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Chapter Thirteen: Your Reputation Precedes You/How The Other Half LivesMercer returned to his apartment that evening. His neighbors weren't as silent or typical as he first thought. He saw more overworked salarymen and single mothers around now.
His restrictions are pretty much nil since he assumed the position at Riken. Even so, Todoroki and Toshinori still rotated around for in-person visits. Ostensibly official, they were often closer to social calls than anything else. The unfortunate first contact was smoothed away by the weeks of forced close contact, especially once they had gotten the full story about the facility and why he was there. His stories were a source of endless interest to the men.
Of course, there were government employees visiting him more often as the other men were often away on Hero business. Mercer's days, before the formal start of the projects, tended to be divided up. He was taking in the city sights, researching history at the local library, and observing the night life.
It was during these excursions he could really take in the sheer breadth of Quirks. People with subtle mutations, others extreme, many absurd. People with animal or mineral features. People who could defy gravity with no technolog and a riot of diversity unheard of back in his time, normal or otherwise.
And of course, the elephant in the room he had mocked Toshinori and Todoroki about. Villains and Heroes.
Atleast once a day he saw with his own eyes a fight or chase between people committing crimes with their Quirk, and those using their own abilities to take them down. Some were bloody affairs, others short and painless. Almost all of them were absurdities to his eyes.
He couldn't judge too hard, being a man out of time and place. But Mercer felt almost professionally offended with how the average fight went. Seeing one or more parties with unprofessional behavior, sloppy moves or tactics, or watching the average collateral damage was strange. Alex could attest to his own collateral damage as a consequence of what was essentially a war. Manhattan was full of trigger happy psychopaths, Elizabeth Greene was after him. Both of them had little regard for people. So he had to use heavy handed methods out of necessity..
To the Pro-Hero's credit, they consistently prioritized the lives of civilians over simply winning or catching the criminal most of the time. His natural cynicism could only be eroded seeing heroism in action. Moreso, Alex was genuinely inspired by the "top ten". He could freely admit All Might and Endeavor lived up to their reputations. All Might saving fifty people from a collapsing building in under five minutes? Unheard of!
Endeavor subduing an entire meta-human gang without actually crippling or killing them?
Even Alex wasn't so sure he could replicate those superb results.
As he familiarized himself with the city, he felt an ache. Not of hunger, where he was given a large food budget sufficient for his current needs. The ache of loneliness. He was at best, friendly acquaintances with Enji and Yagi, if only because of the sheer amount of time he'd spent with them thus far. His project teams were distant in a certain way. They weren't used to violence and survival like he was. It created a sort of gulf between them. Researching the new world and exploring only went so far.
If bars were out of the question, where else then?
Which is how he found himself at a citizens social club.
Mid-level business men, representatives from local hero agencies, well-to-do community members, and the prefecture's government officials. When people recognized him, they respectively nodded at him and congratulated him on his appointment. Others started hushed conversations, as he was easily the most interesting person there in the building. They were too polite to start asking him all kinds of questions about the past, or his past specifically. But the doctors and scientists at the social club, even the ones not related to "his field" didn't hesitate to include him into their discussions. They were delighted when they found out he could talk on a variety of niche fields without sounding like a dullard or fake.
Mercer soon amassed a crowd of interested people, talking of breakthroughs and new research "in his day". It was. unfortunately, new or unknown to some of these experts. The degradation over time truly ruined everyone.
Even those in the crowd who didn't know an appendix from a gallbladder found Mercer entrancing and commanding. The crowd had soon started to disperse when Alex was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. He turned around and was face to face with a tall, white haired man smiling.
"That sure was something Doctor Mercer. Ever thought of becoming a professor?" He had an easy going charm about him.
Alex was in a good mood, and decided to indulge the stranger. Plus, for all he knew, he was someone important.
Crossing his arms and careful not to lean on a wall, he replied. "Not really. Don't have the patience. I wouldn't be able to stand the students who can't tell the cerebrum from the cerebellum, or RNA from DNA. Much prefer to be on the cutting edge of a field."
He also decided to formally introduce himself, see who the man was.
"Doctor Alex J. Mercer, man out of time." He shook a careful, firm handshake with him.
"Shigaraki Hideyoshi. Your reputation precedes you Doctor Mercer." Shigaraki had an enigmatic smile, like he knew an inside joke Mercer wasn't privy to.
Mercer returned a tight smile. "I wasn't aware I had one already."
"Only to me I'm afraid. Seeing a humvee flatten a squad of American soldiers does leave one with a heavy impression."
Alex was blindsided completely, tensing imperceptibly. That kind of hyper specific example no one should have known about rang all kinds of warning bells.
His next statement shocked Mercer even further. "Seeing the Blackwatch platoon that murdered my father be torn apart by you was quite the cathartic, Zeus." A jolly and beatific smile was on Shigaraki's face.
Shigaraki continued after the slight pause, letting it sink in for Alex. "I'm sure you have many questions. I'll answer yours if you answer mine. Shall we?" Pointing to the stairs leading to the roof.
He didn't hesitate. Someone with that much specific information, offering to lay it out without the veiled threats of violence or ego? Besides, someone that could have been as old as himself felt like a welcome change from everyone else who didn't know any time without Quirks. His thoughts raced even further. Was it inconceivable that there existed long lasting metahumans even before the Outbreak? The only way to find out was to follow this rabbit hole to its exit.
"I'll follow you, Hideyoshi." Far from being offended at the use of his first name, Hideyoshi beamed at him.
"Perfect." He gestured out of the room and Alex took the initiative, leading the way, Shigaraki following.
On the roof, a wide million yen view was on display. The city was ablaze with life. A solitary figure was waiting for them. A bespoke uniform that wouldn't be out of place for a high class bartender and a clearly mutated form. It was like he was made of smoke and darkness, with blazing eyes.
All three of them stared out onto the smoldering vista. They made for an unconventional sight.
Alex decided to break the silence. "I'm sure you didn't invite me here for pleasant sights here, Shigaraki."
His host's languid smile humored him for a moment. "Let me ask you, a man out of time and place, what you think of our humble home? Our island in the gaze of the rising sun." Gesturing out into the darkness of the night.
Alex decided to indulge him. What other diversions did he really have? This was the most interesting thing this week.
"I think I'm in a madhouse that grew a stable society after generations of insanity. But I also see people trying to make what they have better than they found it."
"And do you think everyone tries to make it better? Or that their definition of better involves crushing those under them?"
Alex shrugged. "What do I know?"
Shigaraki pointed to the city shadows. "Let me take you to the places you've never seen, that your handlers keep you away from, that you might ignore but exist like a sore, festering underneath the bright lights."
He walked closer to him, tilting his head down to look him right in the eyes. "You've seen the high and mighty, the cream of the crop. So, I'll show you the dark and wild sides, how the other half lives. Kurogiri!" He spread his arms out, and wings of darkness and shadow erupted. The well dressed aberration simply created a writhing vortex of purple and black, literally entering himself and shifting away.
He walked to the edge of the building, a breath away from falling. He offered a cocky grin. "Shall we?"
Not waiting for an answer, he jumped and flew away.
What else was Alex going to do in the face of such arrogance? Taking a running start, he leapt and glided into the night.
At select points, Shigaraki would stop and pause. Kurogiri was silent the entire time, always making himself scarce but never out of sight. At each point, Alex was treated to one spectacle after another.
There, a hero was rifling through the wallets of what seemed to be gang members, laid out and pitifully groaning. There were electric lamps, boxes, scattered dice and the broken bottles of cheap booze lying around. When one of them tried crawling away, an extended arm like rubber capped with a metal gauntlet dropped onto his back and knocked all air out of him. He could barely groan in pain. Many of the gang members had visible quirks, but obviously weren't enough to stave off the attack. The patches on their jackets were all of a multitude of hands, all grasping upwards.
Alex didn't know who started the fight, but seeing the victor just take their possessions rubbed him raw. There was an itch of violence in his tendrils, writhing silently inside him.
"When you have state sanctioned power, you become a tool of the state. And the only tool they prefer are hammers. They all prefer it that way." Shigaraki turned away and left, Alex and Kurogiri following.
Alex saw hungry faces and skinny bodies on the long line. Mutant quirks were disproportionately represented here. Minor and major deviations in the human form abounded. But even through their hardships, smiles and laughter could still be found. Children running around screaming playing games that only they knew the rules to. Those on the line idly chatted on the line, a strong sense of camaraderie present despite their circumstances. It seemed like an overly generous soup kitchen, with seconds and even thirds being happily allowed.
The staff making and handing out food and drinks seemed to be wearing a uniform, the logo matching the one behind them boldly on the wall.
Almost like the gang members, it was a multitude of hands again, but holding snapdragon flowers. A snapdragon, in his hazy memories of botanists and flower enthusiasts, meant grace and, due to its growth in rocky areas, strength. However, it can also symbolize deviousness.
Activists and enthusiastic canvassers moved through the crowds, handing out political writings or discussing the news of the day. They played with children, humoring them while asking innocuous questions about their families, schools and lives. With adults, they mentioned other private social services to adequately serve their needs.
There were even campaigners extolling the virtue of certain candidates in the upcoming elections. They were young, old, and above all fervent about their work.
Mercer himself didn't put too much stock in politicians. Or he didn't care much for politics, with the prime example of Blackwatch existing through fifty years of different administrations. It didn't speak highly of the USA. With the wealth of knowledge of humanity and its history, no single country could really claim undisputed moral high ground or grace.
No one noticed them, strangely. Alex was sure it was Shigaraki's quirk. But he had already shown one quirk. Any more would be an impossibility. Perhaps there was an agent within the crowd to heighten the mystique of him?
Kurogiri was as silent as ever as Shigaraki began to speak. "Those who live on the bottom of society will eventually find succor in the underworld. First they will ask for what they need. Then, they will ask for what they want, desires forbidden by status or society. Then, they will ask for a savior."
They left behind full stomachs and joy.
Their next stop was a crowded mall, and the audience he saw was all too human. Angry shop owners berating a small congregation of mutants. Accusations of thievery and poor moral character abounded, with the accused yelling that they were just hanging around in the mall, to check the cameras and leave them alone. A boiling point was reached, police called and escorted every mutant from the premise, regardless if they were even part of the original group.
When both the original group and a greater crowd of mutants were waiting outside, some of the first group started to hand out pamphlets and links to the crowd. On the cover of the paper or websites were a multitude of hands all changed. Spiked hands, rocky hands, claws, animal hands all reaching upwards to a distant figure named "Justice".
The discrimination was nothing new to Alex. Inside him, he had an array of memories from racists, bigots, and victims giving a multitude of reasons why this happened. Hate was the fastest virus of them all, spreading far faster and effectively than REDLIGHT could ever do.
When they arrived at a desolate park, only the few path lamps illuminated the darkness. They walked past the sleeping homeless, the drugged out hopeless, and the occasional discreet deals going on.
He decided to break the long silence between traveling and warping to new locations.
"Is there supposed to be a point to this? The past isn't some idealistic bastion of understanding and progress. We had less differences than people today do, and yet we managed as much hate if not greater. Corruption, injustice, and poverty are parts of the civilized condition, not limited to a single nation or people." Alex was well aware of cult tactics and criminal enterprises. It didn't require being Sherlock Holmes to see how each location was tied to an organization, with a variation on design. That indicated a sophisticated enough operation that they could have multiple branches.
They continued walking as Shigaraki responded to the implication. "My point, Doctor Mercer, is don't be so quick to rush into the arms of the government. They have given you a gilded cage. The failures of the government are apparent, as too is its inflexibility. One fourth of the Japanese population have visibly mutative quirks, and yet discrimination runs rampant. In trying to contain unlawful quirk usage, more often than not it is those who cannot turn off their quirks that get the brunt of those laws thrown at them."
Alex pondered his words. "And I suppose you're the solution to the government's failings? The revolutionary who'll create a society that solves all of the issues with no pushback or violence?"
"Do you know what Hegalian Dialectics are?" Kurogiri immediately rolled his eyes and urgently portaled away out of earshot but within eyesight.
Of all those screaming masses of souls that lay inside his genetic code and memories, Alex could fancy a small percentage groaning in pain.
"No, not really." Shigaraki obviously wanted to show off, so Alex pretended he didn't know much.
"How do I put this basically enough? It's a philosophical theory, the kind you might encounter if you took time to read some old world philosophy instead of scientific papers. The fundamental premise is to envision history as a sequence of "dialectical" conflicts. Each dialectic begins with a proposition, a thesis... ...which inherently contains, or creates, its opposite - an antithesis. Thesis and antithesis. The conflict is inevitable. But the resolution of the conflict yields something new - a synthesis - eliminating the flaws in each, leaving behind common elements and ideas."
"So what's "dialectic" about you and the Japanese government?" Alex's skepticism oozed like a popped blister, but Shigaraki didn't seem to notice, or more likely, care.
"The national government has all of the problems of the old world Japan - extreme bureaucracy, corruption, extensive political infighting, rampant xenophobia, and a pathological need for conformity. Just as with the pre-Quirk Japan, it is natural that its society breeds outcasts and rebels that strive to fight and transform the nation into a unfettered and open society. Thesis and antithesis. The Hero industry and its destruction is my point of no return for the country. The Hero Public Safety Commission and later the government itself will be eradicated, but the new synthesis will change my organization as well... ...from basically a coalition of my criminal empire and the insurgency to a new, representative government that protects all its citizens, and the power that I'll wield from outside the shadows into the light."
They stopped in front of a shivering teen, probably a runaway. From his hands a heavy blanket was spun from the bark and leaves of the nearby trees, and he covered the child.
"Make no mistake Doctor Mercer, this is a war for our survival. One game I've been playing since I returned home from the Outbreak."
They walked in silence, passing human misery all along the park.
They came to Shigaraki's intended destination at one of the exits of the park. A quiet hole in the wall of an establishment. They went inside, and as soon as the staff saw Shigaraki and his associates, cleared out a private room. It had a cheap, homely feel with the smell of heavy grease and spices abounding. When they settled down and a waiter was ready for their order. Alex took the time to order a heavy meal, one part spite, one part fuel for the excursion so far. It seemed everyone had an empty stomach, because Shigaraki and Kurogiri ordered far more food than Alex even had.
They ate carefully but steadily, taking in food like it all that heavy quirk usage took a toll from them. Kurogiri simply moved food into his portals, no chewing or crunching heard of.
After they all finished, Hideyoshi finally responded.
"I am the voice for the voiceless, the strength for the weak, the sun to the plants. I am the Lord of Darkness for the cockroaches, rats, and children of the underworld. Those who were forced into the shadows, and those born into it." His eyes glowed, his voice became clearer and convincing.
"A beacon for the blind, a song for the deaf, and a Demon Lord for the pariahs and downtrodden of society."
"I am all of these things and more. I am the new alternative Doctor Mercer." He finished his speech at the empty table.
Alex could practically taste and smell the bullshit from this short distance. Cutting through the flowery words, he understood implicitly that he was in essence, justifying his criminal enterprise to Mercer between the lines. Like any revolution or crime organization, they sought to sanitize, legitimize, and justify their actions with PR events and services.
He still didn't quite care one way or another. His partnership with the government allowed him to pursue new heights for humanity.
"And where do I exactly fit into all of this?" His skeptical demeanor didn't faze Shigaraki.
"You don't fit anywhere Doctor. You have no real stake, fire or grudge, for better or worse. As close to an impartial judge as anyone can be in our world. Call it a friendly word of caution. Things are not as they seem."
He paused.
"Call this trip a personal indulgence if you'd like. I've finally buried my past today. Thank you." And the unthinkable happened. This shadowy figure of undisclosed power bowed to a full forty-five degree angle, directly looking at his shoes.
Looking down, he said his final words before entering Kurogiri's enhanced, large portal. "You saved my brother and I, and gave me the strength to endure. Thank you Alex Mercer, for everything."
He left Mercer alone and contemplative, surrounded by the remains of the meals. Little was ultimately seen and discussed, but the impact was profound. The whiplash from the stroll around town, the secrets revealed, and link to his past. But there were clues to a larger picture. He thought about the gang, the soup kitchen, the looting hero and mall dispute. He thought about the disproportionate representation of mutant type quirks, how much people were eating, even how much Shigaraki and Kurogiri was eating, even more than Alex. The unnatural voracious appetite of his company. The desperation and injustice given to mutant type quirks. It actually gave him some good ideas for research.
Calories and consumption over time by passive quirks, active quirks, and the major three classification of quirks. He could use a part of his team to study the population and their quirks in prison, perhaps see if anyone has been tracking the rates of hate crimes in the country, if there even existed laws to help mutants especially. He hadn't thought much about the laws to restrict quirks, but in conjunction with prison and sentencing records, he could see of the population in prison or who served their sentence, which category of Quirk classification got hit with quirk usage laws the most.
Perhaps one of his programmers could scrape news and other online websites and test for positive or negative reactions to Quirks, if "mutant" correlated with negative descriptions more often than. Of course, none of them really beat just plainly measuring calorie intake, usage of Quirks to test hunger, fat or calorie burning. He could very well prove definitely that different categories of quirks require large upkeep, like a refrigerator or computer still plugged in.
For example, most people can't use quirks unless authorized by the government, so it rarely comes up. Heroes and villains are obviously doing more physical activities than the normal population, so no one raises an eyebrow at their large appetites. However, mutants should be at a higher baseline for nutritional needs, requiring more calories than the average emitter or transformational quirk.
For mutants, this higher calorie need directly impacts their quality of life, the need for nutrition and feeding. Welfare or any government aid programs wouldn't even begin to properly account for all the variation in nutritional needs! This could lead to crime, being disproportionately represented in prisons and bad areas, and so on. Discrimination from everyone else and biological scarcity creating even worse outcomes.
It would take months, even a year to properly prove it, but he could drip feed the science and reports as time went on, hitting each aspect of his department with all of their varied skills. He could have a social finding in a month, a biological one in six months if he started immediately, and then combine it altogether for the wide picture. This was the big break he needed-!
"Excuse me sir?"
He was broken from his breakthrough by a watchful waiter. "Your company left before the check came." They handed him the bill. He skimmed it to the bottom.
Motherfucker. Shigaraki was one hundred percent a villain.