David has thought about this long and hard.
For there to be an excessive self-defense allegation, they need two variables: Arata and Ephialtes. Remove one, and voila! Their predicament vanishes into thin air.
So, the question is: how do you make a grown man vanish in less than a day?
If that grown man was a random, normal person that he met in I-Island welcome party, David Shield would be hard pressed to give his answer. But, luckily for him, Ephialtes is special. So, so special that there is a demand for him.
In the name of science.
"Dr. Shield, thank you, thank you so much for thinking of my research!" a man walks up to David in hurry. His bloodshot eyes are shining with renewed fervor, a stark contrast with the poorly lit cell room before David. "Just as I thought my research hit a dead end like what everyone had said. This is a very good timing."
"Dr. Jace Renault, it's my pleasure." David shakes his hand firmly. "I take it that you're on board with the plan?"
"Absolutely! I've been brainstorming and planning the next steps!" Dr. Renault nods so hard that his unkempt blond curls—held down to his scalp with hastily applied hair gel—starts unraveling and bouncing again. "With him, not only I can continue analyzing the impact of dormant potential, but also bring my research to the next stage! Is that Ephialtes, the incubus? Can I see him?"
"Yes, of course." David takes a step back, letting Dr. Renault have a full view of the cell room occupant before them. "By the way, he can't hear us from the inside, so don't worry about his listening in. The police have tied him up with a security device. To make handling him easier, and just in case he managed to escape, they also blindfolded and muzzled him."
Not that he can do much with his creaking bones and partial blindness, David thinks as he watches Ephialtes. The loose, wrinkled skin hangs from his feeble arms, and a smelly puddle forms beneath his seat as he mumbles worship songs, praising god for this miracle.
David almost feels sorry for Ephialtes, seeing him in such a pathetic state. He knows this won't be the last time. Nonetheless, Ephialtes himself has made it clear, albeit in endless prayers and praises, that he would rather spend his life as Dr. Renault's test subject than face Arata again.
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The gash on Ephialtes's neck was no more since yesterday. But the pain was there, embedded deep in his flesh. Together with her savage growl vibrating over the loose skin around his neck, her phantom fangs shredded the blood vessels underneath apart. And even though he was safe behind these steel bars, whenever he closed his eyes, he could feel her mantis foreleg crushing the bones in his shoulder and back.
No matter how many prayers under the sun that he had uttered, the monster kept haunting his mind. It drove him crazy to know that she was there, lurking somewhere in the towers of I-Island, waiting for an opening to pounce on him.
Until finally, his salvation came in the form of a scientist. The offer from the scientist's mouth granted Ephialtes a second chance, a blessing so profound it brought him to tears of joy.
"Thank you, o god. Thank you so much!" Forgotten was his hatred of men; Ephialtes pressed his face to David Shield's boots, groveling on the cold stone floor. Sobs mingled with ecstatic chants echoed in the dim cell. "O g— god, you have answered my prayers. Your timing is no less than divine. I'll pay for my sins through this eternal damnation! I'll do anything you ask of me! Anything, as long as you deliver me from her, that monster!"
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What happened in that seed storage, did not only shatter Arata, but also this villain.
And to think that Melissa almost had it happen to her if not for Arata… David lets out a heavy exhale, trying to ignore how his stomach churns painfully. It's my responsibility to fix this. In any way that I can.
Beside him, Dr. Renault pulls out his phone and begins typing away, prompting David to glance at him. "Sorry, but I have to act fast and transport Ephialtes right away. It looks like he's days away from death's door. He ought to 'feed' soon or else he'll be gone before I start my experiments."
"Wait, now, Dr. Renault? Aren't we under lockdown? And…"
Maybe David shouldn't ask questions irrelevant to his task at hand now—which is helping Arata—because they are on a tight schedule, but… he is a scientist with an appetite for learning, for god's sake. How can he not ask?
"Actually, out of professional curiosity, I really need to ask. What, or whom, will he 'feed' on? You do realize that you'll need… human subjects for that, right?" David pauses for a second before continuing, "And another quick question, what are you hoping to achieve with this dormant potential research? Let's say that you managed to prove that quirkless people have a longer lifespan due to their bigger dormant potential, then what?"
"Wow, that's a lot of questions—all are very good. I get it, a scientist has to ask. For the first question, my wife cashed in a favor to arrange a small jet. Don't worry, we're going to do it—" Dr. Renault mimes zipping his mouth. "— discreetly."
He told this kind of things to his wife? No way.
"Mrs. Renault must have a huge influence here. I must say, almost every one of her engine inventions is inspired and innovative. The I-Speed organizers were overjoyed when she made some time to try out their I-Karts."
"It's not a big deal." Dr. Renault might dismiss David with a wave of his hand, but the proud glint in his eyes cannot lie. "Denise's engines garner a lot of interest in I-Island. Anyway, she and my youngest son will take care of Ephialtes's transport."
"You told about this to your son too?" David's eyebrows almost disappears into his hairline.
He's already dreading the day the lockdown ends—when he will have to go home and explain the mess he's made to his wife. He can't imagine telling her and their daughter casually like, "Hey, guess what? Tonight I'm bringing home an incubus home for my research! He almost killed a girl, but don't worry, he's not a threat now."
"Sons," Dr. Renault corrects him, a smirk crossing his face. "Why not? Better for them to be informed. Our family supports each other in everything. That's what family is for, no?"
Not really, no, David thinks, rubbing the back of his head with a nervous chuckle. Personally, I wouldn't involve my family in anything shady. And definitely not smuggling a person.
But now I get why he's bold enough to chase after that crazy research on dormant potential. His family has his back, as he does theirs.
"As for your second question… Keep this to yourself, okay?" Although it was only them—and Ephialtes—there, Dr. Renault lowers his voice before answering, "One word: prisoners. As a capital punishment or in exchange for a shorter sentence. And Dr. Shield, before you say anything—"
"What!?"
"— the authorities of a research institute gave me the green signal—"
"They approved it!?"
"Even better, they will fund and facilitate the entirety of my research."
Feeling a bit faint, David takes a step back and leans against the wall. "But… why? How? Prior to this, didn't you have a hard time looking for support for your dormant potential research?"
"Oh yes, merely analyzing dormant potential was not enough to pull them in. They were reluctant at first, but after I described Ephialtes's quirk to them… They saw a potential and changed their mind."
"The potential must be huge if they even permit the usage of human subjects." David bites his lips, his legs pacing the room from corner to corner.
"It's a necessary evil for what they want," Dr. Renault sighs, kneading his forehead with his thumb and index finger. He glances at his conversation partner, who is lost for words and wide-eyed. "Look, Dr. Shield. Ephialtes's quirk allows him to somehow absorb other people's dormant potential to extend his own lifespan.
"Do you understand what it would mean if we could extract it instead of letting it go to his lifespan?"
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The ends justify the means. When a goal is important enough, any method to achieve it is acceptable.
It doesn't mean that David is comfortable with how things turn out. Although David knew that Ephialtes would eventually have to feed on someone to stay alive and participate in Dr. Renault's experiments, David originally thought it would be a simple, small-scale research.
But now, it feels like it has snowballed into something larger, something with a potential to alter the future greatly. There is a sense of foreboding lurking inside him that he cannot quell, because he doesn't know what kind of impact Dr. Renault's research would bring to their collective future.
But, speaking of the future…
Arata is All Might's student with a whole future ahead of her. She saved Melissa—David's beloved daughter—by sacrificing herself. The price she had paid was so immense that it might cut her future short. David owes it to her that Melissa managed to escape Ephialtes's clutches.
For that, he will all do he can for her. Regardless of his own stance on experiments involving human subjects and lifespan extension.
What's done is done and the future is uncertain. There's no telling how Dr. Renault research will turn out—with or without David's involvement. But, Arata's future? David is certain he will make her future a lot brighter and safer by scooping her out from this legal mess.
So if making Ephialtes disappear and my conscience are what it costs to secure her future, David clenches his fists*, I'll do it.*
"Okay, now that Ephialtes has been 'shipped'," Dr. Renault pipes up, his voice pull David's thoughts back to the seed storage they are in. "The question becomes: how do we make him disappear without a trace?"
"I think I know how," David says, earning a raised brow from the blond man. "Well, in theory, making a person disappear is not that different from covering up a dangerous research."
"And how did you come to that conclusion?"
He gives Dr. Renault an innocent shrug and answers, "I couldn't not learn anything when the government of I-Island shut down my quirk amplifier research."
First, get rid of all evidence. In David's case, it was the amplifier device. In Ephialtes's case, it's the crusty dried sheet of crimson over the seed storage's floor. It isn't something that mere "confiscation" or scrubbing everything furiously with bleach can fix; a luminol test would light up the whole room in a blue glow.
Thankfully, it's the only evidence we have to deal with. It's actually a relief that his hacker ally erased him from every single CCTV footage. It works in our favor.
"We have no choice but to burn this storage down," David concludes and crosses his arms, the crease on his forehead deepening as his eyes flit around the room, searching for any flammable substance or material to no avail. "There's literally zero excuse for a room full of only plant seeds to start a fire, though. It will look suspicious."
"Isn't this storage located inside the plant factory?" the other scientist, Dr. Renault is tapping one foot on the ground, his lips pressed into a thin line while his fingers are busy on the keyboard, coordinating with his wife and sons. "We can burn the entire factory and..."
"And make it seem like an engine malfunction?" David turns to Dr. Renault and follows him walk past the metallic door threshold and back to the botanic garden area.
"Not 'seem'. It will be an actual engine malfunction." Dr. Renault taps on the tall machine in front of them and smirks. "I bet my oldest son can drive this one into the ground. Give Dace its manual and consider it done. Before he was busy with his racing competitions, Dace used to help Denise assess her automobiles' endurance by overclocking them until they exploded. This is a piece of cake for him."
What a scary family, David sighs, pushing his glasses up. I'm glad our goals are aligned.
Second, get the police's cooperation on their side to ignore any statement about Ephialtes in the interviews. While the police's support for the I-Island government is a given, it isn't for them. They have to earn it.
"Okay, now we need to exercise the golden rule." David rubs his own hands together. "You and your family have done a lot, Dr. Renault. Leave the rest to me."
"The golden rule? What?" Confusion plagues Dr. Renault's tone.
"You didn't know?" David quirks an eyebrow. "I thought for sure you knew."
Dr. Renault recalls having come across the name "David" in the Bible when he was young, so… perhaps that's it? "You mean, treat the officers as they want to be treated? Was that how you got your police escorts to ease your security, let us lurk around Ephialtes's cell room, and enabled our phone signals? Did an act of kindness really go that far?"
David throws him an incredulous look, shakes his head, and pulls up a thick envelope from his pocket, which is responsible for a big dent in his retirement funds. "No, the other golden rule: 'He who has the gold makes the rules.'"
"Oh. That makes more sense to me."
With that, all that's left in David's list is the third and final step: spinning a plausible theory into a compelling, credible narrative for Arata to detach her time in I-Island from Ephialtes's shadows. One that will stand up to scrutiny and the keenest investigation.
David bites back a bitter chuckle. This part feels familiar—strangely similar to his work as a scientist. Although he usually experiments to obtain empirical results and observations to reach there, not mixing half-truths here and there as a mean to an end.