Quirkless

After Credits Scene

It had been far too long since she'd been home. Stepping over the threshold of her and Hikari's apartment was like sinking into a hot bath and the agent could feel Q wash down the drain. She stood in the doorway for a few minutes until her wife's voice startled her.

"Izumi! What do you want for dinner?"

"I'll eat anything, you know that."

"How about some ramen? Spicy food's really been bothering my stomach lately."

Izumi chuckled as she took off her shoes. "That's shocking."

Hikari laughed. "I know right?" Izumi heard pots and pans clink together as her wife shuffled in the kitchen. "I guess it must be the hormones."

Izumi nodded to herself. She'd forgotten that Hikari had an ICI scheduled for last month. "Any news from the doctor?" she asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Hikari stood by the counter, chopping some vegetables. The sunset peeked in through their windows, bouncing off the counter and making her eyes glow like twin suns. Her hair was down, finally, still wavy from its time in braids. Izumi walked behind her, wrapping her arms around her waist, nuzzling into the soft strands as Hikari continued.

"I went in for a test last week, but I haven't been on top of my messages."

"Understandable." Izumi rested her chin on the other woman's shoulder and let the last of the tension roll away. She stayed there as long as Hikari let her, finally letting go when she was shrugged off.

There was a pile of mail on the counter, and Izumi started carding through them. She paused at a blank envelope.

"What's this?"

Hikari didn't even turn from the stove. "It was left in your PO box. You only give the address to people you trust, so I figured it was a message or something."

Izumi groped the envelope. It felt normal enough, though there was a small SD card in the corner. Still, with Carter's betrayal she had to be careful. Dinner would take a little while, she had time.

She went to her office, pulling out the gas mask and gloves she kept just in case - what can she say, she was paranoid - and carefully opened the envelope.

It enclosed an index card with the SD chip taped to the corner.The index card had familiar handwriting - reading simply:

In case I didn't have a chance to tell you in person.

She paused, sucking her teeth as the nerves started to build. She should report this. She needed to report this before she watched it.

She didn't want to.

She called anyway.

She could hear the surprise in Director's voice when she answered. The woman looked as put together as ever, even at home she held onto professionalism.

"Izumi, you should be on vacation," she said calmly. Her face tightened when Izumi explained the situation. Her eyes were hard as walked to her desk and set the phone down. "I'll drop into your work laptop."

Izumi nodded. She logged into the device and waited until she saw the notification pop up before inserting the card.

It was a video. As it started, she saw a familiar mass of brunette curls. Carter looked less gaunt than he had when he arrived at the agency, this must have been recorded before he left his undercover work. She made a note to ask Director for what that assignment had been.

The video started to play automatically. "Izumi. Yeah, I've known your real name for a while now. Always bothered me that you never told me yourself. Just like you never told me you were married."

A chill ran down her spine. That sounded like a threat. She glanced at the door to her office, to the woman on the other side innocently puttering around the kitchen.

"It's a bad idea to live with your spouse, you know. No matter how good you are, there's always a chance you'll be followed." He smiled coldly at the camera, before leaning back in his chair. "Look, you're getting this message which means I can't tell you in person. The quirk singularity is coming and it's coming with this generation. We need to stop it, and right now that means putting an end to quirks. You of all people understand how much damage an out of control quirk can do."

Izumi flinched. Her father had died thanks to a bad manifest of a quirk while her mother had been pregnant. She didn't find out the details until she was an adult. The poor kid had rewound him into nothing - there had been no body to bury.

"I can't say much more, but there's an address on the back of this device. Go there on the third Tuesday of the month. You'll meet a couple friends of mine, and they'll explain everything."

The screen flashed to black. Izumi looked up at the camera at the top of her screen, hoping the Director would say something.

"Looks like you'll be going back into the field a little earlier than normal."

Izumi clenched her teeth. "Director..."

Her objection was ignored. "Come in for a briefing next week, the month just started so we have some time."

"Director, you know I'm too close to this."

"Too bad, agent." The familiarity of her given name was gone. Director's voice was as cold as Carter's smile had been. "You're the only one who can go in."

The call ended.

Izumi shuffled out to the living room. Hikari was on her phone, probably checking up on the messages she'd missed.

"Oh good, you're done! I was waiting for you. The doctor left a message."

Izumi smiled, hiding the worry that had sprung into her chest. They curled up on the couch and she wrapped her arms around the other woman, pulling her as close as she could. Hikari started the message.

"Mrs. Kimara, I just got the results of your blood work back. I do apologize about the delay - the labs were closed for the holiday this past week. I am delighted to tell you that the ICI appears to have been successful. Congratulations!"

Izumi's ears buzzed as the worry in her chest shifted to pure dread.