Most of his inventions were only made off those few pieces he gathered." He told the alien. "So now what? It would be too risky for me to attempt to capture them myself, powerless as I am. And if the Rat is heading to I-Island, then it's only a matter of time before the ones running the place get him involved with your downed vessel. I don't want to imagine what horrors he'll get up to with a UFO in his hands."
[And it would be risky to send my Flyer to the location without any confirmation of their defenses. The chance of them having reverse-engineered weapons that could damage the ship are too high.]
Reiji threw up his hands. "So that's it? We've accidentally routed out our enemies from one secured fort to an even greater one?"
[There may be a chance to recover from this situation.]
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, curious at the aliens plan.
[The reason that I was unable to locate the Testing Site was due to it entering lockdown after experiencing a significant EMP assault. The only way to reactivate the systems is by using a biometric code only known to myself.]
"Well then, it seems we're back to square one. As much of a joke the TSA is, even I don't think they'll let an alien through." He let out a sigh. Suddenly, his right hand moved against his will. It raised itself in front of him and began to glow red in a double helix pattern.
[But you forget, I can set your biometrics to whatever I wish. You need only reach the vessel.]
"Ah yes, I only need to infiltrate myself into the most secure place in the planet and find quite possibly the biggest secret on Earth." He said sarcastically.
[I understand that this task goes well beyond our original deal, and so I am willing to arrange another for your continued cooperation.]
"Well, I'm listening?" He had no intention of actually disagreeing. This was the path to his own goal, after all. But it wouldn't hurt to squeeze as much as he could out of this partnership while it lasted.
[You have explained that your transfer Quirk is important to you, yes? While I am unwilling to give the original over, I would be willing to give you the copy currently used by this 'Nine'. Would that suffice?]
Reiji took a moment to pretend to ponder the request. He truthfully had no want for a watered-down version of his own power, but he needed to at least humour the alien. He didn't need it realizing he had other plans, after all.
"I suppose you have another deal." He eventually agreed.
[Understood.]
[Now that our plan of action has been arranged, how do you intend to find the Testing Site. You implied that your influence was nonexistent within this location.]
"Oh, it is. But I happen to have been informed through the grapevine of a certain scientist living there right before my disappearance. He was looking to help a villain group break into I-Island to steal his own research." He had looked forward to using that info to mess with All Might, but a better opportunity has presented itself. "Considering the data about this is on the Doctors terminal, there's a good chance Nine and his crew will somehow… 'convince' this scientist to assist them. He's rather close with the island's top researchers, and would certainly be willing to sell me the information I'm looking for to help him out of the jam he's put himself in."
[But you have no powers of your own. How could you possibly help him against one who can control the weather?]
"Who said anything about myself getting involved? Besides, I'll be too busy finding this lost UFO of yours. I'll just have to do what I do best and manipulate those Heroes towards my own goals." He explained. "We can both agree that it would be a shame for One for All to be wiped out, but luckily I know a way to help even the scales in the young boys favor."
A day's flight later, Reiji Shigaraki found himself landing at the airport of I-Island with the rest of his stranded countrymen. As he exited the plane, he observed those around the tarmac.
Nearby, Nezu seemed to be directing them along with the former Head of Board and the U.S. General that had accompanied them on his plane. They seemed to busy arguing with each other to notice how much of an outlier he was among the passengers, fortunately, and he did his beast to keep his head down.
Glancing around more, he noticed that the man he was looking for, Samuel Abraham. But for some reason, he was guiding two teenagers and a young child away to the island proper. One teenager was clearly Melissa Shield, explaining the closeness to the scientist, a family friend. The child was an enigma though, a white haired girl with a clear horn mutation on her head. How someone with a Quirk avoided the Rapture interested him, but he found his attention drawn away by the second teenager.
They were at a distance, and the images he had seen were unfocused, but the young man in the crowd appeared to be the same young hero from the news. The current holder of One for All. His proximity to the Shield girl only confirmed it. That was his target.
'No.'
He forced himself to focus. He could deal with his brother's Quirk after dealing with his mission. Can't have the alien thinking he's gunning for his prize to soon, after all. Turning to continue following the others, he noticed the people that had disembarked from the plane form Japan had a familiar one among them.
He'd recognize the uniform of Jaku Hospital anywhere.
The young, perfectly normal woman appeared no different than any other nurse, aside from the fact that she carried a small box that was usually reserved for transporting 'organic material' along with the rest of her supplies. He had seen plenty of those boxes though, as it was one of the Doctors favorite methods for transporting isolated Quirks between his labs securely. He noticed the woman's gaze was also taken by the group of youngsters in the distance, and he couldn't help but let out a hum of amusement.
'So, this young lady must be the one who released Nine early?' Her occupation at Jaku Hospital likely isn't some front, as no one else would have stumbled upon the Doctors work so quickly. If she was here, then Nine and his crew likely weren't far behind, meaning his theory on their infiltration method was incredibly likely.
But that box…
What Quirk is inside? And why would she have it anyways? Nine should have the ability to give Quirks to his followers, like those thugs that he used in the attack he read about. She should have no need to carry the Quirk around instead of simply having it herself. There were only two possible reasons he could think of for such an action.
The first was that it was a Quirk that this woman didn't want Nine having, or more specifically it was one she wanted but knew Nine would take.
The second was that it was a Quirk that Nine's weakened copy of All for One couldn't transfer.
There was only one Quirk he could think of among the Doctor's collection that would fit the second reason, and it would almost certainly fit the first reason if that was the case. She wasn't sure how she got through the Doctor's biometrics, but that was a detail for later. He needed to start working this new information into his plan.
It seemed that he would be getting his original Quirk back sooner than expected after all.
Next Chapter: Ambition's Return Flight