Light...
It was a way to describe how he felt upon waking up after that last glance around. The cold, hard floor welcomed him to an unknown situation.
Déjà vu, he thought, although that didn't mean it was okay. He kept his eyes closed for a few more seconds, listening intently to everything around him.
Capturing as much information as possible was crucial.
The room was spacious; the echoes of conversations and whispers could be clearly distinguished.
Discreetly, he tensed his wrists slightly, feeling the metal against his skin.
He was handcuffed...
"Hmm! Don't try to pretend, I know you're awake," a small sigh escaped the green-haired girl's lips upon being discovered.
Without further ado, he opened his eyelids.
A terrifying face, or at least a failed attempt at being one, crossed Izuku's mind for a moment.
A pair of dark yellow eyes, almost golden, seemed to pierce through his skull, as if seeking to unravel his deepest thoughts. The woman's hands, planted on her hips, attempted to establish a dominance that was frankly unconvincing. However, he preferred that to the alternative of being dead.
"Well?" she asked, her shoe tapping insistently on the floor, a rhythm that only heightened the tension in the room.
Izuku, for his part, limited himself to observing his surroundings. He saw several soldiers in white uniforms, armed with high-caliber weapons, a strange symbol on the left side of their chests, ready to act at a moment's notice. His mind began to plot possible escape routes.
"I'm talking to you!" the young woman insisted, her voice laced with frustration.
His attention returned to her, caught between confusion and fear.
"... Where am I?" was all he managed to articulate.
"Oh? You don't know? Wow, you're quite cynical!" she replied, her tone mixing disbelief and mockery. Izuku didn't understand in what way he was being cynical; he just wanted answers.
"Ugh! Tell me! Who sent you? Any family? The church? The clock tower?" The mention of the clock tower added a hint of fear.
Despite his silence, Izuku felt completely lost.
"No... The clock tower would have sent a letter, and besides, you're dirty," the girl murmured, as if the revelation were a reality check.
Yes, he was dirty, but that was a consequence of the previous fight before being transported to this place. That reflection pulled him out of his "momentary state of understanding." He looked at his chest, noticing he was completely intact, and a disturbing feeling began to nest in his mind.
It was as if his health and current state were anomalous, as if something didn't fit.
"Ugh! This is too much! You're not going to ruin anything! Do you hear me? Whoever you are, I'll investigate later, and you'll be punished for trying to meddle in my life!" The young woman kept her back straight, her determination overflowing in every word.
Her attempt to impose herself was undoubtedly quite ineffective, but deep down, Izuku could feel there was more to her than met the eye.
As the two maintained an intense stare-down, a sudden coughing fit interrupted the tense atmosphere.
"Mmph!" The young woman diverted her attention to the newcomer.
A well-dressed, almost "retro"-looking man entered the room. His formal and confident demeanor filled the space immediately.
"Lev!" the woman exclaimed, recognizing him instantly, her voice softening.
"I'm sorry, Marie... I was informed that there was an unwanted guest," the man replied, his tone indicating professionalism.
"Mph! Definitely. We found him outside, in the snow, unconscious. Apparently, he underestimated the cold of Antarctica," her mocking tone was unmistakable.
However, what left Izuku frozen was the woman's revelation.
"Did she just say... Antarctica?" His throat went dry as his gaze drifted into nothingness.
No... how was that possible? How had he traveled from Japan to Antarctica?
"That light! That blue tunnel! It must have been that."
"Hmmm, I don't think he's someone from the clock tower. We haven't committed any offense," Lev murmured, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe not directly, but it could be some family. Perhaps they wanted to know about Sheba, my father's research..." Olga displayed her nervousness again.
"Either way, the important thing is that you've captured him, but for now, we can't do much. The mission is about to begin," Lev said in a low, almost conspiratorial tone.
Olga seemed to quickly grasp that they could not delay the matter any longer.
"Keep an eye on him! Don't hesitate to... hurt him if necessary." The woman shot one last glance at the green-haired boy before leaving with the man.
Izuku, for his part, lowered his gaze, trying to find some explanation for all this madness.
Minutes passed, and he could still feel the guards' eyes on him. Anxiety consumed him, trapped in a place as strange as Antarctica, in the midst of a building that defied all logic.
Despite being verbally assaulted, Izuku didn't feel real danger from the young woman. She didn't seem like a bad person, but he couldn't trust a hasty judgment.
After a few moments of reflection, he decided to move.
"Hey! What are you doing? Sit down!" one of the guards approached quickly while the other aimed his weapon.
Izuku remained standing, disobeying.
"I told you to sit down!" The guard, ready to hit him with the butt of his gun, didn't expect the next move.
Izuku executed a swift spinning kick, impacting the adversary's face.
The other guard prepared to shoot, but a dark energy grabbed his foot, pulling him to the ground.
"You!" the first guard tried to regain control, but a knee to the face slammed him against the wall, leaving him unconscious.
Izuku broke his handcuffs and headed for the man trying to communicate via radio. A quick strike to the neck interrupted the communication.
"I'm sorry..." Izuku apologized with a grimace before leaving the room.
Running through the hallways, he sought the source of the problem. Desperation grew within him until a buzzing in his mind alerted him.
His danger sensor had been activated.
He stopped, searching for the source of the danger, but upon finding himself alone, he frowned.
"Where?" he asked into the air, just before feeling a sharp pain in his head.
"Fire... Debris... An explosion?" Izuku's eyes opened disoriented, surprised.
"What was that?" he wondered, feeling the persistent buzzing as he searched for its origin.
Guided by the increasing intensity, he arrived at an elevator.
Silently, Izuku analyzed his body, noticing that although his clothes were almost destroyed, his body was in perfect condition. He still bore his scars, but the previous wounds were healed.
"Did someone use a quirk? No... neither of us had the energy to use our quirks... Where have I ended up?" He slapped his cheeks, putting the questions aside as he prepared to face the impending danger.
The elevator stopped, and the doors opened.
At full speed, Izuku ran as his danger sensor went haywire. There was no doubt, it was here. It was as if...
There was a bomb about to detonate!
"Eh? Who is he?" one of the technicians asked while looking at his computer.
"A prospect? I thought they were all...
"Hey! What's he doing?" Everyone watched the stranger run toward the Ray Shift capsules.
"Stop him!" Izuku shouted.
Olga's eyes widened at the sound of his voice.
"What? What the hell are you doing here?!" Olga, furious, approached Izuku. "You! How did you escape your confinement? Answer! What did you do to the guards?"
Izuku was alarmed to see the woman pointing at him, a dangerous glow emanating from her finger.
"Listen to me! This place is going to explode!"
"What?! What did you just say?! What nonsense are you talking about?!" Surprise flooded Olga upon hearing such a claim.
"It's not nonsense! You're in a big...! AGH!" Izuku groaned as the danger sensor intensified.
There was no time left!
Olga wanted to retort, but her eyes widened as Izuku tackled her, enveloping them in a dome of dark energy.
A second later... hell broke loose.
To be continued...