Wandering Mind

“Spartan, we need to talk,” the man behind the phone spoke. Even though he’d only just listened to the message and went to call him back, the man on the other side had been there to pick up immediately.

“Were you waiting for me to call back?”

“No, I just knew when you would call.” The voice he heard was stern, like that of a businessman coming from a particularly bad meeting. “I wanted to get in contact with you because I thought that you might be able to help me with a case I’m investigating.”

“I’m listening.”

“You saw the robbery this morning by the reservoir dogs, with all the odd circumstances?”

“I did, a third party had to be involved to make all the evidence disappear as quickly as it did. But from what I heard there was nothing that could link the crime to anyone else.”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“You have a lead?” He leaned back in the chair, idly looking over his dog tags in his other hand as he listened.

“Not quite, but I have a good guess on who’s responsible. Yakuza, the Shie Hassaikai.”

“From what I’ve read in reports the Yakuza are almost non-existent, Heroes forced them underground and nearly completely out of any major markets.”

“That’s correct for the most part, you yourself unintentionally took part in a drug bust by a different clan.”

“They looked more like a group of small-time thugs than a clan of Yakuza, though I suppose that just goes to show how far they’ve fallen. ”

“Which is why it’s imperative that we investigate the Shie Hassaikai.” The man behind the phone paused, “We received information from an insider that the old head of the clan fell ill suddenly, and that was no longer able to perform his duties. As such he was replaced by a much younger man by the name of Kai Chisaki.”

“You bring him up because you think he’s personally involved?”

“I do. His pseudonym is that of his quirk’s name, Overhaul. It gives him the ability to break down and reconstruct anything that he comes into contact with.”

“Then you’re saying that he was personally involved in the robbery, breaking down and reconstructing any evidence and without leaving a single trace of any tampering or foul play.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

“Then what do you need my help for? If you don’t have any solid evidence, then there is no grounds for a police raid. You don’t even have to justify busting down the door with probable cause.”

“Not exactly. We’ve been looking into them for quite some time and have identified a number of distribution networks using shell companies, small businesses and smaller gangs. All that we know is that they’re planning to put a new drug on the streets, what that drug might be is anyone's guess.”

“Then you want me to walk the streets and gather info.”

“Yes. While your presence as a Hero may be easily noticed due to your armor, without it you could pass as a tourist. You wouldn’t garner much attention from people, aside from maybe lowlifes looking for a pocket to pick.”

“That could work, but that wouldn’t get me any closer to whatever they plan to make. Maybe I could snoop around a market or two, but it wouldn’t get me anywhere near their actual operations.”

“That is while you’ll have to play another role, as a Villain.” Aurdel stopped leaning back in his chair and sat up straight.

“That’s not in the realm of possibility, not with the schedule that I have now. People would notice my disappearance during the day when I’m usually supposed to be teaching. And one day wouldn’t be enough to infiltrate them anyways. I know these kinds of criminal groups, they take time to get into. It’ll take weeks to gain their trust, and even then I might still end up restricted to some part of their compound.”

“Then you’ll have to accomplish just what you can. I would send myself or one of my sidekicks to perform the information gathering, but any of us would be easily recognized even outside of costume. That’s why I asked you.”

Aurdel looked at the clothes he had in his room, “I’ll do what I can, but I can’t guarantee to you that I’ll find anything game changing or even enough to warrant further investigation.”

“Investigating it alone is more than I could ask of you, as I have done nothing for you myself. Unless there is something that you have in mind?” Aurdel thought for a moment, then had an idea.

“There is something, actually. You know that after the licensing exams UA allows its students to go on work studies, right?”

“I do, though there are very few that I accept even across the country. I only wish to take on those that I see prospects in, that which can be cultivated and grown into great Heroes. Are you asking me to take on any one specific student?”

“I am. His name is Izuku Midoriya, and I think that he has some great potential. He just needs proper training and experience to draw it out. And given that you’re one of the top agencies, I don’t doubt that you could help him with that.” The other side of the line went silent for a moment, a response only came after several tense seconds.

“What potential do you see specifically? It is his quirk? His level of power?”

“He’s powerful, but that’s not the potential I was referring to.” He leaned back in his chair once more, “Some might call it a detriment, but he is recklessly selfless. I’ve looked into his past and saw the things that he did, all of it proof of his nature

Silence again, “Have you actually observed any of this?”

“I saw it first hand too.”

… “I will consider it.” There was some hesitation in his voice, as if he’d somehow already known about Midoriya and was biased against him. Aurdel wouldn’t pry into that. “The main place that I want you to investigate is one of their smaller distribution locations. There is no solid evidence that it has been used for handoffs between the Hassaikai and others, but we’ve had several tipoffs.”

“I’ll check it out first thing tomorrow.”

“You’re not coming to watch us take the exam?” Midoriya asked.

“Unfortunately I can’t, I’m still new around here so there’s a lot of things that I need to get done. But if I could I would, even if I already know what the result should be,” he put a hand on his shoulder, “But just because I won’t be there to yell into your ears doesn’t mean you can put in any less effort than if I was. In fact, you should be putting in even more.”

“We won’t disappoint you sir!” Ida said firmly, “Isn’t that right Class 1-A?”

“Yeah, Plus Ultra!” They shouted together, he gave them an affirmative nod in response.

“Alright,” he gave him a pat on the back, “Good luck, I better find out that you all passed when you get back.” He watched them as they began to enter the bus, Aizawa stepped aside to talk with him for a moment.

“Don’t worry about them, I’ll make sure that they give it their all,” he scratched the back of his head, “But, uh, I can tell you got roped into something involving the criminal underground.”

“Something I say?”

“No, I just have a sort of gut feeling that tends to be right. A word of advice since I have some experience with it: try not to draw too much attention to yourself, but don’t make it obvious that you’re going for a low profile. There’s a certain subtlety that you need.”

“I’ll figure it out, this isn’t exactly my first recon mission,” he folded his arms, “Just make sure that they do good.”

“You won’t have to worry.” After that Aizawa walked onto the bus and the class had left. Aurdel quickly went back to his dorm, shutting the door behind him. With some he managed to get his armor off and stored it in a heavy duty safe in his room, making sure that one but him would be able to open it. After that he dressed up in clothing that was unlikely to arouse suspicion. That meant a set of sweat pants, a casual shirt with a few pockets, a blazer with a number pockets sewn into the inside, hidden holsters and a pair of sneakers. He also put on a pair of glasses for good measure, but non-prescription since he didn’t want to damage his eyesight. After that he snuck out of the dorms using the tunnels that he’d dug, using a shower curtain to make sure that he didn’t get himself dirty and carefully emerging out of one of the many emergency exits he’d made. Once he knew the coast was clear he made a break for it, leaving the campus and getting onto the city sidewalks. He walked the whole way down from the school campus and into the city, not breaking a sweat the entire time. As he walked he made sure that he looked around more often than the usual bystander did, portraying either the sightseeing nature or overcautiousness of a tourist visiting another country. And it worked too, as nobody even bothered approaching him. The place that he was supposed to investigate was further in the city, so there was no time to waste.

He hailed a cab, making sure to speak in English. “Hi there, this is my first time in Japan. Know any good places?” He climbed in.

“Depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for games, manga, then you’ll want to go to the mini Akihabara. But if you’re looking for good food, there’s-“

“Actually, hold on. My friend just sent me a text with where he went during his last trip,” Aurdel feigned looking down at his phone, then pretended to fumble his words. “Teni- Tenish- Ten-?”

“Tenshi?” The driver said with an eyebrow raised. It wasn’t the exact location of the place he was supposed to investigate, just the general area. “I don’t think you Americans should be going there, it is a scummy place.”

“You don’t have to worry about me, my friend made some friends on his last visit here,” he looked ahead of the cab, as if he was in a rush. “Can you get me there? I don’t want to walk in this heat.”

“I can,” the cab driver turned back around, changed the sign and began to drive. Aurdel sat back and took a breath. He wasn’t worried, he just wanted a moment to relax. In his concealed holsters he carried a number of weapons. The first held his M6D magnum, the second a Beretta M9 with a silencer and the last two holding a combat knife and a frag grenade. More than enough firepower if things didn’t go well. On his hands were a pair of completely translucent gloves to avoid leaving any fingerprints. “Your friend, what does he do?”

“He has a lot of international connections. You know, around the world? Many places.” The driver nodded his head as if he’d only just known what he meant after having it dumbed down to him. “I don’t know everything about it, but he does a lot of stuff with cars. He has a meeting soon, I think he’s trying to get his company to make a new model. He just wanted to meet with some people from here before the meeting and invited me out.” The driver nodded, not really believing him but still listening.

“This district is a bad place. If your friend is as important as you say, then you don’t want to be around him here for long. You’ll end up robbed, stabbed or both.” He turned onto the street, “But if you really want to be here, then I would suggest hiring a bodyguard.” The taxi stopped, the door unlocked. Aurdel used a credit chip to pay the taxi driver.

He momentarily switched back to Japanese as he exited, “I can protect myself.” The driver gave him a funny look, then scoffed before driving away.

This part of the city was lit much less modernly than the others, with some buildings that looked much more ornate than others. A number of buildings in the area were run down though, making for a very conflicting set of architecture. He looked around, not many cars. More people just looked to be walking. A number of them wore ragged clothing, compared to the other parts of the city many here were impoverished. It was an awful sight to see, but it was one of the unfortunate truths of city life. He kept walking, walking in the direction of the market that he was supposed to survey. Navigating his way to it was the hard part, after that it would be in plain sight. He turned off from the sidewalk and went into one of the alleyways, having memorized the route. A right turn, a left, straight for three blocks and another right. That led to an area which looked to be an abandoned school, but one that had yet to be demolished either due to lack of support, interest in the area or a lack of funding from relevant parties. As such squatters had taken up residence in the area and set up homes and little markets. There was a little bit of everything, whether it be electronics, books, games, memorabilia, manga, food or anything else. The perfect place for the tourist to look for a souvenir. Or, for a fix.

According to what he was told, it was one of the stall owners that was acting as a distribution point. Which one it was he wasn’t told, so he’d have to figure that out. So he wandered. Walking around he made it look like he was just sort of browsing, looking for something to bring home as a souvenir. He fumbled over old vinyl records still in their paper sleeves, he picked up and examined toys like they were somehow connected to a distant childhood memory. He even searched through the racks of clothing like he was trying to find something that fit him. Unfortunately he found absolutely no evidence of drug dealing, but he did find himself sidetracked for a moment. He stopped at the small shop, looking at the weapons that were on display. Almost all of them were incredibly old weapons, old enough to be put into a museum. Originally pattern AKs, M14s, M16s Springfields, Garands, BARs, Mosins, Kar 98ks, Gewehrs, Carcanos, Broomhandles, Lugers, Nambus, Arisakas, Type 100s and even an M60. Having weapons this old would be exciting for any gun collector, but Aurdel saw this as an opportunity. The man behind the counter looked old, about in his mid seventies. The weapons were likely all grandfathered into the system legally, but he has no reason to keep them around or even a safe place to keep them. “Excuse me?” Aurdel said, first in English and then in Japanese.

“Oh, a foreigner that can speak Japanese. Do you need help?” The man asked, “Or are you looking to buy?”

“Most likely, I just want to see and ask a few things first.” Aurdel folded his arms, looking at the display.

“Alright, shoot.”

“How’d you get your hands on these things? Weapons this old are near essentially impossible to find anywhere except for a museum.” He picked up an M14, starting a quick field strip to check the internals.

“Ah, now that’s a good question. Not one many people bother to ask,” the older man gave a toothy grin, “My family history has a lot of military in it. My great great great great grandfather… Or was it great great great great grandfather…? Ah, one of my ancestors was an American during the Second World War. He had a brother too, both were big gun nuts. So they took souvenir weapons wherever they went. His brother went up to fight in Europe and Africa, he went up and down the pacific. Then when the war ended, he found himself a lady and decided to stay here despite what both families said. So when his brother got sick and didn’t have any kids, everything went to him in one big old stockpile. He kept all of them in good shape, ammo too. From there it became family tradition to maintain the stockpile and add to it in your own way,” the smile faded from the man’s face, “Of course, my son didn’t want anything to do with it. He left and went overseas, leaving everything to me here. And now that I can’t find work and the pension isn’t enough, I have to sell whatever things I can just so I can get by.”

“They’re heirlooms, not just things.”

“I know, but I don’t have much of a choice. ‘Course no one really wants them, they want all those newer weapons. They don’t appreciate the power of a classic rifle.”

“That’s for sure,” Aurdel reassembled the M14, then practiced shouldering it and aiming down the sights. “Do you have ammo to go with them?”

“Sure do, boxes of it. All pristine with original powder and lead. It’s meticulous work to keep it all from getting damaged, but it makes the time go by much faster.” He looked behind the man, several crates sat there with what he presumed to be ammunition. This guy… “So, what do you say?”

“Well, do you have a wheelbarrow and a tarp?”

“I can get one, why?”

“I’m buying it, all of it. Guns, ammo and anything that comes with it.”

“You can’t just say that you’re buying all of it, that’s-“ the man was silenced as Aurdel pulled out several large stacks of US hundred dollar bills. “Are you a cop?”

“No, I’m just interested in buying. Take the money first though, you don’t want to leave it out in the open here.” Some might question how he got the money, and well… He was of the belief that organized criminals didn’t need the stockpiles of cash they had after they were captured and imprisoned, and that it could be put to much better use doing other things. Besides, all the original cash was insured to begin with.

“I’ll be back in a moment then,” Aurdel walked off to the side for a moment as the old man went to get something to carry the weapons in. In that time he walked over to one of the windows in the school, looking out into the alley between it and a number of shops. If he remembered correctly, one of them was a cafe. He’d only done it idly and didn’t expect anything to happen, however… A masked man walked out from the store next to where the cafe was, standing out in the alleyway. Less than a minute later he saw someone else walk in and approach the man, shake hands, and then walk away. Of course that wasn’t actually all that had happened, he’d seen the two small cases that were slipped between them. A deal had gone down right in front of him in Yakuza territory, he had his lead. The old man walked back out with a number of bags, “Should I begin packing it all?”

“Yes please, I’ll be back in a moment.” Aurdel left the market, heading out into the alleyway and beginning to shadow the second man who’s received the case since the first was nowhere to be seen. Once the two had turned into the next alleyway and were some distance in Aurdel closed the distance, quickly using his hand to chop at his neck and stun him. The man fell to the ground, dropping the cases. After quickly stowing the unconscious man into a dumpster he looked through the two cases. The first one had what looked like run of the mill self injected drugs, though what they were specifically he didn’t know. The second case was what intrigued him more. The syringes in that one were shaped more like projectiles, and appeared to be designed to fire out of a handgun. In fact, they’d probably fire straight out of his beretta. Now this… This was something to look into.

Analytical

After securing what he assumed to be the new drugs in question, Aurdel brought the weapons that he’d purchased from the man back to his dorm and stowed them away. He didn’t have to buy all of them, not really. All that he had actually needed was the M60 and its ammunition since the MA5B fired the same cartridge, but the more firepower he kept off the streets the better off things would be. But once he was done with all that he knew that he needed to get the drugs analyzed, and there was really only one place he knew to go. So after putting back on his armor and slipping the cases into a hardcase on his side, he went to Nighteye’s agency. “I am going to be quite truthful with you, I did not expect you to produce results so quickly.”

“Call it a fluke, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

“A matter of perspective,” Aurdel placed the two cases onto the desk, Nighteye opened them up. “One of these is certainly what we expected, Trigger.”

“Which would be?” Aurdel folded his arms.

“That’s an easy question to answer,” another man said, “Trigger is a drug criminals have been buying as of late to make themselves stronger when going up against Heroes. Gives ‘em more power or range, though it usually doesn’t last beyond a few minutes so they don’t pose too big of a problem alone.”

“Fat Gum, I’m glad you were able to arrive on such short notice.”

“This tends to be my area of expertise, so if there’s anything involving it going around I have to know,” the large man gave a wide grin at Aurdel, “Meanwhile I’ve been meaning to meet you. I was actually supposed to bust that gang of dealers that you roughed up, but you beat me and the police there.”

“Just doing what I do best.”

“So then, what else do we have besides the Trigger?” Fat Gum asked.

“Not sure, though I don’t think you’ll know either,” Aurdel said, “From the looks of it, it’s a syringe meant to be shot out of a gun. What exactly is inside of it I don’t know.” Fat Gum picked up the syringe and examined it.

“Doesn’t look like the usual drugs the Yakuza try to push out onto the streets, it’s not codified.”

“Codified?”

“Yeah, the Yakuza here typically print numbers on them so they can keep track of production without too much issue. Unintentionally it helps us know how much is unaccounted for. But if they’re not printing it, then it means it's something completely new. Maybe on a trial run before they do full production.” He put it back into the case, “It’s not similar to anything else I’ve encountered, smells completely different too. Almost like a kind of copper tinge,” Fat Gum tilted his head, “Have you had it run down to the lab yet?”

“No, he just brought it here,” Nighteye said, his hands clasped together. “Fat Gum, I’ll have to ask you to do it. Even if the Yakuza are less powerful than they used to be, I don't doubt they have a presence in the police. And if that’s true, and they found out that we have their new product, then they’ll turtle up their operations.”

“You do that, but I think the better option is getting a test subject,” Aurdel took one of the syringes, “It’s made up from human bodily samples. Blood, tissue, probably a bit of vital organs.”

“How can you tell?” Fat Gum asked.

“The blood is easy, that’s the copper-like smell. As for the rest of it, I’m making an assumption based on the particulate floating around inside it. It looks too organic.” He held it up close to his visor, “Nighteye, you said that Chisaki’s quirk let him break down things and reconstruct them?”

“I did.”

“Then I’m going to make a jump of several logical assumptions.” He pulled the mag out of his beretta, slotting a single syringe bullet into the chamber. “Chisaki has a quirk that can break down and reconstruct anything, that makes it easy to figure out how he’s putting in biological matter.And If it’s meant to be fired out of the gun then it’s clearly meant to function in a lethal manner, one that would give them an advantage or criminals in general an advantage against someone else. My guess? Heroes. That leaves me with two distinct and extreme possible cases,” he set the beretta back into a holster. “First, the possibility that they’ve created a bullet that can disassemble literally any being with one hit. Doesn’t matter where it lands on you, so long as it does you’ll be ripped apart.”

“How can you make that assumption?”

“It’s what I would do,” he continued, “The second possibility, they have a bullet that can deconstruct quirks. Doing that would give criminals an advantage against any Hero, essentially forcing them to face the threat of either permanent retirement or death. It’s also possible that if they have something like this, then they can make something that does the opposite. A bullet that restores quirks..”

“It’d give them total control of both Heroes and Villains,” Fat Gum said, clenching his fist.

“That’s not the worst of it. If it becomes mass produced and goes global, then literally everyone would be under threat from either possibility..”

“Even if you think it’s possible, it’s still too early to say what they might be,” Nighteye said, ”We need to see what it can do before drawing conclusions.”

“Leave that to me”

“Spartan.”

“Detective,” Aurdel nodded at Tsukauchi as he stepped out of the police car and walked towards the main prison center.

“I don’t think it’s moral to do what you’re suggesting,” the man said, rubbing the back of his head. “Sure he’s on death row, but he’s still a human and has his rights.”

“Given the history of the country we’re in, I find it very ironic that you’re trying to make that argument. But there’s a difference. This man is a deranged mass murderer who’s already been prepared for execution, and some evil deserves to suffer.” They walked through a number of security gates, each one staffed by a number of officers that checked their IDs and possessions at each one. Then once in the facility proper it was a variable maze of hallways, rooms and corridors, a pure and sterile gray or white coating every single one of them. He looked at the cells as he walked past, each one of them holding a Villain. A number of the lower security ones seemed repentant and accepted their fates, sitting in their cells and often doing some form of activity to pass the time. Those that had higher security were often severely restrained inside of their cells, preventing them from using their quirks in any attempt to escape. One in particular he saw was a man referred to by the moniker of Hero Killer: Stain, standing comatose in place due to his injuries and quirk.

But he wasn’t here for him. Aurdel walked into the death row section of the prison, where those that were to be sentenced to death waited for their final day. Stares followed him as he walked past the cells, prisoners in straight jackets waiting for the time to come wondering why a Hero would show up here. He was only here for one of them, a man he’d encountered previously. Aurdel looked at the guard who’d been standing by and waiting for him to arrive, nodding. Reluctantly the guard walked over with him to the door, unlocking it and opening it before shutting behind him as he walked in. “You... Again.” The man in the padded room said in a low voice

“Yes Moonfish, it’s me again.” Here sitting in front of him in a chair was one of the first Villains he’d encountered, the one that had expandable blades for teeth. Some of them had managed to grow back, and that would be vital to his experiment. “You're on death row, that means your life is forfeit. And unless you can manage to escape, then you’ll die here.” Moonfish activated his quirk to try and attack him, but his reach wasn’t far enough. His bladed teeth that had grown back weren’t yet long enough

“Shut…”

“Yes, that’s right. You’re going to die here, for your crimes. Of course I’m going to shorten your stay.” The man growled as Aurdel taunted him, coaxing him into using all of the willpower he had to attack him with his to try and attack him with his blade teeth, physically exhausting himself in the process and causing a vein to bulge on his forehead. “That’s right, keep trying to attack me. I just need you to keep your teeth extended for as long as possible.” Aurdel leveled the gun, aiming for the exposed vein, and fired. The syringe fired out without issue, piercing the skin, Aurdel watched as the solution inside of it began to pump out and surge into Moonfish’s bloodstream. Near instantaneously he began letting out screams of pain, the sound slightly muffled by his mouth having been open and the blades extended. Then something strange began to happen, the blades began to retract. But it was more than that, because as they receded they looked to lose their metallic sheen. The teeth had gone from being metallic blades, to just simple teeth. Aurdel looked at the handgun, loading in another bullet. It was the second theory. A drug that could destroy the quirks of those who it was used against.

Aurdel raised the gun and fired at Moonfish again, this time in the chamber he had a nine mil and splattered his head across the padded cell’s walls. With his other hand he pulled out his phone, calling Nighteye. “I did the test, it was the second possibility. It takes a moment to do it but it looks like it destroys quirks, turning whoever was hit into someone without any signs of having had a quirk.”

“Then our fears have been realized,” the man behind the phone sighed.

“What about the lab, what have they come up with?”

“Your theory came back true, there was human blood and DNA in the syringe. However, they are not from Chisaki.”

“Then who?”

“At the moment, we’re not sure. The DNA isn’t on any registered database. All that can be used to narrow down the person of origin in the age of the cells, as they appear to be taken from a young female host less than the age of eight.” Aurdel didn’t know what to say, he shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

“We’ll find them.”