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If not for the events unfolding in the facility, it was likely that May would have spent an incomprehensible time stuck inside this facility. Her blood and quirk being used to fuel a plague that could hurt many of the most vulnerable in society. But as it was, luck was on her side. Family was on her side. High above, Satori’s combat with The Afflicted sent ripples throughout the facility. Power died, walls cracked from shockwaves and combat and eventually, it reached the lab.

[break][break]

At first it was no big deal. Some shaking, some flickering of lights. But everything stayed as it was. The man dressed as a plague doctor lazed in his chair at the head of the room, watching hundreds of screens showing various readouts from bio monitors, including May’s whose readings were all over the place. Such was what usually happened when new subjects were introduced to their mistress’ special blend.

[break][break]

It was as this man was watching his screens that all hell broke loose. The power flickered, and then a ripple through the system blew out the lights. Blew out the power. The whole room was plunged into darkness. Machines turned off, sedatives stopped flower and there was an almost deafening silence that fell over the room. The plague doctor climbed to his feet hurriedly, rushing over to a control panel and began pulling mechanical switches to reboot. The system. He had about a minute before some of the tougher ones started waking up.

[break][break]

It was a long tense minute and as he grabbed the final switch that he felt it. An icy breeze followed by the sound of something slicing through the air. He felt the pain moments later as his hand separated from his body. He stumbled backwards, “Shit shit shit.” He said, burying the wound in the folds of his coat as ice rose from the floor in front of him, forming the silhouette of a person and then solidifying into the form of a shock-white haired woman.

[break][break]

“Evening doctor.” She said, eyes glowing a vibrant blue as she stared daggers at him. All around the room activity was bubbling up. Those who’d slipped their bonds were freeing others. One-by-one dozens of incredibly weak individuals were standing gathered in the center of the room.

[break][break]

“Get back to your tables. Or I’ll blow the whole place sky high.” He said, backing up against the far wall and hovering his hand over a bright red button.

[break][break]

“Do it then. As if existing in this place, being experimented on hasn’t been like being dead already.” The icy woman stumbled, it was clear that while she acted tough, she had little strength to actually fight back. In fact, only one or two in the room likely did. She stared daggers at him.

[break][break]

May was surprised when she felt herself waking up. Her nightmare had faded away and was replaced with a heavy feeling. Hanging over her entire body. Her eyes flickered slightly and then eased open. Above her stood a boy, whose hair was quite literally made of fire. He grinned down at her as he carefully melted the metal cuffs off her ankles and wrists, then proceeded to forcefully yank the IV from her hand.

[break][break]

“Easy now. Don’t get up too quickly. That stuff is…insidious.”

[break][break]

May stared at him and then nodded. At a loss for words as she sat up slowly. All her veins felt like they were on fire, her insides were bubbling like she was about to throw up and her head…her head was pounding, “Thank you…” She managed.

[break][break]

“Don’t thank me, thank whoever is shaking the place up.” He pointed to the roof and it’s then that May noticed the rumbling. The sounds of explosions and well…combat. She blinked a few times.

[break][break]

“Guards at the other end said it’s some red-haired hero type using shockwaves or something. Maybe someone is finally coming to rescue us. Just hang tight, ok? We’ve just gotta deal with the doctor over there.” He jabbed his finger towards the doctor and then left May sitting there as he walked up to stand beside the ice-girl, both of them staring down the plague doctor.

[break][break]

“Best let us out of here.” Fire-boy warned.

[break][break]

The plague doctor laughed, “Even if I let you out, how far do you think you’ll get? She won’t let you go. You’re part of the biofilm now. You can’t leave as much as I can’t fly. Two steps outside this room and the bacteria out there will kill you as quickly as that…” He snapped his fingers and laughed.

[break][break]

“Not if we take her out.”

[break][break]

The doctor laughed again, “Take her out? How can you fight disease? One snap of her fingers and all of you die.”

[break][break]

The icy girl ran a hand through her hair, “You’d be surprised. How much one hears…even in unconsciousness. I know the cure resides in this very facility.”

[break][break]

The plague doctor let his fingers play across the button, “You can’t get to it. None of you can now that you’re infected.”

[break][break]

“Fine. Then we DIE!” She rushed forwards and using a hand that sprouted a gauntlet of sharpened icicles she plunged it right through his hand, right into the button which to their luck didn’t blow the room up. But it did set off all sorts of alarms. And with another swift movement and punch the doctor had breathed his last breath. He slumped to the ground as the ice woman fell to one knee.

[break][break]

The fire boy rushed over, “Easy Mira. Breathe…”

[break][break]

And breathe she did. Coughing up blood despite having not taken so much as a punch.

[break][break]

“We can’t escape, Liam. That hero…whoever they are, doesn’t stand a chance within this facility.”

[break][break]

Liam nodded, “You’re right. We can’t, but then…not all of us are quite as infected as the rest.” He turned his gaze to May who was climbing from her table and dusting herself off gently, checking her faculties bit-by-bit.

[break][break]

“You can’t be serious. She had the IV line in. She’s as infected as the rest of us, she’ll be dead as soon as she leaves too.”

[break][break]

Liam shook his head, “Not necessarily. The container next to her table barely had anything missing.”

[break][break]

May approached the two to see if she could help.

[break][break]

“You’d be asking her to risk her life.”

[break][break]

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve done that.” May answered before Liam could respond to Mira.

[break][break]

Mira looked to May and shook her head, “We can’t ask that of you.”

[break][break]

“Ask what of me exactly? Try and be detailed because as it stands I have no idea where I am, what was pumped into my blood or why the heck I’m here.”

[break][break]

Liam sighed a little bit and let MIra speak, “Ask you, to leave this chamber and find The Cure. The only way we can all get out of her. We’re all infected with a bacteria that makes us a part of her. A part of this…place. Leaving would mean certain death for us. I can’t quite tell you where we are as most of us were kidnapped and brought here unconscious. You’re here, because SHE wanted you.”

[break][break]

“If I can help, I will. It’s not in my nature to let people suffer. And yes, the sickly lady…she said my blood would help her plague to cleanse the quirkless or something.”

[break][break]

Mira shook her head, “Asking you to help, would mean you’d be risking your own life. We cannot ask that of you, not for people you’ve just met. Strangers.”

[break][break]

May, despite the words. Smiled. That was just the kind of hero she wanted to be, someone who smiled through every situation, who gave people hope, “Well, it’s a good thing that my choice of career and my choice of path has me helping strangers every single day. So why don’t we quit thinking about the bad, and you tell me exactly what I need to do.”

[break][break]

Liam and Mira looked at each other, clearly a bit confused at this girls strange enthusiasm? Hope?

[break][break]

“I can’t tell you exactly what you’d need to do. We’ve only bits and pieces. Talk of some sort of cure being kept in a cell deep below the facility, one that can cleanse and protect against The Afflicted. But I want to be clear, there’s a very real chance that the second you step out of this room, the bacteria that made it into you, will kill you. But because you didn’t get much…it might not. You’d be taking a gamble.”

[break][break]

May flexed her arms and grinned, “That gamble, is a risk I’m willing to take.” She looked over her shoulder at the dozens of people, in various states of pain and distress, “What sort of hero would I be if I chose not to help.” She hardened her gaze slightly and looked to the door in front of them, “I’ll find the cure and get you all out of here.”

[break][break]

“She’s certainly not lacking confidence. Must have a strong quirk or something.”

[break][break]

May rubbed her head, “I can’t actually use my quirk without a bow, and I wouldn’t consider it all that strong…”

[break][break]

Mira forced herself to her feet, snowflakes permeating the air around her form as she breathed in gently, “Perhaps I can help with that. At least temporarily…” She pressed her hands together and the air suddenly grew significantly colder. Then she began to draw her hands apart and as she did, a crystalline bow would form slowly between her hands, like it was being drawn out of her hands. When she got far enough apart, the bow would bend and a crystalline string would run between the top and bottom. She offered it to May.

[break][break]

“That’s…some trick.” May said, gently accepting the bow and plucking the string a few times.

[break][break]

“It’s not much. But so long as I’m breathing. That bow will remain.” Mira’s legs were shaking, Liam used his hands to steady her as she seemed weaker.

[break][break]

May nodded and slung it over her shoulder, “Alright. Let’s get you all out of here then.”

[break][break]

Liam pointed to the door, “Through there. And keep going down. The cell is below, that’s all I know. And should you perish, Know that you gave us hope in this dark hour.”

[break][break]

May puffed out her cheeks, “Don’t you talk like that. We’re getting out of here. All of us.” And without any more hesitation she turned and walked straight through the nearby door and into the hall beyond. Instantly she felt her veins seeming to tighten and an unfamiliar tightness pressing into her chest. The headache got worse but…she was still breathing.

[break][break]

She paused and put on a smile, spinning about and giving Mira and Liam a thumbs up, “Now close that door and don’t open it unless it’s me returning!”

[break][break]

“Wait! I didn’t catch your name!” Liam called out.

[break][break]

May spun about, drawing the bow off her shoulder, plucking it’s strings a few times.

[break][break]

“My name, is Artemis.”

[break][break]

Then she took off at a run down the hall, ignoring the strange feeling in her veins and the thrumming in her chest.

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In the depths of unconsciousness, May found herself trapped in a nightmarish dreamworld, a surreal and horrifying landscape that seemed to defy all logic and reason. This dreamworld was a twisted reflection of her own fears and anxieties, a place where reality itself had warped into a grotesque and surreal nightmare.

[break][break]

The sky above was a sickly shade of purple, and the landscape stretched out endlessly in all directions, an eerie, shifting terrain of jagged, blackened rocks and grotesque, contorted trees. The air was heavy with an oppressive silence, broken only by the distant, haunting cries of unseen creatures.

[break][break]

May's surroundings seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, as if the very fabric of this dreamworld was alive and malevolent. Strange, otherworldly shapes moved in the shadows, their forms elusive and nightmarish. Twisted, faceless figures lurked in the periphery of her vision, their presence sending shivers down her spine.

[break][break]

As she tried to move, May realized that her body was heavy and unresponsive, as if it were made of lead. It was as though the dreamworld itself was conspiring to keep her trapped within its nightmarish grasp. She struggled to make sense of her surroundings, but the rules of this dreamworld were ever-shifting and incomprehensible.

[break][break]

The sky above suddenly darkened, and a torrential downpour of blood-red rain began to fall, drenching May and staining her skin with an eerie, crimson hue. The rain seemed to burn, and every drop that touched her felt like an agonizing torment.

[break][break]

In the distance, May could hear a chorus of eerie, whispered voices, their words indecipherable but filled with a palpable sense of dread. They seemed to be drawing closer, their presence closing in on her like a tightening noose.

[break][break]

Amid the nightmarish landscape, there was a sense of being watched, of unseen eyes that bore into her soul. Every shadow seemed to hide some lurking horror, and every step she took led her deeper into the heart of this surreal nightmare.

[break][break]

May's sense of time and space became distorted, and she felt as though she were falling through a never-ending abyss of terror and despair. The dreamworld seemed to feed on her fear, amplifying it with each passing moment, trapping her in a never-ending cycle of torment.

[break][break]

But then there was a shaft of light. A solitary figure that was a stark contrast to the dreamy, crimson stained landscape. It was a figure that looked very similar to her own, except ribbons of shadow and light swirled around it as it walked up to her. It’s warm light pushing away the nightmare and giving way to an almost oasis in the middle of it. A cube of lush grass and sunshine.

[break][break]

May let out a small sigh of relief. The line between consciousness and unconsciousness was becoming extremely thin. This was so familiar, and yet so foreign at the same time. She sat down on a fallen log that had literally blossomed out of the ground behind her. The figure in front of her melted away giving way to a man in rusted platemail, his short hair shock white and a wide smile on his face as he reclined against an unseen wall.

[break][break]

“Gods May. You’ve really let yourself go huh?” He said in a chipper voice, looking around at the nightmare-scape outside their little bubble.

[break][break]

“Roary…?” She asked cautiously as she felt the strange weight lift off of her.

[break][break]

“The ONE and only! I knew you couldn’t forget a heroic and brave knight like me!” He flexed his arms to accentuate the point, “So where’ve you been anyways? The town misses you!”

[break][break]

“I…” May paused and stared at him for a long time. Roary was part of the simulation she’d spent three decades in. He was nothing but a figment borne of comlex machines and computers. But, he was a solace from the world around her.

[break][break]

“…I woke up.”

[break][break]

Roary raised a surprisingly well-plucked eyebrow, “Woke up huh? Bet that felt good. Did you get a good stretch in when you did? You always were a bit sleepy…”

[break][break]

May stifled a small giggle, masking the breaking of her voice, “Yeah. A good stretch. How’s Mira?”

[break][break]

Roary grinned, “She’s great! She just had our first kid! A girl, we named her after a friend…” He stared at May and winked.

[break][break]

May blushed and then sniffed slightly, “You…You know this isn’t real right? This is all just in my head.”

[break][break]

Roary snorted softly and climbed to his feet, his rusted plate armor squeaking audible as she walked over, leaning down to look May in the eyes with his own bright blue hues, “Just because it’s in your head, doesn’t make it any less real my friend. You’d be surprised just how strong a few memories can be.” The sound of a child crying echoed through the small space and Roary sighed.

[break][break]

“Mm. That’d be the little one. You should come meet her some day. When you’re done being the hero you were always meant to be.”

[break][break]

May tilted her head, “The hero I was meant to be?”

[break][break]

Roary walked towards the edge of the safe space and looked over his shoulder, “You doubt yourself a lot kiddo. But we see past that. We see that pure heart of yours, that fiery spark that drives you. Keep at it. We’re proud of you…And you can make it through this. Be strong kid.” He wiggled his fingers, put on a goofy grin and stepped into the nightmare, disappearing like he’d never been there. Slowly the safe space began to shrink until all that was left was a singular blue and white flower growing from the ground in front of May as she sunk to her knee’s.

[break][break]

She felt the crimson rain washing down, stinging her skin again and giving her a stark reminder of her situation. Her head slumped forwards slightly. Funny how a simulated person could offer her some form of comfort in this place. She felt the stinging pain in her hand, looking down to see the end of an IV extending from her skin, she let out a small whimper.

[break][break]

Be strong. But how?

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How strange the world was when you were unconscious. Rolling a sea of black that also bubbled with multicolored swirling lights as your brain rebooted and tried to process the physical trauma. It was a timeless place, seconds felt like minutes, minutes like hours…a prison of your own mind. But eventually, you had to wake. Had to come face-to-face with reality and for May Twenty-First. She had no idea what awaited her on the other side of the void. It was time to wake…

[break][break]

…May slowly regained consciousness, her eyelids heavy as if weighted by the weight of a thousand dreams. As her vision gradually cleared, she found herself lying on a cold, metal table in a dimly lit, sterile room. The air was thick with the acrid scent of disinfectant and illness, and a faint, eerie hum filled her ears. Disorientation and fear coursed through her veins as she tried to make sense of her surroundings.

[break][break]

The room was large, but the walls felt oppressively close, covered in peeling paint and flickering fluorescent lights. May realized she was not alone. To her horror, she saw rows of metal tables, each occupied by a person in various states of distress. Some lay still, eyes vacant, while others thrashed and moaned, their voices reduced to anguished whispers. Her table however was tucked at the far end of the room, away from the rest.

[break][break]

The prisoners, if they could be called that, wore tattered, stained clothing, and their skin bore the marks of countless experiments. Tubes and wires snaked from their bodies, leading to ominous-looking machines that blinked with malevolent intent. May could see the despair etched into their faces, the hopelessness of their plight.

[break][break]

As she tried to sit up, May's hands met restraints, cold and unyielding. Panic surged through her, and she tugged at the restraints, desperate to escape the nightmare that surrounded her. Her own clothing was unfamiliar, her hospital gown replaced with a thin, shapeless gown that barely covered her. Her skin was pale, and she felt weak, as if every ounce of strength had been drained from her.

[break][break]

A cacophony of muffled sobs and pleas filled the air, creating a haunting symphony of suffering. May realized she needed answers, needed to escape, to find out why she was here and who was responsible for this unspeakable cruelty. But as she struggled against her restraints, she couldn't help but wonder if she had already become another nameless victim in a prison where hope was a long-forgotten memory.

[break][break]

Her head was swimming, like it was numb. Her limbs while she could tug at the restraints felt weighed down as if they were trying to move through thick molasses. The metal table beneath her was warm to her skin. She’d been here long enough to warm the steel then. Her eyes searched room desperately, looking for some sort of clue as to her location as fear bubbled up in her, clinging to her like a second skin.

[break][break]

“H…Hello?!” She called out, her voice was raspy, her throat dry.

[break][break]

No answer came initially. But then…

[break][break]

“Ah. She wakes.” Came a woman’s voice. Tinny like it was being run through a filter.

[break][break]

“Who’s there!? What the hell is this?!” She asked, yanking at her wrists.

[break][break]

“Easy now. All will be made clear soon enough dear May. Rest assured, you are safe for now. Just relax. Take a nap. We need you nice and strong. Just breaaaathe…” The woman spoke in almost melodic tones and as she said the words breathe, May felt a strange taste in her mouth like someone was putting a mask over her face and making ehr breath in anaesthetic gases.

[break][break]

She coughed in confusion, “What is…th…I…s…” Her voice trailed off and for the second time she found her consciousness being stolen from her. Her head dropped onto the metal table with an audible ‘thud’ and she was out.

[break][break]

As soon as she was the voice spoke, “Bring her up to the theater Doctor.”

[break][break]

From the side of the room not far from May’s desk was a man wearing a plague doctors outfit, complete with a full mask. He wore a belt full of scalpels and his response came with a voice that sounded like a dozen nails on a chalkboard, “Very well. You could have kept her awake for the trip you know…”

[break][break]

Laughter came from the tinny speaker in the corner of the room, “And let her see the entire interior of my operation? I think not Doctor. Now hurry it up.” There was a crackling buzz and the speaker went quiet.

[break][break]

The man shook his head, “Ever the cautious one.” He climbed to his feet and walked over to the table May was secured to. He kicked the locked brakes on the wheels the table stood upon and with an almost happy hum he wheeled her through the sickness filled chamber. If May had been awake she’d have been greeted by horrific sights. People in varied states of illness. Coughing and rasping. Decaying bodies still alive as they rotted. And yet the place still smelt…clean.

[break][break]

The doctor wheeled May into a rattling elevator and with a scan of a keycard on an ancient looking scanner the elevator clanked to life and began to lower down what could only be described as a mineshaft. The elevator was like one of those mine lifts making it way through a shaft hewn straight from stone. The trip down was a long one. Deep enough that you could feel your ears popping.

[break][break]

When the lift came to a stop and the doors opened, May would be pushed out. The corridor in front of them was a stark, cold and clinical place. The walls were a sickly shade of pale green, illuminated by flickering fluorescent lights overhead. The tiles on the floor were cracked with stains seeping out from between them, having bore witness to the passage of countless feet, both human and otherwise. There was a constant, unsettling hum that reverberated through the corridor like a never-ending mechanical heartbeat. The source of which was not visible.

[break][break]

The air in the place was heavy with the antiseptic scent of disinfectants, masking the underlying odors that hinted at the misery that permeated the place. The man wheeling May along, felt as detached and emotionless as the entire place did. Behind his mask, his eyes which were barely visibly showed no hint of compassion or humanity. He was cold and efficient in his movements through the labyrinthine corridors.

[break][break]

As May was wheeled deeper into the heart of the facility, her consciousness began to seep back into her. Her eyes flickered as they moved along. The sterile, green-tiled corridor led to a set of imposing double doors, which slowly swung open with a creaking noise as she was wheeled through them. To a room which sent a chill down her spine.

[break][break]

The chamber within was an unsettling amalgamation of a grotesque throne room and a clinical laboratory. The walls were adorned with strange symbols and diagrams that seemed to serve some ominous purpose, casting eerie shadows in the dimly lit space. Fluorescent lights flickered overhead, creating an unsettling strobe effect that bathed the room in an eerie, unnatural glow.

[break][break]

At the center of the room, on a raised platform, sat a morbid throne-like chair, fashioned from cold metal and adorned with unsettling spikes and sharp edges. Upon the throne sat a woman who appeared to be in the grip of a terrible affliction. Her skin was deathly pale, stretched taut over her emaciated frame, and her eyes were sunken, surrounded by deep, dark circles. She looked like a figure out of a nightmare, a wretched queen presiding over her macabre domain.

[break][break]

The woman's hair, once perhaps vibrant and full, now hung in limp, greasy strands around her face. She wore a tattered gown that was stained with a dark, viscous substance. Tubes and wires emerged from her body, disappearing into the machinery that surrounded her throne. The room itself seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, as if it were alive and complicit in the horrors unfolding within its walls.

[break][break]

May's gurney came to a stop at the edge of the platform, and she could feel the gaze of the sickly woman upon her. The woman's lips curled into a grotesque semblance of a smile, revealing a set of yellowed, decaying teeth. It was a smile devoid of warmth, a chilling acknowledgment of May's arrival in this nightmarish chamber.

[break][break]

The realization struck May that she had entered the inner sanctum of this horrifying facility, and the woman on the throne was its nightmarish ruler. With each passing moment, the sense of foreboding and dread in the room deepened, leaving May with a haunting certainty that she had stumbled into a realm of unspeakable darkness.

[break][break]

“Welcome, May. You may leave us Pelagius.”

[break][break]

The plague doctor dressed individual dipped into a bow and was off without another word.

[break][break]

“I imagine that head of yours is swimming with SO many questions, isn’t it young hero? Do feel free to ask. Perhaps I’ll answer if you ask the right questions….”

[break][break]

The woman’s voice was haunting, somehow weak but strong like someone fighting through an illness. May shook her head to try and clear the fog and form words on numb lips.

[break][break]

“Ah. Right.” The woman snapped her fingers, a piercing noise followed by all May’s symptoms seeming to evaporate in an instant. She was no longer heavy, her head was no longer foggy and she felt alert once more.

[break][break]

“Funny how the common cold can be so disorienting when it’s dialed up to eleven, isn’t it?” Asked the specter before May, grinning through teeth that seemed to seep black.

[break][break]

“Not sure that’s how I’d describe it. Now where the heck am I?” May demanded, doing her best to appear strong despite the near crippling fear threatening to overcome her.

[break][break]

A grin slipped across the woman’s lips, “No need to mask that fear. It is ever so delicious. However, that is the right question. You sit in the heart of my…let’s call it, operation.”

[break][break]

May closed her eyes, “And why am I here?”

[break][break]

“Because I willed it to be so. And because you’re a very important piece to my biological puzzle. You’re an an essential asset.”

[break][break]

May tugged at her restraints angrily, “If I’m such an asset, why don’t you let me free of these stu…” Again she was at a loss for words as the woman snapped her fingers and the metal restraints melted away from May’s wrists and let her sit up.

[break][break]

“Free you from your bonds? Certainly.”

[break][break]

May blinked and sat up slowly, cautiously and stared at the woman, “Who are you?”

[break][break]

“Another good question. I am…the Affliction.” The title was ominous, spoken with words that felt like they were dripping with illness, threatening to permeate the very air between them.

[break][break]

Where exactly had May landed herself?

[break][break]

“And what do you want with me? What’s stopping me from walking up there and pounding you into dust and then walking right out of here?” May asked as she hopped from the table, landing on her feet.

[break][break]

The woman grinned again, “What’s stopping you? Perhaps the cancer in your lungs…” She snapped her fingers and suddenly May’s lungs felt like they were full of liquid, she was coughing suddenly making blood leak from her lips.

[break][break]

“…The neuromuscular infection that is making your limbs weak.” The woman snapped her fingers again and the strength in May’s limbs seemed to melt away, her legs shook and she fell to all fours, still coughing and hacking up blood.

[break][break]

“…Or perhaps, the thunderclap headache making it hard to do anything but bear the pain.” Another snap of fingers and suddenly May’s head was exploding with pain, like someone had just hit it with a sledgehammer. She cried out in pain, a bubble of blood coming with her cry as she slumped to the ground.

[break][break]

SNAP!

[break][break]

All the symptoms dissapeared and suddenly May felt normal again, despite the lingering blood leaking from the corner of her mouth. She stared up at the woman who grinned, staring back with lifeless eyes.

[break][break]

“Any other idiotic questions, child? Or would you like to feel what it’s like to suffer through an entire course of Ebola first?”

[break][break]

May pursed her lips, wiping at the blood with her still casted left hand, but said nothing. Fear stopping her in her tracks, she didn’t even try to climb back up to her feet.

[break][break]

“Good choice. You are here, because you are required. No more, no less.”

[break][break]

May shuffled slightly, “And after I’ve met my requirements? What then?”

[break][break]

“A quick and painless death, if you cooperate. Or a long…torturous one as you watch me cleanse this society of it’s weakest links.”

[break][break]

Climbing to her feet finally, May wobbled slightly. Nauseous as she spoke, “Cleanse society how?”

[break][break]

The woman sighed dramatically, “You’re really going to make me do the whole villain thing aren’t you? How boring. How cliche.”

[break][break]

May didn’t respond, she just stared. Fear gripping her. This was not a place she wanted to be.

[break][break]

“Very well. But first…another nap.”

[break][break]

SNAP!

[break][break]

May let out a cry as her head exploded in pain again and very quickly the ground was rushing up to meet her. How many times was she going to be knocked out today…?

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“The day I woke up.” She parroted gently as if it made complete sense to her.

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May tapped her chin, “To put that statement in perspective. I was born the same year, the first quirk ever appeared.” She was cheekily dancing around the subject. Not that it was some big secret. Her name had been in dozen’s of studies. Her rejoining the world had been public news, so it was kind of hard to hide it.

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Moving on though, she let a small grin slip onto her lips and nodded, “Hm. Perhaps what you find cute and what I find cute are two compleeeeetely different things. I think the disheveled look fresh-from-training is totally endearing.” She shrugged helplessly and looked towards the photo album.

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“Yup. And that’s just one of…uh…seven albums? The others are on the shelf.” She pointed to a bookshelf whose middle shelf did in fact have seven nearly identical albums to the one on the counter. The only difference is that each of the spines had been done up artfully with various designs.

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May yawned, “Mmhmm. It is like that. Some people think it’s silly, but y’know. I want to be remembered.” She nodded.

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“Faaaaavorite is pushing the envelope a little bit. But they’re definitely up there! Though when it comes to snacks, Onigiri is probably my most common go-to when it comes to nibbles.” May flopped down comfortably as Freja admired the bow on the wall and nodded, “It’s not the most common I imagine. My quirk just doesn’t really have any function beyond making use of a bow. Perhaps some day it’ll grow beyond that though.” She mused idly.

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And then she was choking herself out, eventually catching her breath and sputtering. She really needed to take smaller bites, one of these days she wasn’t going to be able to clear her airway.

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Turning her bright gaze to Freja she smiled a little bit, “Hitting the nail on the head, taking aim at my problems.” She stifled a bit of a giggle, “Queen of puns over here. But you’re probably right. As for aiming, I could try and help you some time for sure! Could teach you to use a bow and arrow if you really wanted, I’ve only been doing it since foreeeeever.”

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May wrinkled her nose at the comment, “Not created equal, but it’s how we use them that actually matters.” She winked.

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A small grin slipped onto her lips as Freja went bright red, “I mean. You ceeeertainly didn’t divert your eyes. Maybe you are totally a pervert. Or maybe I’m just way too comfortable being half naked in front of people.” She shrugged helplessly and laughed.

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At the mention of her quirk having stopped working, May blinked.

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“Stopped working…? And yet you’re in the hero course. Commendable. Is there hope that it will come back to you some day?” She asked with a small tilt of her head, taking another smaller bite of her onigiri.

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Everything was happening so quickly. She’d let loose her arrow and watch it thunder through the air. She’d never fired off that much power in one shot before so seeing the ripples of energy coming off of it as it rocketed outwards like a shooting star was interesting for at least a split second. But May’s attention was focused on the fight below, at the events that occurred.

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It was a testament to each of them, that despite not knowing anything about one another. They managed to work together in a complimentary way. May firing in the blind spot of Takeo’s quirk, Bun using her quirk for utility, and the heavy hitter who’d arrived giving it her all…

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…And then there was the little robot. A person bound in mechanical form. She couldn’t help but admire his bravery and words. But such things never seemed to last long enough.

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Blind-Gravity-Space-Boy changed his tactics in a flash and for the first time since May had stepped on the road of heroics. She watched what she assumed was the death a comrade. It happened in a split second, one minute Ishtar was punching their adversary and the next her fist was slamming into the robot and exploding him into a thousand tiny pieces. May felt the wrench in her chest as it happened. He was just…gone.

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‘Catch!’

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May didn’t have time to consider the loss of their comrade. Instead she found a spiraling ‘staircase’ forming next to her. Created by the tiny one from earlier. The staircase hung there, as if inviting her to a higher vantage point. Offering her yet another advantage. She was already a good twenty five feet off the ground and the staircase easily rose up another ten feet. It was a good thing she wasn’t afraid of heights.

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Seeing as no counter had come after her last arrow she hurried towards the stairs, though her progress slowed significantly as she took her first step. She felt that familiar wave of nausea rushing over her. Felt that all-too-familiar dizziness wash over her. She’d already pushed herself WAY past her limits and as time went on it was catching up with her. She had only fired three arrows…She needed to do better than that. What good a hero would she be if she could only attack three times?

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“Let’s go for four.” She said, tightening her jaw and rushing up the stairs carefully until she got to the top. Up here, the wind was a bit more vicious. If she hadn’t been confident in her footing, it probably could have just tossed her right off. But she was an archer, an acrobat. She knew how to keep her footing in most circumstances…

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…But this was not most circumstances. By the time she reached the top that floaty feeling had started to build up in her head. The edges of her vision were darkened and as she crouched down to stabilize herself and take aim at the villain, she had to shake her head constantly, her whole world was twisting and turning. Three of everything swirled around each other in a confusing myriad.

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A bead of sweat rolled down May’s forehead, “N…Not good.” She whispered, clenching her jaw tightly as if it would force blood to her head and help her focus.

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She heard Takeo’s orders rolling up at her. They sounded like they were inside an echoing cave.

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‘…locked down…one big sweep.’

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Those were the only words she managed to pick up. Takeo was going to try and lock the villain down and they’d attack in one big sweep? It was her best guess. She couldn’t think straight and would have to trust her gut, and moreso trust in her quirk. Because while she was a proficient archer with good aim, it was not the only reason she could shoot accurately. Activating her quirk provided an almost innate level of accuracy, high precision. She couldn’t make out WHICH of the villains she was supposed to be aiming at as she drew the bowstring back.

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She felt the pull of energy as the arrow formed. She tried to feel out how much she could put into it but she couldn’t tell.

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“Screw it. Take it all.” She growled, yanking the string back aggressively and tearing out her lifeforce and the foreign energy crackling through her veins, forcefully. The arrow exploded to life like a fiery mix of shadowy black and crisp white energy. Five minutes? Ten minutes? She had no idea that she’d drawn out the strongest arrow she’d ever formed before. Only five minutes more than her previous one, but still. Twenty five minutes packs a punch.

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She wobbled on the edge of the platform as she lined up the show at the center of the three villains she was trying to aim at. She waited for her allies below to line things up and when the signal was given she would take a deep breath, go to full draw and launch what was likely her final attack in this fight. Like before it thundered through the air though the aim was clearly off, it would be significantly easier to dodge this time around if Gravity-Boy was paying attention.

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May felt her bow shatter in her hands, felt the pain in her left hand from the explosion of energy and then her world darkened. She tipped forwards and with a soft, “Eat that…villain.”

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And then she fell off the platform like a ragdoll.

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“Help. Please. Mommy? Daddy?”

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A small voice echoed up from the floor below, finding May’s ears as her arrow sailed through the air, landing a surprising hit on their foe. It was followed by a series of attacks which she could barely comprehend let alone see herself in the middle of. What was she supposed to do against odds like that? The man was manipulating the space around him with several different quirks. How was that even possible?

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“…Please.”

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May turned to look over the edge of the building. She could just barely see where the voice was coming from. A young girl pinned beneath the debris in the shop blow. The pile of rubble atop her threatening to bury her along with the others had already been.

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“Hey, shh. Just breathe ok? I’m going to come down and get you out of there!”

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There was no response. The young girl seemed to be in and out of consciousness. May winced internally and stood up, just in time for the returned arrow to slam into the blank that Bun had thrown towards her. It’s ripple of energy washed over her in a wave that nearly threw her right off the building. But she managed to keep her feet, staring in shell-shock at the arrow clinging to the floating board.

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~That could have been my head if that board hadn’t been there. I’ll have to buy the girl an extra big milkshake after this is all over. Milkshakes all around.~

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She wanted to consider things further, But there were more important things at hand. May didn’t hesitate to leap off the ledge, landing atop the pile of rubble below. Sliding down it like some sort of debris surfing hero. Junk Rider, now THAT was a hero name for the ages.

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When she got low enough she’d push off landing with the grace of a ballerina on the floor not far from the young girl. Who knew that her circus training would come in useful so soon? She hurried over to the young girl, who was flinching in pain. Her legs were trapped beneath a huge chunk of cement, likely from one of the sundered walls that had collapsed inwards from the attack that had levelled the area.

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“It hurts.” The girl said between small sniffles.

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May hurried over and placed a hand on the girls shoulder, “I’m here to help. Can you move your legs?”

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The little girl wiggled her toes experimentally and nodded, “Mm…Mmhmm.” She responded.

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“That’s good. You’re going to be A-ok! Promise. But I’m going to need your help ok?”

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“It huuuurts!” The girl sobbed.

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“Deep breaths. Tell me, do you have anyone in your family you look up to? Maybe a big brother or sister?”

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The girl looked confused but nodded, “M…My big brother.”

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“Awesome. So I’m going to need to be just like him for a few minutes ok? Big and strong, ok?”

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The girl gave a small sniffle and nod.

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May moved a big closer to the stone, “Ok. I’m going to lift this big stone and when I do, I need you to get out from under it as quick as you can. And then after we make sure you’re ok, you’re going to run right out that back door and you’re not going to stop until you find someone ok?”

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“B…But I want to stay with you. I'm scared.” She begged.

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“I know it's scary, But it’s not safe here, but tell you what. If you get out from under that rock as quickly as you can, and you run until you find someone. I’ll come visit after I’m done here ok?”

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“Promise?”

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May put on the biggest smile she could, “Promise!”

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“Now take a deep breath. Get ready to get out of there. One. Two. Three!”

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May grabbed the edge of the rock and flexed with every single muscle her body could muster. By no means was she in bad shape, but she was not a hero of strength. She wasn’t like the heroes in her class who could lift a mountain with their pinkie. But for now, right now. She needed to be. She needed to be that hero in this moment. May’s muscles burned as she lifted with her back as much as her legs. The safety commission would have fainted if they’d seen her.

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But sometimes, a bit of pain was more than worth it.

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May was shaking by the time the stone shifted, by the time it lifted. And thankfully, the young girl was quick to scramble out, stumbling on a ground covered in loose stones and debris. As soon as May was sure she was clear she let the stone slip from her fingers. She panted heavily, her hands shook from the exertion and the muscles in her back screamed at her…

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~I need to stop skipping leg day. C’mon May. You can do this. Even if you only save one, it’s worth it.~

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…But she kept smiling. She turned to the young girl, taking a moment to look her over. She could hear the sounds of action back in the crater. She knew the others might need her, “You did great. Now just a second…” May tugged off her archers vest, Tugging it over the girls form to help give her some decency as her dress was basically hanging by a thread and May’s vest was so big on her it covered her right up. What sort of hero would she be if she let the girl run half naked to safety?

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The girl was sniffling, shivering. This was probably the worst day of her life. The sight of her tugged at May’s heartstrings, and in some ways. Ignited the fire in her. How could someone be so cruel as to do all this? How could someone with a flick of their finger, end the lives of so many?

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~I won’t stand for it. I’ll stop him with the others, no matter what.~

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May gritted her teeth and looked towards the door which hung morbidly on it’s frame by a single hinge, “Now. You run out that door and keep going! Don’t stop until you find someone else. And then, the two of you keep going until you find more. And I’ll check on you as soon as I make sure everyone else is safe.”

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The little girl nodded, “T…Thank you Miss Hero. Don’t forget your promise!” She said hurriedly and then darted out the door. May watched her go and as she stood there, the smile melted from her face, replaced by a look of determination. She gritted her teeth and turned, climbing stone-over-stone back up to the second floor where she was surprised to find the arrow fired at her. Energy was bleeding off of it like it had been overcharged or something.

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~I didn’t fire it with that much power. What is going on?~

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Experimentally, may reached out, grabbing onto the arrow. Her arrows were unique in the fact that they weren’t really physical objects so much as they were energy, converted into semi-physical form. So picking one up was always a strange feeling, like she was holding air. But this air. This air was different.

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She let out a sharp cry as her fingers clasped around the arrow. It was like someone struck her with lightning. Energy arced up into her arm. It was painful, it was…foreign like some sort of different liquid had been pushed into her veins. But at the same time, it was energizing. She watched as the arrow dissipated between her fingers, it’s excess energy curling around the time-telling tattoo on her arm. Confusion etched itself into her brows as she watched the bottom two layers of her tattoo shudder and come to a halt. Not once in twenty years had that clock ever stopped. All the symbols on her tattoo were shaking on the surface of her skin.

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Clasping her fingers experimentally. Her whole arm ached. But it was like someone had injected lightning into her veins. She couldn’t see it, but there was a slight glow in her eyes, like she was giving off her own energy. She looked out over the crater as she lifted her bow. Taking stock of what was happening in the center. A little robot had joined the fray alongside Ishtar while the black haired boy was launching his hand into the earth like a drill. May was relived to see that the girl being pulled in earlier was ok.

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May lifted her bow, taking a bead on the blindfolded man. On the man who’d caused so much destruction. Who’d left a young girl crying in the rubble. She felt her blood boil, felt that energy surge down her arm as she drew her bowstring back, putting every ounce of energy she currently had into the shot. As it came to a full draw, the arrow shuddered aggressively in it’s notch, energy sparking around it. She was surprised that the dark void of unconsciousness wasn’t sneaking up on her.

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Her heart thumped loudly in her ears like a drum. The world around her seemed to quiet as she follow the scene and took aim. Previously ten minutes of time would have exhausted her to the point of collapse. But to her surprise as she’d drawn the bow back she had felt whatever energy that had been in the arrow, combining with her own lifeforce, supplementing the energy as it was drawn from her.

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“This is either going to be the dumbest or the coolest thing I’ve ever done.” She said, to nobody in particular. For in this scenario, she was the sniper. The lone soul making decisions from afar and lending what aid she could from a distance.

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“Hey Dad, Mum, Uncle Satori. Watch this awesome move and tell me I shouldn’t be a hero again.”

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She gritted her teeth and flexed the bowstring, “Twenty minute shot.” She whispered almost reverently. Ready to surrender that piece of her to this fight, for the greater good…

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…And then she let he arrow loose. She let out a cry of pain as the arrow loosed, she could feel her quirk tugging the life out of her, igniting the pain in her very cells. It was painful, unpleasant. She felt the force of the bowstring cut into her fingertips, making her a new member of the men-in-black by erasing two of her fingerprints in an instant. She ignored the blood running down her hand as a wave of nausea rushed over her and she watched the arrow tear across the battlefield, ribbons of shadow and light curling around it as it rippled through the air. It would be like getting hit with a sledgehammer being swung at terminal velocity if it hit.

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Was it too much?

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‘Thanks Miss Hero.’

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The words of that little girl rang in her ears even over the thrumming of her own heartbeat. Absolutely it was worth it.

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Whether her arrow landed or not, May would take the moment to leap onto the board hanging above her in the air. Hoping to the gods it would holder it. It did, she thanked her gymnastics instructor in her head as she leveraged herself up onto it and leapt the four feet to the top of the building, nearly falling backwards off the ledge as she barely made it. The building below her swayed ominously. At least she could try and jump clear if it crumbled.

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May turned her gaze over the battlefield, her bow still held in a bloodied hand as mother nature saw fit to roll a breeze over her, tossing pink strands of hair to the side that had long since escaped their ponytail at the back of her head.

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Making notes in the back of her very active mind, May would definitely have to look up Sora’s sister in America. Maybe she would send her a message. Even if just to say hello and ask about the woman’s time in America as a hero. After all, if it was even half as interesting as Sora’s stories, then it was worth hearing!

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May wrinkled her nose as he confirmed that Don Blood really was essentially a vampire. One who could use peoples quirks by draining their blood, She said with a small huff, though it was replaced by a smile, “But seriously, that sounds horrid. Imagine being kept in a cage as some sort of blood slave so some crazy person can use your quirk. I’m glad you were able to take him down, that’s for sure.”

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Yet again, she’d have to go home and look up everything about this villain and how he was taken down. Maybe learn a bit about Sora and the three sisters in the process. Of course, with most of it being a mystery it was doubtful she would learn much.

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May clasped her hands behind her back and smiled, “Depends on how you look at it. The machine I was kept in was pretty meticulously designed. I was…in a sort of virtual world for twenty nine years. Except, my father saw fit to put me in a fantasy world. Hence my occasionally odd way of talking. I have to actively focus on talking normally. It’s hard to erase nearly three decades of speaking one way.” She giggled softly.

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“I count myself just as lucky. It’s been incredibly meaningful getting to know you. And that’s the thing, if I’d been kept out of that stasis. If I’d lived my life in those…dark times. I’d probably be so different. I wouldn’t have met SO many amazing people. I wouldn’t have such an amazing mother and family. It sucks that my father and sister were left behind. But, I’m incredible thankful for the life I’ve been given.” She then flexed her arms suddenly like she was showing off ‘muscles’.

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“Plus, I’d never have gotten the chance to be a hero back in that era! Well. Maybe I would, but not at all in the same way! As I understand it, those first few years when quirks emerged were some pretty dark times, Part of me is thankful I got to skip all that.”

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May let a grin slip onto her lips, “A big open space huh? I’m a student at UAU and you’re an Alumni of the school. I doubt they’d argue with us abusing one of the training field for an afternoon. What better place to let loose, right?”

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“Stronger than…recorded on earth. UAU is definitely the smart location then. They’ve got buildings designed to withstand all sorts of crazy stuff! That’s it. I’m definitely going to drag you over sometime. It’s set in stone now, you cannot escape the curiosity of May Twenty-First!” Again, she flexed her arms like she was showing off…like an utter dork.

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Gathering her thoughts she’d flick the tattoo on her arm, “It’s a good question. I hope that as I learn to harness more of it, it becomes more robust. It’s part of why I’m struggling so much in my hero classes. I’m kind of a one-trick-pony in most regards. We’ve got students who can cause Lava Tsunami’s and…I can shoot arrows. I feel like that hawk-dude in the hero movies. But a lot less martial arty. Maybe some day I’ll be able to shoot like multiple arrows or something!” She shrugged helplessly.

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May snatched the picture back and huffed, “Nonsense! I think it’s a great picture. And honestly, I like the silly ones better. Because there’s always a happy memory behind them.” She stowed the picture very carefully in her messenger bag and scooped it up, slinging it over her shoulder easily.

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Rubbing her cheeks to hide the tinge of pink, May would huff, “Yeah yeah. You were just trying to make me blush. Ru-uuuuude.”

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When he agreed to exchange numbers, her face lit up. She tugged her phone from her pocket and nodded, “I promise not to call you every thirty seconds. But I cannot promise you won’t have a few texts once in a while.” She flipped through her contacts and opened up a new contact.

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When he asked to snap a picture she chuckled, “I literally take pictures of everyone. You think I’d be opposed to that? C’mon now!”

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May struck a quick pose for the photo and then took down his information as well. She leaned down to scoop up their cups, and several other little bits of garbage. After all, it was greenery day, today was the kind of day when you left a piece of nature cleaner than it was when you arrived.

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After adding his info and tossing the trash into the nearby bin like a level 99 basketball player she spun about and dipped into a polite curtsy, “Sora. Dericho. It’s been an absolute pleasure spending the day with you! You’ve really made my day better than I’d anticipated. There’s nothing better than enjoying tea on a relaxing day. Except, sharing it with a newfound friend. So thank you.”

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“Oh! And if you ever need a sidekick, give a girl a call! Or y’know…just call to say hello. I don’t bite often!” She spun about and after a final farewell, she headed off down the path, pink hair swaying behind her happily as she walked off down the path, stopped once to pay for someone elses tea and moving on. She’d spend the rest of her day walking the many parks in the area, appreciating and enjoying nature.

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It wasn’t the national day of friendship. But it was certainly a day that brought people together.

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