Super Science

Ch. 136: A Killer's Folly

N.I.P: One day after the downfall of the Heroes Association of Japan

Things were as quiet as they could be in the dead of night at the heavily damaged but still heavily guarded Neo Icon Phoenix research facility. A single unseen figure jumped along the rooftop buildings in the city, his destination being the facility. When the figure finally got to the outer limits of the research lab's territory, he stood upon a light post and pondered to himself. He had been in hiding for several weeks, making sure that nobody knew his whereabouts. He was dead, and for the time being, he wanted to keep it that way.

He remembered the debt he owed and felt conflicted about it. On the one hand, the people who saved him were right in their proclamation and had somewhat similar goals to his own, but on the other, he was a lone wolf who had a strict code.

But seeing the hero's association with Japan fall so quickly and so gravely in the span of 24 hours truly sent shivers down his spine. Nearly the entire structure of hero society had almost completely collapsed before dinner time, and all by one facility he gave no forethought to. But here he was now, sitting and contemplating to himself.

He had no idea why he was even here in the first place. Maybe he wanted to ask them how they did it? Maybe he wanted to ask to join them? Or maybe he just wanted to see the people responsible with his own eyes for doing what he was so inept at accomplishing? Either way, he was here now, and as far as he was concerned, there was no going back. Maybe these people secretly held his beliefs, and they could work together to make the world a far better place.

However, things did not go as he had hoped. The moment he jumped down from the light post, he began sneakily walking along the property. Warning bells and sirens went off after his arrival.

"Intruder detected, intruder detected, intruder detected!" Called the mechanical voice of the security system.

Before he could even react to this and start floating, metal rings flew at him at a high speed and floated above his head. One sank at his feet while the other stood above his head. Before he could react or run away, an energy field exploded between the two rings and scooped him up by his feet, keeping him from leaving the cage he found himself in.

He reached out a hand to touch the strange energy field that trapped him and immediately hissed in pain while snapping it away. He looked at his hand and saw how it smoked. The energy hurt like electricity, but it definitely wasn't. It was something else. This was a different kind of cage, and he was trapped in it. He was so confused by what was going on that he didn't even notice at first when two dark portals opened up a couple of feet away from him.

At first, the man was excited, expecting these to be the people responsible for the fall of hero society, but his headcannon was far from the truth. Two individuals, Egon and Izuku, appeared from the two portals. However, they weren't in their usual scientist attire or had their normal professional mannerisms.

Izaku was wrapped in a towel soaking wet with suds in his hair, while Egon was in his underwear and holding an electric toothbrush with foam in his mouth.

Egon continued to brush his teeth as he loudly and angrily complained, "You've got to be kidding me! We just got through a freaking invasion, and now someone thinks they can take advantage while our pants are down!? Is it too much to ask for this to happen when I'm not doing my hygiene?"

Izuku wipes the subs from his face and agrees, saying, "I know, right? I just got in the shower. Is it too much to ask for five minutes of peace? Let's just see who it is and… " He immediately trails off as he sees who's been caught, a sentiment shared by Egon, who spits out his toothpaste.

"The hero killer, Stain?" they both exclaimed in shock.

"But how? But you? But huh?" Egon blabbered out before shaking his head and asking, "You're supposed to be dead. I thought you were dead, right?"

Izuku nods in confirmation and says in confusion, "I thought so, too. Carmilla, she sucked you dry. I saw it."

"Surprise?" Stain says with no emphasis and a deadpan tone

"How are you alive!?" Egon exclaimed while getting close to the cage.

Stain thought about telling them, but his honor got in the way, so he instead danced around the topic as he explained, "I can't say, but someone took my body, pumped blood into me, and brought me back before I escaped."

Both scientists look at one another in confusion before Izuku states, "That's not how that works."

Stain rolled his eyes and replied, "I'm only simplifying what I understood, which wasn't much."

"What are you even doing here? Don't tell me you've come for revenge!?" Egon questions before getting nervous and looking at the teen in the towel beside him.

Stain shakes his head and assures them, "No. I haven't come to kill the kid for killing me. In a fight, you either win or die. You got me fair and square."

"Then why are you here?" Izuku inquired.

Stain sighs deeply as he sits at the bottom of his cage and admits, "If I'm being totally honest, I have no idea. Maybe I wanted to see the people who took down the hero's toxic society, or maybe I wanted to thank you, or maybe I wanted to ask to join forces. It's obvious we share similar goals."

Both men look at one another before looking at the caged psycho, where Egon states, "Okay, first off, what the fuck? Second, we definitely do not share the same goal. Third, we just wanted to make sure the HAJ never again tried to bring harm upon us. The near deconstruction of heroes was just a byproduct of our actions that we considered."

Izuku also rubbed his temples and said in irritation, "And, ya know, I've been wanting to say this to you for a while now, but your ideology has more holes in it than the sequel trilogy of Star Wars!"

"Ooo, nice burn." Egon compliments him.

"What are you talking about? I'm the only sane one in this world!? The heroes are toxic, corrupt, a cacophony of people who care only for themselves and not the people they're supposed to protect!" Stain exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and quickly got furious.

Despite this, Izuku remains calm as he shoots back, "That's exactly where your ideology unravels, heroes. What exactly do you mean by heroes?" Stain opens his mouth in confusion, unable to speak, and stands there like an idiot, unable to answer. "A doctor is a hero; a cop is a hero; firefighters, soldiers, civil workers, caretakers, hell, even politicians are heroes to some extent. If you think that the spandex-wearing crime fighters are the only heroes, you're dead wrong." Izuku rants to the crazy man, who looks like he has finally come up with a rebuttal. But Izuku cuts him off and states, "And before you tell me about how corrupt hero society is, news flash, everything is corrupt! There is not, nor will there ever be a 100% corruption-free anything! It's just how humans are. We get a taste of power and want more."

Egon agrees with a head nod and darkly adds, "Izuku is right; if you really want to break the mold and make sure that everyone follows your crazy ideals, you might as well start genociding the human race until we've been reduced to small tribes that rely heavily on one another for survival."

"That's crazy!" Stain exclaimed in a yell.

"That's how you sound." Egon points out.

Stain kept opening and closing his mouth to speak but was never able to come up with anything until he eventually gave up and admitted with a huff, "Maybe you have a point. Maybe I do have to rethink my stance on things. I just wanted heroes to act like All Might." Upon hearing this, Egon let out a snort that didnt go past Stain, who demanded, "What's so funny?"

Egon cleared his throat from the toothpaste he swallowed and replied, "I'm sorry, but if you think All Might is a perfect shining example of what a hero should be. You're wrong about that, too."

"How?!" Stain angrily yelled.

"First off, you shouldn't place anyone on such a high pedestal. And second, All Might has flaws, too." Egon said with ease and calm before the furious killer, who only growled in response.

"Name one," he demanded, thinking he had won, knowing full well no one knew of his flaws if he had any.

But this time, it was Izuku who approached and told him with a dead expression, "When I was at my limit for life, I asked All Might if I could be a hero despite being quirkless. You know what he told me? He said no. And I tried to kill myself after."

Stain's eyes grew wide, and his mouth hung open slightly. He licked his dry lips and looked off to the side in thought. His mind and emotions fought and swirled with one another as he tried to process what he just heard. Eventually, he spoke, but the only thing he could say was, "Fuck. Now you've given me more to think about."

"Well, you can think about it all you want in jail." Egon cut in.

"Jail?!" Stain exclaimed in surprise.

"Uh, yes, jail. Just because everyone thinks you're dead doesn't mean your previous crimes have been expunged." Egon told him as he pulled a pad from his boxers. Suddenly, Stain pulled a smoke bomb from his belt and threw it on the ground. However, he was still in the energy cage, so it was only full of the small space. Izuku and Egon looked at this awkwardly, and the sandy blonde said, "Nice try, but just because you set off a smoke bomb doesn't mean you'll-." but he didnt get to finish as the top of the cage burst open and the smoke burst out and covers the area ins seconds! Izuku and Egon both coughed as they covered their faces, and when the smoke finally cleared, the energy cage was empty, with no hero killer in sight.

"Damn, he's good." Izuku complimented with a whistle.

"I get the feeling this isn't the last we've seen of him," Egon stated as he began to wire out a report for the police.

"I just hope we're on the same side when it happens," Izuku said in a hopeful and stressed tone.


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