Chapter 359: CHAPTER 350(Alone Together)
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CHAPTER START---
Atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, Horizon watches Cathleen Bates weep while looking over the short wall to see Los Angeles Memorial Park below.
She was a petite and fragile thing, barely a hair over 5ft -150cm- short brown hair messily hanging to her shoulders and her Star and Stripe costume draped on her as if she were a coatrack.
Much of it bunched up around her now oversized boots and nearly half the cape pooled on the floor.
Hearing sobs, Horizon stiffly walks forward and stands beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder to let her know he's still here.
"I'm sorry, I'm not much of a role model right now," Cathleen says. "Just reliving all of that. It was so much."
"I can't even imagine what that was like, so take all the time you need," he says, in a surprisingly gentle tone.
She brought him here, to the site where she lost it all, to Arsenal.
Regaled him with her tragic tale, for what reason, he wasn't sure, but nothing she told him was new information.
His family held no secrets from each other, so the only sunrise is the impact it's had on her, and her revealing it to him.
As he's trying to figure out what she's doing, Cathleen turns and hugs him, her head not even reaching his chest as she squeezes him tightly.
"Sorry," he says. "The armor of the body glove makes hugs uncomfortable."
"It's fine," she mutters. "Thanks for listening and being here. This is the longest I've been in this form since I learned how to use my Quirk."
"Really?"
"Yeah, and it's only possible, because you are here."
She takes a step away and dries her tears. Trying to regain some of her heroic appearance after the emotionally exhausting ordeal.
"Are you feeling better now?" he asks.
Cathleen pauses, gazing upon the park and memorial, then leans against a wall.
"Yeah, thanks for listening."
"It's the least I could do, but—"
"Why did I bring you here and dump my tragic past on you?"
"Something like that," he playfully says as she also leans against the wall, enjoying the chilly breeze at this altitude.
It had been a while since she had to consider things like the icy wind on her skin, causing her to feel mortal and vulnerable again.
If not for Horizon being here, she would have retreated back into her mask once more.
"That night, it still haunts me. Even now I still can't get past it. It's like I can feel her looming over me, as if she sent a ghost to haunt me and finish what she started, like some part of her still exists and it would come kill me."
"You're a million times stronger than her."
"I know, but I'm still so scared of her," she says. "I must sound crazy, huh?"
"I'm not that kind of doctor."
Cathleen rolls her eyes at him. "You probably have some questions about my story, well?"
"I think you know what."
"My Quirk, or more accurately, the combination of Marissa and my Quirks," she says. "New Order allows me to make two rules. One was hers, the other is mine. When she grabbed me and our blood mixed, she must have given it the order to keep me safe, and it transferred to me."
"Really? And here thought only All For One could do that."
"Apparently not. I'm sure it's unbelievable, a Quirk besides All For One that transfers so easily. By simply mixing blood and saying a few words. Sometimes I wonder if she didn't do that, if—-"
"Then you'd both be dead," he says. "Arsenal would have taken her, probably directly to All For One, and you'd have died in the crash. That was a terrible situation, from all angles."
"I suppose you're right. It's a miracle the Quirk even let me survive, and she survived the crash without it."
"Yeah, it really was. So, one order is hers, one is yours."
"We thought our Quirks were duds until she accidentally activated it at school one day. Then the attack happened a few days later when we were being sent to the new base."
"You were a kid. Can't blame yourself for what happened."
"I know, but still. I was strong enough to hunt her down for a long time, but I was still so scared. All the people she killed in the last two decades, that's on me for leaving that animal out in the world."
"Is that what you're beating yourself up about, not saving more people?"
Cathleen grits her teeth and slams her hand on the wall, immediately feeling her fragile bones crack.
"AHH!" she screams and holds her hand, and Horizon immediately heals it. "Thanks, not used to this form."
"It shows, but about what I said. Nobody can save everyone."
"You could."
"I couldn't save you against Tech, and I almost couldn't save myself either," Horizon says. "You can't live always thinking about who you couldn't save. But you will, because you're a True Hero, it's what you do."
"True Hero?" she scoffs and leans against the wall again, tiptoeing to look over the side. "When I think about Arsenal, that's the last thing I feel like. I don't even think about the people she killed afterward that I could have saved."
"Oh, so what is the regret?"
"That I didn't kill that bitch myself," she growls out.
Horizon twitches slightly, but she's too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice.
"But she's gone now. Your country took care of it. Now I need to try moving forward."
"Good. Everyone should be a bit more selfish from time to time.
"Even Heroes?"
"Especially Heroes. Especially after the life you've lived."
Cathleen closes her eyes and activates her Quirk, applying her transformation once again.
Her body grows, her hair becomes blonde and her eyes shift into a bright blue as Star and Stripe returns.
She adjusts her Hero Costume slightly before turning to Horizon. "You know, being the big sister feels weird."
"Especially because I'm stronger than you," he says.
She laughs and rests a hand on his shoulder, "You're not the only one who learned new things in that fight with Tech."
"Is that a challenge?"
"Nah," she reaches up and gently taps his visor. "I'm actually here to talk to you about this."
"My face?"
"The visor. Look, I know you can't live without it, and your physical body isn't exactly…compatible."
"You just called me your brother and now you're trying to—"
She taps his shoulder, pushing him back slightly.
"That's not what I'm going to say!"
"Good," he says while rolling his shoulder.
I'm telling you, you don't want to end up like me. I'm 40, with nothing to show for it but this damn Hero Costume. Yeah, I've done a lot, but now that I'm finally getting past Arsenal, I can look back and see all the things fear never let me do.
Having no family or friends, my life was quite…lonely. I was always scared she'd show up again. And because of that, I haven't even been Cathleen Bates for more than ten minutes over the past two decades. For a while I even forgot what she I looked like, the real me.
I don't want this life to consume you as it did me."
"What are you suggesting I do?"
Star' smiles at him, "Makes some friends, maybe get a girlfriend, and hopefully one day start a family of your own. You're a miracle. I'm sure you can figure out how. And that Yaoyorozu girl seemed like she had a crush on you so—"
"No."
She sighs, "Well, you're young, so you've got time. But the point is, don't let that Hero Costume, that visor, isolate you from the world. Don't become like me. Let some people in, or just one, let them see the real you. All the good, and all the bad. Billions of people are jealous of us, of me. They think I'm some god."
"We are."
"Only in power," she says. "But in the currency that matters most, we're poor, because we're alone."
Horizon takes a moment to digest her words, then leans his back against the wall and looks up at the summer sky.
"I'll think about it, but no promises," he says. "I'm busy. Not much time for a personal life."
"Well, it's not like you don't have forever," she says jokingly. "What about the dragon lady?"
"Eh, she doesn't like the fact that I didn't get punished for destroying her city."
"She was too old anyway, so by the time you're ready to have kids she'd be older than I am now."
"Doesn't matter. I can tell the human body what to do about things like that. If I want someone to stay fertile, they will, and if I love them, they aren't allowed to grow old, I forbid it."
"How much does a bottle of 'never age' cost?" she asks while rolling her eyes.
"That one's not for sale. You'll just have to settle for the regular Panacea," he says. "But if you want the other thing, just call me."
Her head snaps over to look at him, "wait, are you serious?"
"Yeah, I can just read your genes and repopulate you. It's easy."
She thinks about it for a moment, then smiles, not the usual Pro Hero smile.
But the smile of Cathleen Bates was shining through.
"If I find someone, I will let you know."
Before he can respond, Horizon's phone beeps, drawing both their attention to it.
"Just make sure your kids aren't annoying," He says before warping away, heading off to deal with the alert he got.
After he warps away, Star and Stripe stand on the roof for a while, looking out at the memorial below.
After all these years running from a nightmare, she wore a peaceful smile.
After believing she'd wasted her entire life and could never get those precious opportunities back.
She finally got another sibling, a little brother, and he'd give her a second chance.
"You really are a miracle," she mutters.
Blissfully unaware of what the future has in store for them both.
The great battle that would reshape regions and forever change the history of this world.
As two Awakened, Mystery Class Quirk users, shatter against each other…
END CHAPTER---
Chapter 360: CHAPTER 351(All Of Me)
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CHAPTER START---
---August 8th, 9 AM, Minato Tokyo…
Rolling one small suitcase behind her, Ryuko wears a relaxed smile as she walks through her apartment building, leaving the elevator and making her way out of the lobby.
Standing on the sidewalk, she straightens her outfit, a simple pair of light blue heels to match her dress with a large white ribbon around her waist, tied into a bow at her back.
A gift ready to be unwrapped after weeks of waiting.
"Ms. Ryuko," a man says as he waves to get her attention.
She immediately notices the man is massive, almost 8ft -240cm- tall with a muscular build, and standing behind him is a woman with small horns on her forehead.
Both foreigners, and not the driver she always uses.
"Who are you?" she asks.
"We're here to take you to the airfield," the woman says. "Feel free to call if you need proper confirmation."
Ryuko takes a few careful steps back, not looking away from the pair as she quickly calls Horizon.
"Did you forget to tell me something?" she asks.
"What?" he asks.
"Changing my arrangements?"
"Right, sorry, I had to keep it quiet until the last moment to prevent…certain things. I sent them. Don't worry, they'll bring you directly to me."
"Alright, if I die, I'm blaming you."
"Tch, as if I'd allow that," Horizon says, and she can feel him rolling his eyes. "I need to get back to work. I'll see you when you get here. Enjoy the plane."
He hangs up before she can respond, very much unlike how he normally treats her.
But she simply shrugs and assumes he's busy.
"All good?" the woman asks.
"Yes, let's go," Ryuko says as she enters the back seat of this obviously armored SUV while the woman puts her suitcase in the trunk.
Holding her phone close and ready to use the small pebbles in her pocket at a moment's notice, Ryuko sits nervously for the two hour long drive to an airstrip at the western edge of Tokyo.
"Wow," was all she could say as they enter a massive private airfield housing the largest plane she'd ever seen.
A three-story monolith of an aircraft with a prominent symbol of two concentric ornate hearts on the tail.
'Matani?' Ryuko wonders. 'Does Horizon know my boss? Or…no, that wouldn't make any sense.'
She casts those thoughts aside while boarding the plane, and having one of the hostesses show her around her home for the next thirteen hours.
"This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever been in," Ryuko mutters as the woman leaves her alone in the master bedroom.
She immediately found the large bathtub, noting it's only slightly smaller than what's found in her penthouse apartment.
She searches online and looks around more, but finds no link between Horizon and Law Matani, except for their joint contributions to a few charities.
"I must be overthinking things," she mutters while shaking her head.
A hostess knocking on the door before pushing a cart of champagne and fine food into the room interrupts her, grounding her from those fantastical thoughts.
While also reminding her of the absurd circumstances she currently exists in.
"I'll just ask him when I get there," she says while laying back in the luxurious bed, drinking straight from a bottle of champagne she could never afford.
Many hours and three bottles later, the head hostess gently woke Ryuko by shaking the bed.
"Ms. Tsuchikawa," the woman says as the groggy woman comes to her senses. "We'll be landing in one hour, then you'll be flown to Matani Tower, Manhattan. The helicopter will have you there within minutes, so please be ready and presentable when we land."
"Right, thank you," Ryuko says as she runs her fingers through her messy blonde hair.
As the hostess is leaving, Ryuko calls out to her, causing the woman to stop and look at her.
"About Law Matani, does he often rent out this plane?" Ryuko asks.
The hostess looks confused at that. "No, he considers this his emergency and luxury aircraft. It is only for his personal use and remains in whatever country he is located within at any moment.
Several crews remain on standby daily, year-round. In fact, you are the first person aside from himself and crew members to be onboard."
"I see, thank you," Ryuko says, and the woman takes that as her signal to bow and leave the room.
She gets up and takes a shower, getting dressed all over again.
With many questions swirling in her mind, she was certain that her delusions were real.
---Matani Tower Manhattan, 1 Hour Later…
"I'm telling you what I'm sure of, and this can't work," Law Matani says as he's walking around his penthouse.
The living room displays a dynamic, ever-changing hologram of the human genome.
Tens of thousands of variables changing every seconds, yet no sequence was what he wanted.
Using his DNA structure, The God Formula, as the guide to alter human genes and perfect the Panacea.
"But it's already so effective. Can't you release it anyway?" President Skyline asks from Law's phone that's floating beside him.
"I can, but imperfect product isn't something I'm interested in showing. Just lean on them a bit more."
"I can't do that. Demanding medical information about their civilian population is a blatant violating of countless international laws."
"Ugh, our partnership is holding this research back," Law says as he continues pacing back and forth. "They think I won't give them access to it. I should have expected that since either they can't afford it or you won't let me sell it to them. After all, they are rivals with America."
"Is that an option?" Preside Skyline asks.
"Isn't getting a major discount good enough for you?"
"I have to consider all potential advantages…"
As they continue talking, Law's glowing blue eyes look upward, sensing a helicopter landing on the roof and Ryuko rushing down the stairs.
The frown on her lips and wrinkles on her forehead confuse him, but he pays it no mind.
Understanding women is something he's never considered possible.
"I'll think of something. Clearly polite geopolitics isn't working, and I refuse to have an imperfect product on the market," Law says before hanging up on President Skyline.
Taking a deep breath, he continues working on the simulations.
Annoyed that the final few billion data points he needed were being withheld from him because of centuries-old national rivalries.
He hears the door to the roof open and shut behind him, and senses Ryuko approaching with her suitcase.
She pauses for a moment, taking in his perfectly sculpted muscles and the tattoos all across his torso, arms, and hands.
She eyed him hungrily for a long moment, then stomped towards him.
"You don't seem surprised," Law says as he turns around, noticing the anger in her eyes.
"Between the plane and the new bodyguards, I put it together, which is what you obviously wanted me to do."
While speaking, she walks toward him and places a hand on her chest, not thinking about how much she enjoys feeling his powerful muscles and bare skin against her hand.
Or the way his handsome face makes her heart race and her mind hazy as he stares down at her with glowing blue eyes.
Finally looking at him without a visor in the way, finally able to feel his skin without absolute darkness shielding who he is.
She pushes him backward, and he allows her to push him back through the hologram and down onto the large couch.
In response, he looks up at her and raises a brow. "What? Couldn't wait a few more seconds?"
"Shut up!" she growls out, and he doesn't react. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Other than my woman discovering I'm an even wealthier billionaire than she realized and getting upset, there's not much going on."
"I don't care about that," she says while stepping away, now displaying his habit of pacing while thinking. "Did I get to have a say in anything?"
"What are you even talking about?"
"My job, the Quirk Counseling company I work for, the Matani Estate owns them," she says. "I mean…I got all these nice jobs after retiring as a Pro Hero, and all of them lead back to you.
Not to mention all the buildings I lived in this past year.
I knew there was something suspicious about my rent being that low, but I did some searching on the flight here and found that you own those buildings.
And the new sponsors for my old team, and my mom's bills, and…ugh!
Everything!
Did I ever have the freedom to choose anything, or were you just controlling my entire life?"
Law looks up at her, genuinely confused. His mind simply didn't understand.
Because, for the first time, their interpretations of 'love' didn't perfectly match.
As she's catching her breath after that rant, he asks one simple question.
Such an honest and innocent question that it told her everything she needed to know.
"Why would anything I love, exist beyond my control?"
Ryuko's heart skips a beat, seeing the genuine confusion on his face, knowing he absolutely meant it.
Finally hearing that simple four-letter word from the man she loves.
Not a second later, she straddles his lap and hungrily kisses him, finally able to enjoy the feeling and sight of his body as their reunion escalates to heights never reached before.
Later that night, naked in bed and gazing at the ceiling, they eventually relax, allowing Ryuko to think clearly.
Finally able to process everything and organize the questions in her mind.
"So, what do you want to know?" Law asks, laying on his side and resting a hand on her toned belly.
"The first thing is, why'd you buy that stupid plane?" she asks jokingly. "Such a waste of money."
"Should I get rid of it?"
"No, I'm using that anytime I fly anywhere," she says while closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his fingers tracing small circles on her belly. "But it is such a waste of money."
"Material things like that, things that can be bought, they hold no true value to me."
"So you've never bought anything you valued, really?"
"Well…" Law thinks about it for a moment as she rolls onto her side.
Staring at his face, trying to memorize every detail, afraid they'd go back to how things were before at any moment. As if he'd retreat behind that visor again.
"I bought hope once," he says.
"Hope, how do you buy hope?"
"The same way you buy anything else, you make a deal."
"And was it worth the trade?" she asks, seeing the conflict in his eyes.
"At the time, I was too weak to find a different path, so yeah, I think it was. Well, I think it will be when it's time to collect."
"And what if it wasn't?"
She feels his entire body stiffen at that question.
"I'm sorry I—"
"No," he reaches up and holds her hand against his face. "It's fine. But if the hope I bought turns out to be a lie…I'm not quite sure what I'd do. But your love for me may be tested."
"In what way?"
"You and the world would see that in every way. I am my mother's son," he says before pulling her into his chest, feeling her both press against him and relax.
"So I hope that means I can ask about her now. It does, right?"
"You don't have to, I'll tell you everything…"
And so he did.
He told her everything.
From his childhood and his parents, to his meeting with Nezu and his contract with Panti.
All the way to becoming Horizon and the recent events with Tech.
Then finally to the conversation with Star and Stripe that pushed him to open up like this to Ryuko, and truly let her know him.
And Ryuko couldn't be any happier staying true to her word.
That even if they were the only people in the world, that would be enough for her…
END CHAPTER---
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