Edit: This is the reworked and revamped version! A portion of this chapter has been changed to fit later stories moving forward. Beyond that, not much else! Enjoy!
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From the bird's eye view, Musutafu appears to be just a typical Japanese city with its own band of Pro Heroes. However, if one took a look closer into the dark corners, you find hives at which petty crime is formed. And yet, the city has its protectors. The Pro Heroes, the police, and, according to a select few, one very persistent Vigilante. The boy from another Earth, the symbiote of alien origin, together, they are Toxin!
And where is this rouge defender right now? Well, he is in one of those crime-birthing alleys. However, instead of just defeating criminals, he now has to deal with the local Heroes. One in particular.
"Hey, look, I know we got off on the wrong foot," Toxin said as he flipped onto a wall and stuck to it. "You were flat as a cardboard cutout! How was I supposed to know you were an actual person?!"
The Ninja Hero, Edgeshot, thrust out his arm, elongating and thinning it to where it can act as a rope. With his hand still fully formed, he attempted to his Toxin, but the vigilante crawled higher to dodge.
"These men were informants to a foreign crime syndicate. They were supposed to taken in for questioning while still conscious." Edgeshot replied.
"Well maybe I should have been told that! I never get any messages from the authorities, and nobody answers my calls! Just between you and me, I have a suspicion the bosses don't like me too much."
"Indeed, they do."
Edgeshot ended his cool remark with another strike from his Quirk. Toxin leapt over it and landed on the opposite wall. Using it as a launch point, Toxin performs a diving kick right at Edgeshot. However, the Pro folds his head and shoulder to make it where Toxin's kick misses. The vigilante landed and, using his momentum, tried a sweeping kick to the legs. Edgeshot's body just folded itself inward to avoid the attack, letting it go wide and clip a dumpster. Edgeshot then sent two attacks directed at Toxin's shoulders. However, despite the great speed, Toxin was able to dodge them only to receive glancing slashes.
"So, humor me for a bit," Toxin quipped.
"Like I wasn't already…" Edgeshot replied.
"What came first: the ninja skills or the paper body? Are you Flat Stanley's Japanese relative who wanted to become a ninja? Or is this some crazy Naruto-shinobi skills that get taught at secret ninja schools?"
"I have honed my Quirk for years until I mastered it. My past is kept in shadow for all. And no, there are no secret ninja schools."
"That sounds like someone who went to a secret ninja school wants me to think."
Edgeshot quickly charged in. Toxin tried to fire webs at the ninja, but he always slipped through or dodged them with no problem. Up close, Edgeshot was quickly becoming a problem. His paper-thin attacks were fast. Extremely fast. It took all of Toxin's symbiote augmented concentration to dodge them successfully. Like always, there were problems. Toxin was getting backed into a corner by Edgeshot. The ninja increased the frequency of his attacks. Edgeshot even managed to score a few direct hits. One of his attacks pierced Toxin's leg, the other pierced an arm. Toxin fell back in pain, clutching his injured limbs. Now Edgeshot was looming over him, one arm raised. The arm shifted into a thin strand, poised for attack.
"This will be quick and painless," Edgeshot declared. "Before you know it, you'll be in jail cell by the time you wake up."
Toxin, a little help?! Bren mentally cried to his other half.
Don't worry, Bren, I've got a plan. The symbiote said. I've been meaning to test if I could still do this.
As Edgeshot was poised to attack, Toxin made a startling change! The red and black suit shifted and changed until it looked like the ground Toxin was on. It looked like it was peeling back a layer. Edgeshot's eyes widened only a little bit as, to him, Toxin had appeared to turn invisible. The Pro shifted his eyes from side to side, trying to find where Toxin had gone.
Um, what did you do? Bren asked mentally.
We're camouflaged, Bren! The symbiote answered enthusiastically. We're practically indistinguishable from this dirty alley ground. Though, we should probably get a move on. No telling how long this is going to fool Mr. Ninja.
Bren acknowledged and began to slowly move away from Edgeshot. Toxin crawled as quickly and quietly as he could before leaping onto a wall and going up it. Once reaching the top, Toxin took a quick glance to ensure the Pro was still unsure of where the vigilante was, and then ran for it. Toxin ran across the rooftops, not even web-slinging to ensure a Pro Hero could see them. Though, if one had good enough eyes, they would see the air shimmer around where Toxin was due to the symbiote having to adjust to the changing scenery. Eventually, far away from where they last saw Edgeshot, Toxin decloaked, returning back to the red and black suit.
"Man," Bren panted after they stopped moving. "What is that guy made of? No way a guy made of paper should hit that hard."
"Perhaps by folding his body, that hero is able to condense his mass into very thin, yet very strong forms. Like pressing down metal into smaller, denser forms." Toxin proposed.
"Okay, but how was he able to move that fast? If he is pressing down his body like that, shouldn't he be slower?"
"I dunno. Maybe it's his 'secret ninja skills'."
Bren rolled his eyes. "You know I was just saying that stuff to try and get him off guard. You know I don't believe there's secret ninja schools that can teach you to do crazy stuff like that."
"Uh-huh, and that's what they want you to think, isn't it?" Toxin teased.
"Ugh, whatever," Bren flailed his arms into the arm and let them fall down at his sides. "We had a busy patrol, okay. There's been no sign of the Sparks ever since we busted their hideout. Let's just go back to Sanctuary House and call it a day."
"But Breeennnn," Toxin pleaded. "It hasn't even been that long. Can we just find one more crime to stop, pleeaassse?"
"No, dude, we're done for the day." Bren answered, heading towards the ledge. "And unless someone's about to get robbed right next to us, then we're going."
"Oh yeah? Then what about that guy?"
Toxin drew Bren's attention to the ground below. There was a man directly beneath them. He had long, unkempt black hair, a large scarf, and an all-black outfit that looked baggy and unfitting on him. Further down the alley were a group of men with suspicious bulges in their clothes. Bulges that were actually weapons like a baseball bat, a crowbar, and a pair of brass knuckles. The three men approached the poor-looking man with malicious intent.
"Oh man, they're going to beat that guy up." Sensing the symbiote's influence egging him on to jump in, Bren scowled. "Fine! One last crime stopping, and that's it!"
Toxin leapt down and landed right behind the three goons. The ringleader approached the man.
"Hey there. Looks like you could use some charity." The leader's tone was filled with snide and mockery.
The man looked up at the three with a tired, yet annoyed expression.
"I am not homeless," The man answered. "Plus, whatever you want, I don't need it or care for it. Leave."
"Well, that ain't very nice," One of the goons said.
"Yeah, how about we teach you a lesson, man?" The ringleader said. "We was going to let you give us everything you got willingly, but instead, we're just going to beat it out of you."
The man raised an eyebrow at the ringleader's threat. "You're serious? You think it will be that easy?"
"Yeah, and you think you're going to take all three of us on at once?!"
"Hey! If you going to beat up a guy in ridiculous clothing, why not me?!" Toxin announced his presence.
Everyone turned to look at the vigilante. The goons in various states of anger and incredulity. The man in annoyance and quite possibly intrigue.
"Grrr. Get him!" Cried the ringleader.
The one with the crowbar and the brass knuckles charged at Toxin, who stood there relaxed. As one of them threw a mean right, Toxin caught it with his right hand. As the other one took a swing at him, Toxin caught it with his other hand. The two goons struggled to get out of Toxin's grasp. Toxin then pulled their grasped arms in, knocking the two goons' heads together and dropping them to the ground.
"Real set of geniuses you got here, pal," Toxin quipped. "I can see why you're the face of the operation."
The ringleader, snarling mad, charged at Toxin. He swung wildly, to which Toxin weaved non-chantantly all the same. The two maneuvered close to a nearby wall. The ringleader tried one desperate swing at the vigilante, but Toxin leapt over it as the bat slammed into the wall. The leader looked up to see Toxin sticking to the wall. Toxin let go of the wall, falling towards the leader, and leg-locking the man's head. Making it quick, Toxin twisted as he slammed the man onto the ground hard, knocking him out. By that time, the other two goons had gotten back up.
Toxin smirked. "So, Tweedledee and Tweedledumb are ready for round two?
The two roared with rage as they once again charged in. The one with the crowbar arrived first and took a horizontal swing. Toxin dodged that and another one before grabbing the bar on its third swing. Knuckledusters was the victim of several kicks to the chest before getting a final kick to the chin. Toxin then maneuvered around the crowbar guy's back, twisting the arm until the crook yelped in pain. A kick to the back sent the man stumbling to the ground. Just for good measure, Toxin webbed that guy to the ground. Toxin's symbiote sense went off as he dodged another attack from knuckledusters. Guess the knuckleduster guy didn't want to stay down. So, Toxin decided to use the guy's body as a springboard. In the air, he spun his web until it formed a cocoon around the goon's body. Finally, on the ground, he slammed the henchmen onto the floor. With all three crooks defeated, Toxin strolled his way towards the man he rescued.
"No need to thank me. I'm just doing my job." Toxin said while lazily stretching.
"I could have hold them off until the police arrived," The man said.
"Yeah, but I wasn't going to just stand by and watch them gang up on you. Hey, if you need a place to stay for a bit, there's this nice place called Sanctuary House. It's a shelter for those who are in a rough patch."
"I am not homeless," The man reiterated, annoyance cutting hard into his tone.
"Okay, okay, I believe," Toxin raised his hand in mock surrender. "Though, just a little advice, I would recommend some more self-care. You don't have to cut your hair, but brushing is a start. Getting rid of all those knots feels good in the long run. Also, I'd say get some more sleep. Those bags are not doing your eyes any favors."
The man's face dropped to the hardest "I'm so done with this" expression Toxin had ever seen.
"So, you're the new vigilante. Toxin, am I correct?"
"Yep, that's me! Allow I prefer the term superhero. I mean the latter is technically correct, but there's such a stigma against it."
"Yes, I know."
"It's like every person in tights are put into one of two categories in this place," Toxin continued. "Heroes and not Heroes. And can you believe they lumped me in the second category?"
The man only grunted before silence fell between the two. After a moment, the man spoke again.
"Then again, it is a good thing that I got the chance to meet you."
Suddenly, the scarf the man was wearing came alive! Like a whip, it wrapped around Toxin quicker than he could blink.
"I can finally put an end to your so-called career." The man finished dramatically.
Shocked, Toxin tried to rip free of the scarf. However, no matter who much he pushed against it, it wouldn't tear.
"Don't even bother," The sudden Pro Hero calmly explained. "This is made up of a steel wire alloy mixed with carbon nanofiber. You're not getting out of it so easily."
"Jeez, who even are you?!" Toxin asked.
"Not every Pro Hero works out in public. Some work best in the shadows, away from the spotlight. We're called underground heroes with all the same authority as the ones you see on TV."
"To be fair, I was more asking along the subject of your name."
"My name is Eraserhead, and I suggest you quiet struggling." The Hero's eyes glowed red as his hair levitated.
Toxin furrowed his brow. This guy was a Pro, even if he did look like he was living on the streets. Still, he needed a way to get out of this.
See, this is why I didn't want to one more crime stopping. This is what happens! Bren argued with his other.
Stop your whining. We can escape from this. Toxin reassured.
How? Unless you want to use the spikes, we can't exactly tear out of here.
Think about it. He said we couldn't rip our way out. He never said anything about running.
Bren got the idea. As Eraserhead slowly approached, Toxin leaped backwards several feet in the air. The sudden momentum caught Eraserhead off guard as he was no longer centered on the ground. Toxin leapt back and stuck his feet onto a high wall. With Eraserhead dangling in the air, Toxin swung his torso back and forth. This resulted in Eraserhead slamming into the walls on his left and right. After a while of this, Toxin stopped the makeshift pendulum by throwing his body back. He then leapt off the wall, sailing on top of Eraserhead. Summoning tendrils from his hands, Toxin sent them directly to the ground. The underground hero, seeing this, crossed his arms to defend himself. Toxin pulled the tendrils, sending himself and Eraserhead crashing down to the ground. The impact from both Toxin and the fall broke Eraserhead's concentration of his capture scarf, freeing Toxin, who then rolled away from the Pro Hero. As the Erasure Hero recovered and slowly got back up, he looked to see Toxin already scaling one of the walls.
"Look, I'd love to stay and fight, but I've been in this alley for long enough and the smell is getting to me." Toxin quipped before reaching the top. "And remember, if you really need a place to stay, go to Sanctuary House! Gotta go, bye!"
And with that, Toxin disappeared over the rooftops and swung away. Eraserhead looked on before beginning to massage his back, which he knew was going to be sore the next morning.
"How was he able to use his Quirk after being caught in my Eraser vision?" Eraserhead asked himself. "It could be he has a Mutant-type Quirk, but from what reports have shown, it doesn't exactly function like one. He stuck to the wall with no problem, he could generate those tendrils, and despite his small frame, he was strong enough to lift himself and me several feet into the air. There's more to this vigilante than we know now."
Eraserhead then took an idle sniff of himself then sighed.
"God, Yamada is never going to let me hear the end of this."
Bren knocked on the door to the office of Mr. Shoutai. After not hearing anything, he creaked it open to see that the man currently typing away behind his desk.
"Mr. Shoutai, sir," Bren said. "You said you wanted to see me?"
Mr. Shoutai looked up from his computer and waved his hand. "Yes, yes, I did. Come in, come in, shut the door."
Bren walked inside and closed the door.
"Take a seat."
Mr. Shoutai gestured to the chairs in front of him. Taking a seat, Bren looked at the man running the Sanctuary House.
"Um, you said there was something we needed to talk about?" Bren asked.
"Yes, just one moment," Mr. Shoutai finished the last of whatever he was typing. Now he had his full attention on Bren.
"Bren, I know the last month has been rough for you." Mr. Shoutai began. Bren nodded along.
"And I know you've gone beyond in repaying our kindness to you. Your help in the shelter has not been overlooked, and we can't overstate how much we appreciate your efforts."
Mr. Shoutai let out some air through his nose. "However, you are still a teenager. One who has responsibilities like anyone else has. In particular, receiving an education."
"Is this about trying to send me to school?" Bren asked. "I thought you said we couldn't do that because I have missing legal documents."
"I know. We have been working around the clock trying to cement you as a legal citizen of Japan. However, this isn't about going to school specifically. You see, Bren, everyone has a responsibility, even children. For them, it is to learn about the world and be prepared for the future. Even if we can't send you to school now, you are still owed that responsibility to learn."
"Is there already something you have in mind?"
"Yes. A series of online courses designed to bring you up to speed with the current public-school curriculum. It covers everything: math, science, history, both Japanese and English language courses. The whole nine yards. I know it can be tough adjusting to a fully online learning environment, but this is a small step to a sense of normalcy for you."
Bren lowered his head, deep in thought. He felt pangs of guilt that some of his first emotions to Mr. Shotai's proposal wasn't joy at getting some semblance of normal life or dreading the thought of being back in school again. No, it was disappointment that this new schooling schedule would cut into his time as Toxin. This never happened back home. Back home, he would always worry about getting caught by his father to think about doing superhero work. Now, he had no tense family situation. He was free, and now a part of that was being taken away from him.
"So, I'm guessing this isn't really much of a choice, is it?" Bren said.
Mr. Shoutai rapped his fingers along his knuckles. The type of thing he did when someone figured out what he was trying to do.
"No, not really," Shoutai answered truthfully. "My, and by extension the Sanctuary House's, responsibility is to ensure that people who need help receive it, and that they can leave it ready to enter in this not-always-nice world we live in. Giving you an education is just one part of the House's many responsibilities. It's not always planned, but we have to adapt, don't we?"
"I'm guessing my circumstance is sort of unique, right? Unless you regularly help kids who don't legally exist."
"No, no, we don't run into cases like yours. Bren, I know this has been tough for you: a month alone in a country not your own, no way to contact your parents, no familiar friends or family. Trust me, I can relate to the feeling of being a stranger. One day soon, you'll be out of our hands. The foster care system will have to take you in, and you might have to wait until you're considered a legal adult to be on your own or you might be adopted by a caring family. This whole online schooling is just one step towards building a new life here."
"So, do you know when I'll be leaving Sanctuary House?"
"I can't say for certain. Maybe in another month or two? We are still working with the official channels who, let's just say, aren't known for their speed."
Bren nodded in understanding. However, Mr. Shoutai could read the glumness emanating from Bren.
"Look, Bren, I know it's going to be hard leaving here. But the truth is, Sanctuary House isn't a place where someone can stay forever. Our goal is to help people, to prepare them and get them ready to be on their own two feet out in the world. Everyone has to leave here someday. Plus, it's not like you can't come back to volunteer every now and then. We'll always be happy to see you again."
Bren nodded along, knowing Mr. Shoutai was right.
Bren let out a sigh. "Okay, I'll do it. When do classes start?"
Mr. Shoutai let out a warm smile. "We can have everything set up by Monday. If there's any complications, we can adjust it as need be. Thank you for understanding, Bren. Remember, your education is work only if you take the initiative. So, try and fight the natural instinct to procrastinate like most teenagers, will you?"
Bren chuckled at Shoutai's small joke. "Yeah, I get it. Thanks, Mr. Shoutai. You've been a big help."
"Any time, Bren. Now, go get some rest. I can tell it's been a busy day for you."
"And basically, that's how it all started."
Several days later, Bren was talking to Ryo after school. Bren had just recapped everything about his new education schedule to her, and she took it all in.
"Wow, I can't believe Mr. Shoutai set all of that up." Ryo said before turning to Bren. "Actually, I can't believe online schooling is still a thing. I read somewhere that everyone had to do school online because of a pandemic long ago. I thought it would have been phased out completely by now.
"Honestly, I did actually take a couple months of online schooling back home as well. Which was also during a pandemic," Bren recalled. "It didn't last long, but man, now I remember why I don't like it."
"What? The blending of home and school, the lack of personal connection between teacher and student, the realization that no one is there to force you to sit down and learn while fighting the temptation to goof off?"
"Well, actually…all of that. But there's also the subjects that are just so different from what I'm used to."
"Let me guess, Quirk history?"
"Yes, and Science as well. It's crazy how Quirks tend to play jump rope with the natural laws."
"Well, at least it's just those two."
"Wellll, not really," Bren drawled out. "See, while I was taking my Japanese course, I figured out that I'm basically illiterate in Japanese writing."
"What?!" Ryo shouted. "How come you can both speak and understand Japanese, which you said you never learned before, but not know how to write it?"
"I don't know! Whatever zapped me here decided to let me only speak Japanese and not how to read and write."
Bren slumped on the table.
"What's worse is that Mr. Shoutai had to find someone who was able to help me catch up with everyone else. He found a substitute teacher who was at Sanctuary House once, and she agreed to tutor me." Bren continued. "She's not, like, a bad person, but I think she's so used to teaching kindergarteners that she's treating me like one."
Ryo gave Bren a comforting pat on the back.
"There, there, we all have that person in our lives." Ryo reassured Bren. "Heck, some of my grandparents and older relatives still think I'm in elementary school. If you ever want to get some extra tutoring on writing, I'm always available to help."
Bren smiled, glad that his friend was willing to help him out. But then, every negative emotion he felt with school came back, and he felt his face drop again.
Bren leaned back, groaning into his hands.
"I know this is supposed to be good for me, but all I can think is how much I don't like being in school." Bren admitted.
Ryo quickly looked around to make sure no one was listening in, and then dropped her voice low to whisper.
"So, how does this play into Toxin's work?"
Bren lowered his voice too. "It means I can't really patrol as much as I used to. I might get an hour or two at the least, and that's when I'm not planning to go out on late nights or the weekends."
"Honestly, it might be better for you to go out when there's not as many pro heroes out." Ryo said. "Toxin's fights with Edgeshot and Eraserhead has been still in the news."
"Yeah, those two were no joke. They both caught me by surprise."
"I don't doubt it. Edgeshot is one of the top 10. You're lucky you got away from him in the first place."
"Wait, there's a top 10 Heroes list?"
"Um, yeah," Ryo answered like it was obvious. "Every hero gets ranked based on how well they do their job. Why do you think All Might is called the 'Number One Hero'?"
"I thought he was just a guy everyone liked!" Bren answered incredulously. "So, what's this ranking system? A glorified popularity contest?"
"It's more than that. I already told you; it ranks heroes on how well they do their jobs."
"So, you're saying it is still a bit of a popularity contest."
Ryo pursed her lips before nodding and saying, "Yeah, a little."
Bren smugly smiled. Ryo rolled her eyes.
"Don't give me that look, Waters. The ranking system works the way it does is to show a Hero's standing in the most accurate way possible. If it was just on how many criminals they catch, then the Number Two Hero would have been Number One by now."
"Who's number two?" Bren asked.
"A man by the name of Endeavor. He generates and controls fire and is pretty strong to boot."
"I hate him." Toxin said.
"I understand," Ryo said before continuing. "The only reason he isn't number one is because he's kind of a jerk to everybody and has a bad habit of killing criminals."
"See, even more reasons to hate him."
"Yeah, making sure to avoid him in the future," Bren said. "So, do you know anything about Eraserhead?"
"Not much. Like you said, he's an underground hero," Ryo explained. "He doesn't do a lot of press, and he generally avoids the spotlight."
"Do you know anything about his Quirk? He had this weird glow to his eyes, and his scarf moved on its own."
"Actually, I have heard about his Quirk. Word is, his Quirk can erase other people's Quirks if they are caught within his gaze."
Bren pondered for a moment before speaking. "That's what his glowing eye thing was. He was trying to erase my Quirk! Only thing is, I don't have one."
"I've also heard he can't erase Mutation-type Quirks either because they're a passive mutation. Or something like that." Ryo shrugged. "I don't pay that much attention to Hero stuff. Well, not much back then."
"So, what type is your Quirk, Ryo?" Bren asked.
"Bren Waters, don't you know it's rude to ask a girl about her Quirk?" Ryo put on a fake offended tone.
"No. Oh, wait, is that a thing?!" Bren said, genuinely afraid he said something inappropriate.
"Nah, I'm just messing with you." Ryo said. "My Quirk is a bit Transformation-type and a bit Mutation-type."
"What does that mean?" Bren said.
"Some parts of my Quirk are active all the time, and some aren't. All I know is that it's not exactly Pro Hero material, and I'm okay with that."
"Man, it's crazy. Back home, we didn't have any public classification on powers. Some people were born with them, and some people got them later. Those who were born with superpowers are called mutants, and they've been fighting trying to live in a world that's not exactly friendly to them."
"Reminds me of the early days of Quirks." Ryo commented. "Is that all you know about powers on your world?"
"Well, there was sort of a thing with the Inhumans a while back…" Bren trailed off.
"Man, there's so much about your Earth that I don't know that sounds so strange to me."
"Do you…want to know more?"
"Sure, after all, you're the only one in the world who knows about another Earth. I'd love to hear it."
Bren smiled, and the two spent the remainder of their time talking about Bren's old Earth.
The Hero Public Safety Committee is in charge of a great deal of what is known as "Hero Society". They are the ones who test and license Pro Heroes, organize plans with the police to take down criminal organizations and high-ranking Villains, and they make sure everyone knows what it means to be a Hero. The legal, righteous, morally correct way all under the watchful eye of the HPSC. Which means they also have to deal with the unfortunate circumstance of people trying to be heroes without the HPSC's involvement.
Taro Yamaguchi is the head of Unlicensed Heroes department, which means he gets the responsibility of cracking down on vigilantes. A responsibility he was more than eager to obtain when it was offered to him years ago. Back then, vigilantes were less than one percent of the problems the HPSC had to deal with. They were usually so small scaled that the HPSC didn't need to do anything most of the time. Those who became vigilantes were those who failed at being a Hero the right way, or wackos who wanted to beat people up in the name of "justice". You didn't even have to wait that long for them to take themselves out. They'd either get a life-altering injury or just die on the field. A pay increase and minimum effort for a new position? Sign him up.
That's how it was. Now, there was a new headache for Taro's department. Toxin, the newest vigilante of Musutafu. That city had been generally free of vigilantes for years with all of the licensed Pro Heroes running around solving crime. This Toxin character was different. He wasn't some drop-out shmuck who thought he can fight crime with just his Quirk. No, this vigilante was experienced. He was good at what he did, good at evading authority, and good at being a pain in Yamaguchi's side. Toxin had encountered and evaded capture from several Pro Heroes in the past month the vigilante had been active. And it was beginning to drive Taro up a wall.
Yamaguchi was reading over the recent reports sent his way from Edgeshot and Eraserhead. One of the top 10 Pro Heroes in the country, and one of the most effective underground heroes in recent memory both failed to capture one measly vigilante. Taro blew air out of nose as he clenched his clasped hands in frustration. There hasn't been a vigilante this problematic since the Naruhata vigilantes five years ago.
There was a light knock at his door before it opened to reveal his assistant. She was average height, average build, and overworked. Well, frankly, that last part could apply to most of the HPSC. You needed to be or have someone on the inside of the Hero sector to know that the HPSC is understaffed. Yamaguchi had a suspicion that those at the very top didn't want to have some of their generous salaries cut in order to fund and hire more jobs. Then again, his salary was nothing to scoff at, so on some level he understood.
"Mr. Yamaguchi, they are waiting for your assessment of the Toxin case," The assistant said in a droning voice.
"Yes, Ms. Nishimura, I have already got the email," Taro replied dismissively.
Taro got up from his desk and looked out the window. His reflection showed a handsome, yet cold man starting back at him with onyx eyes and dark hair. The city below continued to function under his, and the rest of the Commission's, watchful eyes.
"This Toxin problem needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible." Taro began. "His constant flagrancy to the laws is making the Heroes, and by extension us, look bad. The media has done a good job vilifying him to the masses, but even now, there are those who see him as heroic. He's successfully evaded capture from some of the top 10. Hell, even All Might lost him. Although, that old fossil hasn't exactly been at the top of his game for years…"
The assistant said nothing as she let her superior rant. Eventually, Yamaguchi gave out his decree.
"I want everyone on staff to find out what they can about Toxin. I want to know his strengths and, most importantly, any weakness he may have. Anything that Quirk of his is vulnerable too. Hell, find out if he has any friends, allies, loved ones. Anything we can use to take him down."
Taro paused for a bit before turning to his assistant. "Do we have a set area of where he operates?"
"Yes, sir, he appears to mostly operate within these sections of Musutafu," Ms. Nishimura handed Yamaguchi a map with circles showing where Toxin stopped crime the most.
Taro nodded. "Good. Get me in contact with any Hero Agencies near these areas. I want them looking for that son of a bitch day in and day out."
"Won't that impact the agencies' ability to handle other criminals, sir?"
"That's not my problem. I don't run a Hero Agency. My job is to take down vigilantes. If I need to, I'll incentivize them. If they don't have what it takes, leave them and find somebody else."
"I understand, sir," The assistant paused before asking once again. "Is that all from you?"
Taro thought before saying. "If there's any Pro Heroes roaming around Musutafu, let them know to take down Toxin as well. Leave no opportunity untouched."
"Yes, sir."
And with that, the assistant left. Taro Yamaguchi looked back down at his collection of reports of the vigilante. Cold hate emanated from this man as he glared at Toxin. Toxin, this man who made the fatal mistake of not playing by society's rules. In this world, those who use their Quirks are divided into two categories; those who follow the HPSC become Heroes. Those who don't become Villains. And yet here he was, blurring the line. The people didn't like those that complicated the rules. The HPSC taught them so. And anyone who complicated the rules needed to be stopped.
"Enjoy your brief time as a free man, Toxin," Taro Yamaguchi said. "It won't be long until you are thrown in with the rest of the criminals and lawbreakers. There is no room for vigilantes in our society. Because in this world, there are good guys, and there are bad guys."
Taro's eyes drifted to the document on Toxin's battle with the Sludge Villain. The scattered photos showed Toxin fighting the villain in the inflamed shopping street. Throughout the photos, Taro noticed how Toxin's costume seemed to be losing its structure the longer the fight went on. Taro devilishly grinned.
"And the good guys always win."
Hey, I'm back! Thank you all for waiting for this chapter to release. I'm sorry it took so long! If you followed my other story, you'd know how school always makes this type of writing hard for me.
So, new developments! Toxin encounters both Edgeshot and Eraserhead! I had originally planned all three members of the Lurkers to show up this chapter, but I decided to change plans. Even being stuck in an alternate Earth with no legal documentation can't save Bren from school. And it looks like the HPSC is planning on taking down our favorite symbiotic vigilante! Want more? Then stay tuned for the next chapter! I'll be honest, the next chapter is going to be a self-contained story. It's going to be an homage to an early Spider-Man story, as well as expand the world of MHA's universe as I see fit.
I want to thank everyone for the positive reception this fic has gotten. Even with 's problems with email notifications, you guys have stuck with me all the same. Thank you so much.
And now, onto comments.
MBS41: Yes, while I would love to properly tag Bren Waters, FF's tagging system doesn't work like that. Right now, there is no tag for Bren Waters. There's a pre-select I have to choose from, and the only Toxin is with Pat Mulligan, the first host. This isn't like Ao3 where you can add whatever tags you want. Plus, I added the OC tag because I've been adding a lot of OCs to the story. You already met one with this chapter! Otherwise, thank you for the compliments.
NuclearNachos: Thank you for the kind words! That's always the problem with crossover stories involving characters being transported to the MHA universe. There's a ten-month gap between the Sludge Villain fight and the UA Entrance Exam. Some authors like to skip their way to the canon events, but not me! It's going to be a long while till we get to the Entrance Exam Arc. Likewise, I'm glad you enjoyed the Sparks gang. They will show up more in the future, as well as more new villains.
That's all I have for now. See ya next time!