18/03/2023

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 56 - Investigating the Unknown

"What are you doing, Yoshisato?" Avulynu asked, with a touch of disgust in her voice. He was poking at the mask thing they'd had to surgically remove from the last prisoner.

He looked up at her, his orange eyes wide. "Have you seen this thing?" he asked.

"Of course I have!" Avulynu replied. "It's disgusting."

Yoshisato shook his head. He had neon green hair that clashed with his eyes and Avulynu privately thought that he enhanced the look. His quirk was known as Visibility. It was one of those odd quirks that was almost perfectly useless. He stood out. In every situation, you could spot him. In the dark, he glowed slightly so that he could be seen. In a crowd his colouring would change to the most contrasting he could. So in the general drab colours of Tartarus, he was usually brilliant green, or orange or sometimes fluorescent yellow. There was a particular shade of orange that Yoshisato avoided if he could, the shade that prisoners wore. She hadn't heard of him being mistaken for a prisoner, since he didn't work in that block but it had to be a risk.

"It's fantastic," he told her. There was a note of awe in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Avulynu asked, even though she didn't really want to.

"I mean it's fantastic," he repeated. "The actual way it functions is amazing."

Her silence told him to continue.

"The outer casing is just armoring and protection for the mechanisms. It's those mechanisms that are awesome." He pointed at the mask-like device. "It's a combined respirator, drug injector that is self cleaning, and monitors the drug levels to keep them stable in the patient. Frankly-" Yoshisato shook his head. "We aren't going to be able to do half as well at maintaining his vitals as this thing did."

Avulynu blinked. "It's that good?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "It's that good. If it hadn't been on a villain, this thing, or rather bits of it, would already be in commercial production. I really wonder who made it for him 'cos…" He shook his head. "If they aren't a villain, then they could revolutionise medical tech."

"Hmm," she replied. One thing the public was only peripherally aware of was that any villainous proceeds of crime were generally confiscated and used by the HPSC. As a Commission, they were funded by the government but extra funding was always appreciated. Since this device had come off a villain, it was fair game.

"I know that look," Yoshisato said.

"You are going to register the artefact, aren't you?"

He nodded. That was the procedure. The prisoners may never be getting out of Tartarus but their personal belongings were catalogued and registered just like a normal prison. Some thought it was like taking trophies but it was just part of the procedure. Sometimes those belongings weren't actually theirs anyway and so could be returned to the rightful owners. At other times, well… it didn't happen often but sometimes they could be used for the greater good.

"Put a special note in about the mask. I'm sure there will be those willing to investigate," Avulynu told him. Unspoken was that he might get a bonus for reporting it, especially if it was as good as he said it was.

"I'll do that," Yoshisato agreed. "This thing is too good to let it go to waste."

She chuckled. "I'm sure someone will get around to telling him too," Avulynu told her colleague.

He grinned. "Yeah, at least something good will come from him.

"And won't that be just the final nail in his coffin?" she asked. Villains generally hated to be useful to the general public and, so making them useful, even in a small way was fun.

"He might expire from joy."

She snorted.

They weren't that lucky.

-ted-

UA was a big school, so if you wanted to, it was pretty easy to lose yourself in it. Izuku had the moment he'd gone through the gates. It was actually rather odd since most of the grounds were devoted to hero training and they were the smallest cohort of students. Right now, he didn't care about that. He just needed somewhere quiet to wait out the day.

After getting Ochaco headed to her little apartment to pack up and head back to her parents he'd spent a few moments writing notes. Then he'd continued on to school. The feeling of being watched had returned just before he got out of the cafe. It was while he was writing the notes, actually. And interestingly, once he got to UA the feeling hadn't gone away. It had stayed until he delivered the notes into the appropriate shoe lockers. So… it was a student watching him. It made him almost regret going to school so early. He could have seen who was conveniently late if he'd loitered. But for now, he'd just have to wait. He was sure they'd reveal themselves soon enough.

Last night, he'd been willing to go along with his father's plan, which actually meant he'd made the decision his father wanted. He would go to school and then work in the background to bring about change to society. Now though… If society was going to hurt his friends, was going to make stupid decisions like that, he was prepared to be far more direct in destroying it. And, it would mean he could be far more direct at getting his father out of Tartarus.

The world would call him a villain but…

He nodded to himself. He could live with that. But while he was doing that, he'd be on the look out for someone sympathetic in parliament who could make changes legal. He'd seen what happened to those who overthrew governments forcefully. They had to maintain force to keep themselves in power and then no matter how good their intentions had been, when they fell, usually anything good they had suggested was completely eroded by their perceived evil. He would act to change the world and then… If someone else made the changes legal, they'd be far more likely to remain.

It wasn't a short term plan though. It was a long term consideration so he'd think on that later. Worst came to worst… he'd have to take control and then- Again, thought for later.

For now, he was waiting. He'd put challenge notes in the shoe lockers of those students who were involved in the stupidity Tomura had perpetrated. He'd messaged them all but wasn't sure if they'd all come. Then he'd found an out of the way place to think.

He wasn't being very productive. His thoughts kept going around in circles because he really needed more information. Just as he was about to get up and go to his last morning class his phone beeped. It was the particular beep he had for Doctor Garaki.

Izuku's eyes widened and he scrambled through his bag for his phone. He pulled it out and looked at the message.

Kurogiri and Tomura's phones are compromised. Your father's one destroyed.

The information was brief and to the point but was exactly what he needed. I called them, will that be compromising? He sent. If it was, then he was going to need a new number.

Maybe, came the reply.

He'd been afraid of that and while the Doctor couldn't see it, he nodded. Do they have new numbers yet?

Not yet. Laying low. I'm not sure where, the Doctor sent through to him.

Were any other numbers compromised? He asked.

Other numbers?

Izuku shook his head and then looked around. He was in one of the branches of the library and while it seemed to be secure, he couldn't be sure. He got up, and headed to the door. The day was cold but not raining, and it would be safer if he had this conversation in one of the training fields. Sure, there were people who's quirks could overhear his conversation but they had to be focused on him. And they probably weren't going to be.

He trotted out to the centre of a field and called the Doctor.

"Izuku," Kyudai greeted him.

"Doctor," he said.

"I am sorry about your father," he said.

"He won't be in Tartarus forever," Izuku replied easily. "Will Tomura contact you?" he asked pointedly.

"Kurogiri probably," Kyudai replied.

Izuku nodded at that. "You told me that Tomura and Kurogiri's numbers are compromised, but are any of the others?"

"Which others?" the Doctor asked again.

"Himiko and the other's who were with Tomura," Izuku explained. He had to remember that the Doctor wasn't involved in everything.

"I don't know," the Doctor replied after a few moments of thought. "Probably not all of them," he concluded.

"I'll try Himiko's then."

"Kurogiri may be keeping them off comms."

Izuku sighed at that. "Can you help me then?"

He could almost feel the look the Doctor would be giving him. "What do you need?"

Izuku took a deep breath. "I thought I could go through with the plan as dad wanted. Go to school and then be the go-between but-" He took another breath, and was thankful that the Doctor waited for him to continue. "I can't. Not with him in Tartarus and not-" he didn't elaborate further. The Doctor didn't need to know and probably wasn't interested.

"What do you think you'll need?"

He noted that the Doctor hadn't committed to helping him but was at least checking what was required. The man was like that. He thought about it for a few moments. "Transport out of here, maybe," he said. He was sure at least some of the so called hero students would come to his challenge and then once that was over, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to walk away. Hopefully he could get home but if not- There was nothing there he needed. If the teachers or someone interfered then he may need to get out of here quickly.

"I can do that," the Doctor said. "But you'll have to stay with me until Kurogiri initiates contact," he added the condition.

"That's okay," Izuku agreed. He could wait… and he could talk to the Doctor about resources and things like that. The time wouldn't be wasted.

"Message me on this number," Kyudai said. "Do you want me to contact Gigantomachia?"

"What?" Izuku had assumed… well he hadn't really thought about it but if his Dad had been fighting he had kind of assumed that Gigantomachia had been defeated.

"Izuku, your dad knew what he was doing," Garaki told him, matter of factly. "He-" the Doctor sighed. "He didn't want to be defeated but he knew you and Tomura weren't ready, so he knew he had to fight. But before that he sent Gigantomachia away so that you'd have some help."

Izuku actually felt slightly better when he heard that. He didn't like the thought that Gigantomachia had been so easily defeated. He didn't like the fact his dad had been defeated but dad was injured. But if dad had sent Gigantomachia away then… It just made him feel better.

"Let's see what happens first," Izuku decided. If Gigantomachia was safe then he could remain safe for a bit longer. He needed more information before he could decide anything for the long term.

He heard the Doctor sigh. "Do not let anything happen to you," Garaki said. "Your father would be very-"

"Angry?" Izuku prompted.

"Disappointed," Kyudai finished.

"I'll be careful," he reassured the Doctor. He meant it too. He would be no use to his father if he was captured and treated as a villain. He might only be sixteen but- There would be risks for him, especially once people knew what his quirk did. The Commission would probably offer him a plea bargain which would equate to him being their slave. He'd rather go to Tartarus as well than that except… that wouldn't be what awaited him.

He shook his head. "It will probably be about five," he told the Doctor to make sure the man was available. He didn't want to call for assistance and get nothing.

"I'll be ready," Kyudai told him.

"Thank you."

He got the feeling the Doctor wanted to tell him to be careful but thought better of it. He'd already given the warning.

"I'll catch you later," Izuku added before hanging up. There wasn't anything more to say. He glanced back at his phone, checking the time. He had time to collect lunch and then find a place to wait out the afternoon. If he went now, he'd beat the rush and wouldn't have to come up with some explanation for the other management students. They wouldn't understand.

They would. Before he was finished, they'd understand how skewed their world was but they didn't understand now. They had no reason to. Most people didn't, which was the problem.

He had to find some way to make them care. Maybe the Doctor would have an idea because at the moment… Just tearing down hero society would bring enemies and he didn't want enemies, he wanted those who saw the truth, those who would then help him change society. Tearing down society was one step but it was meaningless unless you could build something in its place.

Izuku nodded to himself. Even just thinking that had helped. It wasn't a plan but was a goal but setting the goal would lead to the plan.

He'd just need to work on it.

-ted-

Setsuna gulped as she stood in front of Aizawa and All Might. The Number One Hero was in his small form, as people were coming to call it. He appeared comfortable in it. More comfortable than everyone else anyway. The bell for lunch had gone but 1A's Homeroom teacher had asked her to stay.

"I trust you have a reason for being late?" Aizawa asked pointedly.

Setsuna nodded. "I was watching Mitei Chui as ordered," she replied.

"And?" All Might prompted her to continue. He was much more gentle than Aizawa.

"At 0655 he left his apartment for-"

"Summarise," Aizawa interrupted. "I don't need times."

"Yes, Sir," she agreed. "Mitei Chui left early and met with Ochaco Uraraka from Class 1B on his way to school. They had tea at Cafe Chaya, before Mitei continued to UA."

Aizawa nodded, obviously expecting her to finish there.

All Might cocked his head slightly.

"Once he arrived, Chui put notes in eight shoe lockers, and then I went to class."

"Notes?" All Might asked.

"Challenges," Setsuna told him.

Aizawa looked like he had a headache. "What did the challenges say?"

If she knew they were challenges, then her homeroom teacher had rightly determined she'd read at least one of them.

"I only read Kaminari's," Setsuna admitted.

"What did it say?"

"I can read it if you'd like," she offered.

All Might nodded.

Setsuna reached for her phone. She'd photo'd the note before hurrying to class. She flicked through her photos to the one she'd taken and zoomed in on the text. Thankfully Mitei had neat hand writing.

I'm really not sure how you got into Heroics, because your performance the other night proves you are nothing more than a glory seeking vigilante. And vigilantes deserve to get put down like the rabid dogs that they are. You should be on your knees thanking whatever pitiful god you think listens to your worthless self that you haven't been expelled… But then, Heroes need people to maintain the status quo, not actually be intelligent. I, however, find you to be repugnant… Of course, you could prove me wrong, you could show me you are worthy to be in the hero course. So try it. 5pm. Training ground Delta. That's the triangle.

All Might looked vaguely amused by the challenge. Setsuna wondered if he ever got challenges from Villains?

She'd read it and thought that Mitei really didn't know how to write a challenge note. It really was too wordy. She wasn't sure if the others were that bad or not. If Bakugou's was then it was likely he'd blow it up before he read it all the way through.

Aizawa expression was far more neutral before he sighed. "Kaminari won't be able to refuse that," he muttered.

"Really?" All Might asked. "It's obvious that the correct answer is to ignore it," he added.

Setsuna was interested in listening.

"It is but he won't," Aizawa retorted.

How was the correct answer to ignore it- Oh! She understood now. Vigilantes would look for any excuse to engage in a fight and use their quirk and… Kaminari had been an idiot for using his the other night. That had been the work of a vigilante and Setsuna knew that everyone had made it clear to Kaminari this morning that he'd been really lucky not to be expelled. There were rumours going around that someone had been! She had been hoping to learn more at lunch.

So… if Kaminari wanted to prove that he wasn't a vigilante, then he'd not show up to Mitei's challenge. That was easy but… why was Mitei issuing a challenge to him in the first place?

"Will the others?" All Might asked pointedly.

Aizawa shook his head. Setsuna wasn't surprised at that. "Shoji might ignore it," he told the other teacher. "And Honenuki will," he added. "He has a mentoring session immediately after UA."

Yeah, that was about right. Todoroki and 1B's Yaoyorozu would probably ignore it as well but… she wasn't sure. Todoroki was odd. He didn't react right all the time. He was skilled but he was… well, he was Endeavor's son so it probably wasn't surprising that he reacted with the sympathy of a brick in most cases.

"Oh," All Might murmured. "We'll have to-" He stopped, remembering she was there.

"Thank you, Tokage," he thanked her in obvious dismissal.

"Do you still need me to watch Mitei?" she asked.

Her two teachers shared a look. She already knew there was something going on with Mitei but that look told her it was far more complicated than she thought. "Check with me tonight," Aizawa said after All Might shook his head slightly.

Setsuna was kind of insulted by that. She had found out about the challenges after all and Mitei hadn't sensed her. He was a management student, he wasn't going to sense her! And if he was issuing challenges, and the teachers were interested in his activities, then they really needed to know where he went and what he was doing. She nodded but had already made up her mind. As soon as class finished for the day, she was going to keep spying on Mitei.

He was up to something. And it wasn't just the normal student things. It was something more and… if All Might was interested in it then it was something big!

No way was she being left out. She was a heroic's student. It was her duty to help and sometimes that meant helping other heroes.

That's what she'd do.

-ted-

Thank you to 真ー暁蓮 from my discord server for the name of the researcher on Tartarus.

At least someone appreciates Mei's work! Finally, her genius can be recognised :D Not... They want to steal it for themselves!

And Izuku is beginning to think about things like security and stuff like that. He has a lot to learn but as I've said in the past, Nezu might now be watching for him on any school cameras but he isn't doing anything incriminating.

My discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all!

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!