Well, technical issues with the site have prevented me from being able to see how many people are actually reading this story, but I want to believe there's a good number of people liking what they're seeing so far. Until this issue eventually gets resolved (hopefully), I would like to respectfully ask anyone who reads this to please leave constructive reviews so I can have an idea what I'm doing well, what I need to improve on, etc. etc.
Life is very difficult for a lot of us right now, and I want to make something that can bring enjoyment to people, and it seems like reviews are currently the best way I can know that for sure, so please, doing so would be very much appreciated.
My Hero Academia does not belong to me. It belongs to Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. The only thing I own is my original characters and the original aspects of this story. Though if Horikoshi were to canonize my character like he did with Bubble Girl, that'd be pretty cool :)
A/N: [[]] denotes that the characters are contextually speaking Russian.
Chapter 2
Leaving It All Behind
(Оставив Все Это Позади)
The faded shades of blue in the pre-dawn sky were just the same as they ever were when Nikolay Bezpalov finally woke up, feeling as groggy as usual. One of the very few nice things about living so removed from the rest of the city was that there were no barking dogs, echoing domestic disputes, foghorns from the harbor or noisy cars to force him up before his alarm clock could.
However, that didn't help him sleep any better. Nothing ever did; although he would be damned if he ever told his father that. The old man silently worried over him enough as it was, he didn't need anything else weighing heavy on his mind. Nikolay hurriedly shook those lingering thoughts away in an attempt to wake himself up, fitting his ever-present gloves over his hands before stepping out for breakfast.
He wasn't surprised to find the hulking frame of Oleg Bezpalov sitting at his usual spot in the kitchen, a large mug of tea in hand as he looked out the window to the skeletal-looking trees that lined their tiny patch of land. His father always made a point of getting up before the sun could, but upon closer inspection, Nikolay was caught off guard to see just how deep in thought Oleg actually was. Normally he would have noticed his sons' arrival instantly, and be right back to his typical well-meaning salt-of-the-earth self.
[[Have you been sitting there all night, Dad? Did you get any sleep at all?]] The words just came on their own, but were thankfully able to snap Oleg out of whatever train of thought he'd been so absorbed in, putting on that expected casual grin he always wore when hiding his real feelings. [[Oh, of course, Kolya. Clearly you did too, otherwise you wouldn't be looking so spry already.]] The intended sarcasm did not go unnoticed. Nikolay knew very well by now that 'spry' never described him any time of day.
Deciding it was far too early to even react, the boy tiredly got to making toast and tea of his own, while his father continued watching his back silently, his blue eyes momentarily reflecting the conflict he'd been debating the whole previous night. [[What were you thinking about when I came in? I'm not used to you looking that pensive anymore.]] Oleg had almost missed his sons' sudden question as the boy sat at his usual spot, not once looking his father in the eyes as he ate.
[[Was it about…the anniversary?]] Oleg felt a momentary chill as the words left Nikolay's mouth. Even after eleven years, the knowledge of what this season would bring the two of them especially, never felt any less painful. In fact, it only ever seemed to make the void that stood between them grow larger every year. Oleg had to momentarily struggle not to meet his sons' obvious baiting. Talking about this only made the unspoken tension between them that much worse.
[[No. Just thinking about a number of things. Things with work, how we go about your martial training…if you would still want to do that.]] Oleg's tone sounded believable enough, but Nikolay could feel there was something missing, something his old man wasn't telling him. [[Do you think we could save that for tonight? I just want to get through today so we can at least have the weekend to think it over.]] Oleg could only consider himself grateful that his son was not outright refusing the idea, so he only gave Nikolay a single nod.
The rest of their breakfast time went by in an admittedly less uncomfortable silence, but Oleg could not shake the habit of not looking at his son and instead focusing on the slowly rising sun through the trees. How could he possibly break to Nikolay what opportunity had been presented to him last night? And better yet, how could he possibly convince his son to take it after everything they'd forced themselves to adhere to in order to survive the last eleven years?
[[Hey, Kolya, how do you think your Japanese is these days?]] Oleg nearly brought his hand over his mouth once the question came out, but he knew he couldn't afford to make himself look any more suspicious than he now already did. Just as he feared, Nikolay stood still at the sink, no visible physical sign of how off-guard he'd been taken. When the boy finally turned to address his father, the confusion in his light green eyes was clear as day. [[Why?]]
[[Oh, we've just been getting more Japanese ships coming into port these last couple of months. There's also been some talk among the crews that some Japanese businesses might be looking to set up offices here, which could likely mean a considerable number of Japanese emigrants. I just remember you and the other kids taking classes in it back in middle school, so I was just curious.]] Oleg couldn't help but feel a little proud at how quickly the story had come to him, but he had no idea if it was enough to convince his son. The boy was certainly smarter than the average fourteen year-old, and had a considerable talent for knowing when he was being lied to. In any other circumstance, Oleg would've been proud of him for that.
[[Well, I'm a little rusty. I've retained some from watching anime and those old samurai movies every now and then. If nothing else, I could at least carry a brief casual conversation if I had to. Seems like an especially random thing for you to start thinking about.]] Nikolay made his suspicions no secret, but Oleg sat firm, convinced that his overall secret was still safe. [[I just want to know you can manage yourself if you find yourself in a situation with someone who doesn't speak Russian, that's all. With business opportunities with outside nations coming back, it may become more likely than you think.]]
Oleg momentarily felt the need to bite his tongue once he realized exactly what he had said. The only reason for outside countries moving in and staking claims was because the Union no longer existed, and the reason for that was too obvious for them. Nikolay didn't say anything, which could have been a good or terrible sign, by Oleg's experience. The boy hurriedly finished his breakfast and began throwing his coat and book bag on, heading straight for the door.
[[Kolya, wait a second.]] Thankfully, his son did as he was told and only gave his father a sidelong glance. [[There's something very important I want to run by you when we're both home tonight. So…please don't lock yourself up when you come home. Please.]] A faint yet noticeable trace of pleading could be heard as Oleg's voice momentarily cracked. There had been too many times in the past when slip-ups like this would drive Nikolay into isolating himself for more than a day at a time. He couldn't afford for that to happen today of all days; not when he knew just what was in the realm of possibility for his son now.
Nikolay looked to be processing what his father was asking, but eventually gave an understanding nod, which earned a sigh of relief from Oleg as he silently thanked whatever god was listening for his son choosing to be this open today. With nothing more to be said, Nikolay stepped out the door into the early morning frost, and Oleg silently watched his son trudge through the snow and mud for school; all the while hoping in his head that this evening, they could finally be able to take an actual step forward with their lives, for his boys' sake.
Vladivostok Shipyards
A few hours later…
The seaside winds were always bitingly cold, but even more so during this time of year, with winter practically knocking at the door. It was that knowledge and experience from working in this part of the country that made Oleg eternally grateful that God had one day given someone the idea to invent borscht. There were very few things he could think of that could warm the bones so thoroughly and keep one going even in the most frigid climates; and even fewer that could keep one sober afterwards.
The workday had thankfully, so far, not given Oleg any trouble or complications, thus allowing him to further ruminate and think about how he was going to talk to his son tonight. He had been thinking over the invitation All Might had given him last night, and the more he did, the more he had found himself considering the pros over the cons. He needed to stop thinking about their situation as a fugitive, and more as a father trying to do what he could for his boy.
Of course, how could he have expected Nikolay to not develop more than a little resentment over these years? Both their entire worlds had gotten destroyed, and they had both been trying to struggle through it in so many similar yet different ways. Oleg had begrudgingly made peace with what his life had now become, even if it still hurt him to see his homeland changing. But Nikolay still had so much of his life ahead of him, and yet had to go through so much change, opposed from what he had only just started to understand. That would have been bad enough for any boy his age.
His son deserved a better life than what Oleg alone could provide him, and it took every remaining ounce of his pride to admit that to himself. They had spent the last eleven years on the fringe because Oleg felt he needed to carry all the weight himself and make this one remaining bit of his life better without anyone's help. Was it out of stubbornness or some deeply rooted sense of atonement? He had long since stopped trying to figure that out and had resigned himself to only focusing on today. Now that a real chance at something better for Nikolay had come, Oleg could only hope he could somehow make the boy see reason and go for it. Spending every day in withdrawn mourning, anger and fear? This wasn't a worthwhile life for anyone, and especially not his son.
[[You sit so solemn and still, you look like the Golden Horn's personal guardian golem, Oleg Borisovich.]] The intruding voice of a young man had so suddenly broken Oleg's contemplative silence, the large man almost flinched from his spot. His nerves quickly calmed down, thankfully, when he saw it was simply one of his co-workers, a young man with semi-long blonde hair and an innocent-looking face like porcelain; Alexei Igorovich, if he recalled correctly. He hadn't made a point of getting very close with anyone he worked with, but he remembered having a couple passive conversations with this one, enough so that he could be considered the closest thing to a friend.
[[Apologies, Alexei Igorovich. I'm just deep in thought about something, is all.]] Oleg returned his contemplative gaze to the waterfront, but could still feel Alexei's continued presence as the smaller man loyally took his seat beside him. [[Well, it must really be something big to make you look so solemn. I'm so used to you just plowing through the work day with seemingly not a care in the world,]] he commented with an amused chuckle to himself, which earned the slightest crack of a smirk from Oleg. [[You would actually be correct. It's something that's just recently come up, regarding my son.]]
To that, Alexei let out a much dryer chuckle. [[I can only hope it's nothing like what I'm dealing with back home. I'm telling you, it's turning into a right mess over there.]] Oleg couldn't help but feel the slightest tingling of curiosity at this. He vaguely recalled a few years back when Alexei had made such a big deal about having a newborn baby boy. It seemed difficult to process that the young man beside him could already be complaining of fatherhood after only four or so years. [[What's wrong? Are the gopniks corrupting the kids at pre-school age now?]]
Oleg let out a low grumble of a self-satisfied chuckle before taking another spoonful of borscht; but when he looked back to his unwitting companion, he was surprised to see Alexei now looked much more serious than he could recently recall seeing. [[No…it's even worse. I think…I think my Valera has developed a Quirk.]]
Oleg could feel his heart momentarily stop. Alexei had never once voiced his own opinion of those with Quirks; by this point he had simply assumed the young man hated them like virtually everyone else in this country. To hear that his own child had one, Oleg couldn't figure out what to brace himself for: that the man would be thrilled, or disgusted.
[[It's been like this for a couple of weeks now. At first I didn't even realize it. It had started with the flowers my wife was trying to grow on our flat's balcony. A couple days after she'd planted them, they ended up dying from the cold. I remember her calling me that day crying about it. But when I got home that evening, there was no sign of that sadness on her face. In fact, she was actually thrilled. She took me to the balcony, and those same flowers were not only alive, they were standing as tall as even the healthiest sunflower.
[[At that point, I'd simply chalked it up to some kind of miracle of nature, but as the days passed, it happened a couple more times. Those times, it was with nearly spoiled produce Sasha had brought home, or with the dead muddy field near our apartment block. Suddenly the next time she looked, the vegetables were as fresh as if they'd been picked right off the vines, and lush green had returned to the fields, in the middle of autumn! Some of our neighbors had noticed that last one, especially, and they started calling it a miracle of God.]]
By this point, Oleg was inadvertently staring at Alexei, but thankfully realized this and looked away before his companion could notice this. [[Well, that is all certainly unusual, Alexei, but it doesn't sound like you have any proof that Valera had anything to do with these things.]] The large man took another bite of borscht, when Alexei suddenly stood back up, his blue eyes reflecting a look of wonder, rather than fear. [[That's right…but then I saw it with my own eyes three days ago.]]
The spoon fell from Oleg's fingers as he slowly turned to look Alexei in the eye, this time no longer able to hide his own look of curiosity. [[I was taking Valera out for a stroll near the edge of the woods near our block. I made sure he wouldn't get too far from me, in case any wild dogs were nearby. In the middle of that walk, I saw Valera suddenly kneel down by some old shrubs. There was a squirrel lying dead and frozen in the snow. I rushed to get Valera away from it, lest he get some kind of sickness from it. I grabbed him just as he suddenly put his hands over it, as though trying to cover it up from the cold. I began to pull Valera away, when I suddenly felt this intense warmth emanating from his body, through my winter gloves and jacket! It was almost like hugging a space heater!
[[When Valera took his hands away, I swear to you, I saw that squirrel get back up like nothing had happened to it. It just looked at us for a few seconds, and then just ran off back into the woods. No signs of rigor mortis, it was like the thing had just been napping and woken up! Valera brought that squirrel back to life with all the vitality it could've had, just like he had to have done with the flowers, vegetables and grass.]]
Alexei was visibly trembling as he reached the end of his story, and Oleg was by now visibly looking around to ensure no one was listening in. If the young man was indeed telling the truth, then Oleg could easily guess what was leaving him in such a shaken state. [[Have you and your wife talked about any of this at all?]]
[[Of course; it's all we've talked about since the incident with the squirrel. Sasha thinks we can keep Valera's Quirk a secret, and I'm inclined to agree. He'd surely listen to us if we told him not to do it in front of strangers. What I'm worried about is what would happen if our neighbors start talking about the plants coming back out of season. That kind of gossip could draw media attention, and-[[and with the media comes the government.]]
Alexei was visibly surprised by Oleg's interruption, but the larger man didn't care. Now that the possibility had been voiced, there was no dancing around it and its potential consequences. [[You're right, Alexei. If the news comes sniffing around, the government won't be far behind, and they're not as quick to credit such things to the likes of God as a couple old babushkas are. They'll start having eyes and ears set up everywhere, and they'll be watching every move anyone who lives in your area makes. If Valera ends up accidentally revealing his Quirk, even for an instant, they'll swoop in on you all like a hawk on a defenseless rabbit.]]
Oleg's heavy-hitting reality check left Alexei looking limp as he sat on the edge of the harbor, looking forlorn down at the frigid water below. Oleg knew that defeated look far too well. He dreaded to think of how many times he let himself look that way when it was just him alone at the end of the night. [[Do you have money?]] Alexei barely lifted his head from his slump, looking at Oleg with what could only be called 'total confusion'. Oleg never broke his gaze from the eastern horizon, glistening under the afternoon sun.
[[You want my advice, Alexei Igorovich? Take all the money you have, use it to buy yourself and your family a ticket on one of these freighters, and just leave. Leave for somewhere, anywhere that isn't Russia. Valera deserves to live somewhere he won't be in constant danger just for something he was born with. Do it as soon as possible, tonight if you have to. That's my advice to you, so it's up to you if you want to follow it or not.]]
Alexei looked back to the horizon, this time with a much clearer air of contemplation behind his blue eyes. Oleg took a deep, steadying breath at what he had essentially just done. If all went well, and if Alexei was smart enough to act on it, then Oleg had potentially just saved an entire family without having to lift one finger. As the two men sat in mutual silence, Alexei let out a heavy sigh. [[You know, ten years ago, right when the Union collapsed and the government started going after people with Quirks, I remember seeing the police taking away my next door neighbor, a boy my age, Maxim. He had a Quirk; he could summon moisture from his hands, used it to revitalize the soil in his backyard so his mother could grow vegetables easier.
[[Every time I think back to that time, all I can see is the sheer terror on Maxim's face when they dragged him out through the dirt before throwing him in the back of a police truck. I can actually still remember the sound of his mother screaming for him as they drove away, leaving her sobbing in the middle of the road. That sound still gives me chills to this day; it was like I was actually hearing a mother's soul being ripped from her body. Ever since then, I had hoped and prayed I would never have to hear such a thing ever again.]]
[[If you stay here, Alexei, not only do you risk having to experience that again; it will be so much worse than it was then. There is nothing worse than the experience of losing your own children, and knowing not only that you'll never see them again, but also that there was nothing you could do to make it right. I've seen that kind of pain reflected in too many faces to just let you risk going through that as well.]]
With that, Oleg rose up to his feet, his already towering posture standing even taller and more powerful than anyone who knew him in this town had ever seen. It was as if he was a completely different person; a man who was now seeing farther than he ever had before. Alexei still had to look up to meet his gaze even after standing likewise at his side. The young man could feel a powerful wave of emotion welling up in his chest just looking at Oleg like this; almost as if the imposing man was radiating within him a sense of long lost hope.
[[Thank you, Oleg. I…I should probably go now. If I wait too long, Valera might do something, get the neighbors' attention. I have to-[[No. The last thing you want to do right now is act irregularly. Tell me, do you trust your wife to keep an eye on your boy?]] Oleg asked with hushed urgency, his large hand clasped just firmly enough on Alexei's shoulder to convey how serious he now was. [[Of course.]]
[[Good. Then listen to me very carefully. Continue working for the rest of your shift like normal. Don't do anything that would draw unwanted attention, just remain calm. When your shift ends, go home, explain everything to your wife, get out of Vladivostok, get to any other port towns nearby, charter a foreign freighter to take you somewhere off shore, they won't have incentive to turn you over to your own authorities. The odds of there being at least one such ship in any coastal city at any time are immense; you should have no trouble there. Once you do that, you should be all right. But until it's time for you to head home, do not act irrationally, understand?]]
Oleg was still looking with momentary glances all around to make sure nobody was watching, but he could still feel Alexei slightly trembling in his grip, clearly intimidated by just how intense he was now acting. Thankfully, however, he ultimately gave the larger man a clear nod of understanding, prompting Oleg to finally let him go.
With that, Oleg began to turn around to leave the scene and return to work, before he caught the sound of Alexei's boots scraping the gravel. The man was clearly beginning to follow after him, but still keeping his distance. [[Oleg…thank you. I wasn't…I wasn't sure who else to turn to. I was desperate for a suggestion, or at least somebody who would listen. Still, I must admit I'm surprised. There were times you honestly struck me as the kind of man who would've told me to just…you know, bite the bullet and hand Valera over, to just follow the rules, all in all. I have to ask: what changed?]]
Oleg stood still for a moment, deep in thought, but he could feel a whole new surge of confidence build up in the pit of his chest as the answer came to him completely naturally, as if completely by his own gut instinct. [[Someone once asked me: 'if you're forced to choose between loyalty to a dead country and its dead ideals, and loyalty to your family, which do you truly believe you will choose?' There was a time when I wasn't sure what my final answer would have been. But the answer was always so obvious, and I had blinded myself into forgetting it for a time: a real man is loyal to his family before anything else.]]
Alexei stood looking truly stricken by those words. It was honestly a very nostalgic-looking reaction for Oleg, that kind he used to receive en masse from the people he fought for. To receive it again, even from one person, after all these years couldn't help but give the large man the slightest case of goose bumps. Finally, Alexei once more nodded in understanding before rushing off back to his station; leaving Oleg to momentarily bask in the feeling, the once so distant and ancient feeling, of having actually helped another person where no one else could.
Nikolay never particularly dreaded going to his local secondary school. He didn't bother anybody, and for the most part, nobody bothered him. Regardless of the occasional times the local hoodlums decided to vent their life's frustrations or boredom on him when he was unlucky enough to fall in their sights, he had at least let himself become accustomed to it enough that he could handle the painful bruises left afterward. As long as he just gritted his teeth and bore it, everything would be fine. Avoiding excess trouble was what his gloves were for, and that fact made him grateful every day he still had that option.
However, it was also inaccurate to say he actually liked going to school, either. He had always lived isolated from other kids his age, by choice; but his father had insisted that he at least do what he could to get a general education. Still, necessity aside, spending several hours out of the day among those that he should have felt were his compatriots and peers, only to be constantly reminded they were not, always left Nikolay feeling lonelier than words could describe.
Each day he spent at school, there was always a silent war raging inside his head that none of the students around him could understand. His mind was in a constant state of tug-of-war between eleven years of deeply rooted self-loathing, fear and anger; and the suffocating loneliness that made him want to just scream from the rooftops for someone, anyone to just be there to listen to him, be his friend, and understand just what he was and what he put himself through every single day.
Alas, no matter how often he went through this process, each day reminded him that he was not meant to be so lucky. This world he lived in was no longer meant for people like him and his father, and countless circumstances beyond his ability to change, had made it so that he could not be his true self without putting himself and his father in danger; and would not be his true self for fear of the untold damage and harm he could bring. In his mind, he just knew that if any other fourteen-year-old boy had to go through what he always did, they would no doubt have gone mad years ago. He honestly could not figure out why he hadn't done so himself.
'It's just another day. Just keep your head down, focus on the moment, and everything will go as smoothly as it's meant to.' This was what Nikolay always reminded himself of in his head as he went through each school day, always remembering to keep his head and eyes low. Don't look anyone in the eye, and they won't feel the need to bother with you. This was the rule he had hardwired into his head, and if need be, he was going to abide by it from school through adulthood and to his dying day. This was how he was to keep himself safe, by being completely unnoticeable.
The classroom was the same cold and drab gray, as it always was, made so much more off-putting by the winter cold. Nikolay and all his classmates seemed to be stuck in the same mutual malaise as their teacher prattled on and on about advancements in the study of periodic elements and its affects on the energy industry going forward. As much as he tried to spin it as if it were truly the stuff of wonders, even he couldn't maintain the interest in his tone for the entirety of class.
Honestly, Nikolay was just letting the information play out automatically, not even having to devote the excess energy to actually listen. All the teachers in this school were like this, simply working with what they knew in order to try and make a living; it wasn't the law that they had to outwardly enjoy it. The same went for the students. Every corner of the classroom Nikolay looked, all he could see were his supposed peers either sleeping at their desks, texting on their cell phones from underneath, or simply whispering nothing conversations with their neighbors. Honestly, if he had even an ounce of actual passion for this place, the sight would've even remotely gotten under his skin.
No, the only thing Nikolay could feel besides the suffocating sense of isolation and boredom, was the occasional sensation of an icy chill running up and down his back; the sensation all living things felt when they could feel they were being silently threatened. Nikolay didn't even bother to look around; he already knew where it was coming from. It always came from the same place, the same person. Always seated in one of the furthest back corners of the class was one of the schools few yet more prominent hoodlums, Vanya Fyodorovich Grestin. He was nothing like some of the seedier locals in this city, but he was trouble enough for Nikolay, even if he never personally considered the beatings a problem worth rectifying.
Honestly, he could not blame Vanya for acting out like he always did. He was simply one of countless other Russian youths whose family was completely blindsided by the Union's collapse and the subsequent economic recession. With a drunk of a father with no job and a clearly violent temper, as judged by the bruises Vanya himself sported on the side of his face every day, and in a salty dead end city like this, it was a wonder more of these kids didn't turn to the life of a hoodlum like he did.
Nevertheless, pity on Nikolay's part didn't make the idea of getting jumped and beaten up again any more appealing, so when the harsh ringing of the electric bell broke the monotony to signal the end of class, Nikolay was quick to make his way out with the surge of students and make a beeline for the boys' restroom down the hall. If he was lucky, perhaps he could hide in a stall, and neither Vanya nor his goons would have been able to spot him beforehand.
He moved as fast as he could without forcing his way through the crowd, and quickly ducked inside the first stall he could find, locking the door and pulling his feet up so no one could see his boots. As he remained curled up in a ball in the small space, Nikolay couldn't help but momentarily glance to his gloved hands clutching his knees. 'Just wait it out. He's not in the next class, so as long as you keep your head down for the next couple hours, you can get home just fine. Just let out the day's worth in the backyard, and everything will be as close to fine as always.'
SLAM!
A deafening bang echoed through the restroom, causing Nikolay to instinctively flinch as several pairs of footsteps could be heard moving in, and with unmistakably aggressive intent. [[Hold the door closed so he doesn't make a break for it,]] the unmistakable voice of Vanya ordered in a barely attempted whisper. With that, the door slammed shut, and Nikolay could feel his pulse beginning to rise quickly.
[[If you thought you could actually give us the slip by ducking into a bathroom, you're even dumber than you look, little Kolya.]] Vanya's taunting was just the same as it ever was, and even as he attempted to remain silent, Nikolay's inner voice was already beginning to tell him there was no getting out of this. This bathroom had no windows, what was he thinking ducking into this one?
BAM! Nikolay's panicked train of thought was instantly broken as the door to his stall was viciously kicked open; the metal of the door colliding with his nose, and sending him flat back against the privy with his head ringing painfully. He was still disoriented as a pair of hands violently grabbed the chest of his jacket and forced him to his feet, tossing him aside, only for him to get caught by another pair of arms looping under his own, holding him in place.
[[You really thought we wouldn't find you trying to sneak in here to hide like a coward, little Kolya? Or did you bring us here cause you're actually gonna try fighting back this time?]] Vanya taunted, leaning in close and clutching Nikolay's face tight in his hand. Even as his head began to clear back up, he couldn't help but wince in disgust at the scent of cheap vodka on the hoodlum's breath. 'Already beginning to follow in your father's footsteps, huh?' The thought almost made Nikolay want to laugh cynically, if he wasn't so preoccupied with the blood running from his nose.
[[What's the point of fighting back, when you always have your buddies teaming up with you? Look, why don't you just take my money like an ordinary bully?]] Nikolay asked between his sniffles to try and stop the bleeding. Vanya instantly replied with an exceptionally loud laugh, before smacking him hard across the face with his palm. [[You think this is about money? You think I give a damn about your pocket change? You think I'm just another worthless gopnik, do you? See, that right there, that attitude is what this is all about.]]
With the surprising swiftness of a cobra, Vanya suddenly sent Nikolay lurching forward with a single knee straight to the groin, but the hoodlum holding the boy steady wouldn't let him fall, as Nikolay heaved for air, trying to resist the urge to vomit from the exceptional pain flaring through his whole body.
[[Everything about you just pisses me off. That disinterested look in your eye, the way you always move in such a rush, as if you can't wait to get away from the rest of us. How you never talk; hell, even just your face always makes me want to punch it. You go around with this air like you're so much better than all of us, like we're all just dirty peasants compared to you. Well if you're so superior, then why wallow down here with the rest of the filth, huh? You gonna answer that, little Kolya? You really thought you could have that attitude, and not expect someone to knock your block off?]]
With every sentence, Vanya followed up with another hard smack to the side of Nikolay's head, leaving a piercing ringing in his ears. His vision was almost spinning from the disorientation as he barely managed to lift his head up to look his lead tormentor in the eye. [[Why do you have to do this? I get you're mad because your dad hits you, but do you really have to follow his example there, too? Is it really that hard to be the better-?
POW!
Nikolay's imploring was instantly silenced with a tight fist straight into the pit of his stomach, sending him hunched over once more, his words now reduced to pained coughing and sobs. Vanya stared down at him like a predator towering over its crippled prey, cracking his knuckles in preparation for more while his two goons couldn't help but chuckle in amusement at the overall sight. [[Don't you dare bring my family into this; it's bad enough my old man lost his job and has barely managed to get by, without you trying to spring it on me like you're some kind of psychotherapist! You don't get to talk down to me like you know anything you're talking about, you understand?]]
Vanya yanked Nikolay's head back up by his hair, forcing him to look into his eyes again, but by now Nikolay looked barely half conscious from what beating he'd already taken; not that Vanya cared either way. [[And just look at the way you dress, in a way that's even worse. The rest of us had to move on, and yet you have the nerve to keep going around in these old Red Army rags. That all ended more than ten years ago, and yet you keep flashing it around, like you're trying to rub salt in all our wounds! You trying to make us all feel worse, advertising yourself like some big reminder of how good we had it before it all went away? Is that it?]]
As Vanya could feel his blood and adrenaline pumping up once again, his eyes looked for anything else that could get him even further keyed up, gearing up to lay into Nikolay with another satisfying hit. Finally, his gaze focused on the thick black gloves that always adorned the boys' hands. Gritting his teeth, he motioned for the boy holding Nikolay steady to grab his wrists. His lackey was as loyal as a dog as he did exactly that, managing to stir Nikolay back to reality as his hands were held up for Vanya to see.
[[And these stupid things…out of everything else, this is what pisses me off the most. As if your disgust by having to be around us wasn't obvious enough with everything else, this tops it all. What, are you really so repulsed by the idea of having to touch the same things as the rest of us? You think some lower class germs are going to burn your hands away? Think you're going to get soiled by being around the likes of us? Well, why don't we put that to the test?]]
The instant Nikolay felt Vanya's hands begin tugging at the fingers of his gloves, all of his senses came back in a instant, accompanied by an intense flaring of panic as he suddenly began wriggling and writhing in the grip of the bully behind him, forcing the boy to try and wrestle him still again while Vanya continued struggling to grab his hands. [[I'm taking these stupid things, and then you're going face down in the muck where you belong, dammit!]]
[[NO! PLEASE, DON'T—YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! PLEASE, STOP!]] Nikolay was screaming in desperation as he tried every which way he could to get his hands free, but a carefully timed punch to his face from Vanya left the room spinning. His body went lax just long enough for Vanya to quickly rip the gloves away. However, the satisfied smile on his face quickly gave way to a wide-eyed shock as he couldn't believe what he saw adorned Nikolay's hands. [[Holy crap. He—he's one of-!
Like a switch was suddenly flipped in his brain, Nikolay instantly came back, and upon realizing what had just happened, all his fear skyrocketed, his heart racing like a jackrabbit. Fight or flight became all he could focus on, and before his eyes, as though his body had, for that moment, gone on autopilot, Nikolay raised both his hands up, palms facing outward, as if he were signaling for whatever was before him to stop. A swift yet intense trembling sensation from deep within his body, like a collective internal vibration, quickly moved through every inch of him, from the top of his head and the bottoms of his feet, and all moving directly down his arms, through his wrists, and all coalesced into the palms, joints and fingertips of his hands. And in the very next instant, as time momentarily froze for Nikolay in horrified realization of what was about to happen again…
BWOOOOM!
Nikolay felt a tremendous force launch both himself and the punk restraining him, off the ground and straight backwards, with only the slightest bit of resistance as they collided into the third teen holding the door closed, and subsequently knocking the restroom door straight off its hinges and into the opposite wall in the hallway. The air was only momentarily filled with a deafening burst of subsonic sound as the entire restroom was utterly destroyed, as if a bomb had detonated right in the middle and flattened everything around it.
What few remaining passersby among the students and faculty, broke out into screams at the sudden chaos, quickly followed by the ringing of fire alarms echoing up and down the halls. Laying atop the stack of an outward bent bathroom door, and two unconscious yet badly hurt teenage boys, was Nikolay, lying momentarily dazed as his head pulsed and pounded with a splitting pain the likes of which he hadn't felt in years. However, it didn't take long for his senses to return, and with them, the horrified realization of what had just happened. As he took in his now chaotic surroundings, he made the mistake of looking across the hall into the remains of the boys' restroom, and found a bloodied, barely conscious and hyperventilating Vanya embedded in the wall behind him. He looked as though he had gotten thrown directly into it by a circus strongman at full force.
'Oh god…oh no, no, no, no, not again! Please, no!' Variations of the words were bouncing to and fro in Nikolay's head as all he could figure to do was run, as far and fast as he possibly could before people started getting the idea to call the authorities and report him. His heart was raging in his chest as he immediately sprinted for the main entrance, with thankfully nobody having thought to chase after him, clearly still trying to figure out what exactly had just happened.
The young boy had no set route in mind; all he could do was just turn every corner he could, trying to shake off a pursuing authority that hadn't even come. His mind was a flurry with thoughts of panic, despair, fear, anger, and hopelessness as to what he was going to do. The biting winter cold made the agonizing tears running down his face freeze and burn against his cheeks as he began breaking into hysterical sobs the further he ran through the alleys and back streets, eventually breaking into the woods and trudging through the snow and mud.
The typical mechanical clamour of the docks echoed this way and that, as Oleg was busy hauling a large cart of recently detached rusted scrap from an old fishing vessel they had been commissioned to dismantle. It was intensive work, even for a man of his size, but in his eyes, that made for a better means of keeping himself in shape. An added plus was that a lot of his fellow salvage workers were of similar size and strength, so it made him feel more relaxed each day, knowing he didn't stick out too much.
As he finished throwing the last of his haul into the bed of a nearby truck to be taken away for melting down, his ears suddenly picked up the unmistakable sound of a ruckus echoing from just around some shipping containers. What was more, he immediately recognized both voices involved. Unable to resist his curiosity, Oleg approached the source of the confrontation, and upon rounding the corner, was greeted by the sight of the shift manager, currently arguing with a middle-aged man in dirty and tattered winter clothes. His hair was long and scraggly; a messy mixture of dark blonde and gray, and his unkempt face was a dark red. And since Oleg knew this man, he instantly knew why that was.
The red-faced man quickly spotted Oleg before he could step in to intervene. Even behind the messy fringe hanging over his face, Oleg could see the man's eyes practically bug out with rage the instant he saw him. [[Oh, speak of the devil and he shall appear,]] he bellowed out, clearly heavily intoxicated from the sounds of it. He began to make a beeline for Oleg before the shift manager swooped in to yank him back by the collar. [[Damn it all, Fyodor Elimovich, how many times do I have to tell you not to come here before it sinks into that bottle you call a head? Now get out of here before I call the police!]]
[[I can't believe you're actually going to defend that brute! He comes in and takes my job, and I can't find anything else in this whole damn city!]] Even when drunk, Fyodor was still able to voice his grievances all too clearly, and while the shift manager was visibly trying to resist the urge to lay him out for causing trouble, Oleg was calm as he stepped in between the two men, looking down at Fyodor with pity rather than anger. [[I understand your frustrations, but you cannot blame me for your drinking on the job. That's why you got fired; it had nothing to do with me. The timing was just unfortunate. Now please, just leave here before things get any more unpleasant for any of us.]]
Despite Oleg's pacifying tone, Fyodor was having none of it, as he rudely slapped Oleg's offering hand away, stumbling past the two men and further into the yard. [[You don't get to talk down to me like that, you bastard! It's bad enough you and your ilk ruined everything for the rest of us, but you dare to talk to me like some damn brat throwing a temper tantrum? Screw you!]] Oleg could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raise as he swiftly turned to face his aggressor, his icy blue eyes now reflecting a much more visible intensity. What was worse, Fyodor could see that, even in his drunken stupor, and began chuckling in satisfaction that he had struck a nerve.
[[Oh, what; you think I don't see it? We're a country of big people, but I've never seen a man that quite measures up to you, comrade! I seriously doubt anybody else around these parts has, either. At least, not for the last eleven years!]] The way Fyodor so clearly oozed venom when calling him comrade, made Oleg's skin prickle with a quickly festering anger. He had to fight the urge to form a fist, as Fyodor began to come around with another verbal barb to sink into his thick hide: [[You really think you can grow a beard, change your patronymic, and nobody's going to get wise to who you really are? You really think we're that stupid?]]
As Oleg struggled to try and find words to counter Fyodor's ranting, the drunk turned his attention back to the shift manager, still keeping his distance, as he could feel the intensity radiating off of the larger man. [[And you, you must surely know no regular man can do what he does here every day! I'll bet you knew who he was all along, but you didn't care! Maybe I should call the state police, bring them all rolling down here. They find out you're sheltering a mass murderer, the most wanted monster in the whole Motherland, and you and all the sympathizers here will be lined up for the hangman! Hell, the reward will be so huge, I won't even need to worry about a job anymore!]]
A line snapped in the depths of Oleg's brain, and he could feel every sinew of muscle in his thick arm pulling and tensing as he began to reach for Fyodor's head. That was when the shift manager suddenly came rushing in like a gust of wind and met the drunkard with a single furious fist straight into his face. The sound of the blow resounded with a satisfying power, as Fyodor was sent stumbling over his own feet in a daze from the hit he just took. Oleg could feel the raging fire inside him begin to die down as the man before him finally met the concrete with his face, while the shift manager beside him was clutching his own trembling hand by the wrist, the look on his face clearly distressed by what he had just done.
Before Oleg could begin to calm his unexpected ally down, the screeching of tires suddenly broke the air. Looking towards the source, Oleg felt his heart drop as a truck full of scrap barely managed to swerve out of the way from hitting the prone Fyodor, only to collide head on with one of the supporting legs of the nearby towering shipping crane. The groaning of warped metal grew louder and louder, before being punctuated by the wretched sound of steel cables snapping. Everyone around looked up from the sudden cacophony, and all felt their blood go cold as a massive shipping container up above was suddenly dangling by only two support cables.
SNAP!
One support cable. Everyone in the vicinity of the crashed truck instantly began running for their lives, just as the final cable snapped, and the huge steel container came plummeting down, more than two dozen tons about to flatten the cabin of the truck and the man inside it.
WHAM!
With the speed of an artillery round, and with just as much force, a blur flew through the air and slammed directly into the side of the freefalling container, knocking it far off its course, before suddenly coming to a grinding halt across the concrete several feet away. At first, nobody could logically put together what had just happened, other than a miracle. However, once they actually took the time to observe, many felt their jaws drop in disbelief. Standing before them all was Oleg Sergeevich Bezpalov, the gentle giant of a man they had come to know for a handful of years who rarely ever spoke or spent time with anyone outside of work; and he was clutching onto the side of that massive container with only his two hands, his grip strength warping the solid steel.
Once he had managed to catch his breath, he set the container back down, visibly broken out into a sweat. A wry smile couldn't help but begin to form on his face as he took in what had just transpired. In the old days, such exploits were as common for him as morning tea. Now, he was visibly broken out into a sweat. He really was getting old.
Knowing there was no way nobody had seen what just happened, Oleg spared the moment to look to the crashed truck, wanting to ensure the driver was at least relatively alright. To his surprise, he found none other than young Alexei, looking stunned from within the cabin at Oleg, like he had just witnessed the physical manifestation of God Himself. Was it irony, or was it destiny, that had led him to confide his secret to Oleg, only for Oleg to come right back around and save his life, and by extension, the life of his family? Oleg knew he had no time to ruminate on such questions, as he then noticed the shift manager, and most importantly, Fyodor, were also looking at him with slack-jawed disbelief.
His deep-rooted survival instincts kicking into overdrive like the flip of a switch, Oleg instantly turned and ran as fast as his massive frame could allow him to, which was more than that of even the most well fit normal man. All he could think of now was getting Nikolay, and making yet another break for it. A whole day of planning had gone up in smoke in a matter of minutes. Now he knew there was only one possible option if they were to get out of this latest mess unscathed.
As soon as he began to reach the more bustling parts of the city, his ears picked up the sound of multitudes of sirens racing down the streets in his direction. His heart began racing as he forced himself to keep moving, bracing his fists for a confrontation at any moment. At this point, he would not have been surprised if the state police had already shown up when word of Tunguska's presence had gotten out. The local detachment, like all others, had probably just been chomping at the bit for this moment, and was prepared to comb through every inch of Vladivostok to find him.
Once Oleg reached the exit of yet another alleyway, he skidded to a halt as several police vehicles and fire engines came speeding past, and much to his surprise and despair, in the direction of his son's secondary school. Gut instinct was telling him to follow, and as he began to do so, he passed by a department store display of multiple television sets, all broadcasting the same news station. A momentary glance stopped Oleg in his tracks, as he realized they were showing an aerial view of Nikolay's school, with multiple policemen, firefighters, and paramedics scrambling about while numerous students and faculty were gathered outside, many of whom looking to still be in a state of panic.
[[For those of you just tuning in, a terrible incident involving a potential Quirk-user occurred earlier today at Razvitiye, Mezhdunarodnaya Shkola. Details are scarce at this moment, but the general summary compiled by multiple eyewitness testimonies, is that an unexplained explosion occurred in the first floor boys' restroom. What leads authorities to believe that this has something to do with Quirk-users and not terrorists, however, is that upon investigation of the accident site, no signs of plastic explosives, shrapnel or explosive chemicals were found, despite the extent of the damage. As of right now, only three male students were harmed in the blast, with two currently having received moderate concussions, and one other currently in critical condition. Eyewitness testimony states that a fourth male student was involved in the incident, but fled the scene before authorities could arrive to detain him. School records identify the current suspect as one Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov, age fourteen.]]
Oleg felt his heart drop into the pit of his stomach once the TV displayed his son's school picture clear as day. By the time the news anchor began giving the expected spiel for all citizens to contact the police if they saw him, Oleg had already taken off again like a shot. His blood pumped like mad through his veins, his whole body practically heating up like a furnace as he pushed himself to go as fast as he could. His reflexes were practically guiding every movement he made as he even barreled across the busier streets, narrowly managing to jump or swerve out of the paths of the oncoming cars and trolleys.
'Home. That's the only place Kolya would go if things went wrong. I'll find him there, and we can just leave. He has to be there. I just have to get home. Oh, please be there, Kolya!' Home was the only thing Oleg could focus on as he finally began to reach one of the numerous apartment sections lining the outskirts of the city. From here it was a straight shot to the edge of the woods, and from there he could just head straight to the cabin without fear of anyone following him. At least, today the best he could do was hope that would be the case. 'It doesn't matter, one way or the other. I get Kolya…and then we'll be gone. From this city…from this land…for good.'
Dusk was beginning to fall by the time Oleg had finally stepped out into the clearing around their cabin. He felt a washing over of relief when he saw the lights were on, but the front door was still wide open. Had someone followed Nikolay here and gotten the jump on him? He furiously shook such thoughts away as he stormed over to the entrance, frantically scanning the living room for any signs of a fight. Thankfully everything looked to still be in order.
[[Dad? Is that you?]] Nikolay's voice called out from within his room. Oleg lumbered over and threw the door open, letting out a shaken sigh at the sight of his son curled up into a ball on his bed. Aside from the couple new bruises, the boys' face was even paler than usual, and his eyes were as wide as Oleg had ever seen them. He knelt at his son's side, placing a large yet supportive hand on his back to try and get him to look in his eyes. As soon as he did, Nikolay's deep green eyes immediately began to well up and flow with tears.
[[Oh, God…Dad, it happened! It happened again!]] Nikolay threw himself at his father; Oleg catching him in a sympathetic hug as his son shook like a fragile leaf against a harsh wind. [[I know, Kolya, I know. It's okay; I'm here, now. You're safe,]] he whispered as soothingly as he could in these circumstances, but he could feel Nikolay shake his head in refusal against his shoulder.
[[No…no, we're not, Dad! Everyone saw it happen! They know I'm the one responsible, and they're going to come for us again! We can't stay, you know that!]] Oleg's grip on Nikolay's shoulders was firm, his gaze equally so as he already began guiding his son back to the living room, grabbing his battered old rucksack on the way out. [[You're right, Kolya. It's not safe for us here anymore, but it's going to be okay. I have a plan for us, not just to get out of here, but also to finally have a real chance at starting over. I promise you, I'll explain everything soon, but right now we have to leave. Grab whatever you absolutely need, and I'll do the same, and then we're getting out of here. Do you understand?]]
Clutching his rucksack like a lifeline, Nikolay gave only a single slight nod, but that was good enough for Oleg. With that, he hurried into his own room, grabbed another large bag, and began grabbing fistfuls of old keepsakes from his closet, the few they actually still had. After tucking away the last of the framed pictures and photo album, he felt a momentary hesitation when he saw his old Hero suit still sitting in its corner on the floor. Torn between timeliness and his rediscovered sense of nostalgia and self, he let out an immensely frustrated groan as he grabbed the suit and slammed it into the back, throwing it over his shoulder as he turned his back on this room for the last time.
Returning to the living room, he felt a momentary mix of surprise and aggravation to find Nikolay struggling to stuff a moderately sized wooden cabinet about the size of his chest into his rucksack. [[Kolya, we don't have much time, that thing's going to be too cumbersome for you to carry with everything else-[[No! I'm not leaving her here, Dad! You know I can't!]] Oleg's breath hitched as he saw the clear pleading in Nikolay's eyes. Of course he knew. There was no way he could ask his son to leave this one behind, of all their few belongings. He couldn't even ask himself to do that. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his son's rucksack and slung it over his free shoulder.
[[All right, Kolya, I just want you to stick close to me. We're heading down to the harbor. Move only when I say, and don't make a sound. Do these things, and I promise you we'll be okay.]] While the boy was still visibly trembling, he was still able to summon the collectiveness to give his father another understanding nod. Oleg knew that would have to be good enough.
Oleg took a few precious moments to scan the clearing outside their door, watching the tree line for any visible disturbances or signs of human presence. All was silent, save for the continuous yet sparse singing of what few birds remained among the branches. Experience from hunting with his father had instilled in him the age-old knowledge that the absence of even the smallest animals could give away even the most careful hunter. For what it was worth, this was a very good sign.
He motioned for Nikolay to stay put as he began to set one foot outside into the snow, still scanning everywhere around him for the slightest sign of strangers. The adrenaline rushing through his veins made time seem to come to a crawl, as every second seemed to stretch on agonizingly, and each that passed with peace and silence only made his anxiety worsen; half-expecting the next moment to erupt into chaos.
And yet, that chaos never came. By the time a whole minute of this had passed, Oleg finally let out the breath that had been hitched in his throat, finally convinced that for now they were okay. He gave Nikolay an approving nudge of his head for the boy to rejoin his side. While hesitant at first, his son eventually did as he was told and began to step out into the snow to rejoin his father's side.
K-POW!
A fraction of a second after Oleg's ears caught the sound of a long-distant crack split the silence, Nikolay's whole body was knocked off its feet, sprawling flat on his back into the deep snow below. Oleg's entire body went frigid with horror almost instantly; the desire to scream in protest overwhelming, yet unable to come up from the depths of his throat. Instead, he began rushing to his motionless son's side, feeling a considerable impact into his left arm and broad back with every other step. It didn't feel like regular bullets; he had experienced those kinds of injuries more than a few times in his prime. This was something else. He could feel something spreading into his body after each hit. Whoever was doing this wasn't looking to kill them.
He could thankfully confirm this by the time he fell to his knees besides Nikolay's body, and saw what looked to be a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his side. It wasn't like any Oleg had seen before. This clearly had to be one of the government's new little tools for dealing with Quirk users. By the time he'd managed to turn his massive body around to face whoever was shooting at them, he could already feel his head beginning to spin. However, it wasn't bad enough that he couldn't make out the several new blurry figures emerging from the woods into the clearing; all dressed in varying ghillie suits and carrying Russian military weapons, clearly modified for non-lethal use from what he could still manage to make out.
[[Incredible. These things are designed to be able to penetrate even the most resilient hides, and this formula has been proven to take down even the most resistant Quirk-users with a single dose. Yet look at him, he's still managing to stay even semi-conscious after nearly a dozen shots. If that doesn't prove this is Tunguska, I don't know what will.]] The leader of these intruders' voice sounded like it was being spoken underwater. It was taking all of Oleg's willpower to try and stay conscious, let alone remain on his knees. As they came closer, in the orange glow of the evening sun, he could begin to make out the colors and details of both Spetsnaz and FSB field uniforms.
[[All right, we have both suspects put under. Bring the vehicles in. We need to get them restrained before the effects wear off.]] [[Wear off? This stuff is supposed to keep anyone who gets hit by it unconscious for a good few hours.]] [[Yes, that's what they say, but I've heard reports from other detachments that some suspects were able to recover within minutes. The number of different Quirks and their effects on their users' bodies is limitless, so we can't leave these kinds of things to chance; especially not with this one. The sooner we get them detained and hauled out of here, the better.]]
Everything was beginning to fade in and out of blackness. Oleg couldn't tell how much longer he could try to force himself to stay awake; he couldn't even use his remaining energy to focus on thinking of staying awake. He needed to do something, anything, to get his son out of here and away from these men. The muffled cacophony of disparate voices began to be interrupted by the slowly growing rumble of heavy engines; a wall of further noise in Oleg's swimming brain. Once that had finally managed to subside, he was barely able to make out what sounded like a pronounced pair of footsteps approaching him with aggressive intent. 'Figures, I can barely even move…but at least I still get to hear the sound of my fate being sealed.'
That cynical train of thought made Oleg instinctively want to crack a sarcastically amused smirk, but he couldn't even tell if he was actually doing so, or if it was just in his head. All he could do was keep looking up at the handful of men still hovering over his now prone frame. [[Eleven years, everyone's been searching for this bastard, and here he is at last. I've waited too damn long for this.]]
Oleg's vision finally faded to black, but his ears could barely make out the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back, quickly followed by what was clearly a physical struggle between the men who had managed to miraculously have the once great Tunguska at their mercy. [[What the hell do you think you're doing? We have our orders, we have to get them out of the city, to the rail yard, and we have to keep them restrained and doped up for the trip to Moscow.]]
[[My parents died in the Flash because of him! Why should he and his brood be allowed to breathe one more minute?]] [[Because this is an order that came down from the Kremlin long before you were old enough to put on that uniform, boy. President Zaitsev promised the people that Tunguska would face the people's justice for what he did to our motherland, and the people are now going to see their justice be delivered. You're not about to break that promise for the sake of your own personal grievance, are you?]]
All fell silent for a moment, but eventually that one pair of footsteps began to retreat. Even in his current state, Oleg still somehow had the fragment of consciousness left to take in what that angry younger soldier had said. Yet another example among countless others of just what his past actions had brought about. If only Nikolay hadn't been involved in all this, Oleg couldn't help but wonder if he would've invited that young man to exact his idea of justice on him, if he thought that would've given him some kind of peace.
But he couldn't allow himself to get lost in his self-loathing again. Nikolay was defenseless, and he needed to fight this overwhelming exhaustion somehow. He needed to get his son out of this place; get him somewhere he could actually be able to live again. 'Damn you, Oleg Borisovich, don't let it end like this! Kolya needs you, now more than ever! Open your eyes and do what you do best! Fight!'
[[I can just imagine how much the higher ups at the FSB must be kicking themselves right now. Yes, he grew all his hair, and he never really showed his whole face as Tunguska back in the day, but the old KGB records surely had his real name, and you're telling me it took them eleven years to pin him to one city, just because he changed his patronymic? We better hope word of this whole thing doesn't get out of the old Bloc territory.]]
[[Oh, yeah, the American CIA probably wouldn't ever let us hear the end of it. Well, let's just focus on wrapping things up here, and let the guys at HQ worry about the international flow of information. All right, men, let's get them cuffed, loaded up and start heading for the rail yard. You men load the boy up into your truck, and the rest of us will get Tunguska loaded up. We'll be right behind you.]] The mention of Nikolay being taken registered in the last conscious synapses of Oleg's brain, and ignited a chain reaction that brought one sense after another right back, as Oleg's eyes shot wide open, causing several of the men shackling his wrists to jump back in surprise, the others leveling their tranquilizer rifles at his center mass. As much as Oleg was trying to will himself to break out of his restraints and fight back, his body just was not responding.
His eyes frantically searched around, but eventually managed to find Nikolay's still unconscious form being carried by the feet and shoulders by two soldiers, just as they loaded him up into the back of a cold gray APC. The rear personnel door slammed shut with a resounding thud, and with the roar of its mighty engine, the vehicle began to slowly roll down the makeshift road it had left through the underbrush to get here. Oleg's heart rate was skyrocketing as the vehicle carrying his only remaining light continued to shrink into the distance, while the men still surrounding him began to close in again, applying some especially thick looking alloy gauntlets to his cuffs with an affirming metallic click.
The once muffled, underwater sounds of the soldiers' talking quickly returned to being clear as a bell, as Oleg could miraculously feel the tranquilizers being practically flushed from his system It was as if his emotional anguish and desperate need to save his son was physically restoring him by the second. Thankfully, the soldiers did not seem to notice this. In their eyes, all they were seeing was a broken old shell of a once great man, trying in vain to will himself out of a vegetative state. [[How many parents have you deprived of their children because of what you did, Tunguska? How many children have you orphaned by trying to save us all? It's only a little fair that you should have to feel even a fraction of that kind of anguish. But don't worry. You'll be seeing each other again real soon in Moscow, right before the courts put you in front of the firing squad where you belong, and the kid gets tossed in a gulag for the rest of his days.]]
The taunting evident in the now familiar voice of the young soldier from earlier lit a strange kind of spark in the pit of Oleg's chest. The blind desperation and anger had suddenly subsided. He now found himself overcome with an indescribable feeling of calm, as if something had, at that moment, clicked in his head, and he realized exactly what it was he could do, even in a situation like this. With each second, he could feel control returning to his body bit by bit.
[[I should honestly commend you, comrades. In all my years, nobody else has been able to get Tunguska on the ground before. You're probably feeling really clever for launching this attack right at sundown, too.]] Several of the soldiers exchanged confused glances with each other, but didn't let Oleg's rambling distract them as they all began to lift him up from his side and back onto his still wobbly feet.
[[The thing is, however…you seem to think my Quirk only works when I'm in the presence of light. The less of it there is, the weaker I get. Does that sound about right?]] Again, the soldiers had no idea what to make of what he was saying, but the same younger soldier quickly stepped in and forced Oleg a step forward by slamming the butt of his rifle into his lower back. [[Shut the hell up and get moving, you monster! No amount of smooth talking is getting you out of this.]]
Oleg took another deep, steadying breath, beginning to feel a stirring build up within every fiber of muscle he had; the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to stand as he could feel his entire body begin heating up from within. [[The truth is that my Quirk makes my body work more like a solar panel.]]
The soldiers instantly froze, and that distraction was all Oleg needed as he shut his eyes tight and immediately focused all that building energy in his body directly to his hands, producing an instantaneous heat burning from his hands like an oxyacetylene torch. The metal gauntlets over his hands instantly began to glow white hot, only to explode in numerous burning shards before the soldiers could pull their triggers. They all hit the ground as fast as they could to avoid the shrapnel.
That distraction allowed Oleg to finish the job, pulling his arms apart with a portion of his strength to snap the cuffs in half, freeing himself. By now, the soldiers had realized what was happening and were already leveling the barrels of their weapons, but it was already too late. Tunguska was back, and his old reflexes and mind for on-the-fly combat had returned with him.
Oleg didn't waste a second as he focused his energy up into his head and, upon opening his eyes, produced a flash of light so powerful, it put even the most advanced of flash bangs to shame. The soldiers all cried out in stunned panic as the blinding light sent them instinctively curling into a fetal position in the snow. It would be a good few minutes before they would be able to recollect themselves and do something, but that was plenty of time.
Oleg could just make out the retreating taillights of the APC that had Nikolay on board. The accumulated energy in his body was still burning as intensely as ever. He had enough left over to do what needed to be done. His hands still glowing from within, Oleg took another deep breath, dug his feet into the snowy earth, and immediately sending all his power into his feet, he launched himself up and forward with inhuman power and speed, just like he had done at the shipyard before. This terrain was still relatively untouched by human construction, and that vehicle would be dealing with that until reaching the main road. That would give Oleg all the advantage he needed.
He was already beginning to close the distance between them after his second leap, but to his surprise, one of the soldiers inside had clearly expected something like this to happen, as they had already gotten out to man a large turret on the roof of the APC, and already had it aimed right at Oleg. With fight or flight once more taking over his reflexes, Oleg ducked behind several fallen tree husks, just in time to avoid the hail of heavy duty gunfire tearing into the spot he had just landed a second ago.
The barrage didn't last long, as the APC continued rolling its way through the woods, and the distraction had been enough to put good distance between them and Oleg once more. As he picked himself back up from the snow, gritting his teeth in anger, he knew trying to catch them from behind was clearly what they were expecting. He was going to have to do something frankly bullheaded, if not outright stupid; and knowing where they were headed, he knew best how to beat them to it: forcing a bottleneck.
Inside the APC, the soldiers surrounding Nikolay's still motionless body were visibly tense. Some of the more seasoned among their ranks had expected something like this to happen when going after their nation's former greatest Hero, but just not this quickly. The soldier manning the turret never left his spot, even after they had finally managed to reach the main road that would take them to the rail yard. He was just grinding his teeth, finger on the trigger, just waiting for the first sign of Tunguska to show up so he could blow it away. Orders be damned, their hand had now been forced, and if Tunguska was going to willingly get himself killed rather than stand trial, then that was nobody's fault but his own. Surely even the higher ups in the government would understand that. This was the general consensus of every man in the APC.
[[Don't worry, guys. Now that we're out of the sticks, we can burn some serious rubber and outrun that old ox. If worse comes to worst, maybe HQ can convince him to turn himself in, in exchange for the kid.]] The driver sounded fully confident in that scenario, but none of the men were fully convinced. The orders for these last eleven years were absolute, there was to be no deals made with Quirk-users, no matter the cost. Surely Tunguska would know that much if he and his boy had managed to survive life in this new nation for that long.
As the APC began to swerve around another bend, they were met not only by a split in the road, but by the sight of a couple thick trees piled up right in the middle of the left route. Everyone in the back was nearly sent crashing into the wall as the driver hit the brakes. Unbeknownst to them in their momentary confusion, Nikolay's fingers and face had begun to twitch with the slow returning of consciousness.
[[I can't believe it. He's trying to bottleneck us! He had to have done this!]] The inexperienced driver was already beginning to panic, but a single resound smack to the back of the head from the superior in the passenger seat had his nerves hardened once again. [[Yes, and the terrain here is too elevated from the road for us to just go around the barricade that way. He's leaving us no choice but to take the bridge to the rail yard. Well, he must know we'll be ready for him. If he's looking for a standoff, then we'll give him one. Take the other route.]]
Swallowing the dry lump in his nervous throat, the driver did as he was told. Everyone could feel a cold sweat start breaking on their brows, just waiting for the first sight or sound of trouble. As they continued down the road, one of the waiting soldiers noticed Nikolay's head beginning to stir with a groggy moan. The soldier nearly planted his back against the wall, leveling his rifle at the boys' head, only for his comrade at his right to grasp his forearm tight. [[Just relax. Tranquilizers or not, everybody stirs in their sleep at some point. He hasn't opened his eyes yet, so we're okay for now. Just listen for any word the captain gives us.]]
After several unbearably tense minutes, the forested road finally gave way to a long steel bridge hanging over one of the many river valleys that ultimately fed into the Golden Horn. This was it, the moment of truth. The APC finally continued down its only route, the driver putting as much weight on the gas as the massive armored frame could allow. Night had by now finally fallen, and the only light they had at this moment was their own headlight.
The driver and his captain continued scanning everywhere around them as they went on, but just when their guard began to drop, the driver noticed something dead ahead and slammed hard on the brakes once more, earning several muffled angry shouts from the men in the back. As the captain was about to chew out his subordinate again, he realized the young man's eyes were glued straight ahead. Following his gaze, the captain felt his whole body grow tense when he realized what was standing just before them, just outside the range of their headlight: a pair of glowing eyes emanating from the darkness.
[[Floor it, private. There's no other way to go, for him or us. We'll lay him down with the turret, and if that somehow isn't enough, we'll run his ass over.]]
Even in the depths of unconsciousness he'd found himself in since stepping out the front door, Nikolay had been starting to feel his body being lurched this way and that for the last several minutes. At the same time he had been starting to hear what were at first indecipherable and intermingled noises, but as he began to regain feeling in the outermost extensions of his body, those noises slowly yet surely began to clear up enough for him to realize he was hearing men talking; several in fact, and none of whom he recognized.
Behind it all, he could hear the rumbling of a heavy-duty engine and the rolling of heavy wheels. The ground beneath him was hard and cold; it felt like metal on the back of his neck. Instinctual reflex drove him to try and see if he could actually move his body, and he quickly realized his wrists had been bound together. Acting further, he realized he couldn't spread his fingers either; his hands were encased in some other kind of metal restraint.
[[Why are we stopped, captain?]] [[Why do you think, you idiot? It's gotta be Tunguska; he finally caught up to us!]] [[All of you calm down back there. We knew this was going to happen. Now everyone brace yourselves. Dmitri, the instant he enters our headlight range, you unload on him, understand?]] [[Yes, sir!]]
'What? Dad? Oh, god, what's happening? Is it the army? They found us? They got me? No, no, I can't think about that, they're going to kill Dad! I-I have to do something! Need to get out!' The desperate thoughts were pounding against the walls of Nikolay's head as he tried to regain more and more control of his body through sheer willpower alone. Once he began to feel the wheels roll again from underneath, he could feel his whole body burning with adrenaline. 'Come on; wake up! Wake up and do something! Dad's going to die, then they're going to kill me! Wake up, dammit! WAKE UP! DO SOMETHING!'
Oleg braced himself for what he knew was about to come. This was what he had been counting on when uprooting those trees to block the road. He was not fool enough to think he would get through this moment unscathed, but if it meant saving Nikolay from life in a frozen cage, then anything was worth it.
He dug his feet into the asphalt, lowering his center of gravity as the roar of the APC steadily grew louder on approach. He could already see the soldier manning the turret steadying his aim. Once he got into their line of sight, he only had a few precious seconds to act. He began focusing the next portion of his energy back into his hands, already able to feel the heat building as his hands began to glow from under the skin.
His mind was racing through all the different methods he could take to disable the APC, specifically the options where he could avoid unnecessary violence. He had only just rediscovered the kind of man he wanted to be for his son, and he wasn't about to tarnish that dream before it even began with bloodshed. In the next few seconds, everything of his plan was going to come into play. The engine grew louder and louder as it picked up speed, and he could just feel the second pass as the edge of the headlight's range reached his feet. 'Now!'
BKOOM!
A deafeningly powerful burst of a bass-like sound suddenly erupted from within the back of the APC, punctuated by the turret-manning soldier being propelled straight up into the air from below, amid a flurry of metal shrapnel and the remains of his gun. His arms and legs flailed helplessly as he took off like a rocket, only to come crashing back down to the asphalt below with a resounding thud on his back.
BKOOM!
A second blast sounded almost instantly after, this time resulting in the very back of the APC exploding in yet more debris, along with three more soldiers being thrown out by the sheer force, rolling behind the vehicle as it began to swerve all across the road in a panic.
Oleg didn't have time to think of what he was seeing, knowing only that he had to act. Launching himself forward with another powered jump, he met the cabin of the truck with a single glowing fist straight into the engine block. The pure wall of metal crumbled at the force of his illuminated fist like paper, causing the steel behemoth to come to an instant stop, and the sudden stop in forward momentum launching the driver and captain straight through the windshield and rolling a good few feet further before finally stopping.
Oleg could hear panicked shouting coming from what was left of the back of the APC, before a third and final auditory blast erupted, sending the last two soldiers flying through the now totaled right wall of the APC and into the guard rail of the bridge, knocking both men completely out cold.
Oleg sprinted to where the chaos had come from and found Nikolay standing amid the wreckage, his restraining gauntlets also destroyed from the inside out, judging by the pieces scattered, but his cuffs still remained joined. The boy was shaking like a leaf, looking at the damage he had caused with what Oleg could only see as horror. Just like earlier, what Nikolay had done had stemmed purely from gut emotional reaction, rather than any pre-determined intention.
Nevertheless, all Oleg could feel was relief and gratitude that the world had decided to let him have his son back in one piece. Neither father nor son said anything as Oleg climbed up and hastily snapped Nikolay's cuffs in two in between his fingers. Nikolay himself was still wide-eyed and pale with shock and confusion, but at least his green eyes seemed to reflect a coming awareness and understanding of just what had happened since he lost consciousness.
[[It's finally happened…the army found us. They…they were taking me away from you?]] Oleg could only solemnly nod before pulling his son into a protective embrace; one that Nikolay only returned after struggling to will himself into doing so. [[They were. But I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you, Kolya. I swear this to you on my life. That's why we have to go now. Their comrades will no doubt be coming here to try and catch us again, but we're not going to let them.]]
As soon as he let his son free from his arms, Oleg could tell Nikolay was deeply unsettled by the extent of the damage that now lay scattered all across the bridge, and the numerous motionless soldiers now laying everywhere. Oleg could only imagine what thoughts had to be racing through Nikolay's head right now, especially once he brought his own hands up and stared at them as though they were soaked in these men's blood. However, Oleg knew this was something that needed to be rectified quick before anything else. [[I promise they're going to be all right, Kolya. We have done nothing we can't come back from, and we won't ever have to. I'm making sure of it.]]
Nikolay tried taking a deep, steadying breath to try and dispel his nervous trembling, and when finally meeting his father's eyes again, he quickly realized the large man still had their two rucksacks strapped securely over his shoulders. The boys' eyes went wide as he began to reach for the one that had been his own. [[Is…is she alright?]] he asked, not even trying to hide the anxiety evident in his tone as Oleg reached inside and pulled out the small wooden wall-mounted cabinet from before. [[She's just fine, Kolya, I promise. We won't let anything happen to her. Now come, we have to get to the harbor and get on the first Japan-bound ship we can find.]]
Oleg tucked the bizarre keepsake safely in the rucksack again before slinging it back over his shoulder. He intently moved to the opposite railing of the bridge, where the flow of the river was heading away from where they stood. [[The river feeds into the Golden Horn. Thankfully this terrain is much less mountainous than the road to get here, so I can traverse it much more easily. Kolya, I want you to get on my back, put your arms over my shoulders and hold on tight. This is the fastest way we can get there, and with the least amount of resistance.]]
Nikolay was visibly hesitant to follow Oleg's suggestion upon seeing how high up the bridge was from the river, but upon seeing the look of pleading reflected in his father's blue eyes, the boy gave a sigh of resignation. Climbing up onto his father's massive back, he clung onto the chest of his sweater until his knuckles turned white. Oleg took a deep, steadying breath as he squatted down, focusing all his power towards jumping again.
Nikolay couldn't even summon the focus enough to scream as he and his father took off from the ground like a firework, only for gravity to bring them down hard and fast in a matter of seconds. The nighttime winter air was biting against his skin as he continued holding on for dear life. As he saw the ground fast approaching, Nikolay squinted his eyes shut, not even thinking to breathe in preparation for becoming a grease stain on the rocks.
But instead, Oleg took another focusing breath, flattened his feet parallel to the ground, and at the last fraction of a moment upon touching the ground, let more energy out in another propelled forward jump. He could feel his son's heart rate against his back as each descent made the boy cling on like they were about to die, only for another jump to calm his fears and start the brief process all over again.
Oleg knew this use of his accumulated energy wasn't going to last him much longer, but he was at least familiar enough with the territory to know it would be enough to get them where they needed to go. That was all that mattered. In the meantime he would simply have to hope that the FSB would think he would be desperate enough to try escaping through the woods on foot. Anything to just buy them enough time to get out on the open ocean and out of Russian territory.
By the time Oleg had finally made the final leap that would bring them back into Vladivostok, he was struggling for breath. He had managed to get them to the edge of the harbor property from the shoreline leading from the river's mouth, and just in time. Going so long without having used his Quirk this extensively was already taking a real physical toll on Oleg's aged body. Nikolay could likewise see this, and was quick to get down from his father's back, allowing the larger man to stretch his back and let out a satisfied groan of relief. [[Looks like I'm going to have to really get back into training on the regular to get back to how I was, doesn't it?]] he asked no one in particular, but realized his slip of the tongue when he saw the confused look in Nikolay's eyes.
[[What are you talking about? We barely got away from those men, and you're talking about using your Quirk more? Regularly? You know the news will say that the army finally found us, and they're going to put both our faces up for everyone to see! You'll never be able to even set foot anywhere without people calling the authorities on us, let alone use your Quirk!]]
Nikolay's tone was a mixture between confusion, fear and above all else, anger. Now that they hadn't been faced with a present threat, Nikolay had finally started sorting through his emotional upheaval, figuring out just what it was he felt from this whole mess. However, Oleg knew this was neither the time nor place, and was quick to kneel down to meet his son's gaze in the hopes that he could help the boy understand. [[Listen, Kolya, I know how upsetting this all is for you. It is for me, as well. I didn't want things to turn out like this, but there's no point in wishing we could go back and change things. All we can do now is just keep moving forward and look for something better.]]
Nikolay bit his lower lip; his delicate-looking yet bruised face twisting with frustration as he stubbornly shook his head. [[Where would we go where there would be something better? There's nowhere left in Russia we can go where people won't instantly recognize us.]] At this, Oleg stood back up and looked intently back to the shipyard, instinctively taking Kolya's small hand in his massive grip. [[You're right, Kolya. That's why we're not going anywhere in Russia. We're going somewhere else…somewhere better.]]
He began to move for the nearby gate into the shipyard, but was met with a minute resistance from Nikolay, trying to dig his feet into the frigid earth against his father's pull. When Oleg turned to address this, the look in Nikolay's green eyes had gone from anger to a cold realization. [[Is that why you asked me how my Japanese was this morning? Were you planning on all this? You planned on us running away, and you lied to me about it? Why? You said we could hold out here if we were just careful! You had to have been planning this before what happened at school, so tell me: why? What changed your mind suddenly?]]
Nikolay wasn't even trying to keep his voice down, stubbornly standing his ground in a clear show of defiance. He wasn't going to take another step until Oleg told him the truth, and the older man knew it. [[Kolya, I understand your anger. You're right, I should have just come out and been honest with you, but you need to understand, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do at that time, either. This is a huge change from what we've both been living with all this time, and I didn't want to just make that decision for both of us. I wanted you to be able to decide as well, but I just wasn't sure how to ask you right, after everything you'd been through and…and everything I'd been telling you to keep hidden.]]
Nikolay was visibly struggling to process what his father was telling him, while still managing to keep the core of it all from him. Right now, Oleg knew he needed his son to at least understand the bare bones of what they were preparing to do; at least enough so that he would be convinced to come the rest of the way and they could breathe easy again. He could at least save the much harder portion of the truth for once they could stop fearing for their lives tonight.
The distant sounding of a freight ship's foghorn broke the still night air. Oleg looked back, and to his distress, the ship that had just sounded off had a Japanese name adorning its side. It was a long shot that one would take them anywhere near where they needed to be, but it would be enough to simply get them out of here. [[Kolya, please, I'm sorry for lying to you, and its not going to happen again. Please, I need you to trust me and take my hand. This could be the last chance we have.]]
Nikolay's eyes continually shifted between Oleg's pleading face and his outstretched hand, silently debating whether or not he could take his father's word at any kind of value again. Eventually, though, the boy finally took a firm grip of his father's hand, and smiling in gratitude, the older man quickly turned back and continued on through the gate into the harbor.
It wasn't unusual for the yard to be more sparsely manned during the night, but it was unusual to see the guard station unmanned. Oleg could only assume the yard had been cleared out in light of his earlier rescue of Alexei by the authorities wanting to gather any worthwhile witnesses. As they proceeded further towards the dock with the Japanese freighter, Oleg could only hope that the authorities would once again assume he would be too smart to return to his own workplace in an effort to escape. The absurdity of it all couldn't help but make him crack a wry smirk. He was actually going against every natural survival instinct a wanted man could have, in order to make a clean getaway. That had to be the closest thing to textbook irony he had experienced yet.
PKOW!
A distant crack registered in his ear, far more powerful than what he had heard back home. That's why his body instinctively reacted by getting in front of Nikolay to protect him. A split second later, he felt an immense piercing pain erupt in his upper left leg, instantly sending Oleg toppling to one knee, gripping the spot in his leg where he had just been shot. Blood was already beginning to pool up and run down from between his fingers. A momentary glance to the ground beneath him showed that blood was also freely flowing from the back of his leg. 'Of course. While everything else can go wrong, at least fate can give me the courtesy of an exit wound.'
[[DAD!]] Nikolay cried out the instant his father hit the ground, but Oleg was quick to bring his one free hand up in protest, signaling for his song to stay where he was. There was no need for his son to do anything spontaneous and make their attacker panic and open fire again.
As though it were right on cue, the rumbling of several military-class vehicles began to grow louder and louder, until finally an entire convoy of them began to round the corners of the last large warehouse, forming a semicircle around the entrance to the dock, effectively cutting off their last land-based route of escape. The trucks all then simultaneously opened up, releasing a stream of Spetsnaz and FSB officers as they all lined up with their weapons raised, all leveled at Oleg and Kolya alike.
And yet, despite having the two Quirk-possessing fugitives at their complete mercy, not one of the men pulled the trigger. Instead, a couple of them formed an opening for an older officer in a considerably more decorated military uniform to step through. Unlike many of the men behind him, this one had the eyes of a truly hardened veteran, of someone who had seen far too much, even in his clearly long lifetime. Then again, that description could have applied to anyone who had experienced the Siberian Flash. It was pretty much par for the course for many, many Russian citizens now.
[[I have to say, I'm quite disappointed, Tunguska. So much of our lifetimes were spent being told of your perfection, your exploits, how you exemplified the perfect Soviet Hero. And yet, you come right back to the very scene that finally allowed us to find you after all these years. You must have thought we were expecting you to be too smart to try something so suicidal. The funny thing is, if we had been dealing with literally anyone else, you would have been right.
[[But no, not you. After what you caused, and after we had been waiting and searching for you for so long, we weren't going to leave anything at all up to chance. We aren't letting you slip out of our grasp again.]] While the senior officer continued what was essentially gloating over him, Oleg could only think to mentally chastise himself. It was bad enough when one's plans fell apart, but for it to happen when one was so close to finally making it; words could not do that kind of anguish justice.
[[Now, there are two ways we can proceed from here. You can either surrender yourselves, in which case we shall transport you both by train to Moscow, where you will stand trial and face the people's justice. Or you can try to fight back, in which case every man here shall proceed to mow the both of you down, and the people will simply be told you chose to die fighting, rather than facing up to the consequences of your actions. Either way, there's no further means for you two to flee.]]
The senior officer sounded so assured of his own advantage, yet Oleg, in his pain and in his humiliation, could not find a way out. Part of him wanted to yell for Nikolay to run for the ship and leave him behind, but he could tell how ready the soldiers were for the first sign to pull their triggers. His son would be dead before he even finished turning around.
Oleg turned back to face his son; his heart wrenching at the look of desperation in Nikolay's eyes. He was clearly looking to his father for some kind of idea; an idea the older man for once did not have. He began to open his mouth, to at least tell Nikolay how sorry he was for everything, when a new voice; loud, boisterous and just oozing with confidence, echoed down from above in perfect English: "Such violence, you'll find, won't be at all necessary."
Everyone on the dock went wide-eyed with surprise at the sound of a sudden third party, and upon looking upwards, they all leaped back in surprise as a massive frame of a body plummeted from above and landed square on the concrete between Oleg and the senior officer, a one-man shield. Rising up from their landing crouch, the intruder towered over all, equaling Oleg in both mass and height, if the older man hadn't been kneeling at that moment.
The present soldiers all felt their hearts drop alongside their jaws as before them, stood a giant of a man with a muscular physique the likes of a marble-sculpted Greek god, under a tight bodysuit of gold, red, white and blue. His skin was notably tanned, his eyes were obscured under a pronounced brow and thick blonde eyebrows, and his head was adorned with glorious blonde hair, punctuated by two particular locks that protruded straight up into the air in the shape of a V. However, even among all these other things, the most standout feature of this surprise intruder was the large, glorious smile adorning his face. Just looking upon it seemed to instill feelings of peace and confidence in all those who looked upon it, even the soldiers who now were trembling upon the realization of just who was standing before them.
"All Might." Oleg let out in a sigh of disbelief as the Symbol of Peace stood before him like a stalwart guardian against those that sought to do him and Nikolay harm. As though he could feel the looks of shock and disbelief boring into him from behind, the towering Hero turned to look over his shoulder to his two charges, before giving them an unshaken solitary thumbs up. "It's fine now. Why? Because I am here!"
The pain in Oleg's leg was the only thing keeping him from bursting out into a fit of nostalgic laughter. After seeing the state All Might had come in last night, he had started to convince himself he would never see this shining paragon of bravery, confidence and hope in this familiar kind of light again. Seeing him now, it was as though the last eleven years or so had never happened, like he had simply stepped right out of that page in time and planted himself here for all to see.
Nikolay, all the while, could only stare at the giant before him, but there was no such sign of childlike wonder or admiration. Instead, there was…nothing. To the young boy standing as still and helpless as a church mouse, he was not looking at the Symbol of Peace. He was just looking at a man, nothing more. Even the aura of hope and confidence that All Might practically radiated didn't reach out to him. In Nikolay's eyes, he was basically no different from the old memories of his father.
"What the hell are you doing here? This situation does not involve you," the senior officer demanded in particularly good English of his own, while signaling for one of the gathered soldiers to translate for the others. Even despite the considerable number of armed men standing against him, All Might's demeanor didn't remotely falter. "I'm sorry to tell you, captain, that I am choosing to get myself involved now."
The captain visibly shook with indignation at All Might's defiance, but was still calm enough not to order something he would come to regret. Instead, he regained his authoritative posture and looked the world's greatest Hero in the eye. "I trust you realize that I could very easily inform my superiors of this intrusion in our national affairs. This could very well become an international incident. Are you telling me that you're willing to sour the relations between Russia and Japan so disastrously for two criminals?"
Again, even such a well-founded and heavy threat did nothing to sour All Might's disposition. Even some of the soldiers couldn't help but feel a spark of admiration for being able to remain so cool, calm and collected in the face of such intimidation. "You misunderstand my intentions, captain. I did not come here looking for a fight. I have come because I wish to help not only you and your men, but I also wish to help put at ease the hearts of all your countrymen. You see, I have come to take Tunguska and his son out of your country."
Whispers and mutterings of confusion and outrage could be heard emanating from the soldiers, but the captain was quick to signal them to stand down before facing All Might again. "How do you mean? Take them out in order to arrest them…or something else?" At this, All Might finally started to move, once more looking back upon Oleg and Nikolay. "It is clear that the situation here in Russia is not ideal for Heroes or those-to-be. That is why I wish to take them off your hands and help them. Despite what your government has been doing to those with Quirks; no land, or its people, deserves to be bereft of Heroes.
"My hope is that with time and the proper training and experience, Tunguska and his son can return to a land that can recognize what Heroes ultimately represent for everyone: the idea that justice is not dead, and that there is always hope." Nobody could come up with a response to such sentiment. Part of the captain wanted to spit in disgust at such loaded words meant only for glorified speeches, but there was something about the sincerity with which All Might spoke that couldn't help but make him contemplate what was being offered to him.
[[Captain, you're not seriously letting him convince you, are you? He's just like Tunguska, just another potential disaster being paraded around like a hero! If he takes those two away, they're just going to come back and rain hell down on all of us!]] The other soldiers all looked in unison to the one among their ranks who had spoken out. Oleg immediately recognized the especially hot-tempered younger soldier from the house, still keeping his rifle trained on him, even with All Might standing guard. The soldier who had been chosen as translator stumbled trying to translate everything that had been said, while All Might now had his obscured gaze focused on the trigger-happy youth.
"Given everything that has happened here over the years, your emotions are understandable. But I give you my word, young man, that such a danger will not come to pass." Despite the surprising calm in All Might's voice as he tried to talk the soldier down, he stubbornly shook his head in denial, even beginning to turn the barrel of his gun on the Symbol of Peace himself.
[[Stow all of your canned speeches! You prattle on and on about things like hope and justice! That animal you're protecting cost every man here more than you can imagine! You want to take him away, still breathing, deny us all the retribution we've starved for, and you want to talk to us about justice?]] The once awestruck soldiers' expressions slowly began to regain their previous coldness as the painful reminders of all their losses became fresh once more in their minds: loved ones they had failed to save, people who looked to those like Tunguska for protection, only to be failed in the worst possible way. All Might could see this silent change, and even with his smile never fading, there was a more serious air about him now.
"What is it that you want, young man? Truly?" By this point, once the great Hero's question had been translated, the overzealous young soldier couldn't resist the bitter, angry tears welling in his hardened eyes. [[Tunguska's 'heroics' cost me both my parents. They kept saying he would save them, but when the Flash happened, our home was destroyed, and they both lost their lives with it, and all I could do was watch as everything burned! He deserves to die for that! That's the only way I can give my parents the justice they deserve!]]
Mumblings of agreement began to echo out from the crowd, and Oleg and Nikolay could both feel their blood go cold in dreadful anticipation. All the same, All Might never moved aside. "And what of his son? Surely you must realize he was only an infant when the Siberian Flash occurred. Do you truly believe he had any role to play in it? Do you believe the child should pay the ultimate price for the sins of the father?"
A stirring of hesitation, even if only for a moment, flashed across the soldiers' eyes as he shifted his aim from All Might to the stone-still Nikolay. [[How many parents lost their children because of his father? It's only right that he should suffer as they have. Besides, if we just let you take him, how do you know he won't become too powerful even for you to handle? What's to stop him from coming back here and taking revenge on all of us for the Quirk-users we've removed for the public's safety? All your kind has the potential to end this world, as we know it; even you must realize it. We're just doing what needs to be done to protect ourselves. My son deserves to live in a world where he doesn't have to worry about the sky falling on his head because of you creatures and your powers!]]
All Might took in a heavy breath, silently hoping what was about to come next would be enough to end this night peacefully. "How old is your son, young man?" The soldier was visibly confused by this sudden change, but was quick to regain his composure, trying to keep his aim steady. By this point, the captain had taken the good sense to step away from the scene, unsure just what was ultimately going to happen now, as the young private had long since completely taken over the negotiation. [[H-he's two years old, barely even begun to live. What kind of world am I forcing him to live in where we all have to worry about entire cities being laid to waste by one of you so-called Heroes, and having it be regarded as nothing more than collateral damage? I'm just doing what has to be done to keep him safe.]]
"And what will you do if, in a couple of years, your son develops a Quirk of his own? I ask this of all of you: What if it turns out to be your children, your nieces and nephews, your siblings? Some of you are quite young, you must surely have brothers and sisters young enough for it to still be possible for them to develop. Are you saying you would truly be all right taking them away to a cold, lonely cell without anyone to watch over and protect them? Does a parent's love truly only extend as far as their children's genetics? Has society really gone that far back?"
The air among them all grew so heavy, even Oleg could physically feel it. All Might had just stricken a very distressing cord the soldiers had either never stopped to consider, or that they were simply too afraid to. Many began to lower their guns again, exchanging very worried looks among themselves. Even their overzealous comrade was beginning to show clear signs of hesitation; his face reflecting the pain of being torn between what he wanted for the family he lost, and the family he still had.
"I won't dare to try and speak for the loved ones you've all lost. All I can ask is that you all look within yourselves and decide if what you have been preparing to do these last eleven years, if what your comrades across the motherland have been doing to families with Quirk-users, if that would make your loved ones happy." By now, the translator had to struggle to continue while fighting his own rising chokes and sobs. Several of the soldiers slung their rifles back over their shoulders and were even beginning to take several steps back. So many of them were still so young, their current state made them look like devastated children from where All Might stood. It truly did pain him to have to put them through such a painful self-evaluation and discovery, but circumstances had given him no other choice. If this country was to ultimately come back around to accepting the Heroes that wanted to help protect it and everyone else, it had to start somewhere, somehow.
Oleg had finally managed to weather his way through the pain enough to get back to his feet, trying to keep as much weight off his injured leg as possible; with Nikolay trying to serve as a crutch as best he could with their size difference. Neither could take their eyes off of All Might's silhouette awash in the lights of the military trucks, standing before their once aggressors like a monolith, having single-handedly managed to even the most overwhelming of odds with nothing but his words.
Oleg had never seen the Symbol of Peace display such wisdom and willingness to avoid confrontations in the past. The man had finally come to truly exemplify his moniker. The realization couldn't help but bring a warm feeling to the old Russian Hero's heart as he looked down to his son intently. [[Look at this and remember, Kolya: that is an example of a true Hero. We must always be just as ready to seek peaceful resolutions, as we are to fight when the situation calls for it.]]
The words did indeed register, but Nikolay couldn't bring himself to give his father an answer. Despite what All Might had just done on their behalf, the twisting sensation in the pit of his stomach would not subside. Even if a Hero had just saved their lives, even if he had used his fancy mind games to dissuade what was once a unit of fully dedicated anti-Quirk militants, it didn't change the cold hard fact that things had only gotten this way because of Quirks. Nikolay's head was a fragile scale between gratitude and a lifetime of deeply rooted resentment.
"Go, Tunguska and Young Bezpalov. Get on board the ship. I shall rejoin you both shortly," All Might suggested in that unwavering boom of a voice. Oleg gave his fellow Hero a deep nod of gratitude, and silently motioned for Nikolay to keep in step as they finally turned their backs to the men who only minutes ago had been ready to put them down like rabid animals. The sense of cynicism still buried in his heart had him expecting a single gunshot to burrow into either one of their backs with each step, and yet each time, it never came. By the time they had finally ascended the gangplank onto the freighter, with the topside crewmen standing at attention upon arrival, Oleg was finally able to breathe easily once more.
Some of the sailors began to approach Oleg, having noticed the still bleeding bullet wound in his leg, but he was quick to motion them away as he sat himself down against one of the cargo containers on deck. [[Just get me a first aid kit…and I'll take care of the rest.]]
Back on the dock, the captain had since ordered his men to fall back into their vehicles. Many of them acquiesced without question, but there were some who still looked conflicted on whether to fire or not, even through their tears. In the end, though, they all finally realized just how far down a terrible road they had allowed themselves to go, and decided it was time to finally turn back.
By the time the last of the grunts had retreated, the captain turned back to All Might, his once merciless gaze now replaced with a much softer look of contemplation…and acceptance. "I pray you are right…about them, about everything. Our superiors will obviously want to know how we let the most wanted Hero in Russia and his offspring slip from our grasp. I don't suppose you have any suggestions what I should tell them?"
The captain was clearly trying to be funny with his sarcastic tone, yet, to his surprise; All Might's trademark smile only seemed to shine brighter, as though he actually did have an answer. "I suppose that will depend on what kind of man you ultimately want to be, captain. I am of the opinion that everyone has what it takes to be a true Hero; Quirks have nothing to do with it. You just need to ask yourself if you think so, as well. I believe whatever answer you arrive at will tell you what you need to say."
His parting words of wisdom left the captain visibly moved as All Might finally turned his back to his once captive audience and proceeded down the dock with a powerful, confident stride. The Symbol of Peace had managed to live up to his title, and now it was finally time to begin the journey back home, and to help an old friend and a new Hero-in-the-making begin a new and better life.
Minutes had passed since the freighter had finally sounded to take off and had begun sailing out to sea. The nighttime ocean air this far north was cold enough, but in the middle fall, heading straight into winter, it was no wonder none of the crew wanted to stay out any longer than they had to. Now it was only Nikolay and Oleg up top. Nikolay was just finishing wrapping the bandages and tying them off around his father's wound. The bullet had been comparatively small next to Oleg's large frame, but it still hurt like hell.
[[It looks like the bleeding has already slowed down on its own. Good thing I've always been a quick healer, eh?]] Oleg joked with a visibly relieved grin, but Nikolay wasn't laughing with him. The boy wasn't even smirking, in fact. He just kept his eyes on the steel floor as he tucked what was left of the first-aid kit away. When he eventually came back from returning it to the crewmen, he simply sat himself in a ball beside his father, just looking up at the myriad of stars twinkling in the night sky. The silence punctuated by the crashing of the waves quickly became too much for Oleg to bear, as he knew now was the time to finally give his son the full truth like he'd been expecting.
[[How long ago were you planning this? Were you even going to end up telling me before everything got ruined? Or were you just going to spring it on me, out of nowhere, like some big surprise? Was he in on it, too? Is that why he just showed up at the last minute to save us?]] Nikolay wasn't even trying to hide the age old bitterness in his tone as Oleg had begun to speak. While not the initial attitude he had been hoping for, Oleg wasn't sure what else he was expecting. Eleven years of being convinced he and everyone like him were responsible for all the misery, how could Nikolay have not internalized that and projected it onto every other Quirk user, his own father included?
"Do not hold resentment towards your father for things being the way they now are, Bezpalov-shonen." All Might's voice pierced through the tension like an artillery barrage in Japanese, as both Russians visibly flinched at the towering Hero's sudden return. Despite his attempt not to speak too boisterously, that poster grin was still as evident as ever, even when Nikolay actually found the courage to stand back up and stand before All Might with outright defiance.
"Don't call me that. And why shouldn't I? Everything was okay, why did he have to ruin all of it? We were doing just fine lying low," he shot back in surprisingly decent Japanese, visibly catching All Might by surprise, though his expression didn't outright show it. By now Oleg had gotten back to his feet, trying to pull Nikolay back before the boy said anything that couldn't be taken back.
[[Kolya, that's enough. There's no point trying to deny the inevitable now. We would've been forced to run after what happened at your school regardless. I had been planning for us to leave either way, but circumstances on both our ends forced it much sooner.]] Oleg bowed his head in regret, while Nikolay's face scrunched up tight in an attempt to fight back his bitter tears of frustration.
"You don't deserve the blame, Tunguska. I was the one who brought it up with you in the first place. I ultimately forced your hand because I wanted to help you both. I did not think things would have turned out the way they did." For once, there was an actual showing of regret in All Might's voice, and despite knowing the truth was going to rouse Nikolay's ire even further, Oleg proceeded to translate for his son. The boys' eyes went wide, his irises retracted with indignation as he turned to face the towering Hero over them.
"Why? Why would you intrude in our home and force him to make a decision like that? [[No, why would you even consider it? You kept telling me we had to lie low, never reveal our Quirks to anyone, that from now on we were nobody! You told me Tunguska was gone forever! Why would anything he says make you go back on your own word like this? You said a man's word is everything!]]"
Nikolay sounded like he was on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown; something Oleg could feel as the ground around Nikolay's feet began to vibrate with an unnatural intensity, as though it were emanating from within the boys' body. Before Oleg could try to calm his son down, All Might stepped in, placing a large yet gentle hand on the boys' shoulder, urging him to meet his gaze.
"You don't have to fear revealing your Quirk to anyone anymore, Bezpalov-shonen. Like I said, I came here because I wanted to help you and your father the best way I know how. I promise you will get all the answers you're seeking, but first I want you to do something for me. Show me your Quirk." Nikolay stood motionless, his face still red with sadness and anger as he kept glaring defiantly into All Might's obscured eyes. However, ultimately realizing there was nothing else that could be done, all the tension in the boys' body dissipated as he opened his clenched fists for the great Hero to see.
Adorning both his palms and the joints and tips of his fingers, was a series of tiny black holes, almost like pinpricks or the holes on the ends of a telephone receiver. From those tiny holes, All Might could feel the minutest of vibrations emanating, almost like a speaker that had been turned on and was simply on standby. Simply observing this physical manifestation, everything seemed to click in All Might's head. "Amazing. I had been observing what had happened to you two before you retreated for the harbor. It seems that like your father, your Quirk emanates from your hands; and like your mother, your Quirk primarily revolves around the absorption and subsequent release of pure audible energy. A clear combination of both parents' abilities."
At the mention of his mother, Nikolay felt his hair stand on end as he forced his hands out of All Might's grip, hyperventilating with pure panic written on his face. "Don't you dare talk about her! Neither of you! You don't get to do that!" All Might and Oleg both took a single step back, simply for the sake of helping the boy calm down as he broke out into a cold sweat. His head felt like it was about to explode from the overflow of emotion and sudden change around him. How he had managed to collect himself enough to even form another question was frankly a mystery to himself as much as anyone else.
"Why is all this happening? Why did you have to force us from our home like this?" Any further attempts at words were instead replaced with distraught sobs as Oleg returned to his son's side, trying in vain to comfort him. [[He didn't force anything on us, Kolya. He simply made me remember what life is supposed to be, especially for you. What we were doing in Vladivostok all these years, having to live every day denying who and what we are, what we were meant to be, that was no life, least of all for you. You deserve to be able to live a life where you can be happy, where you can feel like you actually belong, where you can actually be around kids who are just like you, and who can understand and empathize with you. Doesn't that sound so much better?]]
Nikolay was still struggling to process what his father was suggesting, while All Might felt now was perhaps the best chance they would have to finally lay all the cards down and give the small boy the whole truth. "The truth is, Bezpalov-shonen, that no matter what, more and more children with Quirks are being born, and we're helping them learn to hone their Quirks and learn how to use them for the greater good, to help people, to become real Heroes. To do that, they need the guidance of real Heroes with experience, and that's why I came to your father.
"I want you both to come with me to Yuuei Academy, the greatest Hero school in Japan. Our students deserve to have the mentorship of a Hero like your father, just as you deserve the chance to grow into the Hero he knows you can be, that I can clearly see in your eyes you still want to be…even if you can't bring yourself to admit it just yet."
At this, Nikolay could only look at All Might like a monster, forcing him to dig up old memories and desires he had killed and buried within himself years ago; like tearing off the bandage to a devastating and irreparable wound. Then he looked to Oleg, and that pain quickly changed to a much more simmering but no less potent anger, as he pulled himself out of his father's supportive embrace. [[That's it, isn't it? He…he came to you and offered you a shot at regaining your old glory…and you just went for it like that? You decided to uproot what we had, just because you finally couldn't take people not cheering your name anymore? Even after what you did, you just couldn't let your ego rest? You had to let it come back and get us chased out of the last home we'll ever have?]]
Oleg rose back to tower over his belligerent son, visibly trying with every last bit of patience he had left not to shout back at the boy, while All Might silently observed, knowing he had said all that he had any right to say, and that what was to come next was solely between father and son. [[No. I went for it, because I couldn't stand seeing you live that farce of a life anymore. Dammit, Kolya, a boy your age deserves to have a good life with friends and peers he can actually relate to; even more so for a boy with a Quirk like you! I forced you into living a lie, and I'm trying to make up for that now, for taking away the life you deserved. We may be leaving Russia behind, but I promise you that a new home, a real home is waiting for us. I'm not asking you to forgive me for the past, but I just want you to believe me when I say this is what is ultimately best for both of us, for you.]]
Nikolay had no words, for he knew any protest he could come up with anymore would be wasted on these two exemplars of power and ego. Tears burning in his eyes, he stormed off past his father and toward the tail end of the ship, leaving Oleg and All Might in morose silence. Oleg could feel the complete and total exhaustion sapping away his strength as he watched his boy turn his back on him, but All Might was quick to lay a supportive hand on his compatriot's shoulder.
"Give the boy some time, Tunguska. Everything considered; I know this is harder for him than either of us can imagine. He may be angry now, but he will ultimately come to understand…and accept the way things are going to be." Oleg sniffled, trying to swallow the lump of emotion in his throat as he looked somberly to his fellow Hero.
"He's not wrong, though. I forced him to live that way for so long, long enough that of course he would consider that to be his life. My forcing all this on him…I may as well have been betraying everything he'd forced himself to believe under my care. I took everything from him once…and now I've taken away what little he'd convinced himself he had left. Even if he accepts life at Yuuei one day…I don't know if I'll ever truly have my son's love ever again."
A single tear rolled down Oleg's weathered, scarred face as he let out an especially shaky breath, wrought with emotional anguish. However, All Might's smile never lost a shade of his inner confidence, and even in his moment of self-pity, Oleg could still manage to feel that radiating off of him. "You will in time, my friend. Because under that pain; that ever-changing veil of emotion, I see the same spark deep within his eyes; that spark that personifies power, courage, and most importantly of all, compassion. That is the spark that burns within the heart of every true Hero. That's why I came to you that night, Tunguska. Because if he is truly like you, then he has the potential to become one of the greatest Heroes."
[Alexandrov Ensemble – Rodina (My Country)]
Nikolay let his pained tears run freely down his face, ignoring the stinging chill of the ocean winds, as he gazed out at the receding lights of Vladivostok, and the ever-shrinking shadow of the Russian mainland.
Before his eyes, he was watching the only land he had ever called home disappear, and was now sailing to a strange new land he had no idea how to survive in, with a traitor of a father and the exemplar of everything he had come to hate about Quirk-users to serve as his only excuses for guides.
The weight of everything in his life once more shattering like glass all around him drove the poor boy to collapse and sob into his knees, silently begging for a sign, any at all, to show him what he was supposed to do. Alas, in the end, until the moment he finally had wept himself to sleep, no such answer came. As far as he was concerned, for the first time in his life, Nikolay Olegovich Bezpalov was well and truly all alone.
I hope you all enjoy what you've read so far, for there is much, much more to come. Be sure to leave a review, let me know what you all think, and prepare yourselves to receive the next chapter, next week on 01/16. Balshoy spasibo, everyone!