Chapter 90: Undercurrent

[Third Person's PoV] 

By the end of the day, Tony and Melissa stood before Stars and Stripes. "Good work, you two," she said, her voice full of pride. "Even when you were told to focus on taking down villains, you mainly concentrated on saving people. That's what a true hero does. I know for a fact that when the two of you become official heroes, you'll be great. I don't have a single doubt in my mind."

She patted their heads affectionately, a gesture of approval and encouragement.

Tony, always confident, muttered as he adjusted his hair, "I'm great now, and I'm not even official."

Stars and Stripes laughed heartily, "Hahaha, you've sure got an ego, don't you?"

With a snap of his fingers and a playful wink, Tony responded, "It's not ego, it's hard, cold facts."

Melissa elbowed him in the side, earning a laugh from Stars and Stripes that echoed across the field.

"Anyway," Stars said, regaining her composure, "I expect you both here at the same time tomorrow. We'll continue what you were doing today, but I'll be joining you."

Tony and Melissa nodded in agreement, said their goodbyes, and blasted off in different directions—Tony heading to spend time with his parents and Melissa with her dad.

---

A few days earlier, in a bar back in Japan:

Three men sat around a dimly lit bar. Tomura Shigaraki, wearing a VR headset, was immersed in his own world, while Kurogiri calmly prepared a whiskey with a round ball of ice and handed it to the third man, Taiyo Saiki, who was concentrating on a small device in front of him.

"Thanks," Saiki muttered, taking a sip.

"Dude, this is awesome! I'm so glad we recruited you!" Tomura exclaimed, his hands moving in front of him as he manipulated the VR controls, a wide grin on his face.

Saiki scoffed in amusement, looking towards the TV screen next to him. He presented his gadget with a casual flourish. "Here, I've finished it."

Tomura lifted the headset, his curiosity piqued. "So, what did you make?"

"A mental chip," Saiki explained, holding up the small device. "For those Nomu things you've shown me. Connect this to their brains, and you can program them to follow more sophisticated orders. With this, you'll be making the perfect soldiers who follow your commands to the letter. Hell, with this, they could even become expert fighters in seconds."

A voice from the TV monitor cut in—All For One. "Tell me, can this thing be taken over by an outside source and used against us?"

Saiki shook his head confidently. "Nope. I've already made sure of that. This thing isn't connected to anything, so no one can hack it. Sure, if they find it, they can destroy it, but that's pretty standard for anything."

All For One chuckled darkly. "I suppose you're right, in more ways than one."

He massaged his chin thoughtfully as his life-support mask obscured his expression. "Kurogiri, bring him to me."

Kurogiri nodded, creating a portal with his mist. Saiki stood, gave a final glance around the bar, and stepped through, with Kurogiri following close behind. Tomura, unconcerned, adjusted his headset and returned to his game.

When Saiki arrived on the other side, he found himself face-to-face with All For One. Saiki couldn't help but mutter aloud, "A life support machine...?"

An idea suddenly struck All For One. "Tell me, do you perhaps see ways to upgrade this thing?"

Saiki smirked, glancing around the room. "I see ways to upgrade everything around here."

All For One chuckled again. "I believe my decision to have the boy recruit you was the right one. Don't you think so, doctor?"

From the shadows emerged a bald old man wearing thick, round glasses. He nodded in agreement with All For One's assessment. The old man approached Saiki, extending his hand for the device. Saiki handed it over carefully, watching as the doctor began to study it.

All For One then beckoned Saiki closer. "I'm sure that with your resources in the Underworld, you're already aware of who I am."

Saiki nodded, his expression growing serious. "Before, it was just a guess, but now, I'm 100 percent sure of who you are."

All For One nodded in return. "In that case, for you to help me out, you'll need some upgrades. Sure, your quirk is great—wonderful, even—but they would work better with some help."

All For One stretched out his hand, placing it on Saiki's head. A dark red aura began to emanate from All For One, and from his arm, two star-shaped energies—one yellow, one purple—flew rapidly and entered Saiki's body.

As the yellow energy entered, Saiki clutched his head in pain. When the purple energy followed, arcs of purple electricity crackled around his body. Saiki fell to one knee, gasping for air as he held his head.

"What did you do?" he demanded, his voice strained.

"I've made you better," All For One replied, his voice calm and authoritative. "I gave you two quirks that I believe are better suited for you than they are for me."

"The first quirk is called Data Storage. It allows you to store any and all information you've learned. As a side effect, it enhances your cognitive abilities.

"The second is Electromagic. It gives you the ability to control electromagnetism, but that one will require practice.

"With your intellect, this quirk is more useful to you than it ever was to me. Although I prefer quirks that don't require mastery to wield, the hero who possessed this quirk was too dangerous to let him keep it, so I took it for myself. Use it wisely," All For One advised.

Saiki looked at his hands as electricity crackled around his fingers. The once purple electricity slowly began to shift, taking on a bluish hue that matched his hair and eyes.

*'Oh?'* All For One thought with interest, *'The quirk factor is adapting to him. Now, isn't that interesting.'*

"Now then," All For One continued, his voice calm but commanding, "for your job, you will be assisting the doctor with his work. You will tell him everything you need, and he will get it for you."

Saiki, still marveling at the power coursing through him, responded, "Although I don't mind helping you out, I hope it isn't at the cost of me pursuing my revenge against Stark. Because if it is, I would happily return this gift you've given me."

All For One laughed, a deep, knowing chuckle. "Worry not. From what I have gathered, All Might and the Stark boy are quite close, not to mention his successor. Our goals align with each other, so you have nothing to worry about."

"Good," Saiki replied, his voice filled with dark intent. "As long as I have my revenge, that's all that matters. He destroyed my legacy, so I will happily destroy his…" His grin turned sinister, eyes flashing with electricity that intertwined with the gears turning in his eyes, driven by thoughts of vengeance.

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