Hello hello! New chapter finished! Hope you enjoy it!
But first, the reviews!
Colossus Bridger: Glad you enjoyed it! About the Nightmare Villain... Well...
It's not Durge at all.
And actually... It's not really Villain... It's more... Villains, precisely 20, it's characters that were victims of the main character syndrom, where each time they appeared, they were showed as pretty weak because there was a main character (just like the Stormtroopers that could be equivalent to the US Marine Corps in the lore BUT CAN'T HIT A SINGLE THING), it's characters that I decided to make Lore accurate, and even slightly enhance.
But you found that right, they are CIS.
Agusfedredhunter: :)
Chapter 3: A New Family
/
-Knock Knock-
Momo took a step back, and a few seconds later, the door of the guesthouse opened, revealing one of the clones stretching, a sound of yawning escaping the microphone of the helmet he wore, dressed in some sort of black suit marked with a stellar symbol with eight rays centered in a circle whose circumference was made up of dotted lines, the only pieces of armor he wore apart from his helmet were on his legs.
The man tilted his helmet slightly forward to scratch his neck before looking at who had knocked.
"Good morning Yaoyorozu-san. And..." the soldier glanced at Mio for a moment, "Your mother, I presume? What do you need?", Momo suddenly became slightly nervous... Her mother had decided to come to... Perhaps agree on a cover story, their quirks, and so on...
However, she was unsure how the sixty-three men would react. So, instead of explaining to the clone the reason for their presence, she asked.
"Is Captain Lock awake?"
The teenager quickly thought before responding.
"It think so. Why?"
"We need to talk to him," her mother replied. The soldier nodded.
"I'll check, please wait a second." The man raised a hand to his helmet and spoke into what the tall teen assumed was an integrated radio, followed by a second of silence before the teenager indicated to them.
"He's coming. Please wait." Momo nodded and remained silent. Her mother, however, asked.
"Tell me, out of pure curiosity, we had a discussion with my daughter yesterday, and I was wondering... Do you know how to do anything other than fight in your life?"
The teenager looked down...
"Not really... Personally, I recently left Kamino, our home planet... There, we didn't have time for anything except training... But... To be honest... I like art... Painting, photography... When I had free time I enjoyed drawing… Some of us, among the oldest, have other interests, for example, Brexx enjoys playing hallikset..."
Momo had a small smile...
"That's a beautiful passion..."
The clone nodded slowly...
"What is your name?", asked Momo.
The teenager looked up and glanced at them.
"CT-3351-04. But they call me Voc."
'A serial number...', thought Momo... 'Like machines...'
However, before she could think further, there was a noise, and Voc turned around before saluting. Lock showed up, leaning on a soldier like last night. However, Momo couldn't tell if it was the same one.
"Good morning Yaoyorozu-san and..."
"Mio. Yaoyorozu Mio. Momo's mother," her mother introduced. Lock nodded.
"Captain Lock. Pleasure to meet you. What brings you here? Business to discuss or questions to ask?"
Mio nodded.
"Things to discuss indeed, could we speak indoors? It's a bit chilly this morning..."
The captain glanced somewhere to the left before responding.
"Of course. However, a large majority of my men are still asleep, so I would ask you to avoid making too much noise", his helmet then turned to Voc, "Voc, could you find the rest of the company command and tell I need them?"
The teenager nodded and disappeared inside. Lock and the other clone stepped aside to let Momo and her mother in, which they did immediately. When they entered, Momo was surprised to see how... Organized everything was... The captain seemed to notice her surprise and chuckled.
"You must have thought we'd be cramped, is that it? Don't worry, we managed to organize ourselves."
The captain led them through the house, and the ravenette and her mother took the opportunity to look at the soldier's organization. The two small storage rooms that had never been used despite their modest size had been completely filled, the shelves once empty were filled with strange equipment and pieces of armor, one entire shelf in one of the two storage rooms had been completely dedicated to some sort of... Well... The tall teen couldn't clearly tell what it was... But she thought she could make out a cannon.
The large living room and dining hall had been converted into an improvised dormitory where most of the troopers slept, exhausted, but there was still enough space to move around.
The kitchen... Remained the kitchen, although what looked like rations were stacked in piles in one corner.
The three toilets and four showers... Remained the same.
They climbed slowly to the second floor of the house, Lock having trouble with the stairs because of his leg. However, unlike the first floor where everyone was asleep, the second floor was bustling with activity.
Clones with red symbols on their shoulder pads, helmets, or breastplates moved in the corridors, sometimes entering rooms. Momo glanced inside one of them. Each room had two beds, and each bed was occupied by at least one clone; the ravenette realized that these were the injured ones she had saw last night. Finally, they arrived at the offices. There were two of them, and Lock opened the door to one, entering followed by Momo and her mother.
"Did your doctors and yourself get any sleep at least?" her mother asked.
Lock shrugged.
"Yes, but very little. I have things to manage as captain, and our medics prioritize our wounded."
Lock asked the clone carrying him to help him sit on one of the chairs. Once that was done, Lock removed his helmet. After a brief salute, the other teenager left the room, closing the door behind him.
Mio was struck by the slight resemblance they had to her daughter.
"What exactly did you want to talk about?", the captain asked, adopting a very serious expression, "Since you didn't seem to want to talk to Voc about it, I assume it's important?"
The ravenette and her mother nodded.
"That's correct", Mio began, "We're here to talk about-" The door opened to reveal Voc, who then stepped aside to let two other clones pass. The teenager then closed the door.
Two visors looked at Momo and her mother, hiding the expressions of the other two clones.
"These are my two other lieutenants; your husband and daughter met Lieutenant Xyomm yesterday, so here are Lieutenant Torda and Dengloy.", the captain said, pointing each as he said their names.
After the brief introduction, Lock turned to the two newcomers.
"Xyomm isn't coming?"
Torda shook his head.
"We tried to make Fix understand that we needed him, but he categorically refused, saying that our brother needs rest at all costs."
Lock nodded.
"I see. Let's continue", he nodded at Mother Yaoyorozu, who returned the gesture.
"So, as I was saying just before. We've come here to talk to you about a possible adoption."
The ensuing silence was deafening... The clones looked at Momo and her mother as if they were inhuman creatures. Astonishment was visible in Lock's eyes and expression, and even despite their helmets, surprise was visible in their body language. And after what seemed like an eternity...
"HUH?!"
The cry of incomprehension rang out with such force that Momo swore she felt the house jump.
"Did I hear that correctly?"
Torda asked, looking at Lock.
"It seems... yes," the captain replied, still surprised... Dengloy, on the other hand, remained completely frozen. Momo decided to risk speaking.
"... So?"
The three clones turned to her and her mother... Lock seemed troubled and pensive...
"We... will have to think about this... Can you wait outside for a bit? I think... We definitely need to be in private..."
Mio nodded and placed her hand on the ravenette's shoulder.
"Come on, we'll wait outside the door..."
The two exited on that note. Momo casting a backward glance at Lock, who was looking at the floor, pensive and serious...
/
The door closed with a bang that reverberated in the office like a thunderclap in Lock's ears, lost in thought...
"Well... That happened", noted Torda, crossing his arms and leaning against a wall, "What do you think?"
Dengloy shrugged.
"Honestly... I can't exactly answer... It was unexpected, that much we can all agree on, but such a decision can't be taken lightly..."
Lock nodded very slowly, only half-listening.
"Personally, I would be against it. It would bring us too many unnecessary troubles. How could these people justify having sixty-three new children who have the same appearance and age? It's too risky."
Not a bad point...
However…
"Whatever happens, we're bound to have this issue unless we keep the helmets... Or cover our faces in public...", Lock remarked, "Furthermore, we're teenagers, we're too young to work anywhere, and I don't think our few credits are a valid currency here."
The three officers remained silent for a long moment...
"So we're almost forced to accept, in fact?" Torda then said.
Dengloy and Lock nodded...
"Indeed... If we want to survive... It's the best way, plus, they could help us learn the language and customs of the country. It would spare us some... Quite embarrassing moments…", Lock replied.
Torda frowned slightly... Lock then glanced at Dengloy. The second lieutenant remained silent for a moment...
"I trust your decision, Captain."
/
The door reopened, and Dengloy made a move with the hand, telling them to come in again. As soon as she entered, the tall teen noticed that Torda seemed sullen in his corner, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.
"We have discussed your proposal", Momo diverted her attention from the lieutenant to look at Lock, "And... Despite some initial reluctance from some", the glance towards Torda was minimal, but Momo noticed it, "We... Accept your proposal."
Her mother nodded.
"Very well. But this answer brings new problems. Momo?"
The captain's gaze betrayed the fact that he already suspected what these problems would be.
"Yes, Mom", the ravenette replied, taking a step forward, "So we will need to define a cover story, if you have a quirk, and all those kinds of things to create an identity for you. Unfortunately, our world mostly has the bad habit of sticking anything new into a lab and dissecting it until they find out what it holds... That's what would happen to you if it was learned that you came from another dimension? Universe? Anyway, a place not belonging to our reality."
Momo noticed a slight tremor in the captain's demeanor as he weighed the words.
"I understand. So you've come to consult us to figure out what would suit us."
Momo and her mother nodded.
"Firstly, we should know if you have a quirk."
A flash of incomprehension crossed Lock's eyes, and Momo clarified quickly.
"A quirk is a metaphysical ability, a... Superpower of sorts."
"Like the Jedi? No, we don't have that. Besides having the same appearance, no." Torda replied, his voice slightly bitter.
Both Yaoyorozus sighed... It would be much easier to create a quirk for someone who didn't have one.
"I already see where you're going with this. I suppose this world is heavily based on people's supernatural abilities? And you want to create one to justify our resemblance, a power that one of us could have", Dengloy said.
"That's correct."
Then came a question Momo didn't expect so soon.
"And you, do you have any?", Lock asked. Her mother nodded.
"Yes, we do. My daughter can create anything she knows the molecular structure of. These can be of any size or shape. It's an evolution of mine, which allows me to create objects in the same way, but not exceeding twenty centimeters. Here, we call these abilities 'Quirks.'"
Lock nodded thoughtfully... No words were said for a moment, then suddenly.
"Company, Onward."
Mio tilted her head to the side.
"Excuse me?"
"Company. The user of this quirk is capable of creating up to 143 copies of themselves and equip them with equipment that the user has imagined. These copies are self-sufficient and autonomous once created. No replacements for inflicted losses can be made, and only one company can appear at a time."
Mio nodded, could be enough, but stumbled upon one point.
"Why 143 copies? You're only sixty-three if I'm not mistaken, according to my daughter."
The captain's gaze fixed on her mother. Momo read in it a profound sadness, the kind that comes from someone who has lost someone close. The helmets of the two lieutenants lowered to look at the ground.
"The user is the 144th member, and that's the number our company was before the boarding and evacuation that brought us here...", the captain replied. Momo felt a deep empathy for these men...
"I... I apologize for asking a sensitive question... It was clumsy of me...", her mother apologized with a bow...
"It's not your fault, you couldn't have known.", the teenager replied, the sadness Momo had seen disappearing as quickly as it had come.
"And who would be the holder of the quirk in this case? I assume it would be you, Captain Lock, as you are the highest-ranking among your men.", her mother deduced, to which the three clones nodded. Perfect... It seemed to be going well...
"Captain, how do you plan to explain that we're sixty-three instead of one hundred and forty-three in this case?"
Momo withdrew what she had just thought... There would be points to clarify after all...
/
Ten days later...
-Knock Knock-
...
-Knock Knock-
...
-Knock Knock Bonk-
"Kriffing hell!" cursed the trooper who had opened the door after taking Momo's fist in the helmet, he staggered back two steps, lifting his helmet to rub his nose. Momo let out a small cry of surprise.
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! That wasn't my intention!"
The ravenette was hopping on the spot, a folder under her arm, leaving the clone rather confused by her behaviour
"No worries...", replied the clone, grumbling,
"What do you nee-?"
"CAN YOU CALL CAPTAIN LOCK! IT'S VERY URGENT!" Momo unintentionally shouted, interrupting the clone. The teenager remained perplexed and even more lost, not understanding what was so important.
"What's going on, Corporal Jak?" asked a voice filtered through a helmet, and it was Lieutenant Xyomm who showed up. The lieutenant laid his eyes on the folder.
"Oh... I see…", he said,
"Dengloy and Torda told me about that. We were expecting you. Come in."
Momo entered, and immediately noticed that the house seemed much more active than the first time she had entered it, clones were walking around doing their activities, others were talking to each other, laughing or playing card games.
"Follow me.", the lieutenant indicated, before turning on his heels and walking. Momo followed him, still looking into the rooms they passed by, she had indeed seen correctly, the house was much more bustling with activity than last time...
"How's your injury, Lieutenant? I haven't seen you in a while."
The lieutenant let out a small sigh.
"Fine, thank you, our medics managed to heal it, I still have to keep a medical patch on it for a couple more days for it to be fully healed.", he turned his head and pointed his chin towards the folder, "Was everything verified?"
Momo nodded.
"Everything's in order. You're officially adopted... Well... Lock is adopted."
Xyomm looked straight ahead, silent before exclaiming.
"Aaah! Yes, it's that quirk story, isn't it?"
Momo nodded with a small smile. The two climbed the stairs, chatting about this and that, until they arrived in front of one of the rooms converted into a medical ward.
"Did Lock finally decide to get his leg treated?" asked Momo.
"... Not exactly... It's Lockdown who forced him... And no one can refuse him anything when it comes to medicine... 'Sir, when it comes to men's well-being, I outclass everyone' and all that... He's a terror within the company... If need be, he can drag a brother to the infirmary... Literally..."
"Is that what happened to him?"
The lieutenant remained silent, a little embarrassed.
"Um... Yes..."
Suddenly, Momo burst into laughter as she also understood another thing...
"He did that to you too?"
Even though he was wearing a helmet, Momo could tell he was turning crimson... The teen shifted awkwardly on his feet for a few seconds before admitting...
"... Yes..."
The ravenette burst into laughter, doubling over, much to the lieutenant's embarrassment. After two good minutes of laughter (and a scolding from one of the medic clones because she was disturbing the rest of the wounded), the lieutenant ushered her into the room.
"If you're here, then it means the paperwork has been filled out." Lock said from his bed, before raising his head and looking Momo in the eyes. Then, his gaze descended to the folder.
"That's correct, indeed, Mom spent nearly five entire days calling contacts and filling out certain bank accounts, and we waited five more days for the paperwork to be sent... Dad also helped a lot despite his reluctance..."
The tall teen pulled a stool from a corner to sit on, before handing the folder to the captain. The clone grabbed it and opened it to look inside... He closed it after a few minutes.
"Even though all of this is fake, I wonder if everything that's been written isn't accidentally real... Thank you... Um... Vod..."
'Vod?' Momo didn't understand, she looked for a similar expression in English, which was mostly spoken by her new brothers... She found none...
"What does... 'Vod' mean?" she asked, timidly. On his bed, Lock smiled.
"'Vod' means 'Brother, Comrade' in Mando'a... The language of the people whose DNA was used to create us... But in this particular case...", he remained silent for a few seconds, "It means Sister."
It was a shock for Momo... She really expected to be called that... But not so soon... Or in a foreign language like that.
"I... You're welcome... Vod..." she replied, a smile forming on her face... And that's how the Yaoyorozu family gained a new member... And sixty-two 'copies' of him.
/
"HUH?!"
Dengloy couldn't help but think back to the moment they heard the proposal in Lock's room... Or see Xyomm's reaction when he and Torda had told him the news. The gazes landed on their new Vod, and her parents...
Well...
Their parents now.
Even if they were adoptive.
On the bright side, at this announcement, apart from the sudden exclamation of surprise from the fifty-nine brothers, the astonishment was such that silence fell back in less than a quarter of a second in the courtyard where the company had been gathered.
Each squad in order, squad leaders in front, followed by their seconds, and finally by the troopers who weren't stuck in the infirmary by Lockdown and their medic brothers. Dengloy took advantage of this to continue before the silence turned into a hurricane of voices and questions that even the general, if he had been there, would have had trouble containing. Even using the Force...
"We apologize for not consulting you before making this decision, however, I think you all understand the reasons that led us to make this decision."
Some nodded, others remained completely still... Dengloy was even surprised by how easily the company had taken the news, even Riot and his squad, who had gained the reputation of being extremely rebellious, seemed to not protest...
"No objections? Good. I will now let our new family speak about some very important points."
Dengloy took a step to the side to let their new family speak...
...
3 YEARS LATER
Momo couldn't believe it... It had already been three years... Time passed horribly fast... For her, it felt like it had only been a year since she had met Lock and his brothers, since they had been integrated into her family...
Fortunately, the news had spread relatively little, and the few occasions when the press had talked about the new adopted son of the Yaoyorozu, there had been no major waves caused by the event.
Obviously, since it was less exciting than All Might stopping a villain, or an accident admirably well managed by another hero.
And it went their way.
Because these past three years had been tough for her sixty-three brothers. Lock had to be enrolled in a school, the same one as Momo's, and had arrived right in the middle of the school year, not knowing a single word of Japanese.
Fortunately, the teachers had been relatively understanding with the captain, and despite a severe clash between the clone and one of the teachers in the very beginning, which had required Dengloy and Torda to come the next day to prove that he had a quirk and that he wasn't quirkless (the captain had even asked why such contempt for quirkless people, to which Momo couldn't answer exactly), the teachers had slightly helped him to improve in Japanese, the students themselves had never really approached his 'brother', saying that he had 'a really creepy aura and his gaze was too cold to be normal', the fact that he had beaten up a boy and his gang in a three-on-one fight after they had said that clones were nothing but mere trash and sub-humans hadn't helped in his socialization with the other students (to be honest, Momo would have taught them a good lesson if it had been said in front of her).
The knowledge acquired in class, but also through videos, movies with subtitles, books, and even private lessons, had been passed on to the other clones, and with intense efforts for two full years, the clones had finally managed to speak Japanese fairly correctly, there had always been some gaps, but they had been quickly corrected.
Language hadn't been the only thing instilled in her 'brothers', customs and culture had also been learned by the sixty-three teenagers. However, they still retained habits from their soldier life, and sometimes some of them caused frights to the servants... To her parents... Or even to the ravenette herself. There had been several occurrences where coming back from a business dinner with her parents, Momo found herself facing a double line of fire and ten blaster cannons pointed at them, the teenagers had thought that a criminal or an attacker had broken into the house... Momo and her parents had gotten used to it, however, at least twice a week there were screams of fear when servants came back from shopping and found themselves in this situation.
However.
If these three years had indeed been tough for the clones, they had also been tough for the Yaoyorozu family. The servants had to be informed of the secret, and they had promised not to say anything. The mansion had to have an entire basement converted for the clones, who had quite a few requirements. Not in terms of material, in fact, Momo found that they lived too spartanly, but in terms of construction. Sorts of barracks had been set up, one room for each squad, a storage area (which also served as an armory and workshop), showers, and a full mess hall... And despite everyone's reluctance, even the servants, who said it was too dangerous, a shooting range, private, of course. The problem itself wasn't the money that was going to be spent, the family had plenty to spend, it was rather the size that was the problem. In the end, they had to buy some vacant neighboring land to build a whole underground complex, the sums had been astronomical, but the money spent had quickly been regained thanks to big contracts from I-Island that had arrived just in time, precisely in the field of technology, to which the clone engineers had secretly contributed greatly to fixing errors or technical flaws in their workshop as a thank you. But those weren't the only changes.
Momo had changed a lot herself. She had become more physical, by participating in the routine her brothers had every day to avoid getting soft, she had become physically stronger and faster despite her (now) 200kg. She had also, under the push of the entire company, announced to her parents what she wanted to do in the future. Become a pro hero. She had expected a categorical refusal or even hesitations, but her parents... Had encouraged her. She had almost cried at the encouraging words they had had, while her brothers celebrated the news. However, her original costume idea had been rejected by all her brothers, with valid points that Momo couldn't deny. When she tried to counter with her quirk, the engineers inevitably found a way to fix that... In the end, she had accepted to change the design... Completely.
Momo had also and obviously gotten closer to her brothers, who were starting to slightly influence her language and her thinking, which was becoming more logical. She had learned each one's name, temperament, and habits, it had of course taken a lot of time, about nine months, but after that she could recognize the teenagers under the armor, who often had the same patterns or despite the identical faces when they didn't wear helmets (and they didn't have hairstyles that distinguished them). The ravenette had also started to learn some basic elements of where the clones came from, she knew a few things, but she was happy with it. She had also learned some words in Mando'a thanks to Lock…
...
"You're losing focus, Momo...", remarked Honks, bringing the ravenette back to the present moment.
"Yes, sorry, I was thinking about something else...", apologized the tall teen, refocusing on the human-shaped target on the other side of the shooting range... She inhaled and exhaled slowly, finger slowly approaching the trigger of the DC-17 she was holding.
-PEW!-
The shot hit the target in the chest, piercing it from side to side. Honks applauded slowly, nodding in appreciation.
"Not bad. You're getting better every day...", noted the clone, to which Momo replied a little embarrassed.
"I... To be honest... I was aiming for the head..." Honks shrugged.
"No big deal, it will come with experience."
Honks was one of the three elite marksmen and scouts remaining in the company, and he was also the one teaching her to use the DC-17, a pistol that Momo had chosen because she found it quite easy to handle, compact, and light, more so than the DC-15A and DC-15S which made her fall every time due to the recoil. And besides... She could use a bo-staff at the same time as the pistol.
Indeed, Lock had proven to her during a friendly match that the clones appreciated it so much that an opponent could pose a problem if she only focused on melee combat. Thus, she trained to handle a firearm before the UA entrance exam. With that, in addition, she could avoid having to create a firearm with her quirk, by having one at hand.
"That'll be all for today, we'll continue tomorrow. Is your costume advancing?" asked Honks, to which the ravenette nodded, radiant.
"Yes, you all help me a lot with it."
Honks chuckled.
"No problem, always ready to help Vod."
Momo nodded with a smile before leaving the shooting range... She had something to do today, go get paint, red, burgundy, and yellow. She had also managed to convince Focus, Fearless, and Warden to come with her... They must be waiting for her by now. So, she started running, greeting her Vods she passed on the way, her shoes echoing on the metal floor. At first, she had struggled to get used to the cold and empty atmosphere that these corridors instilled, but now it was fine... Her Vods said it reminded them of their ships and bases.
She climbed the stairs four at a time, going back to the part of the mansion where she lived, before rushing to the front door. This run hadn't even caused her a drop of sweat, she opened the door and stepped out into the garden. As she had thought, the other three teens were waiting for her, captivated by the epic friendly duel between Lock and Torda taking place in the grass, the entire Alpha, Beta, and Zeta squads were there, watching the match and cheering on the two fighters.
The ravenette stopped to watch, deciding to catch the attention of her three brothers as soon as the match ended.
The two officers were sweaty and visibly tired, but they still continued the fight. They circled each other, like predators encircling their prey, before Torda suddenly made a move to the right, to which Lock reacted, but Torda ended up going to his left, grabbing the captain by the belly. Lock struggled with elbows and knees, but it didn't prevent the lieutenant from knocking him down.
There was a roar of encouragement from everyone, and even Momo couldn't help but scream to encourage the two duelists.
Torda climbed up to try to grab Lock's hands, but a knee to the solar plexus quickly reversed the situation in favor of the captain, who pushed his brother off him before getting up, Torda also got up, wiping the sweat from his eyes and blinking to dispel the unpleasant tingling.
Then they both started circling each other again.
This time it was Lock who attacked, sweeping the lieutenant's legs before he realized that the arm reaching for his wrist was just a diversion. Lock placed a knee between his brother's shoulder blades and grabbed his hands, pinning them down.
Torda struggled with lots of curses and grunts, before finally admitting defeat...
"I... Yield..."
Lock stopped holding him and got up, then offered his hand which Torda grabbed firmly despite the fatigue. This caused another roar of joy and congratulations, with applause.
Momo was always amazed when she watched these duels... The three teens she had come to get noticed her and approached, Warden and Fearless greeting her with a nod and a 'hello' respectively, while Focus remained silent...
Momo noticed that they had put on their armor, except for their leggings and breastplates, they wore a poncho with a sort of large hood to cover their chest plate and helmet, only the lower part of which was visible when it was on.
They wore their armor for their safety but still had to conceal it to avoid problems, most of the time people ignored them, having other things to pay attention to than people's clothing.
"Ready guys?" asked the ravenette, to which Fearless responded with excitement.
"Hell yeah, we're ready!"
Momo remembered that it was Fearless's first outing in the outside world in three full years, and she couldn't help but smile at her brother's excitement.
"Then let's go."
She passed the three teens who followed her with assured steps. Exiting the property via the large gate, she heard Fearless make a small 'wow'. The mansion was in a wealthy suburb of Musutafu, about an hour and a half from the city center, they were going to walk there, or rather... As Momo liked to do...
"Shall we go there jogging?" asked Momo, to which her three vods replied in the affirmative, the four of them set off trotting, stopping from time to time when Fearless saw something new that seemed incredible to him, like a wheeled vehicle, or something. She could almost see the stars that had appeared in his eyes through the clone's visor, she smiled...
They continued trotting, soon leaving the rich neighborhood to pass through a more modest suburb, and finally arriving in the city. In the end, the journey would only have lasted an hour and three minutes, but the four of them knew they could still run for a long time. The journey had passed without incident, except for a little scare for Momo when a dog suddenly barked at her. The clones had laughed, Focus with a colder and emptier laugh than Fearless and Warden, saying how scared she would have been of a Massiff in the same situation.
The four teenagers walked down the street, Fearless, Warden, and Focus becoming more cautious, as any wrong move could reveal their armor and attract trouble and attention they didn't need.
Finally arriving in front of the paint store that Momo had spotted while searching on the internet, the four entered the store. Momo quickly found the paint cans she needed and also grabbed a black paint can at Focus's request, which left her quite confused and slightly worried. Focus was one, if not the only brother who didn't seem to want to socialize much... The ravenette knew he had lost his entire squad thanks to Lock when she asked him what was going on with him, but his case was the strangest, she even thought about asking her parents to give him sessions with a trained psychologist.
The tall teen paid 20, 50¥ at the checkout, and after putting everything in a bag that the ravenette took at the checkout for an additional 0.15¥, the four left to return to the mansion...
However.
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!-
There was a series of explosions a little further down the avenue they were on, and in reflex, the three clones jumped to the ground, Warden pulling Momo along who just had time to put her hands forward to avoid hitting the sidewalk face first, the three clones stayed lying on their stomachs for a few seconds before getting up, Warden helping Momo to her feet.
"What the kriff is happening?" grumbled Focus, looking over the crowd of people who had turned their heads to the explosion site, and for some, were heading there to satisfy their curiosity.
"Don't want to know, come on, let's go. We're not going to put ourselves in unnecessary danger," Warden said sharply.
"I'm going.", exclaimed Fearless, completely ignoring Warden's remark, before taking off sprinting towards the spot, pushing people aside.
"FEARLE-! Kriffin- FEARLESS YOU DINI'LA DI'KUT! "
Momo cried out, before getting up and rushing after her Vod, followed by a Warden swearing like a firefighter in Basic, Japanese, Mando'a, and other languages that Momo didn't recognize and a Focus still as indecipherable as ever.
They arrived at the scene at the same time as some pro-heroes and the police, however, the latter did not react to anything happening. Fearless had fortunately been caught by the crowd and couldn't advance anymore. But the four managed to make their way to the front row, before being blocked by a policeman.
Momo's eyes widened when she saw what was happening... A villain, resembling a big blob of slime, had managed to capture a boy about her age, who was struggling while releasing explosions, which, once deflected by the slime villain, caused fires and damage to buildings.
She saw Fearless tense up next to her, and she placed her hand in front of her brother. Seeing her movement, Warden and Focus restrained their brother by the arms, grabbing the fabric of his poncho to hold him back.
"WE DON'T HAVE THE RIGHT QUIRKS!" Momo suddenly heard one of the pro-heroes shout, and the next twenty seconds seemed to be a succession of blurry moments.
The ravenette was suddenly jostled, and only had time to see a ball of green hair, dressed in a black school uniform, dart between two policemen before rushing towards the slime blob and the trapped boy yelling 'Kacchan', the boy took off his bag during his run and threw it at the slime villain, hitting him in the eye.
"GAH! YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU AGAIN!?" the slime blob shouted, whipping the air with a pseudopod... And a blow headed towards the boy...
And she was jostled again…
"FORCE ! FEARLESS!"
/
Izuku 'Deku' Midoriya instantly regretted his totally crazy action of charging at the slime villain like that, but he couldn't help it, as soon as Kacchan's gaze met his, his feet moved on their own.
And now, he was going to be punished for his insolence... Maybe Kacchan was right after all... He was useless...
He heard a cry of anger from the crowd, and the sound of someone falling, but his brain classified it as a secondary data...
The pseudopod was coming in slow motion, Izuku saw it with disgusting precision... The bubbles inside it, the fact that it was oozing filth... And to think that this thing had tried to enter him today...
His life flashed before his eyes... He was going to die... Propelled into a wall like a fly...
-WHAM!-
Something, or rather someone, when he heard the muffled grunt, pushed him out of the way, causing him to fall to the ground as the pseudopod passed over him and his savior.
Izuku thought a hero had come to save him, that they had finally reacted, but he was surprised to hear a teenage voice, recognizable despite a filter, talking to the slime villain.
"Oh no you're not gonna have any kids on your kill count, you piece of crap!" said the teenager, before getting up, letting Izuku turn around and take a look at his savior.
It was a boy his age dressed in some sort of black jumpsuit, equipped with white armor with light green and yellow paint, protecting the entire upper part of his torso, with shoulder pads and boots, as well as a helmet with a black T-visor and a crest at the back of the helmet.
He was soon joined by two other teenagers wearing ponchos and a girl with black hair tied in a ponytail, holding some kind of long metal stick.
One of the two teens in ponchos grumbled.
"Fearless, I swear if we survive this situation, the captain will roast you slowly."
The armored teen shrugged.
"Works for me. I'd say take off your ponchos guys, it's going to hinder you."
The girl suddenly made a swift movement, slipping between the two teens in ponchos and in front of the boy in armor to strike a slime tentacle that was about to hit him.
"Not the time to chat, if we're here we might as well do something.", the girl said. The teens in ponchos nodded, and removed their ponchos, revealing exactly the same armor as the first teen.
"A plan, vod?" asked another teen.
"None, Warden", the girl replied.
"WE CHARGE AHEAD YEAH!" shouted the first teen before rushing forward, dodging a tentacle that was aimed at him, before being pushed back by a blow to the chest plate, but far from being deterred, the armored teen continued to try to approach.
"Warden, Focus, any ideas?" the girl asked while striking two slime tentacles trying to reach them.
The other two teens in armor remained silent for a moment, staying well protected behind the girl and her staff.
"Yeah, set the thing on fire, that'll force it to release the hostage and be distracted," one of the two replied.
And that's when Izuku intervened. He crawled on all fours behind the girl and spoke up, his voice trembling.
"You can't! Kacchan's quirk makes him sweat a substance similar to nitroglycerin, if you set the villain on fire, he'll immediately turn into a human torch!"
The girl groaned. "Kriff... He's right..."
However, Izuku proposed a solution.
"But the slime normally doesn't like water, so..."
It was one of the two teens in armor who finished. "So it could make it more gelatinous. Yeah, good idea. Vod?"
The last word was unknown to him, but Izuku paid no attention to it at the moment.
"I'd like to", began the girl, deflecting another tentacle, "However, it would leave us defenseless."
"No problem on that front», growled the second boy. The other teen who was trying to charge the slime villain was pushed back by a heavy blow to the helmet right next to them, and the boy called out to him.
"FEARLESS! WE NEED A DIVERSION!"
"OKAY! GIVE ME A FEW SECONDS!" replied the teen, doing a roll to the side and opening a pouch, pulling out a cylindrical object from it.
Izuku looked back at Kacchan, the slime was almost swallowing him whole, and his gaze met the green-haired boy's eyes again... The boy with green hair couldn't stand to see that pleading look anymore, he heard a beep, and turned his head towards the boy as he threw the round object towards the slime villain, who intercepted it.
"HAHA! MISSED!" taunted the villain before bringing the object to his face, suddenly ignoring the world around and still trying to absorb Kacchan.
However, Izuku saw his eyes widen and he uttered a small 'Oh.' before the thing exploded with a blue light, electricity arcs running on the slime villain and Kacchan.
"GAH!" exclaimed the slime blob, seeming a little dazed along with Kacchan.
"Alright, now!" exclaimed the girl, deflecting one last tentacle before turning around, lifting her T-shirt slightly to expose her belly, which glowed as a large water bottle began to form.
As soon as it was finished, the two teens in armor took it and rushed towards the slime monster.
However, the villain regained his senses, and shouted.
"ENOUGH! I'M DONE! ENOUGH PLAYING!"
He created several pseudopods, the first hitting the boy who had thrown the grenade head-on and catapulting him backward, while the others grabbed the other two who were carrying the bottle by the legs and made them fall, dropping the bottle, as several slime tentacles began to try to pierce the defense of the girl who was starting to tire slightly.
There was only Izuku left... He looked at Kacchan, then at the armored teenagers who were grunting slightly. And finally, at the girl...
Everything depended on him...
He gathered his courage... And dashed forward, slipping in a puddle of liquid oozing from the tentacles, and his fall saved him from a tentacle that was about to grab him by the neck. He got up, skidding in the slime juice, before managing to grab the bottle, and thanks to the adrenaline, lift it up. He continued to run breathlessly, narrowly dodging the tentacles that sought to grab him before jumping and propelling the bottle forward.
The cylinder entered the villain and opened, pouring the liquid into the villain's body, and changing its consistency into something even more gelatinous.
"NO-BLOUB BLOUB-OOO!" shouted the slime blob with a gurgling voice, its primary objective now being to remove the water from its body. Izuku took the opportunity to try to pull Kacchan out, but the slime was even harder to remove now that it was soaked with water.
"Deku! –glub- Get-glub-out of here!" the blond managed to say through the slime, to which Izuku replied with tears in his eyes.
"No! I won't let you go!"
And then suddenly...
"I'M HERE!" echoed a thunderous voice.
The tears vanished from Izuku's cheeks and Kacchan's eyes widened...
"ALL MIGHT!"
The mountain of a man landed on the street, cracking the ground in front of the girl who could finally stop defending herself from the tentacles.
"SORRY FOR THE DELAY! BUT NOW!"
"WAIT MAY- "
"DETROIT...!"
"-WE DISCUSS IT?"
"SMASH!"
"I hate my life..." murmured the slime villain with a groan, and that was the last thing he could say before being flattened like a pancake.
The punch was so powerful that gusts of wind swept through, extinguishing the fires, and shaking Izuku like a windsock.
When they calmed down, the police rushed to get Izuku, Kacchan, the girl, and the three children in armor who were getting up with a lot of groans...
However, the officers had to quickly scatter when a pro yelled 'projectile,' which was followed by a terrible noise when the water bottle fell from the sky, twisted and flattened by All Might's blow.
Izuku saw Kacchan being forcibly taken to an ambulance and giving him an angry look, before a pro stood in front of him, the girl, and the three armored teens.
"But what did you five think you were doing? You could have been injured or killed!" Izuku lowered his head... Ashamed, and the hero continued, "And you four, unauthorized quirk usage, armor, and creation! You know that's prohibited!"
And unexpectedly, the girl spoke up.
"I'm the only one at fault on that point."
The hero turned to her.
"What do you mean?"
The ravenette gestured to the other four.
"My three friends... Can they be considered at fault if they already are a quirk?"
Silence fell. The hero opened his mouth to say something... But nothing came out... He was frozen there, speechless.
Izuku looked at them with wide eyes... They... Were... A quirk?
"But..." the hero began...
"These three are just clones of my adoptive brother. Intelligent and independent clones," the ravenette interrupted.
The hero looked at the three as if they were aliens.
"Clones," the hero said with visible disdain at the idea that such... Insignificant beings, mere tools, could have their own consciousness like those did... And that they actually managed to beat a villain, humiliating the heroes who were here in the process.
"Get out of my sight, quickly," growled the hero aggressively, taking a step back as if they had been infected with a serious disease.
The clones went to get their ponchos, Izuku his belongings, and the girl went to get a bag filled with paint pots before the five walked away from the scene of the incident, silent... until the girl asked.
"Is everything okay?"
The three boys in armor nodded and answered in unison.
"Affirmative. We're okay."
The girl groaned…
"I think we all know Lock is going to scold us, right?" she asked, to which the three armored teens nodded as they put on their ponchos, each concealing their armor and helmet under the fabric.
"And you? You're good ?" the girl asked, looking at the green-haired boy who was surprised by the sudden attention.
"Uh... Me? I... I guess so..." the boy stammered, still in shock from learning that the three armored teens were clones...
"Your name?"
"Izuku Midoriya."
"Pleasure to meet you, Midoriya-san. I'm Momo Yaoyorozu, and this is Fearless, Focus, and Warden," the girl gestured to each of the three armored teens who nodded or waved.
"Nice to meet you... But now I have to go back home, my mom must be worried sick..."
"I understand. Safe travels, Midoriya-san in that case," Yaoyorozu replied, but just as Izuku was about to leave, one of the armored teens took a step forward.
"I'll accompany him. Just in case he encounters or gets involved in any other troubles on the way," Warden exclaimed, catching everyone off guard. Focus sighed before saying, "I'm not letting a brother stay alone. I'm coming too."
The ravenette seemed hesitant and asked, "Are you sure you'll be able to find your way back to the mansion afterward?"
Focus and Warden nodded. "We'll manage. Don't worry, vod," Warden replied.
Momo nodded. "Good luck then," and with that, the two groups parted ways. Izuku walked in silence, followed by the two teenagers, who looked around attentively from time to time. They soon left the busy city streets to find themselves in a quiet suburban area. And that's where Izuku broke the silence.
"Why have you decided to come with me?"
Warden shrugged.
"Like I said, to avoid you getting involved in unnecessary troubles.
"Why?"
"To be honest… Because I want to discover more of the city… And… Because… I have a feeling you are kind of important, it's hard to explain..."
Izuku remained silent and stopped, Warden couldn't tell what he was thinking of…
"... Are you... Really clones?", asked Izuku, as he turned his head to look right at Warden helmet's T-shaped visor after some seconds of silence.
The two teens looked at each other for a moment before Warden answered...
"Yes. We're clones."
Izuku fell silent...
"What you did... When you charged at the villain... It was... Very brave."
Warden chuckled.
"Well. It was nothing extraordinary; we should be saying that to you. You were the one who rushed at the slime blob first. We just did our duty as brothers by going to assist someone. Even if it was Fearless' initiative and not ours. You're the one who deserves all the credit, especially for defeating the villain without using a quirk and at your age."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head...
"It's... Because I'm quirkless..."
Warden waved off the statement with a hand motion.
"And so what? We're quirkless too in a sense! And yet it won't stop us from going through hell and back to help people. That's the vision we all share. We've seen... Things. And a real hero is someone ready to jump into the flames to help people."
It was... True and false at the same time. The question of whether there were heroes in the war was still complex and often controversial in the galaxy. Some argued that those who served in the military and risked their lives to protect others were heroes. Their courage, dedication, and sacrifice were often highlighted as examples of heroic behavior.
However, other voices argued that war itself was often tragic and avoidable, and that the concept of heroism could be used to justify or glorify actions that could be morally questionable or cause unnecessary suffering. Additionally, some people involved in the war may have been forced to fight or had no other choice due to their economic, social, or political situation; this was mainly the case for planetary militias or rebels from oppressed populations, both by the Separatists and sometimes by the Republic.
And in itself, the only ones seen as heroes were most often the Jedi who commanded the units. Rare were the times when civilians welcomed the clones as liberators. The clones were just cannon fodder, flesh and blood robots in the eyes of most, but many forgot that they too were human, and that they had not necessarily asked to have a blaster in their hands; they had been created for that and for nothing else...
"That's right, young man," said a powerful voice. The three were surprised by the arrival of All Might who emerged from a nearby street.
"THE CAVALRY IS HERE—BLEGH—!"
-Poof!-
"ALL MIGHT! Wait... Who are you?" exclaimed Izuku, as the symbol of peace began to cough up blood in an impressive geyser and transformed into a skeletal man dressed in clothes too large for him. The presumed symbol of peace cursed...
"Darn it... I've exhausted my time limit for today..."
"Your... Time limit?" asked Warden, still wary and ready to pounce on the man if there was trouble.
The man lifted his T-shirt slightly, revealing a gruesome wound on his side. Izuku looked horrified, but the two teens in ponchos didn't seem shocked at all, much to All Might's surprise, who wondered what the two had seen to not be affected by the horror of his injury.
"Yes... A long time ago, I had a big fight against a villain, I defeated him, but he took my stomach and half of my respiratory system in his defeat... Now, I only have 3 hours of working time per day... That's actually... The reason for my presence..."
Izuku, Warden, and Focus looked at each other...
"I'm going to ask you three to keep a very important secret... No one must know, not even your loved ones. Can I trust you?"
And All Might told them, shocking Izuku and the two clones...
But this unexpected encounter also ended in tears of joy for someone...
And a new duty for two others…
/
North of Japan, unspecified location.
It was dark, and the headlights of a solitary car illuminated the road.
A man yawned.
The road was so long… And he was so tired… He took his energy drink can, before taking a sip. In doing so, he didn't look at the road for a second… And when he could finally see it again…
-SCREEEECH!-
The wheel was turned in panic, the tires screeched, and the car crashed into a tree. The airbags deployed, saving the man from certain death.
The door opened and the man got out, staggering, holding his head, dazed by the impact…
"Damn… What was that…"
He looked at the road where a few seconds earlier he thought he saw a humanoid silhouette…
There was nothing…
He turned around and approached the front of his car before swearing… It was completely wrecked…
"I should have stopped at the last gas station to take a break… Damn… I knew it… What an idiot I am…", the man grumbled, leaning against his vehicle and taking out his phone from his pocket. He dialed the mechanic's number and put the device to his ear… He waited a few seconds before the mechanic answered.
"Hello? Good evening?"
"Yes, good evening, sir."
"How can I help you?"
"I had an accident, could you please send a tow truck?"
"Of course, sir, just please tell us your location and we will send a vehicle."
"-click- 'I had an accident, could you please send a tow truck?' -click-"
The man froze and turned around, scanning the darkness to find the source of the voice. Who just spoke? There was no one here but him.
Footsteps… Branches cracking, leaves rustling… The man felt his hairs stand on end…
"-click- 'I had an accident, could you please send a tow truck?' -click-"
"Hello? Sir, are you still there?" asked the mechanic.
"Y-Yes," replied the man, his voice trembling. He scanned the darkness between the trees, trying to see what lurked in the shadows…
Suddenly…
There! A shape moved in the darkness. The man couldn't see any details of the silhouette, but he was sure he had seen something humanoid.
"Sir?"
The man got back into his vehicle and closed the door, hunching in his seat, eyes wide, breathing fast. The trees suddenly seemed much taller, much more terrifying, as if they were curling in on themselves to capture the man, the darkness seemed to thicken, becoming an opaque veil that closed around the crashed vehicle, as if to conceal the things that roamed outside.
"Sir?"
"I'm twenty kilometers from Osaquaiku Park, on the main road. Come qu-," the man replied in a panicked voice, before being interrupted.
-CLANG-
A dull impact on the roof… As if something had just jumped on it…
-Clang… Clang…-
Footsteps, echoing inside the vehicle ominously… And they stopped just above the man… This time he screamed into his phone, completely giving in to panic…
"COME QUICK I'M NOT ALONE HERE!" There was a piercing noise, the sound of metal being perforated, a scream, and the phone fell from the man's hand onto the floor, next to the pedals…
"-click- 'I had an accident, could you please send a tow truck?' -click-"
"Sir? Are you okay? I heard you scream."
There was no response, as a warm, viscous red liquid formed a puddle on the seat and the floor, soon soaking the device which short-circuited as the liquid entered through the USB port…
It was a short chapter to write actually, the thing that slowed me down a little bit is actually a good thing, which I will speak about right now!
Small news: I am currently making a Discord server for my stories, for now it's still in developpement, but I plan on opening it soon, there will also be a complete database in it I will try to update as much as I can after each chapter.
And also...
Who do you think are those... Villains showed at the end of the chapter? Send me a pm with your response! There will be a small reward for the person who find the correct response!