Carl followed the masked boy's instructions.
Or at least he tried to.
The city below him looked nothing like Townsville.
Nor anywhere he had ever seen.
Towering buildings stretched toward the evening sky.
Neon signs glowed above crowded streets.
Train lines cut through the city like veins.
And the people...
The people looked strange.
A man with scales covering half his face walked past a woman with rabbit ears.
A teenager with a tail sat outside a convenience store.
Someone with bright blue skin crossed the street carrying groceries.
Carl couldn't make sense of it.
"What is this place?"
Static crackled through the walkie-talkie.
"Japan."
Carl nearly jumped.
The masked boy's voice sounded annoyingly calm.
"Try not to stare. You'll blend in better."
"I'm a dead ghost trapped inside a robot octopus!"
"And yet you're still somehow not drawing attention. Let's keep it that way by not making yourself suspicious."
Carl gritted his teeth.
The drone launched itself across another rooftop.
Metal tentacles slammed into concrete.
THOOM!
The machine vaulted over an alley.
Landed.
Then jumped again.
Below, pedestrians pointed upward.
Several people had already started recording him.
Carl ignored them.
The city blurred beneath him.
Building after building passed.
—Suddenly—
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Carl's danger instincts screamed.
WHIP!
A thick wooden vine shot across the skyline.
It wrapped around one of the drone's tentacles.
Carl jerked sideways.
The drone slammed into a rooftop water tower.
CRASH!
Metal screeched.
The walkie-talkie crackled.
"Well, that's unfortunate."
Carl spun around.
A figure landed atop a nearby building.
Tall.
Wooden.
Covered in bark-like armor.
Branches protruded from his shoulders.
A wooden shall covered his face like a mask.
The hero crossed his arms.
"I've received multiple reports about a giant robot leaping across the city."
His wooden fingers flexed.
"I was hoping there'd be a simple explanation."
Carl stared.
"What?"
The hero tilted his head.
"Mind telling me who you are?"
Carl immediately looked toward the walkie-talkie.
"Who's that?"
A sigh crackled through the walkie-talkie.
"Carl, I'm not psychic."
"Give me something to work with."
Carl looked the hero up and down.
"Tree-looking guy. Walnut head. Shoots roots out of his hands."
A brief silence followed.
"Hm."
"That sounds like Kamui Woods."
Carl blinked.
"A B-list hero."
The hero's eyebrow twitched.
"...I can hear you, you know."
The walkie-talkie crackled again.
"Good. Then this is a learning opportunity."
Carl frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"If you can't escape a B-list hero, how exactly do you plan to reach Inko Midoriya?"
Carl froze.
The reminder hit him like a punch.
Sandra.
Ben.
His family.
Kamui Woods noticed the hesitation.
The wooden hero immediately moved.
"Binding Lacquered Chain Prison!"
Dozens of wooden branches erupted outward.
They spread across the rooftop like a living net.
Carl reacted instantly.
The drone's tentacles stabbed downward.
BOOM!
The machine launched into the air.
Wood chased after him.
Carl swung one mechanical arm.
CRACK!
The tentacle smashed through a wooden restraint.
Another wrapped around it.
Then another.
Then another.
Kamui Woods tightened his grip.
The bindings groaned.
The Ock-drone shuddered.
Carl could feel the pressure crushing the frame.
"Stop resisting."
Kamui Woods pulled harder.
"You're causing a public disturbance."
The drone's warning systems flashed red.
Carl's panic surged.
The memory of the laboratory flashed through his mind.
The pain.
The wires.
The experiments.
The helplessness.
"No!"
The drone's tentacles exploded outward.
KRRAAASH!
Wood shattered.
Splinters erupted across the rooftop.
Kamui Woods' eyes widened.
Carl lunged.
One tentacle slammed into the roof.
A second swung like a battering ram.
Kamui Woods dodged.
The impact tore a crater through concrete.
BOOM!
The hero retaliated instantly.
Wooden branches shot from every direction.
Carl smashed through one.
Then another.
Then another.
Each strike sent debris flying through the air.
The fight spilled across three separate rooftops.
Neither side could gain a decisive advantage.
Kamui Woods was faster than Carl expected.
Carl was stronger than Kamui Woods expected.
The battle continued.
Meanwhile...
Miles away.
The atmosphere couldn't have been more different.
The Midoriya residence felt warm.
Comfortable.
Safe.
Steam rose gently from the freshly brewed milk-coffee.
Inko smiled as she refilled everyone's cups.
"So?"
She looked between the two students.
"How was your first day at U.A.?"
Izumi immediately sat up straighter.
"It was amazing!"
Aoyama glanced over.
The enthusiasm made him smile slightly.
Izumi continued.
"The campus is huge, and everyone has incredible Quirks, and—"
She paused.
"Aizawa-sensei is terrifying."
Inko laughed.
Aoyama nodded.
"That part is accurate."
"Really?!"
Inko asked Izumi.
"He threatened to expel us on the first day!"
"And somehow that's considered normal."
Inko covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"Hero schools sound much scarier than I imagined."
The conversation continued.
Stories.
Classmates.
Teachers.
Funny moments from the day.
The two of them had completely different stories to tell, giving Inko a better understanding of why Izumi had wanted to invite Aoyama inside.
They had spent most of the day apart, caught up in their own experiences and classmates. It was only natural that Izumi would want a little more time with her friend before they went their separate ways for the evening.
Inko took a quiet sip of her tea and glanced toward her daughter.
Izumi was listening intently to Hikaru's latest story, her attention fixed entirely on him.
A small, motherly smile tugged at the corner of Inko's lips.
Outside the apartment window, the city lights slowly began to brighten as evening settled over Musutafu.
Unaware that several districts away, a desperate ghost was fighting a professional hero for the chance to reach her.
Unaware that she had already become someone's target..