All right! Here we are, the next arc of All For Luz – Season 2! I won't pull up the next opening and ending yet. That will happen once we get to the halfway point of this arc. Why? Technically speaking, this is considered a "bridge arc" and not a whole arc. This means, yes, dealing with The Order won't be some big, massive ordeal. Luz is far beyond any of them in power now. To have any fights with them be long and drawn out would just be padding for padding's sake.
I know some people won't like that, but as much as I want to draw this out, I do have to pick up the pace. I want to at least get to The Boiling Isles before 2025. That's where all the fun stuff will happen.
Now that I thought about it… technically, the first two seasons have been a massive prelude… Hmm…. Oh well, doesn't matter now. Oh, and just a fair warning! There is going to be a lot of Spanish in this chapter. So, if I were you, I would open DeepL Translate in a separate tab. Either that or wait till the end notes for the translations.
Anyway, enough of my yapping. I know what everyone is here for. So, let's get straight into the chapter!
After the opening! Lol.
[Opening Song: Bokurano – By Eve]
*The scene opens with the strumming of a guitar in a slow, methodical rhythm, as Luz–dressed in a white bodysuit with a red cape attached to her back, kind of like a hero costume you'd see from a comic book, with her back facing the camera–slowly rises in a void of darkness, a bright white light in front of her; all the while a quiet choir-like voice hums alongside the strumming of the guitar. Luz looks over her shoulder, a lone brown eye looking back at the camera before it zooms in on her eye as the beat drops.*
*The drums kick in, continuing the same beat before, but this time more intense alongside an electric guitar. The camera zooms past her shoulder and into the bright light, as a cityscape looms underneath, the title of the story appearing once again, "The Owl House - All For Luz" appears, with the Japanese Kanji "フクロウの家 -すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in smaller font. This time, there's a large bright yellow 2 next to both English and Japanese.*
*The guitar riffs, causing the scene to change to the same Luz from the beginning standing atop a building, overlooking the city of Waterbury with a solemn yet hopeful expression on her face. She takes in the scenery around her, a smile taking up her visage as a hand touches her shoulder. She turns around and sees Julia, who is also wearing a costume consisting of a white shirt, a large pink feather coat over her shoulders, a purple corset, brown shorts and sandals, along with red goggles on her forehead. Next to her is an older black-haired woman in a skintight futuristic suit with purple streaks going through it, resting an elbow on Julia's shoulder. Luz smiles, before walking over to them as a disembodied voice sings this opening's song*
"A world that's lacking black and white"
"Where sorrow kills us deep inside"
"I cannot stop myself from falling to the other side again"
"So, are you waiting?"
*The scene changes to two young boys running through a forest, both with white hair. One has red eyes, the other has green eyes. The boy with green eyes has the red-eyed boy by the wrist, both dressed in rags as they're running down the forest to an open clearing at the edge of a mountain. The boy with red eyes has a worried look on his face before the green-eyed boy lets go, getting to the edge of the cliff before turning around, looking at the red-eyed boy, smiling with both his hands behind his back.*
*The red-eyed boy relaxes, calmly walking toward the boy, an honest, caring smile on his face, reaching out to the boy as the scene changes. The boy looks older, a horrified look on his face (the boy was Yoichi) and the red-eyed boy (All For One) reaches out toward him, that same concern as before as the city of Tokyo is in the middle of a burning battle. The scene glitches out to Luz, in her hero costume in Waterbury, where it looks like a large battle had taken place, stumbling forward with blood on her hands as she looks down at said hands, panic and horror in her eyes as a ghost of All For One appears over her shoulder, a reassuring hand on her shoulder, all the while the disembodied voice continues to sing*
"Decayed, we break and stumble while reaching for the light"
"Is there somewhere to search and find?"
"A reason to keep up the lie?"
"When misery will block the way, never cry"
"'Cause I'm by your side through all the hurting!"
*The beat reaches a crescendo, then drops as Luz stands up, the spirit of All For One disappearing as a vengeful look appears in Luz's eye, red sparks burst around her, dashing forward toward a shadowy group of villains, rearing back a punch to gut check the first one. Julia swings in from out of nowhere, wrapping up one of the villains in string, and swinging them away into a nearby building. Hunter appears next to Luz, generating a light sword, helping her fight the same villain she's attacking, as an older-looking woman in her mid-20s (Riley) lunges at a taller villain with a purple smog Quirk, her eyes bursting with explosive energy.*
"Take every single bitter feeling"
"That the future we are reaching…"
"I want to hold you forever through everything…!"
"Break away, 'cause that's a hero!"
*The scene cuts to a different scene with Vee (in her human form) alongside Camila fighting off a witch(Millie) inside a large penthouse in the human realm who wears the Elite Emperor Coven garb, each taking turns attacking the witch, Camila using a sword on her hip, and Vee shape-shifting their arm into a large mace, both of them missing their attacks, allowing the witch leap back, create distance between them, and to create a magic circle and blast off a fire spell, which acts as a transition for the next scene all the while the voice continues the song*
"Take every prayer repeating,"
"Hold dear to every meaning…"
"My broken body will carry onward through the dark!"
"I'll fly to where you are!"
*The scene changes to Luz standing in front of a blue portal of some kind, a shattered vial of *something* next to her as she looks to her left. The ghost of All for One stands next to her, offering her his hand. For a moment, she looks hesitant, before she takes it. The two glitch out, replaced by shadowy versions of Caleb and Philip, then those two glitch out to be replaced with a menacing All For One, before Luz and the ghost of All For One appears again, as they step through the portal to a place entirely unknown, but not before Luz looks over her shoulder once again, her eye now red, and a smirk on her face, with the opening coming to an end as the disembodied voice finishes the song.*
"Crying out!"
"A heart that reflects the words of the love it found!"
"Never doubting any step…!"
"We'll rise up to see a new end, once again!"
*The beat of the song reaches a crescendo again, before closing out with a final riff, as the portal vanishes–closing in on itself–revealing a familiar cabin in the woods, as the light of the moon shines down on it with an ominous eerie glow.*
[All For One Rising – Part 1]
The sound of a heart monitor beeping filled Luz's ears as she sat next to Emelia's bed, holding her hand as she breathed through a respirator. Bloodied bandages covered her chest down to the middle of her torso. Meanwhile, Camila was sitting across the room, resting from having used Repair for the fifth time in a row.
Luz admitted she was confused about why she had rested as often as she had. But then, of course, she reminded herself that her mother wasn't exactly as young as she was and that she had less stamina than her. Ergo, it made sense that she wasn't prepared to have used Repair so much in such a short time.
"How are you fairing?" Luz asked, her tone of voice sharp but still filled with concern." Emelia wheezed, staring up at the ceiling. Pain and betrayal filled her eyes as she coughed, specks of blood staining the respirator. She was still bleeding internally. "Shit…"
"A little better…" Emelia rasped. "I don't get it… why? I… I thought we were allies…? So why…" Emelia trailed off as Camila shook her head.
"No. That doesn't make sense. Riley especially. Something's going on here. Hunter, on the other hand… I don't care about that. Hunter is evil. I knew something was off about him when I met him. I didn't know what it was, but now I know. He had the eyes of a criminal. A hardened one, at that…" Camila said, frowning.
"I saw the look on Riley's face," Luz muttered, her right hand clenching into a fist. "She looked just as shocked as everyone else was. She might've been working with Hunter, but it most likely wasn't willingly. Or, if she is working with him willingly, maybe she was beginning to have doubts."
"No offence, Luz, but that's surprisingly level-headed for you…. Especially as of late," Emelia joked before coughing again, followed by a strained breath. "Ow…"
"Don't strain yourself by talking," Luz said before frowning at her mother. "I want you to get Vee and bring her here. I'm going to go deal with The Order."
"Mija—"
"Mom," Luz interrupted as she stood up, crossing her arms. "I know I said I would take a break—and I will. I… I need one, anyway," Luz trailed off, looking over to the side before clearing her throat and turning her attention back to her mother. "But, for starters, I want to try out Dust. What better way than a bunch of Nazis?"
"Mija… I can't believe I'm even saying this, but you have to stop killing the bad guys," Camila said as Luz sighed.
"Yeah, um, no," Luz stated bluntly. "Vermin are vermin. I don't care what their backstories are or if they're supposed to be sympathetic. I've seen what evil can do. We've all seen it. Hell, prime example right here," Luz gestured to Emelia, who frowned.
"I don't like being an example."
"Oh well," Luz replied jokingly before glancing back at Camila. "So unless you want to tell me that we should be letting people like those freaks go…?"
"Okay, I get it," Camila said, admitting defeat as she pinched the bridge of her nose. A disappointed sigh slipped through as she shook her head. "I'm… I'm just worried about you, Luz. Like I said, you're changing. This can't keep happening. I—"
"Ya know, it's partly your fault, right?" Luz interrupted as Camila snapped to attention, looking at Luz with wide eyes.
"Mija… What are you—"
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it is your fault," Luz clarified, putting her hands up defensively. "But… What happened with Amber—ya know, the whole catalyst for all of this—it wouldn't have happened if you weren't too busy being drunk all the time."
Camila scowled. "Mija, Eso no es justo, y lo sabes." Luz frowned. She looked over to Emelia, who raised an eyebrow. Good, she didn't understand Spanish. She guessed that if they were going to have this conversation, it would be better if Emelia didn't understand what they were saying.
"Sé que no es," Luz began as she uncrossed her arms, adjusting her weight to one side of her as her frown lessened. "Dicho esto, no me importa si crees que es justo o no. Llevo meses queriendo tener esta charla contigo. Supongo que ahora es probablemente el único momento real en que podemos tenerla. Ya sabes, antes de que nos enterremos en lo que probablemente serán más de un millón de controversias diferentes."
Camila raised an eyebrow, both annoyance and curiosity forming in her eyes. "¿Tiene que ser aquí?"
"Sí, mamá. Porque después de que termine con La Orden, tendré una conferencia con los otros dos Equipos de Héroes. ¿Recuerdas?" Luz said as Camila nodded.
"Cierto. Lo había olvidado."
"Um… what are you guys talking about?" Emelia asked as Luz brushed her off, effortlessly switching from Spanish to English. Being bilingual had its perks.
"It's not important to you. Okay? It's… a familial dispute, all right?" Luz said as Emelia frowned, looking over to Camila, who nodded. With a lazy shrug, Emelia sighed.
"Whatever then. But if you guys can take it out into the hallway, then I'm going to try and get some rest… Maybe the pain will subside after a nap…" Emelia said as she closed her eyes. Luz looked at Camila before gesturing for her to follow. Camila did, albeit reluctantly. Luz understood why.
Technically speaking, Emelia was her mother's patient. Even if she wasn't an animal, Camila was still a doctor. That, and it wasn't like Repair only worked on Animals. One didn't need a human medical license to have a power that heals others.
Once they stepped out into the hallway and made it somewhere so that they didn't disturb other people—that being the courtyard—Luz turned to look at Camila, who crossed her arms. "English or Spanish?" Camila asked as Luz shrugged.
"Whichever you feel more comfortable with. This is a serious topic. Personally, I'd rather not have other people know what we're talking about, especially considering how serious the matter is," Luz replied as Camila hummed.
"Spanish it is," Camila said, clearing her throat. "Ahora, ¿de qué se trata? Si se trata de lo que te dije entonces—"
"No, mamá. No lo es," Luz interrupted as Camila blinked, caught a bit off guard. "Aunque todavía te odio por lo que dijiste entonces, y aunque no creo que pueda volver a mirarte de la misma manera, estoy más que dispuesta a intentar dejar eso atrás."
"Mija…"
"Sin embargo, guarda cierta relación con ella," Luz continued as Camila frowned. Before she could say anything, though, Luz continued. "Voy a salirme un poco por la tangente, así que por favor no me interrumpan. Se lo advierto ahora. Tengo mucho que decir y poco tiempo para hacerlo. Quiero que me prometas que, diga lo que diga, no me interrumpirás. ¿De acuerdo, mamá?"
Camila inhaled sharply before exhaling. "Vale. Lo prometo."
"Gracias," Luz said, closing her eyes. She calmed her slowly beating heart, not wanting to make her mother angry. She had a lot of complicated emotions regarding her. Many of those emotions stemmed from the incident the day before that nightmare hell camp, but also before that.
That said, she didn't want to just… unload on her. That wasn't fair to her. Not even remotely. If she was far more petty and… also, if this was a month ago, then maybe. Maybe she would've been rude about it. But, frankly? She was too exhausted emotionally to get angry. So much had already happened within the last 48 hours.
She really needed to rest. But that could wait until she had at least a moment of peace. Taking in a deep breath, Luz opened her eyes and exhaled.
"Sigues diciendo que he cambiado. Lo he hecho. No estoy ciego a eso. Todo el mundo cambia, sobre todo si las circunstancias provocan ese cambio, para bien o para mal. Pero si quieres hablar de cambio, ¿por qué no te miras a ti mismo? Desde que papá murió, te has convertido en un desastre borracho e inestable."
Luz paused, judging Camila's reaction. She noted the flair of anger that crept up in her expression, but she quickly calmed down. She already knew what she wanted to say and capitalized on that.
"Sé que has estado intentando trabajar en ello. Te lo agradezco. De verdad que lo aprecio. Pero es demasiado poco, demasiado tarde. Cualquier daño que pudieras haber hecho ya estaba hecho," Luz paused again, a bit of anxiety starting to well up in her chest. Even with all of the power in the world, there were just some things you couldn't overcome. You couldn't ignore it with immense power and strength.
Confronting one's own mother had to be at the top of that list. She had no idea why she was feeling that way. Maybe… maybe she really did feel more than just a little uncomfortable around her mother. It wasn't as if she feared her… right? Why would she, the inheriter of All For One, feel fear compared to what was essentially an insect?
Camila stared at her, arms crossed, her expression unchanging. She could see the annoyance in her eyes, the hint of frustration. She was mad.
Luz hated it when Camila was mad.
She had to get to the point.
"Mira. Lo que estoy tratando de decir, es que... te quiero. Te quiero de verdad. Te quiero, porque eres mi madre. Pero yo sólo... No puedo ignorar y pretender seguir adelante con todo el dolor que me causaste. No lo endulzaré. No puedo endulzarlo. Tú... puede que no lo hayas recordado. Nunca lo haces. Pero tú... Cuando te emborrachas... Te vuelves horrible. Despreciable, incluso."
"Dices las peores cosas. Me has degradado, me has hecho sentir menos que humano a veces... Me culpas por lo que le pasó a papá. Tú... Me amenazaste algunas veces, también... Pero nunca cumpliste esas amenazas. Sólo el día antes del campamento de verano hiciste algo. I... No pensé que lo harías. ... I..." Luz paused once again, her voice starting to become a little shaky.
"Abusaste de mí. Mamá. Era malo. Lo peor era que nunca sabías lo que estaba pasando. A la mañana siguiente te despertabas con resaca y no recordabas nada. ¡Era como si fueras una persona completamente diferente!" As Luz continued, frustration began to boil over into her voice.
Camila simply stared at her, shock slowly taking up her visage as she uncrossed her arms, uselessly draping to the side as she stared at Luz. But, before she could say anything, Luz continued.
"Ninguna disculpa puede ni podrá compensar lo que me hiciste mientras crecía. Nada puede. Por eso... por eso quiero dejar todo esto atrás. No voy a ignorarlo. No puedo ignorarlo. No importa cuánto quiera ignorarlo, no puedo. Eso es lo que he estado haciendo. Es por eso que he estado tan ... enojado, a falta de una palabra mejor. He estado ignorando mis sentimientos sobre lo que pasó. Empujándolos hacia abajo. Tratando de superarlos sin usar mi cabeza. Pensaba que lo estaba haciendo bien. Pensé que no necesitaba que nadie me ayudara. Pensé que si tenía a Julia a mi lado, no tendría que enfrentarme al demonio dentro de mi cabeza. Pero ... Supongo que estaba equivocado, ¿no?"
Luz could feel herself shake. Her skin was breaking out into goosebumps, and she hadn't realized it, but she had shrunk entirely into herself. She was grasping onto her arms for support, her eyes watering as they began to flash red. She was getting emotional. She was letting her own words get to her.
"Mija… Luz, look at me," Camila said in English as Luz looked up at her but primarily out of reflex. Camila slowly approached her before putting a hand on her shoulder. Luz recoiled, vulnerable. She felt exposed. She hated it. She hated this. Why did she think that this was a good idea?
"Luz. Look at me, please?" Camila said concern in her voice as Luz refused to meet her eyes. She couldn't. She didn't want to see what was there. She was afraid. She shouldn't be scared—she had no reason to be afraid, yet here she was. Cowering underneath her mother's gaze. Instinctively, she knew that her mother wasn't mad at her.
But that didn't change how the irrational side of her thought.
"All right. If you don't want to look at me, that's fine," Camila reassured, letting go of Luz's shoulder. "I… you're right. No amount of apologies could change or fix what I did… I'm still coming to terms with my actions as it is. But… I didn't know it was that bad. I mean it. I never knew because… Because I don't think my mind works the same way most people's do."
Luz finally glanced up at Camila, who continued. "It's not an excuse. I'm fairly certain that I have some kind of mental illness that triggers whenever I consume too much alcohol. It's why I have tried to stretch myself away from it. To distance myself from it. It's working, but it will take a long time before it fully disappears."
Camila paused for a moment. Looking over her shoulder, she spotted Dr. Rodriguez standing in the doorway before looking back over to Luz. "We can continue this conversation at another time if you want to. Dr. Rodriquez is here."
Luz nodded, inhaling and exhaling, calming herself with a shaky breath. She looked over to Dr. Rodriquez, who motioned her to follow him. She glanced at her mother before following Dr. Rodriquez wherever he wanted her to be. She couldn't help but shake the feeling that something bad happened.
She just hoped that it wasn't anything terrible.
[XXXX]
"WHAT?!"
Adrian shrank into himself as Luz glared daggers at him. He had feared that something like this would happen, but he didn't expect it to have happened this quickly. Currently, they are in the laboratory built underneath the hospital. Several test tubes filled with other Nomu's were waiting to be awoken nearby, and the one Mr. Silent had been in was being refilled with his remains.
"I know it was a disastrous failure. But—"
"But nothing, Rogers!" Luz interrupted, grabbing him by the collar and forcing him to make eye contact with her. Angry red eyes met Adrian's more than a little terrified blue eyes. "This is far more than a simple failure. You were right to call it disastrous, especially because it got one of the senators killed!"
Luz threw Adrian to the floor before looking at Dr. Rodriquez, who flinched at her gaze. "And you! Did you ever think that, perhaps, letting me know what you were doing ever crossed your mind?! You know, just in case something like this happened!?"
"W-With all due respect, Luzura, we didn't want anyone to think that you were tied to the project," one of the other scientists spoke up as Luz inhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of her nose. She supposed that they had a point. However, that still didn't mean she would've approved of this.
"Mr. Silent was not ready to be tested. Plain and simple. It takes at least three weeks for a Nomu to be fully incubated. Otherwise, their minds will slowly begin to revert out of their programming. Thankfully, Mr. Silent can still be salvaged. What about Lady, Rampage, and Doberman? You didn't send them out, did you?" Luz said, aggravation in her voice as Adrian cleared his throat.
"N-No… No, we didn't. Those three still have two weeks until they are ready… Although, I don't know why you wanted to use those guys as bases. Why? I thought you said you wanted them to… You know, be left alone and have the families decide what to do with them. That, and there was barely anything left of Rampage's base. We had to stitch together what we could and… well, use other bodies to make up the rest of his body." As Adrian said that, Luz scoffed.
"Yeah, well, two of them were orphans. You already paid that orphanage off, so it doesn't matter. As for Lady… Well, frankly speaking, after talking to her family myself, they said they didn't care. That, and I lied, saying that she had a special kind of tissue in her body that we could use to develop a cure for cancer. So that's what they think we're using her body for," Luz said as Adrian paled.
"Are you… are you even listening to yourself, Luz? That sounds psychotic!" Adrian said as Luz shrugged.
"She shouldn't have been on the same team that murdered my friends. Otherwise, I would've cared. Besides… that bitch more than deserves this fate. A final "fuck you" from one of her victims," Luz said, a callous smirk taking up her visage as she looked over her shoulder and at the test tubes filled with the other three Nomu.
At first, she was completely against these things and their creation. However, credit where credit was due. Shigaraki made a convincing argument a few days after discussing the pros and cons. They were soldiers that could be used for whatever purpose was needed of them. That, and because they were already dead, the only moral problem to get over was whether or not the families were okay.
That was nothing a little lying couldn't fix, as was demonstrated with the Stirwell family. Oh, their daughter would prove helpful, all right, just not in the way that they were thinking. Especially because now, she had an idea of what she was going to do with these guys.
"Make sure those three are ready to be used in two weeks. Once I deal with The Order, get done with that conference, and finally address what's happened the last two days, I'm going to be charging full speed ahead to the people who not only killed Julia but maimed and nearly killed Emelia," Luz said as Adrian blinked, confusion taking up his visage.
"Wait… Flamingo is dead?" Adrian asked as Luz frowned.
"You clearly don't pay attention, do you?" Luz remarked before sighing. "Yes. A villain killed her in action. I killed him, in any case. But, he works with a group, and that much was established when Brightburn and Bombra were revealed to be spies who worked with that group and when Brightburn attacked and nearly killed Emelia. However, I have reason to suspect that Bombra was coerced or otherwise threatened to do so."
"But… how are you going to deal with The Order? We still don't know where they are!" Dr. Rodriquez said as Luz smirked.
"Until today. I know where they are, and now that I know where they are…" As Luz said that, her right hand began to glow with a purple, sickly aura as a wicked gleam took root in her eyes. "They won't be hiding for very long."
The way her eyes glowed with that unrelenting, untethered malice made Adrian feel sick to his core. There was something profoundly wrong about Luz now. Before, he could ignore the odd comments and the outbursts. Those were normal. He had attributed it to the ramblings and the frustrated musings of someone who was not mentally well.
He knew that she had suffered a great deal at that camp, even if it was only for a limited amount of time. Trauma was trauma, and there was no moving past that. Not without years of therapy, even for the most mundane forms of it.
Realistically speaking, he should have sent her to therapy first and foremost before ever proposing the idea of her becoming a hero. Now, it was obvious she had reached some form of "critical mass" version of whatever she had been going through, no thanks to what apparently happened to Flamingo and Beholder.
"Luz… I don't know what you're thinking, but maybe you should step back and let someone else handle it. Has Flamingo's body even been buried yet? Maybe you should—"
"I'm not waiting any longer than I have to," Luz interrupted, looking over her shoulder at Adrian, who clenched his jaw. There was a dark look in her eyes. Nothing but death lurked within them. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bunch of rats to go clean out of the sewers."
And just like that, she left the laboratory.
"Governor…" Dr. Rodriquez muttered as Adrian slowly took to his feet, glancing over at the doctor, who had a concerned look on his face. "I think Luz might have finally lost it…"
"I think you're right, Doctor. As much as I hate the idea…. I think it's time that we begin Operation: Lockdown." As Adrian said that, Dr. Rodriquez frowned.
"Governor, don't get me wrong, I understand where you're coming from. But... Do you really think we'll be able to hold her down for long? You've seen what she can do. No amount of tranquillizer will hold her down. The only option we'd have would be to… ya know, and I'm not comfortable with that," Dr. Rodriquez said as Adrian hummed, frustration gleaming in his eyes.
"I'm aware of that, Doctor. I don't want to kill her, either. We're not going to. We simply have to sedate her, and if we do that, we can force her to calm down and fix whatever is going on with her. If our country's greatest weapon is to suddenly turn on us… then that would be a problem. We'll handle her once she's done with The Order. Prepare the dart guns."
Dr. Rodriquez narrowed his eyes. He felt a chill crawl down his spine as he watched Adrian begin to leave. As he left, he remembered a conversation he had with the rest of the staff hired on this project with Luzura back when Project Nomu had begun. A conversation that gave a new light to this operation.
A conversation that was fundamental to everything that had gone on in this room.
"Now that Governor Rogers is gone, I want all of you—every single one of you—to swear loyalty to me and me alone. From this day forth, you work for me. You do not work for the United States Military or Government. Failure to do so will result in your premature ends. Once I build up enough power, you all will receive… Powers… from me. But that will only be so long as you have pleaded your allegiance to me and me alone. Are we clear?"
That was precisely what Dr. Rodriquez had done. That day, he and everyone else in the laboratory had sworn their undivided allegiance to Luzura. After all, Dr. Rodriquez knew that she would become powerful. That one day, she would eclipse the American Military all by herself.
It was only natural. Someone who was as powerful as she was… No one could dare to stop her. No one of this world, anyway.
And now, his loyalty was being tested. But more than that, a chilling notion filled the room as he stared at the back of Adrian's head. A mix of anger, upset, and a slight bit of guilt at what he was about to do. Although, at least, he had a bit of justification for it—aside from his allegiance lying with Luzura over the Government.
"No. I can't let this happen," Dr. Rodriquez thought, reaching into his pocket. "This is the same way that Maxwell fell from grace. It started as containing them when they popped up, to outright murdering them, to whatever wacky bullshit that monster came up with. History is repeating itself…" Dr. Rodriquez pulled his handgun out of his pocket and aimed it at the back of Adrian's head. "But I'm going to stop it."
Dr. Samual Rodriquez pulled the trigger of his gun. A loud bang, followed by a thump and a splatter, filled the laboratory as several heads turned to face the direction of where the gun was shot.
Adrian Rogers lay in a pool of blood, a bullet lodged into the back of his head as smoke trailed from the end of Samual's M1911. Samual turned to face the other doctors. His expression was neutral, like a cold, calm, and collected mask. "We all swore an oath to Luzura. That oath dictates that we, as a whole, are to protect and ensure that she is our first priority. The Governor did not know of it, but that hardly matters. Not when he posed a threat to Luzura."
A chill filled the room as Samual gestured to the body of Adrian, lowering his gun to his side as he continued. "One of you will do something with this. Dispose of it, or prepare it to be turned into a Nomu. I don't care what you do. As the Head Doctor of this operation, all evidence of his existence here is to be erased," Samual said before pressing his right fist toward his chest, his expression becoming stern. "For Luzura!"
"FOR LUZURA!" An echo of voices filled the laboratory as Samual smirked, watching them all return to their work while one of the other doctors dragged Adrian somewhere within the lab.
Maybe it was because he enjoyed figuring out the anatomy of the human body, or perhaps it was because the idea of making a super soldier had always been a dream of his. Still, Project Nomu, despite the moral problems that came with it, allowed him to throw all his ideas at a wall and see how they would stick. When it first began, he was a little distant from the concept. But after seeing it up close and personal….
Well, he had to admit, he was a little intrigued. Then, he joined the project, quickly became the head of it, and now ran it like his own personal passion project. Luzura didn't seem to mind and encouraged his intrigue.
Each day, he made sure to get through his daily patient quota, and then the moment he got the chance, he'd slip away to the secret underground lab. He revelled in the research they were conducting. Learning how the body functioned even after death, finding a way to essentially re-animate the dead through science….
Everything that went on in this room was sworn to secrecy. No one was allowed to discuss it outside of the workplace. But the fact that he got to do it at all… The fact that he was now in charge of the program! If his younger self could see him now, he would be all over the place with theories and ideas of what to do.
Project Nomu was his personal haven and his dream come true.
That, and it got him thinking. At first, he had no idea why Luzura would need these Nomu. What was their purpose? When did she come up with the idea for them? How had she known exactly what it was that was needed to create them? How long had she been dwelling on the idea? Or, perhaps it was all on a whim?
Whatever the case, he had an idea for why Luzura would've needed these creatures. Why would she go the route of human experimentation? The answer to that was simple.
World Domination.
He could see it now. Luzura, someone with the power to give and take as she pleased, a power compared to that of a Goddess-given physical form, would one day rule the world. She exuded the qualities of a leader, even if they were only slowly beginning to form. He could see the framework; now, all that was needed was for the construction of that framework to begin. To start, she would need an army.
What better army would there be than an army of loyal followers? Loyal followers who could not disobey. Loyal followers who were made for the sole purpose of following the command of their leader?
That was the true purpose of The Nomu. Adrian had played his role as the useful idiot. He had already dissuaded the Senate's fears about Project Nomu—even if Mr. Silent had gone rogue and killed one of them, that could be easily brushed to the side and told like it was: an accident.
Even better, if push came to shove, Luzura could spin it as Adrian using that particular Nomu to attempt to assassinate the senate. He could say that he would've then used it to try to assassinate the president. All to further his "agenda" so that he could take over The United States, falsely believing that Luzura would be at his side.
It was genius. He'd have to mention that to her. It would be a perfect cover-up story for the higher-ups. The best part was that they would more than likely believe it. After all, who would they be more willing to believe? A dead person who had shown animosity to the senate in the past? Or someone who was the main reason the project could work in the first place?
He doubted that Luzura had even considered that in her current mental state, but that was all right. He would address it when she returned.
After all, it was in his best interest to stay on her good side. Perhaps, given enough time, he could even earn a spot in whatever new world order she could bring about? Of course, that was assuming such a thing would happen.
Either way, it was better to be on her good side than on her bad side. She would appreciate the aid, heedless of his motives.
"I suppose I should get back to work, then…" Samual thought as he pocketed his gun and returned to his station. He had a couple of Nomu to perfect.
[XXXX]
Osmosis sat in his makeshift throne room deep underground, stroking his chin in thought as the darkness that surrounded him slowly began to gain a frosty bite to it. He didn't know why, but his nerves were on high alert.
The other goose-steppers were also anxious. Tensions began climbing when the news broke out that the three high commanders, along with two long-time members of The Order, were taken out.
He wasn't precisely phased by it—after all, he had allowed it to happen. That way, there would be no one to challenge him once he unleashed his grand plan to destroy this shitty little city and that garbage podunk town.
The bomb was already built and was ready to launch. By the end of this week, Most southern Connecticut would cease to exist. Of course, he'd be off in northern Connecticut, away from all the damage. Because no one knew who he was, and because he was a step above them all, he would be the only one to survive.
The idiots who worshipped him and the idea of the Fourth Reich would gladly die as martyrs for the cause. That was how stupidly devoted they were, and for once, their devotion would prove useful.
Honestly, he felt like a God. Nothing could go wrong. Luzura still didn't know where his group was, and the people who he knew damn well would defect after he went through with his plan and would rat him out were gone.
Nothing could possibly go wrong now—
"Sir!" A voice called out from the darkness as a young man with slicked-back blond hair ran into his throne room. Osmosis scowled, anger bubbling in his mind as he snarled.
"Who said that you can come into my throne room?" Osmosis spat as the man flinched.
"I apologize, but we have to go! It's that hero girl! S-She's here! She's… oh God… she's killing everyone! I-I don't know how b-but… but she has Jerry's power! A-And it's… It's destroying and killing everyone!"
"What?"
What sounded like things crumbling away came down the hallway, as did screams, and Osmosis's eyes widened. He didn't waste time, so he pointed his fingers down at the floor and started firing them off. The force launched him through the earth at high speeds, allowing him to breach the surface.
Now that he was exposed to the surface, his appearance was given full view to the world. Dressed in an outfit resembling something belonging to a wannabe soldier, Osmosis wore a brown 1940s German Officer-inspired uniform held up by a black belt equipped with a golden buckle shaped like that of an O.
Over his shoulders was a crimson red cape with the same insignia slapped on his belt and a crimson red armband with the same insignia. He wore a face-covering helmet with two eye holes that glowed purple. The helmet was shaped to fit his head and his head alone, even tracing the shape of his face.
The helmet's mask only showed off his bright purple eyes. The mouth portion of his mask had two breathing apparatuses and could open to allow him to eat via a hatch. It was made so that he would never have to expose his face to anyone. He even wore it while he slept. The only times that he didn't wear it were to clean it and when he took a shower.
As he hovered over to a roof, he watched as plumes of dust exploded out of grates, along with manhole covers blasting upward as plumes of dust clouds rushed out like pressurized steam clouds. Roads began to collapse into themselves as civilians screamed and ran inside. No one knew what was going on, but Osmosis did.
The Order had bases scattered throughout Connecticut, but the main one was in Waterbury, which was underneath most of the city. Luzura had taken Jerry's power and was using it to destroy the Order.
If she kept this up, she would also cause the city's collapse.
Ironically, she was doing what he wanted to happen. "Idiot," Osmosis said, a smirk taking up his visage under his helmet.
"Oh? I'm an idiot, am I?" A voice spat from behind him, and before Osmosis could say or do anything, a gloved fist ran through his chest, bursting through his back and out of his ribcage. In the gloved hand's possession was his beating heart, which was spurting blood all over the ground before it finally stopped beating.
Of course, that wasn't the end of it. While Osmosis had already died and was only standing because Luz had her fist lodged through his chest, she went through the extra effort to crush his disgusting heart between her fingers, letting the chunks that survived from it hit the ground.
Dislodging her first from his chest, she grabbed his helmet and ripped it off his head before grabbing the back of his head and activating All For One. Just as she had with every villain she had come across as of late, she stole his power. As soon as she did, Shigaraki spoke up.
"Ah, Bullet Laser."
"You know this one?" Luz said as she threw Osmosis's body off the building. She already deactivated Dust the moment she had emerged from underneath the city. She looked around, seeing some of the damage she had caused.
From what she could tell, at least from where she stood, the only significant damage was that the road was a little crumbled and slightly collapsed. A few manholes were missing, most likely from all the pressure released when she began turning their underground headquarters to dust.
If there were any survivors left down there, which she doubted, but if there were, they would all suffocate to death. She ensured that there would be no exits. It would be a tomb for those scumbags.
"Yes. You see, even before I perished, I knew that my time as Overlord of the criminal world was ending. So, I began to see if I could create a copy of my Quirk. However, each copy I made had a limit to pass it down to someone else so that I could retire. After all, having done what I did for as long as I had, you, too, would want to quit after a while. One of those individuals, who had been the ninth attempt, had a Quirk called Bullet Laser. You also possess another one of his powers. You call it "Energy Dragons" when in reality its name is Hydra."
"Oh. Well, that's lame," Luz said as she sighed. "I still can't believe Rogers would go behind my back and do something like that… Honestly, that could've screwed me over."
"Put some belief in those scientists. Especially Dr. Rodriquez. After all, I made them swear allegiance to you, not that I believe it was needed. But, all of that aside, they will serve to further whatever goal you have in the future, my apprentice."
Her goal… What even was her goal anymore? To Be a Hero? Well, she achieved that, but it left her feeling unsatisfied. Get Revenge on The Order? Well, she just did that. It made her feel empty—not because of guilt or anything sappy. It simply felt hollow, as if it didn't matter.
Kill those assassins? Well, that would be nice.
No… She wanted something more.
Something… meaningful.
Something… Unique.
"Hey, Shigaraki?"
"Yes, Luz?"
"What was the name of that place you said you discovered?"
"Ah, if I remember correctly, it was called The Boiling Isles. Why?"
A devious smile spread across Luz's face, and more of her hair began to turn white from the extended use of Dust and the stress that using All For One had attached to it. Her eyes shone red, a hint of greed lurking deep within.
"Tell me how to get there."
[-To Be Continued-]
[Ending Song: Where Our Blue Is/ 青のすみか – By: Tatsuya Kitani]
*The ending opens with the sound of a gong ringing out, followed by the riff of a guitar, playing a calming melody. A series of flashing images of Luz and Julia hanging out, smiling, and enjoying each other's company appears, before it cuts to Luz walking down the streets of Stamford, dressed in a black hoodie and grey sweats, a solemn look on her face.*
*The scene continues with Luz looking up at the sky as the drums kick in, Luz's eyes flashing red, before changing back to normal. She looks across the street, and sees Julia, smiling and waving at her. Luz goes to wave back, but a bus drives through the street, and when it passes, Julia is no longer there. Luz looks away, continuing down the road, this time with a more hurried pace, all the while a disembodied voice sings.*
"No end to the blue, when everywhere I look I see its hue."
"Can't turn from the truth,"
"When I've seen it as clearly as the day I'll have to wake up without you."
*The scene glitches to Luz and Julia sitting in their bedroom, watching TV, with Luz looking downtrodden, and Julia talking happily. Although, it's as if Luz can't hear her, and is seemingly ignoring her presence. That's when Julia seems to fade away, which prompts Luz to get out of her room, and stepping into the main living space, where Camila, Emelia, Riley, and Hunter are all standing, looking at her, concerned, as the disembodied voice continues.*
"It rings all around,"
"The song of the cicadas crying out,"
"Makes it so loud, the depending sound,
"Of silence from your mouth."
*The scene changes to Luz, dressed in her hero costume, standing in a void of darkness. Behind her, flashing memories of her, Julia, Emelia, Camila, Riley, and Hunter–all fond and having fun with one another–fade into the background like dust, as Luz looks up from the floor. In front of her, Julia stands, a dark blurry line running over her eyes as she smiles, reaching out to her. For a moment, something flashes overtop of her–a beaten, bloodied, and bruised version of her reaching out for help–but it returns to normal, and makes Luz startle backwards, panic in her eyes as the song brings itself up to a crescendo, whilst the voice continues*
"No matter how hard, I try to hold…"
"Those innocent days will soon fade away and I'll have to let you go."
"Left behind an eternity ago,"
"Even so…!"
*Following along with the riff of the guitar in the background, the darkness gives way to light, as it shows more happy moments between Luz and Julia specifically. Running along the beachside, reading books together, watching movies and snuggling–all things normal couples do to pass the time. Mixed within are times where they're fighting villains with one another, aiding one another, the voice continuing to sing to sombre song*
"But even so..!"
"Blue still lives in me!"
"But even so..!"
"Blue Clear as the sea!"
"Even though a single prayer, a single word"
"Could change our fates, I know it's way too late to be heard!"
*The scene changes to Julia and Luz sitting across from one another, staring into each other's eyes, happiness between them, only for it to break apart when Julia begins to fade away. As she does, Luz frantically tries to chase after her. Just as she fully disappears, Luz tries to say something, but the words are caught in her throat, and instead, she stumbles to her hands and knees, tears burning down her cheeks as she silently cries, gripping at the carpeted floor in despair, all the while the song continues.*
"Just like a love that can never quite reach,"
"Or just like the colours that run down my cheeks, forever burning,"
"I couldn't even whisper to curse you,"
"The words in my throat that I never spoke:"
"You're my one and only, best friend"
"I wish I could have told you then…"
*The ending finishes as it slowly fades into a picture of Julia and Luz happily standing next to one another, behind them at a concert they were recently at. Just as the camera zooms in to capture their faces, the glass cracks in between them, as the voice finishes the song.*
"No matter how bright, no star can burn forever.*
"Tried to hold tight, you slipped through my fingers…"
Yup! Finally, Luz is now interested in The Boiling Isles, and for all the wrong reasons, teehee. I told you guys to trust me. Why try and force something into a story when you can naturally build up to it? The literary process at work, my patient readers. It's truly a marvel, is it not?
Now, before we get any further, here are the translations I promised. They are in order of appearance in the chapter:
[1] - That's not fair, and you know it
[2] - I know it's not
[3] - That said, I don't care whether you think it's fair or not. I've been wanting to have this talk with you for months. I guess now is probably the only real time we can have it. You know, before we bury ourselves in what will probably be over a million different controversies.
[4] - Does it have to be here?
[5] - Yes, Mom. Because after I'm done with The Order, I'm having a conference with the other two Hero Teams. Remember?
[6] - Right, I forgot about that.
[7] - Now, what is it about? If it's about what I told you then—
[8] - No, Mom. It's not.
[9] - Even though I still hate you for what you said then, and even though I don't think I can ever look at you the same way again, I'm more than willing to try to put that behind me.
[10] - However, it does bear some relation to it.
[11] - I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent, so please don't interrupt me. I'm warning you now. I have a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it in. I want you to promise me that whatever I say, you won't interrupt me, okay, Mom?
[12] - Okay. I promise.
[13] – Thank you.
[14] - You keep saying I've changed. I have. I'm not blind to that. Everyone changes, especially if circumstances bring about that change, for better or worse. But if you want to talk about change, why don't you look at yourself? Since Dad died, you've become a drunken, unstable mess.
[15] - I know you've been trying to work on it. I appreciate that. I really appreciate it. But it's too little, too late. Any damage you might have done was already done.
[16] - Look. What I'm trying to say is that... I love you. I really love you. I love you, because you're my mother. But I just... I can't ignore and pretend to move on with all the pain you caused me. I won't sugarcoat it. I can't sugarcoat it. You... you may not have remembered. You never do. But you... When you get drunk... You become horrible. Despicable, even.
[17] - You say the worst things. You've degraded me, made me feel less than human at times... You blame me for what happened to Dad. You... You threatened me a few times, too... But you never followed through on those threats. Only the day before summer camp did you do anything. I... I didn't think you would. ... I...
[18] - You abused me. Mom. It was bad. The worst thing was that you never knew what was going on. The next morning you'd wake up with a hangover and you wouldn't remember anything. It was like you were a completely different person!
[19] - No apology can or will ever make up for what you did to me growing up. Nothing can. That's why...that's why I want to put all this behind me. I'm not going to ignore it. I can't ignore it. No matter how much I want to ignore it, I can't. That's what I've been doing. That's why I've been so ... angry, for lack of a better word. I've been ignoring my feelings about what happened. Pushing them down. Trying to get over them without using my head. I thought I was doing fine. I thought I didn't need anyone to help me. I thought if I had Julia by my side, I wouldn't have to face the demon inside my head. But ... I guess I was wrong, wasn't I?
That's everything for now! See you all in the next one!