Darkness.

It was a feeling all too familiar, one that it had known for practically its whole life. It could not see, but it could feel the cool liquids and amniotic fluids that kept it alive. Occasionally, it would hear the voices of those who created him. Some were of apprehension, some of anger, but others were of praise, saying that the creation would solve all of their problems. It didn't know what they meant, nor did it truly care. It only wanted to be free.

Eventually, that wish was granted.

Watching the boy float inside of a life support chamber were two scientists. One of the scientists was shorter, while the other towered over his partner, a strange garment concealing his face. The former couldn't help but express his concern over what was about to transpire. Letting a gulp escape his throat, the pudgy scientist turned to his colleague.

"W-w-with all due respect Mr. Hedotah" he stammered, "are you sure we should release him now? He hasn't been properly tested yet. His motor functions might not even be fully applicable yet."

An unseen smile decorated the taller scientist's face as he gently patted his assistant's shoulder. "Garo, my friend, can we truly be men of science if we are not willing to take risks?" Turning back to the containment tube, the man continued. "Although I would prefer to wait until proper tests can be run, we simply don't have the time for that. So, this is my final choice."

The smaller scientist felt the gaze of his superior burn into his skull, forcing the assistant to nervously sweat. Then, a final order was given.

"Initiate Release Sequence O73-FR2."

A deep breath escaped the scientist's lips as he reluctantly answered, "yes, sir!" Putting his hands on the machine in front of him, Garo began typing the necessary codes to begin the sequence, flipping switches and pressing buttons. Red warning lights flicked on in the dark room as the fluids in the chamber were drained, allowing life to finally flow into the being's system.

For the first time in its life, light assaulted its vision. Sight: the one thing it had craved for so long, and now he had achieved it. The boy's eyes slowly opened for the first time as liquid flooded out of the tube. A fist clenched and unclenched as its form slowly descended from floating in the tube, the boy briefly stumbling as his feet touched the cold, hard metal. He saw his own reflection on the surface of the glass that held him, holding a hand up and touching the mirror of himself before the containment doors slowly opened, steam being forcefully ejected.

Not knowing what else to do, the boy slowly walked towards the still-opening doors, before all of the sudden, they stopped. The mechanisms that the doors used had gotten jammed. Thinking nothing of it, the boy put one hand on each side of the opening, intending to merely push it open gently. Instead, he accidentally pulled too hard, his hands effortlessly tearing and ripping the gateway of metal. The boy stumbled back in confusion. Was. . . was that him? Implanted memories rushed through his consciousness.

As the child took in his surroundings, he saw the two scientists looking down on him with looks of intrigue and concern, respectively. His gaze looked back with neither good or harmful intentions. It was a gaze of simple indifference. As Garo nervously breathed a sigh of relief, Hedotah couldn't help but take off the garment that had covered his face, revealing a scarred, yet refined face underneath, flashing a dark grin as he chuckled. Now his plans would finally all come together. Those who had defied him in the past would fall before the might of his creation. The scientist uttered one simple statement as he stared at the macabre of science and nature.

"Arise, my Prometheus, and destroy the Heroes. . ."

2 Weeks Later.

The tests were never-ending. No matter the time of day, the boy was always subject to some form of inhumane "trials". To find out how his quirk exactly worked, they exposed him to various forms of energy, the levels of which were most certainly lethal. At least, to anyone else they would be.

Noikari screamed as more electricity was transferred into his body, generating the only source of light into the pitch-black room. Above in an observatory, two scientists watched. One scientist was taller than the other, also wearing a strange garment that covered his face. The screams of his creation brought joy to his ears. Turning to his colleague, the scientist issued an order. "That will do. Disable the wattage. We don't want to kill our little man now, do we?" Nodding, the other scientist flipped a switch which cut the power to the machine that was shocking Noikari. Burnt and scarred, the boy dropped to the ground, unable to even cry as they had been evaporated by the sheer heat of the volts.

In the room he was in, a voice echoed through a loudspeaker. "That will be all for today. Rest and prepare for tomorrow." With that, Noikari was left alone once again, with nothing to comfort him except the Moon. In near-complete darkness, the boy silently wept. Why? Why did he have to do this? He had done nothing wrong. But what right had he done? Although not a robot or cyborg, he felt like one simply due to the circumstances. He was a creation, a thing just made in a lab. Despite the horrible and brutal tortures that he underwent, Noikari was still very kind and respectful to the scientists. But an elephant could only take so many stones before turning on its handler.

While he sat alone and cold, warning lights blared in the containment chamber, briefly disorienting Noikari, them being the first lights he had seen since the earlier tests. An automated voice shouted into the loudspeaker, "WARNING: INTRUDER! WARNING: INTRUDER!" As the voice repeated, Noikari heard various sounds from outside. Shouts, sounds of fighting and tearing metal all assaulted the boy's ears before it all went silent. Noikari backed away as the steel wall in front of him dented inward, being hit by an incredible force. Two more hits busted it further, pieces of the wall flying outward before a final smash tore a massive hole in the wall, assaulting Noikari with the first real lights he had seen ever.

Taking a moment to allow his vision to focus, the boy's mouth hung agape as he saw three people in front of him, three people who he had only heard stories about. In the center of the trio was a tall, sturdily built man with a very muscular physique. His costume was comprised of a tight, navy turquoise bodysuit, with lines of flames streaming across his chest, upper torso, arms, and most prominently his shoulders This was Endeavor, the now-number one hero following All-Might's retirement.

To his left was one of his allies, also a former hero. Although now he was a teacher at U.A. High School, where he helps new students master their quirks. Slender and pale, his black hair messily traveled down to his shoulders, while two cold, seemingly tired eyes slowly looked around in silent fury. Shouta Aizawa, known to the world as the hero Eraserhead, was not happy.

Finally, to the right of Endeavor stood an athletic yet curvaceous woman. Her dark skin contrasted nicely with her white leotard. Her silver hair majestically flowed on her head as two fluffy, white bunny ears twitched in anticipation, along with her small round tail. Of the three, she was the most shocked about what she was seeing, looking around in awe at what was around. Needless to say, the rabbit hero Mirko was horrified. As the three pro-heroes gradually looked around, they eventually locked their gazes on Noikari. The boy was physically shaking, unsure of how to proceed. No, no, the boy thought. This wasn't freedom. This was another test; he was sure of it. "So, this is what the doctor was making," Endeavor said. "It appears the scientists had no idea what they were creating." "He's cute though," said Mirko, earning confused glances from Endeavor and Aizawa. "What?" the rabbit hero questioned, "I'm just saying." Deciding to ignore it, Endeavor turned to face the trembling Noikari. He slowly began to march up to the young boy, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

As the Flame Hero approached, Noikari felt something inside of him, telling him to attack. Why, he did not know, but if this was another test by the doctor, he would succeed. Before the hero had even reached him, Noikari launched forward and swung both fists toward the hero. Both of them met Endeavor's chest as he easily blocked the assault. The boy then tried to punch him again, but the crimson haired man effortlessly dodged the attack, leaving the child to awkwardly fall to the ground. Turning around, Noikari prepared to lunge once more, only to be stopped as Aizawa used his scarf to bind the child.

Noikari struggled, screaming in anger, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't break free of the cloth. Eventually, his struggles lessened until he was completely still, panting in exhaustion and defeat. Tears started to form in the child's eyes.

"Well, aren't you going to punish me?" Noikari croaked, his voice straining.

Aizawa raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I failed the doctor's test, like always, so just. . get it over with."

Aizawa's eyes widened in a rare showing of emotion. This child. . truly believed they wanted to hurt him. His heart felt tainted as he stared at the child. How could anyone place such a destructive burden on a mere kid? He thought of Eri. She was the same as this child, one with a darker purpose. But she had been saved. Now, hopefully the same could be done with Noikari.

Noikari was surprised when the scarf coiling around him suddenly released its hold. Noikari backed away from Aizawa, still not trusting him or the other two heroes with him.

Kneeling in front of him, Endeavor gently extended a hand outward. "It is alright young child; you are safe now." As his hand neared Noikari, the child smacked it away, surprising the hero. "You're lying!", shouted Noikari. Endeavor's jaw dropped in surprise, Aizawa and Mirko both also reacted in astonishment. Staring at the boy, the three pro-heroes noticed something different about him. Although he was burnt, scarred, and dented, the three noticed a child-like innocence about him, a purity that they felt was being tainted. "You're just going to take me to a new place and run experiments on me there!" Deciding to try his luck, Eraserhead also knelt in front of the boy, a sense of warmness emanating from his face despite his intimidating stature. "Listen kid," he began, "I understand you're not willing to trust us, and that's okay. But we only wish to save you from this. So please, let us help you."

Like Endeavor before him, the pro hero slowly reached a hand outward, hoping the boy would take it. Noikari couldn't explain it, but Eraserhead's voice felt soothing and reassuring. It was time for him to decide. Much to the surprise of the three pro-heroes, Noikari buried his face into Eraserhead's chest, crying as he let all of his sorrow and anger fly away. The Erasure hero felt himself waver for a moment, but recomposed herself, instead embracing the sobbing child. "It's all alright now", he whispered, "It's over". Whether from his emotions running high or from sheer exhaustion, Noikari felt his body become lighter as he fell into unconsciousness.

Seeing this, Eraserhead gently took the boy in his grasp and softly lifted him. Turning to Endeavor and Mirko, Aizawa simply stated, "I'm going to take him back to the school. He can at least rest there until the morning. You two make sure the authorities take everyone here in." His fellow heroes nodded as the teacher left with a resting Noikari in his hands. Endeavor and Mirko watched as Aizawa left with the tired Noikari, glancing at each other.

"So, what now?" asked Endeavor.

"We take the scientists to the authorities", Mirko answered. "I can't believe people would do such horrible things to a mere child."

The hero's face grimaced as her fists slowly clenched in anger. Although also angered, Endeavor did better in hiding it than his partner. Perhaps it wasn't right for him to denounce the scientists as monsters, given his previous misgivings, but what they had done was unforgivable. Giving his ally a surprisingly gentle look, Endeavor told Mirko, "We'll get answers and make sure the kid is safe." After a moment, the Rabbit hero nodded in agreement, though she didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as usual.

"Were there any other experiments?" asked Mirko, her ears perking up. "Judging by the files I read, no" answered Endeavor. "They only created two, one boy and one girl. Both with potential to be the greatest threats the world has ever seen."

"So that's it?" asked Eraserhead. "They only created two?"

"That's it"

Mirko was confused by this information. "They were only willing to create two, why? Why did we only find him?"

"Of the two, it seems Noikari was the one with more potential." Endeavor's voice strained as he recalled the information that All Might had told him. "He had a sister at one point, and..." The hero stopped for a moment to gather himself, breathing in before stating the horrible fact. "And they killed her."

Mirko's eyes darkened as she could only imagine the horrors that the girl experienced. It was enough to make her nearly scream. Endeavor sighed, trying to regain his focus. "We need to go to the authorities and let them do their jobs." Mirko nodded as the two heroes each picked up one of the scientists, who were knocked unconscious.

Together, the two pro heroes began their march to the police station, leaving the destroyed remnants of a child's past behind.

Making his way back to U.A. High School, Aizawa silently entered the building, the sleeping Norikai still in his hands. He glanced down at the child's sleeping face. He looked so. . peaceful, like a normal kid. But the Erasure hero couldn't help but frown when he saw the boy's tortured body. There wasn't a single part of his body that wasn't scarred or battered. When he had heard All Might's report about what the scientists had been doing to the poor boy, he immediately joined Endeavor and Mirko in saving Noikari. After thinking heavily about it, Eraserhead decided to find the one person that might be able to help.

Making her way to the dormitories, she saw all of the dorms had their lights off, save for one. Mirko grinned; that's the one she was looking for. Making sure not to drop the sleeping Noikari, Mirko softly knocked on the door. After a few seconds, she heard movement from the other side as the door slowly opened, a small figure opening the door. A little girl with long, off-white hair opened the door, rubbing her eyes before smiling as she saw who was there.

"Mirko-chan!" Eri cheered.

"Hey there, kid." Mirko said, ruffling the girl's hair. The little girl's smile quickly turned to a look of concern as she saw the brutalized Noikari in Mirko's hands.

"Mirko-chan, is he. . alright?" Eri asked, moving back to make room for Mirko."Yeah, he's fine", Mirko lied. She didn't want to tell the young girl the reason the boy was so injured.

"He fell asleep while I was carrying him. "Eri's eyes widened. "You carried him?"

"Sure I did. It was a cinch!"

Eri's eyes sparkled in awe. "But. . why did you need to bring him here."

Aizawa stopped for a moment, considering the best way to word what came out of his mouth next.

"Do you see all of those marks on him, Eri?"

"Y-yes."

"Well, every one of those marks are hurting this boy. He needs help, and I was wondering if you could be that help."

Eri's face became worried. "Are you sure? What if. . what if I mess up? I don't want him to disappear."

The girl's eyes became watery as she remembered how she had erased Kai Chisaki from existence with 'Rewind'. Aizawa kneeled down in front of the little girl, placing the limp Noikari on the floor so that the girl could sit in front of him. The girl moved closer to the sleeping Noikari as Aizawa placed his hands on Eri's tiny cheeks.

"I know it's scary," Aizawa began calmly, "but there's a reason I came to you instead of anyone else. It's because I believe in you. So, will you help, Eri?"

Eri gave the hero a small nod, determination clear on her face. Giving a small smirk, Aizawa grabbed Eri's arms tightly as she closed her eyes. Eri concentrated as the tiny horn protruding from her head began to grow and glow with an orange hue. The same glow surrounded the unconscious Noikari as his whole body began going through the process of rewinding. The scars and bruised which covered his form began to be sucked back into the boy's body, almost as if they were never even there. After roughly a minute, the process was complete. Save for the massive scar which ran down his collarbone, Noikari looked to be completely fine.

Looking at Eraserhead again, Eri nodded once, signaling that she was done. Aizawa released his grip on Eri's arms. "Thank you." The formerly retired hero stood up, gently scooping Noikari in his hands before putting him on top of the bed. Looking back at Aizawa, Eri timidly asked, "Is he gonna be ok?"

"Yes, he should wake up soon," replied Aizawa. "Now, I think we should leave him alone for the night."

"Now, I think we should give him time to rest. We'll come back later and check on him. In the meantime, why don't we get something to eat, alright?"

"Ok!" said Eri, running towards the exit of the room.

"Oh, and Eri?" called Aizawa.

"Yes, Mr. Aizawa?"

The girl was completely stunned when the normally stoic man embraced her in a hug.

"Thank you, again."

Eri gasped softly before embracing Aizawa as well. After a few seconds, Eri broke the hold, smiling with joy as Eraserhead followed her out of the room. As Aizawa headed out the door, he took one last look at the sleeping Noikari. His expression looked so peaceful, yet his eyes held pain and fear, even when sleeping. He hated seeing that look on a person's face, especially if it was someone who didn't deserve any of it. Aizawa's gaze hardened. He made a promise to herself that if anyone ever tried to hurt him again, he would make them suffer.

With that last thought in mind, Aizawa closed the door behind him, leaving the resting Noikari.