MHA Universe, Earth, Japan, Musutafu.
"That villain! He's got a kid as a hostage!" A random bystander shouted in a panicked tone.
"Someone! Please save him!" Another bystander shouted.
"Call a hero!" A third bystander shouted.
"Hey! There are heroes here!" A fourth shouted. "One of you, do something!"
Just as the last bystander shouted, there were a number of heroes present to witness what was going on. And the exact situation was that an boy with ash-blond hair, no older than fourteen, had been taken hostage by a man, a villain, with the ability to turn his body into a sludge-like substance.
Meanwhile, a large number of people, heroes and civilians alike were gathered, watching the ongoing incident with horror in their eyes.
"Damn it... I've already used up my time for the day." A skinny, middle-aged man standing at 7'2" tall with skeletal, sharp facial features, no eyebrows, black sclerae, light blue irises, and wavy blond hair with two long strands that hang down from his hairline and frame his face said quietly while clenching his fists tightly. "If this were only five years ago, I would have no problem dealing with that villain and saving that young man."
With frustration swirling in his eyes, the blond man looked around at all the people gathered to see the spectacle. Unfortunately, he was unable to see anyone with the strength and skill to save the boy from the villain without hurting him.
"*Sigh* I don't have long until I can no longer act as a hero." The blond man said to himself. "I just hope there will be someone with the power to step up before I have to bow out. Hmm?"
At that moment, while still surveying the situation, the blond man noticed a relatively short and skinny boy, about the same age as the one who had been taken hostage, with a curly mop of dark green hair, matching round eyes, a round face, and freckles rushing out of the crowd towards the Sludge Villain with tears in his eyes.
"Let go of Kacchan!" The boy shouted as he reeled what appeared to be a school bag back before hurling it at the Sludge Villain with all his might.
To no one's surprise, when the bag hit the villain, it did not cause any visible damage. Instead, the only thing it did was make the villain sneer at the boy disdainfully.
'That's the same boy I met earlier.' The blond man thought to himself while watching the green-haired boy rush towards the Sludge Villain. 'He said he doesn't have a [Quirk]. Yet, he has the courage to try and help. *Sigh* Perhaps I wrote him off too quickly. This young man truly has the heart of a hero.'
This world, though similar to any other modern version of Earth, had one glaring difference. And that was the existence of [Quirks], a genetic mutation that gives nearly eighty percent of the world's population supernatural power. However, not all of these powers are powerful, or even all that useful. But that led to a division among the population.
With power, there were those who believed they were free to do what they wanted, whether those things were good or bad. And those who felt that way were the ones that most people called villains.
Then, there were those who believed that their power meant they should be held to a higher standard. They also took it upon themselves to keep the villains in check, gaining them the titles of heroes.
Unfortunately, the green-haired boy fell into neither of those categories. Instead, he was among the twenty percent of the population born without a [Quirk]. As a result, his dream of being a hero like his idol, All Might, this era's Symbol of Peace, was denied by everyone he knew while he was often mocked for dreaming too high.
Even so, his kind heart and willingness to help those in need never died.
While blond man was thinking, the green-haired boy reached the Sludge Villain. When he did, he did the only thing he could. He clawed and pulled at the sludge making up the villains current form.
However, the green-haired boys efforts did not amount to much. In fact, it seemed to only make things worse, as the sludge villain's sneer widened before he started to absorb the blond boy he held hostage.
Seeing this, the green-haired boy's tears began to fall as he shouted at both the blond boy and the villain, crying for the blond boy to keep fighting while begging the villain to let his friend go. All the while, he continued to try and free the blond boy with all his might.
"Get out of here, Deku!" The blond boy shouted angrily. "Like I'd ever need help from an extra like you!"
Despite the blond boy's harsh words, to those watching, it seemed like he was just trying to get the green-haired boy to not put himself in any further danger.
Meanwhile, the blond man who had been watching everything unfold took a deep breath while his eyes were filled with resolve.
'Although I'll be pushing myself, I should have enough energy to end this without either of those boys getting hurt.' The blond man thought to himself as he tensed his muscles and began to circulate the energy of his [Quirk].
*Zap!*
Yet, before the blond man could activate his [Quirk], and push his body to its limit, he heard a barely audible sound of crackling electricity from right behind him.
"Take it easy Toshinori." A deep male voice with an American accent said quietly from behind the blond man.
"Alfonzo, you're here." The blond man, Yagi Toshinori, replied in a relieved tone. "I'm glad yo made it in time."
Despite appearing in the middle of the crowd, no one seemed to notice the new arrival's, Alfonzo's, presence. And that was thanks to the [Skill] he chose as his [Quirk], [Electromagnetism Magic], as he used it to alter the visible light that reflected off his body, rendering himself invisible.
"Yeah, I saw the report about this while I was on the way back from another villain attack." Alfonzo said with a nod. "Anyway, I'll take care of this. So, you don't need to worry."
"Then, I'll leave it to you." Toshinori replied softly.
With that, Alfonzo nodded. Then, he shot up into the air. A moment later, he reappeared floating above the villain and the two boys.
"Alright, I think you've had enough fun for the day." Alfonzo said casually.
Hearing that voice, everyone in the area looked up. When they did, the found a brown-skinned man with grey eyes and black hair styled into dreadlocks standing on a floating metal disc while wearing a black shirt with a yellow "S" on the chest circled by yellow lightning, a pair of black pants, black boots with metal sheets covering the toes, a long blue coat, fingerless black gloves, and a pair of yellow framed glasses with blue-tinted lenses.
"It's the Electromagnetic Hero, Static!" A bystander shouted excitedly.
With that, the rest of the crowd got just a excited. Meanwhile, the other heroes on the scene breathed sighs of relief.
As for the three involved in the incident, the Sludge Villain showed an expression filled with dread, the green-haired boy got just as excited as the rest of the civilians, and the blond boy, though not obvious, breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, before anyone could react, Alfonzo lowered his altitude and placed a hand on the Sludge Villain before releasing a controlled current of electricity that somehow completely avoided the blond boy.
As a result, the Sludge Villain began to convulse while he slowly lost his grip on the blond boy. Seeing that, the green-haired boy snapped out of his excited state. He then grabbed the blond boy and started pulling with all his might to get him free while doing his best to avoid touching the villain and having the current accidentally passed on to him.
"Take it easy, Kid." Alfonzo said as he moved next to the green-haired boy. "I got him. Just do me a favor and step back. Things are about to get flashy."
With that, Alfonzo reached down and grabbed the blond boy's arm. Then, in one fluid motion, he pulled him away from the Sludge Villain. After that, he ushered the two boys away from the Sludge Villain.
When the two boys were far enough, and while the villain was still convulsing and having trouble controlling his sludge transformation, Alfonzo raised his hands in front of his chest. A moment later, an orb of sparking violet electricity began to form between his palms.
"[Spark Cannon]." Alfonzo said, naming his technique.
Alfonzo then pushed his hands forward, sending the orb of electricity flying towards the Sludge Villain.
*Zap~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
"Ahh~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" The Sludge Villain screamed in pain as a much stronger current of electricity started flowing through his body.
At the same time, the entire area was lit up brightly, causing the onlookers to cover their eyes. Meanwhile, Alfonzo hopped off the metal disc he had been standing on. Then, using his powers of electromagnetism, he fashioned it into a can that he used to scoop up the Sludge Villain. Then, once the villain was squeezed into the can, he sealed the can shut.
"Okay, that's taken care of." Alfonzo said, his voice ringing out just as the crowd regained their sight.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Immediately upon hearing that, the crowd burst into loud applause with reporters and other heroes rushing forward to get a word with the up and coming hero, Static.
"Hey, slow down." Alfonzo said. "These two just went through something traumatic. How about giving them a few minutes to get their shi--- *Cough* get their minds right?"
With that, the crowd calmed down slightly. At the same time, Toshinori shook his head with a wry smile on his face.
"At least he's trying." Toshinori muttered to himself. "A few years ago, he wouldn't have caught himself before swearing. So, I guess that's progress, at least."
After that, Alfonzo took the opportunity to talk to the two boys. Then, he spoke with the reporters and other heroes before the police arrived. Lastly, after giving an account of what happened and handing over the villain, he pulled out a folded-up metal disc from under his coat, unfolded it with his [Quirk], then hopped on top of it and flew away.
A short while later, after the police took statements from all the witnesses, the crowd dispersed and the green-haired boy was headed home, still excited after seeing one of the best up and coming heroes in person. However, not long before he reached the apartment where he and his mother lived, he was stopped by Toshinori. And to his surprise, Toshinori actually apologized for telling him to give up on being a hero when they met earlier that day.
Even more surprising, Toshinori told the green-haired boy that he had been in the crowd earlier and acknowledged that the green-haired boy had what it took to be a hero. Then, he offered the boy the chance to make his dream come true.
Hearing that, the green-haired boy was at first surprised. Then, he broke down in tears.
All his life, the green-haired boy had been mocked for his dream and his lack of a [Quirk]. Even his idol, All Might, had told him to give up earlier in the day. But now... Now, that same idol told him the one thing he'd wanted to hear all his life.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo was just entering through a skylight of a luxurious apartment building on the other side of the city, the open skylight leading to a state of the art gym and [Quirk] training facility.
"You're back." A voice said as soon as the metal disc touched down.
Turning to face the voice that just spoke, Alfonzo saw Tatsuo with is ankles fastened to a bar and doing hanging sit-ups.
"Yeah, I'm back.' Alfonzo replied while taking off his shades.
"Anything interesting happen today?" Tatsuo asked between reps.
"Well, I just ran into the event that kicks off the MHA storyline." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. "So, I guess that counts as interesting."
"The sludge villain, huh?" Tatsuo asked. "Then, I guess that means I've got ten months to get ready for the U.A. Entrance Exam."
"I don't know why you didn't just accept the recommendation spot I could get for you." Alfonzo said while shaking his head.
"Because we haven't seen Sakura or Akatsuki since we got here." Tatsuo replied as he reached up to unfasten his ankles from the bar. "And for some reason, we can't contact them with the [Chat]."
"So, you wanna meet up with them at the Entrance Exam, right?" Alfonzo asked, finishing Tatsuo's line of thought. "But are you sure that will work? I mean, sure, meeting Sakura at the exam makes sense. But Akatsuki is a grown ass woman. There's no guarantee she didn't become a hero like me when the background was generated."
"If she had been made a hero, we would have at least heard of her by now." Tatsuo countered as he flipped down from the bar.
"Touche." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Well then, I bet she's gonna be pissed. She already looks younger than her age. And now, she's gonna actually be younger than her actual age."
Tatsuo only shrugged in response.
Six days have passed since Tatsuo, Alfonzo, Akatsuki, and Sakura started the [Mission]. And as previously mentioned, the group has not been able to gather yet. Though, thanks to their inherited backgrounds, Tatsuo and Alfonzo ended up in the same place. In fact, they were cousins in this life. Though, they both found it strange that a hero as strong as Alfonzo, who had clearly American features, was living in Japan... At least until they were hit with the painful integration of memories.
As it turned out, Tatsuo's parents were killed by villains three years before now. And Alfonzo, his only adult relative, who had just graduated from a hero school in the U.S., was the only one willing to become his guardian.
And because Alfonzo, an otaku, had always wanted to take a trip to Japan, he decided to move to Japan instead of bringing Tatsuo to the U.S.
Alfonzo then opened his own hero agency. Though, he was the only hero employed at the agency which he named the Static Shock Hero Agency. He also got the permits to sell Hero Support Equipment, which me designed and created himself. And in doing so, he managed to get a material procurement contract with one of Japan's wealthiest families after saving their family head during his time as a hero.
As for Tatsuo... There really wasn't anything new. For the past three years, he had been attending middle school and training his body and [Quirk] in preparation for the U.A. Entrance Exam. Though, he did meet two of the students that would be in Class 1A in the MHA storyline.
"*Sigh* This is gonna be a long [Mission], isn't it?" Alfonzo asked.
"Yeah... It's definitely gonna be longer than the one to Arifureta." Tatsuo replied. "And so far, that was the longest one I've been on. I think James, Violet, and I were there for almost a year. But we're definitely gonna be here for more than a year."
"Damn right we are." Alfonzo said. "*Sigh* I'm really gonna miss Amar'e. But... It is what it is, I guess."
Shaking off the depressing thoughts, Alfonzo smiled slyly as he turned to look at Tatsuo again.
"Hey, wanna go for a jog tomorrow before you have to leave for school?" Alfonzo asked. "I was thinking, maybe we could run past the beach."
When Tatsuo heard Alfonzo's suggestion, he put on a similarly sly smile.
"Sure, why not." Tatsuo replied. "It's been a while since the last time I went for a run outside."