My Hero Academia
Tales of the Wanderers
Backrooms Level One
Outpost Alpha
After dealing with the smiler infestation on one of the lower levels of this liminal space, Rebecca and Claudia followed after Marko's squad to what appears to be a large area with wanderers either walking around, talking to each other, or opening up some kind of trading shop to trade with other wanderers. It was rather amazing and interesting for the two U.A. students to see other people other than Marko, Clark, and Vanessa. Especially given how they could make a hub for other wanderers to meet up in a safe location. It was when they were making their way through the crowd of people that Rebecca and Claudia noticed some of the people looking over at them with a mix of suspicion, hostility, and curiosity.
"Wow, I would've never guessed we would meet people who also ended up in the backrooms," Rebecca said as she casually waved at some of the wanderers.
"Yeah, a lot of people end up here due to glitching out of reality from our world. Though I think you two might be a new case seeing how we never seen people with skills like you two have." Marko said as he led them through the crowd of people still looking at them.
"Given the way they're looking at us, I'm not surprised. Though having people look at me with mixed feelings might not be a bad thing~" She said before winking at a group of wanderers staring at them from the right in a flirtatious way, only for them to be disgusted by this before looking away. "Huh, most people would find a cat girl rather interesting."
"In their defense, you don't see a cat girl and fox girl walking through a safe area like they're safe or something," Vanessa answered. "Plus you two kind of fall under the entity category given your…interesting features." She said before pointing at Claudia's cloud-like tail and Rebecca's tail as the tip of it was glowing a bit.
"I mean she's not wrong about that. Not like we had much of a choice given how we were born like this."
"I know, but you have to understand from their point of view. You're kind of a threat to them, but we know you're not dangerous."
"Says you," Clark scoffed, which caused Marko to smack him upside his head. "Fucking hell! Seriously!?"
"You keep being an ass, I'll keep smacking you upside your head," Marko said as Clark rubs the back of his head due to the pain he felt. "Let me lay down some ground rules. While we know that you two aren't dangerous, other people might not think so. As a means to show that you can be trusted, follow the rules of this outpost mainly: don't cause trouble, don't attack people, don't start a fight, and don't steal from this place or people in this outpost."
"So we just act like we do in society back home," Rebecca said.
"I don't know how you act back where you're from, but given how you're from a hero school, I'm gonna go with yes…better yet, might want to act like heroes while you're here just ease some of the tension."
"...I mean we can play the part, just don't expect us to be miracle workers if you want us to save someone from death or something along the lines of that."
"Given what you showed us with the Smilers, I can only assume they'll come to you if they have an entity to deal with." He said as the group stopped in front of a barricade-like door with two muscular guards standing in front of it. The two guards would look at Marko for a moment before noticing Rebecca and Claudia. They would stare at the two for a moment before looking at Marko with raised eyebrows. "It's a long story, but let's just say they're friendly and just need a place to rest up."
"...Are you sure they're not hostile? They seem…odd." The guard said as Marko nodded.
"If they were hostile, then they would've attacked us by now." He said before glancing at Rebecca and Claudia, who were currently recording their surroundings on their cellphones. The guards look at each other for a moment before shrugging and moving away from the entrance of the outpost. A sigh of relief escaped Marko's mouth as looked over at the others. "Our leader would like to have a word with you both. It shouldn't be anything serious…at least I hope it's nothing serious."
"That's reassuring," Rebecca said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"Just try to act normal and not disrespectful. That last thing we need is for them to have a reason to shoot you both."
"We'll be on our best behavior. But if we don't like what we hear, then we're leaving." Claudia said, which caused Marko to nod as they entered through the double doors. Upon entering, they would come upon people either wearing yellow hazmat suits, military-grade uniforms similar to what Marko and his friends are wearing, casual clothes with the logo M.E.G. on them, or lab coats.
"Welcome to Outpost Alpha," Vanessa said as moved past Marko and Clark. "This is where we do our studies of the backroom ranging from entities, levels, and objects that wanderers come upon."
"It's also where we provide guidebooks and supplies for wanderers who are new to the backroom. After that, it's up to the individual to traverse the backrooms." Marko added as he motioned for them to follow him through the base.
"If you don't mind me asking, is there a way to get out of the backrooms? Because I'm sure that our principal might think we're skipping classes again, and I prefer not to get into too much trouble than I already am." Rebecca asked as she noticed disgruntled expressions on Marko and Vanessa's faces.
"...Much as we would like for you to head back home, that would simply be impossible," Marko said, which caused Rebecca and Claudia to raise an eyebrow at him. "The backroom is a place filled with an infinite amount of levels of liminal spaces. Think of it as a needle in a haystack. We have heard some rumors from other Wanderers about there being an exit, but so far there hasn't been any confirmed proof that there's an exit from this place."
"In short, you two losers are stuck here forever," Clark said, which caused Claudia to make a small portal appear behind Clark's head as she smacked him upside his head. "I swear to god I will unload a bullet in your ass!"
"You keep being an ass, I'll keep smacking you upside your head," Claudia said before looking back at Marko. "So there is an exit, but its location is unknown."
"Yeah, hence why returning home is nearly impossible. Some people look for it, but none have managed to find it. Mainly because they end up dying along the way, or give up and make a new life on one of the safe backroom levels." Vanessa added. "We've been here for about four years, but some have been here much longer."
"Well….shit. This is quite a pickle we got ourselves into." Rebecca said as she casually placed her hands behind her head. "Not like I have anything back home waiting for me. What about you Claudia, you got someone waiting for you back home." She asked before noticing the fox girl's deadpan expression.
"You do know my parents are cultists, right? They don't stay in the same area and aren't that bright in the head."
"Right…forgot about that. So the only thing going for us back home would be Principal Nezu going hell bent on us skipping class for…how does time work in this place? Because when we tried to figure out what time it was, we couldn't get much other than the numbers going crazy and stuff." Rebecca asked before hearing Vanessa speak up.
"Time flows a bit differently here in the backroom. It could be hours, days, weeks, maybe even years by the time you two get home. And even if you do manage to get home, your world might be different than how it was before you left."
"...Huh…Well crap looks like we'll be able to start anew without having to worry about people that know about my father's past labeling me as a villain, and we can open up that coffee shop we've been meaning to do." Rebecca said as she heard Clark speak.
"Seriously? All your friends and family will be dead by the time you return and you're not even fazed by this?"
"Well, it's not like we had many friends or family members that care about us. The only friend I have is with me, so I have nothing to worry about." Claudia answered as Rebecca nodded.
"Yep, Claudia's the only friend that I need~," She said which caused Clark to deadpan them.
"What, are you two fucking each other or something?" He asked which caused Vanessa to elbow Clark in the ribcage. "Ow, fuck! What was that for!? It's a simple question!?"
"Oh god no. We may be close friends, but she's not my type." Rebecca answered as Claudia nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, plus I see Rebecca as a sister than a lover," Claudia said before noticing that they were near another set of double doors. "I can assume this is the place where your leader is in?"
"Naw, we have those doors there for dramatic effect," Clark said before blocking Vanessa's attempt to smack him upside his head. "Ha! Nice try, jackass." He said only to let out a small grunt from Claudia making a portal and punching him in the stomach.
"Alright, stop messing around you three," Marko said as he pushed the doors open. The moment they open, the group soon enters a room that almost looks similar to an office in the military…if the military was futuristic. Rebecca and Claudia whistled in astonishment upon seeing this, but their attention was soon drawn to the desk which had a pale blonde-haired woman wearing a white lab coat, a pale brown tight jumpsuit, dark brown thick-rimmed glasses, and yellow, blue, and white colored sneakers. The woman at the desk took notice of the group entering her office and a smile appeared on her face.
"Oh, good. They were able to bring you both here." The woman said before standing up from behind the desk and making her way over to them, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Professor Paige Juniper. Welcome to Outpost Alpha, the research outpost of level one."
"Pleasure to meet you, science lady," Rebecca said as she motioned to herself and Claudia. "I'm-"
"Rebecca Spring and Claudia Midgard, I overheard your introductions to Captain Marko and his squad over the camera they had on them." She said before looking at them. "You three may leave now. I'll call you when I'm finished talking with the newly found entities."
"Yes ma'am," Marko said as he and the others left the room, leaving Paige, Rebecca, and Claudia alone in the room.
"So…is there a reason why you brought us here?" Rebecca asked as she watched Paige walk back to her desk. "Because if this is some kind of trap, chances are it's not going to end well in your case."
"Oh no, we would never do that. We're a research outpost that studies the backrooms and its inhabitants to the best of our ability. We never try to harm anyone unless they attack us first." She answered with her hands raised defensively. "Let me be the first to say that we thank you for assisting Marko and his teammates with the Smiler infestation. Dealing with them is very problematic, especially when you can't see if they have a body or not."
"Given how those things are, it's understandable that you would have trouble with them," Claudia said as Paige nodded.
"Indeed, which brings me to what I have to say next. Now I understand you both want to know much about the backrooms. More importantly on how to get out of it and go back to your world, right?" Paige asked as Rebecca and Claudia nodded. "I would like to assist you both in this matter in exchange for your assistance with dealing with infestations of entities that may appear on this level or saving people on deadened levels."
"Really?" Rebecca asked. "Wait, what's the catch?"
"In return for helping us, we'll provide you with information on the backroom levels. Given how you're both new to this place and fall under the entity category given your anomalous abilities, it would be helpful to have someone vouch for your defense if a wanderer mistakes you as a threat."
"That…doesn't seem like a bad offer."
"So you'll assist us?"
"Well given how you guys have information we need, it would be hard to pass up an offer like this. But just to be clear, if we do have to go on search and reassure missions. We might not be successful in saving the person depending on the condition they're in, if they attack us we will knock them out depending on their mental state, and if it's some kind of trap from someone within the ranks of M.E.G. that don't like us, then we'll be keeping our distance and only interact with you and you alone." Rebecca said as she made her way over to the scientist and extended a hand towards Paige. "Do we have a deal?"
"Yes, we have a deal," Paige said as she shook the cat girl's hand in agreement. "With that being taken care of. I'll have you both categorized as pending on the entity hostility list. You two are pending until we can get more information on you two, which we'll be doing tomorrow. Today, you two should relax and get accustomed to this outpost."
"Suppose that's understandable…question, does this place have food or something?" Rebecca asked as her stomach growled a bit. "I'm kind of hungry after what happened on level zero and in this place."
"Tom's Diner is the perfect place to get something to eat. It's a social hub for wanderers to go and trade information or items that they might find within the backrooms. Feel free to socialize with other wanderers and M.E.G members if you want. I'm sure you might meet someone that you might be willing to form a group with." Paige said as she tossed a device over to the U.A students as Claudia caught it. "Here's a map of the outpost. I set the location of the diner on it. It also acts as a communicator, so I'll give you a call once I have your sleeping quarters set up."
"Wait, this thing can post a digital map out of it?" Rebecca asked as Claudia looked it over before pressing on it. A digital screen of a map appeared in front of them and the two stared in amazement at what they saw. "...Okay this is pretty cool."
"You're not the first to have that same reaction. Almost every wanderer that joins M.E.G that gets that will react that way. Now off you go, and enjoy level one of the backrooms." She said as Rebecca and Claudia nodded before leaving Paige's office. Once they left the room, the woman would press a button underneath her desk as multiple digital screens appeared in front of her. On each screen, it would have a picture of both Rebecca and Claudia using their powers and a 3D model of them. A digital screen with a silhouette of a person on it as he spoke to Paige.
"I'm not gonna lie. I was expecting that conversation to go south real quickly."
"I have a feeling they wouldn't attack us, especially given how they did help out with the smiler infestation."
"Fair enough, but are you sure helping them find a way back to their world is wise? I mean, you do know that the backroom is a liminal space that goes on forever?"
"Perhaps, but I have a feeling they might find a way to escape this place. If they manage to do that, then we might be able to have them help us create a way to get back to our world." She said before bringing up pictures of Claudia and her using her quirk. "And that girl might be the key to our escape."
"Ah, I see. So you want to see how well they do exploring the backrooms, and if they somehow manage to open up a portal to the frontrooms."
"Then we can use her to send us back to our homes…well those who are willing to go back to their homes if time hasn't gone by on their end. For now, we'll keep an eye on them and try to provide for them to the best of our ability." She said before bringing up a recording of Rebecca killing off smilers. "I can't wait to analog more information from them, this could lead to a major change to the backroom itself~"