International Waters.
Rinka.
This was her first time flying out of the country... that she remembers.
It makes more sense now, Seiki suddenly getting them all passports and proper identification for no apparent reason— at least for those who of them who didn't have it beforehand. She didn't have his Quirk, but she knew that he wouldn't want to redo things if he didn't have to... and dealing with that bureaucracy shitfest twice would just be poor planning. Standing in a fucking line for hours on end once was more than enough for her.
And now she's crammed into a tiny plane seat, her knees pushed up against the seat in front of her. Even in first class, the seats aren't quite big enough for her.
Not to mention that the whole time, she's been getting weary looks from nearly everyone who walks by. Her claws, fangs, and general demeanor making her practically unapproachable.
The scars and cuts adorning her face and body not doing her any favors.
But...
With Narumi-san soundlessly snoring on her left, drooling into her breasts, and Seiki-sama's arms wrapped around waist, leaning over his seat to hug her as he slept too...
It wasn't all bad.
D'Vorah, Azula, Tomoko and Souka also came with them, the latter two currently wearing their maid outfits— their public ones, not the slutty ones they wear around the manor.
Konan was here too, completely undetectable. Her slips tucked up against all of them.
Saving Seiki money on a plane ticket, and more importantly, Seiki never set Konan up with a proper identification. Making her a complete unknown to everyone else.
Inque was also going to meet up with them when they arrived, not bothering to explain just how she was going to sneak in and out of the country. Rinka didn't trust the assassin, her recruitment being far more impersonal than the rest of Seiki's crew... but. Rinka could already tell that the killer was falling for Seiki, hard. Not only was he super cute and hot, and strong, and smelled so good (that one might be her bias talking), but the fact remained that he always knew the best way to make you fall for him.
'It's only a matter of time till she's drowning like the rest of us...'
Even so, a small part of her can't help but worry about what was to come. Leaving the country was one thing.
But to think they were going to...
*
16 Hours Later.
London.
Julius Novachrono.
""CHRONOS! CHRONOS! CHRONOS!""
"Haha, thank you for having me!" Julius laughed, happy to return their cheer. The mic pinned to his costume carrying his voice throughout the venue. Speaking of his costume... after all these years, he still thought it was a little tacky, but the UK's obsession with knights, magic and the like was something even he couldn't escape.
It didn't help that his Quirk fit the wizard aesthetic to a T.
Chronos [img]
The PR side of hero-ing never really came naturally to him, but... it did feel nice, knowing these people supported him. So he was happy to support them in turn, and not just by signing autographs and flaunting for the cameras— but by stopping Villains. And sometimes, he's lucky enough to use his Quirk!
Not that he can't use his Quirk whenever he wants— he is a Novachrono, after all.
As well as a Pro Hero.
And a Titan.
But, with just how dead useful his Quirk is, he rarely gets to actually use it. And no, just waving his hand and solving problems as they happen doesn't count.
"I'm happy to announce another year of London being villain free!" he exclaimed, mostly just reading off a script at this point. He understood the gist of it, though— make them all feel safe by showing up in person. Even though he'd much rather be studying Quirks, trying to see how they worked! Not in the scientific sense, but scouting out Quirks that did new and fascinating things, and seeing just how they reacted with his own.
Being able to slow the effects of other Quirks was a wondrous discovery, but there's so much he didn't know about his own Quirk. About all Quirks, really.
"And while there are still villains roaming around the outskirts of London, I can't be everywhere. Even if it sometimes looks like I—!"
His earpiece crackled.
*Villain, mugging. North Eastern Distriiiiiiiiiiccccccctttttttttttttttttt...*
'DILATE 0.001.' On instinct, a light blue sphere encompasses him. The outside world coming to a standstill as his Quirk kicks in faster than he can blink.
Time was a fickle thing. It effected everything— after all, it was time! And his Quirk, Time Manipulation, let him do exactly that. Manipulate the time of an area within his line of sight. It had a fairly straight forward activation process— he envisions an area, and then his Quirk solidifies around it. A light blue sphere, wrapped in a singular ribbon of unreadable runes.
Why runes? He doesn't know!
As per usual, the bigger and farther away the area he wants to affect, the more stamina it costs him to ensnare it. And then it costs even more dastardly stamina to manipulate it.
And after so many years on the job, he can't help but have a little fun with it.
In his little bubble of slowed time, the effects of gravity lessen... or rather, they slow further than the rest of the things he's currently in control of. A neat little trick he's picked up on, one of many. He's just glad his Quirk allowed for that sort of thing— some Quirks were just as simple and pressing a button, which was boooooring. Julius couldn't be more grateful, his Quirk letting him pick and choose what to effect!
And right on cue, his clothes and hair bristle as he practically becomes weightless.
Then Julius gently leaps up into the air. To him, it's like he's lazily floating up into the sky— to his fans? It must look like he shot up into the air instantly! If not just outright vanished.
Well, not enough time has passed for their minds to even register that he was leaving yet.
And when he leaves his light blue sphere... the world is still standing still. His gravity still slowed to the point that it might as well not be there.
His Quirk still affecting him after leaving the bubble, because part of him was in it at some point or another. That's all it takes, touch one of his bubbles, and the effect holds! Very unusual for a Quirk to work that way, but with how finicky time tends to be, it makes sense if you squint. The farther away something gets from one of his bubbles, though, the more stamina it takes for him to continue "holding" it.
So running is a valid strategy. Not that anyone can outrun him.
And after floating upwards for 0.008 seconds...
Another sphere forms, a single inch in diameter, right in the center of his chest. Letting Julius deactivate and reapply his current effects. His one weakness, if you can even really call it a weakness. He can spawn time manipulation bubbles into existence, but he can't move them in the slightest— time moves all on its own. Or not at all, if you're the one controlling it.
He does that a few times, and after about 0.026 seconds, he looks around.
'Just another day in London,' Julius hummed to himself, stopping for a second (of sped up time) to take in the sights. It never got old, floating through the sky like this.
Then he makes another bubble slightly behind his left foot, set to DILATION 0... and something interesting happens!
Most of the time, his bubbles love to grab everything within reach. Slowing or speeding up everything that's inside of them, or so happens to touch them. With mental effort, he can prevent things from being affected by his bubbles, but... if the DILATION is set to 0, it's the opposite! Nothing can enter or leave them no matter how much he wants them to.
Letting him launch himself off a bubble of time stopped air.
Letting him "fly," in a sense.
His method of travel is simple— super speed bubble, leap, time stop bubble, land. Repeat. Not to mention his ability to mess with gravity... or any effect that applies itself over time. Granting him instantaneous acceleration in every conceivable direction.
0.061 seconds later, he's at the scene of the crime.
Someone saw that he was performing live for his loyal fans, and decided now was the perfect time to snatch a purse of all things. Looking down at the thief in question, who wasn't moving any faster than anyone else— he can't help but pout.
"C'mon... not even something a little useful? Like Super Reflexes or Danger Sense? Why would you ever commit a crime on the outskirts of London with Zebra..." he mumbles. "Or another space type Quirk, those are always so interesting..." and while he had nothing against people with Mutant Quirks, it was annoying that he had been told that the man was a villain.
Sure, he's using his mutant attributes to run away faster than the average person... and he's a bit taller, stronger... eh. Okay, maybe this couldn't've been left to the police. And maybe there weren't any other heroes nearby, with his venue being staffed by more than half of them. And thanks to his Quirk, Chronos was always nearby.
So he spawns a bubble on the thief. DILATION 3,000.
With a bit of mental effort, Julius "lets go" of everything but the thief (and his clothes). Letting him enter the bubble himself, completely unaffected. Then he gently pries open the thief's fingers... and then leaves the purse in the air a few feet behind him in another bubble.
The victim chasing after him will get her purse back, and the Zebra man will be held by his Quirk long enough to be caught and captured. An unspoken arrangement that he has with every single hero in London. One he has with most of the UK, for that matter.
'Crime solved.'
All without even using his Quirk. (Well sure, he used it, but he didn't get to use it use it! There was no challenge, no strain, nothing!)
Then he floats back into the air, back to his latest publicity stunt.
Landing back on stage just 0.1 seconds later.
*
3 Seconds Earlier.
Rinka.
It was just her, Seiki, and D'Vorah... and, of course, Konan and Inque. Konan tucked against their clothes... Inque beneath Seiki's. 'Yeah, she's falling for him. Hard.' The rest of their crew following Narumi around as she took the trip at face value, using their cover to see what London had to offer. And while they were woefully unprepared to face a Titan, D'Vorah had stocked up on a few different types of blood before their encounter.
Not that Seiki could make use of it, not in a real confrontation.
And despite being told "they weren't here to fight," despite being told repeatedly to relax, her eyes never leave the Titan on stage— Chronos flickered.
Gone one instant, in a slightly different position the next.
"Huh. He just disappeared, for just a sec," Rinka muttered. "Wonder why."
"Probably stopped a crime..." Seiki muttered back. "That's why London has less than 50 total heroes. And even then, almost every other hero is a C or D lister. It's very rare for someone that strong and stupid to commit a crime on Chrono's turf."
"...How do you even beat that?" Rinka whispered.
"Infinite attempts. Infinite ambushes," Seiki whispered, just quiet enough so no one else could hear. Not that it mattered in false time. "Infinite time to plot, plan, and kill. When it comes to the other Titans, winning a fair fight is basically impossible. But simply doing what I was trained to do— assassination— I don't think it'd be too difficult. Everyone has to sleep at some point. Well, besides AFO's Quirk," Seiki mumbled. "The real problem is that there's more than one. Killing a Titan, and then disappearing without the whole world hunting me down..." Seiki shook his head. "Not that I even want to kill any of them. But even then, there's a reason they all stick to their own countries, an unchallenged stalemate of sorts. The world is more than big enough for all of us."
"I know we're recruiting his cousin, but why are we here, exactly?" D'Vorah asked. "Do you need to talk to him, false time or not?"
"Maybe not... but it's better if I do. We know he's generally a happy-go-lucky guy, his nonsensical family aside. But Inque was not able to tell me much about him— he's simply too fast," Seiki said. "But now, Save & Load assures me that even if Julius can somehow kill me— even if he can trap me within time for years, decades, or even centuries... it will still be able to bring me back. No matter what."
Rinka bit her lip. She still didn't like this.
"And I want to know if he'll take offence to me poaching her. From what I've gathered, they aren't all that close, but every source I have is second hand," he continued. "And even then. We're not going to fight. We're just going to have a quick chat..."
*
30 Minutes Later.
Chronos.
Autograph. Autograph. Picture. Another picture. A couple slips of paper, each of them with a phone number and a variation of "call me! <3" written beneath them. A young woman pulling down her shirt collar, wanting him to sign her upper breast— only for her to get escorted out.
Julius doesn't know why he does these things.
Well, he does. The government wants him to do them.
And while Julius could just as easily stop going out in public, only leaving his room to study Quirks and stop crimes... or stop being a hero in general, and just take the fight to the government and win... that would cut into his free time. And it would be a whole thing. Too much hassle.
Not that this wasn't a hassle.
So it's no surprise that he isn't all that invested in his current activity, and is instead looking around to see any Quirks that might catch his eye! Speaking of eyes, there's one fan with hundreds of eyes all over his body, every single one of them a different color! Now he's curious.
Does he have a hundred different ocular abilities? Can each eye emit a different color laser beam? Or is it simply Eyes, a mutant Quirk that grants him all those eyes?
He's quite tempted to ask.
Halfway down the line, Julius sees another ocular ability— an impressively well built young man, sporting one red eye and one blue. He even has a purple tint to his hair. Unfortunately, with just a single glance from 30 meters away, Julius can't really tell what his Quirk could even be. Heterochromia was rare, and it probably had something to do with the boy's Quirk, but it could also just be a mutation. And not even a Quirk mutation—
SAVE1.
—or maybe not. The boy's left eye, the red one, was swirling. Not that Julius could even tell what it was doing besides that. Could be completely involuntary on his part.
SAVE2.
...well, that's twice now.
SAVE1. SAVE1. SAVE1. SAVE1. SAVE1...
Julius is doing his best not to stare, even with the boy just a few meters away. His left eye swirling every couple of seconds. Maybe his Quirk is Swirling Left Eye, but Julius is almost certain that it has to be more interesting than that.
SAVE1.
He really, really wants to ask just what his Quirk is doing—
LOAD1.
The world shudders.
'DILATION 0.001!'
Julius's ability to manipulate time, to see and ensnare it... it comes with a vague sense. One that lets him sense the activation of any time type Quirk for miles, sensing them even further depending on the strength of the effect. Simply put, if time is being affected, his Quirk will know.
And to a lesser degree, he can sense space type Quirks this way too.
But this...
With time around him nearly standing still, Julius turns to face the source of the shudder. The way both time and space taste angry, to his Quirk. 'Taste? How does it...' just the sensory feedback of the boy's Quirk activation teaching Julius new things about the way that his Quirk, the way that every Quirk interacts with the world.
Standing right in front of the boy, the one with the swirling right eye. He couldn't sense the left eye, but the right eye, the blue one— just what did his Quirk do?
And with the world's time slowed to a crawl, Julius's Quirk has ample time to examine the disturbance.
A bubble of time encompassing the boy in question. Not to manipulate, solely to see.
But even then... the boy is quick to react. His eyes already widening, just a bit. His neurons firing one by one, seeing Julius standing right in front of him. And before his Quirk can make sense of the new and fascinating Quirk before him—
LOAD2.
The world shudders once more.
Just 12 meters away, time and space clash with reality. And Julius senses none of it.
And this isn't even the first time this has happened.
The boy that's managed to catch his interest figuring out the limits of his "time sense." Figuring out that Julius cannot sense Saves, finding out just how far away he needs to be for Julius to not sense Loads.
Julius still not used to being on the other side of someone wielding time itself...
*
Seiki.
'So he CAN sense time. But his range isn't most of London, like suspected... thankfully.' Still isn't good that Julius can sense him, but he'll take it.
'Dilation of others, of himself. So he can stretch a second to minutes, hours, days... all I need to do is make myself worth the conversation...' and Seiki can't help but smile. 'He likes interesting Quirks, doesn't he? I can work with that.'
*
*
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