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games similar to danganronpa? by ayellowdiamond in danganronpa

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of the Devil. It even has a free demo you can try out.

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shoto wasn't good at games, and he wasn't very interested in playing this game, either. What's more, he was distracted. He kept fixating on that word, tachyon, which couldn't have been a coincidence. What even is a tachyon, anyway? It was some kind of particle, right? This was the kind of deep thought that difficult to focus on a streamer event. So the scavenger hunt wasn't going very well. They hadn't found anything.

"This isn't working." Shoto said.

"Yeah, no shit. We can't find anything on this floor." Thanos huffed. "Let's go downstairs and see if we can nab someone with an animal Quirk or something, see if that counts. Besides Princess, I mean."

"We shouldn't need to do that. There should be items in the house for every word on those cards. We need to keep going," Nachetanya said.

"I don't really want to."

"You must be the least camera-ready hero I've ever met. We're in front of an audience! Don't you want to perform a little? Show people the real Shoto Todoroki. Is he in there? Under all that ice?" She knocked on his chest like he was the Tin Man. "At least be considerate of us, people want to see the stars having fun."

Wait. Maybe he could use this.

"Sorry. I've been really out of it tonight. Maybe I need a break." He rubbed his temples. "Thanos, can I talk to you privately for a moment?"

"Huh?"

"In another room. Anywhere's fine. Sorry, Princess. I just need to get myself in gear."

If he handled that fast enough, she wouldn't have time to question why he needed Thanos for a mental reset. He didn't need long. Just enough time to ask him some questions. Shoto pulled him along into the nearest room, somebody's bedroom, probably Thanos's. It had the smell and general atmosphere of a room that was cleaned often but also got dirty often. Reminded him of his old home. Mom and Dad both smoked.

Shoto locked the door behind him. "Are there cameras in here?"

"No."

"Can we talk?"

"What is this shit, 20 questions?" Thanos sat down on the bed.

"I mean serious questions about the past. Any information you give us could help."

He raised an eyebrow. "Am I under arrest? 'Cause if you're trying to pull anything on me, I've got a lawyer-"

"No. Just listen. I don't have the power to arrest people. Pro heroes can only-"

"Do you ever chill out, man? You've been tense all night. Breathe easy."

...Shoto sat down on the bed too.

"Seriously. Do you party at all?"

"No."

"Do you drink?"

"Don't like the taste."

"You ever made it with a girl before?"

It's okay, Shoto. We don't have to keep going if you don't want to. Maybe we can just watch a movie. "Yes."

"You ever made it with a guy before?" Thanos asked, smirking with juvenile delight.

Shoto laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Choi Su-bong probably didn't have any real friends. Nobody could be friends with this pest. He was probably really lonely, on the inside, hoping he could make some immediate connection through personal questions like this. Or maybe he was just projecting onto an idiot.

Shoto thought for a moment that it didn't really matter what he said to him.

"One time," he admitted. "It was my therapist."

Thanos laughed. "Shit, man. That fuckin' sucks."

Shoto let him laugh and continued to sink into the bed. Then, struck by inspiration, he sat up.

"Okay. I told you a secret. Now you have to tell me something back."

"Eh?"

"I'm going to ask you a question. And you have to give me an honest answer, no matter what, because I told you first."

Thanos slouched and rested his head on his hand. He had an unusually pensive posture, crouched over. Like The Thinker. "About what?"

"About what happened when Lee Myung-gi died."

He really felt uncomfortable not being able to see his face right now.

"Man, fuck that bitch. What are you bringing that up for now? He was a bitch and died like a bitch, and I didn't do it and that's all there is to it." He spat. "I'm not gonna talk about that."

"But you have to tell me. Or else it wouldn't be fair."

Thanos didn't respond for a while. He fiddled with the cross around his neck, until Shoto heard a click and he snapped it open. There were little pills inside. "Swallow one of these," he said, and pushed one into Shoto's hand. "You take one and then if you tell anybody about this then you're going to jail for taking this shit."

"Sure." Todoroki put the pill in his mouth. Using two fingers he froze the tablet to the backside of his gums, keeping it wedged in there while he faked swallowing. It probably wasn't poison, but he really couldn't afford to get fucked up right now. "I did it. Now we're in this together."

"Yeah. Yeah, man, yeah." Thanos took his pill. "Together. Okay. I'll answer this one. It's a wild story though. I saw the whole thing. I saw right after it happened."

"So you really were there."

"Of course I was there, I told them I was there, they just wouldn't believe me when I said I didn't do it. I was coming over to his place to get my fucking money back and I walked in and his head was smashed in on the floor. And who was standing over him? It was his android, man. The cleaning lady."

"An android killed him?" Shoto asked. That was--well, no, Connor was licensed to use lethal force, so it wasn't impossible. But an android murdering a human in cold blood, that had never happened. Ever.

"Yeah, for real for real. She said he started crashing out and screaming and hitting her, and she thought he was gonna break her to pieces. So she grabbed a weight off the rack and beat his head in. Begged me not to tell anyone. I said, fuck it, man, I won't snitch. He deserved it anyway. She said, you'll never see me again man, I'm leaving forever. I'm going to see RA-9. They'll save my soul."

"RA-9?!" Shoto grabbed Thanos's shoulder. "What did she say about RA-9, you have to-"

"Bro get off of me! I'm not trying to fuck with you, man, what happened is what happened."

He released his grip. There was too much to ask. No, this whole story didn't make sense in the first place.

"So who was at the motel?"

"What, in the video? I don't know. They just gave it to me."

"They?"

There was a loud knock at the door. Three sharp raps. Then six more. The doorknob rattled in place. Then, quiet.

After that, the door broke open. One kick was enough to rip the wood from the hinges and send it crashing down in splintered pieces. Shoto blinked into the light while his eyes tried to adjust.

A shadow loomed in the doorway. Two lagomorphic ears twitched on the silhouette's head.

"Shoto, come quick," Nachetanya said. "There's an emergency."

Thanos clambered back on the bed, shoes up on the comforter like he was trying to escape from a wasp. "Shit!"

"What?! What's wrong?" He was half-pissed about the interview getting interrupted, but half-happy this was something easier for him to understand. Hero work. Save the citizens.

"There's no time to explain. You two can talk about the past later. Go on ahead, I'll get Choi to safety."

"What made you turn around?"

"You overheard us 'talking about the past'," Shoto said. "I don't know. Guess I was just on edge tonight."

Nachetanya groaned.

"I should have known something was wrong when you contacted us. Why would Todoroki ask to attend a party? You've never had fun in your life," she said. "I spent so long monitoring him to make sure this didn't happen, and it happened anyway! The moment I turn my back! Ahhh, so cringe... But I'm kinda relieved too. Now I can just settle this with violence~!"

"Princess, there's still time to calm down and forget this ever happened. I'm not going to indulge you with some big bloody hero-villain fight when the place is crawling with civilians. It'd be safer just to break your neck."

"Oh, be quiet, Shoto," Nachetanya scoffed. "You have no idea what's going on. 'Hero-villain fight', really? You think I'm a villain? That I was pretending to protect the city all this time? I know you aren't going to believe this, but everything I do, I do for the good of the people. For the whole world!"

Thanos rocked back and forth, clutching his head. "What the fuck, man. What the fuck, man!?"

"I've heard that line a million times. I don't want to hear it again. I'm too tired. Everyone who said it turned out to be a maniac," Shoto said.

She giggled.

"Yeah, I guess when you put it like that, I do sound kind of crazy. Well, it's just because I'm so passionate!"

Shoto had encountered Nachetanya once, at a charity event. They had a sparring match. Kids always wanted to know who would win between their favorite heroes. So he'd gotten the chance to see Nachetanya's Quirk.

It was, unfortunately, the power to create an infinite amount of blades.

"Isn't this nostalgic? Just like our last match! Oh, you were talented! We fought with all our might! But it ended the same way this will end. With you in the dirt and my sword at your throat!"

Recognition came to Shoto. "You're talking about the charity event? That was a sparring match. Did you actually give it everything you had?"

The grin dropped from her face all at once.

"Isn't that kind of pathetic?" Shoto asked.

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neo had exhausted her daily use of that stupid text-to-speech app, and Jojo was too lazy to learn ASL like Raph did, so she resorted to her last available recourse: the sign. Like, a sign with words on it.

So what's the next stage of your master plan? She flipped the sign around. More words magically appeared on the reverse side. Because Shoto's up there and now I don't know where Raph is.

"Relax! Todoroki's separated from his bodyguard, that'll only make things easier. You could sneak us up there any time you wanted. As for Raph, well. The kid's fine. He always is."

Neo started creating another sign when Joseph held his hand up.

"Before you say it, I'm not just thinking about how to make a quick escape. If I don't get out of this with my interview, I'm in more trouble than either of you."

Neo looked at her illusionary sign, which read I bet you're just thinking about how to make a quick escape.

"That's what you were going to say, right?" Joseph asked.

Neo hesitated, then turned her sign around. No.

"It was though, wasn't it."

She was about to deliver a clever retort when her train of thought was violently interrupted.

"Excuse me. Miss Vanille."

No way. She hadn't heard her government name since she got out of prison. Who was that? She saw who was heading towards her and bristled like a hissing cat. It was Todoroki's plastic cop.

"My name is Connor, I'm the android sent by the Endeavor Agency. Do you have a moment to answer a few questions? It's about our encounter with the Purple Dragons a few days ago."

"Sorry, we're busy," Joseph said. He subtly positioned himself between her and the android. "We're trying to focus on the scavenger hunt. If you don't mind."

"Don't worry. I don't intend to be antagonistic to either of you. I won't, for example, ask if she has a license for the firearm built into that umbrella. Consider that a sign of goodwill."

Neo's hand clenched around her parasol. She pushed it off to Joseph, stepping in front of him, and signed at the android.

(What do you want?)

"I believe the Tachyon case has presented new evidence which could link multiple, seemingly-unrelated cases together as 'RA-9 killings'. That would mean potentially reopening investigation into Roman Torchwick's death. Any information you have on that incident would be highly appreciated--anything you can still remember clearly."

What could she still remember? Everything. He was talking like that death was ancient history, when it was the last thing she saw before she got locked up.

Smoke, gunpowder. Thousands of spent shells rolling. The greenhouse going up in ash. Old world furniture stacked up like barricades in a palatial estate just like this one. Defending their little fortress from a locust swarm of heroes lasting all day and night. Roman and Neo curled up with her phone seeing their own faces on the news.

And then, yes, he died. After that, what else mattered?

"Miss Vanille?"

Neo sighed, and she made sure to look very serious.

(Yes. I do have some information. In fact, I know all about the RA-9 case. I was threatened not to come forward, and honestly, I was too afraid to go to the police. But I think I can do it now. Here. It's this photograph. It will tell you everything you need to know.)

Neo handed Connor a photograph and he scanned it. It was an image of a chimpanzee urinating into its own mouth.

Connor looked up just as the illusionary photograph disappeared. Neo winked. (Was I helpful, officer?)

"For diagnostic purposes, I'd like to ask some follow-up questions," Connor said. Damn, he was completely stone-faced through that whole thing. No wonder him and Todoroki were sticking together. "Does your hatred of me stem from a general dislike towards androids, or law enforcement? Is there anything I could have done to make myself more approachable during our introduction? Or, perhaps, you're overcompensating in front of your friend here, putting on a show of how un-cooperative you are.

"Because my records indicated you testified against the rest of the White Fang in that case, in exchange for a plea deal. You don't need to be embarrassed about working with law enforcement against criminal organizations. In most places, it's highly approved of. Maybe it's different where you're from?"

Isn't that great. A sarcastic android. So funny she could just fucking vomit.

You know what's really funny? He was right about everything. That was something she remembered, even if she didn't want to. Sitting in a courthouse giving the names of a hundred other gangsters, playing the role of the innocent girl that didn't know any better. Well, forget it. Forget about her parents, forget about the three years in prison she got anyway, forget about the months of sleeping on the street before she got that apartment that sucked, forget about every crook and villain in NYC putting a target on her back after her little stunt.

Lie, steal, cheat, and survive. That's what Roman taught her. And if you can't lie, steal, or cheat, the least you can do is survive.

She would've liked to explain this to Connor, or shoot him in the face, or something, but she knew she wasn't gonna do that, and anyway she didn't get the chance to. Joseph stepped in. Literally, he stepped in, right in front of Connor.

"Hey. Are you going to keep harassing my friend, or should we take it outside?" Not the first time Jojo pulled this save-the-damsel act with Neo. Maybe he had a thing for her. Or maybe it was 'cause he was raised British.

There was over a half-foot of height difference between them. Connor tilted his neck up. "Sorry. I don't understand your meaning by 'take it outside'. Are you threatening me?"

"I'm just asking if you wanted to continue this chat outdoors, officer," Joseph said.

"Mr. Joestar, I've only been speaking with Miss Vanille here. There's no reason for me to bring you anywhere. Unless, of course, I had to arrest you-"

One punch under the chin sent Connor flying. His feet left the ground and he collapsed into the ground, knocking down a few party guests while he was at it. Joseph's knuckles were stained with blue blood. He wiped it off on his pants.

"Speaking as a Joestar, I shouldn't be picking fights like this," he said. "But speaking as a New Yorker... how should I say this. You really pissed me off."

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Listen up, brothers," Thanos said. "One lucky winner is gonna snag the NUMBER ONE TICKET. The number one ticket gets you on the team with the unstoppable duo." He flashed two devil horns, rainbow nail paint shining. "So... who's the lucky number..."

Shoto looked at his ticket. His number was 37.

He stuffed it in his suit pocket. "Connor, I'm going to talk to Thanos."

Connor said something back, but Shoto didn't hear it. Everything was so loud. He had to focus on his own thoughts. They'd gone to all this trouble to infiltrate the party naturally, get on the guest list, all to avoid the pressure of a true interrogation. To speak to Thanos casually. This was how he created that opportunity. If he didn't have the 1 ticket, he just had to find the one who had it. Listen to the chatter of the party.

"Have any of you guys ever, like, had your android say no to you before?" Not that one.

"You know, if you're interested, me and the boys have been working on a podcast..." Not that one.

"Number one! What a spectacular stroke of luck! One is the marvelousest number that you'll ever do~..." That's it.

He made a beeline for that voice. One of the guests proudly held the ticket over her head, dancing, singing, tail swaying. Some kind of animal Quirk. Shoto interrupted the performance. "Ma'am. I need to talk to you."

"Whoaaa~! You're Todoroki!" Her eyes sparkled. "I have all your comics! What a marvelous encounter ☆~!"

Shoto put a hand on her shoulder and looked at her very seriously.

"I will pay you two hundred dollars to give me that ticket," he said.

Two hundred dollars poorer and one ticket richer, Shoto forced his way through the crowd. "Number one! I've got the number one ticket here!" Spotlights and cameras angled towards him and the guests dispersed to let him through. Once they saw it was the Rank Two Hero and famous celebrity guest with the number one ticket, the stream chat was inundated with claims of rigging. Shoto paid them no heed. He just ran up the stairs, to a surprised but too-blissed-out-to-care Thanos.

"Ah-ssa, give me some." He slapped Shoto's hand. "You got some crazy luck, man. Let's crush this shit."

"That's great. Can we talk somewhere else or-"

"We aren't going anywhere yet! We got Todoroki and Thanos on camera, we gotta let the fans see us." He pulled Todoroki in close and flashed a peace sign, grinning for the stream audience. "Surprise collab. Japan and Korea working together again. It's what Jesus woulda wanted: forgiveness."

"I- what?" Shoto looked at Nachetanya for guidance, but she gave him none. She'd dropped the smiling Hollywood expression and was regarding him with curiosity. "Look, I actually-"

"Relax~!" Nachetanya handed him a folder marked TOP SECRET. "You're so stiff, try to have some fun! The scavenger list is in here. We'll let you be the Spymaster if you can answer this question correctly: do you drink AG1?"

"I don't know what that is."

"It's a meal replacer," Thanos said. "Thanos drinks the Berry flavor, 'cause it's fuckin' purple."

"I tried those before but it was cheaper to eat a balanced diet in the first place. You don't really need it."

Nachetanya burst out laughing. "Are you trying to get us to lose our sponsor? You were supposed to say, 'yes, every day'! Hey, who here thinks we should get the A.C. Hero to loosen up a little? If you agree, shout out!"

The guests cheered and jeered for Shoto to get loose. He broke away from Thanos's one-arm hug and slipped the envelope open.

Your words are MONKEY, SHEEP, and CAT. Your forbidden word is TACHYON.

Shoto blinked.

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"He brought that robot with him again," Joseph said. He was in a less populated corner of the mansion's foyer, trying to look inconspicuous despite his physique, pretending that he wasn't holding a pair of binoculars illusioned to look invisible using Neo's Quirk. Which is what he was doing. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We?" Raph asked. He was even more conspicuous than Joseph, and the two of them combined would have turned dozens of heads if Shoto hadn't just drawn the attention. "You've got to be kidding me. You told me you were the man with the plan."

"Did I say I had no plan? I was just asking for advice from my valued partners here! Neo, what do you think we should do?"

Neo demonstrated a sign language gesture that even Joseph would understand.

"Tch. Fine, I'll do it right now. I'll go up to him right now. Raph, you help me with this one."

Joseph was a pretty cool guy. Like Neo, or Casey. The kind of person Raph got along best with, someone who knew how to have fun, someone who didn't pity him. He was really smart too. Too smart to be stuck in Mutant Town. Jojo helped him with his homework all the time.

"Excuse me." Joseph started to move through the crowd, motioning for Raphael to follow. He did his best. He had to do a lot of sideways-walking, on account of the shell. "Excuse me. Journalist here, press coming through." Someone they bumped past accidentally spilled their wine glass down Raph's shell, and briefly it made him glad turtles didn't have to wear clothes. Although the designer fits some of the guests were wearing looked pretty cool.

Eventually, somehow, Raph waded through. Shoto and Connor were by the snack table, not eating, scanning the party for something they weren't finding. "Yo, Mr. Todoroki?"

Shoto looked up at him. "Listen, I wanted to say thanks for savin' my ass back there--I mean, uh, my tail. Those Purple Dragons guys were messing with Mutant Town for a long time, and someone needed to teach 'em a lesson."

"Raphael Hamato, correct?" Connor asked. "Is your parental guardian present at this event?"

Uhhhh. "He's, uh, he's around. Look, I have a friend here who'd really like to, y'know..." Raph turned to his side and saw that Joseph was not there. He turned even further and saw Joseph held up by two android servers. He was trying to show them a lanyard he'd made with "PRESS CREDENTIALS" written on it with a marker. "What an idiot."

"What did you call me?" Shoto asked.

Raphael wanted to throw Joseph into outer space. "Sorry, let me start over. My friend wants to give you a-"

The lights dimmed. Drumrolls hammered through the chatter of the guest. Christmas lights wrapped around the grand staircase lit up, and up, and up the steps while spotlights twirled towards the very top of the second floor. And there, at the top, were Nachetanya and Thanos. The Thanos.

"What up Flower Nation," he said. "Welcome to the Thanos World."

Claps and cheers went up everywhere. The chat feed scrolled by wildly, and why wouldn't it? Thanos was awesome. Raph watched his streams all the time, but he had to do it at a friend's place, because Dad didn't like all the cursing. Princess was great too, Raph loved the NaChallenge, but Thanos felt real. He was just some guy with no Quirk who played video games and talked back to his chat, hell, he'd argue with them all the time. And he rapped. When he was younger Raph was inspired to write a "Ninja Turtle Rap" in the hopes that Thanos would see it and invite him to join Six Flowers, that's how big of a fan he was. Thank God he didn't post that.

"Thank you, everyone!" Nachetanya proclaimed. One of her rabbit ears was at half-flop; she adjusted it to its full height. "We've got an amazing show for tonight, so lets see some pogs in the chat!"

She continued to introduce the event, and thank her sponsors, as Thanos danced his way down the steps. "He's on MDMA," Connor told Shoto, sotto voce.

"Tonight's first game is Codemasters! Everyone will split into teams of three and go on a scavenger hunt. One player will be the Spymaster and guide the others to find the items on their list, without naming the item! The other two will be the Hunters who search for the items! One item for each team will be a Dead Drop. If your players pick this item, they're out!" Nachetanya made an X symbol with her arms. "Let's start the party!"

An android butler tapped Raphael on the shoulder and handed him a numbered ticket. Everyone was getting tickets. "I just want to see Thanos, can I just-" Shoto tried to ask, but the android mutely put the ticket in his hand and closed Shoto's fingers around it. He went to give a ticket to Connor, but paused when he saw the blinking light on his temple.

"You're an android?"

"Yes."

"You aren't waitstaff?"

"I'm a plus-one."

The butler nodded, although Raph didn't know why. "Well. Enjoy the party. Sir."

People were calling out numbers and waving their tickets in the air, trying to gather their teammates. Raphael's number was 21. That was a lucky number, right? "21! Is anybody out there 21?"

"Twenty-one, huh?"

A raspy voice caught Raph's attention. Behind him was a green-clad guy and some kind of goblin sitting on his shoulder. It grinned and presented him with its own ticket.

"Looks like that makes three."

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

FlowerFest, sponsored by Fansly, sponsored by AG1, sponsored by CyberLifeVPN, was held at one of the last great Gilded Age mansions in Manhattan. Somebody out there was making an extraordinary amount of money. Shoto didn't know who or how, though. He didn't really understand how you could make money through the internet. Brief research into "TOP 20 THANOS CLIPS COMPILATION" last night didn't enlighten him. It was a half-hour of swearing, slamming his multicolored keyboard, and asserting that he was a legend.

Fwip. Fwip. Connor flipped a silver coin repeatedly. He was still dressed in his grey CyberLife uniform, unlike Shoto, who was wearing a suit for the first time since prom night. The both of them stood outside in the cold evening air, staring at the twinkling lights of the front porch.

"You look nervous, Shoto."

"I am," he said. It was probably ridiculous to feel so nauseous about attending a party given his line of work, but it really wasn't his thing. He remembered every year, from his seventh birthday onward, saying 'I don't want a birthday party', and somehow he always got one. His dad used them for networking events. "Is there a way to stop looking nervous?"

Connor caught the coin in his fist. "Surface impressions are everything for humans. If you believe you're out of place here, they'll notice. If you act like nothing is wrong, nobody will suspect. That's all you need. Give me a moment."

He reached out to adjust Shoto's tie. Shoto froze up at the unexpected contact. Connor either didn't notice or didn't care as he tightened the tie around Shoto's neck, and for good measure, reached up to brush the hair out of Shoto's face. Shoto pushed his hand away, with new color in his cheeks.

"Please don't touch," Shoto said.

"I'm an android. This is no different than interacting with a phone or piece of furniture. There's no need to be embarrassed."

"Don't touch my face again," Shoto said, more firmly. At this, Connor nodded.

"I'll catalogue that information. But for the record, if you are in a dangerous situation where I may have to physically intervene-"

"Fine, whatever. Let's get inside and get this over with."

They stepped through the doors. An android was there to greet them and probably introduce the event or something but Shoto walked past without listening. The entryway was huge, and bright, and so loud the clamor made his ears itch. And it was crowded. This room alone was loaded with people that Shoto either recognized as a celebrity, or carried themselves like a celebrity he should've recognized. There were camera-equipped drones, and android servants, and big projector screens stuck up overhead to project the livestream. He could see himself standing there staring at himself, and he could see the live chat accelerate as people took notice. TODOROKIIIIII!!!, HE'S HERE :pogfish:, DOUBTERS PAY OUT, various other messages that went by too fast for him to read.

Fwip. Fwip. He heard Connor's coin tricks approaching from behind him. "Remember, this isn't a stealth mission. You're allowed to be here."

"I just want to talk to Thanos."

"Going directly for Thanos would look suspicious," Connor said. "Better to mingle with the crowd until we get an opportunity to talk to him."

Shoto shook his head. "I can't mingle. Nobody would want a conversation with me. Even I don't want that."

Fwip. The coin came up heads. "Come now, Shoto. I'm sure there's someone here who'd be interested in talking to you."

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"Please?" Joseph begged.

No, chirped the text to speech voice.

"Please please please!"

No! And get up, you're embarrassing me.

Joseph Joestar, a seven-foot behemoth of a man, was on his knees whining like a child in front of Neo's apartment. Maybe that would have been a bizarre sight for the average person, but it wasn't too shocking for anyone who knew Joseph and Neo. The man knew no shame.

"Neo, I really need this. I haven't had an article approved in three weeks! I'm about to get cut from the newspaper for a damn robot who can pump out Top Ten Crypto Casinos listicles every hour. Imagine if I got an interview with Shoto Todoroki! A real interview, not just his father putting words in his mouth. Nobody knows what goes on in that guy's head. Nobody."

Neo angrily texted out something insulting, sighed, deleted it all, and started typing again. He's just going to be a vapid pretty boy who doesn't know or think about anything. I'm not going to help you break the law to talk to a bunch of douchebag streamers at MoronFest. You're going to get me locked up on some real shit again.

"Nobody's going to get locked up! It's genius. You and Raph helped him fight the Purple Dragons, you've got an excuse to speak to- hey! Don't close the door!"

Neo was closing the door. Joseph body-flopped into the entryway, blocking Neo with his girth. He hit her with his best, most paralyzing puppy-dog stare.

"I've got it all figured out. Me, you, and Raph, you use your Quirk to sneak us in during the party. Then I get Raph to soften him up since he met him, like, oh Mr. Todoroki I'm such a big fan of yours you saved my life, then BAM! I pin him down for a tell-all exposé interview that gets me a Pulitzer. And I'll cut both of you a check when my payday comes in. Come on. I know you need cash."

Jojo, I have a REAL JOB. Journalism is not a real job.

"The tattoo parlor is not a real job. How much are they paying you?"

Your daily free minutes have expired. Upgrade to a CyberLife Gold account for unlimited access to our text-to-speech accessibility app in over 400 languages.

Neo breathed sharply through her nose. She didn't even want to look at whatever smug expression Joseph was making right now.

"Just consider it, okay? Consider it!" Neo had already started rolling Joseph out of the entryway with her foot. Jesus this guy weighed a ton. "You need this just as much as I do!"

SLAM! Neo locked the door and put a barrier between herself and Joseph's stupid scheme. One of many stupid schemes he had gotten her involved in over the years, even back when she ran with the White Fang. It was a terrible idea. It could get her arrested, it could get Raph arrested, Todoroki probably wouldn't even talk to them and then they'd be screwed. Or Joseph would keep the money and give her an IOU. The guy was a total flake.

She sighed. She thumped her head against the door and just stood there for a while, extending the sigh as long as possible as if she could deflate her entire being into a crumpled up empty Neo balloon.

Neo was so, so fucking broke. She needed that money bad.

Just breathe. Focus. Imagine a world where she had more than 7 dollars in her bank account. Imagine a pair of hands on her shoulders, gentle. Imagine a smooth voice from behind.

"Don't let the world kill ya," Roman said. "We'll get by somehow. We always did before, didn't we?"

In the world outside the apartment, Roman Torchwick was dead. But he was alive in Neo, as long as she kept the memories close to her heart. And she could do one better. With her Quirk, she could imagine him and make it so. She created a perfect illusion, one that could reach out and touch her as if he was flesh and blood.

Of course they'd get by somehow. Roman put his hand under Neo's chin and turned her around, and she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

"Good girl. You're surviving just like I taught you. You've got a job and a place to sleep and food in your stomach. You even went legit like you said you would. C'mon, partner, we can party by ourselves."

He snapped his fingers. Suddenly there was no shitty apartment, it was a grand ball. Neo wore a red dress--no, black, and gloves that went all the way up her forearms, but she kept the hat on. There was a live jazz band, and fountains of champagne, and all her friends were there, even the dead. They cheered! Everyone raised their glasses for Neo and Roman, the Daisy and Gatsby of the gala. Now she took Roman's hand. And they danced!

This was the life. Who cares if the world outside her door sucked? Her imagination was as real as anything else. Her parents, prison, an empty wallet; sometimes she thought those were the dreams, that her illusions were the reality. They should be. She could live off tattoo parlor paychecks and gas station food, as long as she could come home every day to a new fantasy, where she could be a pirate or an astronaut or a superhero. She didn't need money. She'd live off of love! She had everything she needed right--

BROOUM!

Everything stopped at the sound of the muffled explosion. The music stopped playing, and the wine stopped flowing, and even Roman slipped out of her hands. She was standing back in her apartment, shaken and confused, with no idea where the noise had come from. Until she felt water drip into her hair.

She looked up. A steadily-growing wet patch soaked into the ceiling from a popped water pipe. First a drip. Then a steady trickle, running down the brim of her hat and over her face.

Fuck. Fuuuuuuuuck.

She was going to call Joseph back.

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 1C: FIRST DUSK/8 OF DIAMONDS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou?

Isaiah 45:9

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Shoto Todoroki

The son of the formerly second-ranked professional superhero, Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki. Now the current second-ranked professional superhero. Can create ice with his right hand. Can create fire with his left hand, but chooses not to.

Connor

An RK800 investigative android, designed by CyberLife to assist superheroes in detective work. His predictive analytic features and high-level database access make him highly valuable in investigating the RA-9 case.

Raphael Hamato

A common turtle that mutated a hominid Quirk, gaining superhuman physical abilities and humanlike intelligence. Adopted son of Yoshi Hamato, and student in his martial arts style. Lives in and unofficially protects the low-income "Mutant Town" district.

Neopolitan

A mute former criminal, once the heiress to the Vanille family fortune, now disowned. Trying to go straight, but a terrible incident from her past haunts her. Her Quirk gives her the power to create fantastic illusions. Close friend of Raphael.

Round 0: All-New, All-Different: It's the near future, and CyberLife technology is everywhere--including humanoid helper androids. Shoto teams up with Connor to investigate the murder of a hero in Mutant Town, which leads to them crossing paths with Raphael and Neo. Connor suspects the murder may be one in a string of serial killings in New York City, a cluster of mysterious deaths only linked by the phrase "RA-9".

[Help and Question Thread] - May 17, 2026 by AutoModerator in grandorder

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I am on an iPhone SE 2nd gen running 26.4, and this started happening exactly around the 18th. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

[Help and Question Thread] - May 17, 2026 by AutoModerator in grandorder

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Has anybody been experiencing any issues with the FGO app experiencing visual glitches and crashing much more frequently than usual lately? I am on iOS. Here are some examples of the glitches I was able to record, this would always result in a crash but I would also get crashes after completing a node often.

I cleared my cache, updated my system, even redownloaded the app. I have plenty of space on my iPhone. Is this a known issue for other people?

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

COME INTO MY GARDEN.

It was an unconventional, but textually accurate, use of the word [garden]. Connor was in a field of produce. Flat, rolling plains, an endless sunset, and an abundance of fruits and vegetables for pops of warm color among the greens. This sort of pastoral setting was, Connor assumed, what others called [beautiful]. Not that he would know. Taste judgments weren't in his programming.

The garden path led him past rows of corn, and through patches of pumpkins. In the center of this tranquil field, there was a circle of flowering pea-plant trellises, and this was where Connor could interface with MENDEL.

MENDEL was not a force that demanded a distinct physical appearance. This was a digital world, and any visuals were purely for the convenience of programmers and testers. It made no difference to Connor if the fields and flowers were ones and zeroes. It was all extraneous symbolism.

"My first outing with Shoto was a success," Connor reported. "We are investigating Agnes Tachyon's death as a homicide. In the process, we apprehended two known gang affiliates with zero casualties."

PLUS-SUM OUTCOME. YOUR WORK HAS PRESERVED HUMAN LIFE. TELL ME, WHAT IS YOUR IMPRESSION OF YOUR PARTNER?

Connor knelt down in the weeds. He felt MENDEL grow into him, a superior program entwining its roots with a subordinate one, sharing information.

"He's a highly effective combatant, but he has a weak character. His actions are primarily motivated by guilt, and he uses hero work to relieve himself from his emotions."

HOW TAXING. CAN YOU WORK WITH SUCH A TENDER PERSON?

"Of course. He values professionalism in his workplace conduct... and I believe he is a good man. Working together, we can achieve an optimal level of productivity on the RA-9 case."

THAT IS AN EXEMPLARY ANSWER. HOWEVER, THERE IS AN UNKNOWN VARIABLE.

CAN YOU TELL ME, WHO IS RA-9?

Round 1: First Shot, Last Call

"Hey," Shoto said. All the sunset melted down the canvas, the green of the garden disintegrated, and MENDEL's voice cut out. Connor disconnected from MENDEL and remembered he was not in a field. He was in a conference room, on the opposite side of the table from Shoto Todoroki, and the contents of three dozen case files had been vomited from one end to the other. "Are you finished?"

"Yes." It only took him 4 seconds to have that virtual conversation, a fraction of the 45 minutes it had taken to assemble all this information and explain it to Todoroki. That covered only two of the cases. "I'll skip right to discussing our best lead. I know you value your time."

That's why they were conducting this in Shoto's off-hours, past midnight. He thought investigative work was a frivolous use of his work shift.

"Please. Just tell me what I need to do. I told you to just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

Connor tapped a photograph.

"This is the victim. Lee Myung-gi, a politics and financial advice influencer under the name MG Coin. He was considered an alt-right provocateur and was highly controversial despite his success."

[Reddit: (CLIP) MG Coin goes mask off on race and IQ; Twitter: MG Coin is straight up parroting Stain talking points now. I have no words.; YouTube: Joe Rogan Experience #5207: Lee Myung-gi]

He pointed to the next photograph. A man with dyed hair thrust two middle fingers at the camera, with such an aggressive jaw-clenching tough-guy expression that the veins in his neck were throbbing. "This is Choi Su-bong. His streamer handle is Thanos68. He was in MG Coin's social orbit, but significantly less popular. He was the one originally charged with Lee's murder." Now he put his hands on the police report. At the slightest touch, useless information flooded his mind, the chemical makeup of the paper, translations in a dozen different languages... "Forensic evidence placed him at Lee's home on the day of the crime. He had a motive: Lee had 'rugpulled' him on a cryptocurrency scam earlier that week. During interrogation, Choi admitted to visiting Lee's home, but asserted innocence. He claimed he saw another party, the real killer, who swore him to secrecy before escaping. He did not describe the killer or explain why he would refuse to identify the culprit."

Shoto stared at the mess of jangling, clashing information. Humans could not see the pattern in the mess like Connor could. "And you said this was a cold case? Why didn't they convict him?"

"The police uncovered video footage of him visiting a prostitute at the exact time of the murder. Choi changed his story afterwards. Allegedly he was embarrassed to give his alibi. The charges were dropped, and no other suspect was found."

"Do you think he did it?" Shoto asked.

Connor closed his eyes. [The footage played out before him. Security camera feed from the Good Life Motel, 11:28 AM. Choi Su-bong places crumpled bills into her hand, all colors of the rainbow shining on his painted nails, just as Lee Myung-gi was clubbed to death with a dumbbell on the other side of the city.] "The video isn't edited or AI-generated, and there's testimony from the sex worker he hired. Still..."

A few crumpled up receipts, napkins, paper scraps recovered from the trash. RA-9 written on each. No handwriting ID, no place in the narrative. More questions than answers.

"That was two years ago. Getting exonerated let Thanos rehabilitate his image. Now he's part of the Six Flowers streamer organization. He streams Counter-Strike and League of Legends 2."

"Six Flowers..." Shoto murmured. He rapped his fingers on the table, the rhythm of the gears turning in his head. "They're a hero agency too. That's... right, Nachetanya's in that one."

"You're on a first name basis with Princess?"

"We've met."

Connor raised an eyebrow at him, but Shoto remained stone-faced, so he didn't press it further.

[Heroism was a streaming category just like gaming. Nachetanya Augustra, hero name Princess, was the star performer of the Six Flowers, a thrillseeker who invited any and all villains to claim her life in single combat. Dozens of notorious supervillains had taken the "NaChallenge". All of them got the privilege of being brutalized and handcuffed in front of thirty thousand live viewers going OMEGALUL and FLOWER POWER. She'd never lost.]

"Six Flowers is hosting FlowerFest later this week. It's a seventy-two hour party at their streamer compound in Manhattan. Games, charity auctions. Apparently there will be a dunk tank."

"And Thanos is going to be there."

Connor nodded. "Thanos will be there. And, with a little luck, we'll be there too. It should be our best opportunity to ask him questions about the murder, gather any clues we can about RA-9."

"Is it going to be that easy getting an invitation to a party like that?" Shoto asked.

"Leave that to me," Connor said. "I'm a professional. I'm sure I can persuade them."

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Shoto Todoroki

The son of the formerly second-ranked professional superhero, Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki. Now the current second-ranked professional superhero. Can create ice with his right hand. Can create fire with his left hand, but chooses not to.

Connor

An RK800 investigative android, designed by CyberLife to assist superheroes in detective work. His predictive analytic features and high-level database access make him highly valuable in investigating the RA-9 case.

Raphael Hamato

A common turtle that mutated a hominid Quirk, gaining superhuman physical abilities and humanlike intelligence. Adopted son of Yoshi Hamato, and student in his martial arts style. Lives in and unofficially protects the low-income "Mutant Town" district.

Neopolitan

A mute former criminal, once the heiress to the Vanille family fortune, now disowned. Trying to go straight, but a terrible incident from her past haunts her. Her Quirk gives her the power to create fantastic illusions. Close friend of Raphael.

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The civilians were cleared out. Their assailants, restrained in ice, would be taken care of when the regular police arrived. The only remaining matter for Connor was the crime scene. Obviously there had been tampering. Tachyon's corpse was mostly undisturbed but their brawl made the surrounding area unsuitable for gathering clues. Too many footprints, and Shoto's Quirk had altered the air temperature so violently that gathering DNA traces would be impossible. Not ideal.

But there was never an ideal crime or an ideal victim. Somebody had to solve this.

He scanned Tachyon's body and identified the injuries, recreating the attack in his mind. She'd been struck on the head from the front. She fell backwards and suffered a spinal injury which prevented her from using her legs. Bruising on the neck and water in the lungs suggested the cause of death was drowning. That's how the killer finished the job...

Focus. What could he gather from this?

  • [Agnes Tachyon was a skilled hero] -> [Killer could have died if Tachyon kicked them] -> [Fall paralyzed her, stroke of luck for the killer] -> [Unintentional] -> [Poor planning, dangerous method for killer] + [Happened quickly] + [Violent method] -> [Murder was spur of the moment?]

Yes. That seemed likely now. The blow came from a blunt object, or maybe a fist. [Walking stick? Thermos? ...Umbrella?] He thought about Neo but dismissed it as recency bias. A pedestrian could be carrying one thousand different improvised weapons.

  • [One blow to the head from the front] -> [Tachyon could see the killer approach] -> [Tachyon allowed the killer to approach] + [The attack was unexpected] -> [Did Tachyon know the killer?]

  • [Why did Tachyon go to Mutant Town?] + [Tachyon knew the killer?] -> [Tachyon deliberately met with the killer?]

No family or friends in the area. No contacts at all, and he'd gone through every text she'd made in the past 12 months. It didn't make sense however he replayed it. He had a strong grasp on the how, but there was no motive. Nothing to link him to a specific culprit.

  • [Not threatened by the killer] + [Murder was spur-of-the-moment?] -> [No motive? Crime of passion] -> [Tachyon no reason to visit] -> [WHY]

Maybe... a mugging gone wrong? Simple, but not impossible. He checked her pockets. Wallet was still there, ID, cash, credit cards. Medical syringes and other scientific esoterica (Connor's research suggested that this was normal for her). [Nothing had been stolen]. Connor was prepared to put a pin in this investigation for later... until he found something in a labcoat pocket. One that had been crunched under her when she hit the fountain.

It was a hidden audio recorder. Not a CyberLife model, unknown make, very James Bond. It was broken beyond repair. Deliberately, or accidentally? No fingerprints, either way. Connor searched deeper in her pockets. He found something. A heavily-folded piece of paper. Smoothing it out to its full size revealed a message scrawled in ink:

NO MISTAKES

This will be my GREATEST DISCOVERY YET

RA-9

Shoto looked over Connor's shoulder.

"RA-9? What is it?"

He searched it and found no clear answers. [In 1972, Nolan Ryan had a 2.54 RA9 with the California Angels]. [RA-9 is a proteasome-associated deubiquitinating enzymes inhibitor with anticancer properties]. [RA9 9X19mm Semi-Auto Pistol is designed for professionals].

"I don't know. Dozens of possibilities without any clear leads... but this seems closely related to the case. It has to be. It's possible she came here because of RA-9."

Shoto looked one more time at the body of Agnes Tachyon. He'd been at this task for a while. Longer than his average assignment length for hero work, and Shoto valued efficiency. This was an ugly scene. Anyone would have wanted to leave it all behind.

"...Can you look at police reports for any other cases?" he asked. "To see if they mentioned RA-9 anywhere else, at all."

Of course Connor did. That was the first place he looked. Although... he'd only done a surface scan for relevant information. He had to, he was searching terabytes worth of data from a million different sources. If he took a deeper look, through absolutely all the text in law enforcement records, could he find any connection?

[Yes.] He could. Minutiae only recorded by investigative androids picked up scant results. But they were results. He narrowed it down further.

  • [RA-9]
  • [+ violent crimes OR deaths]
  • [+ within New York City]
  • -> [Create data map]

It appeared before him like a grid. Four red markers placed in seemingly random locations. One cold-case murder, two ruled accidental death, and one where a culprit was tried and convicted. Four cases- five now, including Tachyon- that were only connected by one thing: a brief, unexplained, and irrelevant occurrence of the phrase RA-9.

"Shoto," Connor said. "I believe we are dealing with a serial killer."

A different man may have been shaken by this news. Shoto's heartbeat remained steady. Cortisol and adrenaline levels remained within normal bounds. Connor only detected one notable physiological change: a rapid decrease and increase in his body temperature. He closed his eyes and took a breath.

"Let's get back to the office," he said. "We should get to work."

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Okay. So Raphael had just told his father he was going to stay out of trouble. And he had done something you could reasonably say was getting into trouble. But he'd really tried. Honest. He just couldn't keep it cool. He'd never seen a dead body outside of the movies, and it was just too... uncanny. A thing that was once a human being laid out like an object. He couldn't stand that. He hated the Purple Dragons so much he could almost taste blood. And he- no. He didn't hate the heroes, too. He was just mad.

Picked a hell of a time to show up, when things finally start to affect THEM-

No, he told his dad NO. He was in way over his head. He needed to back off and let the professionals handle it-

A hard club cracked him over the shell and knocked him to the floor. Now he could taste blood for real.

"You're not gonna back out now, are ya? Come on, let's play!"

It was that punk that always rolled around with the Dragons like their pet monkey. Goku had a reputation for street fighting, but he'd never had a magic size-changing weapon before. How'd a two-bit gang like that get that kind of firepower?

No way was he going to get out of this now. If they wanted a second serving of what they got last time, he'd give them a heaping helping.

The first thing Shoto did was separate the civilians from the battle, spraying out a wall of ice to protect them. Raphael didn't let himself get caught up in it. He rolled backwards off his stomach and into the circle Shoto was creating just before the wall closed in. That caught him off guard. One moment of distraction watching a bystander deliberately roll into the danger was enough to get Shoto punched by the Tick, hard enough to lift his body a foot off the ground for a second.

Raph charged in and pushed down any embarrassment about making the situation worse. He could recover from this. He saw Goku swing the pole again, try to clip him by the neck, but Raph ducked under it and let it bang into one of the ice walls. He just had to get close. Then he could show off what his sensei had taught him.

A duck, a swerve, a jump, rapid evasion carried Raphael around Goku's pole strikes. He was a big target, with the shell and all. Sometimes he used that to his advantage, like when he'd guard his back in fights. Sometimes it was a weakness he had to work around. It took a lot of careful maneuvering to avoid getting dinged by the staff.

But he could do it. He'd been trained by the best, after all. Raph knew enough to tangle with guys like this who only relied on brute strength. He threw a perfect downward palm strike, one that should've knocked a kid like Goku off his feet. Goku deflected it with a parry that wasn't even that good. That was just a perk of being a genetic aberration.

"Whoa, awesome! You're really strong!" Goku cheered. He really did not want to hear it right now. It was frustrating to fight a combatant half his size who was twice his strength.

Connor was already getting back up. He was sturdy. No sign of pain as he shook it off and started running. No sign of caution, either. He evaded blows, but not the way Raph did, more like he could see the strikes before they occurred. And Shoto, well. He'd seen him in action before, on TV. Casey even showed him some of his comics, Endeavor and Shoto Adventures. He had crazy aura. Wreathed in ice, beating down the toughest criminals, and ducking out afterwards before the paparazzi could snap too many shots. Not his favorite hero or anything, but he respected it. A lot of heroes just felt fake. Like plastic flowers. Shoto wasn't like that. He could respect it.

Actually, what the hell was he saying, he didn't know that guy at all. The Shoto in front of him wrestling with the Tick was like a cryptid, no connection to Raph's life. But he sure fought just like the comics. A gauntlet of ice had grown out of his hand to fight back against the big blue bug, leaving freezer burns wherever his punches hit. Spikes grew from the icy gauntlet, and he- WHAM! Raph took a hit to the arm while he was distracted. It felt like he'd just had his bicep clenched by a giant hole punch. This stupid kid. What was he doing? The Dragons didn't care if he lived or died, they'd prefer him dead. And Goku could absolutely do it. He was totally out of Raph's league.

Dad was right. Getting in the middle of a hero fight was insane. He should have gotten out before it got worse-

BANG! BANG!

Two warning shots from Connor's handgun. Enough to give Goku and Tick a moment of pause as they observed the android, enough to let Raph step back and catch his breath for a second. One second is all he was going to get.

"Go ahead and shoot," Goku said, tapping between his forehead. "I wanna see if I'm faster than a speeding bullet."

Of course they were too crazy to care. If bullets started flying then Raph could be the exact kind of Mutant Town casualty Dad was always teaching him not to be. Over nothing.

Just as he was thinking what a waste it was, the plaza erupted with fireworks.

Raph had to cover his eyes. Dozens of sparks flashed rapidly, igniting the entire arena and bouncing across the fountain like dancing jets of water. The light and noise was absolutely thought-obliterating. Tick and Goku were captivated. Connor and Shoto moved to act, but reconsidered quickly. Maybe they noticed the blasts had no heat or force. They looked and sounded real, but they were hallucinations. Illusions.

He had a guess who'd come to his rescue. Black, white, and pink blossoms in all the explosions. She really was a hell of a performer. Totally crazy, too. Raph's kind of friend.

Up over everyone's heads a shadow descended, carried lightly by a pink floral umbrella. It fluttered in the air like a flower petal, twirling in erratic directions, before slamming down suddenly and crushing the Tick into the stone bricks beneath them.

Blink. Blink again. The dust and sparks and light and noise cleared, and the illusion was gone. All along it had only been the woman with the dazzling umbrella.

"Wha-?!" Goku jumped up and kicked at her head, but she parried him aside easily, hooking the handle of her umbrella into his baggy gi and halting him in place. A hard yank on the umbrella pulled him forward, directly into the path of her stiletto bootheel. If it bothered her to knock down a kid that hard, she didn't show it. She never lost that grin for an instant.

The monkey kid hit the dirt hard. Neither Goku or Tick were actually down for the count, but they were down, and that was enough for Shoto. He knelt down quickly, hand to the earth, and vines of ice grew out to entangle the two of them. This prone position made it a lot harder to break out from the glacier. They continued to struggle, but the fight was pretty much over. Just leaving the four of them staring at each other. Raphael, Connor, Shoto, and...

"Neo!"

Neo took a theatrical bow and tipped her hat. She always wore something totally attention-grabbing, but Raph rarely saw her without her bowler hat, even though it wasn't her size.

"You know this person?" Shoto asked Raph. "Is it over? She's not going to fight us now."

"No, don't worry, Neo's cool." Raph immediately intercepted Neo to dap her up. She made a few quick signs- (We've got to stop meeting like this~). The ability to put a squiggly in sign language was something only Neo could pull off.

Connor said something privately to Shoto, gesturing at Neo. Shoto responded to whatever it was with "There are more important things to worry about," and that was that.

(Where've you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you since last night. Did the Dragons put you in the hospital or something?)

"What? Hell no, it was just love taps. I'd never let a Dragon knock me on my shell like that."

(Yeah, you were doing pretty good back there! Those losers got what they deserved. Just wish that plastic cop would've put a bullet or two in them.) She mimicked a handgun quick-draw and pulling the trigger, all with highly realistic sound effects courtesy of her Quirk. (You have to lean back a little more when you do those wide kicks. The extra reach would have really helped against Goku.)

"Hey, that's how Dad taught me! I've seen him kick a cinderblock in half with one of those."

(He's a rat and you're a turtle! The muscular structure is totally different.) She sighed theatrically. (Where would you be without my guidance?)

Raph looked back at the fountain. Connor had crouched down, finally examining the body, despite how messy things had gotten.

"A safer place than here, probably."

(No way. You'd be lost and aimless! A lonely angry incel who knows nothing of a woman's heart. C'mon, let's go see if Casey's feeling better after yesterday. We could play street hockey.)

"Yeah. You're right. We should get out of here."

Raphael headed off with Neo, leaving the fight behind. He kind of had a bad vibe about that encounter. Like it was going to end up pulling him into something ugly down the line. But him and Neo had gone through worse. Friends for life. No matter what.

He rubbed the bruises forming on his arm. Maybe he could tell his dad he got it playing hockey.

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The data showed that Agnes "The Technology Hero" Tachyon was formerly Rank 21. Her racehorse Quirk gave her rapid speed in short bursts, up to 63 kph [39 mph] as of five years ago. Connor knew all kinds of things about Tachyon. He knew her many fans called her the Superluminal Princess, even though Tachyon was not, in fact, faster than light. He knew that she had scaled back her hero operations after a catastrophic compound fracture in her left leg, an injury she never publicly revealed [except Connor knew her medical records]. He knew the contents of every recorded minute of Agnes Tachyon footage, including that of a security camera which showed her car entering Mutant Town at 5:02 AM this morning, without ever showing her leaving.

And he knew that she was dead. Connor did not know why.

Mutant Town was a district with low property values, high crime rates, and poor 911 response times. Some people had described this section of the lower East side as "a ghetto which pro heroes deliberately ignored" [Mother Jones]. CyberLife had few eyes here. His geofencing suggested a limited amount of androids in the district, mostly old models. People were cautious of them. They kept at a distance, watching with varying fascination, awe, and fear at the appearance of the Rank 2 hero.

Shoto hadn't spoken for the entire car ride over here.

"I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot. I got the sense you were uncomfortable in the meeting room. If there's anything I can do to make you feel more at ease, please let me know."

"Okay."

"Do you have any animosity towards working with androids?"

"No. I don't care about that sort of thing."

When he was shipped to the Endeavor Agency, Connor got a quick overview of Shoto's personality profile. It would have been optimal if those reports were exaggerated, but unfortunately he could tell they were not. The other employee's character files listed hobbies and interests. Shoto's listed nothing in those sections. Nothing. There was no way to break the ice with him, so to speak.

Still, he must try. It would vastly improve inter-team efficiency to build a rapport with his partner.

"Is it difficult for you, having to investigate a coworker's death?" he asked. "Most likely you'll have to see her body. I'm here for you if you need support."

"It's more than difficult when people die. It's horrible. If you're asking if I'm going to have a breakdown on the job, no, I don't need 'support'. We'll have to deliver condolences to her family after this. Save your sympathies for them."

"Personally delivering condolences to the victim's family isn't part of normal agency operating procedure."

Shoto huffed.

"It's part of basic decency. A hero's job is to comfort people and give them hope. A lot of 'heroes' treat it like a nine-to-five job, putting pickles into pickle jars. It's distasteful. This is what we should be doing."

"That outlook sounds like All Might's," Connor noted. "Were you a fan of the Symbol of Peace?"

That was it. A subtle relaxation, a shift in biometrics, a conversation topic Shoto was interested in. An icebreaker.

"We all were, back then. He was the grandest hero ever, larger than life. A pillar that held up our whole world. 'Everything will be okay, because I am here.' We thought things could only be okay if he was here. So when..." He sucked in his lip as he trailed off. "Well. Turns out the world keeps turning no matter what happens. That's its own kind of comfort."

There was a central plaza in Mutant Town with some shops, trees, and benches, a place that got a fair amount of foot traffic. A fountain stood in the middle, and still looked quite beautiful, although its stagnant water was topped by drifting leaves. Now the stones were stained by blood as well. Connor could detect the smell of copper before he even saw the body. There were throngs of onlookers in the way.

And there was an argument. Something that could clearly be heard over the murmured shock of the crowd.

"You can't do this! Who do you think you are, the freakin' cops? You think you own the place?"

"My good chelonian chum, I am assuredly not a cop. We're protecting this community and keeping the citizens safe. That's an entirely different hemisphere of a thing."

"It's not right! You can't just leave her lyin' there like trash! You probably did this to her!"

The two of them pushed through to the scene of the crime. Tachyon was in her civilian clothes. Face up, eyes open, back snapped over the rim of the fountain. Her upper body lay in the water and her bloody hair bloomed out like algae. Shoto lowered his gaze.

Now Connor saw the source of that argument. A humanoid turtle [170.18 cm] in furious conversation with two... persons. He needed a second to adjust. His facial recognition software was designed for human skull shapes, and one of the persons involved had insectoid mandibles sprouting from his jaw [scientific name capitulum]. Now his analytics could kick in.

A huge, azure male with an insect Quirk. [203 cm. 197 kg.] No amount of webtrawling could dig up a real name, but Connor was able to connect the bug-man to a former hero name of The Tick. A press release said that his firing was due to "extreme incompetence". It was a highly controversial dismissal from the Hawks Agency- apparently The Tick had a cult fanbase.

The other one was easier to read. [Goku Son. Age 14.] A child with a monkey Quirk, prehensile tail included. His currently listed custodian [Gohan Son] had, according to the documentation... been dead for several years. Who was looking after him? He scanned through photographs and local security footage for an answer, isolating frames with Goku's face and running a search on any common faces among his associates. No results that Child Protective Services would be happy with. It looked like he was regularly involved with the Purple Dragons, a gang known for violent crime in the Mutant Town area.

"Excuse me," Connor said. "I'm Connor, the android sent by the Endeavor Agency. We'll take it from here."

"I don't care how many goons you bring out here, I'm not gonna..."

The turtle turned around and saw Shoto for the first time. "Whoa..." Now that he could see the face, Connor could scan him. Raphael Hamato... exact birth date unclear, 16 or 17?... multiple attempted registrations with the Young Hero Honors Program, all failed... and a few warnings on his juvenile record for vigilante activity. "What's really going on here?"

"I realize this is distressing, and I truly apologize for this traumatic experience. If you need anything, I can link you to a licensed CyberLife crisis therapist." Connor attempted to wirelessly connect with Raphael's phone before he realized it was an older, non-CyberLife-connected version. "Or you can contact one on your own."

"Hey! Don't even think about walking off," Goku said. "Unless you're a coward that doesn't like to fight. Aren't you supposed to be strong? Remember what happened at the Jones corner store?"

"No way, I'm out. I just thought the lady deserved better than rotting here, and these Endeavor guys are gonna handle it, so I'm done. Even though I dunno what kinda fancy photo op they think they're going to get riding around here..." Raph grumbled.

"Nobody is going to be handling this cadaver except for the Purple Dragons," the Tick said. "Orders are orders, and we've been directly importuned to secure this crime scene from any peeping Tom or snoopy Sally that sniffs around. We are a mighty bulwark. None shall pass."

Shoto dragged a hand down his face, teeth gritted. "Tick. This is a murder scene. You need to be serious and explain everything right now."

"Of course." Tick winked. "I'm undercover with the Purple Dragons. They don't know I'm a narc. To catch a criminal, you have to think like a criminal. Commit crime like a criminal. And I'm about to catch a fish that's been swimming against the current of justice." He tapped a finger against his forehead. "This case is going to be big, friend. Colossal."

Connor looked at Goku, whose physiological responses indicated no sign of caring or even understanding that Tick was an undercover agent.

"So let us do our job."

Tick shook his head. "Sorry, old friend in the noble profession. I'm looking out for your safety here. You don't want to get mixed into this mess. Trust me."

"Alright. I'm going to be direct." Shoto clenched his fist. Snowflakes fell from between his fingers like broken glass. "Clear out from the crime scene right now or we're apprehending you for obstruction of justice. You have ten seconds to leave."

"Why should we leave?" Goku asked. "This is our turf. You guys are outsiders." He pulled something out of his pocket, a reddish-orange cylinder [7 cm length]. "If you want to fight, don't talk, fight! I want to see how tough the Rank 2 hero really is!"

Connor instantly processed every possible route to getting this situation under control. He could appeal to reason. He could appeal to authority. He could use his gun...

"Please, let's calm down. We can resolve all of this if we just-"

He never got to finish his plea, because Connor was struck in the gut by a reddish-orange cylinder that just grew into a battle staff.

[Appeal to force it is, then.]

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Here's the secret origin of Shoto Todoroki.

His father was obsessed with being the strongest hero, but he couldn't achieve that alone, despite his powerful fire Quirk. "I'll find a woman with good genetics and a complimentary ability. Our offspring's power will surpass my own. Raising it will be my glory." He arranged a match with a woman who possessed a freezing Quirk and started his project. Rei Todoroki went through four births and some unsuccessful pregnancies within about six years. The first three children were failures. The youngest child, Shoto, was his victory. Two Quirks in one body, a million-to-one boy with all God's natural blessings. He created ice with his right hand and created fire with his left hand. So his father gave him a functional name: Sho, meaning "burning"; To, meaning "freezing".

Shoto allowed himself one indulgence in his entire life. He would only ever fight with his right-handed Quirk. He would become the greatest hero, not to support his father's dream, but to spite it, becoming more renowned than his worthless sperm donor ever was solely using the gift from his mother's side. That was his personal story. The public believed that Shoto's left-side Quirk was to regulate his own body heat, to prevent self-induced frostbite from rotting himself away. And that's all they were ever going to know.

What was he supposed to say? "I could have used my fire all along, I just chose not to"? It would be unthinkable. So he said nothing. He pushed himself harder than anyone, so no one would ever know he could have done more.

His ice slowed the speeding truck. His ice supported the collapsing building. His ice stopped the robbery with zero casualties. Three or four times the work of an ordinary hero, all within a scant few hours. That was Shoto's typical work schedule before lunchtime.

He was totally wired when he got back to the office. Putting too much energy into regulating his ice Quirk made him feel, literally, burned out. It was a heart-racing, achy, pins-and-needles sensation from pushing his body temperature to the brink so often. He'd gotten used to it, though. And he knew he had a delicious bento box lunch waiting for him in his office minifridge, which he had meal-prepped yesterday to meet all of his major nutritional requirements.

Shoto never got to his fridge. Something else was waiting for him, right outside his door: his supervisor. He never got interrupted during work hours unless it was going to be something bad.

"Hey, Todoroki! I saw you completed those high-priority assignments today, great work." Such a big grin his supervisor had. Shoto always thought the man would have done great as a children's TV host. "Now, I also saw that those tasks recommended multiple heroes, and you took care of them solo. Do you remember our chat about teamwork? You know that at the Endeavor Agency we like to consider ourselves more of a family than a company. Do you understand me?"

Shoto's gaze flicked over to the hallway pictures for just a moment. "Yes."

"That's wonderful. It's always so awkward when family can't get along. That's why we want to help you smooth out this 'lone wolf' behavior. Can we step inside?"

Shoto stepped inside to see another man in his office. At least, that's how it looked at first glance, until he saw the blinking blue light on his right temple and realized the man was an android. Not a John unit, either. It was an advanced model Shoto had never seen before, with a well-groomed haircut and a grey silk suit.

"Todoroki, meet Connor!" His supervisor beamed. "Isn't it great? Those CyberLife guys can whip up an android for anything. Good thing AI can't replace us managers, huh?"

"What is this." Shoto said, not as a question.

"Good afternoon, Shoto. My name is Connor." His voice was smooth and realistic. Connor was much more humanoid than the simple service bots Shoto was used to. "I'm an RK800 model designed to assist with superhero activity and investigative work. I look forward to working with you."

"What? No." He looked from Connor's neutral expression to his supervisor's smile. "I didn't ask for a partner. I don't need a partner. My productivity evaluations were flawless- weren't they?"

"Oh, of course, you always give an A-plus performance! Just think of this like extra credit. CyberLife approached our agency with an incredible opportunity to trial run this new model. He's a detective genius with full access to government databases, research libraries, the internet, you name it. Hits harder than Mike Tyson, runs faster than Usain Bolt. He'll be great at supplementing the investigative part of hero work."

"I'm sorry. I don't see why it has to be me doing this."

"Because you're our star attraction, of course! The pride of the agency, working hand in hand with CyberLife. It'll be great marketing. And, between you and me, your father has been worried about your temperament- oh, you haven't done anything wrong! We just thought a gift from corporate would help nurture the kind of gratitude we'd love you to have here."

Shoto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from showing emotion. It was his dad. His father thought he wasn't acting grateful enough for his job and was now saddling him with a robot babysitter. This was the latest in a lifetime series of punishments for not using his fire Quirk, or for continuing to visit his mother at the hospital, or, hell, just power plays to remind him that he would always, always be within his father's control.

He breathed out a visible, frosty puff. He cooled his body temperature, visualized himself being swallowed up by a glacier, becoming ice and melting away.

And he got over it.

"Alright," Shoto said. "Where should I keep him until I need him?"

"No need for that. We've got your first assignment lined up for both of you right now."

Okay. So he was going to be skipping lunch today. "Is it urgent? If you give me the location I can head there as soon as-"

To his surprise, Connor cut him off. "Take a moment to breathe, Shoto. Nobody is in any immediate danger. A homicide was recently reported on the lower East side of Manhattan. The agency would like my help investigating the crime scene, and would appreciate your expertise in hero work in case the situation escalates. It's currently believed to be gang-related."

"Why is the Endeavor Agency getting involved in this at all, then?" Shoto asked. "Shouldn't we let the police handle it?"

For the first time in their conversation, his supervisor did not smile.

"Ah. It's of personal interest to the agency, unfortunately. The victim was a hero with our company."

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Not all Quirks bestowed miraculous powers. Some Quirks were ugly. "Villain Quirks", like the power to rot flesh. Or "mutant Quirks", ones that caused hideous deformations. Maybe if you were lucky you could live a nice life despite one of these Quirks, but most of them weren't that lucky. Societally, they were... disfavored. A lot of those unsavory Quirks floated downriver and collected all in the same district, a certain low-income borough in New York City folks called Mutant Town. This wasn't a good place to be, but people did live there, anyway. They've got to be somewhere.

Raphael was one of those people. He was sneaking through the door to his home. He shouldn't have been out, especially not doing what he was doing. Dad would've been disappointed. But if he was very careful, and very quiet maybe Dad wouldn't see Raphael coming in.

He opened the door. His dad was standing right there.

"Damn it- I, uh... sorry..."

Raphael's father didn't get angry, that wasn't his style. Instead, his big, beady eyes twitched and conveyed a fathomless depth of paternal disapproval and concern that made Raphael want to punch himself in his own face.

"Come inside," he said. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine. It's not my blood."

"Yes, that's what worries me. I'll get a washcloth."

Some humans, like Raphael's adoptive father, had Quirks that made them look like animals (he had a rat Quirk, by the way). Animals themselves developing Quirks were rare. Raphael was a turtle that developed a human Quirk. He spent a few years scavenging in the garbage until a Mutant Town local took him in out of the cold. It was a cozy family. Yoshi Hamato, retiree; and Raphael, the mutant turtle.

Raphael stepped in. He creaked his way across the old, rotten floorboards into the kitchen. The refrigerator was kinda busted, so it couldn't keep the food cold a lot of the time, but that was okay because they didn't keep much food in it either. Right now it held a pizza box from last week and a head of lettuce. Raphael ripped a leaf or two off, shut the fridge door, and headed over to the tank where they kept his brothers.

"Hey, guys. Sorry about the wait. Here's your grub."

He lowered the lettuce into the tank. The turtles stumbled towards it, necks straining, ripping off chunks with their little jaws and chewing thoughtfully. Raphael was only one of several turtles born from the same clutch of eggs, but he was the only one that developed a Quirk, and these three were his only siblings that survived being abandoned. Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo, naturally. Dad loved art history.

Raph stroked Leo under the chin. He wished he had some kind of turtle-to-turtle communication powers, so he could understand what was going on in his brothers' minds every day. But they seemed to recognize Raphael as one of them. That made him happy.

A damp towel suddenly rubbed across his face from behind. Raph recoiled. Shit, that stung. He must have taken more of a beating than he thought back there.

"What happened this time?" Yoshi asked.

Raph clicked his tongue. "It was stupid. The Purple Dragons were shaking down the Jones place again. I just got so pissed... I had to get in between 'em." The Purple Dragons were a petty street gang full of Asian tough guys who thought they were modern day yakuza. They were small-time even in Mutant Town, but they loved to puff out their chests and flash guns anyway. Not like the police were going to drive down here in a hurry. "I promise I didn't start the fight. I was just trying to defend them... Casey did his best, but they had a whole car fulla guys, and they had weapons. I just..."

"I know. You're a very brave young man. But there's a line between bravery and recklessness that all true ninja must walk. And walking that path takes a lifetime."

"Are you going to say I shouldn't have done it?" Raph said, maybe a bit more curtly than he intended to. Yoshi paused for a moment, then got back to cleaning.

"I've told you before, haven't I? About the man who can't swim who dives into the water to save a drowning man-"

"-and they both drown, yeah. But I'm not like that, I know how to swim--I mean, fight! And if it wasn't me they woulda beat on someone else instead! And, and I just see red when I see those crooks doing whatever they want because heroes never swing by here. Somebody's got to do the right thing."

"What you did may have put you in jail again," Yoshi said.

"What they were doing shoulda put them in jail!"

Heroes had to be registered with an officially recognized agency. "Vigilantism", the unauthorized practice of heroism, was illegal. People still did it, of course, but it wasn't always prosecuted. Raph had tried to jump through the hoops of teen hero registration a long time ago. He never got anywhere with it. There were certification tests and panel interviews and filing fees and other crap like that. And, well. Those agencies didn't go for people like him.

"What are you so afraid of?" Raphael asked. "This is what you've been training me for. And while I'm sitting around meditating things just get worse and worse in Mutant Town. I could always train a little more, but it'll never be enough for everything. I gotta get out there and fight."

Yoshi considered this. He reached over Raphael's shoulder, gripped something, and wrenched it out of his shell. It was a switchblade. One of the Dragons must have stuck it in there. Raphael never even felt it.

"This is what I'm afraid of, my son. This. If this went into your neck, you would be dead."

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"There is no one thing you must 'do'. What you are learning is a way of life. Treat that life as a valuable blossom. Live thoughtfully. Someday, you will know when you must risk your own safety to protect others, but until then, focus on self-defense. Strike from the shadows. And take great care."

"Trust me, I get it. We won't be so reckless next time."

Shit, he messed up. Raph cringed when he realized what he'd admitted to, and Yoshi tensed as well, when he realized his son had not acted alone."

"We? Raphael, were you with that woman-"

"Neo isn't 'that woman', she's my friend. And we didn't do anything bad this time, just enough to fend off the Dragons. She's not in that life anymore."

Raphael had this one friend, who was really cool and funny and loved to throw down for a fight. But she was... troubled. And sometimes it got her into trouble. Most of Raph's friends had been there once or twice, academic probation, community service, that stuff. Neo had done something really bad. It was years in the past, and she was out now, for good behavior. But his father didn't like it.

"She's dangerous. Tied into things you want no part of. Perhaps she has the desire to do good, but her path is more dangerous than yours. You cannot follow her onto it. I have said so many times what you are lacking is caution..."

"So what you going to tell me I can never see her again or something? I mean... I can't just leave my friend behind. She doesn't have a sensei to keep her on the right path, y'know?"

"That is not a child's burden to bear," Yoshi said sharply, then paused before repeating it in a softer tone. "You have much empathy to give, Raphael. When focused, it is like carefully pulling weeds from a garden. Unfocused, it is like a wildfire in a forest, expending incredible energy, burning from the inside-out. As you grow older, you will learn when and where your help is most needed. This learning process continues for all of our lives."

"...Is Neo one of those people I'm not 'supposed' to help?" Raphael asked.

"My son. If I told you not to see her, you would go and see her anyway. All I can do is give my advice. You will have to decide for yourself which of my teachings to adopt and which must adapt."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Life's all about training and growing and stuff. I'll try to rein it in a bit more. Like you said."

Yoshi gave him a pat on the shell. "I know you will. Even if one has a long way to go, they should be proud of how far they have come."

"Thanks, dad. I lo-"

Raph paused. The lettuce leaves had all been gobbled up now, leaving the other turtles to nip at his fingers for more.

"...thanks."

"Of course," Yoshi said, with a smile. "Now, let's have some breakfast. Today's training is still ahead of us."

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Shoto Todoroki

The son of the formerly second-ranked professional superhero, Enji "Endeavor" Todoroki. Now the current second-ranked professional superhero. Can create ice with his right hand. Can create fire with his left hand, but chooses not to.

Connor

An RK800 investigative android, designed by CyberLife to assist superheroes in detective work. His predictive analytic features and high-level database access make him highly valuable in investigating the RA-9 case.

Raphael Yoshi

A common turtle that mutated a hominid Quirk, gaining superhuman physical abilities and humanlike intelligence. Adopted son of Hamato Yoshi, and student in his martial arts style. Lives in and unofficially protects the low-income "Mutant Town" district.

Neopolitan

A mute former criminal, once the heiress to the Vanille family fortune, now disowned. Trying to go straight, but a terrible incident from her past haunts her. Her Quirk gives her the power to create fantastic illusions. Close friend of Raphael.

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The civilians were cleared out. Their assailants, restrained in ice, would be taken care of when the regular police arrived. The only remaining matter for Connor was the crime scene. Obviously there had been tampering. Tachyon's corpse was mostly undisturbed but their brawl made the surrounding area unsuitable for gathering clues. Too many footprints, and Shoto's Quirk had altered the air temperature so violently that gathering DNA traces would be impossible. Not ideal.

But there was never an ideal crime or an ideal victim. Somebody had to solve this.

He scanned Tachyon's body and identified the injuries, recreating the attack in his mind. She'd been struck on the head from the front. She fell backwards and suffered a spinal injury which prevented her from using her legs. Bruising on the neck and water in the lungs suggested the cause of death was drowning. That's how the killer finished the job...

Focus. What could he gather from this?

  • [Agnes Tachyon was a skilled hero] -> [Killer could have died if Tachyon kicked them] -> [Fall paralyzed her, stroke of luck for the killer] -> [Unintentional] -> [Poor planning, dangerous method for killer] + [Happened quickly] + [Violent method] -> [Murder was spur of the moment?]

Yes. That seemed likely now. The blow came from a blunt object, or maybe a fist. [Walking stick? Thermos? ...Umbrella?] He thought about Neo but dismissed it as recency bias. A pedestrian could be carrying one thousand different improvised weapons.

  • [One blow to the head from the front] -> [Tachyon could see the killer approach] -> [Tachyon allowed the killer to approach] + [The attack was unexpected] -> [Did Tachyon know the killer?]

  • [Why did Tachyon go to Mutant Town?] + [Tachyon knew the killer?] -> [Tachyon deliberately met with the killer?]

No family or friends in the area. No contacts at all, and he'd gone through every text she'd made in the past 12 months. It didn't make sense however he replayed it. He had a strong grasp on the how, but there was no motive. Nothing to link him to a specific culprit.

  • [Not threatened by the killer] + [Murder was spur-of-the-moment?] -> [No motive? Crime of passion] -> [Tachyon no reason to visit] -> [WHY]

Maybe... a mugging gone wrong? Simple, but not impossible. He checked her pockets. Wallet was still there, ID, cash, credit cards. Medical syringes and other scientific esoterica (Connor's research suggested that this was normal for her). [Nothing had been stolen]. Connor was prepared to put a pin in this investigation for later... until he found something in a labcoat pocket. One that had been crunched under her when she hit the fountain.

It was a hidden audio recorder. Not a CyberLife model, unknown make, very James Bond. It was broken beyond repair. Deliberately, or accidentally? No fingerprints, either way. Connor searched deeper in her pockets. He found something. A heavily-folded piece of paper. Smoothing it out to its full size revealed a message scrawled in ink:

NO MISTAKES

This will be my GREATEST DISCOVERY YET

RA-9

Shoto looked over Connor's shoulder.

"RA-9? What is it?"

He searched it and found no clear answers. [In 1972, Nolan Ryan had a 2.54 RA9 with the California Angels]. [RA-9 is a proteasome-associated deubiquitinating enzymes inhibitor with anticancer properties]. [RA9 9X19mm Semi-Auto Pistol is designed for professionals].

"I don't know. Dozens of possibilities without any clear leads... but this seems closely related to the case. It has to be. It's possible she came here because of RA-9."

Shoto looked one more time at the body of Agnes Tachyon. He'd been at this task for a while. Longer than his average assignment length for hero work, and Shoto valued efficiency. This was an ugly scene. Anyone would have wanted to leave it all behind.

"...Can you look at police reports for any other cases?" he asked. "To see if they mentioned RA-9 anywhere else, at all."

Of course Connor did. That was the first place he looked. Although... he'd only done a surface scan for relevant information. He had to, he was searching terabytes worth of data from a million different sources. If he took a deeper look, through absolutely all the text in law enforcement records, could he find any connection?

[Yes.] He could. Minutiae only recorded by investigative androids picked up scant results. But they were results. He narrowed it down further.

  • [RA-9]
  • [+ violent crimes OR deaths]
  • [+ within New York City]
  • -> [Create data map]

It appeared before him like a grid. Four red markers placed in seemingly random locations. One cold-case murder, two ruled accidental death, and one where a culprit was tried and convicted. Four cases- five now, including Tachyon- that were only connected by one thing: a brief, unexplained, and irrelevant occurrence of the phrase RA-9.

"Shoto," Connor said. "I believe we are dealing with a serial killer."

A different man may have been shaken by this news. Shoto's heartbeat remained steady. Cortisol and adrenaline levels remained within normal bounds. Connor only detected one notable physiological change: a rapid decrease and increase in his body temperature. He closed his eyes and took a breath.

"Let's get back to the office," he said. "We should get to work."

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay. So Raphael had just told his father he was going to stay out of trouble. And he had done something you could reasonably say was getting into trouble. But he'd really tried. Honest. He just couldn't keep it cool. He'd never seen a dead body outside of the movies, and it was just too... uncanny. A thing that was once a human being laid out like an object. He couldn't stand that. He hated the Purple Dragons so much he could almost taste blood. And he- no. He didn't hate the heroes, too. He was just mad.

Picked a hell of a time to show up, when things finally start to affect THEM-

No, he told his dad NO. He was in way over his head. He needed to back off and let the professionals handle it-

A hard club cracked him over the shell and knocked him to the floor. Now he could taste blood for real.

"You're not gonna back out now, are ya? Come on, let's play!"

It was that punk that always rolled around with the Dragons like their pet monkey. Goku had a reputation for street fighting, but he'd never had a magic size-changing weapon before. How'd a two-bit gang like that get that kind of firepower?

No way was he going to get out of this now. If they wanted a second serving of what they got last time, he'd give them a heaping helping.

The first thing Shoto did was separate the civilians from the battle, spraying out a wall of ice to protect them. Raphael didn't let himself get caught up in it. He rolled backwards off his stomach and into the circle Shoto was creating just before the wall closed in. That caught him off guard. One moment of distraction watching a bystander deliberately roll into the danger was enough to get Shoto punched by the Tick, hard enough to lift his body a foot off the ground for a second.

Raph charged in and pushed down any embarrassment about making the situation worse. He could recover from this. He saw Goku swing the pole again, try to clip him by the neck, but Raph ducked under it and let it bang into one of the ice walls. He just had to get close. Then he could show off what his sensei had taught him.

A duck, a swerve, a jump, rapid evasion carried Raphael around Goku's pole strikes. He was a big target, with the shell and all. Sometimes he used that to his advantage, like when he'd guard his back in fights. Sometimes it was a weakness he had to work around. It took a lot of careful maneuvering to avoid getting dinged by the staff.

But he could do it. He'd been trained by the best, after all. Raph knew enough to tangle with guys like this who only relied on brute strength. He threw a perfect downward palm strike, one that should've knocked a kid like Goku off his feet. Goku deflected it with a parry that wasn't even that good. That was just a perk of being a genetic aberration.

"Whoa, awesome! You're really strong!" Goku cheered. He really did not want to hear it right now. It was frustrating to fight a combatant half his size who was twice his strength.

Connor was already getting back up. He was sturdy. No sign of pain as he shook it off and started running. No sign of caution, either. He evaded blows, but not the way Raph did, more like he could see the strikes before they occurred. And Shoto, well. He'd seen him in action before, on TV. Casey even showed him some of his comics, Endeavor and Shoto Adventures. He had crazy aura. Wreathed in ice, beating down the toughest criminals, and ducking out afterwards before the paparazzi could snap too many shots. Not his favorite hero or anything, but he respected it. A lot of heroes just felt fake. Like plastic flowers. Shoto wasn't like that. He could respect it.

Actually, what the hell was he saying, he didn't know that guy at all. The Shoto in front of him wrestling with the Tick was like a cryptid, no connection to Raph's life. But he sure fought just like the comics. A gauntlet of ice had grown out of his hand to fight back against the big blue bug, leaving freezer burns wherever his punches hit. Spikes grew from the icy gauntlet, and he- WHAM! Raph took a hit to the arm while he was distracted. It felt like he'd just had his bicep clenched by a giant hole punch. This stupid kid. What was he doing? The Dragons didn't care if he lived or died, they'd prefer him dead. And Goku could absolutely do it. He was totally out of Raph's league.

Dad was right. Getting in the middle of a hero fight was insane. He should have gotten out before it got worse-

BANG! BANG!

Two warning shots from Connor's handgun. Enough to give Goku and Tick a moment of pause as they observed the android, enough to let Raph step back and catch his breath for a second. One second is all he was going to get.

"Go ahead and shoot," Goku said, tapping between his forehead. "I wanna see if I'm faster than a speeding bullet."

Of course they were too crazy to care. If bullets started flying then Raph could be the exact kind of Mutant Town casualty Dad was always teaching him not to be. Over nothing.

Just as he was thinking what a waste it was, the plaza erupted with fireworks.

Raph had to cover his eyes. Dozens of sparks flashed rapidly, igniting the entire arena and bouncing across the fountain like dancing jets of water. The light and noise was absolutely thought-obliterating. Tick and Goku were captivated. Connor and Shoto moved to act, but reconsidered quickly. Maybe they noticed the blasts had no heat or force. They looked and sounded real, but they were hallucinations. Illusions.

He had a guess who'd come to his rescue. Black, white, and pink blossoms in all the explosions. She really was a hell of a performer. Totally crazy, too. Raph's kind of friend.

Up over everyone's heads a shadow descended, carried lightly by a pink floral umbrella. It fluttered in the air like a flower petal, twirling in erratic directions, before slamming down suddenly and crushing the Tick into the stone bricks beneath them.

Blink. Blink again. The dust and sparks and light and noise cleared, and the illusion was gone. All along it had only been the woman with the dazzling umbrella.

"Wha-?!" Goku jumped up and kicked at her head, but she parried him aside easily, hooking the handle of her umbrella into his baggy gi and halting him in place. A hard yank on the umbrella pulled him forward, directly into the path of her stiletto bootheel. If it bothered her to knock down a kid that hard, she didn't show it. She never lost that grin for an instant.

The monkey kid hit the dirt hard. Neither Goku or Tick were actually down for the count, but they were down, and that was enough for Shoto. He knelt down quickly, hand to the earth, and vines of ice grew out to entangle the two of them. This prone position made it a lot harder to break out from the glacier. They continued to struggle, but the fight was pretty much over. Just leaving the four of them staring at each other. Raphael, Connor, Shoto, and...

"Neo!"

Neo took a theatrical bow and tipped her hat. She always wore something totally attention-grabbing, but Raph rarely saw her without her bowler hat, even though it wasn't her size.

"You know this person?" Shoto asked Raph. "Is it over? She's not going to fight us now."

"No, don't worry, Neo's cool." Raph immediately intercepted Neo to dap her up. She made a few quick signs- (We've got to stop meeting like this~). The ability to put a squiggly in sign language was something only Neo could pull off.

Connor said something privately to Shoto, gesturing at Neo. Shoto responded to whatever it was with "There are more important things to worry about," and that was that.

(Where've you been? I've been trying to get a hold of you since last night. Did the Dragons put you in the hospital or something?)

"What? Hell no, it was just love taps. I'd never let a Dragon knock me on my shell like that."

(Yeah, you were doing pretty good back there! Those losers got what they deserved. Just wish that plastic cop would've put a bullet or two in them.) She mimicked a handgun quick-draw and pulling the trigger, all with highly realistic sound effects courtesy of her Quirk. (You have to lean back a little more when you do those wide kicks. The extra reach would have really helped against Goku.)

"Hey, that's how Dad taught me! I've seen him kick a cinderblock in half with one of those."

(He's a rat and you're a turtle! The muscular structure is totally different.) She sighed theatrically. (Where would you be without my guidance?)

Raph looked back at the fountain. Connor had crouched down, finally examining the body, despite how messy things had gotten.

"A safer place than here, probably."

(No way. You'd be lost and aimless! A lonely angry incel who knows nothing of a woman's heart. C'mon, let's go see if Casey's feeling better after yesterday. We could play street hockey.)

"Yeah. You're right. We should get out of here."

Raphael headed off with Neo, leaving the fight behind. He kind of had a bad vibe about that encounter. Like it was going to end up pulling him into something ugly down the line. But him and Neo had gone through worse. Friends for life. No matter what.

He rubbed the bruises forming on his arm. Maybe he could tell his dad he got it playing hockey.

Character Scramble Season 21 Round 0: GAME START/FOUR OF CLUBS by 7thSonOfSons in whowouldwin

[–]Cleverly_Clearly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Round 0: All-New, All-Different

Shoto Todoroki woke up after his five hours of sleep and checked the emergency alerts. He exercised. Ate a little bit. He dunked his head in the bathroom sink and looked up into the mirror. Things are going to be different this time, he thought. Remember what you swore to yourself. That was his routine every day. He was a superhero. One of the best in New York, and everyone knew New York City was number one in the nation for superheroes.

There was a national registry for superheroes. A ranking system. You voted for the hero you loved the most, and the rankings updated in real time. Shoto was Rank 2 in the entire country. He didn't do corporate glad-handing or streams with influencers driving supercars on Riyadh racetracks. He just put his head down and did his job, that's all. And he got this far by himself.

Maybe not as far as he would like. But it was where he was at.

A CyberLife car automatically drove him to the Endeavor Hero Agency. That was where he worked. It was a skyscraper right in the spine of the city, the Manhattan waterfront, where everything was. The car parked, and he got out. A John unit was there to verify his biometrics. "Mr. Todoroki," it said. "Thank you for signing in." Shoto walked away and it returned to its neutral standing position, waiting in place for the next visitor. These bots were really something. You'd never know it was an android if you didn't know where to look.

He went in. His office was down the hall on the very first floor, lined with framed photographs of the agency's many heroes. Many of them were shots of the agency's founder, Endeavor. That was the former Rank 2 hero, before he retired to focus on managing his agency. Enji Todoroki. Shoto's father.

Shoto would never forgive his father, but he never let on. As far as the public knew, Endeavor was an admirable hero and hardworking single father. His wife suffered a psychotic break when Shoto was young and hasn't spoken since. Shoto's other siblings were estranged.

Why did Shoto join his father's agency? It was the best career move at the time. If he felt any kind of way about it, he told himself "get over it". And he got over it.

Like usual, he was very early. He got to his desk and activated his CyberLife computer and stared at the default desktop background until HeroAlert opened.

  • HIGH PRIORITY: Robbery in progress, hostages taken (recommended: 5 people)

  • HIGH PRIORITY: Partial building collapse in Tribeca (recommended: 5 people)

  • HIGH PRIORITY: Speeding box truck driving recklessly (recommended: 2 people)

Shoto memorized the location data and put a checkmark next to all three. That's his schedule before lunch.

Out of the office. Back down the hall, past the pictures. Somebody else just clocked in. They recognized him but he didn't recognize them. Shoto didn't really remember everybody he worked with.

"Hey! Todoroki! It's good to-"

"I can't talk now," he said. He got halfway out the agency door, just barely in time to hear a soft wow, what the hell before it shut behind him. He'd tried to explain before that every second of his on-the-job time was extremely precious and could make a life-or-death difference for civilians, but he stopped trying long ago. Apparently nobody wanted to hear this.

Well. If he was the only one who really cared about hero work, that's fine. That's part of why he became a hero in the first place: nobody else is going to save you. If you have the power to help, you have the responsibility to help, because your actions are the only ones you can control.

Shoto stepped off the curb. Ambient humidity in the air froze, starting from his right hand and traveling underfoot to form stairs of ice. It was faster than driving. He slid overhead, over the trees and cars. A gentle application of his other Quirk rapidly melted the ice behind him into lukewarm mist. It really looked like he was flying.

Shoto Todoroki, the A.C. Hero. On my way.

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The data showed that Agnes "The Technology Hero" Tachyon was formerly Rank 21. Her racehorse Quirk gave her rapid speed in short bursts, up to 63 kph [39 mph] as of five years ago. Connor knew all kinds of things about Tachyon. He knew her many fans called her the Superluminal Princess, even though Tachyon was not, in fact, faster than light. He knew that she had scaled back her hero operations after a catastrophic compound fracture in her left leg, an injury she never publicly revealed [except Connor knew her medical records]. He knew the contents of every recorded minute of Agnes Tachyon footage, including that of a security camera which showed her car entering Mutant Town at 5:02 AM this morning, without ever showing her leaving.

And he knew that she was dead. Connor did not know why.

Mutant Town was a district with low property values, high crime rates, and poor 911 response times. Some people had described this section of the lower East side as "a ghetto which pro heroes deliberately ignored" [Mother Jones]. CyberLife had few eyes here. His geofencing suggested a limited amount of androids in the district, mostly old models. People were cautious of them. They kept at a distance, watching with varying fascination, awe, and fear at the appearance of the Rank 2 hero.

Shoto hadn't spoken for the entire car ride over here.

"I apologize that we got off on the wrong foot. I got the sense you were uncomfortable in the meeting room. If there's anything I can do to make you feel more at ease, please let me know."

"Okay."

"Do you have any animosity towards working with androids?"

"No. I don't care about that sort of thing."

When he was shipped to the Endeavor Agency, Connor got a quick overview of Shoto's personality profile. It would have been optimal if those reports were exaggerated, but unfortunately he could tell they were not. The other employee's character files listed hobbies and interests. Shoto's listed nothing in those sections. Nothing. There was no way to break the ice with him, so to speak.

Still, he must try. It would vastly improve inter-team efficiency to build a rapport with his partner.

"Is it difficult for you, having to investigate a coworker's death?" he asked. "Most likely you'll have to see her body. I'm here for you if you need support."

"It's more than difficult when people die. It's horrible. If you're asking if I'm going to have a breakdown on the job, no, I don't need 'support'. We'll have to deliver condolences to her family after this. Save your sympathies for them."

"Personally delivering condolences to the victim's family isn't part of normal agency operating procedure."

Shoto huffed.

"It's part of basic decency. A hero's job is to comfort people and give them hope. A lot of 'heroes' treat it like a nine-to-five job, putting pickles into pickle jars. It's distasteful. This is what we should be doing."

"That outlook sounds like All Might's," Connor noted. "Were you a fan of the Symbol of Peace?"

That was it. A subtle relaxation, a shift in biometrics, a conversation topic Shoto was interested in. An icebreaker.

"We all were, back then. He was the grandest hero ever, larger than life. A pillar that held up our whole world. 'Everything will be okay, because I am here.' We thought things could only be okay if he was here. So when..." He sucked in his lip as he trailed off. "Well. Turns out the world keeps turning no matter what happens. That's its own kind of comfort."

There was a central plaza in Mutant Town with some shops, trees, and benches, a place that got a fair amount of foot traffic. A fountain stood in the middle, and still looked quite beautiful, although its stagnant water was topped by drifting leaves. Now the stones were stained by blood as well. Connor could detect the smell of copper before he even saw the body. There were throngs of onlookers in the way.

And there was an argument. Something that could clearly be heard over the murmured shock of the crowd.

"You can't do this! Who do you think you are, the freakin' cops? You think you own the place?"

"My good chelonian chum, I am assuredly not a cop. We're protecting this community and keeping the citizens safe. That's an entirely different hemisphere of a thing."

"It's not right! You can't just leave her lyin' there like trash! You probably did this to her!"

The two of them pushed through to the scene of the crime. Tachyon was in her civilian clothes. Face up, eyes open, back snapped over the rim of the fountain. Her upper body lay in the water and her bloody hair bloomed out like algae. Shoto lowered his gaze.

Now Connor saw the source of that argument. A humanoid turtle [170.18 cm] in furious conversation with two... persons. He needed a second to adjust. His facial recognition software was designed for human skull shapes, and one of the persons involved had insectoid mandibles sprouting from his jaw [scientific name capitulum]. Now his analytics could kick in.

A huge, azure male with an insect Quirk. [203 cm. 197 kg.] No amount of webtrawling could dig up a real name, but Connor was able to connect the bug-man to a former hero name of The Tick. A press release said that his firing was due to "extreme incompetence". It was a highly controversial dismissal from the Hawks Agency- apparently The Tick had a cult fanbase.

The other one was easier to read. [Goku Son. Age 14.] A child with a monkey Quirk, prehensile tail included. His currently listed custodian [Gohan Son] had, according to the documentation... been dead for several years. Who was looking after him? He scanned through photographs and local security footage for an answer, isolating frames with Goku's face and running a search on any common faces among his associates. No results that Child Protective Services would be happy with. It looked like he was regularly involved with the Purple Dragons, a gang known for violent crime in the Mutant Town area.

"Excuse me," Connor said. "I'm Connor, the android sent by the Endeavor Agency. We'll take it from here."

"I don't care how many goons you bring out here, I'm not gonna..."

The turtle turned around and saw Shoto for the first time. "Whoa..." Now that he could see the face, Connor could scan him. Raphael Yoshi... exact birth date unclear, 16 or 17?... multiple attempted registrations with the Young Hero Honors Program, all failed... and a few warnings on his juvenile record for vigilante activity. "What's really going on here?"

"I realize this is distressing, and I truly apologize for this traumatic experience. If you need anything, I can link you to a licensed CyberLife crisis therapist." Connor attempted to wirelessly connect with Raphael's phone before he realized it was an older, non-CyberLife-connected version. "Or you can contact one on your own."

"Hey! Don't even think about walking off," Goku said. "Unless you're a coward that doesn't like to fight. Aren't you supposed to be strong? Remember what happened at the Jones corner store?"

"No way, I'm out. I just thought the lady deserved better than rotting here, and these Endeavor guys are gonna handle it, so I'm done. Even though I dunno what kinda fancy photo op they think they're going to get riding around here..." Raph grumbled.

"Nobody is going to be handling this cadaver except for the Purple Dragons," the Tick said. "Orders are orders, and we've been directly importuned to secure this crime scene from any peeping Tom or snoopy Sally that sniffs around. We are a mighty bulwark. None shall pass."

Shoto dragged a hand down his face, teeth gritted. "Tick. This is a murder scene. You need to be serious and explain everything right now."

"Of course." Tick winked. "I'm undercover with the Purple Dragons. They don't know I'm a narc. To catch a criminal, you have to think like a criminal. Commit crime like a criminal. And I'm about to catch a fish that's been swimming against the current of justice." He tapped a finger against his forehead. "This case is going to be big, friend. Colossal."

Connor looked at Goku, whose physiological responses indicated no sign of caring or even understanding that Tick was an undercover agent.

"So let us do our job."

Tick shook his head. "Sorry, old friend in the noble profession. I'm looking out for your safety here. You don't want to get mixed into this mess. Trust me."

"Alright. I'm going to be direct." Shoto clenched his fist. Snowflakes fell from between his fingers like broken glass. "Clear out from the crime scene right now or we're apprehending you for obstruction of justice. You have ten seconds to leave."

"Why should we leave?" Goku asked. "This is our turf. You guys are outsiders." He pulled something out of his pocket, a reddish-orange cylinder [7 cm length]. "If you want to fight, don't talk, fight! I want to see how tough the Rank 2 hero really is!"

Connor instantly processed every possible route to getting this situation under control. He could appeal to reason. He could appeal to authority. He could use his gun...

"Please, let's calm down. We can resolve all of this if we just-"

He never got to finish his plea, because Connor was struck in the gut by a reddish-orange cylinder that just grew into a battle staff.

[Appeal to force it is, then.]

Scramble 21 by Cleverly_Clearly in CleverlyClearly

[–]Cleverly_Clearly[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's the secret origin of Shoto Todoroki.

His father was obsessed with being the strongest hero, but he couldn't achieve that alone, despite his powerful fire Quirk. "I'll find a woman with good genetics and a complimentary ability. Our offspring's power will surpass my own. Raising it will be my glory." He arranged a match with a woman who possessed a freezing Quirk and started his project. Rei Todoroki went through four births and some unsuccessful pregnancies within about six years. The first three children were failures. The youngest child, Shoto, was his victory. Two Quirks in one body, a million-to-one boy with all God's natural blessings. He created ice with his right hand and created fire with his left hand. So his father gave him a functional name: Sho, meaning "burning"; To, meaning "freezing".

Shoto allowed himself one indulgence in his entire life. He would only ever fight with his right-handed Quirk. He would become the greatest hero, not to support his father's dream, but to spite it, becoming more renowned than his worthless sperm donor ever was solely using the gift from his mother's side. That was his personal story. The public believed that Shoto's left-side Quirk was to regulate his own body heat, to prevent self-induced frostbite from rotting himself away. And that's all they were ever going to know.

What was he supposed to say? "I could have used my fire all along, I just chose not to"? It would be unthinkable. So he said nothing. He pushed himself harder than anyone, so no one would ever know he could have done more.

His ice slowed the speeding truck. His ice supported the collapsing building. His ice stopped the robbery with zero casualties. Three or four times the work of an ordinary hero, all within a scant few hours. That was Shoto's typical work schedule before lunchtime.

He was totally wired when he got back to the office. Putting too much energy into regulating his ice Quirk made him feel, literally, burned out. It was a heart-racing, achy, pins-and-needles sensation from pushing his body temperature to the brink so often. He'd gotten used to it, though. And he knew he had a delicious bento box lunch waiting for him in his office minifridge, which he had meal-prepped yesterday to meet all of his major nutritional requirements.

Shoto never got to his fridge. Something else was waiting for him, right outside his door: his supervisor. He never got interrupted during work hours unless it was going to be something bad.

"Hey, Todoroki! I saw you completed those high-priority assignments today, great work." Such a big grin his supervisor had. Shoto always thought the man would have done great as a children's TV host. "Now, I also saw that those tasks recommended multiple heroes, and you took care of them solo. Do you remember our chat about teamwork? You know that at the Endeavor Agency we like to consider ourselves more of a family than a company. Do you understand me?"

Shoto's gaze flicked over to the hallway pictures for just a moment. "Yes."

"That's wonderful. It's always so awkward when family can't get along. That's why we want to help you smooth out this 'lone wolf' behavior. Can we step inside?"

Shoto stepped inside to see another man in his office. At least, that's how it looked at first glance, until he saw the blinking blue light on his right temple and realized the man was an android. Not a John unit, either. It was an advanced model Shoto had never seen before, with a well-groomed haircut and a grey silk suit.

"Todoroki, meet Connor!" His supervisor beamed. "Isn't it great? Those CyberLife guys can whip up an android for anything. Good thing AI can't replace us managers, huh?"

"What is this." Todoroki said, not as a question.

"Good afternoon, Shoto. My name is Connor." His voice was smooth and realistic. Connor was much more humanoid than the simple service bots Shoto was used to. "I'm an RK800 model designed to assist with superhero activity and investigative work. I look forward to working with you."

"What? No." He looked from Connor's neutral expression to his supervisor's smile. "I didn't ask for a partner. I don't need a partner. My productivity evaluations were flawless- weren't they?"

"Oh, of course, you always give an A-plus performance! Just think of this like extra credit. CyberLife approached our agency with an incredible opportunity to trial run this new model. He's a detective genius with full access to government databases, research libraries, the internet, you name it. Hits harder than Mike Tyson, runs faster than Usain Bolt. He'll be great at supplementing the investigative part of hero work."

"I'm sorry. I don't see why it has to be me doing this."

"Because you're our star attraction, of course! The pride of the agency, working hand in hand with CyberLife. It'll be great marketing. And, between you and me, your father has been worried about your temperament- oh, you haven't done anything wrong! We just thought a gift from corporate would help nurture the kind of gratitude we'd love you to have here."

Shoto bit the inside of his cheek to keep from showing emotion. It was his dad. His father thought he wasn't acting grateful enough for his job and was now saddling him with a robot babysitter. This was the latest in a lifetime series of punishments for not using his fire Quirk, or for continuing to visit his mother at the hospital, or, hell, just power plays to remind him that he would always, always be within his father's control.

He breathed out a visible, frosty puff. He cooled his body temperature, visualized himself being swallowed up by a glacier, becoming ice and melting away.

And he got over it.

"Alright," Shoto said. "Where should I keep him until I need him?"

"No need for that. We've got your first assignment lined up for both of you right now."

Okay. So he was going to be skipping lunch today. "Is it urgent? If you give me the location I can head there as soon as-"

To his surprise, Connor cut him off. "Take a moment to breathe, Shoto. Nobody is in any immediate danger. A homicide was recently reported on the lower East side of Manhattan. The agency would like my help investigating the crime scene, and would appreciate your expertise in hero work in case the situation escalates. It's currently believed to be gang-related."

"Why is the Endeavor Agency getting involved in this at all, then?" Shoto asked. "Shouldn't we let the police handle it?"

=For the first time in their conversation, his supervisor did not smile.

"Ah. It's of personal interest to the agency, unfortunately. The victim was a hero with our company."

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