Disclaimer:
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses plot elements and characters from them.
The Quirk War
By: RB3
School Days Ch 5: Yama
The internships for the first-year students of 1A had started with students travelling to various agencies across Japan. Tetsu, Itsuka, and Ochako found themselves at the agency of Gunhead, the Battle Hero. He was a man who wore a black padded vest for his top, one that exposed much of the pro hero's muscular body. On his head was a white mask with four holes resembling gun barrels. His arms had bracers resembling the bullet chamber of a revolver.
"Hello everyone, I'm Gunhead, the head of this agency. You must be Tetsutetsu, Kendo, and Uraraka from UA," said the hero.
"Hi Gunhead! I'm here to do my internship," said Itsuka.
"So am I," said Ochako.
"Yeah! I can't wait to begin!" said Tetsu.
"Ah, such an enthusiastic group! You'll love here, I'm sure of it," assured Gunhead.
At the same time, Iida had arrived at the agency of Manual, the Normal Hero. Manual was clad in a blue spandex suit on his upper body which had a wide white stripe running down its middle. He also wore a blue helmet which had a fin-like ornament on its back. "Hello. You must be Tenya Iida, here to intern under me," said Manual as he greeted Iida at the foyer.
"That's right!" said Iida, standing at attention to address him.
"No need to be so formal. I'm not a stickler for protocol. Let's begin with a tour of my beat. Patrolling is one of the fundamental pillars of hero work," said Manual. He led Iida around the streets of Hoth. It was a largely leisurely walk down the streets, with nothing out of the ordinary happening, just people commuting from place to place. "Sorry if this seems kind of monotonous and routine."
"No, it's alright. It's for the better that nothing unusual happens," replied Iida.
"This is not easy for me to ask, but you're after the Hero Killer Stain, aren't you?" asked Manual.
"How did you know?" asked Iida.
"I couldn't think of any other reason why you'd come to me of all heroes. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled to be able to tutor Ingenium's brother!" replied Manual, holding open his hands. "Still, you shouldn't go off pursuing personal grudges. We heroes don't have the authority to arrest people. That's the job of the police. It's only Quirk laws that allow us to intervene in crimes. If a pro used their powers for selfish ends, it would violate the law."
Iida was puzzled by what he had heard. "Even so, if Stain were to show up right now, are we going to let him go?" asked Iida.
Manual shook his head vigorously. "Now wait a minute! You misunderstand me. Stain has a warrant out on him for some serious crimes. The police need the help of the pros in order to capture him. I'm just saying that there are procedures we must follow to do so," replied Manual.
As the day went on, it eventually turned to night and the stars came out to shine in the darkened sky. Somewhere in Hoth, a fire had broken out in one of the buildings in the city. A dark figure stood at the centre of the flames, spreading them, and causing chaos wherever it went. It emerged from the flame and revealed itself to be a lanky, yet muscular creature with an exposed brain and two pairs of eyes. Like its predecessor at the USJ, it too was a Nomu working for the League of Villains.
Elsewhere, Manual received a call from communicator. "What did you say?" asked Manual into the tiny device.
"There's a fire north of your location. Bystanders have reported seeing a villain causing it," replied his dispatcher.
"Roger! I'm on my way," said Manual. "Iida, let's go!"
As Manual rushed to the site of the fire, Iida followed. After a few minutes, Iida noticed an alley and saw a figure running inside. He decided to make a detour and follow that figure. He eventually found Stain himself, pinning down a pro hero who dressed like a Native American. That pro hero, Native, was covered in blood and had been paralyzed by Stain's Quirk, and unable to fight back. Iida rushed in and attempted a leaping kick on Stain, but the Hero Killer was much quicker. With a single swing of his katana, Stain had knocked Iida to the ground, taking his helmet off his head in the process.
Stain examined his attacker. "A kid in a costume? Who are you?" asked Stain. "Leave and don't come back. This is no place for kids!"
"You're Stain, aren't you? Yes, that blood red scarf and those knives... It is you! I've been looking all over for you!" said Iida.
Stain pointed his katana at Iida. "Don't you dare! I'm not afraid to go after a kid," warned Stain.
"So I'm just a kid to you? You attacked and maimed my brother, who is a great hero. He's the best brother anyone could hope for. I've come to stop you, because he can't anymore!" stated Iida as he arose.
"Is that so? Then you've sealed your fate!" said Stain. Iida attempted to run in and kick him again, but Stain simply leapt over him. "So, was it Ingenium? He's your brother? I let him live to spread the good word." As he sailed over, Stain kicked Iida with his spiked boots and knocked him to the ground. Upon landing, he pinned Iida beneath his boot. "You aren't heroes. You're nothing but frauds!"
Stain thrust his katana into Iida's shoulder, causing immense pain while drawing copious amounts of blood. "Shut up! You don't understand!" said Iida. "It's because of you that he can't use his legs anymore. My brother was incredible. He saved so many people. You have no right to take that away!"
"Hero? You're so blinded by your petty grudge that you've forgotten what it means to be a hero," scolded Stain, casting a glance at the wounded Native lying off to the side. "That's why you'll die here, tonight."
Stain licked Iida's blood on the katana, then Iida felt his muscles seize up. He was paralyzed. "Dammit! It can't end like this!" said Iida.
"Dost thou desire justice?" asked a mysterious voice.
Stain looked around to see who was speaking, but could not find anyone. "Who?" asked Iida.
"Dost thou desire justice?" asked the voice again.
The speaker appeared before Iida and Stain. He was a red-faced, bearded man dressed in blue robes with a dark yellow trim and carried a baton in his hand. It was the garb of a judge from ancient China. He was the demon Yama. "Lord Enma, king of the underworld? He has come to save me?" asked Iida.
"Answer me, mortal. Dost thou desire justice?" Yama asked again.
Iida grit his teeth. "Yes! I want it! I want justice! For my brother!" replied Iida.
"Then the pact is sealed. I am true justice, the raging sword. This righteous blade shall pass judgment on evil! Thou hast nothing more than to say my name, Yama," said Yama.
"Then do it Yama! Pass judgment on this murderer! Show him the full weight of his sins!" demanded Iida.
"Then I shall pass judgment in thy name," replied Yama.
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" said Stain.
Stain leapt over Yama and attempted to slice him from behind, but the judge evaded the attack. He promptly set Stain on fire. "ARRRGH!" screamed Stain as flailed in agony. It was only moments before the flames had consumed him and left behind only ash.
"Thy judgment has been passed. This sinner has been condemned to hell for his sins," reported Yama.
"Let's go. There are others who need to face judgment. We must find them and punish them!" said Iida.
Iida ran off into the night, leaving Native behind in the alley, wounded and bleeding all over the area. Iida went to where he saw the fire and found one of the Nomu in battle with local pro heroes. He had Yama incinerate the four-eyed Nomu, who perished instantly and left nothing behind but a pile of ash. He found a winged Nomu and repeated his judgment onto it. On and on did he hunt down the Nomu and delivered fiery justice to them. When all of the Nomu lay dead, Iida and Yama vanished into the night.
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
At the Foundation Domain, the training of the new demon hunters continued with Izuku and Melissa faced off against each other in the colosseum. They transformed into Avatar form with Altered Beast becoming the Werewolf. He charged at Metal Gear to make the first strike. She blocked his slash by forming a heater shield in its path. She retorted with a volley of bullets which pelted his skin and forced him to retreat. One nicked his biceps, only to be healed away instantly by his regeneration. Beast hurled a Lunar Ball, which Metal Gear blocked with the heater shield.
Beast followed by hurling himself into a Lunar Kick, speeding forward like an arrow. His foot caught Metal Gear in the chest and sent her to the ground, but she quickly floated off the ground and became upright. Altered Beast became the Werebear and sprayed petrification breath, which she escaped by ascending. Beast turned into the Garuda and gave chase. She turned and hurled metal balls back, but a quick flap of the wings generated a powerful gust which blew them off course. He unloaded flechettes which she evaded by ascending.
The Garuda kept on her tail with his greater speed. Seeing no way to escape by simply fleeing, she turned around and sprayed a cloud of powdery metal. The cloud suddenly burst into flame and blinded Altered Beast enough to cause him to recoil. She unleashed orbs which struck him and knocked him to the ground with a thud. She pursued to attack, but he quickly changed into the Werebear and sprayed petrification breath onto her. She flew straight into it, only able to brake once the cloud was already upon her. The earthy mist cured into rock over her body and weighed her down. Before Beast could do more, the buzzer sounded the end of the battle.
"Good work guys!" said Abel, approaching from the sidelines. "At this stage, I'd say you guys are equivalent to hero students well into their second year of studies."
Melissa and Izuku reverted to human form. "Thanks! Say Melissa, that's quite a unique new technique you've developed," remarked Izuku, remembering that metallic cloud she had sprayed at him.
"Oh, you mean the flares?" asked Melissa.
"Yeah. I didn't know you had other metals stored away," replied Izuku.
"I didn't store it. I actually made it during battle. It's a new ability I just learned recently. I can transmute one metal into another by rearranging the atomic structure. It's the basis of my new technique, the Magnesium Flare," corrected Melissa.
"Magnesium? Yeah, that stuff burns very easily when exposed to air, very blinding, really dangerous," remarked Izuku.
"You learned new moves of your own, I see. I saw you turned into a bear, then try to spray me with gas. I avoided it the first time, but you got me the second, then it hardened into rock around my body," noted Melissa.
"Yeah. It's petrification breath. Get hit by that stuff and you're stuck in rock," said Izuku.
Abel felt a buzz filled his his head, a request for telepathic communication. "Lord Abel, there's been an incident at Hoth," reported the Wild Hunt via telepathy.
"What kind?" he asked, prompting for more information.
"We detected Yama, the lord of the underworld. He has possessed a young hero student who is on an internship and having him attack villains across the city," replied the Wild Hunt.
Hearing Yama's name stunned Abel into silence. "Did you say Yama?" asked Abel.
"Aye my lord. Yama," replied the Wild Hunt.
A look of determination formed on Abel's face. "Very well. Continue to monitor the situation. I'm calling the other Spade Mercenaries to battle," said Abel.
The Wild Hunt broke the telepathic channel, leaving Abel alone with his thoughts. Izuku and Melissa noted Abel's sudden change in demeanour upon hearing how Yama was active in Hero Society. "Master Abel, is something the matter? You look very serious," remarked Melissa.
"Yeah. I just got a message from the Wild Hunt. The demon Yama has possessed a hero student interning with a pro hero," replied Abel.
Izuku remembered that a few days ago, some of his friends in Class 1B had chosen hero names and were preparing to start internships with various hero agencies. "Was he from UA High? Some of my friends told me they were interning with pro heroes."
"I'll ask the Wild Hunt," replied Abel.
After the inquiry, Abel produced a holographic video feed of the person in question. "That's Iida!" said Izuku, shocked to see him pictured there.
"So you know him?" asked Melissa.
"Yeah. He's in Class 1A of heroics. So he's being possessed by Yama, is that right?" asked Izuku.
Abel nodded. "We kind of have personal history with this demon. If Iida is possessed, that's not good. Yama is feeding on his feelings of indignation and righteousness. Is there anything that would made Iida feel such emotions so strongly?" asked Abel.
Izuku stroked his chin as he pondered the answer to that question. "Now that I think of it, I heard on the news that the Hero Killer Stain had attacked his brother, Ingenium. Now these are Internet rumours, but people believe that Ingenium will survive, but he won't ever work again. This is the end of his career," replied Izuku.
Abel lowered his head as he stroked his chin. "I see. Iida must have been outraged and wanted vengeance against Stain. These powerful emotions would have called Yama to him. I wouldn't be surprised to find that he had killed Stain once he gained Yama's power. With him dead, he'd go on to deliver justice, or rather vengeance, upon other villains," said Abel.
"Whoa," remarked Izuku, unable to process the events as he had heard them.
"Abel, could you tell us a bit about Yama?" asked Melissa.
"Okay, you should understand why we are so especially concerned with this demon. It happened before we became the Spade Mercs, during a lockdown on the Yamanote Line back home," replied Abel
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
It was the fourth day of the Yamanote Lockdown at the heart of Tokyo. During the previous three days, demons had started to appear all over the area, attacking civilians and causing general chaos. A climate of fear started to fall over the area, but the JSDF had sealed the area and kept the chaos confined within the Yamanote Line. As the day started for Saemon, Atsuro, and Yuzu, the members of the future Spade Mercs, they consulted their comps.
These handheld devices were like small video game players with a clam shell design. Instead of games, they came loaded with a computer program which summoned demons. It also had a special function which was known as "Laplace Mail," which predicted events which would happen during the day. Its predictions for the day went like this:
Go000d MMorrrorning. Herre is today▉s NNNNN
1. At 11:00 in the Toyoshima-ku Ikebukuro underground walkway, a homicide will take place following public persecution against demon tamers. The victim will be Midori Komaki.
2. At 17:00 outside the Shibuya Station, the Self-Defense Force will fatally shoot a popular rock singer. It is suspected that this is a suicide.
3. Throughout the day, riots will increase in intensity as relations between demon tamers and civilians become increasingly strained.
4. The number of suicides increased rapidly today as all social order breaks down.
Have a n#oiaseg;oj%
Seeing that the first entry predicted the death of Midori at 11am, the Spade Mercs rushed over to the location. They found a group of people accosting Midori by an underground walkway's entrance. "You witch! You caused us so much grief, but you won't be getting away this time!" cried a furious suited Yakuza mobster.
"N... No!" gasped Midori, visibly shaken by the mobster's accusation.
"This is all your fault!" accused another mobster.
"There she is!" cried Atsuro. "We got here in just time."
"They're going to attack her. We have to stop them!" cried Yuzu.
"Chase those thugs away!" cried Saemon to his friends.
"They don't have comps, so they're not as strong as we are. We have to be careful," said Atsuro.
The angry civilians and thugs converged on Midori, who was terrified that people she had been trying to help had turned against her. Saemon closed with one of the thugs and had Jack Frost, a snowman-like demon in a blue jester's cap, blast him with ice. The gangster recoiled in terror. "They're demon tamers too! They're gonna kill us! Run!" cried the gangster.
"N... No! I have to get out of here!" blurted an office lady.
The crowd, realizing they were outmatched by the future Spade Mercs, turned and ran the other way. That was when a young boy in rectangular glasses and straight brown hair arrived from the other side of the area. "I've found you!" stated the boy.
"Is that you, Keisuke?" asked Midori.
Keisuke cast a furious scowl at the mob. "People like you are trash! Your lives are saved, then you turn on the ones who saved you. If there is no order or justice in this lock down, I will be the judge of your sins!"
"Thy voice resonates with fury. Dost thou wish to serve justice with retribution?" asked a mysterious, echoing voice.
"That voice... It's just like what happened with Kaido," remarked Yuzu as she heard the voice resound.
"Answer me, human. Dost thou desire justice?" the voice asked again, insisting on an answer.
"Yes! I want it! I want justice!" demanded the furious Keisuke.
"Then the contract is sealed. Thou hath nothing more to do than to say my name, Yama," said the voice. Yama appeared at Keisuke's side. "I am the true justice, the raging sword. This blade will pass judgment upon evil."
"Yama? I know you. You're the king of the underworld, also known as Enma," said Keisuke, who then smiled. "Excellent! There is no demon better suited to judging evildoers!"
Upon witnessing this, one of the thugs started to shiver. "Another demon tamer? This is bad!" he remarked.
"Now Yama, pass judgment on these sinners. Show them the weight of their sins!" demanded Keisuke.
"My justice be wrought in thy place," replied Yama as he advanced to attack.
Now, the thug was truly terrified and turned tail and ran as Yama ignited fires trying to kill him. "Ah! HELP!" cried the thug as he recoiled and fled from Yama's flames.
"It's too late to plead for your life. Regret your actions for all eternity in hell!" scolded Keisuke.
Atsuro grimaced at this display. "Keisuke, stop! What's gotten into you?" asked Atsuro accusingly.
"Maybe it was fate that I was caught in this lock down. Some people harm society just by existing. They don't deserve to live! Since law and order are gone, I will be the bastion of justice with Yama's power!" declared Keisuke.
"Stop it! Do you know what you're saying?" asked Atsuro.
"Even before this lock down, I felt that society was broken. Power is necessary to uphold justice and now I have it. That's the proper use of power, isn't it? Why can't you understand?" asked Keisuke.
"He's gonna kill us! We have to go the other way!" cried a terrified office lady.
"Keisuke, what happened to you?" asked Atsuro, now feeling resigned and helpless to stop his friend. "Everyone, please stop him before he becomes a murderer!"
Keisuke immediately made a beeline for the fleeing lynch mob as the future Spade Mercs came from the other direction to intercept him. He had Yama send a fireball into the crowd, who were quick enough to evade despite some members suffering light burns. Saemon was the first to reach the fanatical boy and chilled him with an ice blast. "What's the matter with you? This has gone too far!" cried Saemon.
"People are always like this. They ask for help, then forget who saved them and turn on those who helped them. People like that are scum! Their existence is a sin. They deserved to be judged! They will never, ever change their ways. If no one judges them, they'll just repeat their crimes," replied Keisuke dismissively.
Yama hurled a blast of flame at Saemon, who blocked it with a violet sheathe of magical power. His Jack Frost hurled ice back, chilling Yama and Keisuke. Saemon joined Jack Frost's attack with ice of his own. Atsuro, Yuzu, and their demons reinforced his attack and forced Keisuke back. "That's enough!" cried Atsuro.
"I hoped you of all people would understand. Next time, I won't hold back," assured Keisuke, who retreated with Yama from the battlefield.
Some demons had appeared behind the Spade Mercs, attracted by the battle between them and Keisuke. These demons, skulls with snakes coiled around them, were known as Loa. They were from Haitian mythology and acted as intermediaries between mortals and the divine. The future Spade Mercs rushed to intercept the demons as they closed with the defenceless mob. Atsuro did a three-punch combination which shattered one of the Loa and destroyed it. Yuzu blasted another with wind, dicing it to pieces and destroying it.
As Abel left his reminiscence on events past, he returned to the present, to Izuku and Melissa. "I can tell by your look that this is a very personal matter for you," remarked Melissa.
"So, your friend Keisuke went crazy and started killing people to fulfill some sense of justice?" asked Izuku. "That's crazy! That's not justice at all!"
"No. That's why we have to stop Iida before it gets worse," agreed Abel.
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
As time went on, Iida travelled to various places in Hoth and beyond in search of villains to dispense justice in Yama's deadly, fiery way. A bank's alarm suddenly started ringing as a trio of robbers fled to the streets with their ill-gotten gains. As the robbers went down the streets, a pro hero in a green cape descended upon them from the sky. One of the robbers flung sticky spider silk at him, getting him trapped in the web. Despite his best efforts, the pro hero could not break out to continue the chase.
As the robbers turned to flee, Iida had dashed in front of them and barred their route. Since becoming possessed by Yama, Iida no longer looked like the upstanding young man he once was. He had become a red-faced man with a wrathful expression permanently etched onto his face. His body seemed to radiate rage and heat in a likewise fashion, making any water around him vaporize into steam. "You have sinned, evil doers. Repent!" said Iida.
On Yama's will, a roaring flame burst around their bodies. "AAAAH!" screamed the robbers as they were instantly incinerated. They had dropped their ill-gotten loot and Iida ran away from the area, having no more business here.
He eventually reached another area of Hoth, where a group of gang members had cornered a man in a suit in an alley. They started kicking and stomping the downed suited man, who was helpless to fight off over half a dozen attackers. One of the gangsters reached into his pocket and got his wallet, then emptied it of cash. "Ha ha ha! What a haul!" said one of the gang members.
Iida appeared in the alley all of a sudden. "You have taken another person's possessions without their permission. That makes you a thief. There is only one fate for evil doers like you," he announced.
Yama appeared and set off a massive flame upon each gangster. All seven of them were burnt to ash in just seconds, no time to even use their Quirks as a defence. Iida left the suited man in the alley and found a villain with a shark head spraying water all over the street. His attacks were so powerful that the water shattered glass and sheared off the roof of a car. The innocent civilians caught in this attack fled for their lives as the villain caused chaos.
Iida approached. "You attack innocents with no remorse. Today you'll face judgment!" declared Iida, who had Yama incinerate the villain in an instant.
"Stop!" cried Midori, who landed in front of the duo. She was clad in an ivory white mask which concealed her identity and a frilly pink skirt. "What you're doing is nothing more than murder. There is no justice in going around killing every villain!"
"If you intend to stop my crusade, you are as bad as the evil doers. You too must be purged in hell fire!" declared Iida.
Yama set Midori on fire, but to his surprise, Midori had absorbed the flames and became rejuvenated by them. "This insane crusade has gone far enough. It's time for magical punishment!" declared Midori.
She called for a pillar of golden light to strike Yama. In an instant, the lord of the underworld had been seared to nothingness, leaving behind no trace of his existence. With his influence over Iida broken, Iida collapsed and lay unconscious on the ground. Midori's job was done and she retreated to the Domain to report on her success. The police and pro hero allies converged on the area and quickly had Iida placed in restraints as he could still be very dangerous. However, he remained unconscious the whole time and did not wake up.
After the incident, Iida had been incarcerated at a juvenile detention hall for his role in the murders of the villains. Ochako, Kirishima, and Kaminari had arrived at the location and were taken to a booth whose sides were separated by reinforced plastic. Kirishima picked up the receiver to a phone to talk to Iida, who was on the other side in restraints. "What happened man? How could you go crazy like that? That just isn't like you!" said Kirishima.
"No, it is. I got an internship with Manual just to get revenge on Stain. When Enma offered me a chance at vengeance, I pounced on it. You know what they say about making a deal with the devil... That is exactly what I did, and look at me now," replied Iida, his head lowered.
"What a bummer!" remarked Kaminari, frowning at the thought.
"Enma offered your vengeance?" asked Ochako.
"Yes. He appeared to me while Stain had me pinned to the ground," replied Iida. "That was when he offered me a chance to repay Stain for what he did to my brother."
"That's really strange. A god shows up and just gives you a new Quirk?" asked Kirishima. "I don't remember you ever having the ability to use fire."
"What happens now?" asked Ochako.
"I'll be stuck here for a while. I've been charged with vigilantism, illegal Quirk usage, and manslaughter. I've been suspended from UA and Manual got a heavy fine for what I did. He's probably furious with me," replied Iida. "Most of all, I let down my brother. I'm sure he wanted to see my graduation from his alma mater and joining him at our family's agency."
"There's still hope. You did wrong, but you can make it up in the future. You can still try for your licence once you're free," said Ochako.
"Thank you, Uraraka. You've lifted my spirits. Until then, I'll have to finish my sentence in juvie," said Iida.
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
The next night, Abel had gathered the demon hunters of the Foundation for a talk. "I wish to open this meeting by congratulating everyone on making it through a year of training with us. It was tough and gruelling, but you've made it," said Abel.
"It sure was, but I've learned so much. It's opened up a whole new world to me!" said Melissa with a smile.
"I get to be a hero, fighting to protect the world from demons instead of villains. It's what I always wanted!" said Izuku with a smile.
"Demons are kind of like villains, even though they're not human," said Melissa.
"I failed in high school, but here I am, being the hero I've always wanted to be, fighting demons in the darkest recesses of the world to keep people safe," said Danjuro.
"Here I am with my Danjuro, helping him as always," said Manami with a smile.
"It's not traditional hero work, but at least I can keep people safe from the demons," said Kashiko.
"I'll say it again. You are equivalent to second year students from UA at the very least. Some of you are even greater than that due to more practical experience. We can start sending you out on the occasional patrol, instead of just specific missions. You can think of this as your equivalent of the students' work studies. Do note that you must remain discreet and stealthy," said Abel.
"That's great! When do we start?" asked Izuku.
"Tomorrow night. You'll pair off into teams. Izuku, Melissa, you're going first tomorrow with Kashiko on support. Danjuro and Manami will go the next day," replied Abel.
The following night, Altered Beast and Metal Gear left the park and ventured into the wider city on a patrol of its streets, nooks, and crannies. "It's so wonderful to be able to fly!" said Altered Beast as the Garuda.
"Flying is the most efficient method of travel," said Metal Gear. Suddenly, she detected a strong supernatural presence, a hunger and joy at having discovered prey. "Sensors detect a demon below."
"Let's go check it out," replied Altered Beast.
The duo descended into an alley somewhere in the west side of Mustafar and found a blond man with a scar running down his forehead. He had been accosted by a demon resembling a red leopard man clad in a black cuirass with a pair of structures jutting from the back which resembled exhaust pipes or smokestacks. Its head was attached to the centre of its chest rather than on top of it. The duo recognized this demon as Flauros, a member of the Fallen family, angels who fell and were altered by Chaos.
"Stay back!" cried the man. "Come and get me, punk!" the man cried, contrary to his previous words.
Beast descended and conjured a tornado over the Flauros. The demon was trapped and spun around while suspended in the air. Left vulnerable, Metal Gear exploited its predicament by pummelling the demon with bullets. Although its body was riddled with them, Flauros did not fall. It busted out of the funnel and upon landing, turned to confront his new attackers. It sprayed flame from its mouth, which they avoided by ascending.
Flauros moved its breath to compensate and they kept ascending to keep distance. Once at the roof, they went opposite directions to throw it off. Flauros decided to pursue Altered Beast and leapt back and forth between the buildings to reach the rooftops. Altered Beast landed on a roof and changed into the Werewolf to meet him. From another rooftop, Metal Gear fired bullets which Flauros evaded. Flauros then retorted by spitting out fireballs. Metal Gear manoeuvred around them, until one came right at her, forcing her to raise a heater shield to take the hit.
Altered Beast flew in with a Lunar Kick, but Flauros was a step quicker and sprayed him with fire. He got hurled to the ground in flames, but after rolling around, he had snuffed them. Metal Gear created a cloud of magnesium, which quickly ignited into bright fire, blinding Flauros. Beast launched into a Lunar Kick, pulverizing Flauros' chest and killing it instantly. The wounds Beast had suffered had fully regenerated, returning his condition to how it was before he had been struck.
The duo rushed to check on the innocent man, who was clutching his head in agony. "Please state your condition," requested Metal Gear.
"No! The voices won't stop screaming at me!" replied the man. "Yes, I'm okay!" he replied confidently.
"He looks terrible. Did the Flauros do something to his mind?" asked Altered Beast.
"Standard procedure is to evacuate him to the clinic. He requires medical assistance," stated Metal Gear.
The duo flew the man to the clinic, where they brought him to an unused room with a bed. Later on, a doctor, actually the bird-like Caladrius in disguise, examined the man. "Hello, I'm Dr. Cal. I'll be examining you. You're Jin Bubaigawara I presume?" asked Caladrius.
"That's right. Please doctor, get those voices out of my head!" pleaded the man. "There's nothing wrong with me, doctor. Why the hell am I here?" asked the man in annoyance.
"It seems your Quirk is part of the reason why you're hearing those voices. We have a solution, but my boss would like to discuss it with you first. Is that okay?" asked Caladrius.
"I'll hear him out," replied Jin. "No, get away from me!"
Abel entered the room as Caladrius went out to allow him to speak. "Greetings. They call me the Immortal Stranger. In order to silence those voices, the best solution would be to remove your Quirk. However, I have another proposal for you. If you come work for my organization, I could grant you a new power. Would you like to do so?" asked Abel.
Jin pondered Abel's offer. He had the Quirk Double, which allowed him to make an exact copy of anything he touched. Jin could also make more clones from existing doubles, though clones grew progressively weaker the further down the chain they were. His Double Quirk was great for creating a personal work force and army, but since they also inherited his personality, they resented being made slaves the same way he did. After a massive brawl broke out among his clones, Jin started to question if he was the real one. That was when the voices started to speak to him.
Jin knew that being broke and unemployed, he needed a stable job to make ends meet. After a series of unfortunate incidents which got him fired from various jobs, he was left with no other alternative but to resort to crime, using Double as his personal thieving ring. Now, he had an offer of employment from the Atma Foundation. "What does your organization do?" asked Jin. "I'll bet it's something shady!" said his alternate personality.
"Our organization helps those infected by Atma achieve some semblance of a normal life. Those infected have the ability to transform into demons, but need our support to maintain their sanity. Without it, they're liable to go berserk and turn to cannibalism to survive. We also deal with matters supernatural and check demons which weren't created by Atma," replied Abel.
"Are we like cops to the supernatural?" asked Jin. "I knew it! It IS something shady!" cried his alternate personality.
"You could think of it that way," replied Abel.
"What was that thing that attacked me?" asked Jin. "It was not there to make friends at all," said his alternate personality.
"That was a Flauros, a kind of demon. It wanted to terrorize you so that you would be more filling when it killed you. Demons feed on emotions like fear, so if you want to work for us, you must keep our activities secret," replied Abel. "I do warn you that we may be called to kill Atma infectees who choose to cannibalize others and spread the disease without regard for others. You can think of us as vampire and werewolf hunters."
"Okay, I'm in," replied Jin. "No! I don't want to be bitten by a vampire!" said his other personality.
"Once you get your new powers, you'll become immune to the virus. Being bitten will still hurt, of course, but becoming a vampire isn't something you'll need to be concerned about," replied Abel.
END OF CHAPTER