Warning. This chapter's 'crime' may cause some discomfort. I felt the need to say this.
"You ready, kid?" Hiro asked on the radio.
"Ready?" I reply with a chuckle, "I've been ready, old man."
"Ha! Remember this old man kicked your ass yesterday so I wouldn't be talking right now," Hiro retorted with a laugh of his own.
It was night and Hiro and I were at a large section of the city that mostly had warehouses. Hiro has kept tabs on this place because he's heard of suspicious activity being active there. Hiro spied on the place with microrobots. At first, nothing was happening, but today, one of the bots alerted Hiro of movement from unauthorized personnel. Hiro paused my learning session with nanites and had me suit up. When we were ready, Hiro climbed on Baymax and blasted off with me next to them to confront these criminals.
"Alright. I wasn't expecting this to happen right now, but evil never rests so let's clean this up quickly." Hiro says, "I'll make it a challenge. Try to incapacitate more than Baymax whether that be by knockout or capture. Just don't overdo things unless you have too."
I nod my head and shield my face with nanites. "Give me a signal then and I'll go in."
"Kid, you're going to be working alone at points in time. Strike at the appropriate time." Hiro says, "And I haven't scanned the area yet so can you do that for me and inform me of what's happening?"
"Alright then," The nanites dispel from my eyes as I pull down my goggles over my eyes and use my quirk to see what is happening. "If Mina was here right now, she'd totally say, 'See? Spy mission!'" I recall the first thing Mina told me about my quirk other than it being cool, and she is right on that account. I zoom in and access the situation. "Hmmm….they seem to be moving cargo around. Moving stuff from semi-truck to semi-truck."
"How many are there? Give me details of everything inside the warehouses." Hiro questions.
"I count maybe twenty to thirty individuals. Maybe a little more if we count the people we can't see inside the trucks." I zoom out a little and take a wider view, "They are armed with small firearms and some heavy-duty armor."
"Any mutation quirks?"
"Negative. All of them may or may not have regular quirks."
"Okay," Hiro ponders for a moment, "What's in the cargo?"
"No idea. Give me a second to check," The nanites transfer into my goggles and give me specialized x-ray vision to see what is in those boxes. A few moments later, I see what is inside. "Oh, you mother…!" I grit my teeth in rage and bite my tongue back.
"What?" Hiro asks with concern, "What is it, Iron Maiden?" Hiro suggested we use hero names on the battlefield.
"Da Vinci," As Hiro wanted to be called, "Those aren't objects, those are people inside those cases!"
"What?!" Da Vinci was both shocked and angered, "Alright kid forget the challenge, this is serious. You and Baymax charge in together. Baymax will attack the kidnappers, you deal with the trucks. Make sure they are all destroyed, and if one or more tries to get away, stop them." Da Vinci orders.
"What about you?" I ask.
"I'll extract the civilians," Da Vinci mumbles something to himself before speaking up, "You and Baymax clean house, and try to do it as fast as you can and avoid any and all boxes. And remember to keep your cool." Da Vinci reminds me.
"I'll try," I let out an angry sign and placed my goggles on my head. The nanites cover my head and face once more as Tony speaks in my ear.
"I didn't expect you to run into this kind of crime this quickly," Tony admits, "But it goes to show you have to be ready for anything."
"It's sickening to know this kind of crime still exists," I growl. "I want to stop the whole damn thing."
"To do that you need to get to the source of it," Tony says, "That's very hard to get too, even for me. These people rely on underground and old tactics to keep themselves hidden. No electronics. Just pure letters and messengers to isolated areas."
"I'm surprised to hear that you can't find everyone."
"It's frustrating, but it shows that the internet does have a limit." Tony pauses for a moment before I hear what sounds like virtual tapping, "I'm installing a new weapon into your suit. This should help greatly."
My HUD lights up and begins to install a new weapon. A file suddenly appears on my screen that says, 'Shoulder mounted mods installed.'
"This should help you take out multiple enemies at once," Tony said, "Your shoulder-mounted net capturing cannon can mod itself to create stun devices to electrocute your foes, or if needed, use bullets."
"Bullets?!" I ask with uncertainty and uncomfortableness.
"Not to kill, Pinky," Tony quickly states, "But to fire in the kneecaps. The quickest way to take down someone immune to the tasers."
"Is it?" I question.
"Just work with me here, Pinky Dinky Doo." Tony's voice leaves my ear.
I shake my head and place two fingers near my ear, "Ready, Hiro?"
"Ready." Hiro simply says.
I see Baymax blast off into the warehouses as I charge inside through a different area to flank them. Baymax lands on top of a truck's engine and smashes it completely. "Surrender and come quietly or there will be…" Baymax's left-hand transforms into a cannon, "Trouble."
The villains stare at Baymax for a brief moment before one of them pulls out a pistol and fires it at Baymax. In an instant, all hell breaks loose as everyone is now shooting at Baymax. The bullets bounce off of his armor as Baymax stands there taking it all without as much as a flinch. When the rain of bullets stops, Baymax looks at everyone, "I wished you had heeded my warning." Baymax aims his cannon and fires it at several villains. The round Baymax fired did not explode, but rather it released concussive energy that was powerful enough to send them flying.
I take this opportunity to flank them and smash another truck's engine with my suit.
"There's two of them!" Someone shouts.
"Everyone, open fire, and use your quirks!" Another says and commands the gang.
Two of the criminals charge at me. I jump off the truck and fire a repulsor blast at one of them, but the blast does nothing as it turns into raw energy and is sent back at me.
"Crap!" I dodged the blast but hit with an ice beam. "That one can manipulate muons!"
"That means his quirk is based on atom control," Tony informs me, "It'll be better to fight him head-on rather than use the repulsor blasts."
"Got it!" I dodge several more ice beams and land in front of the duo. I blast the ice user away and block several attacks from the atom controller.
"You're that kid from the Sports Festival!" He tells me.
"I'm not pleased to meet your acquaintance," I reply and punch him in the gut. The man spits a blob of saliva out as I give him a headbutt. He stumbles back and before I could finish him off, I feel a tight grip around my waist. A chain has wrapped itself around me and flung me across the room. I land on my feet and hear the sound of tires roaring. I quickly look in that direction and see a truck trying to getaway.
"Oh no, you don't!" I attempt to blast off towards the big rig, but the chain user grips me again. I look back and see several more chains wrapped around my arms and legs.
"Got you!" The chain quirk male snickers.
I smirk under the helmet and bust free from his hold to his shock, "You were saying?" I retort as Baymax lands behind him and smacks him away into a metal container.
"Go!" Baymax is jumped by several people as he shakes some of them off, "I'll handle the situation here! Don't let them get away!"
I don't waste a second and chase the truck. I hear more engines behind me and turn back to see cars chasing me.
"Get that child!" Someone yells out, "I'd bet she catch a good price!" I heard the disturbing and creepy tone in his voice when that last sentence left his voice.
"Wasn't expecting you to run into this kind of crime," Tony mutters with some ire.
I keep my cool and let the comment pass through my head. I dodge the bullets firing at me and some quirks that attempt to bring me down and land in front of the truck. The driver is taken back while the passenger brings his hands up. The palms of his hands glow for a moment as I feel my body being possessed.
"Grah!" I grunt out loud, "I can't move!" I am pushed forward by an unknown force and land on the floor in front of the trucks.
"Hatsume," Tony shouts, "Move!"
I look up and quickly roll to my left. The truck passes over me as I put myself in between the wheels. I grab onto the truck and move with it. I scan the wheels and use Tony's upgrade to stop the truck by firing bullets at every wheel. The rubber pops and the truck skids on the rim causing sparks to fly everywhere. The rig continues to move as I climb to the front of it and fire a blast through the engine. From there, I fly out from underneath and hover in front of the truck. I punch my fist through the windshield to knock out the passenger. The driver gets up to the windshield and attempts to push me off, but I slam my arm against him and knock him into the door. I peak back behind me and see we're heading straight into a concrete wall.
"Oh crap!" I hastily blast away from the truck and position myself in front of it. I place my hands against the front of the truck and try to stop it from colliding against the wall by using the suit's boosters as an opposing force. I apply more and more power into my boosters to stop the truck as I feel it slowing down. The semi comes to a complete stop in the nick of time. When I turn my head behind me, the wall is several inches away from me.
"So close," I mumble before I'm attacked by the cars. I fly up into the sky and scan the people in the cars. I fire tasers at them and tase all of them. "Phew…" I wipe my forehead when I'm suddenly thrust into the ground. "Gah!" I yell out in pain and thrown into the wall behind me, then onto another wall, and into the front of the truck. My arms are forced to expand as the fibers in my muscles feel as if they are stretched out to their limits.
The passenger from earlier gets out of the car with his hands in front of him, "You son of a b***h!" He yells at me, "This is gonna set us back for a long time!" He grins sinisterly, "Luckily for us, you'll make a great product."
My arms are stretched out even more and I howl in pain. The man steps in front of me and twists his hands. My arms close into my chest as if I'm being strapped into a straight jacket. I realize my unibeam is not covered and quickly charge the beam. The man looks at my chest with a stunning look as the unibeam fires at him. The beam engulfs the man in a mega repulsor beam as my body falls to the floor and my arms free from his grasp. I look at the man to see him on the floor with some singe on his body and light smoke coming from it.
I pant and get onto my feet. My arms hurt from being overstretched. I shake my head and run to the trailer. I rip the lock off and throw the door up with a slam. I see several crates strapped to the walls of the container and make my way to one of them.
"Any signs of activity outside?" I ask Tony.
"No," Tony replies, "Free the captives."
I nod my head, grip the front of the crate, and rip the wood of it. In front of me is a young woman who is bound. Her arms are tied up in front of her, her legs are tied together, her mouth is gagged, and her eyes are covered by a blindfold. I can hear her shaky breath and her fearful whimpers. I grab the blindfold and take it off of her. The woman at first reels back in fear. The nanites disappear and reveal my face to her as she looks at me with confusion. I take the gag off of her and smile.
"You're safe now," I say gently and cut through the binds on her arms and legs, "I got you."
The woman lets out a small gasp as tears well up in her eyes. She immediately lunges at me and hugs me tightly, "Thank you!" She cries out, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I hug the woman back and hear police sirens in the distance.
"Go wait outside," I tell her and break the hug, "I have to save the rest." The woman nods and runs out of the trailer with several police cars pulling up, sirens blaring.
"You did good kid," Tony warmly tells me, "You did real good. I'm proud of you."
I smile brightly at the comment and continue to free the rest of the captives.
After I freed all of the people in the crates, Hiro and Baymax landed next to the police. Hiro told me he and Baymax saved everyone and tied up the criminals to wooden beams for the police and pro heroes to collect. It was then when a detective approached me, Hiro, and Baymax to ask some questions on the side. The detective wore the typical outfit you see on TV, but it was his appearance and voice that told me he wasn't Japanese. He looked American and his accent sounded like one too. His eyes were brown with dark brown thin eyebrows. His build is slightly larger than normal but I can't tell if it's because of the suit or not.
"Before I get to the questioning, I wanna say something to you, Hatsume," The detective tells me.
I look up to the taller man, "Yes, sir?"
He smiles at me, "I was told by several of the civilians that you rescued them and that you were the only hero on sight when they exited the trailer. From what I know, this is your very first instance of hero work and I must say that I am impressed." The detective takes his hat off, revealing his short and spiked dark brown hair. He wipes his forehead before placing the hat back on, "I've seen many young heroes-in-training fail on their first duties because they thought this line of work was easy and that they knew it all. Of course, not all of them had to do what you did and chase a truck full of people while fending off many criminals. Not only did you come out on top in your fight against them, but none of the citizens were injured. That is hard to do, especially for rookies like yourself."
I gush at the praise I'm getting from this detective. I subconsciously reach back and scratch my head, "My focus was on saving these people. There was no way I was gonna let them be taken. I'll be honest though, I'm kinda surprised not a single one of them got hurt."
The detective nods his head, "Just be glad that they weren't. Even if someone got hurt, it's better than being taken away forever…" The detective looks back at the scene behind him.
All of the people I freed are currently receiving light medical attention from paramedics while talking to police and pro heroes. I look closer at the people I saved and notice a pattern. All of them are young males and females with no mutations. What's more noticeable is some of them I recognize on 'can you see me' ads plastered on the internet. They were all labeled as 'quirkless' individuals.
"Detective," I say as the officer looks at me.
"Yes?" He responds.
"Those people...are they all quirkless?" I ask.
The detective nods his head, "Yes. All of them. Despite the ratio of quirk and quirkless people in the world being four out of five, Musutafu has the highest number of quirkless people worldwide, and because of that, they're more preyed on by human traffickers." The detective grimaced, "They can't fight back as well, they are ignored by society, they're weaker in general; these people are vulnerable and that makes them more profitable in the eyes of the black market and criminals who wish to enslave them for whatever means their twisted thoughts come up with. It's sickening, disgusting, and inhumane."
I can feel my blood boiling at what the detectives said. I feel Baymax place a hand on my shoulder and move me closer to him to comfort me. Hiro looks down at me for a brief moment before making eye contact with the detective.
"They're all young, detective," Hiro points out, "Some are teens and the oldest I'm assuming is about 25. I'd say there's a little more to this trafficking then what you are telling us."
"Indeed," The detective admits, "We've been following this case for a while now, but it's not gaining as much attention as I would like for it to have."
"Why not?" I say with a snap of my voice.
The detective eyes me without any malice for my tone of voice, "Because of their social status, Hatsume. As I said, they are swept to the side by society. They are viewed as 'lesser' though no one will admit it."
"That's not right!" I shout, "These are still people who have families! Just because they don't have quirks doesn't make them any less human from me or even All Might!"
"And you're right," The detective speaks sharply, "But because of the social structure of civilization, they are not viewed as equal. They are seen as a dying breed; the last remnants of an older generation about to be history. Hatsume, the sad and harsh truth is that no one cares about them. They rather see them gone than admit they are among us. These are the most oppressed people in all of humanity and it's heartbreaking for people like me, who wish to help them, know that our superiors won't let us because they value the life of a person with a quirk more than those who do not."
My heart shatters at the truth. I mean, I always knew it. Everyone knows the truth about how humanity sees quirkless people, but to hear it from someone who works with the government in some capacity it's different. It hurts more. You just don't hear that from them. I just wanna shout at our elected officials and demand that they put more effort into equalizing the rights of quirkless people. I may not be one of them, but I damn well care about them because they are people; they are me. And without quirkless people, everything in the past wouldn't be here. People with quirks forget that the quirkless built this world for them, and if it weren't for them, those quirk users wouldn't have the luxuries they have right now. Quirkless people laid the foundation for the evolution of humanity, and they are tossed aside and demoted to second rate citizens as thanks.
"Are any pro heroes taking this case?" Hiro suddenly asks.
"No," The detective replies.
"Then we'll take it," Hiro says to my surprise.
The detective goes wide-eyed for a moment, "Da Vinci, are you sure?" The detective asks out of respect, "I'm not questioning you; I'm surprised. You haven't worked a case in nearly a decade, and you have an intern with you. This is a very delicate case, sir. Are you certain about this?"
Hiro smiles at the detective, "I'm sure, detective. These are people, and they need someone to care about them. Even if that's an old geezer and a rook."
The detective smiles at us and lets out a small laugh of happiness, "Good…Good! I'm glad to hear that! Alright, Da Vinci, I'll tell the commissioner tonight and give you the case file as soon as possible. I'll skip the questioning I was going to do, I wanna save these people as fast as possible." The detective turns around and is about to take his leave before I speak up.
"Wait!" I say as he turns his head to me, "What's your name?"
"Detective Madrox," Detective Madrox turns his body to meet and puts his hand out, "I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself."
I shake his hand, "Don't worry about it, Detective Madrox."
Detective Madrox and Hiro shake hands before the detective tips his hat and leaves.
I look at Hiro with some surprise still, "Why did you take the case?"
Hiro glanced at me, "I saw how badly this was affecting you. Whether you realized it or not, you wanted this case. I know what I said about what we were going to do for your internship, and I'm not saying we're going to toss that aside, but I want you to see a glimpse into the life of a hero. Internships are meant to help introduce students into the life of a hero, but not many of them take the time to show the hardships that come with it. It's one thing to see it, but it's another to live it." Hiro gets behind Baymax and climbs onto his shoulders with a grunt. "And that's what I want you to do. Live it. Hero life is like taxes. They won't teach you about it during school, but they expect you to know it when the time comes for you to do it."
"Did you just compare hero life to taxes?" I ask in confusion.
Hiro ignores me as Baymax's boots light up, "Now come on, we're going back home to get some rest."
Hiro and Baymax fly into the direction of Hiro's home as I follow behind them.
When we land inside Hiro's garage, Hiro's wrist opens up a virtual contacts list and Hiro starts to look through it.
"Watcha doing, Hiro?" I ask, my suit going into my headgear.
Without looking at me, Hiro answers, "Looking to see who to contact. This kind of mission requires multiple people, and most heroes around here owe me favors. I'm gonna make some calls. In the meantime, you go take a shower and rest. You've done enough today." Hiro walks into the house and leaves me alone with Baymax.
Baymax looks down at me with his helmet in his hands, "How are you feeling?"
"Physically, I'm tired. Mentally, victorious and angered." I say with honesty.
"Makes sense," Tony's hologram appears several feet away from us, sitting down in a virtual chair, "As I said, I didn't expect you to get wrapped up in this kind of crime so quickly but here you are. The life of a pro hero is full of hardships and experiences not many can go to sleep knowing. It's good that you're getting exposed to it; though this is not an ideal experience I would want you to encounter, it's the one you will do and put an end to it."
"What is your 'ideal experience' then?" I cross my arms over my chest in curiosity.
"Saving a kitten from a tree," Tony says, amused with himself, "Shouldn't be too hard for a beginner like yourself, and it'll teach you to watch out for anything like the claws. Those things hurt, ya know?" I roll my eyes in response. Tony coughs into his hand like if he's still alive and gets serious, "But in all seriousness, I don't know what the 'ideal experience' would be, but stopping a human trafficking ring wouldn't be anywhere in my top 15 crimes to take you out on."
I see his point, but as Tony said earlier, it's the injustice I'm going to end.
"Tony, if I may add some input," Baymax speaks up, "I do believe Hatsume's involvement, in this case, will help her indefinitely. Statistically, the most troubling kind of crime rookie Pro Heroes have trouble stopping is organized crime."
"I didn't say it was a bad introduction to hero life, Baymax," Tony defends himself, "All I'm saying is it isn't the most practical crime for a neophyte to get involved in."
I pop my neck in response to all this, "Whether or not it's part of the norm, I'm just glad I will be saving people who society seems to want to get rid of."
"You have a good heart, Hatsume," Tony smiles lightly, "But don't let evil taint it. A single drop of blank ink will always taint snow-white paper."
I nod my head and head off to shower and sleep. I was happy that I saved those people, and grinning at the thought of whoever orchestrated all of this wasn't about to receive their 'packages.' If I only knew who I'd pissed off, I would have done better to prepare for them.
The next morning came and as soon as I finished my breakfast, Hiro told me to suit up because we were heading down to the police station to meet up with Detective Madrox and other pro heroes. When we arrived, I was surprised by the heroes who agreed to work with us: Rock Lock, His Purple Highness, and Death Arms.
Hiro walks forward to the heroes with a smile, "Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I know this is sudden but I will need help if those criminals are to be taken down."
Death Arms pounds his hands together, "My schedule wasn't that filled other than showing my intern the ropes."
Rock Lock had his arms crossed, "I came because someone had to watch over these kids and make sure they're doing their jobs right."
"What? No trust?" Death Arms and Hiro both say.
"No," Rock Lock answers honestly, "You're both too lenient."
His Purple Highness looked between everyone and let out a dramatic sigh, "I guess that'll make me your reverse, Rock Lock. I'll praise the novices on their fabulous work rather than putting them down."
"Whatever, Purple," Rock Lock passed him off.
"That's 'His Purple Highness' to you," His Purple Highness retorts.
I pass by the four Pro Heroes and walk into the police station where I am greeted by a familiar face.
"Hatsume!" Mina shouts from the other side of the room. She gets off her chair, sprints to me, and wraps me in a hug. "Can you believe it?! We're all going to be working together!"
I hug Mina back with a smile of my own and listen to what she says, "Wait, 'we're all?' There are more?"
"Yup!" Mina pulls out of the hug and points to a corner of the room. Sitting in chairs and waving is Jiro and Hagakure. "Don't just sit there, get over here!" Mina shouts as the two get up and group up with us.
"Nice to see you again, Hatsume," Jiro says with a soft bump of her fist to my shoulder.
Hagakure pulls me into a side hug as I can feel the happy aura around her, "Looks like we're all in this together!"
"Heheheheh." I laugh a little and the four of us form a small circle facing each other, "I'm amazed. I didn't know who my mentor called. I'm surprised it's you, girls."
"So it was your sensei who called ours?" Jiro asked, "Why? Do you know what is happening?"
I nod my head with a firm expression, "I do, but you'll be briefed on it. It's an important mission that most interns don't get to do. I'm highly certain 1 out of 20 interns do a job like this so it should tell you the significance of it."
"That imperative, huh?" Mina places her hands on her hips, "Alright. I'm game. How about you two?" Jiro nods her head and Hagakure gives a thumbs up. Mina then has a lightbulb appear over her head and speaks, "We should have a team name!"
"A team name?" Jiro raises an eyebrow, "Why?"
"It'll be so cool!" Mina says excitedly, "I've always wanted to do something like this!"
"That does sound awesome," Hagakure says, "But what would it be?"
"Calvary? Like the Cavalry Battle from the Sports Festival?" Mina suggests.
"Nah. What about Guardians of the Neighbor?" Hakagure throws in.
"Ehhh…." I place a hand on my chin, "It's a little wordy."
"We're seriously doing this?" Jiro deadpans and gives in, "Okay then, what about Four Horsewomen?"
"Already taken," Mina responds quickly, "Even if it wasn't taken, what if we would want to induct another member? We would have to change the number each time, and what if it is a boy? We would have to change the name entirely!" Mina slaps her hands together, "We need something that would never need to be changed, something that will be simple yet recognizable, something inspiring, something that strikes fear into wrongdoers, something that is undisputed!" Mina blinks and a grins forms on her face, "Undisputed."
I like the sound of it, and looking at Jiro's expression, she digs it too and Hagakure shows her approval with a thumbs up.
"I like it!" Hagakure shouts, "Undisputed!"
Jiro and I can't help but grin at the name. It just sounded so cool and badass!
Mina chuckles and is impressed with herself, "What can I say? I'm great with names." Mina praises herself and pulls us in closer, "Girls, it's undisputed that we will be the best team ever, it's undisputed that we will solve this crime, and it's undisputed that all future criminals that we come across will be brought to justice. Ladies, today marks the beginning of a new team, a new name for people to cheer on, a new symbol of hope." Mina places a fist in the middle of the circle as we all do the same with each of our fists connecting to form a circle of their own. "This moment right here is the inauguration of The Undisputed Era!"
Mina is definitely the hypewoman of any group.
Yeah, the new chapter is out faster than I thought it would be.
For those who don't know who His Purple Highness is, His Purple Highness is a character from the Vigilantes manga. He's an extravagant and flamboyant male with a habit to be overdramatic with his reactions and poses but is a hero places everyone else first. He'll die to protect people and it shows in the manga clearly. Currently, his status is labeled as 'Unknown' and I thought I would take advantage of that and say he's still active.
Now, who are the three interning for? As we all know, Jiro's internship was under Death Arms so no need to explain that one. Mina is under His Purple Highness. I can see those two being able to fit together like two peas in a pod. So that means Hagakure is under Rock Lock. Now, my reasons for this is because I love Hagakure and I want her to grow as a character in this story. However, that means she must have a mentor who is tough on her since she's rather soft as a character. Rock Lock seemed to be the great fit given his personality, and what's, even better, is that Rock Lock wasn't introduced until the Shie Hassaikai Raid and we were never told who Hagakure interned under for her internship.
Loopholes people, I love them when I get the chance to utilize them when I notice them.
As for the team, I had the duo of Hatsume and Mina planned already, but when I was making this chapter, my thoughts shifted and I came to believe that more people were needed for this arc. So, I went through Kirishima, Asui, Uraraka, Jiro, Hagakure, Yaoyorozu, Kendo, Ojiro, and many others. In the end, I chose Hagakure and Jiro because this is going to be a stealth mission and those two will be fantastic at those kinds of missions. Mina seems like an odd choice at first, but melting walls and other solid objects is better than blowing them up. Much quieter too.
At some point, it'll just be the two pinkies Mina and Hatsume working together. Just not right now.
That's all for now. GloriousSanity out!