Two weeks passed since the debut of Hero X.
Location: Endeavor Agency, Employee Lounge
Time: 1:00 PM
The large flat-screen television on the lounge wall played the midday news broadcast.
Midoriya Izuku sat on a stool at the kitchen counter. He held a pen in his right hand and a thick, worn-out notebook in his left. He scribbled rapidly across the pages.
Bakugo Katsuki sat on the sofa. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the television screen.
Todoroki Shoto sat next to him, quietly eating a bowl of cold soba noodles.
Burnin leaned against the wall near the doorway. She chewed on a piece of gum and watched the broadcast.
On the television, a popular daytime news anchor sat at a polished desk.
Pro Hero expert Aorio Kuraishisu sat in the guest chair next to her. A large graphic of Kaito as Hero X in his white suit flashed on the screen behind them.
[Mr. Kuraishisu, you have studied hero trends for over a decade,] the news anchor said. [What exactly are we looking at with this newcomer?]
Aorio adjusted his glasses. He held a stack of papers in his hands.
[We are looking at a complete breakdown of the modern hero ranking system,] Aorio stated flatly. [I pulled the numbers this morning. In the specific Tokyo districts where Hero X operates, the overall crime rate dropped to zero percent over the last fourteen days.]
The news anchor opened her eyes wide.
[Zero percent?] she asked. [That sounds impossible.]
[It is unreasonable,] Aorio corrected her. [He has a one hundred percent capture rate. Every single villain he engages is apprehended. There is absolutely zero property damage. There are zero civilian casualties. The logistics of his Canvas Quirk completely bypass the physical requirements of hero work.]
[Can you explain that for our viewers?] the anchor asked.
[Normal heroes have to fight,] Aorio explained. [They throw punches. They use their quirks. Battles cause destruction. Villains run away. Hero X simply arrives, snaps his fingers, and the threat is neutralized instantly. The only Quirk on the planet we can even compare this to is America's Number One Hero, Star and Stripe. Her New Order imposes rules on reality. But this Canvas Quirk seems to completely change the dimension of reality itself.]
Burnin blew a bubble with her gum.
POP.
"That guy is a total monster," Burnin laughed. She crossed her arms. "I bet Best Jeanist is pulling his hair out right now. Hero X is completely stealing his spotlight in the fashion department. That guy is wearing a spotless white suit."
Bakugo gritted his teeth. Small sparks popped from his palms.
"It pisses me off!" Bakugo growled.
"What does?" Todoroki asked before slurping a mouthful of noodles.
"The capture rate!" Bakugo yelled, pointing at the television. "One hundred percent! Zero damage! He just shows up and the fight is over. We've just been running around like idiots for two straight weeks!"
Midoriya stopped writing in his notebook. He looked down at his messy sketches of Hero X.
"His Quirk is incredibly versatile," Midoriya muttered, his voice speeding up. "He removes the danger of a fight entirely. I still want to know how the two-dimensional space works. Can the villains breathe inside the paper? Can they see us? Can they hear outside noises? Do they experience time differently inside the drawing—"
"Shut up, nerd!" Bakugo shouted. "I don't care how the paper works! I just want to blow something up!"
The door to the lounge slid open.
Endeavor walked into the room. The Number One Hero looked completely exhausted.
The flames on his face flickered at a low heat. He walked over to a heavy armchair and dropped into it with a loud groan.
"Rough morning, Boss?" Burnin asked.
Endeavor rubbed his large hands over his face.
"I cannot teach you three anything about field training right now," Endeavor complained loudly.
Midoriya closed his notebook.
"Sir?" Midoriya asked. "Can't we just train indoors? Or we can patrol other city."
"Hmm.." Endeavor replied. "The dispatch radio reported an armed robbery at a bank three blocks away. We ran at top speed. You boys finally kept up with my pace. You should know what happened."
Bakugo leaned forward on the sofa.
"Ughh!" Bakugo grunted.
Endeavor glared at the floor.
"And then the snap," Endeavor grumbled. "We reached the bank five seconds later. The hostages were standing on the sidewalk unharmed. The bank robbers were already contained on the form of a piece of paper. The fight was over before we even reach!"
Todoroki set his empty bowl down on the coffee table.
"Hero X beat us there," Todoroki stated simply.
"He beats not only us, but basically all pros stationed in Tokyo!" Endeavor sighed, throwing his arms up in frustration. "I want to teach you boys how to anticipate villain movements. I want to teach you combat awareness. I cannot teach you anything if every single villain is turned into origami before we even arrive on the scene!"
"Hehehe...." Burnin burst out laughing.
She covered her mouth, trying to hide her amusement at the Number One Hero's misery.
Endeavor glared at the television screen showing Hero X footage.
"I'm glad someone out there was strong enough but it's still unreasonable," Endeavor muttered.
--<>--
Location: Paranormal Liberation Front Headquarters, Mountain Base
The room was completely dark.
The only light came from six computer monitors stacked on a metal desk.
Skeptic sat in a rolling chair.
The Liberation Front lieutenant typed frantically on two keyboards at once. His long hair fell over his face. He wore an earpiece.
"I need the data right now, Hawks!" Skeptic demanded into the microphone. "I need the classified files!"
Hawks sat in a small safe house hundreds of miles away. He leaned back in a wooden chair. He held a glass of water in his hand.
The Number Two Hero kept his voice perfectly calm and subservient over the secure phone line.
"I told you," Hawks replied easily. "The HPSC locked the files down. Only the President and a few top executives have access to the Canvas Quirk registry. It takes time to bypass the firewalls without tripping the alarms."
Skeptic slammed his fist on his desk.
BAM.
"We do not have time!" Skeptic yelled. "This new hero is completely disrupting our Tokyo supply lines! We sent three teams into the city this week to secure support gear from the black market. All three teams vanished. The police just found them in paper form outside the precinct!"
Hawks took a sip of his water.
"I understand," Hawks said smoothly. "I will push harder. I will get you the weakness of his Quirk."
"You better," Skeptic threatened. "Re-Destro wants this handled. Do not fail us, Hawks."
CLICK.
The line went dead.
Hawks pulled the phone away from his ear. He set it on the table.
He looked up at the ceiling of the safe house. He smiled slightly.
He played the double agent role perfectly. Skeptic suspected nothing.
The villains thought they were in control. Hawks knew the truth.
He already passed the encrypted copy of the Meta Liberation War book to Endeavor.
"Hopefully that guy deduced it..."
--<>--
Twelve days ago.
Location: Tokyo, Jewelry District
A man covered in thick, dark green scales stood in front of a high-end jewelry store. He activated his quirk and swung it hard against the reinforced display window.
CRASH.
The glass shattered. The mutant villain dropped the pipe.
He shoved his large hands through the broken window, reaching for the diamond necklaces resting on the velvet displays.
SNAP.
Kaito stepped out of the empty air directly behind the man. He wore his spotless white suit.
The villain spun around. He picked up the steel pipe and swung it at Kaito's head.
SNAP.
The space folded inward.
The villain lost all volume instantly. He flattened into a two-dimensional drawing. The flat drawing folded itself up neatly into a small paper square. It dropped onto the concrete sidewalk.
Kaito bent down and picked up the paper square.
SCREECH.
A police cruiser slammed on its brakes at the curb.
Detective Tsukauchi threw his door open and jumped out. Together with hi was the rest of the Police Force.
He scanned the area, then looked at Kaito standing on the sidewalk.
"Hero X... Where is the suspect?" Tsukauchi asked, breathing heavily from the adrenaline.
Kaito held out his hand. He handed the small paper square to the detective.
"He is right here," Kaito said calmly. "Have a good night, Detective."
SNAP.
Kaito vanished.
Tsukauchi stood alone on the sidewalk. He stared blankly at the folded piece of paper in his hand.
The entire interaction took less than five seconds.
--<>--
Present day.
Location: The X Agency
Mirai sat at his computer desk. He held a smartphone to his ear.
"Yes, Detective," Mirai said into the receiver. "We received the coordinates. Thank you for the update. We will handle the paperwork on our end."
Mirai ended the call. He set the phone down on his desk. He turned his computer chair around to face the center of the lounge.
Kaito and Makoto sat together on the large leather couch.
He rested his head against the back of the sofa with his eyes closed.
Makoto sat cross-legged next to him. She held a digital tablet on her lap.
"The police force absolutely loves us," Mirai announced to the room. "The workflow is flawless. Detective Tsukauchi sends me the GPS coordinates of a crime in progress. I relay the location to Kaito. He teleports, contains the threat, and hands the paper directly to the patrol officers. The Tokyo police department hasn't anysingle problem in two weeks."
Kaito smiled slightly. He kept his eyes closed.
"It feels weird to me doing this, instead of training pros," Kaito murmured softly.
Makoto tapped her stylus against her tablet screen.
"Don't worry, your hero work is going great," Makoto agreed. "We have the public trust. We have the HPSC backing us. We have millions of yen sitting in our bank accounts from the stock market gains last time."
She stopped tapping the screen. She looked over at Kaito.
"Do you want to build something here," Makoto said.
She stood up from the couch. She started pacing back and forth in front of the coffee table.
Makoto continued, her voice picking up speed. "The Golden Bites franchise is missing here. What if we develop a real corporate empire here. Hero work relies entirely on crime. If there are no villains, a hero agency doesn't generate income. I want a business that generates value regardless of what the villains are doing. The same thing you always do on your clients right?"
Kaito opened his eyes.
He watched her pace.
She needed a project to build, optimize, and expand.
Sitting around waiting for criminals to rob banks was too passive for her. She needed some things to work with.
"We can do real estate," Kaito suggested casually.
Makoto stopped pacing. She turned and looked at him.
"Real estate?" Makoto asked.
"Infrastructure," Kaito clarified. He sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Think about how my Quirk actually works. I can pull three-dimensional objects out of two-dimensional drawings."
Mirai stood up from his desk.
He walked over to the couch and adjusted his glasses. He listened very closely.
"You want to draw buildings?" Mirai asked after finishing his work.
Kaito explained, pointing at Makoto's tablet. "The client can generate a perfect architectural blueprint for a commercial office or any real estate projects. I can just use my quirk to manifest it directly right?"
Makoto stared at him. Her eyes widened.
Her mind immediately grasped the scale of what he was suggesting.
Mirai crossed his arms. He looked up at the ceiling and started doing the math out loud.
"Zero material costs," Mirai calculated, his voice rising slightly in disbelief. "Zero construction crews. Zero heavy machinery rentals. You completely bypass the concrete curing times and the supply chain delays. You're quirk is really unreasonable."
"I think I've heard that word a lof of times this two weeks." Kaito joked.
Makoto grabbed Kaito's shoulder. She looked incredibly excited.
"We can do this," Makoto laughed. "It's enough to venture food empire back then. We can try something new."
"Hmm? What do you guys mean? But I agree that, this is an extremely unreasonable business model," Mirai agreed, a rare smile crossing his face. "But highly lucrative. No construction company in Japan could ever compete with those turnaround times or even in the whole world."
Makoto sat back down on the couch. She typed rapidly on her tablet.
"I am registering the subsidiary company right now," Makoto announced happily. "We will call it Canvas Construction."
Kaito smiled. He liked seeing her in her element.
They were building their future in this new reality, one step at a time.
--<>--
Time: 8:00 AM | Next Day
Location: The X Agency, Lounge Area
Kaito sat in his white suit, red tie, and gold glasses.
He always maintained his Hero X appearance around everyone.
Mirai sat at his computer desk across the room, typing quietly on his keyboard.
Makoto stood next to Kaito. She stirred cream into her coffee.
She leaned close to Kaito's ear. She lowered her voice to a soft murmur, making sure Mirai could not hear them.
"Canvas Construction is going to be huge," Makoto whispered. "Just like our old franchise back home."
Kaito nodded. He took a sip of his black coffee.
Makoto leaned in closer. Her voice dropped to a flirty whisper.
"You know," Makoto teased softly. "You look incredibly sharp wearing this suit all week. You should definitely keep it on in bed later."
COUGH.
Kaito choked on his coffee.
He set his mug down hard on the granite counter.
He grabbed a paper towel and wiped his mouth.
"Are you serious right now?" Kaito whispered back, shaking his head.
Makoto smiled. She took a sip from her mug.
"I appreciate good branding," Makoto whispered playfully.
DING DONG.
The front doorbell rang through the agency speakers.
Kaito laughed.
Agent Mera stood in the hallway.
The HPSC agent looked completely exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot. His tie hung loose around his neck. He held a secure metal briefcase in his right hand.
"Good morning, Hero X," Mera greeted tiredly. "May I come in?"
"Come in," Kaito said. He stepped aside.
Mera walked into the center of the lounge. Mirai stood up from his desk and joined them. Mera looked around the room nervously.
"Is this room secure?" Mera asked in a low voice. "This information cannot leak."
Kaito closed the front doors.
SNAP.
A colorful distortion rippled across the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. Kaito isolated the entire lounge.
Flat, comic-book-style black borders framed the edges of the room.
"We are cut off from the physical world," Kaito stated calmly. "No surveillance bugs can penetrate the barrier. The room is completely soundproof."
Mera let out a long breath. He set his briefcase on the coffee table.
"Endeavor deciphered the message," Mera revealed directly. "He decoded the book Hawks gave him. Hawks is acting as a double agent inside the Paranormal Liberation Front."
Mirai adjusted his glasses. He was also curious.
"What did the message say?" Mirai asked.
Mera looked at the three of them.
"The villains are planning a massive war against the hero society," Mera said grimly. "We have the exact timeline. The attack will commence in exactly few months later."
The room went quiet.
"Hawks?" Kaito repeated.
Mera opened his briefcase. He pulled out a thick file and handed it to Kaito. "Yes, the current no.2 pro hero was acting as a double agent on boths sides."
"The HPSC President sent me here with a direct request," Mera continued. "We need you on the front lines when the something begins. We need you to act as our primary containment specialist."
Kaito looked at the open file.
"The police handed your captured villains over to our testing facility," Mera explained. "We ran experiments on the paper you create. The paper does not burn. A blowtorch did nothing. The paper does not tear under extreme physical stress. We dropped it in industrial acid. It did not melt."
Mera closed the briefcase.
"They exist in a suspended dimensional state," Mera said. "They ignore our physical laws entirely. You are a walking maximum-security prison. We want you to trap the high-ranking League of Villains members so they cannot escape again."
Kaito handed the file back to Mera. He slipped his hands into his pockets.
"Sure," Kaito answered without hesitation. "I will do that."
Mera nodded gratefully. He picked up his briefcase.
--<>--
Location: Dr. Garaki Secret Laboratory
Time: 9:00 AM
Thick black cables ran across the concrete floor.
Massive glass tubes filled with green liquid lined the walls.
Tomura Shigaraki stood in the center of the underground room.
He was shirtless.
The heavy scars on his right arm looked red and aggravated.
Dr. Garaki paced around a massive, empty surgical capsule. The doctor wore his round goggles and a white lab coat.
"Your Quirk evolved beautifully in Deika City," Doctor said. He adjusted a dial on a control panel. "You can disintegrate entire city blocks with a single touch. You command an army. Why do you still seek more power, Tomura?"
Shigaraki looked down at his scarred right arm. He clenched his fist.
"Because it is not enough," Shigaraki answered. His raspy voice echoed in the cold room. "Re-Destro survived my attack. He cut off his own legs to escape the decay. Enemies can still run from me."
Shigaraki dragged his fingernails lightly across his chest.
"My body cannot handle the output," Shigaraki continued. "The decay eats my own flesh when I push it too far. I want the power to obliterate the dregs All Might left behind without breaking myself."
Garaki smiled broadly. He loved hearing the sheer hatred in the boy's voice.
"Years ago, I wrote a paper on the Quirk Singularity Doomsday theory," he explained excitedly and threw his hands in the air. "I warned the world Quirks were evolving too fast. I told them the human body would not be able to handle the strain of future generations. The heroes laughed at me. The scientists ignored me."
Doctor Garaki walked over and placed his hand on the glass capsule.
"Only All For One took my theory seriously," he said. "He funded my research. I will prove my theory to the world through you."
Doctor Garaki looked directly at Shigaraki.
"This operation will grant you power surpassing All For One himself," Doctor promised. "It will put One For All firmly within your grasp."
Shigaraki stared at the empty tank.
"The physical modification process will take time," Doctor warned, his tone turning serious. "You will be asleep. Your body will endure four months of hellish agony. It will push your mind to the brink of death."
Shigaraki did not flinch. He did not care about the pain. He wanted the absolute destruction of the hero society.
He stepped forward.
He climbed into the surgical capsule. He lay down on the cold metal table.
"Do it," Shigaraki ordered. A twisted smile spread across his face.
Doctor Garaki pressed a red button on the control console.
HISS.
The heavy glass door slid shut. It sealed Shigaraki inside the tank.
Breathable green fluid pumped rapidly into the capsule, submerging the villain completely.
--<>--
A/n: [Health Update] I was able to think normally today, because of that here a new chap.
Hopefully I can think normally tomorrow as well. The pain is still there, the doctor said that this will atleast take 2-3 weeks to burst and heal.
--<>--
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