Looks like it's my turn to tell the story. I-Island, the famous moving island home to tens of thousands of scientists, the world's best scientists. Biologists, sociologists, engineers, you would think this place was a utopia. Back then went the world wasn't shit, it WAS a utopia. When I lived there, by apocalypse standards, it was a utopia.
Day 223, 10:00 AM
I-Island
Boxing Arena
Wheeling himself out on stage, a man in a wheelchair wearing a white suit and yellow tie with a simple black face mask takes a microphone and turns to the crowd in the small boxing arena. 'What's up, I-Island, how is everyone?"
The thirty people inside cheer at the top of their lungs, thrusting their fists into the air.
"It's another good day here on I-Island. We have been without death for almost forty-five days and that's a new record for all of us. For those who don't know me, my name is Backbone and you can say I'm the backbone of the band that led to all of this, people." He wheels himself forward again, pausing several inches from the edge of the stage. "It is truly an honor to be standing up here in front of all of you and just being able to talk to you. It is also an honor to be the host of fight night tonight and to make sure that everyone has a good time.
"It's truly been a long time since any of us had a good time. Remember during the early days of the outbreak when the world fell around us without any warning? We didn't have any time to react; hell, we didn't even have time to process what was happening. We have been fortunate enough to have made it to I-Island. We are fortunate enough that the residents of I-Island were willing to take refugees from outside instead of blocking us off from the rest of the world. We owe it to them, our lives, our honor, our power. Because of them, we have not encountered a zombie in over two hundred days. We have food, water, A/C, medicine, and most of all, hot showers. But like I've said before, none of that would've been possible if not for the efforts of our security at I-Island."
Behind Backbone, several people stand at attention in the darkness, waiting for the spotlight to shine on them.
"The security of I-Island is here right now. Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the I-Island Elites."
The crowd applauds as a spotlight lights up. Adrenal waves to the crowd, wearing ratty clothes and having a ratty brown scarf wrapped around his mouth acting as a makeshift mask. Adrenal waves to the crowd. "What's up you ass-fucking assholes and cum-gargling cunts?! The name's Adrenal and with me around, your heart will never stop beating."
The next spotlight opens up on Aglaea, wearing a face mask with a red cross on the front. "Hey there, everyone, I'm Aglaea. Though my quirk may be called 'Perfect Touch', its the men who make it perfect." She blows a kiss.
The next spotlight. A man wearing a Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force uniform with a camo mask salutes the crowd. "My name is Broken Arrow; I serve the people and I still do."
The next spotlight: a little girl around ten with long blonde hair and green eyes wearing an all-black jumpsuit with a black mask covering the lower half of her face. The mask has a white lighting bold running horizontal along the mask.
"Hey everyone," she says, waving. "My name is Empulse and... I'm sorry if I accidentally shorted out your electronics. Nice to meet you all." When she finished introducing herself, she hid behind Broken Arrow, a nervous smile on her face.
Broken Arrow pats her on the skull.
The fifth spotlight shines on a man with an interesting physical appearance. His skin was completely covered in black and white stripes that were two inches big and ran all over his body diagonally like a zebra. His eyes were black with his pupils white. His hair had the same color scheme as his skin. He wears a black trench coat with white sleeves, black jeans, and white shoes. He dons a pair of black latex gloves as he waves to the ground.
"Though I may be a Circus, I am no laughing matter."
Two spotlights light up and reveal Dabi and Toga.
"Hi everyone!" Toga waves. "My name is Himiko Toga and I love you all and I want to become you all!"
"Dabi." Dabi rolls his eyes. "Stay out of my way or I'll turn you into fuel for my flames."
Setsuna and Honenuki go next.
"Lizardy's Motto has always been: the early bird gets the worm!" Setsuna yells, wearing her hero costume.
"Always be flexible," Honenuki says through the helmet of his hero costume. "Your teammates will like it. Especially the women."
Todoroki and Yaomomo.
"Hello everyone," Yaomomo says, wearing a mask with a color design similar to her costume, "you are safe, thanks to Creati's encyclopedic knowledge."
Todoroki rolls his eyes. He is wearing a mask that covers his entire face and has two colors, which are split down the middle. The left side of his mask was painted red and the right side of his mask remained white. "My name is Icy Hot and I don't care much for formalities."
Backbone smiles. "And of course, there's me: the leader of this gang and head of security for all of I-Island. Let's be honest, without me around, none of these kids would have the backbone to finish a job." He pauses. "Alright, enough with the formalities. It's time for fight night to start."
The crowd cheers. Backbone wheels himself in reverse off the stage and reunites with the I-Island Elites. They take their seats on stage and watch as two boxers step out into the arena.
Four chained zombies are escorted to the boxing ring and restrained to the four corners. The boxers wave to the crowd before they exchange fists with the other doing the best they can to knock out their opponent or push them into the zombies.
"Quiet the speech you gave out there," Dabi snarks. "How many more of these do we have to do?"
"Until the end of time, Dabi," Backbone answers. "Don't be a liar; you like the attention."
"It's not their attention that I want." Dabi takes out another Camel cigarette and lights it.
Circus watches the fight with a blank expression on his face. "I've never seen such a fake choreographed fight before. There's no flair or charm behind it."
One of the boxers crashes into a zombie. He quickly pushes it off of him before turning back to his opponent.
"This is barbaric," Yaomomo groans. "How can anyone approve of this?"
"Humans need entertainment," Circus reminds them, "And with live TV gone, this is the best we're going to get. Not my kind of entertainment but this will have to do."
Broken Arrow sighs. "I could teach them a thing or two but it would be a waste of what I learned at the JGSDF."
"The teeth and nails are pulled, right?" Empulse asks. "Right?"
"They are, I made sure," Aglaea nods. "If not, then, I get to heal them. Which means... I get to put my hands on their body." Her voice oozes with mischief.
"Haha, if these cock-garglers want to see pussy-wetting entertainment, then I should pump the boxers up on my latest fucking shipment." Adrenal smiles. "Or I can simply use my goddamn quirk."
"Can we leave?" Lizardy asks. "Unless it's a dinosaur fight, I don't see the point in staying." She stands up.
"I'll come with you." Toga stands up as well. "As much as I enjoy the sight of their blood, I don't find any of them to be cute."
"Me too." Aglaea stands up after them. "Girls trip." She turns to Empulse. "How about you sweetie?"
Empulse turns to Broken Arrow. "Are you coming?" He shakes his head. "It's okay; I'll stay here with him."
"Are you sure?" She shrugs when Empulse nods. "Fine. That means we can hit the bar."
Yaomomo gets up and follows after them.
The boys of the group scoot together. Sensing that they were about to pull out their cigarettes, Broken Arrow takes Empulse and leads her away.
"You guys got any plans for the day?" Backbone asks. "I like bossing people around because there's only so much I can do in this wheelchair."
"I'm going to the strip club down the street," Circus answers. "Any of you perverts planning on coming along?"
"Not today," Adrenal answers. "I fucking wish I could but you know, shit gets in the way."
"It must be troubling to be a peddler in the post-apocalypse," Honenuki snarks. "I'll go with you to that strip club, though, Circus."
"Another thing I can cross off my bucket list." Circus looks over. "Todoroki, you up?"
Todoroki takes a drag of his cigarette. "No, not really."
"Why not? Disappointed that Yaomomo won't be throwing you a live one?"
"Disgusting; she's sixteen."
"You're sixteen too and how many people have you killed?"
"Shut up." Todoroki puts out his cigarette. "We came here to do a job, nothing more; we're not here to be friends."
"I second that." Dabi stands up. "I got somewhere to be anyway."
"Your loss then." Circus, Adrenal, and Honenuki stand up. "Well, then, let's head to the strip club. This one's on me."
Backbone rolls his eyes. "Don't worry; I'll wheel after you."
11:00 AM
Downtown
Walking down the somewhat crowded street, Todoroki and Dabi pause at a crosswalk and wait for the traffic signal to indicate for them to walk. As they waited, they continued to smoke.
"You're letting your hair grow out, little brother," Dabi points out. "You can take your mask off now, Icy Hot."
Todoroki removes his mask and tucks it at his hip. He pulls on the white of his hair, which now reaches his chin. "My hair's getting long, the same way as your hair is still black."
Dabi chuckles. "I miss it black. Oh man, I wish I could've seen dear old pops when I washed the dye out of my hair." He smiles. "Speaking of which, have you heard anything from Dad lately?"
"No."
"Are you sure? Because hiding things from me is not advisable."
"I'm using the radio to locate Mom and our siblings, not Dad."
"I understand." Dabi takes a deep drag, letting out his breath seven seconds later. "I understand completely little brother." He looks at him. "But if you get a message from Dad, you promise to tell me?"
"What difference does it make?"
"It matters a great deal to me, Shoto. You could never understand, masterpiece."
"Don't call me that," Todoroki sneers. He drops the cigarette and stomps on it. "Stop reminding me of our father. Chances are, he's probably dead."
"He became the number one hero; he doesn't get to die easily." He sighs heavily, stomping out his cigarette. "Besides, if our old man is dead, I'll dig myself all the way to Hell and kill him myself."
The light turns green.
Todoroki and Dabi walk forward, crossing the street.
12:00 PM
Lab
Donning a pair of latex gloves, David Sheild runs his hands over the specimen before him. A walker. His assistant, Samuel Abraham, looks at a zombie's blood via a microscope. Adjusting the knobs on the side to change views, Samuel sighs before looking up.
"Well?" Shield asks nervously.
"Nothing new," Samuel says sadly. "No change, nothing to isolate." He looks through the microscope again. "Nothing to analyze."
"Damn it," Shiled curses. "There's gotta be something. Are you sure about your results?"
"David, I've examined zombie blood for two months straight and they're all the same results: dead cells."
"The zombies have to be alive; they're walking for the love of god." Shield groans, turning away from the table. "There has to be something about them we can use."
"The results are always going to be the same," Samuel tries to persuade him. "We've had the slow and fast variant of the zombies studied over and over again; the results will always be the same."
"Then let's find out what is getting them up and moving. There has to be a reason."
Samuel turns back to the microscope. "Like I've said; there's nothing but dead flesh and dead cells. I work in the engineering field, not the biology field so I dont know what to look for."
Shield bends his index finger and cuts it with a scalpel. He places the blood on a slide and places it under a second microscope. "There, now you can examine the difference between living and dead cells and see if you find anything."
"I told you: I'm an engineer; I have no idea what to do. I have absolutely no idea what to do."
"Damn it." Sheild clenches his hands and rests them on the table.
Samuel gets up and pats him on the shoulder. "Hey, I want to help you but I have no idea what I'm doing. The best we can hope for is that some kind of medical doctor or virologist is among the crowd. That's the best we can hope for. Until then-"
"No, we have to get results now."
"That's a lost cause." Samuel leans in. "No matter what you do, David, these zombies are dead." He turns to the restrained walker on the table. "This... is a decomposing flesh of bones whose only instinct is to kill.
"I refuse to believe that," Shield winces.
"You can refuse to believe it all you want but it's not going to make a difference. I'm sorry but... I think it's time to let this project go."
"I can't. I just can't, I..." He loses his voice as he tears up. "I can't."
"I'm sorry, David, but you can't bring her back." Without wasting another second, Samuel vacates the room, leaving Shield behind to cry.
Shield turns and locks the door. He turns over to the storage closet and opens it. Inside the storage closet, a girl wearing tattered clothing wrapped in chains stands, a burlap sack over her head.
"Melissa, are you okay, sweetie?"
Melissa steps out of the storage closet, pausing.
Shield removes the hood from her head, revealing a pale, pallid, decomposing flesh of bones replacing the sweet, adorable face that once belonged to Melissa Shield. Her eyes sunk into her skull with her pupils taking a dark gray color.
"Melissa." Sheild gets down to one knee five feet from her. "I promise I won't give up on you, sweetie. No matter what happens. I'll find a cure; I'll make you normal again. I promise."
Melissa growls, looking at her father, not attempting to lung at him. She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes. Her dead gaze belonging to her dead eyes land on the restrained walker on the gurney. Hissing, she turns and heads back into the supply closet, no longer making any more sounds.
"You are alive in there, Melissa." Reluctantly, Shield puts the hoddie over her head once more as she sinks to her knees. "I'll be back later, Melissa, I promise." He closes the door, locking her in the storage closet once again.
1:00 PM
Mall
"Hey there, girls, isn't this nice," Setsuna smiles. "Us, walking around the mall, just like old times."
Looking up, Yaomomo smiles, recalling the time that one girl from her class suggested they go to the mall before they went on their training camp adventure. Good times. The mall is filled with people coming and going, wearing smiles on their faces as they shop for the latest thing that is out. Then again, given the nature of the world, 'latest' is practically a term that doesn't exist anymore.
They come up to a clothing store and head inside, surrounding themselves with coats of various designs and colors. There is still a slight chill to the breeze but it isn't enough to make them shiver in their boots. Toga picks up a red jacket and heads over to the cashier.
"How much for this cute little jacket?"
The cashier scans the jacket. "That's going to be three cards please."
"Aww, any chance I can get it for one card?"
"Two cards."
"You got yourself a deal." She pulls out two blue cards the size of a driver's license with 'I-Island Currency' written on the front. She pauses. "Hang on, since I'm a member of the I-Island Elites, is there any chance I can get this adorable coat for free?"
The cashier laughs. "Nice try, Himiko Toga, but not even celebs such are yourself get free items." She snatches the cards from Toga before she can react. "Okay, you got what you wanted, now leave."
"Thanks a lot." She returns to her group and puts on her jacket, zipping it. "Wow, isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?"
"Couldn't you have had Yaomomo make you one and save your cards?" Setsuna asks.
"Yeah," Aglaea nods, "why didn't you, Yaomomo? There's this skimpy outfit I wanted to wear to attract some customers and you didn't even make me one. I had to spend seven cards to get it."
Yaomomo blushes. "Well, it's against the rules. I mean, we must ensure the flow of commerce." She smiles nervously. "That's right! It's our civic duty! As citizens of I-Island."
"Oh," Setsuna nods, "I get it; this is about you wanting to go shopping and forcing us to spend our hard-earned cards from Karaoke night, is that right?"
Yaomomo whispers into Setsuna's ear, "I signed a contract with the people who run I-Island; they'll offer my group protection first and foremost as long as I don't do anything to disrupt the flow of currency."
"Understood," Toga whispers with sarcasm. "Understood wholeheartedly."
2:00 PM
McDonald's
Finally reaching the counter with the group of people in front of him, Broken Arrow looks up at the cashier, seeing his nametag identify him as 'Zen Lion' look at him.
"How can I be of service?" Zen Lion asks.
Broken Arrow turns to Empulse. "Tell the man what you want."
Empulse hides behind Broken Arrow. "Uhh, any chance you can tell him for me?"
"You're a big girl; it's time to start acting like a big girl. What do you want?"
Empulse hides her face deeper into Broken Arrow's hip. She mumbles something, prompting the man to tap her on the head. "Can I have two Happy Meals?"
"That'll be two cards." Zen Lion smiles. "But for you, I'll make it free. It's on the house, just this once, little one."
"Thank you."
Broken Arrow pats her on the back before moving to the back of the line and begin waiting. Seeing about twelve people inside McDonald's, Broken Arrow narrows his eyes as he watches the crowd around him.
"Number 7?" Zen Lion calls out, holding two Happy Meals.
Broken Arrow retrieves both boxes before escorting Empulse to a nearby table.
"Two Happy Meals, you must be very hungry."
Empulse takes one box. "Oh, I am but the second box is for you."
"I didn't want anything to eat."
"I know but... you looked so hungry and I just wanted to do something nice."
Broken Arrow nods before grabbing the second box. Opening it, he pulls down his mask to eat. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome. And it was free so that's pretty awesome, right?" Empulse smiles warmly before digging into her meal. "Nex time, can we go to Wendy's?"
"Sure, whatever. When it's my day off, we'll go wherever you want."
"Thanks. And hopefully, the food will be free there too."
"I doubt it."
3:00 PM
Strip Club
"Yeah!" Honenuki, Adrenal, and Backbone yell. "Hell yeah!"
The girl on stage dances wearing a lacy black bra while bathed in fluorescent lighting. She moves over to the edge of the stage where Honenuki, Adrenal, Backbone, and Ciruc sit, ignoring the other thirteen customers in the strip club.
"Cat Kitty," Cirucs calls out, "how much for some one-on-one time?"
"It'll be five cards," she whispers huskily.
"Five cards is too much."
"Five cards and you get everything I have to offer. Everything, honey. Everything."
"Mama always said to spend no more than three cards."
"Mama isn't here right now, Circus."
"Do you have someone to call Dad, Cat Kitty?"
"I can be. Five cards. Me so horny."
"Me so horny too. You want something to help you feel loose?"
"What do you got?"
Adrenal laughs. "Holy fucking shit; I've been waiting all fucking day to do something like this." He pulls out a Cuban cigar from his pocket and hands it to Circus.
"This is a Cuban cigar, a real one. Smell it." He holds it to her face, allowing her to take a whiff. "Chances are, it'll be a long time before you see another good Cuban like this. Give me a show and everything I want, and we can smoke it together. We so horny."
Cat Kitty pauses. She takes a smell of the Cuban cigar before smiling. "Alright, we'll share."
"Nice," Circus smiles.
Adrenal grabs his hand. "Don't forget that you owe me for the motherfucking Cuban fatherfucking cigar."
"Don't worry; I can arrange for something." Circus gets up, taking Cat Kitty off the stage before walking away with her to a private room.
Backbone claps. "Good for you youngster; I wish I was sexually active but my old age refuses me to be."
Adrenal chuckles. "That kind of cockblocking shit won't happen to me; I'll die a goddamn giddy young hot woman-fucker before that happens."
Honenuki looks at them both. "You think I'll reach your age in this world?"
Backbone laughs. "Kid, I didn't think you'd reach my age, even before the end of the world."
10:00 PM
Warehouse
Ignoring the smell of the warehouse around him, Todoorki puts his mask on as he stands next to Yaomomo. The rest of the I-Island Elites have their masks on as the man in charge, a bearded man named Wolfram, steps forward.
He stands in the center of the group, the I-Island Elites surrounding him from all sides but he pays no attention to their threatening poses.
"I-Island Elites, I'm glad to see that you are all here in attendance as ordered." Wolfram eyes each of them. "It's another one of those formalities but it keeps everyone in line. Helps you remember what's at stake." He laces his hands behind his back. "As you all know, there have been a couple of thieves in the midst of our peaceful utopia, about four of them. Though three of them got away, we caught the last one and we have him here with us right now.
The great pro hero known as Godzillo marches through the crowd, 400 cm tall (or 13 feet), and tosses a hogtied man to the ground. The hogtied man has black hair, a cloudy left eye, and a black right eye. He looks up at the I-Island Elites in horror, mumbling through his gag, trembling.
"Ladies and gentlemen: Eijiro Kita, traitor extraordinaire," Wolfram introduces. "Broke into Samuel Abraham's lab to steal this." He pulls out a grenade labeled 'Blackhole'. "I don't know what this grenade does and frankly, I don't care. But the point still stands: this man stole from us and threatened our utopia. Now, it's time for him to pay the consequences." He eyes the Elites once more. "I want you all to pay attention so you know not to step out of line." He smiles before turning to Godzillo. "Have fun, big guy."
Godzillo looks down at the hogtied man with a smile. He takes out a chainsaw built specifically for his big hands and revs it up.
Yep, I-Island, a peaceful utopia. As long as you looked the other way.
Character Cards
Kuroshiro "Circus"
Quirk: Black/White Shadows
Occupation: Circus Clown, member of the I-Island Elites
Age: 21
Birthday: February 29th
Height: 170 cm
Blood Type: AB
Likes: Grapes.
Other Facts: Diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder
Criminal Record: Suspected of animal cruelty.
Jōji "Backbone" Sekitsui
Quirk: Power-Up
Occupation: Corporate CEO (Formerly), leader of the I-Island Elites
Age: 55
Birthday: April 17th
Height: 155 cm.
Blood Type: AB
Likes: Anchovies.
Other Facts: Believer in Santa Claus.
Prison Record: 2 counts of fraud, 1 count of embezzlement - Time Served.
Emi "Empulse" Chisuga
Quirk: Allout Blackout
Occupation: Student of Masegaki Elementary School (formerly), member of I-Island Elites.
Age: 10
Birthday: June 10th
Height: 150 cm.
Blood Type: B
Likes: The movie 'Jaws'.
Other Facts: Self-taught sculptor.
Prison Record: 11 counts of manslaughter - Serving Time (Released during outbreak).
Dangan "Broken Arrow" Bugendai
Quirk: One Shot.
Occupation: Soldier of the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (Formerly), member of the I-Island Elites.
Age: 34
Birthday: September 8th
Height: 175 cm.
Blood Type: B
Likes: The Office.
Other Facts: Gourmet chef.
Prison Record: 1 count of stolen valor - Time Served.