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CHAPTER START---
---7 PM...
As the multiple armored cars trucks and police cars drive away in a long convoy, a few squads of officers remain at the warehouse observing the destruction.
Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods are walking back from the main gate, toward Edgeshot and Horizon. She looks around at the crumpled shipping containers and the roof of the warehouse, now rubble in the water, some bits still poking out through the surface.
"Kinda sucks that we didn't have to do anything huh," she kicks a few rocks out of the way as they continue walking.
"You wanted to deal with that much gunfire?" Kamui Woods asks.
"Not really, but this means we don't get much of a spotlight, and I've got some Hero Insurance payments coming up."
"Well, you were here so you'll get paid.""Yeah, but not as much as if I helped, but Horizon dealt with all the villains himself while Edge got the case or whatever it is."
"Look around," Kamui Woods gestures to all the destruction around them. "Kid tore up the place just to 'make a point', whatever that means. If you got involved you'd be sharing the bill with him."
"It's a wonder he can afford to fight like that."
"Well, he's usually more efficient, plus, according to the rumors he's made atleast a few hundred million from his medical practice, the kid isn't here for the money."
"Just here to help people," she groans and rolls her eyes. "Sometimes he's such a jerk, then he has cool stuff like that...really annoying."
"You're just jealous he's stealing our spotlight, we were the new shiny rookies before him after all."
"What, like you aren't?"
Kamui Woods shrugs, "doesn't bother me. Fewer people shooting at you is perfect in my book, plus it's not like we operate anywhere nearby so he doesn't really cut into our income. Aldera is pretty much unchanged, it's the Pro Heroes in Musutafu and Minato Tokyo that have to be worried, that's where the crime rates have dropped the most since he's usually at UA or Horizon tower."
"Awe," she leans over and quickly tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek of his mask. "Look at you being all sweet and worrying about me."
"You become a bigger target, not bulletproof, I always worry about you."
Mt. Lady sighs, "yeah, but I like helping people...and sometimes that gets dangerous."
"Hmm, couldn't have said it better myself."
"Yeah, I can be pretty smart sometimes," Mt. Lady giggles to herself.
"It doesn't count if you're the one saying it," Horizon interrupts them. During their chat, they arrived at the temporary command tent where the investigation and cleanup were being orchestrated from.
Edgeshot, Horizon, the police Captain, and a few other officers were in the tent.
Mt. Lady just rolls her eyes and stands beside Kamui Woods opposite Edgeshot and the captain.
The man looks over to the other officers and nods, and they both leave the tent to go help load the evidence into the trucks.
"Can we leave yet?" Mt. Lady asks.
"Nope," Edgeshot puts a metal briefcase on the table. "This is what was in that secret compartment. Since Horizon had all eyes on him nobody noticed me getting it. Took a minute to jam the sensors, it was on a separate alarm, so as far as the villains know, this is still in the same position."
"Good," Horizon looks over at the captain. "Don't tell anyone outside of this tent about the compartment, and don't mention it on any official reports. Villains have eyes and ears everywhere, atleast people that can set up an operation this big."
"Got it," the man nods.
"Why is everyone taking orders from a kid?" Mt. Lady mutters.
"Because he's Horizon," the captain says. "Now please stop interrupting."
"Sorry."
"As I was saying, we want the villains to think this case is still here. This was some kind of a resource outpost. The last couple of these we've raided across Japan didn't have anyone who knew the actual bosses or organization of it."
"So they're all blissfully ignorant, and atleast have that bit of plausable deniability, not that it's worth much after attacking a Pro," Edgeshot says.
"I'm not a Pro yet."
"Right, and how'd you get all these locations? The Hero Network has been on fire with all the info you've been flooding it with."
"That's my second Quirk."
"Second Quirk?!" They all look at him in surprise.
"Yeah, I'm rich..."
"Oh, of course," Edgeshot actually chuckles, for a split second his stone-cold shinobi face cracks before it fully reforms. "I suppose we'll have to send search teams to find any hidden compartments in them as well."
"Nope, just watch them," Horizon says. "Captain, can you station undercover officers here 24/7, we'll clear out everyone else, and when the villain sends people to recover what's in this case, we'll get some answers."
"How are you so sure they'll have answers?" Kamui Woods asks.
The Captain chips in, "you don't hire security to guard a place like this, then hide something even deeper within it, without sending people you absolutely trust to collect it."
"That makes sense," Kamui Woods says. "Please, continue."
"Right, I'll station men here after we clear out, but it could be weeks before anyone comes to collect."
"I'm patient," Horizon says. "I'm coordinating a takedown on contraband supply lines all across Japan, I don't expect to crumble it and all the crime organizations in it overnight."
"Well you've made good progress for only three weeks," the captain says.
"Yeah well, when you get your head out of your ass and stop thinking like a superhero, and start thinking like an Emperor, it makes things like this easier..."
"And Japan is your empire?" Edgeshot asks.
"Well, these are the people I'm protecting, so yes, it is."
"Doesn't matter what he thinks," the captain says. "It's working, and if I need to call you Emperor Horizon to keep getting these results, I don't think my men and I will be too opposed."
"Just 'Horizon' is fine, now, can we open that case already?"
Edgeshot looks at the case and inspects the small device he placed on the biometric lock, a highly illegal digital lockpick that only a few Pro Heroes have access to.
Namely Edgeshot, Eraser Head, and Mister Knight. But Horizon makes a note that he'd have to get one.
A quiet click signals the case opening, without triggering any alarms within.
Edgeshot opens it, and inside they see the deactivated sensors in the case, and trapped in thick foam is a single finger-sized plastic capsule of a blue liquid.
"Trigger?" the captain reaches for it, and Horizon immediately slaps his hand away. "Ouch," the man rubs the bruise on his hand. "Guess it's not Trigger..."
"If you could see what I see, you'd never want to be anywhere near it."
"And what do you see?" Edgeshot asks.
To Horizon, as he focuses more and more on his Scan, standing like a statue and staring down at the item. And for the first time they see blue energy vapor seeping through his clothes, his gloves and sleeves as he pours more and more energy into his Scan.
More than he'd ever been able to before, and finally, he sees them.
The Chronons, time particles, moving quickly in all directions through the liquid.
"Time, someone trying to fuck with time, using this," his words leave them all worried at that notion.
"You can see time?" Edgeshot sounded confused.
"Sure, let's go with that. But within my range, I can perceive the truth in all things and manipulate that truth, and nothing escapes me. Which does include the passage of time when I really focus."
"So you can control time, that's not fair," Mt. Lady whines.
"Well Hand Of God as it is really isn't fair, but no I can't mess with time, atleast not yet."
"Well that's somewhat of a relief atleast," Edgeshot says. "Not that I don't trust you, but that's too much power for any one man to have."
"He says to sixteen-year-old billionaire that's already the second most powerful being on the planet," Horizon chuckles.
"Right, well I should turn this in for evidence?" The captain asks.
"No, I'll be taking this to analyze it, plus no offense but if someone can distill time into a liquid, I don't think it'd be too hard to break into a police station and kill everyone protecting the evidence lockup."
"Oh, good point. I'll keep this off the record then."
"Right," Horizon closes up the case. "Then I need to get out of here and start working on this, among other things..."
---Hours Later, Horizon Tower...
"You know the point of you getting that job was to use the apartment that comes with it," Horizon says, sitting on the couch in his dimly lit living room.
The TV was on, playing the news, showing his exploits today.
But Ryuko was a bit busy, in her underwear straddling his lap, facing him. Her hands inspected all the grooves of his body glove as her head rests against his visor, feeling one of his hands on her waist, slowly inching its way behind her.
But his other is up and to the side, playing with the small blue capsule he discovered today.
"When you aren't in Tokyo I always stay there, but honestly babe, my place doesn't have a pool, or a hot tub, or such a nice view."
"Or me..."
She giggles, "or you," she feels his fingers tighten and grasp her ass, and her breath nearly leaves her.
"This place is much more fun with you here too."
"Is that all I am, fun?" she leans back a bit so he gets a proper look at her.
"That's what we agreed to..."
Ryuko sighs and deflates, frowning slightly. "Can you atleast give me your full attention when I'm trying to talk to you?" she gestures to him still twirling the potentially dangerous evidence in his fingers. "I'm trying to have a serious conversation here."
"Really, while you're dressed to looking all sexy and sitting in my lap? Doesn't seem like you want me thinking much..."
Ryuko gives him an unimpressed look and pats his chest, "what if I want more?"
"You spend half the week here and have my undivided attention most of the time we're together, what more is there to want?"
"Well, I've been thinking, and I know it'll probably be weird since you're just a bit younger---"
"---12 years younger."
She hits him in the chest, but he doesn't even react, "sorry, just. I was wondering if---"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The alert sound from his phone goes off, meaning the call is an emergency.
"God damn it!" Ryuko yells as she gets up to walk into the bedroom, knowing he had to answer the phone. But she stops at the corner to wait for him.
"Yagi, what is it?" Horizon asks as he answers.
"....."
"What, seriously?"
"....."
"For what?!"
"....."
"I fail to see how this is my problem, fix this yourself, he's your fuckup!"
"....."
"He did what?! He put my fucking name in this?! You better pray he gets a prison sentence because I'll kill him myself!"
"....."
"Ugh, fine! I'll unfuck this shit for you, but I've got something I'd need from you."
"....."
"Does it matter what I want? The alternative is you're stuck with this crap on your plate."
"....."
"Thought so!" Horizon angrily hangs up the call.
He turns around to see Ryuko looking at him, worried, "is everything alright? Who was that?"
"That was All Might."
"That's how you speak to all might?"
"When he asks me to bail his garbage protoge out of jail, yeah, that's how I speak to him..."
END CHAPTER---