CH 051

"Why did your father do that?" asked Momo.

"No, you idiot. As I told you, someone used their quirk on him. Kaagaz Rani said she doesn't know who, but I'm sure one of them is the cause," I replied, closing my eyes and sighing.

"What is your plan for today?" she asked.

I opened a portal to the secret lab in the US where I first met Katie. "We are going to complete our end of the bargain. Here's the plan: I want you to go with Katie to retrieve a stone for me. Remember, that stone is our bargaining chip. Without it, we can't do anything."

"I don't understand. Why do we need a bargaining chip when you can literally kill them if they don't listen to you? I'm not saying you should kill someone, but that's an obvious option," she said without flinching.

"Um, I can't believe you just said that. I love girls who say things like that, Momo Yaoyorozu. Never would I have thought you'd suggest killing," I said in astonishment. I quickly explained, "The reason I don't want to kill in general is not because I like them or have a soft heart. It's because the life we live on Earth won't be fun if we kill everyone. Basically, I think of humans as decorations in life. Without them, our life would become dull."

"Why do you sound like an alien? Also, if you don't want to kill people, maybe you should reconsider—" she started to yap, and I just stood there with my fingers in my ears.

We both walked into the portal. Soon, we were greeted by the high-tech lab, filled not with scientists but with other heroes and security personnel. Timothy Akbar and Ethan Drive noticed me and spoke into their walkie-talkies.

"We were expecting you. Now, where should we assemble the beds?" asked Timothy, signaling the others to follow my orders.

"What beds?" I asked, literally not knowing what he meant.

"Didn't you say you would heal Lady Star and Stripe? That's why I asked if you need help arranging the beds," he replied.

I patted his shoulder. "Come on, Sir Timothy, we can't rush things, can we? First, let me meet her and talk with her. After that, we can decide on the other details." I said with a mischievous smile. I looked towards Ethan, who was staring at me in disgust, while Timothy just stood there in silence.

"Alright, you're right. First, let's meet her. Come with me. Ask your partner to come as well," he said and nodded at Ethan, who saluted and walked ahead of us. "Come with me, Momo. I have something planned for you," I said, and we followed Ethan.

We soon arrived at a hospital-like room with about five doctors and Katie Bate. I looked at Cathleen Bate, who was on artificial ventilation. There was also a heart rate monitor, which was reading an average of 60 bpm. I looked at the graphs and realized something.

"She is withering," I said, which moved Katie to tears. She didn't cry per se, but tears filled her eyes.

"Tell me, is that some good shit?" Cathleen asked in a hoarse voice, slightly laughing, which was surprising given her condition.

"I don't know if I can explain this to you, but it's not good," I said and signaled Katie.

I sat outside the room with Momo when she asked, "What stone are you talking about?"

I looked at her and smiled. "Well, it's an artifact of sorts. It will heed its owner's wishes. For now, I want to cure her, so I will ask it to help me heal her soul," I explained, not completely telling the truth but not lying either. I couldn't explain too much, as just the mention of the stone was suspicious enough.

"It can heal the soul?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, it has domain over soul magic. Think of it as a quirk bottled up inside a stone. Remember, the soul stone has a unique trait: it only works well with its owner," I replied and whispered, "That's why I want you to help me."

"What kind of help is it?" she whispered back.

I looked around. There were all sorts of heroes just staring at us. "Momo, listen. I want you to go with Katie to retrieve it. Normally, I would go, but from what I've heard, the person who wants the stone should complete some sort of trial. The exact details are vague. As you can guess, I want you to go and finish the trial for me. When the stone presents itself to you, I want you to contact me," I whispered.

She nodded. "So, I want to make sure that the stone doesn't land in her hands. But why are we bringing her? Don't you think it would be problematic to the plan? I think I alone am enough to do the trials for you."

I shrugged. I didn't really want Katie to accompany her, but unlike others who might harm Momo, Katie was pretty weak. "Well, I trust her. I think she is good at maneuvering the spaceship. I hope she is. Also, I want her to know the pain we go through to get her sister back. So, yeah, I want her to be with you."