Heroes of Tomorrow

Part 41~Monsters

Akiko grinned as she stepped up to the ship. "Hey, you all." Akiko jumped onto the deck where Dante and Gael were playing with a deck of cards.

"Morning, Aki," Ava greeted, leaning against the mast.

"I brought food." Akiko lowered her bag, pulling out the containers. "I also brought some of my famous brownies, but that's for later."

Ava grinned, taking a box happily. "Thanks, you're amazing."

Akiko handed out the boxes as Dante and Gael cheered. Priya smiled, thanking Akiko politely. "Where are the others? It's not like Liz to miss an opportunity to make fun of those two?"

Ava smiled. "Haven and Liz are sneaking into the police station to see if they can find anything about Priya in case your source doesn't come through."

Akiko chuckled. "You doubt me?"

"I doubt your source." Ava laughed as Akiko leaned against her side. They sat together with Dante, Gael and Priya.

"Hey, what's the plan if we can't find Priya's home-"

"No home," Priya interrupted as Dante smiled softly.

"Right. What's the plan if we can't find somewhere for Priya to go. It's not like the ship is any place for a child."

Gael nodded. "We barely allowed Liz on, and she was twice the age of Priya when she joined."

Ava tapped her chim. "We'll focus on that later. First, we need to understand the situation. If someone is looking for Priya, it could cause problems that we won't be able to protect her from."

"No hurt," Priya muttered. "I don't wanna endanger any of you." She fidgeted as Akiko smiled.

"You're not going to endanger us. We can handle ourselves. Our priority is to keep you safe."

Priya didn't look convinced as Ava sighed. "Is there a danger following you?"

The girl avoided Ava's gaze as she tightened her grip and lowered her hands to the ground. "Monsters. There are monsters following me." She sniffled as Dante wrapped his arm around her.

"It's okay. We won't let the monsters get you."

~~~

Akiko smiled, letting Priya play with her vines, when her phone began to ring. She stopped, apologising and picking up. "Aizawa? Did you find anything?" Aizawa didn't speak. "Aizawa?"

"It's not good. I talked to an old friend, and I found a missing report about a four-year-old girl named Priya going missing after her Quirk manifested."

"She went missing after her Quirk manifested? That must have been two years ago."

"It was. Two years almost to the day. Your new friend is being chased by a group of powerful people. No one has ever survived meeting them, but they leave destruction wherever they go."

Akiko sighed. "That doesn't sound good."

"It's not. You need to bring that girl in before whoever is looking for her kills you all."

"I know. I'll try to convince the others."

"No convincing. We need her in, now." Aizawa hung up as Akiko sighed.

She put her phone away as she approached Ava.

"Well, I don't like that look." Ava forced a smile as Akiko sat next to her.

"Aizawa found something out, but it's not good."

"Bet he didn't find out as much as we did," Liz joked, stepping onto the deck.