Viral Latency Chapter 1: Two Roads Diverged Under A Red Sky, a Prototype + My Hero Academia/僕のヒーローアカデミア Crossover fanfic

VIRAL LATENCY

Viral latency is the ability of a virus to remain dormant within the host cell, sometimes establishing lifelong occult infection. Depending on the virus, the trigger of latency is highly variable but the host cell context is always determining. Latency can stop upon viral genome reactivation, often promoted by stress cellular signals.

Prototype/My Hero Academia

Created by me, co-written and edited by 7imelock.

Chapter 1: Two Roads Diverged Under A Red Sky/The Crucible

Several Centuries Ago

Two kids destined to become bitter enemies, locked in a centuries-long shadow war to the death, are enjoying ice cream on the streets of New York with their father; and bundled against the chilly fall weather. The trip is ostensibly part business, part vacation, but neither Hideyoshi and Yoichi care much about why. Their father prefers it that way. He's in the city to negotiate the sale of medical and laboratory equipment with Gentek: a biological and genetic research company; with their connections to the American government, he hopes to set his family up for life.

Eyes wide open, the children continue to swivel their heads around, lost in the sights and sounds of the bustling city. They wear matching T-shirts emblazoned with their love for New York, and baseball caps, reveling in the excitement of the foreign country.

Sudden popping noises fill the air, sowing a scene of confusion. Hideyoshi and Yoichi and the crowd look around in befuddlement; their father recognizes the sound immediately.

Spittle flying from his mouth, he says: "We have to go now!" Grabbing his sons' hands, he runs towards the nearest storefront. Yoichi, the younger brother, bursts into tears when his ice cream falls to the ground. Hideyoshi tries to remain calm and figures he needs to do something, in the innocent earnestness of children.

Inside, he hits his brother's arm and receives a sharp "Ow!" in anger. "Why'd you do that?" Yoichi says as he rubs the sore spot.

"Here, you big cry baby, take mine. All for you." Hideyoshi attempts, and fails, to look nonchalant as he hands his cone over. Yoichi sniffs, gives a watery smile, and starts to eat.

As the popping sounds grow louder and the store begins to vibrate, the people outside scream and run away—

—An entire flaming humvee careens down the street, bouncing and skidding across the pavement.

The children's father holds them close, shielding them, partially, from the sight of a man chased and shot at by the military. Bullets exit the stranger alongside blood splatters, but he himself is unphased, using strength—impossible strength—to pick up the heavy vehicle and throw it at the chasing soldiers.

"Don't look; it's not right for you to see this," their father says in panic.

Hideyoshi cannot look away; the display of power enamors him, even as others avert their gazes from the horrible crushing of men. He is secretly, horribly, envious. He wants it: the man's ability to destroy soldiers from the most powerful nation in the world.

Soon, the fighting subsides in the distance and the family emerges from the store. They are met with a chaotic scene: crying, panicked civilians herded away by soldiers. Smoke and the sound of howling fill the air, signaling that things will never be the same again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lost and alone in the chaotic Blue Zones, Yoichi's heart fills with fear as he is separated from his beloved father and brother. Tears flow like a river, mixing with the smoke that fills the air. He cries out for help.

No one seems to care, consumed by their own selfish desires for survival and success. Yoichi feels more alone and abandoned than ever before.

Without warning, more explosions and gunfire shake the earth, and Yoichi sees a man, the same man, flying through the air, chased by three helicopters. Their indiscriminate fire rains down upon the streets and people, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Yoichi tries to run with the crowd; he is pushed and pulled, knocked to the ground. When he looks up, he sees one helicopter burning on the street and another crash into a building. He takes in the destruction around him with wide, wet eyes.

A heavy weight lands next to him—the man with the black jacket and piercing blue eyes, his claws glinting in the light. This man has powers, and as the last gunship takes aim, he shields Yoichi with his own body.

He has powers. The thought repeats as shock turns his brain to mush, mind seeking any comfort in the face of imminent death. Then, the first missile is away.

Yoichi closes his eyes and wishes for his father…

And the seconds tick by…

When he opens them, he sees the hero deflecting missiles with ease. The explosions shake the ground, but the hero remains unscathed, a shield of pure strength and courage; Yoichi blinks and rubs his eyes—no, the man's entire arm has turned into a shield.

This man, this hero, saved him.

The gunship fires another missile, scattering his thoughts. With a flick of the Hero's extended hand, he catches the missile; looks back at him, eye-to-eye with Yoichi; with a half-conceited smirk and a wink, he returns it to sender.

The gunship explodes in a shower of fire and debris, and the hero disappears as quickly as he appeared.

Once the smoke clears, a kind couple comes to Yoichi's aid, offering a safe place with food, clothing, and protection from infection. Yoichi smiles with gratitude, knowing now in his heart that in the darkest of times, there are heroes who will risk their lives for strangers, even if some have powers and others don't.

A happy smile overtakes him as they lift him up and carry him away. One day, he vows to be a hero too, helping everyone. No matter what, there will be a hero for everyone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hideyoshi's father has become unstable since they lost Yoichi. He blames Hideyoshi, he blames himself, he blames Gentek, he blames everyone and everything. The sky is burning red as they trudge onwards towards nowhere. Heading around a corner, they see rows of buildings covered with red tumor looking pustules. Everyone is running away, or stumbling. Some primal instinct beckons the—incomplete, fracturing—family to look closely at the uncanniness of the crowd. Infected.

One jumps on a elderly man trying to run away, to tear apart and eat. Stumbling backwards, Hideyoshi and his father hightail it out of there. Back the way they came they see a welcoming sight: a military convoy—tanks, humvees, and marching soldiers.

Thinking quickly, his father flags them down, hoping against hope his contacts can prove fruitful. Hideyoshi however is uneasy; the soldiers wear all black, the eyes on the helmet closer to an insect than a human. He hides behind a trash can as his father talks and pleads.

A soldier takes their rifle and bashes it against his father's face. On the ground moaning, he never sees the bullets that end his life; his dead face lolls to the side; Hideyoshi locks eyes with the glassy gaze of his father: empty of love, hate, or anything else. None of the soldiers acknowledge this brutal murder. The son does nothing as a tank drives over the body.

Hideyoshi is ignored by everyone who passes by him as the convoy goes by. Finally, he tears his eyes from the smear that is his father and stumbles through the empty and increasingly dangerous streets. His tears and injuries go unnoticed and elicit no sympathy. He is alone in hell. On this day, he learns his lesson: no one will save him or Yoichi but himself. If his father had true power to protect his family, nothing like this would be happening; with all of these conflicting emotions and the whirlwind of events, a deep conviction and contempt rises within him: he will be nothing like that, he will never be so weak. Everyone will be his stepping stones, and no one would treat him like they did his father.

He will never forget this.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A girl, barely older than Hideyoshi, is in the soup kitchen line when she starts coughing blood. Everyone starts to run; within a minute she is tearing apart cooks until someone bashes in her skull. Shouts of fear and anger ring out as others gather their courage and join in.

They don't stop until her head is unrecognizable, brain dripping down the wall and strewn across the food. Hideyoshi feels nothing but relief that it wasn't him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The infection is spreading rapidly throughout the city. Yoichi has been with the older couple—Mr. and Mrs. Juarez—throughout the 18 days of the Outbreak, moving from Blue Zone to Blue Zone as the infection shifts the battlefield every day. He sees bravery everywhere: people defying curfew to bring medical supplies to injured people in ad-hoc medical stations; soldiers giving their all, holding the line against a parade of twisted infected creatures.

Yoichi searches for rumors about the superpowered man, said to be able to leap across blocks and fend off armies of man, machine, or infected flesh on his own. He admires him, and ignores the less savory whispers—the government must be painting him in a bad light, he believes. It was the man who saved him from the gunship, after all.

Perhaps it's because his English is poor—rudimentary at best, his father usually handled all the talking—that he doesn't hear praises for the stranger. Though he does hear a name. As Yoichi waits in line with the older couple at the soup kitchen, he reviews the alphabet again.

The third person in front of them coughs once, twice, three times. Everyone's eyes snap to the middle-aged man and back away from him. The soldiers standing guard raise their weapons: long, sleek rifles pointing straight at a sweaty, bald head.

"I'm not infected, I swear to God! I just choked on water!" the man says. The adrenaline subsides a touch; Yoichi notices water splattered on the ground and a water bottle in trembling hands.

The paranoia is going to kill the city before the infection does, Yoichi thinks. He doesn't like the constant fear people have of each other—it's wrong. They lack hope; they need a brighter future to believe in. They need a symbol of it: like the superpowered man.

Yoichi promises himself that he will strive to be a hero like that man. Even if he doesn't have the same strength, even if it kills him, he will possess the same heart and soul; even if it means putting his own life in danger, he will stand up for and inspire others as Alex Mercer inspired him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hideyoshi—on the other hand—has the misfortune of constantly being in the Red Zones or on their borders. He sees despair everywhere: the military burning entire buildings full of people alive, the same man from before effortlessly destroying entire platoons of soldiers and vehicles. And his own theft from people dead and alive—Hideyoshi doesn't want to think about that.

He both fears and envies this man, wondering how he could possess such power and how he could gain a fraction of it for himself. He wants that power badly, wants to destroy armies like this man does and keep it all for himself. Hideyoshi promises himself that no one will ever be able to threaten him or his little brother; no one—whether superpowered criminal or government—will ever make him kneel. The virulent poison of his fate takes root in his heart and soul, fueling his desire for power.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Surprisingly, neither brother has even the slightest sniffle or symptom, despite their proximity to infected areas and people. The experiences they had will forever alter their course—one will become the greatest demon lord of all time; the other will stop him. Their shadow war will echo through the centuries and generations.

In the aftermath of the chaos and cleanup, they eventually find each other. Happy and broken beyond all measure, each brother hides the cracked foundations of light and darkness in their hearts. Neither shares what they saw or were up to during those fateful 18 days. Neither comes back unscathed.

There is no end to their hardship. Though they are declared clean and able to go home, they are treated like pariahs in their community: they are feared for their 'uncleanness'. Their mother falls into alcoholism and neglects her children. Her attention is better off on anything but them, and during this time Hideyoshi steps up as the bigger brother. It is for the best: the death of their father and her husband leaves a festering wound that never heals until she passes away.

He and his brother against the world makes Hideyoshi bitter as he shields Yoichi from cruelty after cruelty. Their only inheritance is the blood in their veins. A year after the New York Outbreak, the 'Glowing Child' is born. The incoming instability creates an opportunity for Hideyoshi once he realizes the power he has.

The rest, as they say, is history. But the past never stays buried for long…