Discord: https://discord.gg/t7bHrdRY7Y
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene (Unlimited chapters ahead)
CHAPTER START---
"Is this why you brought me along?" Ryukyu asks, currently in her dragon form soaring through the cold night sky.
Above Tokyo prefecture, they were currently heading toward the countryside, where a few private runways and hangars were located.
But as the woman was flying, she had Horizon sitting on her back. Sword and Hoverboard at his side as he uses the hologram projected by the watch Mei gave him, finding more information on their target.
"What are you talking about?" Horizon asks, his voice only reaching her through their advanced communication devices, otherwise, the wind would overpower them.
"Do you know how many people ask me to give them a ride each week?"
"Don't see how that's my problem, or why they'd care."
"Everyone wants to ride a dragon," Ryukyu was clearly annoyed just thinking about it.
"My Hoverboard is faster than you for the record, I'm just doing this so I can focus on getting more research. Also, you aren't a dragon."
"Excuse me, I'm literally a dragon right now!"
"Nope, can't breathe fire. Not a dragon, just a lizard with wings..."
"I am a dragon, you're being ridiculous."
"When you can breathe fire, then you can call yourself a dragon."
"Mmm," Ryukyu grumbles. "I'm not taking criticism on how accurate the name of my Quirk is, from a guy that names his 'Hand of God', atleast mine isn't offensive."
"Rather arrogant to assume it refers to your god, don't you think?"
"Rather arrogant to call yourself a god, don't you think?"
"Yeah but unlike you, mine is accurate, plus I'm only 16. I've barely begun tapping into what my Quirk can do, but you're 26 and can't even breathe fire...dragon, sure."
"Ugh, that's not how dragons work! I literally look and fight like a dragon!"
"Just a gecko with wings Kyukyu."
"How are you so annoying?!"
"Practice..."
"Ugh!" Ryukyu groans. "Did you atleast find anything on there?"
"Yeah, got an ID for our actual target, the distributor was coming in for a meeting with the head of an underground chemicals lab."
"Drug lab?"
"Nope, think C4 + Nerve Agents..."
"What? How has this guy gone unnoticed until now?"
"Because he pays the right people and has discrete, professional clients," including Arsenal for the past decade. "But we're on him now, he's done."
"If he's so insulated then how'd you find him?"
"Because I know people who know people too," Horizon says.
He'd made a few calls around the underworld and unsurprisingly, a lot of people weren't a fan of this newly weaponized version of Trigger being used on their men without their permission.
He simply chose the wrong test subjects. Pissed off the wrong people, and they offered him up to Horizon.
"Well then, let's hope your connections are as reliable as you are."
"I got a name for his jet," Horizon says as they see the runway in the distance. "It's...the one that just took off..."
"Seriously, damn it," Ryukyu looks into the distance to see it already in the air about to pass over a bridge connecting where the runway is, to a small island off the shore of Tokyo.
"Chase it."
"I can't fly that fast, and neither can your board."
"Yeah but he isn't up to full speed yet, and is still in my range."
"Yeah just warp him out of the plane," Ryukyu says as she begins flying after the plane, intent to keep Horizon in whatever range he had.
"Where's the fun in that?" Horizon chuckles as he reaches out, as if gripping the air with his hand. "Hand of GOD, remember?"
TAKT!
And the closer they got, the wider Ryukyu's eyes opened.
Seeing videos and pictures of Horizon ripping buildings or objects out of the ground was one thing, but witnessing firsthand him bringing a jet from mid-flight to being frozen in the air, from almost 10 miles away at that.
It was awe-inspiring, beautiful, wonderous, beyond humbling, and truly terrifying.
As if God reached down and held the jet with his own hand, power beyond comprehension, especially considering all the things she's heard and seen Horizon do.
When they got closer he tilts the jet so the nose was pointing directly down at the ocean, as he brings it close to the bridge for he and Ryukyu to land.
"You ok back there?"
"I'm just perfect," Horizon growls our, trying to sound strong but the searing pain in his skull was too much. He was currently leaning forward pressing down on Ryukyu with both hands as he focused on the jet.
Stopping fast-moving objects was always difficult, the heavier they were the more difficult. And keeping them in one piece, well that was usually a whole new problem.
But with the difficulty of his new additions, also came benefits.
Not 'stronger' in the usual sense. The upper limits of his power are completely unchanged. The road to get there has only been made shorter.
While he would have entered his prime at above thirty years old, now he can reach it that much sooner, in only a few years. The slowly growing battery that is Horizon has now become an exponentially expanding nuclear reactor, brimming with power much sooner than even he expected.
But that still didn't help the growing pains.
"You don't sound alright," Ryukyu says.
"Just land on the bridge, let's talk to the target."
'I guess he's not as perfect as I thought, but as he said, he's still only 16...so for now, even god bleeds. Also, 'target', how come he isn't saying 'Villain'. How strange for a Hero.'
Landing on the bridge Ryukyu stays in her large dragon form while Horizon hops off.
Thankfully the bridge was deserted this late at night, and Horizon just raised his hand and casually rotated the jet so the pilots were now facing the bridge.
Both men were holding onto their seatbelts for dear life, completely horrified at the situation they were in.
Naturally, they weren't overjoyed to be floating above the ocean like this, staring down into the dark water two hundred feet below the bridge.
But Horizon wasn't interested in them, not in the least.
Giving them a casual wave he makes a spinning gesture with his hand as the plane begins to rotate so they couldn't see the bridge.
After all eyes from the place were averted, he takes out on of his cards and throws it onto the sidewalk of the bridge.
SHAMBLES!
"I surrender!" was the first thing the short and thin man screamed, hands raised high as he looks at Ryukyu. Then his eyes fall to Horizon and he looks about ready to cry. Clearly more afraid of the god than the dragon.
Something that doesn't go unnoticed by her, as it is quite rare for her not to be the main point of fear during interrogations. The only time that wasn't the case is when she worked with Endeavor.
"Who were you making the super concentrated Trigger for?"
"..." The man wisely keeps his mouth shut.
"Fine, the hard way is it," Horizon reaches out to grab the man only for Ryukyu to speak up.
"Stop! Further interrogations should be left to the police. They'll be here in a few minutes."
"Oh please, you don't survive the underworld as long as him without being able to take some lukewarm police questioning," Horizon immediately reaches out and grabs the man by the shirt. "Tell me about the trigger, or I'll drop you."
"Drop me?" The man asks.
Horizon immediately lifts him up with one hand and holds him out above the ocean.
"Horizon!" Ryukyu calls out, about to intervene. "That's enough!"
"Just stay back and watch!" Horizon's tone actually makes her quiet down immediately. "This is how you get results."
"No, you can't do this!" The man screams while nearly trying to wrap his entire body around Horizon's outstretched arm. "You're a Hero, you aren't allowed to do this!"
"Idiot, you're a villain. Nobody really cares about you, plus. I'm not just a Hero, I'm Horizon. That means I, can do whatever I want, now, talk."
"I'll lose my business if I talk!" The man screams out, still holding on for dear life.
"Hmm, true. And I see that you're a man of your word. I can respect that, but so am I."
"WhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" the man's confusion becomes terror as Horizon drops him over the side.
Ryukyu raises her wings, ready to fly down and save him, only for Horizon to turn around before she can do anything.
"You stay put!" he commands, pointing directly at her. And she wisely obeys.
"He's scared enough you can warp him back up now!" Ryukyu insists.
"Don't be silly," Horizon says, then a moment later he warps the initial card back into his hand. Then throws is onto the sidewalk. "Shambles."
The broken villain warps onto the floor. Both legs were broken and one arm was twisted, covered in freezing cold seawater, some of which he was coughing up.
Reaching down, to the villain and Ryukyu's horror. Horizon grabs him by a broken leg and holds him over the railing.
"Another dip?"
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" the man immediately cracks. "It was some kind of contest."
"Contest?"
"Lots of labs around the world were supposedly in on it! Strongest Trigger formula gets the money, but I lost!"
"What else do you know about it?"
"A lab from Europe may have won but it was all anonymous! I swear that's all I know! Please believe me!"
"I believe you," Horizon tosses the man onto the sidewalk.
And with this little experience, it all clicked in Ryukyu's mind.
She knew this was what the media would never see, what she'd never tell them for fear of angering Horizon or his followers.
But this was the truth.
'Guardian Deity', it sounds so majestic and benevolent.
It was the façade he plays for the cameras.
But now she knows better, Horizon isn't that kind of god.
He's all old testament.
Fire, blood, rage.
Results by any means necessary.
And when a man has potentially enough power to fight the world...it's very hard to sleep at night knowing he's out there... knowing that should he ever switch sides, you'd be on the short list of people sent to bring him down.
Sent to die against him...
END CHAPTER---
Discord: https://discord.gg/t7bHrdRY7Y
pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene (Unlimited chapters ahead)
CHAPTER START---
---6 PM, August 31st...
SHAMBLES
Horizon suddenly warps into principal Nezu's office.
Instead of his usual Hero Costume, he wore a pair of white sweatpants with his logo on the right leg, and a matching jacket. Leaving the muscle groove of his body glove exposed for all to see as the jacket was open.
Walking toward Nezu's chair he sits down, leaning back to get comfortable before spinning around. Looking out at Musutafu.
SCAN!
Everything for 5 miles -8km- in every direction floods his mind.
"Mmm," he shakes his head, feeling some discomfort but quickly casting it aside. "Looks like a boring night, and everyone is done training for the evening..."
He looks to his right, at the wall, but was focusing on all his classmates and the students of 1B in the 1A common room.
"Ok, time to see if you've been slacking," he spins around to face Nezu's computer.
The most intelligent person in the world, a computer that was completely unhackable.
On its own insulated network with billions of dollars of cyber security protecting it.
Yet with a few taps, Horizon logs in.
"Who the hell needs a fifty-digit password..." Horizon mutters as he begins looking for security camera data.
The only thing Nezu couldn't plan for, was someone else simply knowing his password.
And when your Quirk allows you to effectively get a 3D map of every object, person, and movement. Seeing the keys and the order they are hit in are easy enough. Even knowing where to touch on a phone screen to log in.
And with Horizon's perfect memory, there wasn't a passcode in UA that Horizon hasn't accidentally memorized simply because of how often his ROOM is active.
"There we go...and he's getting used to the upgrades," Horizon leans back in Nezu's chair and observes Sero's training over the past 2 weeks.
After a few minutes Horizon takes out his phone to open the Hero Network. Seeing another barrage of team-up requests.
"Jeanist, no.
Mt. Lady, useless clout chaser.
Mirko...another trap to get a rematch.
Mr. Knight, why would I ever work with such a D-lister?
Bamboo man, who the fuck? I've never even heard of this guy, ugh. This country has too many of you damn paper heroes."
Declining every request he sets his phone down and focuses on Sero. Watching the improvement made with his guidance.
The new efficiency, creativity, and power.
In every movement, every action, every Super-Move.
"Damn, I almost feel proud. But we won't know if you're still a pussy until people start shooting at you..."
Twenty minutes of review Sero's progress later, and Nezu finally walks in.
"What are you doing?" Nezu asks, closing the door behind him.
He sees Horizon leaning back in his chair looking at the screen.
"Security footage, Sero's training, just checking in on him."
"And how did you log into my computer?" Nezu asks as he sits opposite Horizon, leaving him in the principal's chair.
"I guessed your password."
"That's impossible."
"I'm just that good, is your meeting done?"
"Finally yes. It actually has much to do with why you're here. Someone who needs a miracle doctor will be coming to UA tomorrow, along with a new transfer student."
"Glad to see you're wasting no time filling those seats. Also, I'm not a free clinic, is this person useful."
"It's regarding a case you'll be asked to lead, the kind of case that will jump-start a career."
"I've had a lot of those lately," Horizon sighs. "But fine, I'll see what I can do, only as long as it's useful."
"You mean because it's the right thing to do?"
"Sure sure, tell the press that, those useless fucks love that hero garbage."
"It's not garbage, some people mean it, All Might does."
"Did, and a lot of good that did for him. No thanks."
"Well, either way, you've done good work these past few weeks. The crime rate is on a steady decline exactly as predicted. If not for you deterring crime in central Tokyo that much things would have been far worse for way longer."
"Finished just in time for you to call me to fix another broken thing you found."
"Well I did find you after all."
Horizon's head snaps over to look at Nezu, "I'll let that go, just because you're the only thing keeping my parents alive."
"Mhm," Nezu nods awkwardly.
Turning back to the screen Horizon reaches behind his neck and his mask folds away into the plate at the back of his neck. Becoming compact to the size of a cellphone.
"So, are these losers ready for the License Exam tomorrow?" Law asks, but notices Nezu just staring at him. "What?"
"Your eyes...why are they glowing?" this was his first time seeing the new blue glow.
"New tricks," Law shrugs. Keeping his ROOM open so the glow persists.
"Right. Well yes, I believe they're ready. But I got word that because of a certain someone constantly running his mouth about how soft society is on the requirements for being a Pro Hero."
Law gives a vicious smile at that, "oh, so what, how strict are we talking?"
"We'll find out tomorrow after the exam," the sound from Sero's training stops and Horizon shuts off the recording. "Well, how was he?"
"Better than expected, still a lot of work to do, but its a start."
"And why only train him?" Nezu raises a hand to his chin, still unable to figure out the thought process behind this. "There are others in the class that would give better results from your training, why not them?"
"A few reasons," Law raises his fingers to start counting them. "Firstly, most of them are intolerable. Then there's the issue of them not being open enough to give me credit. But mostly, they just don't want it enough."
"Midoriya and Bakugo want to be Pro Heroes more than most people that have ever attended UA."
"Yes, but they aren't selfish enough," Law sees Nezu looking a bit confused. "What I mean is, for Sero. It's just him and his dad against the world. They're dirt poor and him going Pro is their hail-mary attempt at getting a better life. He doesn't have any backup plan, he CAN'T quit. So he will die before he fails...something I can relate to."
"And why is wanting to be a Pro Hero to save the civilians any less than that? I'd argue that Midoriya's heroic spirit is among the strongest I've ever seen."
"Yes, but if that so-called 'heroic spirit' ever breaks, strangers die. He may feel bad for a while, but he'll get over it. We're human, its what we do. But when you're fighting for people you really love, then you'll never allow yourself to break. You'll break the world before it breaks you."
"Backs against the wall, I see..."
Law shakes his head, "biggest brain on the planet, but all that logic and math in your head makes it difficult to really understand people. No wonder I always beat you at chess, getting in your opponent's head isn't enough. You also have to read his heart, and to do that, you have to understand your own."
"Are you in any position to lecture me about emotions?"
"Tch," Law scoffed. "I have a heart, and I know it well. It's not made of stone, I feel things..."
"I know. I see it all the time," Nezu gives a warm smile. "You can't help but show it on your face, every time you talk about them. Because regardless of what they did or what they are, you atleast think they were good to you, and your love of them is what makes you who you are."
"Because they're perfect."
"Maybe, but now imagine if you looked at every person with such care, and that strong desire to protect them."
"That's impossible, nobody has that much love to give."
"All Might does..."
Law thinks about it for a moment, and can't argue against it. For better or for worse Yagi did care about everyone, willing to do things that Law would only do for his family, but for random strangers.
"True," Law says. "But he's 1 in ten billion, just like me..."
"Maybe, but you're more similar than you believe."
"That's impossible."
"Mhm, yet you both punish yourself beyond any reasonable bounds when one of the people you love and want to protect gets hurt, for him, he'd work himself to death. Knowing that a million more saved lives could never make up for any one life he failed."
"And me, how exactly am I punishing myself?"
"The loneliness."
"I'm not lonely," Law grits out. "I've got you to annoy me every day."
"That's not the same and you know it," Nezu hops onto the desk and walks up beside Law, looking out at the city behind them, and Law spins in the chair to join him. "You've always had them with you. Always lived in your family home. But now, walking around these big, empty houses. Refusing to even make friends because you feel like you don't deserve them until you fix everything, it's not what they'd want."
"Don't tell me what they'd want!" Law snaps at him, but Nezu doesn't react.
"They want you to live a full life. And from what I understand they wouldn't care which side you fought for, just that you were happy and living the life you want, with people you care about."
"If this is some cheap sales pitch for me to start making friends, you're failing."
Nezu sighs, "no, but I imagine if they knew that their son was here working himself to death, going four days at a time with no sleep. All while having no real friends, for three whole years. Just to save them... that would break their hearts."
Law stops to think about it for a while, sensing all his classmates finally gathered in the common area. "And how would you be so sure?"
"Because all my students and staff are the closest I'll ever have to family...and it would break my heart to think they led such lonely lives."
"And now you expect me to make friends with everyone I meet?"
"No, but maybe don't be as bad, do something nice for them. Public image is a main concern of yours after all and they are the first people the press will call when you're a full Pro Hero."
"Mmm, I guess playing nice may be the right call here. Solve more problems that way, but what do teens even like, normal ones I mean?"
Nezu shrugs, "pizza?"
END CHAPTER---