Anu Novak and Reaper ~ How Unexpected!

Anu skips along the path in one of Nagoya, Japan's many parks, humming, "Tra la la, tra la lee.."

Augustus Reaper walks down the path as well, a walking cane in hand although it's unneeded. He's enjoying the sounds of nature when he accidentally bumps into Anu.

"Boy, I sure am hungry. I hope there's a meat bun cart around here!" Anu looks around, not noticing where she was going when she bumps into Augustus as well. Augustus's cane drops when they run into each other.

"My apologies, miss. I really should look where I'm going," he says.

"Darn tootin'! You can make up for giving me a new bruise by buying me lunch, though!"

"Why of course miss! All you need to do is follow me!"

"Okie dokie!" Anu finds herself following Augustus, completely oblivious to any ulterior motives. Soon enough, the two are at an outdoor restaurant, both sitting and enjoying the meals. The cane which Augustus was carrying is propped up against his chair.

"I must apologize again for my run in with you. It's normally not like me to be so distracted. I hope you are not harmed?"

"Well, cept' for that bruise I mentioned earlier, I'm fine. Hey, this food is really good!" Anu says with her mouth full.

"I never did catch your name, Miss..."

"Oh. I'm Anu! I dunno who you are, either."

"I am Augustus Reaper. It's a pleasure to meet you Anu. A unique name. You weren't born in Japan were you?"

"Haha, how could you tell? Was it my brown skin? Or strange name? But yeah, I was born in India. My parents moved to Japan for their jobs, so here I am! Nice to meet you, too."

"You seem a little young to be travelling around Nagoya by yourself. Are your parents here as well?"

"I might as well tell you, seeing as you did buy me lunch. No, they're not. I'm here for top-secret important stuff by myself! Which doesn't involve food. At all."

"Top secret? How interesting. Yet worrying. What organization would send out a child for such a dangerous mission? Although, with your quirk, I highly doubt there would be much danger for you."

"Okay, I'll let you in on the secret. It's a mission I decided to go on by myself! I'm looking for the best hitsumabushi in Japan! I heard Nagoya is famous for theirs. Do you know anything about it?"

"There are a few other places on the more quiet side of Nagoya. The best one that I know of should be the first one you see."

"Oh, good. I was afraid I'd have to trek all over Nagoya just for some good food. Thanks, sir!" Anu rises from their table, already finished with her meal. Augustus proceeds to do the same and grabs his cane with his left hand. He then raises his right hand for a handshake.

"It was a pleasure to meet you Anu. I hope we might see each other again soon."

Anu shakes his hand readily, "Agreed! Bye!" She then strolls off in the direction Augustus mentioned, towards the quiet side of Nagoya. Once she's out of earshot, Augustus takes out a phone and calls someone.

"Hello. Yes it's me. I have a target for you. I want it brought in carefully and quietly. Make sure you make it by the end of the day." Still suspecting nothing, Anu continues walking, stopping to stare at various shops and restaurants.

"That guy was really nice. I really hope I do meet him again! He seemed super powerful, too. Maybe he could teach me a few things!" She fantasizes. Suddenly, a black limousine pulls up to where Anu is standing and a bouncer opens the door for her, clearly an invitation to enter. He then says that there is an emergency from Anu's parents and that Augustus arranged for this to take her home.

"Eh? A limo? Oooh, I heard they have candy and drinks in there!" Anu hops right in, blissfully ignorant.

Along the way, the limo goes under a tunnel and is hardly lit. The others in the limo put on gas masks and a very strange aroma begins to come from the air conditioning vents. Anu sniffs at the air.

"Pee-yoo! That's stinky. Hey, do you guys smell-" She flops over in the seat, never finishing the sentence. While attempting to stay awake and losing consciousness, Anu hears many voices wondering what to do with her and one sounding rather familiar. She attempts to look, yet she loses consciousness once again. Eventually she wakes up, strapped to a lab table, with a bright light above her. She hears footsteps approaching from the darkness and a voice begins to speak.

"Ms. Anu Novak. A young woman with loving parents and a promising future. However, there were a few things you forgot to mention. Such as how you were a student at U.A. and a hero in training. Good grades, good friends, good work ethic. Yet where is all that now, when you're here?"

"Beats me. Who are you, anyway? Your voice sounds oddly familiar, but I can't place it..." Anu strains her eyes to catch a glimpse of her kidnapper.

"Well, I certainly hope it would sound familiar, my dear. After all, we spent most of the day talking at a certain restaurant."

"Wait...you're Mr. Reaper? And I thought you were nice! Total twist. Whatcha gonna do, huh?" Her voice is high-pitched and nervous.

"Haha! Yes, a very big twist! Don't worry Anu, all I want to do is perform a little experiment. Once we are done you are free to go! I promise."

"I'm not gonna trust you so easily this time. So, I bet it's not gonna be a 'little' experiment. And you probably won't let me go! What a heinous villain you turned out to be." Anu looks away, scared.

"Hey, hey, I might be a 'heinous villain' but I still have feelings. I can't believe you wouldn't trust me after everything we shared together. Besides, as I always say, what's the point of keeping an experiment around if it has no further use?"

"How am I supposed to not worry when you say that? And we didn't share anything! Not even the bill for the food!"

"Well, you got me there!" Augustus looks away from Anu and down at a table full of instruments and vials. "Now, how should I start this? Hey Anu, since you're the lab rat, which would you prefer? Neurotoxins, or the electric table?"

"I'd prefer neither, but I might as well go for the neurotoxins. I've not a clue what those do..."

"Well, then time for a lesson." Augustus proceeds to jam a needle into Anu's arm and injects the liquid. "Now a neurotoxin is just as it sounds, it is a toxin that begins to affect your neurons and nervous system. Now, while neurotoxin, has been known to be fatal, I created this specific compound for the only purpose of slightly damaging the system while keeping you alive. That way you feel every little bit of it. Oh, this is going to be very fun."

"That doesn't sound fun at all! I think instead of playing doctor with me, you should go and see a doctor yourself. Your brain is messed up!"

"Ms. Novak, everyone is damaged. Some just hide it better than others, while others accept it, and finally those such as myself, find a way to vent it out. There are even heroes that can be considered damaged. Especially that Endeavor fellow." Augustus says, as Anu starts to feel a tingling sensation and numbness in her limbs.

"You....got....this all...p-planned out...don't you?" She struggles to speak.

"You'd be surprised how much inspiration you get from a lifetime of ridicule, isolation, abuse, and madness. You see these people out there living their lives all normal and happy as can be and you think to yourself, 'Can I ever be like that?' When you realize you can't, you want to invoke the same pain on others, so THEY know what it is like to live YOUR nightmare of a LIFE! That is my experiment my dear, and you are my first test subject. Enjoy." Augustus replies.

Anu shuts her eyes. When she opens them again moments later, she sees her parents standing to the side. "Mom, Dad? What are you guys doing here?" They're slowly shaking their heads and have disdainful expressions.

"We're disappointed in you," they say.

"What? Why?"

"You're useless and a burden. We're going to replace you." The drugs are making Anu hallucinate her fear of being unwanted. As she is seeing her worst fear with tears in her eyes, Augustus moves to the control console and enters a sequence. Once finished, he flips open a cover over a large red button and presses it, activating the electric table. The amount of electricity going through Anu's body is enough to cause immense pain, yet unable make Anu pass out from it.

Anu yells and convulses as the electric currents shoot through her, from the tips of her toes to even the strands of hair on her head. Her scorpion tail whips in all directions and she screams. She still sees her parents but she also sees her friends, who look at her and turn away. Tears start streaming down Anu's face. But through the pain and tears, she cracks a crooked smile.

"I...don't....need...you...guys!" She continues to thrash around, with an insane smile on her face.

Suddenly, Anu is able to break free from the table and turns to face Augustus, with the same insane smile on her face.

"What?! That's impossible, those straps were strong enough to contain a lion! How did you break out?" Augustus asks in dismay. Anu is still shaking from pain and blood is streaming from her mouth from when she bit her tongue due to the spasms.

"I...I don't know! But...I don't care! You're gonna get...what's coming..to you!" She tries to stab Augustus with her tail, but she's shaking too much and she knocks over a tray of torture tools instead. "Oopsies." She tries again, using her hero training to aid her. Augustus, however, dodges the second attempt and prevents Anu from doing more with his telekinesis Quirk by holding her down to the ground.

"Now, now, you should know better than to attack someone. Especially with such a dangerous thing. Someone could get hurt. I think you need a timeout in a nice, dark, damp, isolated room. What do you say?"

"No...no...I don't like being alone.." Anu struggles against Augustus's Quirk to the best of her ability, but gets nowhere.

"Oh don't worry, you aren't going to be alone. You'll have the multiple voices in your head from the drugs to keep you company. For the next twelve hours that is."

"Wait, what?" Anu struggles against being taken to the room, but to no avail. The door locks, and she's left huddled on the ground, sniffling and licking the blood on her chapped lips. After a long night of isolation, and little snippets of sleep, Anu is awakened by Augustus. He begins to bang on the metal door as hard as he can.

"Wakey wakey, sleepyhead. I hope it was well and plentiful!"

Anu rocks back and forth on the ground, "Sleepy, sleeeepy, sleepyhead. One, two, and three. Three of us! One of me. Shut up! But I didn't say anything! Get out! Leave me be!" She clutches the sides of her head in frustration.

"Ah, still dealing with the drugs huh? Yeah, they will be there for a while. Other than that, I'm sure you had a pleasant night." As he picks up the mess from the previous night, Augustus finds a tablet that shows Anu's brain chemical readings during the torture. "Well, that's odd. It appears that during her episode, these chemicals shot up to immense amounts giving her a sort of adrenaline rush. As if she tapped into something primal and dark. Fascinating."

"Pleasant? Pheasant? Peafowl and chicken. I'm hungry!"

Augustus proceeds to ask a guard, "Has she been like this all night? Rambling like a mad woman? I'm starting to wonder if I over did it."

The guard responded with, "Unfortunately so, sir. I don't think she got a wink of sleep last night."

Anu starts giggling uncontrollably, "We talked! We talked aaall night! Turns out, we all like the number 23!"

Augustus opens a little slit so he can see into the room, saying, "Ms. Novak? Are you alright in there? You seem too happy."

"Happy. Happy birthday! To...someone whose birthday is today! Yipee!" Her tone suddenly changes, becoming lower and quickened, "Will you just shut up? You pesky rats."

Augustus proceeds to turn to the guard once more, "You, stay here and make sure nothing happens. I want to speak with her myself." He enters the room and take a seat on a chair he brought with him. "So Ms. Novak I see you are still recuperating from yesterday's events. However, if it is possible, that you could calm down so I can ask you a question?"

"Ask away! We're all ears!"

"Has anyone ever told you the difference between a hero and a villain? Have any of your teacher's or friends? If not why do you think that is?"

"What do I think...think...I can't think. There're too many voices! I don't know! I don't like not knowing! Make them stop!"

“Now, there’s no need to fret. Allow me to tell you how I learned it. In actuality there is no difference. There is simply different ways in how people approach situations. An example is say there are three siblings. One of them is murdered. One focuses on the love of the sibling and becomes a hero. Meanwhile the other sibling focuses on the hatred for the killer and becomes a villain. So you see, while there is difference in action, there is no difference in motives.”

"Yeah...sure...okay. We don't care about that, though! We care about...not we? We don't wanna be we anymore. We wanna be me! Just me! I hate the voices!" Anu starts rocking back and forth, quicker and quicker.

“I understand your impatience, and I have a solution.” Augustus proceeds to reach into a bag and pulls out a green glowing vial. “This chemical when injected into you should reverse the effects of both the poison and neurotoxin. Once we are done you are free to go. However, I do want you to think about what I said. How we are not so different. Please. If you are interested I am offering internships much like those heroes you admire so much. You don’t have to take it but the offer is always open. So do we have a deal?”

Anu starts laughing manically, "You...you're offering internships? If you think that I'd forget about the voices you put into my head and the pain you inflicted on me, you'd be...correct. Haha! You're right in that you and I aren't so different. I'd be a fool to be mean to you! Sure, we'll think about it. Uh...I mean I will." She reaches for the vial, hand shaking.

As Anu reaches for it, Augustus moves the vial away.“Well if you’re denying my offer, I can deny you of any human contact or interaction until my next free time. So in at least two months. It’s all up to you really.”

Anu gives Augustus a frustrated glance. "We...I mean, I, said I'd think about it. I had some other agencies in mind but I'll consider you too. What'd we even do, anyways?"

“Mainly some odd jobs and getting rid of some competition. So in other words, I would notify you and prepare you for your objectives.”

"That sounds fun enough. I do like...getting rid of people." Anu giggles at this statement. "I'll favor your offer, for sure. Can I go now? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" She reaches for the vial once more.

He keeps it away again, saying, “I said you may leave AFTER the vial was injected into you. In other words, leave this room and get back on that table so we can continue.”

"No...not the table! Ugh, fine..." Anu gingerly gets to her feet and slowly edges out of the room, keeping her eyes on Augustus. The fact that she's wary and scared of him isn't hard to see.

“There’s no need to be afraid anymore. The bad part is over. We can now work on fixing you. Since my experiment was considered a failure, and you are still alive, I am keeping my promise of letting you go free. I told you once an experiment is considered a failure, there is no longer a need for it.” Augustus then proceeds to help lead Anu to the table, rests her down, and injects the liquid into her neck. She flinches at the cold metal, but relaxes soon after.

"You're not too bad, I guess. I take back calling you heinous. You'll just be...slightly nefarious. How's that sound?"

He chuckles a bit, “That sounds fine my dear." Augustus then helps Anu off the table and into a modified wheelchair. “Now your body isn’t used to the sudden chemical and physical changes just made. As a result I want you to take it easy for a few weeks, doctor’s orders." He points to yet another guard at the entrance. “My assistant here will take you to the limo waiting for you. Your tickets home have been paid for. Have a safe trip!”

"This was a weird experience. You're weird. Like what I said before, you should really see a doctor, yourself! At least this was one more thing I can add to my 'Been There, Done That' list. Thanks, Mr. Reaper! You have a good day, now!" Anu gives Augustus a big smile, but she's clearly forcing it and in pain.

“Don’t worry about the pain my dear, that will be the last thing to go!” As she's about to leave, Augustus shouts after her, “Oh! One more thing, if you tell anyone about this little experience, I’ll go from being ‘slightly nefarious’ back to heinous. I’m sure you don’t want that, do we?”

Anu replies, "Don't worry about it, Reaper, sir! I'll probably forget about it anyway!" She giggles and rolls out of view.

After Anu leaves, Augustus begins to cough up blood, a signal that he needs to heal himself. He calls down another guard to the lab. Once the guard reaches it, Augustus drags the guard to himself with his telekinesis Quirk and drains the man's life energy. Once finished, all that’s left is the guard's lifeless corpse on the ground. Augustus chuckles again and says, “Oh yes. This is going to be very fun.”