On exiting the building where he'd met the principal, Avtaar turned around at the entrance gate. The glass-panelled buildings and the UA logo reflected in his eyes. The waning sun had brushed the blue glass with a soft pinkish hue.
So, this is it. This will be my reality for the foreseeable future. Avtaar thought. He'd made no plans for his future prior to this, so it wasn't bothering him. For him, it was just trading one authority figure with another.
Despite this, he couldn't help the excitement kindle in his heart. He loved Quirks and he loved Heroes. This is what made the stuff in legends exciting. He was looking forward to all the different Quirks he'll come across. Not to mention that the principal had mentioned cool things about the Hero course in UA. It was much better than back home.
As he turned away with a smile playing in his eyes, he saw Aizawa leaning against the outside walls of UA.
"Sensei, you're here." Avtaar said, stating the obvious.
Aizawa looked at him with the same deadpan expression, then nodded towards a car parked nearby with the driver waiting by the door. It was a luxurious car. Not quite a limo, but impressive nevertheless.
"Your ride's here. I presume Principal Nezu gave you the details of where you will be living?"
On seeing him nod, Aizawa continued, "This is as much for your protection as it is for your lessons in etiquette. You will be learning from them while they host you. The lesson plan has been arranged already." Aizawa paused, waiting for any questions. Not receiving any, he nodded and then walked into the UA compound.
Avtaar followed his retreating form a bit, then shaking himself out of it, he walked towards the car.
"Hi, good evening! Watashi wa Avtaar desu. Genki desu ka?" Avtaar tried his best. Unfortunately for him, the driver just looked mildly amused by this.
"Welcome to Japan Master Dash. I'm Milford, and I'll be driving you today to the house. I've been brought up in London, so don't worry and talk to me in English, if you want." Saying so, Milford opened the door for Avtaar to climb inside and soon they were on their way.
"Your pronunciation is very nice Mr. Milford. Why'd you become a driver here, if you don't mind me asking?" Back home, having this level of language comprehension was not much to speak of, as they had a majorly bi-lingual culture. But he'd read that in east Asian countries, good comprehension of a second language was still seen as something aspirational.
Milford glanced briefly in the rear-view mirror and smiled kindly.
"I am a butler for the family. My own family comes from a long line of butlers, but since I'm the only one who can speak English as well as Master, I was asked to take care of you for the time being. When not driving, I will be acting as your interpreter when you need one."
Avtaar thought a little about it then said, "Thank you for your hardwork Mr. Milford."
They travelled in relative silence for a while before Milford switched on a Radio station. Avtaar looked outside the window. There were large buildings near the UA compound, and he could see more lights beginning to twinkle in the vicinity.
As they drove through the winding pathways, the sun settled beyond the horizon and Avtaar felt himself get sleepy. The jet lag was probably catching up to him.
Eventually settling on an expressway, Milford sped the car up in a comfortable cruising speed. Avtaar cozied into his seat for a quick nap. The soft music from the radio, the white noise of the car and the streets made for a very sleepy kid.
Just as his eyes closed, he felt their forward momentum arrest suddenly. Avtaar was thrown upwards into the roof of the car, banging his head and wincing hard at the pain. His ears rang as he was repeatedly thrown this way and that.
The car flipped over itself again and again and the safety bags were already deployed all over the car by the time that it came to a stop. After a few moments of breathing heavily in a very uncomfortable position, Avtaar tried to move his body. At this point he was so disoriented, he didn't know up from down.
Thankfully the roof of this luxurious car was quite soft and saved him from severe injuries, but his neck took the brunt of the impact then, almost causing him to blackout.
Not again! Dammit! His muddled head complained, as he tried to straighten himself.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to centre himself. This technique worked for him back in the training compound when he found himself overwhelmed by any situation. This was definitely an instance to use it. He brought all his thoughts into the centre of his chest, then expanded outward, taking in the damage.
With the damage, also came the pain in increasing intensity. Terrible waves of pain emanated from his shoulder and neck, and his breath caught in his throat, just short of turning into a scream.
Screaming doesn't help idiot. Deal with pain later, deal with this now. Avtaar admonished himself. He knew he didn't have time to deal with his injuries right now.
Gritting his teeth against the pain he forced himself to think. He could move, but with difficulty, The safety bags were blocking his movements to a great degree, but he could feel air rushing around him. No doubt a door or window had cracked. Door… Milford! Oh no no no no.
Turning on his back, towards where he could feel the wind from, he faced the front of the car. His neck protested the movement, but he had no choice. He saw a black form wedged in between the driver's seat and safety bags.
Avtaar couldn't see movement, but at least he was still wearing a seat belt. The damage couldn't be too much. Unless whatever stopped them hit him directly.
Crawling towards the front in the upturned car, he used one hand to support himself gingerly on the roof and reached out towards Milford, trying to shake his body to get a response. Thankfully a weak mumble came out of Milford. Then a groan of pain.
He's alive. Now came the hard part. Getting himself and Milford out of the car and dealing with whatever caused the accident.
Such a sudden stop couldn't simply be an accident. He didn't sense any ill will from Milford, and certainly nothing resembling such self-harming capability. Someone or something else caused this. He needed to get out of here quickly.
As it was, Avtaar couldn't do it himself. But when had he ever been alone?
Ever since he first manifested his Quirk, he's had buddies in all the stories his grandma used to love telling him.
He quickly shifted through the stories in his mind, even as he heard movement outside the car. He shifted through his needs and the stories that could help him now. He needed to save Milford and get out of this situation alive.
Before he could do anything else, the driver's side door was yanked out of its hinges and strange faces filled his vision. His brain seemed to stop working. Villains…
Leering smiles and menacing gazes filled his vision as a pair of hands cut at the belts and yanked Milford out onto the tarmac, dumping him unceremoniously.
Someone looked inside again and before he could come out of his shock, Avtaar felt something wrap around his hand and pull him out of the car.
Screaming in agony that he couldn't put down this time, Avtaar found himself lifted up and into the air by his dislocated hand. Ahh f**k! F**K!
His brain fog cleared because of the sudden stab of pain and he saw the 4 individuals surrounding them. Two of them were transformation type quirks. One of them seemed made from rock and the other had hooves on his bare legs and horns coming out of his hair. It was definitely the rock guy who's toppled the car.
The other two looked relatively more human, but the malice in their eyes waylaid any thoughts of humanity one could search for. They were holding bats, as if getting ready for an Avtaar-shaped piñata party.
Avtaar couldn't look behind him, hanging by one hand, but he could tell there was at least one more. The one holding him captive in the air. The others didn't look as if they were using any Quirks.
His thought flowing again and anger mixing in his emotional soup, Avtaar let out another scream. He was exasperated and in a lot of pain.
"So this is the lad worth a million yen? He seems harmless." Someone said from behind him. It was more of a wheeze than a voice, but it sent shivers down Avtaar's spine. He could only understand a few words in between, but that was enough to piece together the meaning.
"Bind him quickly. Let's get away from here before the police get all up in our faces mehh." Said the goat-man guy.
He felt his legs and other hand beginning to be bound by the same restraints. Anger spiked in Avtaar. This is bullshit. I can't be going through this again and on my FIRST day in JAPAN.
At least now he knew what he needed to do. Even if it was not the best solution, he couldn't think of a better one at this moment. He hadn't practiced enough.
He was in a bad situation. Saving himself and Milford from actual villains was an impossible challenge for a kid his age. He hadn't been trained. He had no one to help him and he was all alone. And this was his fault. He drew the Villains here, and now someone's life was in danger.
Avtaar forced himself to immerse into these emotions. Emotions of anger, of despair, of hope dying and horror erupting. The want of a challenge, the need to prove himself and to atone for his sins. He felt himself embody these emotions. Some came naturally due to the situation, but others he had to search within himself for.
Soon there were these thoughts and nothing else.
There was just one word. One word that defined what he felt like in this moment. All that he wanted to do in one word.
He needed to… Persevere!
The bindings drooped suddenly towards the ground, uncontrollably. One second there was a boy being flung around by his arms in a vice, and the next everything seemed to explode.
The villains were flung away from the boy's position, as if from a bomb being detonated inside the circle. Even the car righted itself due to the shock.
The word triggered something in Avtaar, something that he'd spent countless hours building.
It was an image he'd unleashed. An image of the greatest challenger in Legends. The one against whom even gods didn't stand a chance. The great demigod, the Son of Jupiter, Hercules!
Avtaar let himself be immersed in the history and character of the Son of Jupiter, Hercules and through immersion, he embodied him and transformed into him. The greatest challenger was the one that he'd chosen for this situation. Son of thunder, breaker of impossible labours, the mortal who stood against monsters and gods alike.
The major reason for this was the cape that he wore around his shoulders. The Nemean Lion cape that was currently wrapped around Milford in a protective embrace.
Turning in towards the origin of the shockwave, the villains saw nothing. There was no boy there, as if he'd disappeared. But so had the driver.
Hercules, having taken off his cape, stood up to his full height of 7 feet and change. His wild hair, dancing in the wind, gave him a beastly appearance, while his bare chest and torso, rippling with power, gleamed with a bronze sheen. It was the very same Hercules that had appeared in countless stories since his Myth was written, and his strength was apparent to see, even if the villains didn't know who it was.
Collectively they took a step back, looking at the huge muscular man standing and glaring at them.
Internally, Avtaar struggled with this decision. He analysed the smartest thing to do in this instance would be to take Milford and run up or down the road towards any civilisation and trying to contact the police. Better yet, if he could make it back to UA, he could get the protection of the entire UA staff.
But this was not to be.
This was because he was embodying Hercules right now. The strongest demigod had never backed down from a challenge. He had played against impossible odds and come out the winner with sheer perseverance.
Therefore, stepping back was not in his dictionary. Any such actions would result in Avtaar losing his hold over the character and transforming back into himself. He needed the strength right now, not only to fight off the villains, but more importantly to keep Milford safe.
Avtaar, as Hercules, took his hanging left hand in his right one. Balling his fist, he stretched him arm and twisted, grunting lightly as the arm set in place again.
Turning his gaze towards the villains one by one, he stared them down. The villains felt as if all they should do now if kneel for forgiveness. It was their turn to feel shivers down their spine.
Using his feet, Avtaar rolled something in place and under the increasingly incredulous eyes of the villains, the handle of a rough wooden club, half the height of the man and with an impossible thickness landed in his hands.
Placing it in a ready stance on his shoulder, a phantom behemoth seemed to stretch outwards and upwards in the air. Hercules opened his mouth and bellowed loudly, stomping one foot downward to shake the earth, in challenge towards his enemies.
A distance away, back from where Milford had driven from, in a portion of the highway where light was scarce, a black SUV was parked at the side of the road. It kept silent and almost invisible in the shadows, as if abandoned.
Suddenly, radio static was heard from inside and a terse set of dialogue was exchanged behind the black windows.
Then everything returned to the silence.