Power Grasping Chapter 6

The only thing on Lakito's mind was how heavy it was raining down, and it annoyed him to no end. The building they were staying in was run down, with the floor below not even being solid. Dirt was under his shoes, saturated and murky.

Growing up as a Heteromorph in the countryside was always hell, the fact his was so hideous probably played a part too. He wasn't like Miruko or Hawks, Heroes with aesthetically pleasing Quirks. Oh no, he was cursed with an extra set of eyes, four spider-like limbs on his back, and a toxic bite that would easily kill a regular person. He was stoned in the streets as a child, sometimes beaten until he couldn't stand. It was a miracle he survived childhood looking back.

"Hey boss, what gig are we hitting up next? I hear there's rich geezer up in the countryside, with my Quirk we could totally hit him up." One of the few regular thugs in his group, a guy with a handy energy conversion Quirk, spoke with a sly grin that he gave back.

"Sure, just wait until the rain dies down will you. The water is hell out there." He got a nod in response, leaning a bit further into the fire's warmth. His gang was small, only about eight people, but it was enough. Six of them were Mutants, but they didn't care too badly, and that fact made them worth keeping close. He wanted to keep them safe.

Lakito glanced at his back nervously. As the human definition of a spider, he had a sixth sense of sorts that helped him detect threats. He would start to sweat, his heartbeat would quicken and his breaths would become shallow. Even as just a boy, his Quirk had saved him many times before, so he knew it was reliable.

Lakito looked at the men in front of him, chatting away and eating whatever scraps they'd managed to steal, and faltered. His Quirk has gone off a bunch of times, and it was only getting stronger, but maybe his instincts were just acting up. Maybe he was getting worked up over nothing, or some wild animal like a dangerous bear was on the prowl nearby.

Yeah, that sounded right.

"So, this is where the Black Widows hang around." An echoing voice rung out from the darkness, causing the gang to turn their heads in defense... only to find a short pale teenager staring them down. "I guess it's not too bad, if you like damp, cold rundown building that is. Then again, a small time gang like you won't have much of anything. Except your Quirks that is."

Lakito stood up, giving this boy a threatening look, though made no command for his gang to attack him. A thief and thug he might have been, but he hasn't had to take life yet and he didn't plan on starting with some brat who didn't look like he was even fifteen.

"You should go home, kid." Lakito began with a glare, combine that with his haunting appearance and most civilians would show some sign of fear. "If you value your ability to walk, then I'd leave before we stop playing nice."

The boy remained unfazed much to his surprise, raising an eyebrow as he looked past to his gang who all looked hostile. For some reason, his Quirk was screaming at him to run.

"Sorry, but I've taken the time to track you all down so it would just be a waste if I let you go. We can do this the easy way, where you surrender, or you can give resistance." The boy bluntly stated, bringing a hand up that formed a strange red aura shaped like a DNA-helix.

One of his men, covered head to toe in a white-blue rocky substance, barked out a laugh. "Oh, that's cut isn't it, boss? This runt thinks he can kick all our asses." The claims seemed to roll of him as he rose, a cocky smirk on his face. "Lets see if you can back that up with action!"

The young man smirked dangerously, making alarms go off in his head that told him something was going wrong. What exactly, he didn't know, but something bad was on the horizon.

Hakito reached out an arm as the crystal-man passed him by. "Wait, stop-"

It happened faster than his eye could track. One moment his grinning subordinate was rushing forward, the next he was obscured from view as the earth below his feet literally exploded and carried him upwards through the building's loop like he was a ragdoll.

The rest of them froze, processing what just happened, before the now stone faced boy pointed them out. "Spider. X-Ray. Energy Conversion. Laser Eyes." He rattled out their different Quirks, gesturing to himself after. "You have some useful powers, and your reputation as this area's local gang drew my attention."

He took a step forward, looking far more terrifying than before. "I'll be sure to put them to good use."

Hakito wasn't sure what the hell he was talking about, but this wasn't just some regular kid, and he didn't like at all what he was implying. Recently, he'd heard rumours, ones of people suddenly turning out Quirkless in town.

"All of you, get him!" He howled, lunging forward with his fangs drawn.

The kid looked prepared for this however, sending a quick blast of air his way that blew him backwards before turning his attention towards the others, all of which were preparing their individual Quirks. "Great, we're doing this the hard way."

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Zone raised his hand, bending the earth in front of him to form a hardened shield that both blocked any projectiles. He'd taken to picking off the Quirks of criminals, mainly because who were they gonna go to? The Police? This gang in particular had some powerful Quirks, and he could tell they'd be useful. That Energy Conversion in particular was the real gem.

'Lock-on + Air Blast.' Zone thought, charging up a combination of Quirks. Though simple, he'd gotten 'Air Bullet' at a proficiency level where he could use it from his whole hand even without enhancement Quirks. That made renaming it easy, since it could far more than simply shoot bullets at this point.

Lock-on was one of his newer editions, working much like Snipe's Honing, but it's range was much shorter. Though it was more accurate. Whilst Snipe could hit anything from up to five hundred meters with seventy-ish percent accuracy, his was 100% from fifty meters. In his opinion, the trade-off made it better, though he could just be biased.

Jumping out of cover, he blasted a ball of air at the man he knew had a fire Quirk that was just a short distance away, his aim not mattering since his target was within sight. Fire washed over him now that he was exposed, but he hardly felt a thing thanks to Heat Resistance. He'd stolen this from an arsonist who'd burnt down multiple building, thinking he was safe, but Zone went on to take his Quirk and leave him to die in a burning building he'd lit. The epidemy of irony.

The thug hardly had a chance to look shocked at his fire's ineffectiveness before the air exploded like a bomb, sending him flying into a concrete wall, his head cracking and he laid limp. That hit looked fatal, considering how much blood he was dripping it probably was, but that didn't mean much.

"Damn you!" The man with that laser Quirk growled, raining his Quirk out in rapid bursts that were easily blocked with his Heat Resistant body. "How the hell are you doing this?!"

Zone didn't answer, sweeping the leg of a man with superstrength that was sneaking up on him. He might have gone a bit too rough considering the crack he'd heard, suggesting a broken leg, and the howl of pain he'd heard only confirmed that thought.

He didn't bother taking the strength Quirk, since he had enough of those, but he rushed forward with Speed Boost to close the distance. About a month ago, he'd figured out just how useful his Stored Power Quirk really was. The energy he collected could be released in many forms, but he could also use it to supercharge his other Quirks. That had been a fun day, seeing what affects it had on all his different abilities.

Zone grabbed the man by the face, the laser Quirk not even breaking the skin as a a red aura overtook them both. "I'll take that if you don't mind." A second later, he dropped the now Quirkless man and refocused on his main target. That was the Quirk he really wanted afterall.

The man with X-Ray tried to run, only for the ground under him to suddenly shift. It was strange to not be on the receiving end, with how many times his teacher had done the same to him, but he refocused and drew his capture prey closer.

"What are you- ggyah!" The man let out a muffled scream when he touched his face, taking X-Ray after a breif lag period. He didn't cover the face because it keeps them quiet, but rather contact with the face made extracting a Quirk easier.

The man with Energy Conversion stupidly tried to hit his head with a metal bat from behind, but he caught and crushed it with ease, grabbing him by the face. It was brave of him to try and fight without an offensive Quirk, but also idiotic.

As his victim slumped, Zone felt a daze when how the Quirk functioned ran through his mind. He'd taken the time to stalk a small time gang out, isolate them, beat them all down, and take their Quirks. He wasn't lying when he said they all had good Quirks, but this one was something special.

This Quirk could take any form of energy, say thermal in the form of fire, and turn it into another form of energy, like electricity. There was no drawbacks, no limits to how much he could convert, the Quirk literally had no upper limit. Most would brush off this ability, saying it 'wasn't flashy enough' or 'you can't even use it without outside help.'

God, humans truly were short sighted. With what this Quirk could do, it was a shameful waste that this power was in the hands of a two-bit thug for so long.

This Quirk didn't work like Stored Power, which actually had quite a low limit to how much it could hold, but rather could create energy from other sources. It could even work with stamina, turning attacks that were thrown at him into energy. It was unbelievably versatile, especially when you considered the Laws of Energy Conservation and how that came into play, since he could tell the ratio he got for each trade-off was different in very physics-defying ways, so-

"I'll kill you!" The final man standing pulled out a gun, as though that would do shit to him, and didn't waste a moment of aiming before he pulled the trigger.

Oh right, he was still technically fighting.

Using Speed Boost to increase his perception of the world, which wasn't necessary but would make this easier, Zone reached out for a split second... and the bullet stopped cold right in front of him.

The shooter looked dumbfounded for a moment, before he aimed to shoot again... only for nothing to come out.

Zone felt a bit of amusement as the other man started to rapidly pull the trigger, only to get more of the same result. He was the only member of this gang who didn't have a Quirk, instead usually relying on a pistol. It made sense, a criminal who didn't have a Quirk or a weapon was no criminal at all, but felt overwhelmingly underwhelming.

"Hey...catch."

After that catty reply, he made use of Minor Magnetism to send the bullet flying backwards, running right through the man's chest and presumably tearing his heart apart. His death was near instant, going limp and falling backwards as he spat out red.

Zone tried not to linger on the dead man, his gaze wandering over to the leader of the group. He'd never attempted to brute force a group of criminals like this, only taking Quirks when the opportunity to get away with it came. If he let them live they'd undoubtedly tell someone about his powers which would be... very bad in short. Realistically speaking, killing them all was his only real option.

Kneeling down to put a hand on the spider-like man's face, Zone activated his original Quirk and watched silently as his face lost the fangs, lost the extra pair of eyes, and he lost the extra limbs prodding out of his back. Taking a Mutant Quirk was always strange to see, to watch their faces morph into something more human looking, but overall he was grateful for the distraction as he pulled away and cleared his head.

He hated this part.

He turned his arm into a sword, he could thank Bio-Shape for allowing him to shape his limbs' flesh however he wanted. His expression was cold as he loomed over the unconscious man, but when he raised a blade that's when he hesitated. Whenever in battle it was easy- well, easier- to move past killing someone. They were trying to get you first and all, but when they were defencelessly lying in front of him? That was enough to make him hesitate. To make him feel like a murderer.

Zone grimaced, muttering to himself. "This has to be done."

He brought his blade up high, feeling his arm shake like a leaf, until eventually his eyes widened and he tried to steel himself.

This was the right move.

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Quirks. Superhuman abilities that allow humans to accomplish extraordinary feats, be it lifting cars, breathing fire, or moving objects with your mind, these powers were practically intrinsic parts of someone's individuality. They were vital to all humans, afterall the species had clearly advanced above what evolution could grant regular creature... that's what people think anyway.

The sad truth is, humans are savage and sadistic beasts. Trampling over others, lording over them, flaunting their superiority, none of that is anything new. It happened for years before the glowing baby was born, the poison of human arrogance killing million- no, billions in humanity's long history. Quirks were just a new way for humans to excuse the subjugation of others, the ultimate extension of their starving egos... and Zone couldn't claim he was entirely removed from that either.

But, the difference was he knew how to control his ego. Years of being locked up like a caged animal would do that to you, because he was at the mercy of his captors. He learned to be submissive, to learn lesson which controlled his ego.

To bow when he wanted to rage.

To tame his pride.

To patiently bide his time.

To hide his anger and hatred.

To fake his emotions.

He became something else, he forgot what it meant to be human. His Quirk, powerful though it might be, still had limitations. It was still just that, another Quirk. There was no such thing as a perfect power, he had strengths and weaknesses just like everyone else. No matter how many Quirks he collected, be it one hundred or a thousand, his power would never be infinite.

He lacked experience.

He lacked access to powerful Quirks.

He lacked support from others.

The undeniable truth was: he couldn't do this alone.

He'd need allies.

He'd need determination.

He'd need experience.

He'd need everything if he wanted to get his revenge. He'd need to be more than he was now... more than anyone was. Quirks weren't going to carry him through battle, not on their own... but that was fine.

He needed to find his own answer. Knowledge was power afterall.

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"Alice, what does humanity currently know about Quirks?" Zone asked out of seemingly nowhere, looking out the window of his self driving car. He was an admittedly terrible driver, not getting behind the wheel for a good decade and a half would do that to you, so instead of improving he just linked Alice up into the car's network and had her drive for him. What could he say, he had better things to do with his time.

As a Quirk, Alice was connected to him. Anything she said went directly to his head, and he could not forget anything she says if he wanted to. Instead of wasting this skill, he'd put it to use by having her talk to him about useful topics... like Biology and other sciences.

He had a feeling those skills would be useful at some point.

"Quirks are genetic factors that allow humans to accomplish great feats. Quirks are passed down through DNA, from parent to child. Quirks take shape in people via 'Quirk Factors' which are differences in biology which a Quirk creates."

Zone waited for a second after she paused, expecting more, only for her to fall silent... and his eyes widened when she stopped.

"That's it?" He asked incredulously. "In over a century of Quirks being around, that is all humans know. A child could figure out that much!"

"That is all the information which the scientific community acknowledges at this time."

That confirmation made him pull a face. It was utterly barebones in every sense of the word, and quite frankly he was a bit disgusted by the lack of human curiosity. He knew this was an anime world, but that was ridiculous.

"Don't experts on Quirk Science experiment know any more than that?" He frowned, crossing his arms and tapping his foot. "It's a little bit hard to believe that after so long nobody has made any headway on this subject."

"Well, the I-Island research facility are the world's most brilliant human minds. However, it is well known that they horde any of their information within the island, refusing to share any findings they have with others."

Zone raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding."

"I am not."

"But, I-Island is a manmade island aren't they? They're famous for advanced support items, but they'll be getting funding from Countries around the world. So they never demand for more information on Quirks?" It just boggled his mind, how did the world not have any curiosity?

"I cannot answer that question."

"Great." Zone muttered. "So, the world spends all their time obsessing and drooling over all the amazing things Quirks can do, but never bother to question what a Quirk actually is."

Zone paused.

"Wait, what actually are Quirks?"

That made him stop to think, the simple question repeating in his head, and he even took a peak into his own body's Quirks for a moment. Sure, he knew what a Quirk did, but what was the nature of a Quirk? How did humanity manage to develop them?

Evolution was a bust, since even if you stretched it to an extreme, the process take place over millions of years not overnight! And even if it did, how the hell did people start throwing fire and telepathically throwing cars?!

The question had never crossed his mind before because this was an anime world. My Hero Academia didn't work on logic, the creator just had the idea of genetic superpowers and put it down on a manga sheet, but come on this was real life! There had to be some sort of common sense here! How did a Quirk, a strand of DNA, allow humans to suddenly turn into pure metal?! Metal isn't even organic!

Zone closed his eyes, mentally visualising his Quirk. He could directly interact with a person's Quirk Factor thanks to Quirk Manipulation, and whenever he thought of his Quirk it always felt like a star of pure red surrounded by other red celestial bodies that orbit his original Quirk like planets would a star. All of them were radiating a kind of energy- maybe the power used to make Quirks function?- but none of them even came close to the amount of power Quirk Manipulation was radiating. Maybe that was why his Quirk worked so well, because it was big and strong enough to keep his other Quirks in orbit.

Regardless, he tried to push that thought out as he went through all of his Quirks one by one. Besides his original, he currently had 20 other Quirks.

Endure. Enhancement. Air Blast. Toxic. Stored Power. Alice. Ground Bending. Speed Boost. Healing Touch. Demon. Crow. Substitute. Bio-Shape. Minor Magnetism. Heat Resistance. Lock-On. Laser Eyes. X-Ray. Energy Conversion. Spider.

After taking a peak within, he felt a spike of frustration. Whilst he could get a basic idea of what they did, he didn't know how they worked. Even if his Quirk could allow him to control them, that didn't mean he understood them. It was like having an extra organ you didn't fully understand, and that made him itch in ways he couldn't even describe.

'Alright, so I officially have no idea what Quirks do?' This was starting to get to him. He'd only been freely using his Quirk for a year, maybe just below that, so there had to be more to his abilities, right? Quirks were genetic factors, the fact he could control them had to mean... wait-

Zone reached out to two Quirks experimentally, grabbing at Endure and Enhancement. These were the first powers he'd ever received so it was almost poetic that he use them to test his abilities. They were similar enough, so that should make his idea work smoother.

Both Endure and Enhancement were body enhancers, so reaching out to both of them with his original Quirk. The two resisted a bit, as though repelling each other like magnets, but he managed to force them together and got to work. He grabbed at their cores and started to tie them together like knots. At the start they resisted each other, as though they didn't want to be together, but as time went on they calmed down and went still.

He thought for a moment that it had worked, but when he activated his new Quirk, which he assumed was a new fusion of the two, he felt a hit of disappointment strike him when his new boosting Quirk registered as two Quirks whenever he activated it. That was a let down.

When he started out, new and still learning about his abilities, he was able to use all his powers at once because he didn't have an abundance of them, but as his stockpile grew he learned that his Quirk had limits. Ones which stopped him from being an outright force of nature.

Quirks, for a lack of a better word, don't mix very well together. It wasn't anything complex, they just resisted whenever he used more than one for an attack or tried to keep them activated at the same time. If he had too many different Quirks activated at once then they'd start to turn off, and switching between them took a split moment to pause; so he'd be slowed down in a fast-paced battle.

Mixing Quirks for combined attacks was even worst. The best he could describe it was... juggling balls. A well trained juggler could juggle a lot, but even they couldn't juggle endless items all with different weights that throw them off-balance. And, if he were to fail because of bad focus or even bad luck, then his entire combination might just fall apart. So, he had to limit himself to a certain number of 'balls' at a time.

Even Quirks like his physical enhancers, which could be tricked into thinking they were the same because of their similar effects, didn't mix perfectly. It was a mystery to him, and a very stubborn one at that. He couldn't use more than four Quirks at a time, and that was when they were complimentary.

In conclusion: Quirks did not go well together, like water and oil.

Zone tried to look on the bright side. It wasn't a complete disappointment, since having them both activated at once would require less focus since they came in the same package, but it didn't lower the strain of activating so many Quirks active like he'd hoped. There wasn't a shortcut to combine his Quirks into one and use them all at once.

He needed to find a way to push past his old limits! To go plus ultra like that school for brainwashed slaves always says!

With new determination, Zone told Alice plainly. "Alice, can you please head to the training grounds? I have some work to do, plus I want to get a handle on my new Quirks."

"Of course."

With a night of promised training in mind, Zone felt a slight shift on his head as a pair of horns pointed outwards from his skull. They told you a lack of sleep would be bad for you, but with Demon he should be fine. It was a pretty funny story actually. The boy he'd taken this Quirk from was ostracised in the rural areas, thanks to his appearance of a devil, and so his parents decided to try and drown the baby in a river. If he wasn't there to help it then they would have succeeded too... okay, so maybe not a funny story.

Either way, it was a powerful Quirk that could have it's potential maximised by someone like him. Every time he remembered that boy, he tried to remember why he did what he did.

Because, humans were disgusting creatures... but persons weren't.

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Mie sat amongst her fellow members of the HPSC, at the end of a short table filled with the few people she could rely on in the brutal world of politics. Because, nobody could do everything alone, and as such she was willing to give her trust to others; if only a select few.

There was a stone faced man with short white hair named Yakuto Sakaki, his command being only second to hers as Vice-President. She'd known him for a great many years, with him taking her position upon promotion, and he was by far her most trusted ally. He was a master in the political world, partly thanks to his minor mind control Quirk: Silver Tongue, but mostly due to his huge stockpile of contacts. Be it a favour, instilling propaganda in the masses, or arranging for people to disappear well, he was the best there was. Almost too good.

The second was the newly instated police chief Kenji Tsuragamae, a man with a Quirk that gave him the appearance of a dog, and he was their way of controlling the Police Force. Most brush off the police and detectives of Japan, thinking them to just be 'Hero wannabes', which was partly thanks to their influence, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Heroes might bring in Villains, but the Police are the ones who investigate, take in, and organise arrests. Having the head of Japan's official law enforcers behind them was invaluable, and convenient when it came to covering up their more... questionable methods of ensuring the peace of their nation.

Finally, there was the Superintendent of Japan's Hero Schools Miki Kiragawa. She had very short green hair, an expression not dissimilar to her own, and dark green eyes that bordered on black. She was their way of controlling their future prospects, afterall Japan's Heroes couldn't be getting too idealistic. The Public Safety Commission needed those who would get the job done, who would present as Japan's example to follow, so it was essential they controlled who was given Hero Licences.

That was it. The four of them were left to rule the country, because that was what they did, the burden they took on. If anyone asked they'd say 'The HPSC is responsible for the regulation and distribution of Heroes, we hold no authority over Japan itself.' It was a default response, one they needed to give.

Honestly, what a deeply held lie.

"Well, why did you call us here, Matsutsu?" Yakuto asked, eyebrows burrowed in a perpetual scowl. "All of us are busy men and women, so what's the big deal?"

"We've found Z1-142." Mie cut straight to the chase, making them freeze in their tracks and sharpen their gazes. "He's been keeping a low profile this last year, hiding under rocks and between cracks, but we've managed to track him down to a town near Deika City. There have been reports there of a white haired boy who can use multiple Quirks, he's definitely out there."

"Then what are we waiting for, he's a massive threat to our peace and needs to be dealt with." Miki stated coldly. "That freak cannot be allowed to live anymore, I've always been against the idea of creating abominations like that."

"That much we can agree on, but that's all the more reason for us to be careful about this." Kenji stated, rubbing his chin. "He's been out of his cage for over a year now, who's to say how many Quirks he's taken by this point. You've seen All for One's handiwork, do you really believe we can solve this on our own?"

Miki met his gaze. "We have Hawks, if we give him backup then he could succeed."

"On his own Hawks won't suffice. Maybe if we had a few more agents on his level we could consider it, but we're dealing with a man who can steal Quirks."

With a huff, she responded. "All for One had over a century, this thing hasn't even stepped foot outside it's cage for more than a year. Experience is everything, and it takes people their entire lives to master their Quirks. This boy will have dozens at this point, so his mastery will be low."

Mie saw where this was going. "We'll approach this cautiously. Hawks is still a new Pro-Hero, it would be a waste if he had is Quirk stolen after we spent so much time and energy on training him. We won't overextend, if we do we'll just be adding more power to his collection. There's no need to rush this, not with him still in the dark."

Yakuto cut in. "Is there no way for us to get him back as one of ours? His power would be a boon for-"

"We've talked about this, Sakaki. He managed to break out of the Hypnosis Quirk, of the woman who raised him like a mother." She emphasised that last fact. "He has no loyalty to anyone, trying to recover him without a strong enough mind control Quirk is pointless."

Yakuto huffed out. "I know, but it's just such a waste. So much time, energy and money poured into one boy, only for it to all come crashing down. We should never have trusted that crazy bastard."

Knowing who he was referring to, she internally agreed. Project Z was doomed to fail from the start, but her predecessor and the idiots in charge at the time had let their lust for power control them and as a result the only surviving creation of Doctor Z's madness had turned his back on them.

Regardless, he'd be dead soon enough. Then they could all put the past in the past. Afterall, what was one child, no matter how strong a Quirk, compared to an entire Government organisation's efforts?

"We'll send Hawks to investigate." She decided. "He's more than capable enough, plus if anything goes wrong he can fly away. Have him map scout out for information, then send him in with some of our more powerful Heroes."

She knew Hawks wouldn't be enough on his own, they trained him for spying and backstabbing not overwhelming force, but that was fine. He'd never failed them, not even once, and he surely wouldn't start now.