Fractured Wings

Overhaul had sent me on a mission. 

Heroes were still following our trail so I was to figure out if they were any major heroes or hero agencies on his case. So here I was, walking the streets of chatter. 

My hood was pulled low as I blended in with the sea of faces. 

I listened to fragments of conversations and one interested me a lot. "UA was attacked..." UA high school, the most known hero school in the country with the most heroes of the top ten coming from there. 

That same UA was attacked by a group that called themselves... The league of Villains. I'm sure a lot of thought went into that name. 

But the whole idea sounded ridiculous, attacking a hero school, one filled to the brim with heroes one being the number 1 hero of the entire nation. I could only assume it went bad for them. Also sneaking into a hero school must have taken some effort. 

"Maybe they put all their effort into doing that instead of coming up with a group name." 

They probably thought to pick off future heroes and scare away the rest from being heroes. 'If I was a villain...' I stopped that train of thought. As I am now I basically am one. 

One with a mission. 

A glint caught my eye, drawing my gaze to a figure near the edge of the market. A hero. Her uniform was striking, sleek with blue accents that caught light like fractured water. It was striking, and purposeful. 

She openly engaged with people as she passed by them. Her straight forward demeanour left little room for subtlety. A badge on her chest caught my eye. It was a keepsake from a hero school, from Shiketsu high. That explained the confidence in her gait, she graduated from one of the top hero schools in the country, second only to UA. 

She was tall, probably 5ft 9. Her short choppy hair was a bright coppery-red, framing a lightly freckled face. Her emerald green eyes were sharp, focused and a little too obvious with their intent on searching for something in the crowd. 

I finally recognized her as the hero Glasslock, she had gathered up a recent buzz after a string of perfect rescues. Her quirk was something to do with glass, it was hinted all over her costume, like the shards on her gauntlets. 

'I don't know if she creates it though,' 

I slipped deeper into the crowd but something tugged at my awareness. A presence, steady and deliberate. I glanced at a shop window's reflection and spotted him—Centipeder. He wasn't someone that was hard to miss, his segmented limbs protruding slightly from his bulky hero uniform. He moved with a predator's patience, following at a distance. 

Centipeder was familiar. Not personally. He works for Sir Nighteye, 'Then chances of the girl ahead working with him is also high.' He was no rookie. 

I quickened my pace, testing their reaction. My mask slipped on under my hood, unseen. Centipeder matched my speed, closing the distance slightly, Glasslock adjusted her position ahead of me. 

A trap. 

Good. 'I prefer to know when I'm being hunted.' 

***

I turned the corner, slipping down a quieter street, the noise of the walking crowd fading behind me. My pulse quickened. Centipeder had narrowed the gap between us, and I had lost sight of Glasslock, I doubt she crouched, otherwise some people may have brought attention to it. 

The alley stretched into a wide plaza with glass-fronted shops. The sunlight refracted off the panes, casting faint rainbows on the cobblestones. I stopped in the center and turned, waiting. 

Centipeder emerged from the shadows of the alley. He was tall, over six feet, his insectoid features blending disturbingly well with his human frame. I didn't know if it was rude but it made me think of Overhauls pet projects. 

His appendages moved with an eerie precision, and his voice was polite and calm. 

"You're quick to notice a tail," he said, his mandibles clicking faintly. "Impressive," 

Glasslock appeared behind me, stepping from a side street. Her emerald eyes burned into me with a determination, the sharp edges of her gauntlets catching the sunlight. 

"Smart, but certainly not smart enough." She said, her tone was confident, smug even. 

I kept my stance relaxed, tilting my head slightly. "Is there anything I can help you with heroes?" I was glad for my mask still being on. 

Glasslock narrowed her eyes. "We are just looking for suspiscious individuals, certain mishaps have been happening in or around the city for a while now." 

She was so straight-forward, no nonsense—a hammer looking for a nail. She reminded me of Bakugou and his personality, the smirk that was bubbling up in me was quashed. 

"Perhaps you'd like a moment to explain yourself..." 

I cut Centipeder off. "I'm with the Shie Hassaiki." there was a short pause. "I just think that you should know that we are taking residence here." 

The air around them shivered. Glasslock seemed stumped. 'Were they searching for him?'

Well lets progress. 

"Also," I slipped my hands into my pockets. "if I were you, I'd rethink the strategy. Two on one isn't great odds for you." 

Glasslock scoffed. "Cocky, let's see how long that lasts." 

Her gauntlets shimmered, and suddenly, shards of glass erupted from a nearby window, spinning toward me like a swarm of angry wasps. I sidestepped, letting them slam into the ground. They scattered and some reformed, floating in the air like a deadly halo. 

Ah, so she doesn't create them. Just controls the nearby substance. 

Centipeder rushed forward, his limbs stretching unnaturally as he aimed to pin me. I moved faster, ducking under his strike and sliding back into the plaza's open space. 

"You guys seem curious." I taunted, Glasslock didn't wait. 

She flung her arms forward, and the floating shards shot towards me in a quicker pace than her initial attack. One caught my sleeve, ripping a clean line in the fabric. 

She was skilled, but impatient. 

Centipeder closed in again, his limbs snapped forward like whips. I dodged, stepping into the space and driving an elbow into his chest. He staggered back but recovered quickly, his mandibles clicking in frustration. 

Glasslock pressed the attack, leaping into the air and sending waves of glass shards crash down. I raised my hand, and with a sharp flick, a sheet of hardened paper unfolded. The shards shattered harmlessly against it, raining down around me. 

"Are you holding back? On us, heroes." Centipeder asked, his voice steady. "Why?" 

'Well that's because this wasn't my mission,' 

Centipeder's slashed down towards me with a long centipede that was wrapped around his neck. I ducked and slid across the plaza's smooth surface. Glasslock closed in on me from above, shards of glass swirling like a storm at her command. Her movements were precise but lacked the subtlety of Centipeder's strikes. 

She threw her arms forward, and the shards shot toward me in a chaotic spiral. This time I didn't block. I twisted and dodged letting the glass crash into the ground and walls behind me. The alley was confined, I needed more space. 

With a burst of speed, I vaulted onto a nearby balcony, then onto a rooftop. The tiles crunched under my feet as I raced across, leaping to another building. The open air gave me room to maneuver, but I wasn't alone for long. 

Glasslock followed, her shards propelling her telekinetically. She landed ahead of me, her emerald eyes gleaming with determination. Centipeder wasn't too far behind, scaling the building with ease. 

"You won't get away, I've got eyes on you." 

"Who said I was trying to run?" With a snap of my fingers, papers coiled around my arm and unfolded in a fluid motion. Strips darted toward the rooftop vents and railings, wrapping them and pulling tight. In seconds, I had turned the rooftop into the battlefield. 

Centipeder moved first, his limbs stretching toward me like a barrage of spears. I countered with a whip of paper, sharp and fast, slicing through one of his appendages. He recoiled slightly, but his movements didn't falter. 

Glasslock used the distraction to attack from the side, sending a spray of glass toward my exposed flank. I pivoted, using the paper strips to pull a vent closer into the line of fire. The shards embedded themselves in metal, and I used the same strip to swing the vent toward her like a battering ram. 

She dodged, but it threw her off balance. 

"You're quick," I said, stepping closer to them both, "But it feel's like you're trying to outshine your senior." 

"Fuck you," she spat out. 

"Don't let the outlaw get in your head Glasslock." 

I stopped moving, which brought them to a halt. 

"I want to know why you guys knew where to find me." 

Sure I was following Glasslock, but I wasn't following for long before I was already being trailed. Was there a third nearby? They both wore earpieces so there was a chance that someone else was watching and directing them. 

There isn't much to be heard from Nighteye, he was too secretive, I didn't know how extensive his network was. He wasn't like most of Endeavours sidekicks who, could work well but, didn't shy away from the internet in anyway. 

"You both are subordinates of Nighteye correct?" They didn't answer, it was really hard to read the face of a centipede, and Glasslock had been doing a good job at hiding her thoughts with a stern and angry looking face. 

"Nighteye is quite the secretive hero. You guys both seemed like you were searching for something, me! When you spotted me your movements changed and went on trying to ambush. But what could he be looking for from me?" 

My face hadn't been exposed, I didn't think so anyway. If so then that opened the door to more, like a missing report being filed out for me. 

Glasslock's eyes flickered toward Centipeder's, but he didn't respond. 

"Fine, keep your secrets," I said, a folded envelope formed in my hand. "But I have something that might interest him." 

I tossed it towards Centipeder, 

"That's for Nighteye's eyes only." I said.

I didn't expect them to actually wait, Centipeder ripped it open and pulled out the sheet, Glasslock looked as if she lost interest in me and flew over to peek into it. 

"It's a map," she blurted out. "To where?" 

"A little operation I stumbled on in the future," I said with a shrug. "Let's just say it involves some unsavory characters that might be worth your time." 

She looked at the back and was trying to pull the paper apart, it was too thick to be only one page. 

Centipeder understood that it was my doing, and let it be. 

"Being part of the Yakuza, especially the Shie Hassaiki is major news. They were involved in something only a day ago. But there was no news of you, we know all of the eight precept members already though. So... who are you?" he asked me that in a long drawn out tone. 

I thought on it for a second. It would be fine for them to know of a new member working with Overhaul. 

But my quirk is still very unique, if it got out, and in this situation. Would my sister come searching? Would she bring in more heroes? That would only give me less time to figure out a plan to get Eri out of Overhaul's clutches. 

.

.

.

I smiled behind the mask, 

I don't mind the time crunch. I can work around it, I'll dupe the Shie Hassaiki, the heroes, police and anyone that get's in my way. 

In the end, I just want to completely demolish anything to do with the Eden Project. 

"Sōryū. My name is Sōryū." 

With that, I leaped, letting the wind carry me to the next rooftop. By the time they reached the edge I was already gone, and the papers completely unfolded to reveal the documented information that I had collected before even meeting Overhaul. 

Information about Trigger, Delirium and the Serum X which they wouldn't know is just Eri's blood, to create quirk destroying bullets. 

That will keep them occupied, and then eventually make them want to strike quickly to stop him. 

1 week. 

That was how long I would give myself to get everything done and get out.