Justice Across Time and Space

Chapter 12

So yeah. I made things a bit heavy in the last chapter, but I did something I kinda always wanted to happen to Shigaraki. And if some of my OCs reactions seem strange, that is because it has to do with the backstory that I won't be explaining for quite a while. But for the next chapter or so I'm gonna be helping a few characters. And I'll admit some of this is kinda shooting from the hip, on how I'm building all of it. As well as the possible thoughts and reactions of some of them. You'll just have to see. On with the show.

(No POV)

Saphentite had been flying for a while and hadn't found Jotaro yet. "He can be pretty stealthy when he wants to be. Or when he feels he needs to stay away from everyone. But I haven't known him this long without knowing what he may do or where he may go." Saphentite says to herself. After an hour of searching, she decides to 'borrow' something that All Might had mentioned to her. With that done and a plan built, she heads towards Mt Fuji. She finds Jotaro buried in a snowbank near the top of the mountain. "I thought so." She says as she floats down to him. "I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Whenever you get scared or panic about what you can do, you go to a cold high place away from everyone."

"You heard about what I did right?" At Saphetite's negative, Jotaro starts on a bit of rant. "I ripped that guys arm off! It wasn't even that hard! Sure, I've disabled certain villains before, but I've always tried to not leave them with lasting damage. This though. I- I- I thought I had-"Jotaro stops for a bit choking up the words he wants to say. Saphentite just comes up to him, puts a hand on his shoulder. And slaps him once across the face.

It doesn't hurt him much. In fact, it hurts her more than anything. But it snaps Jotaro a bit out of his spiral. She then hugs him before saying, "I know. You've worked as hard as you could to contain all of the power you possess. You were always trying to avoid some battles so that no one would get hurt."

While she is saying that, Jotaro starts to tear up a bit before hugging her back. "But you can't blame yourself every time. Yeah, you have trained but don't forget that you are in a body that sometimes acts more on instinct than anything. And those instincts have saved multiple lives. Mine included. Even when you've hurt someone by accident, you still have tried to help or save them." At this both of them tighten their grip on each other and Jotaro just cries.

"You can't control everything in this world. And let's be honest, I know you wouldn't want to. But you can still do a lot of good and save even more lives than you hurt. The justice for your actions will save and help more than you know." Saphentite says while tearing up a bit too. The two of them just sit there on top of Mt Fuji for a while.

Once both have calmed down, Jotaro is laying on his back while Saphentite is laying with her head on his stomach. "Thanks. I think that is the most scared I've been for quite a while. And as usual, you're the one who can pull me back down or out." Saphentite snorts at that before saying, "You really do need to learn to be less dependent on me. Although I will admit, I was tempted to let Izuku try to help you. It is the entire reason he wants to be a hero. Saving people."

"You're right. And honestly, it wouldn't hurt for me to let more people in. We should probably get down from here." To which Saphentite just says, "Aww, do I have to give up my warm pillow?" With eyebrow raised, Jotaro just gives her a look that says, 'yes you do'. So with a sigh Saphentite sits up and brushes herself off before standing. Jotaro follows suit and is about to ask what she wants to do next. "Well, we can follow up with that matter from a few weeks ago."

At that statement, Jotaro gives her a puzzled look before Saphentite pulls a file from behind her back. "I think I've got us a lead on the little girl you heard screaming when we were in a different prefecture." At this Jotaro turns around and asks her where. "An old friend of Toshinori's has been looking into a group near there. The Shie Hisaki. Its apparently a yakuza group that's been making a fuss lately." She hands him the file and he gets what info he can from it.

While he is doing this, she goes on to explain that the current head has recruiting various cannon fodder and trying to market something that gets rid of quirks. As well as a drug to amplify them. With what she has said and with the capabilities of the two of them, Jotaro comes to a single conclusion: "We can't do this alone. Or rather this will take more than just me breaking down doors. I'm guessing you've got a bit more of a plan than I do." Saphentite nods before saying, "Yeah. With both of our limited capabilities, we can't get the job done. Beating them would be no problem. But they'd get the girl away before we could blast or punch through them all."

Jotaro snorts before saying, "Punching through them all wasn't my direct plan. Besides, I have an idea on someone who could help us and may not even be opposed to backing us up. At least once we talk to him." Saphentite isn't sure what he means at first. Then she thinks back to a few dangerous news reports. "You can't be serious. That guy is crazy. Even if we find him, which I don't doubt you can, why would he help us?"

Jotaro turns back to her before turning his head up to the moon and saying, "Because he believes in the idea of heroes. He's just stuck on the warped version that this world has made. Let alone the fact that he's attacked villains as much as any hero." With that the two make their plan to go to Hosu and catch their quarry tonight. They are going after the Hero Killer: Stain.

"Another fake hero to be purged. Be glad that your death will lead society to a better tomorrow." With that said Stain tries to bring his katana down on the sidekick of Ingenium. But his blade is stopped short of his victim's throat. "He may not be a real hero, but this isn't the way to fix the issues." A large man with a hood had grabbed the blade of the katana and was moving it away from the hero. "Who are you to stand in the way of my righteous purpose!" Stain shouts at the large figure. The hooded man says, "Someone who thinks your talents are wasted on this. You're coming with me." To which the hooded figure snaps Stain's chipped katana and grabs the man by the front of his shirt and leaps away.

The hero who was about to die by Stain's hand starts to be able to move, when another figure appears in front of him. While he can't see what they look like he is sure they are a woman when they say, "Don't worry. Your friends are on the way. But you won't remember much." And with a wave of their hand, the sidekick falls asleep. After the hooded figure lands on a roof a few streets away and tosses Stain on the ground, the villain tries to attack the large man with his knives.

The blades don't even pierce his hooded shirt. Not one bit of fabric is torn. This makes Stain nervous. 'He didn't even bleed or even look like he grabbed my blade before. He may be completely immune to almost anything I do. I have to get out of here.'

"If you're thinking of running, don't. I'm already ahead of you." A voice behind Stain calls out. He turns and sees a figure floating in the air. "Before you go on a fight or flight reaction, calm down and think. You got a rough idea of how powerful I am when I showed up. If I was out to kill you or turn you into the cops I could have. Hell, my partner could have with no issue either. So, what do you think it is we are after?"

Stain was taken aback by this but realized that he was correct. So he thought it over while trying to look for a way to escape. "You want to recruit me. You're a villain who is hoping to piggyback off my cause and skills to grow their own right? Well, it won't happen. I hate fool like that as much as I hate fake heroes."

A chuckle from the large man surprised the villain. "You aren't wrong in that we want to recruit you. But we aren't villains. Did you ever hear about the raids or busts that got interrupted or the villains were beaten before the heroes could get there?" Stain's eyes widen at that. He had thought the ones behind the denouncement of most fakes were gone. But here they were. 'Or so they claim. They could just be trying too- umpf' Stain thought before a set of glowing ropes were wrapped around him. Which then turned to rings, string, and bands of light before disappearing.

"You truly are the ones? Then what do you need my help for?" Even though he couldn't see the large man's face, he could tell he had a serious point next. "We're trying to save a life. I heard a young girl cry out some time ago, but I was in a different prefecture. By the time I got to where I thought she was, she was gone. All that lingered was a bit of a smell. A smell of drugs and blood." Stain had an enraged face as well at that thought.

The man went on to say that even if he hadn't smell that, he would still try to save her. This calms and impresses Stain a bit who says, "It seems you are a true hero at your core. And I'm guessing your partner is too. If what you are after is to save a life, then I wouldn't be opposed to helping you. But I still need to purge more fakes from this twisted society. You don't need to interrupt that."

"In case you forgot, we do that too, but we bring down the fakes a different way. By showing that they don't deserve to call themselves heroes for other reasons. Most of the ones you kill I doubt you've done much research to see what they may have done or how long they even have been in this stupid hero business." Stain's eyes widen a bit before he looks down. He can't refute what the man had said because it was true.

He rarely looked into certain heroes and capitulates by saying, "You aren't wrong. I've been more focused on going after random riff-raff types of heroes. I was thinking on going after Ingenium next. But not killing him. Just crippling him. He may not be the ideal form of hero, but he is better than most." At this the man across from him sighs before leaning back on the railing of the roof.

"If I'm being honest your problem is that your ideal is still too wrapped up in this very warped world as a whole. What do you really think is the problem with heroes now? I know you have a problem with too many that just want to show off with their power. Or the ones that want to use their quirks for selfish reasons. But doesn't a lot of that come back around to a different issue all together?" With all of that said, Stain thinks a bit more with what he has seen.

His ideal hero has always been All Might. The man was a hero to save others and to protect others. Never for himself. He only used his quirk for the good of others. Other heroes may use their quirks for profit or to make the next generation quirk…. 'Wait why do I keep coming back to that. Unless.' The man interrupts his thought by saying, "I take it you've gotten a bit of an idea on where I'm going with this right?"

Stain bows his head and says, "It all keeps coming back around to quirks. The need to make being a hero a profession. The villains who lash out with their powers often just for attention. This constant obsession with something we may not be able to control, and some even try to control. It is the root to what has warped us all. Even me." At that the man nods before the woman, starts in on what they want to do and who they are trying to stop.

The current head of the Shie Hissaiki has been up to something involving a way to remove quirks or boost them. "If they are out to destroy quirks then, why stop them? Given what you have said this could be a boon to you." Stain asks. Even though he can't see their faces, he can feel their intense gazes. That is when he starts putting parts together. "They're using the girl aren't they?" The two look to each other before saying they don't know for sure.

"But most of the evidence points to yes. This is part of a bigger problem. With lots of people having powers, they gain a way to possible make weapons out of people." At this Stain is enraged but realizes that what he has been doing, won't help unfortunates like that girl. In some cases, he may have killed a hero that could have known or had found out more. And now he sees a greater impact of what he has done and drops to his knees.

"We have put together a plan to get the girl out and take down the yakuza. But not only can we not do it alone, but we can't go to the heroes to do it." Stain looks up at the two and asks why they cannot. "If we go to the heroes, they'll want to do this by the book. Warrants, bringing in the police, all that. And we don't know for certain if any heroes around the area are in the yakuza's pocket. The two of us have more than enough power to get most of this done, but not without a threat to the girl. That is where we want you to come in."

Stain is still floored and confused by all that has been said. He keeps going over more and more thoughts before asking them something a bit unrelated. "Is it even possible to have a true hero society when it has been badly warped like ours?" The two figures look at each other and sigh before one says, "Let us show you." The two then reach out and touch Stain's head.

His mind is filled with a myriad of images. Heroes arising from all walks of life, those with powers and without. There are some images of fakes like what he has seen, but they were later shown for how shallow and empty of heroes they were. A great battle, of heroes and villains. Some heroes had called to others and the true heroes answered to save as many lives as possible. Even in the face of tragedy and pain some rose as heroes, not for themselves but for the people around them. Even a few who had been villains, later took a chance and became heroes themselves.

This series of visions, this beacon of hope, brings the Hero Killer to tears. 'I thought they seemed strange. They never once called their powers quirks. They have never shown their faces because they know what they are doing is right. They must have been from that world they showed me. If it is them, then…' Stain… no

"Akaguro Chizome" "What?" The two ask. It is then Stain stands and says, "My name it is Akaguro Chizome. Those visions you showed, they aren't from this world, are they? Some of that devastation that I saw heroes rise from has never happened here. You're real heroes from somewhere else." The two, though still hidden have surprised looks on their faces. "I won't ask more, but if true heroes like you are here. Then maybe you with the help of other true heroes can truly fix what has been warped about our society."

he man bows his head a bit before saying, "To be honest, I've never really called myself or thought of myself as a hero. Before I had tried to do good with what I could do, I caused so much misery. Even just by accident." Chizome bows his head again and smiles saying, "And that is more of a reason that you are a hero." With Chizome having been convinced to aid them asks what the plan is.

The woman then goes over the basics: "I'm going in first you see. I can slip in through the vents to find the girl. Once she is found, I'll leave a decoy behind and try to take her with me back through. That is where the two of you come in. J here can handle most of their heavy hitters no problem. Even the boss shouldn't be a problem now that he has his mojo back. A lot of street thugs should be out just aiming to get money, so we hopefully won't have to deal with them. I want you to back J up in taking down their other big guns. Once that is done and we've crippled all of their members, we'll leave the clean up and arrest to the police. Then we get the girl to a hero we can trust or believe in." At the mention of trusting a hero, Chizome isn't too sure. "Why trust a possible fake?"

"This one isn't. He not only has been looking into and trying to stop these guys for a while, but he is also All Might's former sidekick." At that mention Chizome nods in agreement. The other two agree to meet him across from the Shie Hissaki base the next night. "I'll scout around the area a bit. I'm good at being inconspicuous from all my time hunting fakes to target." "Okay. Don't go with your usual get up for this. It might draw more attention. Also don't worry about a katana. We'll have you covered later."

The large man called J says while Chizome takes off his mask and scarf. He thinks back to the one who made him first see why he failed and his own weakness about his convictions. In contrast, the two in front of him have had their convictions tested more than once but never faltered, though have stumbled, from what they hoped to do.

So yeah this might seem like a crazy plan and way I'm basically removing two major arcs right now. But as I have said, I have a plan. And while you may think there is no way Stain would do this, don't forget that the guy is inspired by All Might. What he sees in him is what he feels every other hero lacks. Part of him isn't wrong too. It's a little of my problem with the whole hero society of MHA I have a problem with. I've said it before but the fact that being called a hero to them is a job seems a bit wrong in a handful of ways. Let alone calling themselves heroes, when in many cases they honestly just seem like super cops or literally just people who are looking for a reason to use their powers. Or in my usual statement can play with their little tricks in some cases. There are many who have a good heart for this, and that is what Stain refuses to see. But for the most part it seems like most get into the hero work for the fame or fortune involved. Look at the mess that is Endeavor, or what we see a hero say after the War arc. "This isn't what I signed up for. Maybe I should look for a different job." Just something to think about with the whole warped world of quirks.