"I'm the guy who's great at evacuating civilians. The Skycrawler!" Koichi said as he descended steadily from a highway, clutching a terrified child in his arms.
A recent villain attack resulted in a pile-up. Heroes and police diligently surveyed the area. Those severely injured had already been evacuated. Rescue efforts shifted to the women, children and the elderly. Koichi landed calmly, placing the child on the ground. His purple visor dramatically flipped up, revealing a sincere smile underneath.
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"I-I guess not. W-was I brave mister?" the boy asked, intermittently sniffling.
Koichi reached a hand to the child's face, wiping tears from the boy's eyes.
"The bravest kid I've seen all day!"
Koichi patted the child's head. The boy now had a gleaming smile across his face.
"Now, go on! Your mom is right there waiting for you!" Koichi said, gesturing to the sobbing mother a few feet away with her arms outstretched.
The boy hurried into his mother's embrace. The sobbing of both being drowned out by the sirens and commotion of the rescue operation. The communicator installed within Koichi's visor began to ring.
"You're in high spirits today!" Dean said provokingly. The sound of mechanical keystrokes filled the gaps between his words.
"I'm guessing your Mom's birthday visit went off without a hitch?"
"In some ways you could say that," Koichi said drearily.
"Welp, I'm glad to hear it! Just checking in with you like for Makoto's sake."
"I appreciate it Dean, thanks."
"Hopefully that Fed isn't micromanaging too much."
"Fed?" Koichi said, puzzled. Koichi's English had improved greatly, but Dean always found new words to throw his way.
"Is that like an abbreviation?"
The inquisitive tone of Koichi's reply caught Dean off guard.
"You mean Mr. Eisenhardt, right?" Koichi asked.
Dean affirmed and hoped Koichi wouldn't tell Makoto where he learned that word from.
"Uh y-yeah him," Dean replied meekly, "Any problems between you two?"
"No, not really," Koichi paused for a moment, recalling past conversations with Charles, "He's pretty blunt with his assessments."
"Assessments? How is he handling that? Are you guys reviewing recordings of the patrol or something?"
"Not really. He seems to stand around and take notes."
From the small camera embedded in the side of the visor, Dean watched as Koichi turned around and clumsily waved at Charles. The FHC agent stood beyond the police blockade, tapping away at the tablet in his hand. He stared back at Koichi with an exasperated expression. The obliviousness on display only drew a sigh from Dean.
"Back to work, hero. We'll talk later."
By noon, all the civilians had been rescued and the job of clearing the cluttered highway was passed onto more specialized heroes. The street beneath the affected highway had been barred off and converted into a first response area. Koichi sat on the sidewalk, making small talk with the other sidekicks that assisted in the rescue.
"Wow! I'm surprised how much your English improved," said one of the more amicable sidekicks, "That Wall Street scandal really got your act together, huh?"
"Yeah, Makot-I mean my agency really hammered down on lessons after that", Koichi smiled nervously, "They didn't stop until I could at least carry a conversation."
"Man, with this kinda fluency you must have been studyin' around the clock." Another sidekick replied, a troubled look on his face.
Koichi chuckled but the discreet agony in his expressions painted the picture of an exceedingly strict teacher in the minds of his colleagues. Luckily, Charles approached the group before Makoto's nightmarish lesson plans were revealed.
"Pardon me, but you'll have to put a pause on this after-work chat." Charles said calmly, his FHC badge displayed prominently on his belt. With haste, the various sidekicks excused themselves.
Charles flippantly checked his watch as Koichi headily rose to his feet.
«Your patrol ended hours ago but there was no ignoring this. Especially when we were so close to the scene already.» Charles said coolly, «I believe it's time for some training?»
Koichi nodded and Charles began walking towards the police barricade at the end of the street.
«Let's be quick. You know how packed that place can get.»
Charles' eyes began to glow, their heterochromic brilliance engulfed his body. Strands of his dark amethyst hair flowed and rippled as he began to levitate. Charles took flight, barreling down the avenue. Koichi followed suit, using his quirk to propel himself skywards. Streaks of black and blue began chasing behind Charles.
«Watch your speed please. It's not a race.» Charles radioed.
«S-sorry!» Koichi replied sheepishly, «I'm just so used to keeping pace with Cap.»
«Speed like that is commendable for crisis response but for low-altitude urban traversal the legal limit is forty miles-per-hour. Remember that.»
«Y-yes sir!»
As the two soared above the cityscape, a large building slowly drew closer. The Vandyne Center for Superhuman Training, a facility built for aspiring and professional heroes to refine their abilities. An impressive structure to say the least, it stood several stories tall and housed several subterranean floors. The pair descended onto the marble steps that cascaded from the entrance.
As the two approached the entrance, a wave of embarrassment washed over Koichi. About a week had passed, and he hadn't lived up to the impassioned proclamation he made to Charles when they first met. Paradoxically, there was also a feeling of gratitude emerging as well. These sessions at Vandyne showed Koichi that there were still greater heights he could achieve with his quirk. Koichi's train of thought was interrupted as a draft of cooled air washed over him as the glass doors parted.
«Today was a heater! I don't mind some air conditioning right about now!» Koichi said gleefully.
«I'd imagine wearing a hood in this heat must have been dreadful.» Charles replied.
Koichi chuckled nervously. He couldn't discern if it was sarcasm, but he surely did not envy the black suits FHC employees had to wear, especially in this weather. Though strangely, there wasn't so much as a bead of sweat on him. Koichi's curiosity-fueled response was halted as Charles raised a hand.
«I'll have to excuse myself for moment. I shouldn't be gone long.»
Without waiting for a reply, Charles darted off and quickly vanished within the crowded lobby.
Nature calls I suppose, Koichi thought to himself.
Now abandoned, Koichi made his way to a marble planter near the reception area. He leaned against the aesthetic structure as he apathetically scrolled through his phone. His social media feed was filled with the usual assortment of old All Might rescue clips, funny cats and cooking recipes. Though sometimes videos of a mustachioed man committing petty crimes would pop up. Koichi always assumed the crimes were staged given the man's comical persona and attire. Still, clips from the gentlemanly thief always got a chuckle out of him.
This lackadaisical reprieve was interrupted as a man in an orange tracksuit bumped into Koichi. The light collision almost sent Koichi's phone flying. Luckily, he stuck it to his palm using quirk.
"Sorry! Sorry!" the man said as he stumbled around trying to find his balance. He was holding one of the life-size training dummies the center provided for rescue drills.
"These dummies are heavier than they look and I think a shoelace came loose", the man said collegially, "Do you mind giving me a hand?"
"Ah sure I could-"
Before Koichi could finish his sentence, the man tossed the dummy onto him. While not exactly the average adult weight, the dummy came in at a close approximation. Koichi stumbled backwards under the sudden heft in his arms, but luckily he was able to brace against the marble planter next to him. He regained sight of the man who was now kneeling down, tying his shoe.
"Makes sense why the staff gives us the lightweight ones and keep those in the back." the man said as he tugged at his newly-tied laces. He quickly rose to his feet and grabbed the training dummy off Koichi's shoulder.
"Thanks! I'm always in a rush to get changed that-"
A perplexed expression grew on the man's face as he stared at Koichi. He studied the reds, blues and blacks of Koichi's costume as if he was trying to recall something.
"Wait. Aren't you C.C's new sidekick?"
Koichi nodded. A giddy smile drew across the man's face as he draped the dummy over his left shoulder and extended the opposite arm outwards for a handshake. Sensing no hostility from the man, Koichi reached out and shook his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you! I'm Calderyan. What was your hero name again?"
"Uh, the Skycrawler. But you can just call me Koichi."
"Haha! Skycrawler! I guess we're both pretty lousy at naming, Koichi. I'm Ryan."
Koichi took offense to that reply but did his best not to show it. His attention was drawn once again to the weighted dummy Ryan had slung over his shoulder.
"So why did you need that specific dummy?" Koichi asked.
"Oh this? Well, I'm trying to get better at shielding civilians while I carry them. The lightweight dummies have better sensors, but I wanted practice to feel more like the real thing, 'ya know?"
Ryan glanced at the dummy over his shoulder.
"My quirk has never been easy to manage. At least when I mess up here it won't be a person getting hurt."
"Yeah, mine gave me some trouble too when I was a kid." Koichi replied, "Came home with a new bruise every day after school. My parents were scared for my wellbeing."
"Haha! I wish that was extent of my screwups as a kid."
Ryan rested the training dummy against the marble planter before leaning against it himself.
"My parents took me to the playground a few blocks from our house and dumb little Ryan goes and falls from the monkey bars. Normally, you'd expect just to see tears, but in my case my quirk decided to manifest right there and then. A five-year-old rolling around splashing lava everywhere gave my folks more than just a fright."
"Lava?" Koichi asked as he cautiously examined Ryan. While his vibrant orange tracksuit drew Koichi's scrutiny, there was a distinct lack of molten features.
"It's not like it just spews out of me, man" Ryan chuckled.
Ryan reached into the marble planter and grabbed a handful of gravel. He casually tossed the pebbles into the air. Koichi watched as the pieces of gravel landed unnaturally along Ryan's forearm, as if pulled in by some magnetic force. The skin on Ryan's forearm began to glow slightly and the underside of each pebble took on a fiery glow.
"Molten Skin. That's my quirk," Ryan said smugly as he waved his arm around to demonstrate how immotile the gravel had become once stuck to his skin. Koichi gave a halfhearted applause in response.
"I have it under control now, but back then on the playground was a different story. There was a girl nearby, she finished playing on the monkey bars before me."
The glow on Ryan's forearm dissipated and he brushed the heated rocks back into the planter.
"Luckily, her dad was able to pull her away in time, but man did my folks let me have it. My dreams of being a hero pretty much fell off a cliff after that. They scolded me for months and took me to quirk therapy, which only made things worse. I didn't use my quirk for years after that."
"What changed?" Koichi asked with a noticeable fascination.
"There was a huge villain attack in Queens and poor eighteen-year-old me got caught up in the worst of it. I would have probably been crushed under some rubble if my quirk didn't get out of control. But you can imagine streams of molten concrete in the middle of a crisis zone didn't make things any better."
Ryan sighed as his recollection brought with it waves of embarrassment and shame.
"You wouldn't believe it, but that Dad from the playground showed up again. Not only did he beat the villains that day, but his quirk allowed him to use the mess I was making to subdue them. He even helped me regain control of my quirk while the other heroes evacuated the remaining civilians."
"I imagine you were pretty relieved after that." Koichi replied.
"Nah man, It was awful," Ryan said with a chuckle, "I was bawling my eyes out and ragging on myself."
The apparent insensitivity of his earlier reply forced Koichi to avert his gaze from Ryan in embarrassment. Ryan was oblivious to this and continued to tell his story.
"He told me that I could be a hero too. He said that heroes aren't people with great quirks, they're people that achieve great things regardless of circumstance. Might not be that profound, but it was definitely what I needed to hear at that time."
Koichi regained his composure and turned to face Ryan. This tale had reminded him of his first meeting with Knuckleduster, though he couldn't decide which of their encounters were more absurd.
"After that, most of my wages went towards renting training rooms at Vandy", Ryan said, pointing over his shoulder at the provisional hero training rooms behind him.
"I was in there for months trying to get a handle on my quirk. Failed the provisional license exam like eight times and I just barely got my hero license three years ago. I owe a lot to Mr. Stone."
"Stone?" Koichi raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"Yeah, Edward Stone. The earth-shattering hero, Mantle. We kept in touched after the villain attack and he eventually allowed me to interned at his agency once I had my provisional license. He even hired me as sidekick once I went pro."
"Mantle?" Koichi said surprised, "I saw on the news that they were inducting him into the New York Hero Hall of Fame."
"Yup!" Ryan replied, a smug grin grew across his face.
"My fiancée and I are gonna be guest speakers for his induction ceremony at the ESHA gala next week."
Koichi tilted his head as a puzzled expression grew across his face.
"Your fiancée as well? Were they also a sidekick at Mantle's agency?"
"Yeah, but I think her relevance to the event lies in her being his daughter rather than just another sidekick." Ryan retorted.
"His daughter? So wouldn't she be-"
Before Koichi could fully voice his assumption, Ryan interjected with a proud confirmation.
"Yup! That same girl from the playground. Things have a funny way of working out I guess."
A confused congratulation was all Koichi could manage to give as a reply. Koichi wondered how one could go from almost being scarred by someone to marrying them.
A playful chime came from the pocket of Ryan's tracksuit. He reached inside and pulled out his phone.
"Oh, its the facility operator. I better bounce before he's cancels my session." Ryan said as he reached down to grab the training dummy.
"You heading over to crisis management center too?"
"No, actually." Koichi replied, "I'll be doing villain subjugation drills in the east wing."
"Aw, what a shame. It was great meeting you! We should chat again sometime!"
Ryan waved goodbye and soon Koichi found himself alone yet again. As one-sided as the conversation was, it left Koichi feeling happy. It was nice to hear that he wasn't the only one who took an unusual path to becoming a hero. Seeing Ryan overcome the inherent destructiveness of his quirk, gave Koichi the courage to do the same.
...
Charles' eyes glowed vibrantly as he floated in the air, hundreds of feet above the Vandyne Center. He placed a finger in his ear, activating a concealed earpiece. Chairman Atkins' voice could be heard on the other end.
"Report, agent Eisenhardt."
"The renegade agents have been dealt with. As predicted, they all fell victim to whatever mind-controlling quirk the herald's leader possesses. Four of the bodies were disposed of and three were handed off to Ms. Nieves for autopsy," Charles replied.
"Three birds with one stone. We've purged the moles from our ranks, improved Bernard's credibility as their informant and, with any luck, these autopsies will reveal something about how this quirk works," Atkins said confidently.
To Charles, the only thing that kept the FHC from being labeled as a villainous organization was their employer, the President of the United States.
"We'll stay the course for now. Bernard will continue to act as our Trojan horse. The information he leaked about our non-existent liberationist spies should sow some delightful confusion within both factions. However, should there be any complications with surveilling him, report to me immediately. If the situation becomes unsalvageable, you are permitted to neutralize him."
And what of his family? That is what Charles wanted to ask, but he knew all too well the kind of man Atkins was. There was a long pause. The silence communicated the fate that would befall the Bernard family, a dreadful one.
"I expect great things, Charles. Do not disappoint me."