Chapter Text
You remember your life faintly. Blurred faces and garbled names were the only things you can hear and see in your head. And singing. You could hear voices singing a heavenly melody. Their voices were so beautiful, yet so far.
The sunlight on your skin was warm and bright, feeling much more welcoming than the cool darkness when you were underground. That’s right. You used to ride the subway. But where did you travel? Did it lead you to the surface? What was your life before then?
…It didn’t matter now. You can barely form your own thoughts. All you knew was your back in the dark. The new voices you heard were stern and clear. It demanded you to complete tasks and you did them, despite not controlling your own body’s movements. A soldier, you’ve been one before. You don’t remember your leader, but you know that you don’t want to be led under their command.
But you followed this voice faithfully, despite not knowing who was speaking to you. It wasn’t familiar. And the tasks.. it had you doing some violent things. But you have done this before, haven’t you?
“Now little octopus, there’s one more task you need to carry out,'' a sinister voice told you. The being talking to you was blurry, you couldn’t focus on his face. But they showed you an image and you saw it clearly. “This is Eraser Head. I need you to kill him. Don’t come back here unless your job is done.”
You nodded, then transformed and leapt away. Eraser Head .. you’ve never heard that name before. But the being looked familiar. You did not know them, but you recognized their species.
Were they.. “human”?
~~~
Aizawa silently watched civilians walk by, chatting with friends or partners. Despite the moon being high, people were active. But that also meant villains were lurking around to find a target. Not all Pros were active during the night, so it was a perfect time for villains to come out. However, Aizawa was active. He patiently waited for villains to show their faces.
The night gave him an advantage. With his black clothes, he blended in with the dark and could take his enemies by surprise. It made them a lot easier to deal with.
But he wasn’t alone. Someone else was looking for a time to strike.
Aizawa perked up once he heard bubbling noises. Unfortunately, the man didn’t react fast enough. Magenta ink splattered onto his clothes. The force of it almost knocked him down off the edge. A few droplets of ink dotted his face and they stung. Aizawa quickly wiped it off with the dry part of his sleeve and turned to face his attacker.
Their ears were long and rounded, tentacles replaced hair. The tips were a magenta color, exactly like the ink they shot at him. No emotion was revealed on their face. Their apathy almost seemed to be like a mask. In his enemy’s hands was a modified rifle. It fit in their hands, but was thicker than a normal rifle. The weapon looked heavy, but they managed to hold it just fine. The only accessory they had was a pair of shades. The glasses probably had the same function has Aizawa’s goggles.
Something was off. Aizawa could feel it in his gut. Either the enemy viewed themselves as nothing more than a pawn, or someone was using them like one. A villain would be bragging about how they caught the Pro Hero off guard at this moment, but they said nothing. The only thing they focused on was attacking relentlessly and covering the ground with magenta ink.
The enemy submerged themselves in their ink. Aizawa lost sight of them and couldn’t use his quirk against his enemy. He scowled before leaping back and creating some distance. The hero gripped the binding cloth around his neck. If they emerge from their ink, Aizawa can drag them away from it and take their weapon. It seemed to be their only way of fighting. But if they know hand-to-hand combat skills, he’ll just wrap them up and take them into custody.
His enemy rose up from their ink, examining their surroundings. From what he could tell, their quirk seemed to be transformation. Or possibly an emitter. It affected their appearance like a mutation quirk. But either way, they won’t be immune to his quirk.
Aizawa’s hair floated upwards, as if he was under water, as soon as he activated his quirk. He launched his cloth towards his enemy and wrapped it tightly around them. They dropped their weapon and struggled against the cloth. But Aizawa’s victory was short-lived. His enemy transformed into an octopus, a small and rather cartoony looking one, and wriggled out of his cloth. He blinked, causing his hair to fall back down. Aizawa had his eyes on them, he knew it. Yet, how could their quirk still activate? It shouldn’t have been possible.
The octopus enemy appeared once more, grabbing hold of his binding cloth and yanking it hard . He wasn’t expecting that kind of strength. Aizawa managed to stay on his feet, but got hit again with ink. It seemed to be slowly deteriorating his clothes. A burning sensation erupted on his skin. The magenta ink seemed to have a poisonous property when touching exposed skin. Aizawa knew he had to end this fight quickly. If not, he may need to get his limbs amputated.
Aizawa pulled his cloth back as well, causing some sort of tug of war game. He was able to pull his attacker close and knock the weapon out of their hands. It smashed into pieces after hitting the ground hard, ink slowly seeping out of it. He lifted his leg and delivered a hard kick. The octopus enemy went limp as their glasses shattered into pieces.
The hero didn’t relax yet. He crept closer and knelt down next to them. Seems like the glasses had some kind of wiring, something too advanced for a regular cillain to own. Aizawa checked them for any other sort of technology.
The octopus enemy wore earphones, but they obviously weren't using them for music. Aizawa took them out and held it near his ear before wincing at the noise. It was awful. Loud and high pitched, almost dizzying. The sound was headache inducing and Aizawa was quick to realize that his attacker was no villain. Just an innocent who was brainwashed.
But just how were they not affected by his quirk? It wasn’t just the only suspicious thing. He had so many questions, but they'll most likely be left unanswered. The victim would probably be unable to give details about who brainwashed them. But they might have a few clues…
Aizawa lifted them up, and looked over at the ink that covered the ground. Someone needed to clean that up. And figure out just how it managed to decay his clothing.
~~~
Bright lights burn your eyes, forcing you to squint. A harsh headache made your head throb as your tentacles curled close to your face. You weren’t able to focus on the distant murmurs. The pain in your head and blinding lights were too much of a distraction. It didn’t feel like you were outside on the surface, but you did feel a bit free. You could move your fingertips in slight twitches and scrunch up your face. But other than that? Your body was stiff and sore. At least you had control now.
Someone walked in and they had mammalian features. You were surprised to see such fluffy features. Something in the back of your head told you that they shouldn’t exist anymore. Yet here is living proof. However, they had human features as well, so what were they?
Mammalian… you haven’t heard of that word, it was never mentioned around you. Yet, you were familiar with it. You knew what it was, but how? All the questions you had swirled in your mind.
The person spoke, snapping you out of your thoughts, “Hello there! You were unconscious for quite a bit of time. Good to see you awake,” They gave you a sincere smile. “I’m Nurse Chieko. What’s your name?”
You answered her, but she made a face. It was a mixture of shock and confusion. “Uh, repeat that?” And you did. A few times actually. The expression she had didn’t clear up. It started to make you feel a bit nervous and insecure. Also somewhat annoyed.
“...Excuse me for a second,” Nurse Chieko mumbled before hurrying out of the room. You glanced down at the cloth covering you, then moved it aside. You got up and stood on unsteady feet. Slowly, you walked over to the door. A conversation was happening outside.
“Chieko, are you sure they weren’t just speaking a foreign language?” Someone asked. You peered through the doorway.
Nurse Chieko huffed. She was clearly frustrated, even though you couldn’t see her face. “If they were, I wouldn’t have come to you at all, doctor,” She brought a hand to her face. “Their voice, it's all… warbled! I’m sorry doctor, but they sound like a goddamn alien!” You pulled back from the doorway, caught off guard by the sudden change of volume of Chieko’s voice. But you soon leaned in again, watching and listening to the conversation.
“You know it isn’t right to talk about a patient like that,” The doctor spoke sternly, their eyebrows furrowing. “They were being mind controlled by villains, you know. It could very well be an effect by a quirk.”
“Doctor, I - do you really not - are you serious?” She sputtered. “They would’ve realized that they sound like they’re gargling water! Do you really think that would go unnoticed? They would’ve known something was wrong with their voice, even if they didn't know something happened to it!”
The doctor’s frown slowly turned into a scowl. Nurse Chieko’s words seemed to be getting to them. Their eyes flickered towards you and the sour face quickly changed. The nurse quickly turned to see you peeking out the door. Her face quickly flushed red from embarrassment.
“Ah, my apologies. I didn’t see you there!” They smiled and held out their hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Dr. Ikeda. I heard Eraser Head brought you in!”
You glanced at their hand, then looked back at their face. You weren’t sure what to do. The doctor stared for a while before letting their hand fall to their side. “..Anyway, what's your name?” A small frown tugged at the corners of your mouth. They aren’t going to understand you either, are they? From what Nurse Chieko said, your voice didn’t sound right. It was distorted. Something was wrong with you. Your throat felt constricted, as if your body was trying to prevent you from speaking.
But you did what they asked with hesitation. And of course, Dr. Ikeda made the same reaction as Nurse Chieko previously did. In the corner of your eye, she sent him a glare and muttered “I told you so.” It made your frown deepen.
A sudden wave of loneliness washed over you, drenching you in the feeling of helplessness. You felt so lost, out of place. A cold feeling grabbed hold of you. You didn’t want to be here. Being in this situation felt exactly like the darkness. You couldn’t speak, you were cold and alone. The feeling of warm and a soft breeze was all you wanted right now. The harsh lights and white walls brought you no comfort.
“You’re awake.”
A voice startled you. Another human, but it was the one named Eraser Head. You gawked at him wordlessly before realizing what you have done. That’s right. You attacked him. And you attacked others. Many others. Splatters of reds and magenta, darkened by the shadows, suddenly rushed to your mind. Blurred images of what you have done flashed as guilt raided your brain. Quickly, you looked away. All you could do was stare at the floor in shame.
“Listen, I’m not mad at you,” He stated, letting out a quiet sigh. “It was annoying dealing with you, but you were brainwashed. I’m not going to blame you for actions you didn’t choose to make.”
Despite his monotone voice and bored expression, you can tell he was being honest. Yet, there was a lingering feeling of guilt. You still feel at fault.
“Eraser Head! Perfect timing,” Dr. Ikeda beamed, then slowly lost their energy. “We have a.. bit of a problem with this patient.”
“Well? What is it?” He asked.
Nurse Chieko quickly spoke up. “We can’t understand them! It all sounds like gibberish. There’s not a single word you can make out!”
Eraser Head didn’t speak, only stared and blinked at them. “Is that it?” The doctor and nurse looked surprised at his response. “I’ll just have a translator made for them.” He looked down at you and said “come on” before turning around and leaving. You felt stuck to the floor for a moment, but you knew you shouldn’t keep him waiting. The doctor and nurse made protests, but neither you or Eraser Head looked back.