Ashes to Ashes, Power to Power: Chapter 9

“Hey, miss. I got the two I reported here,” I said as I stopped in front of the HQ, the secretary nodding in thanks while two sidekicks took away the cackling woman and her hesitant companion.

“W-Wait! I'll talk! I'll talk! I just can't go to jail!”

“Oh, you'll talk, buddy, but for now, we need you to stay quiet,” The sidekick with the red mohawk spoke before I held a hand up to stop them.

“Start talking. I have the one bomb here and that was caused by another, but are those the only bombs?”

“N-No! No, there is one more! It's in the mall centre near Fuyuki's Chocolat Cafe. The bomb is in the men's bathroom in the fourth stall on the second floor.”

“You sure we should be doing this without Fat-Gum?”, The secretary asked with a frown and I shook my head as I took off the bomb bag before handing it to her.

“I don't want to, but I'll take the blame if something happens. When he gets back, tell him where the bomb is!”, I shouted as I turned and began running to the centre in question, pushing and ducking through the crowd that were staring anxiously at the rising flames.

'I can absorb the energy from a battery. Can I do the same with a bomb?', From what I've seen, the bombs are powerful enough to blow up an entire street and then some so I'm not entirely sure of that question, but unfortunately, I'd have to do it or just let it blow up.

'Urgh~ I hate my hero complex. Okay, Kevin 11, this is nothing for you. You're able to absorb all forms of matter and energy…Wait, could I absorb quirks?', With a new thought forming, I immediately turned and raced towards the site where the flames were raging, the crowd making a bit difficult as it took me a few minutes before I got to the site.

The heat immediately made me flinch back as the flames burned everything in their path and I watched as Fat-Gum and his sidekicks did their best to quell as many as they could.

“Keep going, everyone! We're almos-Kevin?”

“Can't talk! Danger nearby! Just need to do something!”, I shouted as I ran up to Tamaki and activated my quirk while touching his face, the boy sputtering and staggering backwards while I kept on running towards where I could see the roof of the mall centre peeking over the edge of the rooftops.

'Okay! Now…what the fuck do I eat?', I thought while running my hand across the ground, my body taking the form of tar before I grinned as I saw a chicken skewer stall that was empty.

Taking out a few yen from my pockets and throwing them down on the stall while picking up a few chicken skewers, I bit down and felt my legs transforming, looking down with a grin to see a pair of chicken legs and feet that had replaced my human ones.

“Alright!”, I cackled when I picked up speed, racing at a blistering pace through the crowd and bursting through the front entrance of the mall. Thankfully, it was a lot less crowded than outside and I raced up the stairs to the second floor.

'Bathroom? Bathroom? Bathro-Got it,' Rushing into the bathroom in question and throwing the men's door open, I quickly pulled the fire alarm and heard everyone immediately scrambling for the exit.

'Okay, quick and easy,' I thought with a frown as I walked to the fourth stall, opening the door slowly before grimacing as I saw the bomb as well as the one minute that was left on the timer.

I wanted to try and pick it up, but it was both attached to the wall and also wired to a motion sensor, meaning that any tampering could set it off.

“Crap, 57 seconds,” I cursed as I stared at the device, looking at the dozens of wires that were visible inside the bomb before looking back at where I could hear just a few people that were making sure that the centre was empty.

'Okay, okay. I can either stay here and try to absorb the bomb or I can do something really stupid…I ain't that stupid,' Turning and running out the bathroom with my chicken legs, I groaned as I saw the entrance doors snapping shut while also staring at the few shocked employees still in the building.

'I hate my fucking luck,' I grumbled as I turned and walked back into the bathroom, crouching in front of the bomb with my hands shaking before activating my Quirk as I placed my hands on it.

The second I did, a wave of pain erupted throughout my body as the bomb went off, my nerves on fire when I began to rapidly suck in as much energy as I could.

'F-Fuck,' My entire body felt like it was melting from the inside out, all sound around me sounding like it was kilometers away and my vision nothing but a bright white light as I continued to absorb the energy.

I don't know how long I was sitting there crouched in the stall, but when I came to, it was to the sight of the walls of the stall having been blown to the side while the tiled flooring below my feet had cracked and lifted up.

Every breath was torture, keeping my eyes open felt like someone was constantly stabbing them and even listening sounded like hearing a dull buzz in the far distance, but I didn't dare move as I took slow breaths while feeling the explosion still present under my skin.

'N-Not yet…It's not done yet,' I may have absorbed the energy, but energy doesn't just vanish like that. No, the explosion was fighting me to be let free and unless I wanted to sacrifice my own being, which I didn't, I'd have to find somewhere to unleash it.

“…11!”, I gave a slow, tired blink as I heard the faded shouting beside me, turning my head only to find myself being enveloped by something yellow and squishy.

“…up! Blow…! It's okay!”

'Blow up? Got it,' I thought as I let loose, immediately feeling relief flushing through my form as I let the explosion loose and felt a pair of arms pull me out.

To my surprise, I watched in awe as Fat-Gum contained the explosion with gritted teeth, Suneater looking just as worried before the both of us let out relieved sighs as the light faded away and Fat-Gum let out a deep exhale.

“You two okay?”, He asked as he stood up and Suneater nodded as he helped me up while I stared at the hole in Fat-Gum's outfit as well as the singe marks on his skin.

'Holy shit, this guy is a tank.'

“Kevin?”

“Uh, other than your voice sounding like it's muffled, my vision spinning and the nausea, pretty good!”, I said, though it appears that I shouted it instead as Suneater winced while Fat-Gum shook his head with a smile.

“Good! Next time, don't try that though!”

“Twenty seconds on the clock and too late to get the others away safe enough!”, I said as Suneater and I followed the man out of the bathroom, Fat-Gum shaking his head at my answer.

“Still, you did a good job, kid. It was a very risky plan, but you saved a lot of lives today,” The man spoke as he patted my back, but it was a bit too hard as it felt like I was getting hit by a bag of bricks.

“G-Got it.”

“I have to ask, though. How do you have the chicken wings?”

“Oh, I know that I can absorb and convert my body into the matter I touch so I thought I'd see if I can absorb Quirks in the same way. As it turns out, I can though I have to admit that it is very hard to keep the transformation active!”, I spoke as I let the transformation fade, but I narrowed my eyes as I felt something clicking with my Quirk in the back of my mind.

It wasn't like a physical click, but more of like when you have a thought process that's missing something and then that something just…clicks in. Yeah, something like that.

'Wait, Kevin was able to permanently retain the mutants he absorbed from the Omnitrix, right? Is it…is it the same for me?', If that was the case…Hohohoooh~ This was about to be a good day for me~

“Wait, you can do that? Okay, your Quirk is a lot more versatile than I was expecting,” Fat-Gum said and I gave a shaky thumbs-up before smirking as I saw Suneater grunting as he helped me walk.

“You can just let me walk on my own.”

“A-And let you fall when you could have been walking perfectly? I know you'd blame me for that,” He grumbled and I chuckled as we walked through the front entrance, turning my gaze forward before blinking at the dozens of civilians watching us leave with their phones out.

“Everyone, don't worry about anything! Thanks to the effort of Kevin 11 here, he managed to contain the bomb! The crisis is averted!”, Fat-Gum declared and I actually flinched backwards as a loud cheer came from the crowd, blinking at their happiness before looking at Fat-Gum as he smiled and patted my back.

“Your first cheer.”

“It's a bit overwhelming,” I murmured as the cheering had brought my hearing back, to which Fat-Gum chuckled as a nervous Suneater and I followed the large man to where the emergency workers were.

“You're a hero now. Get used to it.”

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The Omni Hero: Kevin 11! Hero or Madman?!

“Young hero makes his debut by absorbing a bomb blast, saving over a hundred civilians that were present at Fuyuki Mall. Huh, looks like they mostly complimented you, but there were a few people that talked bad,” Fat-Gum said as he stood at the edge of my hospital bed, reading the newspaper on a tablet while I laid in the bed with a sigh.

“At least I made the news, huh?”

“Yeah, you did, but I can say now they did not get your good side,” He spoke with a grin as he turned the tablet to me and I winced at the dazed look in my eyes as well as the dirt covering my hair and face.

It wasn't that bad, but I can definitely say it wasn't my best and Fat-Gum seemed to find it amusing as he snickered before we looked at the door as it opened.

“Uh, hello, is th-Kevin!”, My eyes widened and I felt my heart ache as Mom rushed over, immediately looking me over and making sure everything was okay as Fat-Gum gave a wink and walked out the room to give us some privacy.

“Mom. Mom, I'm o-”

“If you say okay, I'm punching you,” She murmured as she stood back and I gave a nervous smile at the glare in her eyes before nodding.

“Right, no saying 'I'm okay'.”

“I thought I could handle you being a hero, but I can't. The news said you absorbed an entire explosion that had enough energy to level the street. Who does that?!”

“A hero, Mom. A hero does that. I can't just run and let people who were still in the building die because I was too scared to do so.”

“S-Still, you're…you're my son, the only family I have left, and you're already out there sacrificing your well-being to bombs. I know I said I would support you when you go your license, but this…this isn't what I'd imagined.”

“I didn't either.”

“Yet you'd still do it again,” She spoke with a knowing look in her eyes and I nodded with a smile.

“It's my hero complex. You know how it is.”

“I do, oh so dearly,” She murmured and I smiled before we looked at the door as it cracked open, Fat-Gum poking his head in with a smile.

“Sorry to interrupt the family moment, but uh, Kevin's getting visitors later so I'd thought I'd tell you now.”

“Visitors?”, Mom asked and I was just as confused and bewildered as Fat-Gum's smile widened before he nodded.

“Yep. Reporters, journalists, maybe even a few hero agency scouts.”

“…I just joined your agency?”

“You made national news on your first day, kid. Tamaki already told me that he's seen hundreds of fan-art of you. Also, people are starting to call you The Omni Hero: Vanguard or the Omni Hero: Omni Man”

“So, what you're telling me is that I spent hours on a name and they just chose one for me?'

“You spent hours and Kevin 11 was the only one you could come up with?”, Mom asked with a smirk and I grumbled while Fat-Gum snickered.

“You know, I did ask for your help, but you said you didn't want and I quote 'Cramp my style'.”

“I don't think anyone of this current generations says those words in that order, Ms. Nagatomo.”

“Believe me, he told me. Now, what do you say about the visitors?”, She asked as she looked at me and I scratched the back of my head before letting out a sigh as I looked to Fat-Gum.

“When is this meeting thing?”

“At three.”

“…Got it. I'll be ready.”

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'Okay, there's a lot less than I was expecting. Just be cool, calm and collected. Hah, that's easier said than done,' I thought with a slight grimace as I sat up on my bed, my mom on my right and Fat-Gum on my left while a reporter, her cameraman and a journalist with a notepad stood at the edge of the bed.

“Good morning. How are you all doing?”, The one thing I knew about journalists/ reporters is that you never give them the chance to take control of the conversation and my approach seemed to work as the journalist blinked while the reporter and cameraman looked at each other before she cleared her throat.

“We are doing quite well, but unfortunately, I am afraid we do not have the time today for pleasantries.”

“Ah, of course. I'm sure you have much more important news to deal with than me.”

“Considering that your picture was on the front page of most newspapers, I'd say you were wrong, Mr. Nagatomo.”

“Please, call me Kevin…or Kevin 11 or Vanguard or whichever hero name society has picked for me,” I spoke with a smile and the brown-haired reporter seemed to like my quick responses as she smiled and nodded.

“Very well. Kevin, can you tell us how exactly you found out about the bomb?”

“That is quite easy. I was on my first day of patrol through the northern district of Osaka and was about to finish my patrol through the industrial sector when I overheard a group of people talking.

Stalking over to said location, I heard that they were talking about 'liberating the oppressed' so I acted quickly and apprehended two of the three subjects. Unfortunately, the last managed to escape and I believe that there was a fourth member who perhaps had some sort of invisibility Quirk to hide from view.

Anyway, after I delivered the two that I captured to the agency HQ, I quickly rushed over after one of its members told me of the bomb, which is why I rushed over and found the bomb.”

“We've heard reports of you having chicken legs while being encased in the same tar-like substances as the road. Care to explain?”

“Unfortunately, doing so is not something I can disclose, as much as I want to,” I spoke with an apologetic smile and she didn't seem that happy with it as she narrowed her eyes before nodding.

“I suppose that is true. Now, may I ask what exacly when through your mind the moment you saw the bomb and when you contained its explosion.”

“Well, the first thing that came to mind was something along the lines of: 'Oh, hell no',” That got a soft chuckle from the journalist and even the cameraman stifled his smirk as the reporter's lips twitched slightly.

“Language.”

“Right, sorry Mom. In all seriousness, I wanted to run, but I also knew that if I did, others would be caught in the explosion and the one thing I've learned about being a hero is that we are the first and last line of defence. Therefore, I had to think fast and risk my own life to ensure that everyone else survived.”

“Why did you do so?”, The journalist asked as he scribbled rapidly on his notepad and I smiled before shrugging.

“Someone had to and I was already there.”

“You understand that while some see this as a heroic deed, others see it as not bravery, but borderline recklessness from a rookie that wanted to show off.”

“All might risked his lives to save hundreds of people when he became the Symbol of Peace and set the example of what a true hero is for times to come. I am merely following the example of such a wondrous hero.”

“Do you regret having done so and what happened?”, The reporter asked abruptly and I caught Mom's hands tensing before I chuckled and shook my head.

“Do I regret doing it? Not at all. Do I regret that I had to? I do. I regret that the world still has people trying to blow up innocent lives to make a statement. Being a hero means that I not only have to stand between villains and the people the target but also being a symbol of hope to others who wish to do the same and that is something that I will do every day for as long as I live,” I finished with a smile, keeping my eyes on the reporter as she looked at me for a long moment before giving a small nod and gesturing for the cameraman to finish.

“Thank you, Vanguard. I believe that is all we need for now.”

“I got my notes. Thank you once again for agreeing to this.”

“Hey, it was fun. Any time you want an interview at a reasonable time and place, give me a call,” I spoke with a smile and they nodded before the cameraman packed up, a groan escaping my lips as I sunk into the bed the moment they left the room.

“Huh, he's a natural, isn't he?”

“Kevin has always had the ability to think on his feet no matter the situation, even if some of the ideas didn't need to be absorbing a bomb.”

“That still doesn't mean they aren't tiring. I did good, right?”, I asked as I looked at Fat-Gum, who grinned before crossing his arms with a nod.

“You did great. By tomorrow, however, we'll see whether or not they paint you in a good light,” He murmured and Mom rubbed my shoulder as I sighed.

“Hopefully, it's good.”

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Inspiring Hope and Bravery to Others

The Omni Hero Vanguard, the Symbol of Bravery.

“…What the fuck?”

“Language!”

A/N: And we are continuing on with the story~!! Also, like I said, Kevin is slowly figuring out how broken his Quirk is if he works on it.

Anyway, next chapter: Aftermath and Agents.

As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one…

Ba-Bye~!!