18/07/2023

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The Emperor's Dragon
Emergence 88 - It's a Learning Curve

Dabi sighed internally. Of course Shouto would message now. When they were about to go on a mission. He glanced down at his phone.

Where can I meet you?

It was 2:43am! What was Shouto doing up? Dabi slipped his phone away. He'd have to answer it later and Shouto couldn't expect a response from him immediately. But the answer was what he wanted! He just had to organise a time with Dragon. Speaking of whom… Dragon was having what looked to be a heated conversation with the misty guy. The warp gate was apparently refusing to do something. Dabi wasn't sure what but they appeared to be discussing numbers. He watched as Dragon frowned and huffed. While he wasn't proficient at reading lips, the words were clear enough that he didn't need proficiency.

One then. In and out.

Dragon hissed them, while glaring at the misty man. The warp gate stared back before nodding. Dragon glared for a moment more before he huffed and turned away. He looked at Whisper and gave her a smile. "Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded and made a gesture as if she was flicking something outwards. He didn't feel any different, being in the radius of Whisper's quirk but it was suddenly eerily quiet. He couldn't even hear his own breathing! That was… odd. Intellectually he'd known there were things he heard all the time but didn't think about. Actually experiencing it was odd.

He watched, listening to the background beat of his heart, as Whisper disappeared and Compress picked her up, putting the pearl safely in an inner pocket. Twice moved to stand next to him. He had his mask on and from the vague expression Dabi could see he was being serious. Dragon and the warp gate stepped into Whisper's sphere of influence and after Dragon covered himself with scales, and flexed his clawed fingers, he nodded at the misty man.

They'd discussed the plan earlier so there was no need for further communication. And really it was a simple plan. Arrive, grab the prisoners, and leave. It was best to keep it simple.

The holding cells were set up for the night, so the light difference was minimal. The warehouse had a black feel to the light, the holding cells had a blue light tone.

Dabi glanced around and then threw fire balls at the security cameras. It would make it obvious someone was there, and the Police reaction would be quick but it might buy them some time. Then he advanced to one of the doors. Dragon was already breaking the locks on the cells. He had indicated he might be able to melt the locks to the holding cells but it would take him too long. Twice, or at least one of his clones was following Dragon, and grabbing the prisoners.

Dabi could see that they were shouting but he couldn't hear it. He could see where Whisper's quirk was useful, but he could also see the disadvantages. If they couldn't talk to each other, then they couldn't adjust their plans. They could barely communicate. But it appeared things were going well. Twice was wrestling the prisoners they wanted into position, and Dragon was… He was at one of the entry points, holding the barred door closed with one hand. Himiko was doing something with the lock. He could see officers through the door and several had drawn their firearms. Dragon didn't look concerned. Were his scales really that strong?

Whatever else Dabi was thinking left his mind when he saw a flash and a sheet of ice covered the door. Dragon's scales might not be that strong, or he might have another quirk that would block bullets but he also had Shouto's quirk. He resolved to answer Shouto's text as soon as they got back. Dragon said he'd give the quirk back, and so far he'd done everything he had said he would do but…

There was no need to tempt fate.

In the silence it was actually hard to know how much time had passed, so while he was watching the door, Dabi was also glancing back to see how Twice was going. That's how he saw that the warp gate had formed again and that Twice's clones were wrestling the prisoners through it but he also saw one of the other prisoners decide that their dubious freedom was better than here.

Dragon saw it as well and Dabi saw the way he rolled his eyes. It was half in exasperation and shock. Then he did something. There was nothing to see but the prisoner was pushed back. Dragon got to the warp gate first and then waited.

Dabi was impressed. While he had agreed to follow the kid in exchange for Shouto's quirk, the fact that Dragon was willing to make sure everyone got back safely was… well it was a darn sight better than a lot of bosses. He hoped the kid had enough self preservation.

Twice was already through the warp gate and Dragon gave Himiko a small push over it. Dabi watched as Dragon pulled a small scale loose and dropped it to the floor before he jerked his head savagely, indicating that Dabi should go through. Just as he was about to, one of the doors flew open.

Dragon snarled and did something. It looked like he was pushing at the air and the officers who ran through flew backwards. Dabi didn't get to see anything further because he went through the warp gate. Compress followed him and then Dragon. That was a good touch. The misty man appeared behind them.

Twice was holding all the captives but some were struggling. Dragon glared at them. While he did have quite an aura, apparently they knew exactly how bad this was going to get and struggled harder. It was surreal, watching in silence as one of them broke out of Twice's grip. Dragon's lip curled in a snarl and pushed his hands forward. Dabi half expected a torrent of ice to spring forth but instead it was chain. Interestingly, it didn't go straight to the prisoner. Dragon launched them upwards.

A moment later Dabi understood. The chain looped over one of the rafters before coming down on the prisoner and wrapping around him. Dragon then hauled him upwards, ignoring the shower of sparks generated as the chain moved over the metal rafter. It was kind of interesting to see how easily Dragon was holding them. He did not appear to be straining and as he held the chain in one hand, he turned to Compress. The magician knew what was required, and pulled out the pearl that was Whisper. The woman appeared and looked around.

It would be odd for her. She had no idea what had gone on but she knew that once she was released she could remove the area effect of her quirk.

The sudden return of noise was a bigger shock than the silence. The prisoners weren't silent and there was the grunts of effort from Twice to hold them. The man wasn't weak but the prisoners were desperate.

Dragon huffed. "Release them," he ordered, stepping forward. The command brought attention to him and Twice did as instructed. Dabi almost shook his head as one of the prisoners lunged towards Dragon. The others desperately looked around, seeking somewhere to run. The teen huffed again and made another gesture. More chain flew and the prisoners were soon restrained.

They weren't silent though and with another flick of his hand, Dragon did something that put flat chain over their mouths.

The quiet was shocking and what was impressive was that Dragon was holding them all in place. He'd somehow merged all the chain together so that he was only holding one bit. He huffed and jumped. It was a quirk enhanced jump as it took him to the rafter, where Dabi could see him quickly wrapping the chain around some of the supports. It held the prisoners in place without tying up one of his hands. Then he dropped back to the floor lightly. He looked up at the prisoners.

"You guys know what you did," he said softly.

It was an interesting way of pronouncing doom and Dabi wasn't the only one interested in what Dragon would do now. The teen glared at them, ignoring the muffled cries from the prisoners before he turned his back, letting the scales over his body fade.

He looked over them and Dabi noticed that Dragon's hair was green at the moment. The teen had a habit of changing the colour. He wondered if this was his natural colour.

"Thank you for your assistance," Dragon told them, with a slight bow.

Himiko laughed. "What'cha gonna do with them, Izu-kun?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet," he admitted. "I might give them to the Doctor. He apparently always needs test subjects."

Dragon spoke about it casually, yet it was anything but casual. They didn't know who the Doctor was but knew Dragon had gone to see him a few times in the past couple of days. With the statement, it became clear this Doctor was not one who- Well, he, Dabi presumed the Doctor was a he, was one of the underworld Doctors. They'd heal you but they always had some side projects.

Compress looked at the teen. Dabi was pretty sure the magician was going to stay but right at the moment he wasn't certain. "What did you learn?" he asked.

The teen cocked his head slightly. "About?" he asked with a frown.

"The mission."

"Oh!" There was a wealth of expression in the single syllable. He thought for a few moments before giving an ironic smile. "Whisper's quirk was a little more effective than I thought," he admitted, giving her a nod to indicate there was no blame placed on her. "If we had ear pieces, would we have been able to hear them?" he asked.

"I don't know," she whispered.

"Then we will have to find out," Dragon said before looking back to Compress. "That was the main issue. We had no way to communicate and we were lucky the Police were reluctant to use all the force they could."

"You blocked them though," Compress indicated.

"I did, but I'm pretty sure they could have fired first and questioned later," Dragon admitted. "Still, this mission will send the statement I want," he added. "Though… If I was to do this again, I would try to find more information about holding cells, and who else was there. That would save some time and-" he broke off.

"And?" Twice prompted, looking serious as he pulled off his mask.

"I would have tried to find out what security was there. These were only holding cells, so there wasn't much but other places will be better defended."

Those were good lessons and it spoke well that Dragon was willing to learn them. He looked around at them all. "I'll give you some time to decide if you want to stay, and then-" he shrugged as if their decision meant nothing to him. Dabi knew it was anything but.

"With them? Without them?" Twice asked, pointing at the prisoners.

Dragon glanced up and gave a smile. "They aren't going to be telling anyone," he assured them and then turned to walk to the far end of the warehouse where there was a small room. It would give them the illusion of privacy to talk and it was a nice touch.

"I'm staying!" Himiko said needlessly.

That got her a nod from Compress and Dabi took the opportunity to take out his phone. He still had to message Shouto.

"You are staying as well?" Whisper asked him.

Dabi looked up and realised that taking out his phone had given away his intentions. "If he can do what I asked, yes. I made a different deal," he told them.

Compress spun his cane. "It is a decision we must make for ourselves," he said, "but I am inclined to stay. He is young but he accepts guidance and-" Compressed didn't finish.

Whisper looked at him curiously. "He has a sense of presence," she told them.

The magician nodded. "I believe I will stay," he decided. "He will either change the world or-" There was no need to articulate the or. They all knew what it was.

"I am going to stay," Whisper confirmed. "It is nice to be considered when planning a mission. I've always been told my quirk was weak, or stupid. He didn't think that. He immediately thought how to use it, I like that." She nodded and then blushed as if realising how much she'd said.

"What about you?" Himiko asked Twice. He hadn't said much. Dabi figured he was nervous since they didn't know each other that well, though the past few days had changed that. Being forced to stay in the same place with people was a good way to get to know them.

"I'm staying. I'm not staying," he replied.

Himiko grinned. "Yay! Izu will be so happy," she announced, clapping her hands.

"Have you met the Doctor?" Whisper asked.

Himiko shook her head. "Maybe we all will," she grinned.

Dabi shook his head and looked down at his phone before he signed. He really needed to talk to Dragon before he could answer. "I'll go tell him," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"You think this is going to fail?" Compress asked him.

Dabi shook his head. "I think this will either be great or-" He huffed to cover the or as he walked to the back room.

"Come in," Dragon said before he even got close. Green eyes looked at him sharply and Dabi was reminded that though Dragon was just a teen, he was pretty sharp. "They're staying?" he asked.

"They're staying," he confirmed.

"And you?" Dragon pressed.

"Shouto wants to know where he can meet us," he replied casually.

It took Dragon a moment to understand and then he sighed. He held up one hand, letting a tongue of flame dance over it. "And I like his quirk," he murmured. "But a deal is a deal," he agreed.

Dabi felt relieved at the final words. For a moment he'd been afraid that Dragon would keep Shouto's quirk. "So when?"

Dragon looked down for a moment, thinking. "This afternoon would be best," he decided. "The heroes will be dealing with the fallout of events and have less time to organise an ambush." The teen looked up and gave him a sharp look. Dabi knew what it meant.

"I haven't told him but Shouto is not stupid," he said. If Shouto called a hero then the deal was off. That was implied and his brother was smart enough to realise that.

"We'll have to deal with that if it happens," Dragon acknowledged. "Organise a time for one of the municipal parks near UA, and I'll make sure we get there. Then-" He sighed.

"Then?" Dabi prompted. He was kind of curious as to what Dragon had planned.

"Then, I'll tell everyone what I really want, and we can start to work out a plan."

"I thought you wanted to remove the hero system?" Dabi didn't demand, he knew better than that but if Dragon had changed his mind then he was out.

Dragon cocked his head slightly and then seemed to grasp what he meant. "Specifics," he explained with the single word.

"Ah," he nodded. "So what are you going to do with the prisoners?" Dabi asked, jerking one thumb back towards the warehouse.

The teen was silent for a few moments before he snarled. The emotion was not directed at him. "If I wanted them dead, I would have just killed them in the holding cells," he said. "For what they did, I want them to suffer."

"So you'll give them to the Doctor?" Except for his earlier suspicion, he didn't really understand how that was suffering.

"For experimentation," Dragon told him, confirming what he'd thought. "I think being stuck in a form that has to obey me absolutely will be justice. Not to mention the process taken to get there," he added with a vicious little grin.

Dabi reassessed his new boss again. The teen was young and he seemed innocent. He wasn't aware of a lot of the niceties and the rules of the underworld but… He almost laughed. Dragon didn't have to be aware of them. He'd make his own rules. And if sometimes he was merciful, then there were times when he would be vicious. The world was going to underestimate him but probably not for long.

Even so, it was going to be one hell of a ride.

-ted-

Well, now they have most of the idiots, except for the vigilante and Shouto has come to a decision. Fun and games in both ways.

There is an omake (or two) that goes with this chapter and I will be posted one of them shortly.

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!