Chapter 1: Chapter 1: Research, Dr. Heisenberg and a flash drive
# 22:48, night, somewhere in an unknown forest #
A group of heavily-armed troops of special, and even quick, purpose advanced stealthily toward the smoking ruins that used to be a research center for the study of quirks and their evolution.
A soldier dressed in a special suit of Kevlar and plates of reinforced metal with a blue glow approached his commander, whose appearance was no different from the others except for the star on his right chest.
- Commander, we just tried to contact the center, but there was no response.
A chuckle could be heard behind his helmet, which also emitted a blue light:
- Huh, Ethan, do you really think anyone's going to answer after him? You've read the mission summary, haven't you?
- Yes, Commander.
- Then you must realize that if he went into a rage, there's at least a bloodbath, otherwise we wouldn't have been called in.
- Understood, commander.
The soldier returned to his position, following the others who had already reached the building when the squad leader headed for his longtime friend.
- Alex, what's up? Any movement?
The soldier to whom the commander addressed touched the concrete, closing his eyes and activating his quirk that allowed him to scan the entire nearby space within a radius of 200 meters.
- Nothing but us alive at all.
- I see, so the bastard has killed everyone here, apparently really lost his cuckoo with these crazy doctors. If I were him, I'd have killed everybody in a year. All right, let's start moving forward, our mission is to find Dr. Heisenberg, or what's left of him, and he should have the flash drive we came here for, so if you find it, let me know immediately, or I'll hit you over the head with the butt, all right? Let's go, there's no one alive here, so there's no need to be too careful.
Everyone quickly began to disperse to different corners of the ruined building, which used to be an ordinary two-story research center of whimsy, but an ordinary center would not be located in the forest. This building has three underground floors located directly beneath it, which contained children who were different from the others in their abilities.
The commander and the three soldiers moved toward the underground entrance, which they learned about from the map of the building handed to them before the mission.
When they reached the point, they were met by a pile of rubble from the walls and ceiling that presented no obstacle for this squad, so the commander commanded:
- Carl, deal with it.
Without uttering too many words, the member of the rapid-response team headed straight for the debris in the path. Extending his hand forward, it began to glow green, just as all the debris began to move in the direction of his palm. With all the debris out of the way, they saw an entire staircase, except for a couple of cracks in it, which went down, lighting the way with a red light running on the backup generator.
- Here we go.
Down a couple of dozen feet, they found themselves on the first underground floor, where all the equipment was intact, but nowhere near the scabs or bloodstains that John Price, commander of the special and quick task force that decided after the war to capture escaped madmen, had expected to see.
- Interesting, all intact and no bodies, not even a drop of blood," a thoughtful face appeared under the mask, "They either self-destructed, or that dickhead somehow managed to kill them without a trace, which I doubt, though who knows what they did to him.
As they moved around the floor, they searched every shelf, locker in search of the flash drive that had all the important information on it. By the time they had checked a little over half of all the places the flash drive might be, part of the squad came down to them, while the others stayed upstairs, keeping the area under their watch, in case an unscheduled situation arose. Moving away from another locker, the commander distributed the squad to the floors.
- Four stay here and check on the rest, and we go down below.
The soldiers nodded and followed his command. The second floor was no different from the first except for a huge red glow in the middle, which was still warm.
- Well, at least it was something.
The commander and a couple of soldiers stepped on this area, feeling a pleasant warmth under their feet, although under their feet was a slab of unknown material, heated to 900 degrees. Without standing on it for a dozen seconds, Captain Price lifted his leg, which was enveloped in blue, and stomped on the slab, which immediately collapsed to the floor of the third floor. The dust that rose from the fall severely restricted their view, but was instantly blown away by one of the soldiers who could control the air. Their attention was opened to a completely destroyed room, from the center of which emanated a small crater no larger than five meters and the rest of the floor as whole as the rest.
* Peeeep.
With his left hand, which had a special sensor built into it that could find almost anything at close range and notify him of it, the commander began to glance around the room. Finding a white robe lying on the floor, already dusty, the commander picked it up and searched it, finding in his pocket what he had been sent here for.
A red flash drive containing Dr. Heisenberg's video diary, which contained information about their main facility. Turning it around in his hands, the captain put it in a special pocket, glowing blue.
- That's it, let's go back.
Leaving the ruins of the research center, the commander paused his gaze for a few seconds, glancing at the welcome sign, but quickly turned back to his squad.
- Something after that stove made me want to go to the sauna, so on my return everyone without exception comes with me.
As the joyful soldiers made their way to their transport on which they had arrived, the sign fell to the ground.
Dr. Heisenberg's Center for the Study and Evolution of Whimsy.
____________
Japan, Tokyo, 10:30 p.m.
At the top of the skyscraper stood a young guy, staring at the city at night, which was most beautiful at this time of day for several reasons: far fewer people on the street, colorful signs created a beautiful view of the city, but also the usual sounds of the city persisted. Such an atmosphere evoked an inner serenity in the man. Pulling a picture of a man and a woman standing next to a two-story house out of his pocket, the guy checked the address sheet he held in his other hand, and a second later his figure disappeared, leaving only a gust of wind.
After flying past a huge number of buildings, the man found himself at a four-story house with lights on everywhere. He hesitated for a few seconds, but made his way to the courtyard, where a couple of tall trees with wide-spreading crowns and thick trunks were planted.
- A ginkgo, if I am not mistaken.
The man muttered as he touched the foliage, walking closer and closer to the house. Reaching the front door, he took a deep breath before the exciting encounter.
* Ding.
The boy pressed the bell, which immediately announced the arrival of a guest, to which there was some commotion and displeasure in the house, which the boy could hear through the walls of the house.
- Who was it that had come so late in the day?
His source was an elderly black-haired man who was sitting not far from the five-year-old children with his mother.
- Calm down, honey, I'll go check, while you keep an eye on the twins.
The white-haired woman sitting next to the man headed for the door, feeling an uneasy feeling that made her even stop for a second, but she quickly came to her senses and opened it, sparkling with confidence in her brown eyes.
On the doorstep was a tall black-haired, brown-eyed guy of athletic build, wearing a black sweatshirt and pants of the same color, and a white T-shirt peeking out from under the sweatshirt, and black sneakers on his feet. She looked at the man in front of her and tried to remember who he was, but nothing came out.
- Hello, who are you here to see?
- Isn't this the Adan family home?
- That's right, I'm Licinia Adan, do you want something?
- It's been a long time... Mother.
Fear and excitement gripped the woman as she realized who was standing in front of her, but realizing that her children and husband were behind her, she decided to use her quirk that could rewind time by 1 second.
- Ma.
- Alex?! Is that really you?
- It is.
- Hurry up and get in the house. You must be freezing. Come on, come on in. Don't be shy.
The woman was acting out a scene for her son, who returned after 11 years, following her into the house, he looked at her with suspicion.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone