Welcome, one and all, to Season 2 of All For Luz! Now, this season is going to be longer than the first one, for very obvious reasons. We're now starting to get into the last series of Arcs revolving around the Human Realm for quite some time. In this one over-arching storyline revolving around The "Hunt for the Wittebane's" saga, there will be, at least, 3 major arcs, surrounded by 3 minor arcs, all of which will lead toward the inevitable conclusion that is getting to the Boiling Isles.
Now, I know that those who've been reading this story are chomping at the bit for Luz to get to the Boiling Isles. But, I ask you to be patient. There is a lot of stuff that changes in this AU revolving around The Boiling Isles, some that I've fully worked out, and some that I haven't, and am still fleshing out.
I can't give a definite amount of chapters till we get to the Boiling Isles. It might not be for another 20 to maybe 30 chapters before it gets to that point. Luz has to go through a lot more character development before I'm happy with what exactly it is I'm working with here. Not only that but there is a lot more to consider here than just "the Human realm has superpowers now." There are real consequences to certain things, as well as the effects superpowers have on what was once a non-superpowered society.
TL:DR: We will get to The Boiling Isles when I damn well feel like putting Luz in The Boiling Isles, but it WILL happen in Season 2, that much I can promise.
Also, I'm sorry for the very late update, but I've been busy with other stories, and, as I said before, there isn't a schedule when it comes to what I write. I will write what I want to write at that current moment and time, and so on and so on. I can't promise anything, because as with most things I do, it requires motivation to write that said thing. So if there's a dry spell of no updates for like, months at a time, that's why. It's usually because I'm focusing on something else because that's what I want to write at that given moment and time.
And that's about that. Those are all the (current) Quirks that Luz has at her disposal. Pretty neat, right? Anyway, now, after the long ass wait, no time to debate! On to the chapter!
[Summer Break Shenanigans – Part 1]
"Breaking news! After a month consisting of a long, gruelling trial, former Governor Rodger Maxwell has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, due to his myriad of crimes against humanity, kidnapping, etcetera. This is a developing story, so be sure to listen in for frequent updates!"
The sounds of a falling log rumbled throughout the densely packed forest located just off the city limits of Gravesfield, Connecticut. A figure rolled their shoulders while cracking their neck, getting the kinks and knots out of their muscles, as they had just gotten up from doing arm workouts, and had been laying on the ground like that for nearly a full hour. The person was sweating like a pig in the summer heat, wearing only a sports tank top and a pair of knee-high shorts, oh, and some running shoes.
Their cheek-length hazel-brown and white hair gleamed with sweat—they'd need to take a shower once they got home, as always—as their darkish, reddish brown eyes gazed out into the brush, making sure no wild animals came out to check for what the hell that loud noise had been.
They had a towel set aside to wipe away the sweat that had built up on their forehead, which they quickly used to not cause any acne—a teenager's bane if you asked them. A finger traced a scar that spanned across their eye, a result of that part of their face nearly imploding. Luckily for them, it caused no damage to their sight, which was a blessing, truly. It did, however, give them a pretty neat-looking scar.
The other scar… not so much.
Another scar, this one larger, zig-zagged like a lightning bolt across the figure's lower and upper torso. The bigger scar was a deep red, compared to the fading colour of the scar around their eye. It was… jarring, to say the least, but it served as a memory. And a motivation. Motivation for what, you might ask?
Simple. Motivation to get stronger. So that something like what happened to them would never happen again. So that no corrupt politician could ever do what Governor Roger Maxwell did ever again. Their goal was to become a symbol.
What kind of symbol, you might be asking?
Why that answer was easy…
A Symbol of Justice and Fear.
Justice: For those who sought it out, to be protected by it, and know that they can sleep peacefully at night, knowing that they were out there, watching, protecting, and making sure that their fair city, neigh, the country was at peace.
Fear: For those who sought to cause havoc, pain, and misery to those who they swore to protect. So that those who wished to do villainy could fear their very existence, knowing that it wouldn't matter what it was they'd try and bargain them with, that it would never work.
But to do that, they needed to get strong. And that was exactly what they were doing. They were getting stronger. And, it had two different benefits.
What used to be flabby skin had been worked into some startings of a finely tuned body. Their arms were no longer stringy, but rather had become decently built, and lean, with a good amount of muscle on their bones, and their grip strength had greatly improved. Their shoulders were broader, their stomach more defined coupled with the start of fledging plus sign definition. Their back had also gained some muscle, but nothing too outrageous. Legs were the same as arms, decently built with a small bit of muscle but nothing ludicrous.
If you had told them a few months ago that they'd ever looked like this, they'd look at you and tell you that you're crazier than a wackadoodle. But then again, a few months ago superpowers weren't a thing, and a few weeks ago they hadn't had been put through an extremely traumatizing experience, now had they?
Besides, it wasn't as if Luz Noceda had a choice to work out, either. Quite frankly, she didn't want to implode again. So, that was part of the motivation. But, another motivation was that she didn't want her town of Gravesfield to experience another tragedy like the one that occurred, the one that was now known as The Massacre of Fools.
The one she caused.
33 Children went in…. only 6 got out alive. The rest? They went home in body bags, or worse, urns because the damage to their bodies was so severe that it wouldn't have been right to show the parents that.
Slipping on a baggy black shirt, and turning off the radio she had brought with her, Luz started to make her trek back home in silence. Her mom, thanks to her new power, had become a step above a Veterinarian, and now ran her very own animal hospital. Thanks to that, they no longer had to live in that small lower-class house. And while she had fond memories of it, it was true to say that it was in the past.
Like most things… the past was meant to be forgotten.
They didn't move too far away from the previous neighbourhood, but they did move a decent way up the hill, and a bit further away from the forest. They were still unpacking, but that wasn't really important.
The house they now lived in was a two-bedroom home, only this time her room was on the same floor as the rest of the rooms. The house came with an attic and a basement. The basement served as the games room for when Luz felt lazy and wanted to play video games for half the day, and the attic was meant for… you know attic things. Their living room was a tad bigger, and they now had separate dining and kitchen spaces—something her mother loved.
Aside from that, Luz had to admit that the house wasn't that much different from the one that she previously lived in. She had met the neighbours, and they seemed nice enough, but she still had the reputation of the strange kid, now with less to do with the fact that she was overall goofy and more to do with the fact that she was silent and barely talked to anyone anymore for any reason.
And, yeah, she was still strange, she still had her anime obsessions and whatnot, and she still made AMVs in her free time—she was uploading one right now, as a matter of fact, her doing this little workout in the forest was meant to pass the time—and she still constantly read and re-read The Good Witch Azura—but things were different now. They didn't give her the same joy they used to. And how could they?
How could she feel the same passion for what she did after that week in literal hell? After seeing all that needless violence. After feeling all of that blood on her skin—blood that wasn't hers. How could she take even the slightest bit of joy out of anything she did knowing that she was a mass murderer, who would never be punished for her actions?
Sighing, Luz turned her newly purchased phone off and slipped it into her left shorts pocket. It was surreal to believe that she could deadlift a tree with ease now, which made her consider her newly found strength. She needed to be careful, but that was a given. She had been practicing controlling her power output, and thankfully no accidents have happened thus far.
As she walked, she passed by a donut shop. Her stomach rumbled, which was to be expected. Luz hadn't eaten this morning, so it only made sense that she was hungry. And considering it was nearing the afternoon, she figured that eating something was a good idea instead of not eating.
Taking her Good Witch Azura-themed wallet out of her pocket, she opened it to find two twenty-dollar bills. She could use a quarter of that to get a box of donuts. She just had to make sure she could get one cream-filled donut for her mom—which was her mother's favourite kind of donut.
Closing her wallet and taking one of the twenties, which she held firmly in her hand, Luz entered the store and stood in the short line. A few people sat around the place, all of whom were from her old middle school. She was starting high school by the end of the next week, which was going to be a trip and a half.
"Hey, is that…?" A familiar voice came from the corner of the donut shop spoke out, and Luz grimaced. She recognized that voice from anywhere, and not for a good reason. The person in question had blond hair, light brown skin, sky blue-coloured eyes, and an earring in her left ear. She was currently wearing a white and blue striped shirt, and a pair of jean shorts with black shoes. She was one of the school's cheerleaders back before summer break and graduation.
And her name was Amber Stirwell. Not only was she a former cheerleader for Gravesfield Middle School, but, she was Luz's number one bully.
"Holy shit, it is Luz!" Another girl, this one with dyed red hair, darker skin than ever Luz's own, brown eyes and what appeared to be green lipstick of all things spoke. She was wearing a blue denim vest with a black and white striped crop top, a pair of grey form-fitting yoga pants and blue sneakers. That was one of Amber's friends, Natasha Nolsen.
And, from what All For One was telling her, Natasha had a superpower. What that superpower was, Luz didn't know, and nor did she care all that much. Natasha never really bullied Luz in middle school—in fact, she tried to befriend her on multiple occasions, but Amber put a stop to that quickly almost all the time.
Amber stood up and stalked over to her with a smug grin. Luz didn't even bother to give her any attention and stared straight ahead, waiting for the line to move. "Hey there, nerd. What're you doing here?" Amber asked, her tone demeaning and belittling. Luz paid her no mind, only giving her a vague glance before staring ahead again.
The line moved, as did she. Two more people to go, and then she could leave. "Oi, I'm talking to you, loser! What're you doing here?" Amber continued, as Luz exhaled sharply through her nose, still ignoring her. Luz yawned, covering her mouth with her free hand, before putting her hands in her pockets, relaxing her shoulders and staring blankly ahead.
"Amber, leave her alone. She doesn't want to talk to you," Natasha said, giving the blond a lopsided stare. Amber scoffed, putting both hands on her hips as she stuck her face in Luz's, which finally got her to act like she was paying attention.
"Hey, I'm talking to you, are you even—"
Like a lightning bolt striking the ground, Luz snapped her hand around Amber's mouth making her shut up, before shoving her back, and making the blond stumble to the ground, landing hard on her ass. Luz glared down at Amber, before frowning. "Get out of my face," Luz said curtly, before turning her attention back to the line, of which the people who were in it looked at Luz. "What?" The Dominican American questioned as everyone went back to what they were doing.
Amber slowly stood up, glaring and sneering at Luz, before rushing the teen, shouting "you fucking whore!" and trying to shove her… to no avail. Luz's shoulders tensed, as she slowly turned her head to look at Amber, eyes flaring red.
Amber paled, as Luz balled her hand into a fist, before placing her non-balled-up hand on Amber's shoulder, squeezing hard enough so that the sound of something cracking reverberated in the donut shop. Amber screamed in pain, falling to a knee. "I'm sorry… but, what was that?" Luz asked as Amber whimpered. Luz shoved Amber down again, then turned back to the line. "Last warning. Try that again, and it will be worse, Stirwell."
This time, some people had brought out phones to record the incident, as Amber slowly crawled away over to Natasha, who shook her head in disappointment. By the time Luz got to the counter, and paid for a box of assorted donuts, as she exited the donut shop, a voice called out to her. "Noceda, wait!"
Luz stopped in her tracks, before turning around and facing Natasha, who was standing in the donut shop's doorway. Luz stared at her, an uncaring gleam in her eyes as Natasha averted eye contact. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry for not stepping in, I—"
"Stop," Luz interrupted, shaking her head. "Don't apologize. It's not wanted or needed. Just… stop," Luz said, before turning her back on Natasha. "Have a good day, Natasha." And with that, Luz walked away and headed home. By the time Luz got home, placed the box of donuts on the table, and took the double chocolate that she had specifically asked for to be in the box, Luz quietly went to her room to rest.
Her body ached all over from working out, which was to be expected. That was what was supposed to happen, but it never quite hurt like this. Which meant she was making better progress than she had been for the last few weeks. All of this was to work towards her goal of becoming stronger, both so that she could keep up her promise, and so that she could handle more Powers.
Last month she had been working on getting stronger, physically, and mentally. Physically for the obvious reasons, and mentally to push back against the addiction of wanting to take away powers. But, the opposite had been happening, at least, in the mental aspect. She had begun to notice that she was resorting to violence a hell of a lot more than she used to. She blamed Shigaraki for that, or at least, she tried to.
Shigaraki had nothing to do with it. And she knew it. Hell, the last time she had spoken to Shigaraki was about "The Dimension between Dimensions" talk she had with him two months ago. Luckily for her, however, it hadn't really gotten her into any serious trouble.
The only time that she had to deal with her newly found "drop-of-a-dime" anger issues she found herself having was when she socked a police officer in the lower jaw and sent him flying into a telephone pool after saying a racist remark toward her mother when she had, apparently, been speeding.
She had to spend a week in a jail cell for that move. The officer didn't press charges 'cause she was a minor, but that was about it. Her mom scolded her for a week straight after that one. So did her counsellor when she saw them last.
A part of her assumed that her anger came from her trauma and that it was a coping mechanism—her therapist assumed the same as well—along with her extreme reluctance to form meaningful relationships, friendships or otherwise because she was afraid to lose them; just like how she lost Julia.
Julia… she had nightmares about Julia.
She blamed herself for what happened to Julia. If only she had been there to protect her. If only she had suggested to Julia to come with her and the scouting group. If only, if only, if only. But those were just that. "What if's." They didn't happen, wouldn't happen, nor couldn't happen. And Luz hated that. She hated it more than anything else that had happened, except The Massacre of Fools.
That…. That was what she regretted more.
"I really screwed up this time, haven't I?" Luz asked to no one in particular, as she slumped down on her bed. She quickly ate the donut, before balling her hands into fists. If it wasn't for Shock Absorption she would've probably pierced the palms of her hands and drawn blood. She wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. She hadn't felt this weak in a long time, not since the first week of leaving the hospital.
She thought back to the promise she made to herself, and to The Pastor of the local church.
She'd make the community a better place.
She had to make the community a better place.
But how? How was she going to make the community a better place? How was she going to actualize her goal of becoming a symbol of both peace and fear?
And then… she got an idea. Looking over to the suit that she had in her open closet, she took it and got changed into it. Then, she grabbed a cosplay mask that covered the wearer's entire head that she had from one of the Payday 2 characters—Dallas if she remembered correctly— with a voice changer and everything and put it on.
Once she finished putting on the outfit, she tightened the tie around her neck and smirked underneath the mask. With this, she would be able to actualize her promise to both herself and the pastor. This would be her start. Her raise. And, as she looked over to T.V. in her room, she saw that a live police chase was going on.
Luz smirked, knowing damn well what she was about to do. She recognized the place where the chase was being had, that being a few streets into the actual main part of the town. And with that in mind, Luz exited the house to spark her debut.
xxXXxxXXxx
"Fuck yeah! We actually did it!" A man with a black ski mask over his face cheered. He was wearing a brown button-up coat and black jeans. In his lap was a trench gun, which was a pump action shotgun. The man next to him was dressed similarly, and even though he was driving, in his right hand was an M1911.
They had just gotten away with robbing the largest banks in all of Gravesfield, making off with around 3 million dollars. It was a job tasked to them by their boss, who had been completely unknown to even them. In all honesty, they didn't know it would've been possible. But, they got lucky and snagged something along the way.
And, it was thanks to them that they got away with it.
"Don't get too excited, we still got the cops chasing after us!" The driver spat as the man with the shotgun scoffed.
"And what the fuck are they gonna do, we got our little girly girl over here," the man said, jabbing a thumb at a girl in the back. The girl in question was an orange-haired, green-eyed teenager. On her hands were leather gloves, and she was wearing a black shirt and grey sweatpants, along with a black leather jacket. "She can fry'em for us! Ain't that right, girlie girl?"
"You assholes kidnapped me. Why the hell should I do anything for you?" The girl mumbled as the man with the trench gun snarled.
"Because if you want to live, you'll listen, now—" the mand was cut off when fingers stabbed through the windshield, grabbed the radio section of the car, and pulled so hard that the front of the car—the entire front of the car—was ripped out of place and thrown to the other side of the road, making the two robbers tumble out of the vehicle and stop just before a pair of dark red shoes.
The girl in the back of the car went pale in the face, swallowing as a figure wearing a black two-piece suit and tie stood before her captors. The masked figure, who had Dallas's mask on of all things, stared down at the two men and spoke in… a heavily distorted voice, almost as if they were using a voice changer, and they ended up sounding exactly like Dallas from Payday 2.
"Sorry. I didn't intend to rip off the front of your car. Or, maybe it wasn't your car, to begin with, but that's whatever. What isn't whatever, is that your running from the cops. I mean, I get it, you're a bunch of crooks, but… seriously? That's kinda sad. So how about you do everyone a favour and hand yourselves over, and then I don't have to do anything more than I have to, sound good?" The figure said, before the man with the shotgun grabbed his weapon, stuck it straight to the person's chest, and spat.
"FUCK YOU!" The man shouted, before firing point blank with the gun. The girl in the car gasped, crying out loudly for the man to stop, but it had been too late, as the gun had already gone off. But instead of seeing a dead body with a hole through their chest, what they saw was that….
The front of the suit was shot off… and not much else. There wasn't even any sign to assume that the spread shot had even hit the person's chest. But it did reveal that the person was wearing a bra, confirming to the ginger that the figure was at least a female. Even so, that did much else from stopping the two people before the gingers would-be saviour from shitting bricks. "Seriously? I mean… you could've just… you know what, whatever, you asked for it."
And then, the figure grabbed the man by the head… and threw them into a nearby fire hydrant. The other man, who was trying to scramble away, got their heel stomped on, breaking their foot before the person chopped the back of their neck, knocking them out. The girl in the back of the car screamed, as the person looked at them.
"Ah… one more, and… oh, you're about my age. That's sad," the figure said, walking toward the car as the ginger girl scrambled to her feet, falling to her knees and… began to beg. Even though she did nothing wrong, she just… felt compelled to beg for her life. A presence more sinister than the robbers wafted off of the figure, and it frightened the ginger. Instead of saying anything, or doing anything, all the figure did in response was hum, with curiosity in the figure's tone.
"Please d-don't hurt me! T-They kidnapped me! T-They used me! D-Don't hurt me!" the ginger said as the figure cupped their chin. They looked toward the incoming cop cars, before shrugging, and turning around. The ginger blinked several times at the action, as the person walked away, but before they could, the ginger outstretched her hands and shouted. "W-Wait!" The ginger teenager called out, making the person stop and turn to her. "W-Who are you?" The ginger asked as the figure seemed to be in thought. And then… they spoke a name that she'd never forget. Because it was the name of the person who saved her from the robbers, and her kidnappers.
"You can call me… All For One."
And then, just like that, the figure ran away, dipping into an alleyway as if running away from the scene of a crime. The police surrounded the remains of the car, and all of them looked thoroughly confused as to what happened. When she was carted away into the police car separate from the one that the two adults were taken into, all she could think about was the person that had saved her life….
"All For One… Thank you…"
-To Be Continued-
I know this chapter is short, but I have my reasons for it being short. I mean, don't get me wrong, this was a long time coming, but at the same time, I think leaving it off here is going to be for the best. I can't promise that there won't be a long wait between chapters, but I feel as if this is a good stopping point.
Now, with that being said, before I peace out, I promised someone that I'd give a list of Luz's current Quirks, and what they do. So, I'll do that now. Depending on how many Quirks Luz's ends up, I'm probably going to have to make it a whole chapter of its own at some point. Now, onto the explanation.
All For One: Allows the user, in this case, Luz, to give and take Quirks from others. When applied to the Magic from The Boiling Isles, All For One will convert the energy from the bile sacs of that particular person it is stealing the power from, and transform that energy into a Quirk that it can steal. The process is painful for the person getting the Quirk/energy drained from them, in some cases resulting in brain death due to the strain. The more Quirks the user has taken, the more strain it puts on the user's body. If the user exceeds a certain limit, the user's body will begin to implode on the user, which is life-threatening.
Longevity: A Quirk that triples the user's lifespan. For example, if a person's lifespan is 89 years, then with this Quirk, their lifespan jumps to 267 years.
Super Regeneration: A Quirk that allows the user to recover from life-threatening wounds, up to and including missing limbs, missing chunks of organs or entire organs, bones, muscles, and skin. The process is quite painful, and often leaves scars, but nothing too damaging.
Shock Absorption: A Quirk that allows the user to tank around three-hundred-thousand metric tonnes of force without any drawback to the person's physical body in a single blow. However, it can be worn down by the use of repeated, constant action applied at a constant rate, I.E. fire.
Super Strength: A Quirk that gives the user superhuman levels of strength, relative to their own physical body's strength. The stronger they were before having the Quirk, the stronger they are with the Quirk. For example, if a person can regularly lift heavy boulders with ease, they can now lift cars with ease. This will of course continue to grow as the person becomes stronger, and has no set limit.
Spear Fingers: A Quirk that allows the user to turn their fingers sharp and pointed like spears, and fire them toward people like extendable polearms from a distance of 25 meters.
Pain Nullification: A Quirk that allows the user to completely nullify any and all pain of any kind.
Springlike Limbs: Allows the user of the Quirk to coil their bones and muscle's like springs, giving them heightened resistance to drawback, knockback, or kickback to any of their attacks, allowing them to absorb 3,000 tonnes of force. Depending on the usage, they can also launch their limbs outward around 5 feet from their body, and recall them back, like that of a spring. It can also be used to jump high altitudes, easily covering small skyscrapers in a single bound.
Forcefield Projection And Propulsion: Allows the user to create a near-invincible forcefield in front of them that can withstand any kind of attack. The limit as to what it can withstand is, at most, an atomic-level explosion without cracking the forcefield, anything beyond that and the forcefield will begin to break after a couple of attacks. The forcefield will absorb any and all energy of the attack, allowing the user complete and total protection. However, it can only protect in front of the user. Multiple powerful blows will slowly chip away at its absorption, like most absorbing Quirks. Alternatively, the user can shoot these forcefields at a target, and the more power they have absorbed, the more devastating the blows from the forcefields become.
Airwalk: Gives the user of the Quirk the ability to float upward infinitely. However, they cannot move in any other direction. They can, however, move downward. Propulsion using any other ability can be used to allow the person to move in any direction they wish. But aside from that, it is only used to scale high surfaces.
Stamina Negation: A Quirk that allows the user to negate all Stamina depletion. They can never grow tired, although this doesn't negate the need for sleep.
Now, with that being said, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Peace!