—Cole POV—
No matter what life I was in, seeing scared, terrified children hurt me. In every life I did what I could to ensure that children weren’t afraid, now was no different. Cutting them loose, I asked them if they were all alright. Seemingly already about to ask me, one of the mothers spoke up.
“Please help my son, my son needs to get a hospital now!.”, one of the mothers frantically said picking her son up, “He’s asthmatic and hasn’t been able to use his inhaler in days! If he doesn’t get it soon he will die!”
Seeing the pale child in her arms, I knew that even if I got him to the hospital they weren’t going to be able to do anything. His body was already shutting down, and no amount of medicine was going to bring him back. Telling her to set him on the ground and stand back, she looked at me with a fearful expression.
“Ma’am, you are going to have to trust me. I don’t want to hurt your son, I swear on my life that is the last thing I want to do.”, I told her with a firm look, “If I don’t treat him quickly he isn’t going to make it.”
“Mom do as he says.”, her older daughter pleaded.
Doing as I asked, she set her son on the concrete outside the container and stepped back. Energizing my hands I prepared to use Biopulse, Cole’s Healing Ability, to heal the boy. With one powerful jolt, the boy let out a gasp as his body started to rapidly recover. Watching the color of his skin return to normal, he sat up and started looking around.
“Tenzen…are you okay?”, his mother asked with a nervous look.
Nodding his head, the boy got up and ran over to his mother. Holding her tightly he began to cry as did the other children as the stress of the past few days came pouring out. Taking the opportunity to give the police a call, I told them to send several officers and a few ambulances to my location. Telling them that I had rescued several politicians’ families, they immediately transferred me to the commissioner while they hurried to get people to me.
“This is Commissioner Togo, one of my men said that you saved a group of political families, what is the status of the children? One of them has a medical-”, he started to say.
“The boy is fine, I got here in time to treat him. He’ll make it, but he’s pretty shaken up from the ordeal.”, I told the Commissioner, “Have your men take the unconscious villains out first, the kids don’t need to see them. I don’t think you want to know what they were discussing when I arrived here.”
“...no I don’t, I can imagine based on your tone. Can I ask how you found them?”, he asked.
“I caught some thugs a little while ago that I handed over to some officers. Before handing them over, I got the information through some strong persuasion.”, I chuckled.
“Haha, I won’t ask for details because I don’t need to. I will inform their families that they have been located.”, the Commissioner said.
Telling him I would stay here with them till the officer’s arrived, he thanked me for my hard work. Not more than fifteen minutes later several cars pull up to the warehouse. Watching the cops start pouring into the warehouse, I gave them a firm nod when they spotted me. Finding the charred villains laying on the concrete, they weren’t the least bit fazed. Having probably gotten used to it, thanks to Endeavor, they immediately got the medics in to take them away. Binding them to the carts before letting them take the villains away, I gave my statement to the officers.
Playing back a recording I had taken of the villain's conversation, the cops became visibly angry from what they heard. Having stopped the recording just before dropping in on them, I sent the officers a copy of the recording for use in prosecuting the criminals…assuming they lived to that point. Arriving a short time after that, the families rushed past us to embrace their loved ones. Seeing the warm smiles on their faces, I envied what they had.
‘I could have had that in five different lifetimes now…’, I thought hiding my emotions behind the shadow of my hood, ‘Once this is all over, I will hold that happiness I have wanted all these years. No one will ever take it from me again, not even God.’
“Good work Kessler, we will handle things from here.”, a mammoth-sized man said as he approached, “I appreciate your assistance in returning these families to their loved ones.”
Handing me his card, I realized he was Commissioner Togo. Getting an update from his men, a scowl grew on his face as he ordered his men to ensure they stayed alive to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Saluting the Commissioner, several of them left to check on the villains at the hospital.
By now a crowd of reporters was forming outside the warehouse as they tried to get photos of the scene. Thinking that it was time for me to duck out, one of the fathers ran over to me asking me to wait. Turning around to see him, I realized that all of them had come to see me. The one that called out to me grabbed my hand and vigorously shook it.
“Thank you so much!! My boy wouldn’t be alive right now without you!”, he sniffled holding back his tears of relief, “Not only that, our wives are safe from that monster. They told us what they were about to do them…words can’t express how thankful we are to you.”
Telling the men that it was something any man would do, I suggested they take some time off to spend with their families. After the ordeal they had been through they needed time to recover, and quality time as a family was the best thing they could do. Agreeing with me, they assured me that they were already intending to. Trying to make a speedy exit before they dragged me out to the reporters, I was a bit slow on the draw.
Grabbing my arm, the men pulled me outside to speak with the reporters. Telling everyone that I was the one who saved their families, they really leaned into the heroic deed I had performed here. Stealthily looking for a chance to bolt, since I didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the press, one of the children came running out of the warehouse.
“Mister Hero!!”, the asthmatic boy shouted running outside, “Thank you!!”
Running up to me, he motioned for me to kneel down for something. Doing so, he gave me a big hug and told me thank you for saving his mother, sister, and him from the bad guys. Seeing the genuine smile on his face and feeling the sincerity in his gesture, I hugged him back. It was moments like these that kept me going through all the heartache I had endured.
Returning to his mother after that, I stood back up and looked back at the reporters. Telling the men that I had to continue my patrol, I wished them well before giving them one last nod. Zipping into a nearby light fixture, I quickly vacated the area.
—3rd Person POV—
Sitting in Gran Torino’s Office, Lightning Jack, All Might, and Gran Torino watched the breaking news report. They had been in the middle of a discussion when All Might saw the newscast startup. Seeing Kessler hugging one of the children he had saved, All Might grew a big smile on his face.
“That grandson of yours is truly an interesting fellow!”, Toshinori said patting Jack on the back, “Deep down he is an excellent, young man. I can tell you from experience that not every Hero can earn a hug from a child like that.”
Seeing his grandson hugging that boy, Jack felt a sense of relief wash over him. He had been worried that the bitterness in his heart from what his family had done would have affected his ability to be a kind person. Watching him hugging the young boy was enough to assure him that wasn’t true.
“Yes he is, that’s my grandson for you.”, Jack stated with a proud smile.
Getting a call on his phone, Toshinori answered it as it was from the Commissioner. Listening to what he had to say, All Might said he would be over shortly to assist. Looking unsure of what he agreed to, his former mentor picked up on it right away.
“Something wrong?”, Gran Torino asked.
“The villains that Kessler caught prior to this are linked to the kidnappings according to Kessler. Those men aren’t talking and the Commissioner wants some assistance getting them to talk. At the moment we have nothing tying them to fathers’ political rivals so we need them to talk.”, Toshinori said.
“Mind if we tag along?”, Gran Torino inquired.
Telling them that was fine, the three men went to the main station to meet with the Commissioner. Greeting them at the door, Commissioner Togo got them up to speed on the current situation with the families. Assuring them that everything was fine, other than some minor problems, Togo turned to Jack.
“Your grandson saved that young boy’s life you probably saw on the news. According to his mother, he was probably minutes away from death due to him not being able to take his medication.”, Togo told him.
“That is good to hear, did he take him to the hospital or something?”, Jack asked with confusion.
“No, apparently your grandson used his Quirk to revive the boy. In fact, the doctors are claiming the boy no longer has asthma either.”, Togo stated.
Looking at him with a very confused look, Jack told him that wasn’t possible. Cole’s power was only electrical based so it shouldn’t have been possible to heal him.
“According to the doctors, whatever he did supercharged the boy’s healing ability for a short time. He is completely healthy now without any medical problems, aside from dehydration and a little malnourished.”, Togo assured him, “His mother claims he zapped him with electricity, but it didn’t hurt him.”
“Hmm…Cole never mentioned anything like that before. I will have to ask him about it.”, Jack remarked.
“Please do, the doctors say it might be able to help terminal patients come back from the brink of death.”, Togo informed him.
Hearing that Jack wondered why Cole never mentioned that ability before. Not only that, why didn’t he offer to use it on Toshinori if he knew that he was severely injured. Putting that aside, for now, he focused on the situation at hand. Walking towards the Interrogation Room, the interrogators came out with a smile.
“We finally got them to talk, they are willing to tell us for a lesser sentence.”, the lead interrogator told their boss, “Thought you might want to listen to their-”
Before he could finish his sentence though, the men in the room started howling in pain. Running to the door to ask what was wrong, the men swelled up like balloons before violently exploding. Shielding themselves from debris, they looked at the destroyed room to see just chunks of flesh everywhere. Growling with anger, Togo realized their employer had likely rigged them to blow should they leak information.
“Damn it.”, he yelled grabbing his phone to call the officers at the hospital, “Listen carefully, those criminals there may explode if they tell you anything.”
“We are good here boss, two of them are awake and already told us everything. Everything was recorded so we are safe, but they didn’t explode.”, the officer replied.
“Jack, get your grandson on the phone. The preps at the hospital didn’t explode, but two of them spilled the beans. I want to know why they didn’t blow up.”, Togo stated.
“Boss, the doctor says it’s probably because there isn’t much of them at the moment.”, the officer chimed in, “They are saying they will likely never feel anything anymore, nearly one hundred percent of their bodies are covered in third-degree burns…they are lucky to be alive. These two only talked because they want to be far away from Kessler.”
Telling Jack to scratch, Togo thanked the officers before turning back to the Heroes.
—Cole POV—
No matter what life I was in, seeing scared, terrified children hurt me. In every life I did what I could to ensure that children weren’t afraid, now was no different. Cutting them loose, I asked them if they were all alright. Seemingly already about to ask me, one of the mothers spoke up.
“Please help my son, my son needs to get a hospital now!.”, one of the mothers frantically said picking her son up, “He’s asthmatic and hasn’t been able to use his inhaler in days! If he doesn’t get it soon he will die!”
Seeing the pale child in her arms, I knew that even if I got him to the hospital they weren’t going to be able to do anything. His body was already shutting down, and no amount of medicine was going to bring him back. Telling her to set him on the ground and stand back, she looked at me with a fearful expression.
“Ma’am, you are going to have to trust me. I don’t want to hurt your son, I swear on my life that is the last thing I want to do.”, I told her with a firm look, “If I don’t treat him quickly he isn’t going to make it.”
“Mom do as he says.”, her older daughter pleaded.
Doing as I asked, she set her son on the concrete outside the container and stepped back. Energizing my hands I prepared to use Biopulse, Cole’s Healing Ability, to heal the boy. With one powerful jolt, the boy let out a gasp as his body started to rapidly recover. Watching the color of his skin return to normal, he sat up and started looking around.
“Tenzen…are you okay?”, his mother asked with a nervous look.
Nodding his head, the boy got up and ran over to his mother. Holding her tightly he began to cry as did the other children as the stress of the past few days came pouring out. Taking the opportunity to give the police a call, I told them to send several officers and a few ambulances to my location. Telling them that I had rescued several politicians’ families, they immediately transferred me to the commissioner while they hurried to get people to me.
“This is Commissioner Togo, one of my men said that you saved a group of political families, what is the status of the children? One of them has a medical-”, he started to say.
“The boy is fine, I got here in time to treat him. He’ll make it, but he’s pretty shaken up from the ordeal.”, I told the Commissioner, “Have your men take the unconscious villains out first, the kids don’t need to see them. I don’t think you want to know what they were discussing when I arrived here.”
“...no I don’t, I can imagine based on your tone. Can I ask how you found them?”, he asked.
“I caught some thugs a little while ago that I handed over to some officers. Before handing them over, I got the information through some strong persuasion.”, I chuckled.
“Haha, I won’t ask for details because I don’t need to. I will inform their families that they have been located.”, the Commissioner said.
Telling him I would stay here with them till the officer’s arrived, he thanked me for my hard work. Not more than fifteen minutes later several cars pull up to the warehouse. Watching the cops start pouring into the warehouse, I gave them a firm nod when they spotted me. Finding the charred villains laying on the concrete, they weren’t the least bit fazed. Having probably gotten used to it, thanks to Endeavor, they immediately got the medics in to take them away. Binding them to the carts before letting them take the villains away, I gave my statement to the officers.
Playing back a recording I had taken of the villain's conversation, the cops became visibly angry from what they heard. Having stopped the recording just before dropping in on them, I sent the officers a copy of the recording for use in prosecuting the criminals…assuming they lived to that point. Arriving a short time after that, the families rushed past us to embrace their loved ones. Seeing the warm smiles on their faces, I envied what they had.
‘I could have had that in five different lifetimes now…’, I thought hiding my emotions behind the shadow of my hood, ‘Once this is all over, I will hold that happiness I have wanted all these years. No one will ever take it from me again, not even God.’
“Good work Kessler, we will handle things from here.”, a mammoth-sized man said as he approached, “I appreciate your assistance in returning these families to their loved ones.”
Handing me his card, I realized he was Commissioner Togo. Getting an update from his men, a scowl grew on his face as he ordered his men to ensure they stayed alive to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Saluting the Commissioner, several of them left to check on the villains at the hospital.
By now a crowd of reporters was forming outside the warehouse as they tried to get photos of the scene. Thinking that it was time for me to duck out, one of the fathers ran over to me asking me to wait. Turning around to see him, I realized that all of them had come to see me. The one that called out to me grabbed my hand and vigorously shook it.
“Thank you so much!! My boy wouldn’t be alive right now without you!”, he sniffled holding back his tears of relief, “Not only that, our wives are safe from that monster. They told us what they were about to do them…words can’t express how thankful we are to you.”
Telling the men that it was something any man would do, I suggested they take some time off to spend with their families. After the ordeal they had been through they needed time to recover, and quality time as a family was the best thing they could do. Agreeing with me, they assured me that they were already intending to. Trying to make a speedy exit before they dragged me out to the reporters, I was a bit slow on the draw.
Grabbing my arm, the men pulled me outside to speak with the reporters. Telling everyone that I was the one who saved their families, they really leaned into the heroic deed I had performed here. Stealthily looking for a chance to bolt, since I didn’t want the hassle of dealing with the press, one of the children came running out of the warehouse.
“Mister Hero!!”, the asthmatic boy shouted running outside, “Thank you!!”
Running up to me, he motioned for me to kneel down for something. Doing so, he gave me a big hug and told me thank you for saving his mother, sister, and him from the bad guys. Seeing the genuine smile on his face and feeling the sincerity in his gesture, I hugged him back. It was moments like these that kept me going through all the heartache I had endured.
Returning to his mother after that, I stood back up and looked back at the reporters. Telling the men that I had to continue my patrol, I wished them well before giving them one last nod. Zipping into a nearby light fixture, I quickly vacated the area.
—3rd Person POV—
Sitting in Gran Torino’s Office, Lightning Jack, All Might, and Gran Torino watched the breaking news report. They had been in the middle of a discussion when All Might saw the newscast startup. Seeing Kessler hugging one of the children he had saved, All Might grew a big smile on his face.
“That grandson of yours is truly an interesting fellow!”, Toshinori said patting Jack on the back, “Deep down he is an excellent, young man. I can tell you from experience that not every Hero can earn a hug from a child like that.”
Seeing his grandson hugging that boy, Jack felt a sense of relief wash over him. He had been worried that the bitterness in his heart from what his family had done would have affected his ability to be a kind person. Watching him hugging the young boy was enough to assure him that wasn’t true.
“Yes he is, that’s my grandson for you.”, Jack stated with a proud smile.
Getting a call on his phone, Toshinori answered it as it was from the Commissioner. Listening to what he had to say, All Might said he would be over shortly to assist. Looking unsure of what he agreed to, his former mentor picked up on it right away.
“Something wrong?”, Gran Torino asked.
“The villains that Kessler caught prior to this are linked to the kidnappings according to Kessler. Those men aren’t talking and the Commissioner wants some assistance getting them to talk. At the moment we have nothing tying them to fathers’ political rivals so we need them to talk.”, Toshinori said.
“Mind if we tag along?”, Gran Torino inquired.
Telling them that was fine, the three men went to the main station to meet with the Commissioner. Greeting them at the door, Commissioner Togo got them up to speed on the current situation with the families. Assuring them that everything was fine, other than some minor problems, Togo turned to Jack.
“Your grandson saved that young boy’s life you probably saw on the news. According to his mother, he was probably minutes away from death due to him not being able to take his medication.”, Togo told him.
“That is good to hear, did he take him to the hospital or something?”, Jack asked with confusion.
“No, apparently your grandson used his Quirk to revive the boy. In fact, the doctors are claiming the boy no longer has asthma either.”, Togo stated.
Looking at him with a very confused look, Jack told him that wasn’t possible. Cole’s power was only electrical based so it shouldn’t have been possible to heal him.
“According to the doctors, whatever he did supercharged the boy’s healing ability for a short time. He is completely healthy now without any medical problems, aside from dehydration and a little malnourished.”, Togo assured him, “His mother claims he zapped him with electricity, but it didn’t hurt him.”
“Hmm…Cole never mentioned anything like that before. I will have to ask him about it.”, Jack remarked.
“Please do, the doctors say it might be able to help terminal patients come back from the brink of death.”, Togo informed him.
Hearing that Jack wondered why Cole never mentioned that ability before. Not only that, why didn’t he offer to use it on Toshinori if he knew that he was severely injured. Putting that aside, for now, he focused on the situation at hand. Walking towards the Interrogation Room, the interrogators came out with a smile.
“We finally got them to talk, they are willing to tell us for a lesser sentence.”, the lead interrogator told their boss, “Thought you might want to listen to their-”
Before he could finish his sentence though, the men in the room started howling in pain. Running to the door to ask what was wrong, the men swelled up like balloons before violently exploding. Shielding themselves from debris, they looked at the destroyed room to see just chunks of flesh everywhere. Growling with anger, Togo realized their employer had likely rigged them to blow should they leak information.
“Damn it.”, he yelled grabbing his phone to call the officers at the hospital, “Listen carefully, those criminals there may explode if they tell you anything.”
“We are good here boss, two of them are awake and already told us everything. Everything was recorded so we are safe, but they didn’t explode.”, the officer replied.
“Jack, get your grandson on the phone. The preps at the hospital didn’t explode, but two of them spilled the beans. I want to know why they didn’t blow up.”, Togo stated.
“Boss, the doctor says it’s probably because there isn’t much of them at the moment.”, the officer chimed in, “They are saying they will likely never feel anything anymore, nearly one hundred percent of their bodies are covered in third-degree burns…they are lucky to be alive. These two only talked because they want to be far away from Kessler.”
Telling Jack to scratch, Togo thanked the officers before turning back to the Heroes.
