Picking up the Pieces Chapter 5

Zone assessed the situation as he looked over his shoulder for the dozenth time, feeling himself start to lose steam as he tried to rush ahead and lose them through the woods. He was unfamiliar with where he was going, but right now he just had to flee. He could enjoy the outside world when he wasn't running for his life.

One of them was flying at a moderate speed, so he presumably possessed a flight Quirk, another was showing signs of telekinesis, whilst the final one had a Quirk that boosted their speed. With the ridiculous way they were dressed, it was safe to assume they were Heroes.

Through panted breaths, Zone jumping as he built up air through his palm, before releasing it and causing his pursuers to scatter and dodge the attack, but he didn't stop, quickly firing some regular less flashy Air Bullets to catch them off-guard. His plan worked with one of the three getting hit right in the chest.

"Skywalker! Damn you!" Even with his back turned, he could tell the hero was glaring his way. "You'll pay for that, you personification of evil!"

Zone wondered if the HPSC taught their Heroes to be as dramatic as possible, because there's no chance a regular person in this world speaks like that. "Alice, can you help me lose them?"

"Negative. Without access to nearby offensive technology, I am unable to be of use. I apologise."

Opening his mouth to reassure her, Zone instinctively darted out of the way. Following his reflexes proved to be the correct move, since that speed Hero had moved to grab him with a vengeful expression on his face. So they weren't very good at controlling their emotions, how convenient.

Zone was quick to grab him by the face, since that Hero wasn't the only one with an enhanced body. Zone couldn't stop a sneer from crossing his face, taking satisfaction in knowing his pursuer would have to end his career.

"Stop... you monster." The Hero muttered deliriously before being dropped to the ground, left Quirkless and likely without a career. With one of them down, the other Hero paused in horror much to his surprise.

Skywalker appeared to have gotten back up a second ago, despite the dent in his costume's chest he was perfectly fine. "What did you do to him?!" Though, from the look on his face he already knew.

Zone smirked, doing his best to stand tall and look intimidating despite his exhaustion. "I think you already know. And, unless you want to meet his fate, then I suggest you run."

The other Heroes looked defiant for a second, before Zone decided to call them out on their bluff by lifting his Quirk powered leg upwards. "You know, I have plans to destroy the twisted people you stand for. But, before than, I need to work my way up and take some decent Quirks. I think your friend is a good place to start."

With a chilling expression, he brought his leg down on the skull of the now Quirkless man, cracking it visibly and causing blood to spray everywhere. "Now, which one of you is next?"

The 'Heroes', in a mighty show of courage, lost their cool at the sight of their comrade dying and fled like rats on a sinking ship. Zone almost felt disappointed they didn't stay, but was quick to remind himself that he was in no condition to throw fists. He needed to rest and regain his strength.

"Alice, are there any places around here for me to take a breather?" Zone asked, noticing it was night time, and started to run in the opposite direction to the Heroes. "Any towns, or something else?"

"The nearest town is approximately twenty three kilometres, three hundred and thirty meters away."

'I can't rest just yet.' Zone's arms felt heavy, his eyelids drooping slightly, but still he refused to pass out until he was far enough away from the facility. He wouldn't go back there, not after he was finally out. Never again would he be controlled.

The world was open to him, and he wasn't losing his freedom again!

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Mie Matsutsu was usually normally a calm person, or at least she liked to think so. As the leader of such a massive government branch, it was demanded that she maintain her composure. Some had even said she were made of ice. But, if there was one thing that could rattle her, it was the idea of that experiment going wrong.

She had been Vice-President of the HPSC for nearly two decades before she was finally promoted, that was thanks to Tsutsumi finally snapping and going rogue, and ever since then she'd been trying to keep things running smoothly. Not perfectly, as perfection didn't exist, but as close to perfect as feasibly possible. Nagant's replacement was nearly the right age to become a legal Hero, and there hadn't been any major issues under her leadership. Slight hiccups here and there sure, but nothing massive... until now.

"What do you mean it escaped?!" Mie exclaimed in panic. The thought was horrifying, no actually, horrifying didn't even begin to describe what that thing could unleash. "There were over a dozen of our Heroes present in the facility, not to mention the other expensive safety measures installed into that prison, so just how could it have gotten out?!"

The whole project was doomed to fail from the start, that much she'd known when it was first suggested all those years ago. The idea of creating another being with All for One's power, even one they could control, was just a downright idiotic premise. Having one of those monsters around was enough misery and chaos, but two? It was madness!

The man on the other end stuttered nervously. "Well, um- you see- the subject it-"

"Spit it out will you!" She exclaimed.

"We don't actually know." Even at the end of the line, she could hear how depressed he sounded. "The prison was made to contain people like him, heck we didn't expect him to even want to escape. He was meant to be brainwashed by Yachi."

Mie pinched the bridge of her nose. "Useless little- where the hell is that woman? We've poured too much into this project, we can't possibly-"

"She's dead, madam." Mie froze, letting the implications sink in. "She was found dead, a hole right through her skull. It was definitely Z1-142's doing, and when we get him we'll-"

"We need to kill him on sight." She interrupted, knowing they needed to cut their losses. If they still had a brainwasher on hand, they might have been able to do something. Without Hypnosis, trying to control him was a fools gambit.

"Ma'am?"

"He's out of our reach now. Without Yachi's power, trying to control him is useless. I've heard this story before, it's how the original All for One gained power. If we leave him, eventually he'll become too strong to deal with. Kill him on sight, no second thoughts." With her work done, she slammed the phone down aggressively with gritted teeth. It was like she was the only competent person around.

'What a mess.' She thought bitterly, knowing she had to handle this swiftly. This wasn't something she could just ignore, like the wails and cries of subjugated groups, but a catastrophe ready to destroy the country if she let it. Even so, she took some cold vindication in knowing she was right. The idea of having that power, to take and give Quirks, was too much for the HPSC... now their ambition was crashing down on them.

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Toshinori Yagi, the number one Hero: All Might, and the holder of One for All snapped his eyes open when he felt a stir within his core. It was subtle, but it was enough to disrupt his slumber, with his emaciated form shooting out of bed. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for him to wake up in the night, sometimes writhing in pain from the wound his nemesis had left him just a year ago, but this time it was different. He wasn't in pain, but rather he felt a deep seated disturbance in his Quirk, like something had made his soul uneasy. He did not like it.

Feeling uneasy, Toshinori crawled out of bed with a sigh. Even if it was nothing, having randomly woken up he knew getting back to sleep would be near impossible. A lack of so many internal organs would do that to you, many bodily sensations he'd once taken for granted were now missing.

'It was probably nothing.' The blonde thought, scratching at his stick-like arm for a moment, only to freeze in place when his Quirk pulsed again. Ever since his injury, One for All's fire had been quiet. It was still there, but it was far from the constantly raging bonfire he'd once known. Whether or not that was thanks to his diet of pills and powder, since a stockpiling Quirk would stop such rapid growth without such a major power source, or All for One's death finally fulfilled the Quirk's need for justice he'll never know.

But his power had begun to stir once again.

Toshinori rubbed his eyes as he felt dizzy all of a sudden, sitting down so that he didn't topple over, but when he opened them he was... somewhere else. The world around him was mostly dark with rainbow colour stars in the sky racing like a constantly shifting constellation. It was both beautiful, and incredibly lonely.

Around him, he noticed there were different coloured orbs with spades around them shaped like people. Most of them were strangers, but he managed to recognise a single woman.

'Master!' Toshinori's eyes widened when he saw the purple spade. Whilst she had an incomplete form, looking as though she'd blow away in the wind, he could never forget the image of his mentor, Nana Shimura. She always did say that One for All kept the spirits of it's holders, and he himself had seen them a handful of times, but never had he seen something so... vivid.

But before he could say a thing the vestiges all pointed to one corner of this space, and when he followed their gaze a short white haired figure with his back turned came into view. He was sleeping on the floor, looking ragged with dirt and blood staining his torn clothes and hair, and Toshinori immediately felt concern for the child.

"Hey kid, are you alright?" Toshinori asked as he held his hand out. He had no idea where this was, but no child should be left in such a state. He walked closer, though it felt like he was trudging through a swamp with every step, and eventually kneeled and patted the boy on his shoulder. "Look, I can help you if-"

The teenager opened his bright red eyes, and Toshinori's non-existent stomach dropped for some reason. He reflexively leaned back, not so sure of himself as the boy rose up on shaky feet as he stared around. Though he looked non-threatening, the child invoked a deep feeling of distress in him.

He was certainly short, with skin a pasty white that nearly matched his hair, but those eyes held a look of recognition as he opened his mouth... only to grasp at it rapidly as though something had caught his throat.

Before Toshinori could ask what he was doing, he felt a headache beat through his skull that caused him to slam his eyes shut... and when he opened them he was back in his room. Though, his mind was left reeling.

'What was that hallucination?' Toshinori couldn't help but wonder, recalling the face of that boy. He looked like he was in trouble, but just what exactly was he in danger from? Some might have called it paranoia, but that was just too realistic to have been a dream!

"Was that One for All?" Toshinori wondered out loud, staring at his hand. Just what was his power trying to tell him?

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Awakening to the sound of a grumbling stomach, Zone reluctantly picked himself up from the forest floor and dusted himself of... only to pause when he felt a slight pain on his ankle. A scaly viper came into view when he looked down, one that was likely poisonous, but he was quick to reach down and pluck the serpent's fangs off his legs.

"It appears you've been bitten by a Mamushi, a venomous species of snake. They are an endangered species, you must have rather bad luck to run into one."

Zone hummed in disinterest, throwing the snake away and watching it slither back into the forest. "How interesting. Good thing Toxic makes me immune to poisons." He poked his leg for a moment, watching as the snake's venom dripped out of his calf. What a useful Quirk.

"Alice, how far away is the nearest town?" Zone questioned.

"Approximately thirteen kilometers, fifty five meters, and-"

Zone interrupted with exasperation. "I get it. Which direction?"

"East. And I'd rather that you did not so rudely interrupt me when I choose to aid you out of my free will."

Zone almost rolled his eyes, but didn't want to piss Alice off too badly. "Right, sorry. I'm just... tired." He lamely replied, because a good five hours rest really wasn't enough for him. His joints hurt when they twisted, and he's not in any real condition to fight someone off. It put him in a bad mood.

"Understandable. Your body is experiencing fatigue, and your body's severe lack of several key brain chemicals is causing mental instability."

"Yeah well- wait, what?" Zone couldn't help asking when he registered those words. "What do you mean by that?"

"I hold the ability to analyse the anatomy of my holder. Though my abilities may be technological, I am still a biologic component within your body. I have an excess of information such as blood pressure, heart rate, and the chemicals contained within your blood stream."

Zone felt baffled, perplexed by how much Alice could apparently do. "Wait, you can do all of that on top of controlling technology and evolving over time? What else can your Quirk do?"

"That is all of my major functions."

"Are you sure?" He raised an eyebrow as he started to walk. "No more hidden abilities I don't know about."

"Positive."

"Okay." He accepted, circling back to her original statement. "Well, what's wrong with my brain chemistry?"

"Your bodies natural production of chemicals such as dopamine are critically low, as such your ability to feel certain emotions will be hindered. Have you been displaying symptoms such as emotional detachment, or regard for those around you?"

Zone wanted to refute her, only... he had actually shown a bit of that now that he thought about it. Killing those people, no matter how much they deserved it, would shake a regular person. Yet, he moved on with relative ease. Hell, last night he killed a man just to scare a couple others off. Was he becoming...

"What caused this, and is there a way to fix it?" He pressed.

"The cause of your affliction was a burden placed on your mind, something unnatural, however I can tell that it has been removed. Your brain may heal over time, however you have already been through puberty and mostly developed. The chances of your mind ever returning to 'normal' are low."

Zone felt some anger, knowing exactly what this 'burden' was in actuality. "It was that bitch Rui. Her Quirk was Hypnosis, and she'd been using it to brainwash me, but it looks like killing her got rid of anything her Quirk was doing."

He almost wanted to laugh in bitterness. Even in death, she was still finding a way to ruin his life.

Breathing out, he scrunched up his nose when he realised how he looked. A dirty boy covered in blood and dirt with a jumpsuit on? That wouldn't send the right message, so he should shed it off. It was decently warm anyway.

Ripping off his shirt, Zone was quick to throw it away as he walked through the woods at a leisurely pace. It was a peaceful morning, with birds and animals on the prowl.

"Alice, how much information do you have access to?" He inquired curiously. "You can tell where I am, so surely you have access to some sort of navigation device."

"I can lock onto your location because of my direct access to the HPSC's servers and satellite. I am able to prevent them from tracking you by blocking their access to said satellite, but so long as that tracking trip remains in your neck then-"

Zone's shouted upon getting that info. "Wait, I have a tracking chip in my neck?! As in a device that can be used to locate me at any time of the day?!"

"That would be correct."

Zone grasped at his neck, now feeling a very unnatural and slightly painful chip under his neck's flesh. He felt like squirming in discomfort, knowing that Alice was all that kept him safe through the night.

"If it is causing you discomfort, then I would not worry. I could prevent the tracker from sending data to the transmitter, effectively rendering the device useless."

"Then do it." He demanded, and not a second later he felt a slight shock under his hand before it fell silent. That wasn't enough for him though. He picked his neck's skin up, feeling the tracking chip stab at him, before he fired off an Air Bullet at an angle that destroyed a small section of skin, but more importantly got rid of the tracker.

"Is it gone?" Zone asked, wincing slightly as blood trickled down his neck. It wouldn't kill him, but it still stung like a wasp dug into him.

"Yes. Though a warning of such reckless actions should be taken into account before execution."

Zone looked away, knowing that was a bit hasty. "Sure, if there's a next time then I'll warn you. Now tell me, you still have access to the HPSC's satellite and servers, yes?"

"That would be correct. Though I suspect that will not remain when they learn you stole my original user's Quirk."

Zone waved that off. "I know, but that doesn't matter. Tell me, can you download files like a computer and copy them onto somewhere else?"

The HPSC were a huge government organisation, and just his existence was a testament to how corrupt they truly were under that shiny, flashy interior. Though he could just kill all the high members of the HPSC's board, that would be too easy. For every one he killed, another would take their place and carry on the status quo. It would be like trying to crush a colony of one million ants one by one. No, what he wanted to do was completely destroy everything the HPSC was and everything they stood for. That started by showing their true colours.

"Yes, that is within my abilities. Why would you ask?"

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After a while of talking, Zone took a feel for his new Quirk and decided to make use of it. For what he had planned, he'd need all the power he could get. That didn't just mean taking stronger Quirks, but learning to use them in creative ways. He couldn't just rely on raw power, he'd see All for One make that mistake in the anime. Why would he try and kill All Might, no matter how weakened, with a punching attack? And though he might have stacked a dozen Quirks together to get a big, flashy result, at the end of the day his way of fighting was too... simple.

Then again, he could understand wanting to use straightforward Quirks in a way. Quirk Manipulation gave him a basic understanding of the Quirk, though no practical experience, so he'd probably have more proficiency than All for One right off the bat. Then again, he didn't have over a century to collect powerful and unique Quirks, so doing the same wouldn't work for him. That was fine. If he couldn't use raw power, then he'd have to be tricky.

Making use of Speed Boost, the name he'd decided to deem his new speed Quirk, Zone walked forward and noticed how the world seemed to slow down. It wasn't like using Enhancement, where his physical abilities were simply boosted, but rather the world around him had slowed and he was the only one moving normal. Even his thoughts.

Zone tried to ramp this up more, which worked for a second, but had to stop himself when his legs suddenly felt tired. It seemed that overuse of the Quirk caused fatigue, a fact he already knew but wanted to clarify.

Getting an idea, he pointed his fingers at a tree and whispered to himself. "Air Bullet. Speed Boost." The familiar sensation of one of his most favoured Quirks blessed his fingers, a small blast of air was fired from his fingers and much to his surprise it cut right through the tree's bark in the blink of an eye.

'Okay, so that makes my attacks faster whilst Enhancer makes them stronger.' Zone noted, then decided to take it a step further. "Air Bullet. Enhancer. Speed Boost."

The arm he'd used the combination in stung like he'd touched a hot pan, but he held on long enough for the second Air Bullet to exit his hand with surprising recoil. The attack tore through multiple trees that were in it's path, carving through the bark like a hot knife through butter, until eventually it stopped and exploded.

'Shit!' Zone winced as a few crashes occurred behind him, though his attention was on his hand. He cradled his palm, which now sported raw skin that was red and pink.

"Alright, that was a bit too much. But, suddenly increasing power like that could be useful as a last resort." He noted to himself, though the pain was being overridden by fascination. Sure, he might not have been able to take that attack this time, but if he trained enough then his body would be able to handle it. If the way My Hero Academia showed Quirked people was still accurate, then his body would adapt to his Quirks eventually.

The pain in his hand slowly faded, at a rate that was unexpected even in the water, and after a moment he lifted his palm out and flexed it. The pain was almost gone, how strange.

"Quite a powerful Meta Ability you have there." A deep and charming voice called out to him, and Zone instantly snapped his head across the river to meet the black eyes of a suited man.

He was normal looking, if you ignored the horrendous hairline and lethally sharp nose, and possessed a smile that looked practiced and polite. He was well dressed, with his orange hair going quite well with his black suit, and that immediately put Zone on edge. He looked a lot like a government official.

"Well, thanks I guess." Zone responded lamely. "My hand hurts though, and sorry about the trees."

The orange haired man held up his hands in a disarming way. "Oh no, please don't apologise. Whenever I visit Deika City I always like to take a moment to come out here, something about this forest simply calms me, but it's always a better sight to see someone with such a powerful Meta Ability honing their skills. The fact you're so young just shows your dedication. Do you train often?"

Zone gazed down at his trousers, which looked dirty with some blood on. He could pass it off as him cutting himself, that wasn't a lie with his neck still hurting, and the fact he was shirtless could be chalked off to him being a free spirit that loved to train. His physique supported that, though he didn't exactly have much fat on him to begin with due to his restrictive diet.

"Yeah, some might even say too often." He eventually responded, making sure to follow up. "I've been sick for a lot of my life, so getting out and being active feels pretty good. That includes my Quirk."

That earned him a laugh. "A good mindset to have, in fact would it be too much to ask that you walk with me? I was actually just about to head back to the city, and I could use the company."

Zone was about to decline, but his rumbling guts told the whole story and earned him a raised eyebrow. "I could offer you breakfast if you want, I was getting rather hungry myself."

"It would be an optimal action to take care of your hunger, humans require sustenance to function properly."

Alice's words rung in his head, and he sighed before accepting. "I think I'll take you up on that offer Mr..."

The smile on the other man's face widened as he took a slight bow. "Rikiya. Rikiya Yotsubashi."

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Zone sat on the opposite end of Rikiya, now wearing a shirt which his new acquaintance had given him. He was shamelessly digging into the eggs and bacon that had been served to him like the starved orphan he technically was, with the suited man in question enjoying his pancakes at a more leisurely pace that made him look like a pig. He didn't really care though, he hadn't been able to eat decent food all his new life, he was going to enjoy it.

"It been a while since you've eaten?" Rikiya inquired, looking slightly amused. "I'm quite the known face around here, and money isn't a problem, so you can order again if you want."

"Thank you." Zone spoke after he finished, trying to appear grateful despite his horrible manners. "It's just been a while since I've had good quality shit like this. Anyway, why did you take such an interest in me? My Quirk isn't anything seriously special." He almost laughed at how blatant a lie that was.

Rikiya seemed amused by that. "Humble of you to say, but the section of forest you destroyed speaks otherwise. You could be a good Hero with that power. If that's what you want that it."

Zone almost scoffed. "No thanks, I just kinda wanna use Quirk. It's the reason I was out there, it's not a crime if they don't catch you."

Rikiya barked out a laugh. "I suppose it's not, is it? Whilst I'm a law abiding citizen, it can sometimes frustrate me how out of date the laws in today's society are. I mean, there isn't a real option to use your Quirk unless you obtain a Hero licence, and those aren't exactly just handed out. It's like Quirks aren't accepted even a century and a half later, don't you agree."

Zone didn't miss the way Rikiya's eyes sharpened, despite his friendly demeanour, and knew something was going on. He was gauging his answer with surprising focus.

"To be honest, I do." He decided to be honest as he set down his utensils. "I mean, some Quirks are literally parts of your body. If you have wings are you just meant to not use them? Are you supposed to ignore the fact you have fire for hair, or some Quirk driven instinct that make you want to act out? Besides, these days it's very rare for Quirkless people to be born, so most people have a special power of their own and probably feel frustrated because they can't use a core part of their body. Back when these laws were made, when things were in chaos, the majority of the population were Quirkless. Nearly all of the people who installed these laws were Quirkless. That will mean the perspective is to minimize Quirk use, not keep Quirks for being misused. Honestly, it's a really outdated system that needs an overhaul."

Rikiya's jaw dropped, making Zone withhold a snort, but after a few seconds he snapped out of it and smiled widely. It was a bit unnerving how happy he was actually.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, you hit all the points Destro's book wanted to get across." Rikiya praised proudly. "You know, youth these days have become too lazy for my liking. So many of them are fine with just going with the flow, not thinking outside what society wants them to. Seeing you gives me a bit of hope for the future."

Zone gave a small grin. "Well, I try."

"Tell me, what exactly is your Meta Ability." Rikiya leaned in with interest. "I'm assuming some form of air compression that you can launch as projectiles? A straightforward enough power, but effective nonetheless."

Zone raised an eyebrow. "That's exactly right, I call it Air Bullet, though I've gotten my Quirk to the point where Air Blast would be a more accurate name. My body still hasn't adapted to my strongest attacks, but I think it will eventually. I just need to keep practicing."

Rikiya grinned a bit. "A fine Meta Ability, you could take it a long way. But, might I ask why you practice so diligently even though you have no desire to be a Hero? What drives you?"

Zone instantly answered. "Freedom. I use my Quirk because I have the right to, and no stupid law can tell me otherwise. Maybe I'll get in trouble for it, but that's fine. Doing what you think is right is more important than following the rules."

That was apparently the right thing to say, because Rikiya's smile was practically splitting his face. "I couldn't agree more. In fact, if you're interested, I'd love to see you at a meeting my group is conducting tonight. It's actually the reason I'm in town."

Rikiya proceeded to stand up, placing a card down on the table with a slight grin. "Don't worry about the money, I'll be paying for your meal. All I ask in return is your consideration of my offer."

Finishing up, Rikiya proceeded to walk out of the diner and not look back. There was only a waitress in the place, so he was all by himself as he picked up the card and read it to himself.

'The Meta Liberation Army... did he just try and recruit me into a cult?'

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Something was very wrong with this city, that much was plainly obvious to him. He could have brushed off the fact a cult leader had tried to recruit him, that wasn't a huge deal. That could have been a coincidence. But, after getting a read on this city, he wasn't so sure.

Many times he'd seen people using their Quirks in day to day life, and they were so very casual about it he almost didn't see them. Keep in mind that Quirk usage, no matter the circumstances, was meant to be illegal unless you were a Hero yet an entire city seemed to be using them like their right hand. Rikiya obviously cared a lot about free Quirk usage, so that just meant... this entire city was part of the Meta Liberation Army. That might have been a bit of a stretch, but the amount of evidence pointing that way was starting to stack.

As for what exactly the 'Meta Liberation Army' was? He was figuring that out by reading... or at least trying to.

Zone scrunched his face up in focused, cursing the HPSC for not teaching him to write in Japanese. He wasn't an idiot by any means, but his capacity to learn wasn't the problem when he wasn't being taught to begin with!

"Do you need some aid in translation, Zone?"

As Alice's calming voice rang in his ear, he felt a bit of a jump. He'd honestly forgotten she was there, since she'd been silent for so long. "That would be much appreciated."

It was embarrassing to need another person to read to him, but Zone took the hit to his pride as he listened intently. It was easy that voice went directly to your head, nothing could block her out.

The A.I had been his first friend in this strange new world, and she'd stuck by him well so far. Sure, he was confused, didn't know his next move and was being hunted down by the government. But at least he wasn't alone.

Still though, even as Alice went on about a violent supremist's mad ideals, his mind was wrestling with another important issue: Just how was he going to dethrone the government?

Contrary to what one might believe, the HPSC wasn't a clean organisation by any means; his very existence proved as much. They had skeletons in their closets, a whole fucking cemetery of them actually, but how was he gonna use any of the dirt he'd gotten? How could he show that to the public?

Zone glanced off to the side, noticing a group of teenage girl's who were scrolling on their phones. He narrowed his eyes, before realising the answer.

Knowing enough about the MLA, he whispered to Alice. "I think I know enough. But, I have another question? Could you broadcast s message across Japan."

"That depends entirely on the technology I am granted access to, but is entirely feasible."

He couldn't help but grin madly. "Perfect, because I think a plan is starting to come together, Alice. I'm gonna need a time window though, a chance to kick them while they're down."

A memory passed through his eyes, one of the supposedly unstoppable Symbol of Peace standing gaunt and broken as the rest of his supposed comrades stood around watching helplessly. Even though he won that battle, All Might was extinguished; the strength and main pillar of Japan left to crumble and crash down.

"I think I know exactly when as well. We just need to have patience."

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Moving from city to city was difficult when you had no money or an ID. You couldn't buy supplies, rent a car, or buy a train ticket. In short, you were stranded.

If you were a law-abiding citizen that is, which he definitely wasn't. He had no plans on following the law, not after what the people who enforced them had done to him, so his morals were a bit skewed.

"I'll take this if you don't mind." He commented to the driver of a car, who he'd tricked and knocked out, taking the wheel as he dumped the man out of his card. It had been a while since he'd driven one, mainly because he wasn't of legal age and he was... well, buried away from society for over a decade. Plus, his memories were hazy, so he was more acting on his gut than anything else.

"No time to learn like the present."

Starting the car's- well not engine because it was electric,- Zone stared to make his way down the road towards the countryside, knowing if he wanted to get anything done he'd need to stay hidden for the time being. There was no way in hell he was headed towards the city, not with so many Heroes around, no. What he needed to do was head to the countryside, where Heroes were probably few and far between.

He might have been wrong, but it was probably a safe guess to assume Pro-Heroes weren't as popular in rural areas. For a starter, if the manga held true, Heroes would be akin to celebrities thanks to extreme commercialism and a way for big corporations to make money. Toys, movies, video games, the whole lot were definitely on full display. It wouldn't be a surprise if the commission was encouraging this, human greed and all.

Because Heroes were wanting to gain popularity, they'd definitely be attracted to the cities where more people could see them work. That will mean, at the very least, all the strongest Pros will be gathered in the big cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. The HPSC would also probably have less influence in the countryside, so he'd be safe for the time being.

That wasn't to say he was entirely safe though.

'So, this is where I've ended up. I'm not at the bottom anymore, but I'm still one hell of a way from the top.' Zone spoke to himself, making sure to hide his face under a hat when some traffic cameras passed. 'But, I'll get there eventually. This world isn't ready for me. I'm not evil, nor am I good. I'm not justice, I am revenge personified. I will create order after the chaos passes, but people will die regardless. However, that's fine. You know what they say...'

'What goes around comes around.'